Banners and Baby Books

I am still plugging away at Ryder's party details. I am getting more and more excited!

Today's party planning goal:

Working on Ryder's baby books and making a banner for fireplace.

I want to have his first year books available for our family to look through so I am wanting them to be as up to date as possible. So I have his scrapbook as well as a baby journal for him.

Our baby journal:

It is so sweet to see how much our little man has grown. I am so thankful to have these little memory keepsakes.

Then I wanted to tackle the banner. I wanted to keep it simple, with his name and the color theme so this is what I came up with.

I had all the paper and yarn on hand and I was really pleased with how it came out! It feels like it's coming together a little more each day...

party details...

We are getting really excited about Ryder's birthday/dedication celebration and I will be spending most of this week nailing down little details for the special day while the little man is down for his naps.

Today: Working on kid's party favors and a welcome sign for our door.

Throwing a party with kids in mind is a little new for me. I realize that they need some activities and to keep them in mind when thinking about the food and all the good stuff, and party favors are no exception. So I found these pin wheels at Michael's and thought that they would be a fun little thing to have, but they needed a little tweak...

Before:

After:

We have some other party favors up our sleeves but we have to have a few surprises for the day of, right?

Then, I wanted to have a sign for our front door that would welcome our guests.

So using these paper supplies:

I came up with this:

After the party, it will go in his baby book...

I am getting really excited about celebrating our little guy. Having our close friends and family there will make the day SOOOO special. I just can't wait!

Time with my mom...

My mom took the train out to come and be with us yesterday. It was so nice to have her. Ryder just can't get enough of his Mia...

She gets him laughing and it is the best sound ever!

It's too bad she doesn't like him very much♥.

time with our college friends...

On Saturday, we got together with our close college friends and all of our families. 7 kids total with two on their way. We always have so much fun being with each other and living life together.

The Guys:

The Girls (note that we are out numbered...):

Watching a sunset as a family:

Ryder's first trip to a play ground and down a slide:

(Thrashes, thank you for lending us the hat to keep the little man warm...)

Thank you guys for a wonderful day together!

We love you guys. Thank you for being family to us!

We look forward to MANY more memories together...

perspective

I have been following many of the stories coming from Japan and my heart is broken. Going from earthquakes, to tsunamis, to nuclear plant melt downs... Last week well over 10,000 deaths had been reported and it had been noted that this was the worst crisis since WWII. I fill my days by caring for my happy and healthy family and on the other side of the world, there is such incredible heart ache and loss. As Japan continues to rally against a nuclear crisis and recovery from their natural disasters, our prayers are with them, and their families.

A prayer from my devotion that seemed so appropriate, I really wanted to share it:

How, Oh Lord, can I have hope when this world is such an insecure place?

Natural calamities destroy.

Economic uncertainties abound.

Human beings being killed.

I fear, Lord, that evil will win out in the end.

I worry that my efforts will be for nothing.

I feel overwhelmed by powers beyond my control.

You alone, O Lord, are my hope. You alone are my safety. You alone are my strength. May I-even with my fears and anxieties, my insecurities and uncertainties-swing like a needle to the pole star of the Spirit.

Amen

Ryder's first hair cut!

Yesterday Ryder's Aunt Megan, our sister-in-law (a.k.a. stylist extrodinaire) came over and gave the little man his first hair cut.

Disclaimer: I am just going to say it, I was a child who's mother cut her hair and for those of you who have known me or have seen the photos, Justin Beiber had nothing on me. I was all bangs and I swear my pony tail consisted of maybe 3 strands of hair (OK 5...) No little girl should have what appears to be sideburns at 4 years of age... I am just saying, so you have to know that I was only going to let a professional touch Ryder's hair. Mom, I love you and you have so many gifts and talents, but using sheers is not one of them...

It took Ryder's hair awhile to grow on top, so we were mainly trying to tame his little mullet that we had going on in the back. (If he was a little girl, I could have had pig tails for sure, and Kit, I promise I didn't try...)

Before:

(taken a week before)

Last night before:

It was a group effort:

The finished product:

Megan is AMAZING! Ryder loves his Aunt Megan and has vowed to not let anyone else try to cut his hair...♥

Dad time...

Ryder loves his time with his dad...

It is one of my favorite things to watch them together! They have such a connection...

Kit Rae~

You are an AMAZING dad to Ryder. Thank you for all the ways that you love us so well!

Ryder-Proofing our home

In regards to child safety, Kit and I are trying to find a happy balance between padding the walls of our home and removing furniture, and letting him play with forks near outlets...

We knew it was just a matter of time before we were going to have to safety lock the kitchen, but the other day, when Ryder started standing independently and removing my cast iron cook ware, we knew that we had to make some changes fast. (this is the picture from when he stood by himself on March 8.

So after we finally got our act together, last week we installed locks on our kitchen doors. They take some getting used to but the fact that if he is not in my eyesight, I don't have to worry that he's playing with Comet from under the sink... now that is peace of mind!

I mean, could this face ever get into stuff he shouldn't...?

a little recap...

We have had so much fun over the last few days, with the conference last week and celebrating my sister's birthday yesterday. So here is a little recap over our last few days.

We arrived at the conference in San Diego and while sitting in our room on March 15, Ryder took his first steps (2 to be exact) and it was really fun to have Kit and I there to witness it. I just can't believe how fast time goes!

We quickly realized that traveling with an almost one year old is a very different hotel experience than when it was just us. We were given in a handicap room and so there was much more room so we were able to put Ryder in the bathroom.

We also had to bring the favorites for him to play with...

(The favorite game right now is stacking the blocks and Ryder knocking them down.)

In the mornings, I rigged up a "high chair" out of pillows and we would watch Sesame Street while eating Cheerios, and fruit.

On Wednesday, while Kit was speaking, we headed out to Hotel Coronado to walk around and get some lunch. I have never been there and the weather was perfect: sunny and warm with a cool breeze. Ryder was in his stroller and just enjoyed looking around at everything around him, when he wasn't dozing off...

Walking along the beach.

Then we headed back to the conference and we would hang out with other families and we went to dinner at the Yard house. Ryder sat, perfectly content for well over 2 hours. It was amazing. He just ate his food and laughed and pointed with his cute little chubby finger... Oh my gosh, I love this kid!

Ryder would also help at the booth.

Ryder loved being with Kit. We were able to watch the end of one of Kit's sessions and it only took Ryder a second to realize it was his dad, and as soon as he put it together, he started laughing and pointing and leaning forward to get down so he could crawl up to see Kit.

It was a great trip! I am so glad that we were able to tag along. I am sure that this is not the last conference we will be attending...

Then yesterday, we were able to head out to my parents house and celebrate my sister's birthday. It was so fun to be together.

It was a great few days. Have a happy Monday!

Villians beware!

Ryder was invited to a superhero themed birthday party and we are really excited about it. He has been to some family parties but he was too little to really know what was going on. Now he is crawling and moving all around and he is always taking things in that are going on around him. All the kiddos are to come dressed as super heros and my little guy likes to, as I say, keep things simple so that he doesn't feel encumbered and so he can move around.

So I am making him a Super Ryder cape that will be lightly pinned to the back of a plain gray t-shirt.

The material I chose:

Wonder-Under makes it so that you can attach material to each other and so it stays in place while you sew... brilliant!

I found an 'r' that I liked and made a template so that I could trace it:

I ironed it in place:

then sewed it down to finish it off:

It will be fun to watch him at the party.

i hope to get lots of pictures of my little super hero!

luck o' the Irish

As St Patricks day arrived, I found myslef wondering about the origin of the day and I was really interested by what I found and I thought I would share it so check out HERE...

(For example, I thought the way St. Patrick used the shamrock was really cool...)

And what type of holiday would it be if we didn't participate just a little bit by sharing a picture of our little leprechaun...

I'm a sucker for that little face!

Happy St. Patricks Day!