A Sweet Pink 3rd Birthday

It's definitely hard to believe that Landen's third birthday party has come and gone. It was that very first ladybug party that made me realize how much I *love* planning little birthday parties.

Although the inspiration for this party hit me a little later than I would have liked, I loved it all the same, and it turned out perfectly.

Landen is now at an age where she likes to voice her opinion, so her vote for the birthday party theme was "pink" (and Doc McStuffins...but I vetoed that one). I had been thinking about a "sweets" theme because she has a sweet tooth for sure, but she also loves to listen to the old song "Sugar, Sugar" on the way to daycare. So pink + sweets + sugar = our birthday party theme.

First up, the birthday "cupcake"! We just *had* to have a pink cupcake for the birthday cake. I didn't want any writing on the cupcake so I created the miniature banner for the topper. Cake by Baked to Perfection.

 

Pink chocolate covered popcorn, Smarties, and some purple M & M's were the party favors. I sprayed several mason jars with silver paint and used painter's tape to create striped designs on several of them. They were perfect for treats, silverware and flowers.

 

More pink chocolate covered popcorn to snack on at the party. Here's the recipe - I just turned my white chocolate chips pink with food coloring.

Some delicious dip for the adults to snack on.

 



 Pink lemonade and mason jars to sip from...plus some fun straws.

The birthday banner....please ignore the mini-blinds and no curtains...still waiting on kitchen window treatment inspiration...(if you have any ideas for me, pass them on).

My infamous puff balls...so cheap and easy to make and they add so much fun to the party décor.

Another decoration that has become tradition is several of my Instagrams of Landen throughout the year. I hung them from the mantle this year and framed it with some more puffs. My picture didn't turn out bright enough, so I'll have to try snagging another before I take them down.

 

Also, I created all of the pink/fuchsia carnation bouquets myself and ordered the flowers from Ivy Hutch. The idea came from a Today show segment while I was on maternity leave with Callen.  

How cool is this sidewalk chalk I found while killing time at Meijer one day?! Perfect for the sweets theme.

 

And my beautiful birthday girl. I love this shot of her. She's looking so grown up these days.

It was such a treat to create this birthday party for my special girl. If I could quit my job and plan children's birthday parties for a living, I would. Sadly, I don't think there's much of a market in rural Northwest Ohio for this, so back to teaching I go in September. I am quite excited because I already have a theme picked for Mr. Callen's first birthday party coming up in December. Hehe!

Well, hello, blog....

Here's what's been happening since my last post in March...

Two kids, nice weather, and busy schedules don't leave a lot of time for blogging! Maybe I'll get the hang of it soon.
Oh, and don't even ask me what was going on with Callen's outfit in the six month photo...It must have been quite the busy day, and I just said whatever.

A little project...

I've started a monthly project for myself. It involves taking photos of Callen and adding montly milestones to the photo using Photoshop. At the end of his first year I'll get these photos printed in a book as a keepsake. I saw this somewhere on Pinterest and, so far, have been able to keep up with the task. Over the past week I've been compiling the milestones...and I have to say it would be a lot easier to do them right away (DUH!). I hope to keep up with this as a visual baby book for him to look at later in life.

Here are his first three photos...

Callen is three months old!

My little guy is three months old today! I can't believe he's getting so big. I love seeing his little personality develop. Callen is such a smiley, happy baby it's difficult to do anything but smile when I look at him. Even in the midst of his first double-ear infection this week he was smiling. This was not the case last Sunday night though when he was inconsolable for several hours in the middle of the night. But he's doing much better now as the ear infection and cold/cough don't seem to be bothering him any more.

What's even more surprising than Callen turning three months old today is the fact that I was able to take his three month photos TODAY too. He was quite cooperative after being woken from his nap, stripped, changed and manipulated for various shots. Like I said...happy baby. So I thought I'd share a few images from our shoot.

Such a sweetie.

Checking out a book.

Big sister Landen joined for a few...seconds.

The favorite. This one captures his personality perfectly!

No, his hair is not red. I think it's just the lighting. He's actually keeping his dark hair for now, so we'll have to wait and see if that changes as he grows.

Funny Family Photos

As I was browsing through my holiday and other photos from the past two months I came across some that made me laugh. I thought I'd share them for all to see...

Landen fell asleep in the car and slept on the couch for about an hour. This may be normal for other kids but not for her. Scott and I couldn't stop looking in on her and laughing. :)

This one isn't so bad...just goofy Landen and crying Callen.

These may be my favorites from the holidays. We tried to get a shot of Maimeo and Papa with ALL of their grandkids, and I guess you could say we did...Hayes wasn't interested in sitting on the couch so his dad held him behind it...just like the professionals do (HA!)...

This is my personal favorite. No one looking (except for Ryan who's not even supposed to be in the picture)...

Scott and his Irish babies before the National Championship game (boo hoo on the loss by the way)...this is classic, cheesy Landen.

This was a test shot at Callen's baptism...

 Typical Landen.

 Even more typical photo of our family.   :)

Now it seems like I might be able to start my own silly website like Awkward Family Photos.  :/

Little Nuggets

I thought I'd share some images from Callen's one month(ish) photo shoot. He did a fantastic job - with the help of the ceiling fan - and I can't believe how big he's getting! Love that smile and dimple.

For those that know Landen, you know that she doesn't sit still for longer than about five seconds, so when she was slightly cooperative this morning, I seized the opportunity to get some shots of the two. Excuse the mismatched wardrobe, this is real life and I cannot plan these things! :)

Love Callen's expression here. It's like he's sharing an inside joke with me. I'm not sure what it is though...

 Two of my favorite hands in the whole wide world...

Christmas Recap

Long overdue, I know, but I couldn't NOT post some photos of our Christmas fun. I actually have very few of Christmas morning because we opened our presents EARLY. It was still dark out and the lighting was less than desirable.

Meet Sophie - our very own Elf on the Shelf. Sophie arrived on St. Nick's Day and checked up on Landen each day to report back to Santa. Landen really enjoyed looking for Sophie each morning. Luckily Sophie's hiding spots were pretty easy this year. Some mornings she was even jumping to her new perch as Landen was coming down the stairs.  ;)  Landen was quite upset Christmas morning when Sophie was no longer here...She still asks about her and wishes she could come back sooner.

St. Nick also brought Callen some goodies...

This is one of my favorite photos from the holidays. Nothing better than my favorite little girl with my favorite movie playing in the background. <3

Callen got a swing from Uncle Aaron; although, Landen has laid claim to it so far. She happily opened presents from the swing.

It was tough to get her out of the swing...

 Christmas morning...drawing on her new Magna Doodle.

Another favorite of mine. This is her "excited face". She received a fully loaded baby diaper bag, baby clothes and a baby bed at McCormick Christmas - hence the "excited face".

Just goofing around wearing Daddy's socks...she thought it was hilarious...and so did I.

Liebster Award - Part 1

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Katie, my blog has been nominated for a Liebster Award. No, this is not the blogging equivalent of an Oscar, but it is a way for smaller blogs to get more exposure. 

The first step of the Award is to share 11 things about one's self. So here it goes...

1. I think it's tough coming up with 11 interesting things to say about myself. I think I live a relatively normal life, and I'm not sure much of what I find exciting would interest most others... :)
2. I (like all parents) think my kids are amazingly advanced in their development. No, they are not perfect, but they have their (very) strong points. Just so you know, Landen's is her speech & vocabulary; Callen's is his physical prowess. My favorites of Landen's words are "guacamole" and "tetrazzini". Callen rolled from belly to back at 3.5 weeks...Scott's pretty sure he has a star athlete on his hands.
3. I am a linguistic snob. I dislike when people do not correctly use adverbs (they usually leave off the -ly) and when people use words or phrases that don't make sense. Many times, I just want to say, "Think about what you're saying..."
4. I'm also a publication design snob. If a business uses a possessive apostrophe (Kristie's) incorrectly or distributes a horrifically designed publication, I notice. Most of the public does not, but these companies should really have someone who knows what they're doing design their stuff. I will gladly review any publications sent my way. And as of now, my services are free.
5. While I'm listing my snobbish tendencies, hotel snob should be added to the list. I really appreciate a good, clean, nice hotel room. If the room is less than perfect, I take notice. 
6. Other than these areas, I'm not really a snob. I've been mistaken for one more times than I can count throughout my life. I even heard once or twice that I was "intimidating". I find this hilarious. I am the intimidatee! I have always been a shy person; although, I'm not as shy as I used to be. In girls/women this characteristic is often mistaken for snobbish.
7. I'm pretty proud of my knowledge about sports. I'm no Erin Andrews, but I feel I know more about sports (football, golf, baseball) than my average counterpart. I even enjoy listening to ESPN Radio. Yes, my husband hit the jackpot with me.
8. I really hate daytime TV. If it weren't for HGTV and DIY during this maternity leave, I would have gone crazy. Now I just want to remodel and tear our house apart with all kinds of projects in mind.
9. Speaking of maternity leave, it's almost over, and I'm ok with it. Not that I don't LOVE my baby boy, but this girl is meant to be working outside of the home. I realized this with Landen and have shared my thoughts with many...I could not be a stay-at-home mom, nor could I have a home-based business. I KNOW that caring for a child is a job; however, I get distracted by all of the household things that need to be done (and I get frustrated when I can't "accomplish" any of these things due to caring for my child). I am amazed and in awe of full time SAH moms.
10. Since Katie shared her celebrity encounter, I'll share mine...I met Kenny Chesney, Payton Manning, and Troy Gentry (from Montgomery Gentry) backstage after a concert on my 21st birthday. I was with my friends, Rachel & Jamie, and several of Rachel's friends from UT. The highlight of the night was Kenny singing "Happy Birthday" to me at midnight. Please keep in mind this was nearly ten years ago, and, at the time, Kenny was the equivalent of Luke Bryan....just so you know.
11. One more random thought, I love to read. I just read Hopeless by Colleen Hoover, and it was amazing. This was the first e-book I've ever read. I didn't mind it, but I'm nostalgic for real books. I love being able to turn the pages and share them with friends.

More Liebster posts to come soon!

Teal & Grey

I definitely have a lot of blogging to catch up on! I'm just now uploading all of my photos from Callen's birth along with the holidays and baptism. So look for more posts soon. 

First, I'd like to share some images from Callen's room. I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and I'm sure he'll enjoy it too.

I've been obsessed with the color grey since we started painting the walls of the new house. It's just such a great neutral color. So Scott painted these walls grey...twice. Sometimes it's tough to find just the right shade...

The white crib and dresser look great against the walls and so does this fabulous shade of teal. I found this blanket at Target and the bedding through Amazon.

Next, Landen created these paintings that we hung above the crib. We just used some Crayola kids paint and tape to create these little masterpieces. We may replace or move them someday, but for now they're a nice addition to the room.

I reused these frames that didn't find a home in the new house and added a teal ribbon for hanging. I still need to replace the photos in them with something more appropriate for Callen, but they'll do until I can find just the right pictures.

This gem is from Callen's Godmother, Rachel. I was so excited she got this for him for Christmas and it was a perfect addition to his room. I. LOVE. IT.

His dresser from Ikea along with some storage cubbies and lamp from Target.

Another reused frame from the old house with teal ribbon.

I found these shelves on clearance at Kohls. The duck was actually from Landen's room at the old house, and it did not get put back out here. I thought this shelf was a perfect fit.

Not pictured are an awesome, comfy chair from Ikea and some super cute storage bins from Target. (My pics came out blurry.) One storage bin includes a peacock with teal accents. I'm also in love with this piece as well.