Sock Monkey 1st Birthday!

I am so excited to say that Parker's 1st Birthday party was AMAZING! 

After all of the planning everything went off without a hitch and a great time was had by all! 

I was so excited for the day to finally be here and to share it with all of our family!

Parker had a great time too!  He tried to keep up with all of his cousins and second cousins and my best friends  boys and it was so fun to watch him play thinking he was a big kid!! 

He was not happy about the cake and being sung Happy Birthday too! 

But we figured this would be the case...as he did not care for the cake on two previous occasions (pics and real birthday!)  Maybe next year!!

The one part he did seem to enjoy was opening presents.  At first he was in my lap just assisting and by the end he was putting his head down in the bags to help pull things out!!

I am actually a little sad the day is over...guess I will give myself a few months and

then start thinking about next year!!

Well here is an overflow of pictures from Parks Big Day!!

Hope you enjoy!

Our little family

Pics of the party and decor:

 

entryway



drink station



birthday banner



yummies



desserts and party favors



highchair, birthday photos made to posters and hung with ribbon, door sign



Proof he dislikes cake and being sung to...

he was ready to jump out!



Grandpa and Park & us!

opening gifts

Thank you to everyone who helped make this day so amazing!

I do not know if I could have made it happen without my mom!

Park and I are so lucky to have her!

-Happy Birthday Banner & High Chair Banner/Cupcake Toppers/ Door Sign/Food Labels/Party Invite - OhMy Gluestick on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/ohmygluestick

-Birthday Photo Banner - Beth's Banners on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/bethsbanners

-Sock Monkey Party Hat - Fashion for Kids on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/FashionsforKids

- Sock Monkey 1st Birthday Shirt- Braylabee's http://www.facebook.com/pages/Braylabees/182121695167719?sk=info#!/pages/Braylabees/182121695167719?sk=wall

ONE.

The day is here.  My baby boy is one.  I honestly still cannot believe how fast this year has gone by.  Does this make him a toddler?  I am not ready for that. 

My emotions are everywhere.  So excited that this day we have been awaiting and planning for is here, but sad because time is going by so fast!

It has been by far the best year of my life and I will never be able to thank God enough for choosing Wayne and I to be Parker's parents. 

  Here are a few things going on with our handsome little one...

-He is walking everywhere.  over the past couple weeks he has gotten quite fast too!

- He shakes his head no.  He does it some when we ask him something or when we say no or uh-oh

- Still not a huge fan of eating.  Loves pancakes, goldfish, peaches, bananas and cheerios...thats about it!

- He LOVES books.  Constantly bringing them to us to read to him...over and over

-We switched to milk last week and he seems to love it.

-Still working on getting completely off the bottle...not there yet!

-He has the strongest little personality (no idea where he gets it!) he has gotten really good at letting us know what he wants and what he doesn't.  At times it is hilarious...other times not so much!

Parker,

This past year has been the best year of our lives.  Everyday a true blessing.  You have made our lives complete and we haved loved every moment...smiles, cries, laughs, all of your firsts, your fits, everything! 

The joy you bring to us and the rest of our family is immeasurable.

You grow and learn everyday and we just watch in amazement.

I feel so lucky to be your Mommy and I pray each day that I am doing a good job.

We love you so much little man, Happy First Birthday!

First we had each other.  Then we had you. 

Now we have everything.

wish list.

Today I am linking up with Heather over at Big City Belle for Wish List Wednesday!

Honestly the husband has been asking me for a couple weeks to come up with a list and I guess it is about time I do it (or else he may just say nevermind!)!

Michael Kors Hollywood

Clay Rice Custom Silhouette (of my little man)

Lagos Luna Pearl Studs

and tuperware!  The kind with the lids that stack!


What has made your wish list this year??

Go link up with Big City Bell and let us know!!

brown bag turkey

I love cooking for Thanksgiving!!  It is such a great day.  I love all the smells of Thanksgiving foods, fall candles and the sounds of parades and football and family!  This year it will just be the three of us, which should be interesting as I have never cooked such a meal for such a small group.  So we are going to have to be ALL about the leftovers!!

We have all of our groceries purchased and I am ready to start bright and early Thursday morning!!

I guess it was around 5 years ago when I first tried the "Brown Bag Turkey" recipe.  A local DJ in Dallas, Kidd Kraddick always talked about it and callers always called in raving about his recipe.  I hosted Waynes entire family for Thanksgiving that year and it was my first try at the turkey.  So easy and absolutely AMAZEBALLS!!  Everyone spoke the words "juiciest turkey", "best turkey"...you get the drift!  I was so proud...its been a staple ever since.  I have had quite a few family members start using this recipe themselves. 

The only think I do different than what the recipe calls for is I do inject the turkey with the Tony Cachere's cajun injections!

via Kidd Kraddick Brown Bag Turkey

The turkey being placed in the brown bag allows the turkey to roast to perfection...way better than any of those roasting bags!

Definately give it a try!!

Our sides this year will include mashed sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, orange scented cranberry sauce and homeade macaroni and cheese.

The mac and cheese is Wayne's only request...he claims it to be a traditional Tgiving food...I disagree. 

Oh well!

I hope each of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We all have so much to be thankful for!

radio flyer

We are going to be in Houston next week for Parker's 1st Birthday!!  It still does not seem right that my baby is already a year old.

Anyway, since his gift arrived yesterday we decided to go ahead and let him have it!!

He was excited just to see the box (he loves playing with boxes) but once we got it together he was ready to go.  Folding the seats, trying to take off the canopy, pushing it and just trying to figure it all out.  I am hoping the rain in our forecast will move through quickly so we can get some walks in before the snow heads this way!!  Then it will be wagon walks through the house, garage and basement for us!

DIY Ruffle Tree Skirt

Pinterest has sucked me in to being crafty once again!!  We decided to pull all of our Christmas decor up from the basement this weekend and it got me thinking that I was ready for a new tree skirt.

I decided before I went out to purchase a new one I would attempt the ruffled DIY I had seen on Pinterest.  (If it turned out a mess...no loss, right?)

So I headed to Hobby Lobby on a fabric search.  My tree is decorated in browns, golds, apple green, deep red with a few splashes of other colors.   I really was not sure what I was going for with the skirt but just decided to keep it pretty simple.  I didnt want sparkle or shine or anything like that. 

Here are the products used to make the skirt.  I used my old tree skirt as the base.

old tree skirt, glue gun, glue sticks, scissors, 5 yars of fabric

I got a total of 5 yards of fabric combined.  3 of the print and 2 of the solid.  I cut my fabric into 4 inch strips.  Once it was cut I started to glue.  I started from the outside and worked my way in.  I would glue down a little, then ruffle, and repeat.  Make sure to overlap your rows a little!

This step went on for a few hours with many breaks throughout.  And here is my final product!

Overall I am really happy with it!  Once I have it around my tree I may decided I do want to add a little shine after all.  If that is the case I may add a think layer between existing layers of some shimmer..but that is really only if I can find a fabric that will work!!

Hope to have my tree done this week and will post pics of the skirt with tree then!!!

Fall in Love: Fall Colors

I love the colors of fall.  Everything from the scenery outdoors to apparel.  My home is decorated in mostly fall colors.  I find them so warm, comfy and welcoming.

Source: photocardboutique.com via Beth on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

this photo is actually taken at the bridge down the road from me (I was not the photographer)

Source: scrapbooksetc.com via Penny on Pinterest

Source: awelltraveledwoman.tumblr.com via Lea on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Lynn on Pinterest

Source: homestoriesatoz.com via Kris on Pinterest

Head on over and visit Heather at Big City Belle and link up!