Little Red Wagon First Birthday Party

After years of totally lame parties, we finally scored a fun, clever first birthday party--it sure helps that Travis is happy and cute!

The Theme

I didn't like the traditional party accessories that I kept running across; I wanted something a little bit different, something simple and classic, so I did a lot of research. It took awhile, but then I found two things that helped solidify the theme.

1. Trav's birthday gift from Pappaw
2. Several other mom's blog posts who had done parties with related themes, and encouraged me that it was possible to do it myself.

Our theme centered around the classic little red wagon. I created banners using scrapbook paper of sky, sand, grass, pebbles, denim, and wooden fences to create an outdoorsy feel.  I made cupcake toppers using the same design as the banners, but smaller and glued onto toothpicks.

Cupcakes

Then I decided on decorating cupcakes. Taking several cupcake decorating classes was very helpful, but I knew I wanted something simple. Using just a couple of colors and a few different decorating tips, I created green grass and white peaks sprinkled with red sugar and sparkly fairy dust. For Travis' special cupcake, I made a jumbo red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. I thought it was appropriate since I discovered and fell in love with red velvet cake while I was pregnant with Travis (because he didn't like chocolate!).

He had such a fun time tearing apart the cupcake and making a huge mess.

Gifts

By now, I'm sure you're wondering about that gift from Pappaw! It was  a little red Radio Flyer sports coupe. Absolutely adorable. Travis LOVES it! The other kids took turns driving him around the house in it.

As I was trying to think of a birthday gift from Ken and I, I thought how fun it would be to have a little gas pump to go along with the car. But I didn't want to spend much money, so Ken suggested I go online to get a little inspiration on how to make one. Surprisingly, I only found one reference to a homemade gas pump, so I used it for the basic idea, but embellished the idea for a truly unique homemade gift. I'll tell you how I did it in a separate blog post, but for now, here's some teaser photos.

Several months ago, I began a project that took such a long time to complete that it became Travis' second birthday gift. Using a robot theme and coordinating scrapbook paper, I made a matching game.

I took 12 pieces of ready-made craft wood, and decoupaged  rectangles of paper on both sides. One side is all the same design, while the other side has 2 each of 6 designs. I then embroidered a robot onto a little pouch that holds all of the wooden rectangles. It is a little old for him yet, but he'll be able to play before we know it.

We had such a fun time celebrating our little man's first birthday with family and close friends. I'd like to thank our amazing friend, Ashley Terry, for capturing the day with such amazing photos. 

One for me, two for Saige...

Lately, Travis has discovered that feeding Saige is more fun than feeding himself. So now, he throws his food on the floor and giggles when she picks it up. I've started making her sit outside the kitchen until he's finished making a big mess, but today I was a big softie and let her in while I ran to get my camera. Here are some videos of the two buffoons.

Enjoy!

Day 3 of the Nursing Strike

So, here we are at day 3 of the nursing strike. It started Tuesday morning after Travis bit me 3 times, and I told him no and put him on the floor to play. I didn't realize it was a strike until Tuesday evening when I thought back over how little he ate all day and the big fit he threw when I tried to feed him dinner. We've been using bottles because any time he thinks I'm trying to feed him, he starts screaming and crying like he's being tortured. So here we are...and my heart is breaking.

Sure, I know he still loves me; he follows me around the house like a puppy, and cries when I get too far ahead. He crawls towards me when I'm on the floor, and wants to be held while he plays with his toys. I know it's not a rejection of me. I know he's scared, teething, and in pain, and doesn't want to keep biting me. But there's a difference in knowing all that, and then listening to his screams, and watching his little lip pucker and the tears start when I try to cuddle him. I'm trying to be patient and upbeat, but surely he knows something is wrong, and my distress continues to keep him away.

I had planned to wean early, but I hadn't planned to wean at 8 months, and certainly not like this. He still can't drink regular milk, and I worked so hard to get him off of formula in his first few months that I refuse to put him back on it for 4 more months (until he's 12mos and can drink milk). Since I am an information gatherer, I've already done tons of research to discover what is going on and what I should do. Babies don't self-wean before a year, so I know it's not that. It's likely that he got scared after he bit me and I yelped. The prevailing suggestion is to have patience. Great, just what I'm good at, but meanwhile, my heart is breaking and my baby is crying.

Dear God, please let this end soon, and please don't let me give up...

A tea lover's dream

IngenuiTEA teapot from thinkgeek.com

This is not one of those annoying product placement ads like you see on Bones or Castle, this really is the coolest thing. Ken found it, and got it for me for Christmas. It's a 1-cup tea infuser. You put loose tea leaves inside, pour in hot water, let it steep, put it over a tea cup, and there's an ingenious little system on the bottom that drains the tea, but keeps the tea leaves enclosed. If you're a tea lover like me, this thing is awesome. It's great when you don't want to heat up a whole pot of water for just a cup or two of tea.

Anyways, I've been using it more, and realized that I'm getting low on loose tea, which I was shopping for, but then decided to take a break and share this with y'all.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Our First Week

Here we are at the end of our first week home together.  I think it will take some adjustment for us to figure out our schedule, but I think we're on our way. I'm still so excited to be spending time with Travis, and watching him build his little baby skills! Here are some things we enjoyed this week

1. Playing together
2. Cooking and trying new baby foods
3. Meeting another mom and baby at Starbucks
4. Hanging out with wonderful neighbors
5. Playing in the snow
6. Trying to pet Saige
7. Running errands together
8. Meeting Papa when he gets home
9. Snuggling

Travis is learning to sit up, though he still needs help as he topples over pretty easily! He is learning to reach for toys, and of course, put them in his mouth. We enjoyed sweet potatoes and squash this week, and just love learning to eat! Travis can't wait to hold his spoon and feed himself. He can be such a serious boy, and we just love watching his little brain work hard to process what he sees. 

Bastrop and Austin got snow this week, and we took Travis out in it for a few minutes. Here are some pictures. The snow was fun, but I sure can't wait for spring!