March 31

Tomorrow my baby boy will turn one.

I cannot believe that he is already one years old and how many changes this little 20 (or so) pound body has gone through. He has been walking since mid-February so it has seemed that he turned into a toddler the moment he started walking all the time, but I cherish the snuggle moments that remind me of when he was more of a baby.

As I write this post, he is sitting with me at the table eating a waffle, green grapes and craisins, his breakfast of choice today, and kicking his left foot and giving me a big smile while I sing "Happy Birthday" so he isn't scared by the song tomorrow. And lets be serious, I like his reaction.

Enjoying blueberry pancakes, his all-time favorite breakfast

William prefers books to toys lately, which I am not discouraging. He loves to chase our cat ("Jay"), baskets and boxes, anything that can carry other things. Oh and trucks, he already says "tucks" and "tees" when looking outside. He is definitely his Daddy's boy. He gets excited looking out the window and waving to anything that moves. He loves the loud noises that come from our neighbor's house who is a landscaper (the mowers, weed wackers, etc). He loves taking walks in the wagon that his Daddy used to ride in.

He also loves hummus, yogurt and strawberries, I think he'd eat them all day if I let him. He has started spoon feeding himself pretty well when I give him the opportunity. He is a hit when we are out in public as he waves and talks to everyone we see. It is so much fun to go out with him and sometimes we'll see a playground and just stop and play for awhile.

Tomorrow we are having a party for him with close family and friends and his playgroup buddies, so about 25 adults and 10 one-year olds. Hopefully one day he will appreciate all the thought and craftiness I put into his little red wagon 1st birthday, but for now, I just want him to have fun, eat cake for the first time and play.

Oh and always stay my little boy…..

Tagging away

In regards to the title of this post, I don't mean tagging pictures on Facebook. This time I am tagging clothes for our local TotSwap children's consignment sale. You know that I am a frequent consignment shopper (another post next week about my latest finds) and I decided to go through William's clothes and sell some of them.

This was a hard process because both my husband and I look at outfits and think about what he did wearing that, the pictures, etc. And yes, we do want more children so I decided to sell items that I don't have an attachment to, items that I won't miss if we have another boy who manages to be the same size in the same seasons. So, you won't find any cute Children's Place cargo shorts with my tags on them, but there are some cute things, just not items I'm going to really miss. Not yet anyway.

Cinnamon Apple Croissant {recipe}

My friend Stevie posted a recipe she found on Pinterest (she loves Pinterest) for Cinnamon Apple Croissants. When I saw them, I started to drool and made them soon after. Actually, Stevie's oldest brother was at our house visiting the weekend I made these. Always try to do something a little different when guests are in town! I'm linking to the original recipe and just going to share my pictures with you.

Made by Me Monday: Vinyl Gifts

I recently made two small vinyl projects with my Cameo that I want to share today.

The first is a sporadic window decal I designed when I found out an old friend of mine completed the Disney Princess half marathon 20 weeks pregnant. Go Kate!!

And the second is you guessed it, a gift for William's Grandpa. What grandparent wouldn't like a personalized frame with a photo of their sweet, sweet grandchild for their birthday?! :) 

We got him a ticket to go to William's first Baltimore Orioles game this summer with Brad, hence the reason William is wearing an Orioles shirt in the picture, but of course you can't see the logo. Oh well, I tried!

Slacking Off

Ready for my no posting excuses?

1. My husband was out of town Friday-Sunday last week packing my moms house since she is moving near us
2. I spent 4.5 hours Sunday getting care for William so we could unload the 26 ft moving truck into a storage unit
3. The temperature has been +72 degrees each and every day this week so William is playing outside, going on walks and going to playgrounds like never before. And of course as his mother, I must chaperone him :)
4. I am hosting a bridal shower on Saturday and am busy crafting decorations and gifts and favors
5. I am going to Atlanta Thursday-Sunday and am very concerned about how I will feel leaving William for more than 24 hours so I'm soaking up all the time with him I can this week
6. My mom is moving in (temporarily). Clearing out the guest room and bathroom, etc
7. William's birthday party is in two weeks. Actually, can't use that as an excuse because I haven't been working on his stuff :(

I Miss Sophie

Am I the only adult who feels bad that Woody and Buzz Lightyear end up in the bottom of Andy's toybox and the closet when he "gets too big" for them in Toy Story? I didn't think so. We now have that ex-favorite toy in our house and it makes me sad to say that it is Sophie. If you have never heard of Sophie and are a parent, please excuse me, but what planet are you on (just kidding…sort of)? No I did not buy William a $30 "chew toy," but someone else did and after seeing how much he loved it, I'd be happy to spend the money for future children. So here's a breakdown of Sophie's benefits:

Sophie was a our always a hit toy. She came in the car, was a staple in the diaper bag/purse/daddy's coat pocket in the summer and fall…

…and then she wasn't. Right now William is going through his toybox and pulling out practically every single toy except Sophie. This makes me sad. He is getting so big and wants toys that are more engaging and exciting, and I suppose he is too young to remember all the fun adventures Sophie took with him. This Momma is sad :(

By the way, did you read the article in the WSJ about William's beloved giraffe? I'm two days behind so I hadn't read it before this post.

Spring Bunting

It is 12:30pm and I just finished a cute and quick 30 minute project. This week's Made by Me Monday was actually made on Monday…fun.  I figured since William is at Mother's Day Out I would take full advantage of my time alone and do a craft instead of clean. Much better option, right? In an effort to add some spring to our house, I went into my fabric box and cut some triangle pennants.

I did not measure them, just eyeball-ed it. I recently made precisely measured pennants for William's upcoming birthday party so I knew I wanted these to be smaller. Thats the best "measurement" I can give you :) I also cut two long thin pieces of scrap fabric to act as bias tape. Then I sewed it all together.

Wa-la! Simple, but sweet springtime bunting for our entryway (or dining room or wherever I decide to keep it). This may also be the only way I am permitted to decorate with pink!

Please ignore the random stuff on the table. Working on William's 12m frame and transitioning from Winter decor to Easter/spring/birthday!

Deals of the Week

(edited on Sunday, 3/4)
I got a few good deals this week that I wanted to share! The first were at the grocery store. I go to Harris Teeter and am a member of their e-VIC program so I get additional unmarked deals emailed to me every few days. This week I got Hot House tomatoes on the vine for $0.99/lb (normally $2.99/lb) and full size Aquafresh toothpaste for $0.97 each, a savings of $5.36 since I bought two.

Today I went to the Montgomery County Moms of Multiples Consignment sale and got a few cute things for William although unfortunately overall I was underwhelmed by the selection. Unlike this trip to a consignment store. William's new things are in his room right now and he is asleep so I can't get a picture, but will try tomorrow!

The highlights were two pairs of shoes: a pair of brown Teva sandals for $2 (average retail $30) and a pair of NEW brown casual/dress shoes from the Children's Place for $5 (shoes start at $19.95). I also got a cute navy blue bucket hat with embroidered green alligators dinosaurs for the summer for $1 and a few other pieces of clothing including new Baby Gap overalls. Oh, and can't forget four Dr Brown's 8oz bottles for $1.50!

I was pleased with what I purchased for $21! Two more sales coming up this month thanks to TotSwap!