E's party - the decor

We had E's party the weekend before Labor Day and it turned out so great! (Or at least I think it did) This post will just be the decor because I took way too many pictures. The theme for the party was a Pink Lemonade party. I had so much fun decorating for it!

This was her invitation to the party. I got her invitations, cupcake toppers, and party favor tags from this shop on Etsy. I loved how they all turned out and the lady has lots of different party themes to choose from and she is less expensive than a lot of the other Etsy shops out there. 

About a month ago, I walked up to Jason and showed him a lemonade stand that I found on Pinterest that I needed him to make for E's party. He was a good man and took a Sunday afternoon to make it. It turned out great and was so excited I got to use it as a photo prop for the party. 

 I made this birthday wreath for the front door and this was the inspiration behind it. I love that I will be able to use for future birthdays and get to hang it every year!

This was in our front entry way. I had the party favors there for the kids, and then the Happy Birthday book that I had everybody sign for E to read when she is older.

 Where the plates and little kids drinks were at in the kitchen 

The fun mason jars for the adults to drink lemonade 

Lemonade!

The food table. We had chicken fingers, taquitos, chips and salsa, and fruit and veggies. I didn't get a good picture of the cupcakes on the side but I made them. They were chocolate coconut flavored and dairy free!

The wall of pictures shaped in a one

 

And because I just couldn't resist a picture of the birthday girl!

( Fabric tutu and onesie made by me, and the bow and headband are from Hobby Lobby)

ONE YEAR!!!

*This is going to be really long but its really just for me and documentation so I don't blame you if you don't read all the way through *

Dear E,
You are one year old (on Tuesday)! How did that happen?! I can't believe it. It feels like yesterday that we were bringing you home from the hospital - scared and excited to start this parenting journey with the most precious beautiful baby. This year has flown by, and I have treasured each and every day with you. Although some days are rough and aren't always roses, you are a joy and I thank God every day that he gave you to us. E, your name means "My God has answered me" and God answered us in ways beyond what we could ask or imagine with you. God knew the right time and place to bless us with a baby, and we can't imagine our lives without you. You were meant to be in this family. You have stretched me and made me grow in so many ways this year. I have this urgent and strong desire to show you the ways of the Lord, and I pray every day that you will come to know him at an early age and never know a time of rebellion. I know that I'm not perfect but always remember that God never fails AND that my love for you is so strong. It is a fierce love that only a mother or father can have for their child. You are a precious gift and you are so so so loved. Today is such a bittersweet day for me. While I'm excited that you are one and know that this next year is going to bring so many more fun and exciting things for you, I am sad because it means you aren't my little baby anymore. I know the years will continue to go by so fast and I just want to freeze time and hold you tight. Words cannot express my love for you.

You still love to walk everywhere and do a little "running" which usually results in you falling but you don't seem bothered by it. You just don't ever stop moving =) Although you will sit still for a few minutes to play with a toy, you are off again very quickly! You are still trying to climb on things but thankfully right now that your legs are just too short to climb up on anything besides your rocking chair without help from one of us. You are my little explorer. I have taken you outside in the front yard and you just take off down the sidewalk and point at everything. You still love to dance and do it all day long. I just love watching your personality grow. You are full of life and spunk and are so full of energy. You get excited over the smallest of things and are interested in everything. I hope that you will always keep your zeal for life. You have the sweetest little spirit.

You continue to love books and now will turn the pages in them. Board books you are really good at and with the paper ones, we have to be a little more careful with them =). I've been putting books in your crib when you wake up too early to get up but refuse to go back to sleep,  and you will sit in your crib and flip the pages. Favorite books this month: Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre board books and this snowflake book that has raised snowflakes on it. You also like the Charlie and the Christmas Kitty book because you like to point at Charlie and give him kisses. Favorite toys: your popper (that looks like a vacuum), balls, and your ride on bike. You still love the laundry basket and loved to be pushed in it. You love to take things in and out of containers and do it ALL THE TIME. In and out. In and out. All day long =). You still love to give hugs and kisses to us and to Lucye and we love to receive them! You will hug your stuffed animals and snuggle with blankets - it is the most adorable thing. You love to sit in your rocking chair in your room. You will rock back and forth but lately you have decided that standing up in it is more fun which promptly ends our time in the chair. You LOVE balloons. We go to a grocery store that has balloons everywhere and you get so excited and point to them the whole time we are there. You also got your very own balloon when we went to Party City the other day and you carried that balloon around for days.

Not a lot of new foods that we tried this month. You tried cantaloupe, tortillas, and a cupcake at your birthday party. You really didn't care for cupcake and didn't really want to put it in your mouth! Maybe you won't be a sweets person but I'm sure you will try them again at some point =). You still love to feed yourself and you have become really really interested in whatever mom or dad is eating and want to have whatever we are having and sometimes you can't. You have 2 teeth now!!! They broke through within days of each other. Your little two teeth smile is the cutest thing! You are talking up a storm this month. Imitating sounds and wanting to know what everything is in the room. You said "Bow" this month! You pointed to all your bows on your wall and said it. I was so proud. Now you say it all the time. You love your bows. You don't always like to wear them though. You also can say balloon or "baba" when you point to it and you can point to a dog in a picture and say something that sounds like dog. You understand SO MUCH. You can sign "please" now and use it all the time. You will point to the fan and do a spin with your finger to show me that it's spinning and will also wave your arm around when you see a fly because you've seen me do it. You know where your ear and belly are and can point to them pretty consistently, and we are working on nose, eyes, and head.

You LOVE to be outside. You bring me your shoes often during the day and will sit in my lap so I can put them on. You have ventured out on the grass and don't seem to mind it. I think its just a little uneven at times which makes it harder to walk. You still love bath time but lately have wanted to try to stand up in the tub. You love it when I run the vacuum. You will just watch me vacuum and get so upset when I turn it off.

Cute things you are doing:
-you love for me to chase you with your ball popper. You will bring it to me and then walk off and look back to see if I am chasing you with it. So funny!
- Love to look at the pictures on the refrigerator. I pick you up and then you just point at all the pictures so that I can tell you who is in them
-Like to mimic yawns - if you see one of us yawn you will stop and open your mouth really wide and then it usually turns into a real yawn for you
- know where the puffs are in the pantry and will point to the door during meal times because you want them
- love to drag around big blankets and towels around the house
- you love to turn the light switches on and off
- if you see something you don't like on your tray you will just throw it off on the floor and continue on like nothing happened
- can mimic this dance that you have seen on Teen Beach Movie (yep it was on once and you saw it and thought it was the coolest thing - don't judge me one day)
-you love steam when I'm cooking and think it is really cool to watch
- hand me food off your tray while you are eating
- love to stick out your tongue and wait for us to stick ours out and then try to touch it
- love for me to take all your bows off the bow holder and hand them to you one by one. You play with each one for a minute and then drop it and ask for another one.

Firsts this month:
First cupcake

First time at the splash park

You are still doing 2 naps a day and go to bed between 7-7:30. You wake around 6:30 in the morning. You nurse 3- 3 1/2 hours and eat 3 meals a day. I'm sure we will be weaning you soon (which makes me sad). You are wearing 12 month clothing but can still fit into some 9 month onesies. You are 29 inches and 22 pounds. You wear size 3 diapers when you wear disposables but have switched to size 4s at night time. You are wearing a size 4 shoe but I think you are outgrowing them and need to move up soon.

Oh E what a joy you have been this past year. Your dad and I have loved watching you grow and love to see who you are becoming. We pray that you will always know that we love you but most importantly that God loves you and sent his Son to die for you. Know and believe that truth. We love you our sweet precious beautiful girl. Thank you for the most wonderful year. We look forward to more!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Six on Saturday

I didn't have time to get a post together for Five on Friday yesterday so I decided to do it today. I added another point to keep with the alliteration of the title. =)

1. Tomorrow is our SIXTH anniversary. We don't have anything major planned but I'm just glad we are going to spend it together. We thought about going to a nice dinner together but then remembered that I'm on a dairy free diet so we don't have really any choices (womp womp)

2. Duck Dynasty started on Wednesday! I was dying laughing as Si was taking Miss Kay and Phil all over the place to be a distraction. It was hilarious.

3. Jason finished the lemonade stand for E's party next Saturday. It looks so great and I'm so excited. I plan on using it for a photo op but haven't figured out where I am going to put it in the house yet.

4. E and I went to Party City on Wednesday and while in the store, she started having this crying fit. One of the employees felt so sorry for her and went to go get her a balloon. E was happy for the rest of the trip and has carried it everywhere in the house with her for the last 3 days. So cute and funny.

5. I ordered E an amber necklace for her teething problems. We will see how it works.

6. The weather in the mornings the past couple of days has been phenomenal. It has made me so ready for fall!!! Football, pumpkins, boots, and long sleeves. Yes please.

Weekend Recap

Recap of my weekend in 4 bullet points:

• Friday, E thought it was more fun to be sweet and cute than to take an afternoon nap. 

• Saturday, we had a shrimp boil over at our house with some good friends of ours, Ryan and Amy and one of their kids. The food and company were great. 

• We tried to go the early service at church on Sunday morning, but when we got there, the nursery was full. Instead of hanging out in the cry room with E for the second weekend in a row, we decided to just go back home. We stopped for coffee at Roots (my fave new coffee place) and E and I had a photo shoot. 

• Jason spent his afternoon making a lemonade stand for E's birthday party. He must love me and E very much because he isn't a big fan of doing this stuff all the time. He cut all the wood and painted it. He has most of it done and is finishing it up tonight. I can't wait to show you the finished product!

In a nutshell a great weekend for the our family. 

FIve on Friday!

1. Every time I look at this picture it makes me laugh. If you follow me on Instagram (ebethr) then you have already seen it. This how E likes to chill through Target. Shopping cart cover tucked around her, leaned back, leg out and her sock off. She doesn't do this at any other place than Target. Cracks me up.

2. We went to the splash park for the first time yesterday. Overall, E enjoyed it and only a few times freaked out because the water got too much in her face.

3. We are in full on planning mode for E's first birthday party. (I almost cried typing that sentence). It's coming up soon and I'm so excited. We decided on a Pink Lemonade theme,  and I hope it turns out cute.

4. We just booked our place to stay in Galveston for Our Family Vacation 2013 next month. I'm excited to get away as a family. Now just need to figure out fun things to do with a 13 month old. Any ideas?

5. I signed up for this bible study on Monday and I am beyond excited. I have done some of her bible studies before and have been so blessed by them. If you live in the DFW area, sign up for this bible study. The evening study is full but there is some morning slots still open and you can follow along by yourself as well and print the book and listen to the audio online.

Hope you have a great weekend!

11 months!

Dear E,
Oh my sweet girl, I can't believe you are one month away from being one! Time is going by so fast. I just want to freeze everything right now because you are just so fun and so precious. You are so loved by your daddy and me, and we have had so much fun with you with this month. We thank God every day for you and we are blessed by you!

YOU ARE A WALKER!! You walk everywhere and you keep me busy busy busy. You go from one thing to the next and can go from one room to another in no time. I look away for 2 seconds and you are gone! Ha! The only time you really sit still is when I put you in the pack and play so I can get dinner cooking or something. I wouldn't have it any other way. You are so curious and just want to engage and get into everything. I love that about your personality. You are full of life, spunk, and energy1 You definitely have to be told "no" with things during the day (the dog food and plugs are major ones) because you want to try everything out but most of the time it doesn't end up with a complete meltdown. You have even started to attempt to climb on things. The only thing you can get up on without help is your rocking chair in your room. You climb up and turn around and sit down and smile because you are so proud of yourself.

You still LOVE to dance and LOVE music! Taylor Swift music (especially the Enchanted song) can calm you down in a snap. You will just lie your head down on my shoulder and be completely chill while that song is playing. It is sooo precious. You love it when mommy or daddy dances with you too. You still love your books and now will bring us books and then look at us and wait for us to read them to you. Sometimes you will stay and listen to the whole book and sometimes you don't =). Your favorite books are Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you hear?, Doggies by Sandra Boynton, and the baby version of Pride and Prejudice. Favorite toys this month: your push/ride toy, shape sorter, and stuffed animals. I have a given you a play remote that doesn't work and you still love to look at my phone too. You LOVE to take things out of boxes, containers etc. You can now open all your drawers in your dresser and you will pull out all your socks and pajamas. You are starting to put things back into containers but you will only do about 1-2 things before you start taking them back out or move on to the next thing. You are really into hugging things. People, stuffed animals, and Lucye are things that you hug all the time. You will run up to us and grab our legs and just hug our legs really tight. You will also give us hugs when we hold you too. We soak them up and absolutely love them! I hope you never stop giving us hugs!

We didn't try a lot of new foods this month but you are pretty much completely on finger foods now. You get oatmeal with a fruit puree in the mornings for breakfast but other than that you eat finger foods. New foods this month: watermelon, strawberries, kiwi, and pumpkin bread. I made some vegan pumpkin bread and you absolutely love it. Sometimes you will even skip over the meat to eat it first! You almost have a tooth! You have been teething a lot this month and we noticed a little opening in your gums a couple of days ago. You won't have a toothless grin much longer. You are "talking" a lot this month. Lots of babbling and attempts to imitate. You said "quack, quack" after me one time when I was making the duck sound. You now say "da" for Daddy and it is purposeful. Your daddy eats that up! You continue to amaze me with how much you understand. You now point to things constantly so I can tell you all the things in the room.

Your separation anxiety has gotten better this month but you still like me to be nearby if possible. You have started playing peek a boo this month by actually putting something up to cover up your face first and then making noises until I ask you where you are and then you take it down. It is so funny and cute! You love to go outside and stare out the back door often. You haven't decided if you like the grass or not but you will walk all around our back porch for as long as I let you. You have even brought me your shoes because you want to go outside. You can now put the stars on the stalker but you only like to do one at a time.

Cute things you are doing this month:
- You will run away if we say that we are coming to get you and laugh and laugh. Then you will fall down and roll over onto your back to wait for us to tickle you.
- You kiss the phone during our morning FaceTime with Daddy
-You try to turn on your sound machine with your foot because you have seen me do it countless times.
- Love the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse hot dog song. I don't let you watch TV but I put that on to distract you while I pump in the mornings.
- Love to show me things and sometimes you will let go of it and sometimes not
- Play peek a boo with curtains, blankets etc.
- You were doing this last month but I forgot to write it down: you will lie your head on me or your dad's shoulder (whoever is holding you) when someone says hi to you and you want to make it very apparent that you do NOT want to be taking from our arms.
Firsts this month:

Your first swim

Your first fourth of July

You have gone down to 2 naps and they can last 30 -90 minutes. You aren't the best napper but I think you think you are going to miss something if you sleep. You go to sleep around 7:30 and wake up at 6:30 every morning. You are nursing every 3- 3 1/2 hours. You are 29 inches long and about 21-22 pounds. You wear 9 month and 12 month clothes. Your 9 month sleepers though you are almost busting out of so we are switching you soon to 12 month ones.

Oh E, you are so special to us. You are such a blessing and we love you oh so much! 

Love, 

Mommy and Daddy

Five On Friday!

1. I watched the Goonies for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and I absolutely loved it! I can't believe it took me 29+ years (ahem ahem) to actually see this movie. I now get all the quotes people have been using from the Goonies for so long.  Baby Ruth?!

2. Jason and I have gotten hooked on 24 on Netflix. How did I not watch this show when it was on TV?! This show is so intense and good. We have about 6 more episodes in the first season left and then I'm pretty sure we will start the second quickly after that. Something is fishy about that Nina character but then I'm probably just paranoid. No spoilers if you have seen it!!

3. Ok maybe I shouldn't admit to this next one but I'm kind of excited about this Disney movie premiering tonight. (Please don't judge me) Teen Beach Movie looks so cute and who doesn't love a clean, wholesome, corny movie once in a while?    "I'm looking for corny in my life" (name that movie)

I just realized my first 3 things have to do with TV and movies. Oy vey. I promise I have a life.

4. I've been looking into new car seats for E since it won't be long before she needs to move up. I was thinking about the Chicco Nextfit. We like our Chicco car seat we have now but I'm open to suggestions. Any moms out there have any car seats that they  just love??!



5. I found a recipe for vegan pumpkin bread and I can't wait to try it out. I think I've mentioned on here before that we think E is allergic to dairy and soy so that means she and I are on a soy and dairy free diet. I really do miss bread so I was really excited when I found this recipe. E will probably get a bite of it too!

Have a fabulous Friday!