A Sneak Peek and a Genius Idea

On Friday, a certain little boy is going to turn one so we're preparing to celebrate Very Hungry Caterpillar style. I'm having to refrain from posting pictures of all the decorations before the actual party, but here's a sneak peek of one...

And while I was Pinteresting this party, I came across this genius idea--using The Very Hungry Caterpillar as a guest book! Because one year olds don't have much in the way of opinions about birthday party themes,  I think it'd be a fun tradition to always do one from a kids book, and what better way to remember who was at the party than having everyone sign a copy of the book the party was based on? Unfortunately I didn't see this idea until yesterday, so Timmy's party didn't have one. Which is probably okay because his big party was for his second birthday, not his first, due to us moving two days after he turned one, and the whole house warming/birthday party never happening...ahem.

A picture-full post will be coming as soon as we've recovered from the festivities!

Goodbye, Jabberwocky

One of my favorite features of our house is our patio. It's right off the living room, surrounded by a small wall and perfect for summer evenings, as well as playing with the boys. Although I do confess that it frequently houses toys, Timmy's trike and other random items, such as the colorful creature affectionately named the Jabberwocky.

Timmy (15 months) and the Jabberwock (the best photo I could find)

A few days ago, I noticed a (presumably) friendly black Lab had hopped over the wall and was on the patio. Knowing Timmy's love for dogs, I got him from the other room and showed him the puppy from behind the safety of the glass (because as this two year old knows, dogs are much better observed from a distance). By the time I got Timmy, the dog was in our yard and I didn't think much of it. I later saw on a community alerts Facebook page that several people had seen it wandering around our area, skittish and with no collar.

Some time later when the boys were sleeping, I noticed the dog walking down the street in front of our house...carrying the Jabberwocky in its mouth! So goodbye, dear Jabberwock...you will be missed and hopefully your new owner won't destroy you.

BLW, My New BFF

Timmy's introduction to solid food was through the traditional route of purees. I had planned to make all his food, but to be honest, I wasn't a fan of doing that (which is weird, because I like cooking). So he ate a combination of homemade food and jarred food, along with plenty of Greek yogurt to help him chub up.

I knew that when Isaac was born, I'd have to make a larger percentage of his food, because taking two babies to the store every time we needed baby food was too impractical. For the first 8 months of life, Isaac basically refused anything but breastmilk. He showed all the signs of being ready for solid food--sitting up, mashing his jaw, grabbing at our plates and watching us eat--but try to give him anything on a spoon and he just wanted to eat the spoon. Since both Chris and I were way more relaxed the second time around, we figured he'd eat solid food eventually...I was just hoping for sooner rather than later, because I could tell he was waking up at night due to hunger. (15 minute nursing sessions at 2 a.m....not my idea of a grand time.)

I'd heard of Baby Led Weaning (BLW) and understood the philosophy behind it (teaching babies to chew and then swallow) but was convinced it was a choking hazard waiting to happen. Finally, at the encouragement of a friend, we tried it. I'm pretty sure the first food Isaac had was banana (though it may have been avocado) and people, it's awesome. I didn't read any books on the subject and only read a tiny bit online; we just did it and I am so thankful we gave it a try. We cut things like bananas and avocados into finger sized pieces and let him chow down. Now that he's a bit older, some foods are cut into more bite sized pieces. So far Isaac has loved just about everything he's tried. His favorites are avocados (he'll eat an entire one for dinner without hesitation), bananas, refried beans and shredded cheese.

Warning: BLW may result in super cute children wearing avocado on their noses

My one complaint about BLW is the mess. Oh, the messes that little boy can make. I put a towel under his highchair to help with the need to sweep multiple times a day, and I've heard that it does get better, but let's just say that he's needed a bath after dinner more than once because of food in his hair or eyebrows.

And that whole fear of choking? There have only been one, maybe two times where I was genuinely scared that he was choking on something. I remember being scared much more frequently when Timmy was transitioning from purees to real solid food.

I'm hoping the rest of our babies take this easily to BLW, because it's been wonderful for our family. No thawing baby food, needing to run to the store and buy some or make sure we have a jar or cubes with us when we go somewhere. (I do try to bring a banana or avocado along if I know we'll be out of the house and eating something he can't have due to not having enough teeth, etc.) Timmy also loves eating bananas, and I like being able to buy one food that both my boys can eat.

The Pom-Pom Game

I've been looking for some quiet time activities for Timmy to do, especially for when he stops napping but I want to encourage him to rest. Or when he needs to sit still someplace...or I need a break. While visiting some friends over Christmas, I saw something similar to this and combined a couple of Pinterest ideas and came up with The Pom-Pom Game.

The Pom-Pom Game

I took an old sour cream container and removed the writing with nail polish remover (thank you, Pinterest). I debated covering it with some scrapbooking paper or even painting it, but then decided to just go simple and used stickers.

Next I made pom-poms in a variety of colors. Then I cut holes in the lid for them to be stuck in the container. I had to make them a little bigger than I planned, since Timmy's fingers tended to get stuck.

Timmy loved it and proceeded to refill and empty it at least four times in a row. I love that I was able to make it with things I already had on hand and that it's been enjoyed already!

Building a Party

I started writing this forever ago and wanted to add a picture of the invites before publishing, but I can't find the one I saved for his scrapbook. So this is just an invitationless post. So sorry.

Breaking my blogging silence to document one of the (many) projects consuming my spare time...Timmy's second birthday party. (Can I just pause for a moment in shock that my oldest is TWO?)

Timmy is 100% little boy and into saws/building, trucks, trains and guitars right now. Since he turns everything (books, toast, hammers, etc.) into saws, I thought tools would be a fun theme. I did some Pinteresting (can we all just agree it's a verb?) and this is what we ended up with...

Sandwiches

Chips & salsa

Chocolate chip cheesecake dip & graham crackers

Carrot and celery sticks with Ranch

Cheez-it snack mix

The whole spread

Timmy's Workshop saw sign and photo wall

Timmy recognizing the cakes as saws made the party a success

We brought Chris' saw clock in from the garage and I cut out the
sign on my Silhouette

Favors were cookies (using these cookie cutters) with royal icing.

"I thought about blogging, too."

Those were my words to Chris when he told me he was thinking about starting a blog to document his boat building progress. I decided to do one step better, though, and actually blog. Please, don't die from shock. We are all alive and well here, filling our days with the world's cutest boys, books, diapers, nursing, running, church, Bible study, knitting, crafting, cooking, cleaning and even on occasion sleeping.

Sadly, I am currently blogging from the touch pad which means lots of typos and (worst of all) no pictures of said adorable children. Just take my word that they are darn cute. Isaac is crawling now, putting everything into his mouth, which sometimes includes food but more often than not is something I have to fish out before he swallows it. (Actually, he is a good little eater, thanks to my new BFF, Baby-Led Weaning.) He's nearly 10 months old, a fact which just about sends me into shock.

Timmy would spend all day in the garage with Chris if he could. He's obsessed with saws, trains, trucks, music (specifically the flute and guitar), his Songs for Saplings CD, Duplos and balls. Despite being all boy, he loves helping me the kitchen and will still snuggle us, given the appropriate amount of tiredness and stuffed animals nearby. He turned 2 last month, and I really do have a post about his party nearly finished.

Chris built amazing bookshelves for our living room and is currently working on an entryway unit to house our coats, scarves, shoes, etc. He also allows me to beat him in Settlers from time to time. He's a wise man, my husband. We celebrated 3 years of marriage in September, and I'm thankful for every day by his side.

If I could compose, edit and add pictures to all the posts I write in my head, this blog wouldn't be so neglected. Alas, my time at the computer is usually spent on Pinterest or actually typing a response to an email instead of pecking it out on my phone. Evenings are my crafting and knitting time and when you have a house still begging to be made home, the projects are endless but (mostly) enjoyable. Who knows, maybe I'll finally get better about blogging and even update my currently reading sidebar. Now that would be a miracle!

Real Life

It's 10:15 p.m. and my husband and both boys are sleeping (which yes, begs the question why am I still awake?), but I'm really close to finalizing the photos for my long-dreamed of and nearly finished gallery wall. So while they sleep, I'm enjoying the soft whir of the fan and clicking through snapshots, trying to find the perfect pictures to frame. One of my goals is to keep the pictures real. None of them are professional photos (though some by my Dad come close), and I keep telling myself that's okay. I want the photos on our wall to be just a glimpse of the wonderful, messy and sometimes chaotic life we have.

I came across this photo and nearly cropped the laundry basket out, but then I remembered that life is laundry and little boys and Eric Carle books, and I decided to leave it in, showing life as it really is.