Birthday Ensemble

For Brantley's party, I decided to design a party hat, bib and shirt that were all matching. The bib is nearly complete (I have to add the blue trim and tie backs tonight), but here are pictures of the party hat and shirt.


Party Hat:

B modeling the Party Hat:

Shirt:

Happy 1st Birthday, Brantley!

Today you are 1! I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. On Saturday, we will celebrate your birthday with some family and close friends, but the three of us will have a fun day today in celebration.

Here you are all ready for lunch. Just like Daddy, you love McD's chicken nuggets.

ADDED 9/19/11:

Since Sunday was so busy with M's Party, running errands for next weekend and Mommy & Daddy's league, we did cake this evening.

After licking the plate clean, Mommy & Daddy are convinced you liked the cake. We can't wait to see how you will react on Saturday with your Pooh cake.

All Quiet on the Home Front...for now

This weekend (Sunday to be exact) we will celebrate Brantley turning 1! I cannot believe how fast the time has gone, but I am so excited for his first birthday. Next weekend, we will celebrate with our family & friends in a Winnie the Pooh themed party. This weekend we will be more low-key with just a small cupcake and candle and some gifts. I still have his Bib, Party Hat & Shirt to finish, but they are all close to completion so I am no longer stressing. Other than these 3 sewing projects, everything (but food prep & the cake pops) is done for his party. Supermom pulled it off, amazingly.

Gators play their first SEC game tomorrow against Tennessee. I'm looking forward to this game since it should be a slight indication of how strong the team is, but nervous to see the outcome. We have a busy Saturday as usual. Husby has youth bowling to coach, I need to run to the fabric store for a last minute substitution on B's party hat, then we have to finish ordering food for the party, then off to Otown so Husby can pick up a new pair of Vans (shoes), and then we are planning to meet up with my Uncle to watch the game.

Sunday (B's actual birthday), we have some routine errands & food shopping to conquer and then a friend is throwing a party for her son's 2nd birthday at their house so we will probably pop over for a bit. Bowling league in the evening and dinner with friends to end the night.

On Thursday what family that is coming into town for B's birthday should be arriving. Although a little disappointed that Husby's mom & husband cannot be here, but my mom & her boyfriend and Husby's sister are going to be here. After the party, SIL (Husby's sister) and I will start looking for apartments for her and get her all the information to get her registered for classes since she will be moving down by us by November of this year.

Hopefully in the next few weeks, our holiday plans will be finalized. I think at this point we are going to South Carolina for Thanksgiving & Christmas and then Michigan for New Year's since Husby's cousin is getting married and Husby is in the wedding (as a groomsman). We spent a few days at Pcola in July and for me, I think that was enough....way too much stress and drama and possibly because I was not feeling well, I just did not enjoy my time there (which I have not enjoyed my time there the previous 2 times there). Nothing is set in stone yet,so we'll see what ends up happening.

Why Hello!

After much consideration, I have decided to reopen our family blog...it will take some time to update the last few months and pull important blogs from the "other" blog, so please bare with me as the changes occur.

11 Months..in the homestretch

Brantley now is 11.5 months and his birthday (and party) are fast approaching. He has 4 teeth still, although it is speculated he will have another one real soon given his actions and diapers recently. He is pretty much walking with some assistance (leaning on his push cart), walks around and between the couches and coffee table, crawls on his knees, still army crawls and is very vocal. He tends to be more vocal to get our attention or when he wants something we have (such as sweet tea or sometimes our dinner). He is pretty much eating table food cut into small pieces and drinks juice or water with his meals. At lunch, he loves grape jelly on bread and in the mornings he loves his cinnamon waffle. He pretty much can feed himself (within reason). He understands how to use a fork and can put the food in his mouth with his hands (and sometimes with the fork). Spoons are still an issue for him, but he is getting the hang of it little by little each day.
He still takes bottles in the morning and evenings, as well as, bedtime, but we are pushing him to use a sippy cup or strawed cup with his meals and during the mid-day for drinks of juice and water.

He wears most clothes in the 6-9 month range, still some 0-3 pants (since he still lacks a butt) but PJs and most outfits are 6-9. Due to an accident in diaper bag being absent of spare clothes and an unusually messy lunch date, he tried on a pair of 12 month cargo jeans that actually fit (although they hung really low and were slightly baggy).

He continues to be a happy baby, rarely cries for no reason. He is more adventurous each day and loves discovering new places and new things (people, toys, etc.) He has a beaming smile and starts to smile showing his teeth. He also has a mischievous smile versus a normal smile when he is up to no good. He loves to shake his head when you tell him no, dance when there is music on and laugh when we laugh (either at him or something on TV). When Husby gets home from work, they have their own bonding time since I currently teach 3 nights each week. B's attention span is increasing and he is starting to love watching TV or Disney movies whenever we put something on. Lucky continues to be his best friend...he still hugs his face and pets him when Lucky is sleeping on the couch or ottoman. He recently learned to throw the dogs ball, although it is not always he does toss it for them to chase after. Usually he steals it out of Lucky's mouth and taunts him with it, but he does eventually release it.

Documented words include Mama, Yea, Dada, No

Ten Months

We took a few trips this month with B. First, I bowled in the Breast Cancer Tournament one weekend and then 2 weekends later, we went to Louisiana by way of Pcola for a friend's wedding. We stopped in Pcola to visit with Grandma & Grandpa, as well as, meet B's cousin Laurie. It was a long trip especially since B and Husby had some stomach bug and I was still recovering from my cyst issue. Drama as usual on this trip, but we survived and learned lessons for future travels.

July 4th weekend, B cut two top teeth in the matter of 72 hours. He was a little grouchy, but not terrible at all (surprisingly).

Diaper Cakes

As a gift for Husby's brother (& his wife) for the upcoming arrival of their baby girl, my SIL & I designed a diaper cake for them of necessary supplies of diapers, burp cloths and the essential HBA kit. This was our first ever attempt at a diaper cake, and it came out surprisingly good. It was 3 layers of newborn and size 1 diapers, as well as, burp cloths in the center. We used the HBA & bathtime supplies as decoration.

I actually enjoyed doing this, and would not mind doing more cakes in the future. Husby & I have also designed gift baskets for various events (weddings, baby shower, wedding shower, etc.), but I do not have pictures of them sadly.