12 Months

Crazy. Crazy. Crazy.

This time last year....

From such a sweet, sweet baby...to a full of energy, fun, and still sweet, sweet big BOY!

He is my world and that is no secret to him or anyone else who knows me. He truly is a blessing.

At 12 months...

• Walking EVERYWHERE. And already trying to run. I see bruises in our near future.
• Climbing on everything.
• Loves Abby and says her name 100,000 times in a day. Seriously. Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night saying "Ab-by, Ab-by" I don't know if he is dreaming or what.
• Still loves to read and dig in cabinets. All. The. Time.
• Does pretty good drinking milk from his cup. We haven't had a bottle in a while. I will admit that I sometimes most of the time sprinkle a little sugar in it since breast milk is a little sweet....he drinks it much better that way. I know it's wrong, but he won't drink it otherwise. Oh, and it HAS to be warm. Period.
• Fake sneezes almost every time he really sneezes. Hilarious.
• Can spot Elmo a mile away...he says "Elbo" every time he sees him. . Pretty sure he says "Nernie"  and " Big Bird" also.
• Loves to steal the remote and take off running. Loves to take off with anything he isn't supposed to have really.
• Has to say "Hey"  and smile at every single person we see....everywhere we go! He really is a charmer.
• Gives the sweetest hugs and kisses imaginable.
• Loves Mexican food. Good thing since we eat there at LEAST once a week.

                                         Weight: 22 lbs (36%) and  Height: 30 1/2 inches (77%)

Our doctor days he is way ahead of the game as far as talking goes....which I already figured. He has been talking from day one it feels like! He hasn't grown much in the last few months, which, of course, worried me a little....even though the doctor assures me it is fine. I figure it is partly because he doesn't have time to eat because he is running and exploring all of the time.

When we got home from our appointment (after Cracker Barrel and a 2 hour nap) , we played outside with Abby...his (and HER) favorite thing to do!

Poor boy with his bandaids on his legs...not that it slowed him down any!

Next favorite thing to do..play in the rocks.

Gotta love cheap entertainment!

And, warming up a bit to the swing..he was not a fan at first!

I can't imagine the next 12 months being any better than the last 12, but I am looking forward to them!

Bishop and Harvey

We always have so much fun with the Warrington's. Even though they live 3 hours away, it is not going to stop our boys from being friends and being able to play together. It just gets more and more fun every day with these two! 

The party decor

Well, I had hoped to make it to Kara's, but maybe next year. It would help my chances a bit to send in pictures I guess...and hire a professional photographer and spend lots o' money. Nontheless, I think Bishop's party turned out fabulous. Almost everything was homemade, so I was especially proud of how it all turned out. Most importantly, I think he had a great day!

I'd like to first thank my maid of honor assistant party planner Maggie ( MG Paperworks) for all her hard work. Not only did she listen to my [ridiculous] concerns over what type fabric I should get, what food/drinks should be on the menu, where I should situate everything, what I should do for favors (the list goes on and on!) but she also did A LOT of the work for me. See that cute banner up there...not only did she digitally create it, she also hand cut that out...in 34 minutes. I  wanted cute and simple for his first birthday party, and she happened to find the cutest scrapbook paper that ended up working out perfectly. It was even the colors I had in mind.  She started her work by creating my invitation.....

After deciding on the invitation,  Maggie and I stalked the internet for cute ideas and this is what we came up with...

 

So, out of the 200 pictures I took this weekend, I did not get a photo of the amazing cupcake toppers (but I did find some in the oven a week later and took a photo!!)  or the adorable bubbles with coordinating stickers that Maggie made. For the cupcake topper, she punched out a scalloped circle from scrapbook paper and glued a toothpick and the above circles in the middle. They were too, too cute. I'm sure she could make them for any event...and they are SUPER easy! Just swirl on some plain icing, embelish with sprinkles if you like, and stick in the topper. Easy Peasy. The bubbles were easy as well, I got lucky and found those on the Easter aisle at Walmart for a couple dollars for all of them. I just stickered over the bunnies with the cute ones that she made.

The favors were one of my favorite things that we did. I thought they turned out great.  Also easy...and inexpensive! And, I learned this weekend that kids LOVE gum...good favor idea! Oh, and the animal crackers were for the little ones.

I found this cute party hat tutorial here.

I would also like to thank my bestie JJ for all her hard work as well with the cake, ideas, and lot and lots of moral support! Without these two girls, there would have been no party...and there might not be an Amanda :)

It was so, so fun...both the planning and the actual party!

Don't forget to check out MG Paperworks for ANY personalized party supplies you might need!!



THE PARTY....

What a great party...despite the weather! His party was, of course, on the one cold day squeezed in among the 80 degree days that we have been having.  At least it wasn't raining! We started out with most of the party outdoors, but quickly reallized the tarp and 2 tiny heaters were not cutting it...so we moved indoors!

I am just warning you, there is a ridiculous amount of pictures ahead....and I cut A LOT out.

My girls and their babies....Brandi and Carsten, Amelia and Claire, JJ and Harvey, and Maggie

Pam and baby Jake

Grilling the gourmet hot dogs

Part of the "zoo crew".... Page, Pojo, Max, and Sara Glen

Page trying to carry Bishop around.

And, was I not JUST at her first birthday party?!?

Jamie, Carsten, and Brandi

JJ, Nate, Mandy, and Baby Smith

Pojo and Karen

I love this picture...although it is a terrible picture of moi, it shows how much all of his cousins are interested in him...They all love Baby Bishop and he loves them!

Karen, Kaleb, Max, Harvey, Allen, Aunt Kathy, Leon, Wendy, Chris, Heather, Gerald, Audrey, Pam, Jake, Mom, Dad, Kathy, Maggie, Jonah, Bishop, Me, Sara Glen, Page...and I'm pretty sure that is Carsten's arm and foot.

Just wanted to see if I could name them all...it is possible I missed one.

We love bubbles! We even learned to say "bubble" after this weekend.

This face cracks me up!

And, as I expected....Bishop loves cake!

Sunday

I feel so blessed to be able to spend my Sundays with my family, even on those Sundays that I have to work. We get to all go to church together, and now that it is warm, we get to play outside in the afternoon.

It wasn't all that long ago that either Leon or both of us were working on Sunday. I'm trying my best (and succeeding at least SOME of the time) to be positive about work. I know it's what I have to do right now, whether I love it or not. I know one day I will be able to stay home more, but for now I am thankful for little moments.....

And, with a little guy like this, how could I NOT be happy?!

P.S. Check out those front TWO (more like 1 1/2) teeth!