Little shoes

We had a birthday party to go to at the park this morning and knowing that Noah would be walking around in the wet grass, I decided to head to the store to get him his first real pair of shoes. There is just something about little children's shoes that makes you want to squish them and buy them in every color and style. I did stick to buying just one pair. They were an expensive pair. More than anyone should normally pay for a growing boy...but there is something about firsts that make me bypass my knowledge of saving money and go for what I really want. I convince myself that it's a one-time thing and the memories will be worth it! And they usually are. He will, however, be wearing them until his little toes are poking out the top.

And pay no attention to the big boy shoes that are in need of some severe buffing...

A bucket full of toys

I turned around for literally one second and this is what I found when I looked back...

And this is when he noticed I discovered his secret...

And this is him realizing he needs to find a way out...

He was so quiet I have no idea how he managed to get in there without falling in. And then, I saw him do it again. Such a smart little guy.

I want a bowl of cereal for every meal!

I have been eyeing these latte bowls for a couple of years now. Yesterday, my good friend (and personal shopper now) spotted them here and let it slip that they were on sale. ON SALE! Get me one in every color please...! However they were out of orange. I MUST get the orange. Now, just to convince my husband that we've had them for a long time and where has he been for not noticing them before??? And no, I didn't need any bowls. However I have a weak spot for dishes, and unfortunately no storage for them. I blame my mom for that addiction. That one and for my large stack of magazines that continues to grow. My husband would also blame her for the many, many pillows that are thrown onto our couches and bed.

Speaking of my mom...go welcome her to blogland! She has a picture of their home which is just beautiful! She is so creative...I can't wait to see what else she has to share.

And in shop news, we're closing the store Dec. 21st for a couple of weeks. Be sure to return though after the holidays as I'll have a lot of new listings with new designer fabrics and patterns!

Party for the Birthday Boy!

Thought I'd share a few highlights from Noah's party this past weekend.

Noah and his friend Joshua playing with the train. Joshua is all about trains so I'm sure Noah will be hooked in no time!

First sugar experience...


He wasn't overly interested. However, later he did have a bite of a sugar cookie and he loved that. He started chasing me around for more.

Some of the party people to prove they exist!



We had picked up an outdoor playground set for Noah that very morning. It was a huge hit with some of the older kids!

Noah wears me out picking him up from the bottom of the slide and bringing him back to the top to go again.


Noah didn't take too well to Santa. Maybe next year...

Of course Noah didn't completely understand presents but I thought this was a great photo to show his excitement after opening one!


And we did the ceremonial turning of the car seat! Noah loves sitting forward and getting to watch the world go by.

Wanna see more of the party decorations? Head over to my other site. Don't you love how I make you work for it?!?

Noah Hits the Big One!

Having a child's birthday around Christmas can pose an interesting challenge in the party department. Since it was Noah's first birthday, I felt I could get away with having a Christmas-themed birthday party to celebrate. I wanted to embrace the fact that Christmas decorations were everywhere and the holiday spirit was already in the air.

For all of the communication pieces, I tried to keep them simple and consistent with one another. I printed the front and back of this invite on my home printer. And I think the brown envelope adds a nice touch.

The food was easy as we just ordered pizza and had snack items available.

And who could forget the homemade cupcakes topped with icing and sprinkles?

I had printed some winter coloring pages from a free site I had found online to keep the kids busy. I'm a rookie at throwing children's parties but I'm no dummy when it comes to knowing they can get bored easily!

I also set out a little table for the kids to decorate gingerbread men and Christmas trees. Yum!

Santa was due to arrive at 1p.m. We had a good friend with a costume and he did such a great job. Some of the kids did great...


...others did not.

We ended the day with a party favor treat bag filled with chocolate-dipped pretzels for the families. I found these cute bags from the $1 bin at Target.

The thank you cards were also printed from my home computer. Inside each card is the child's photo with Santa to remember. I didn't want to write on the card that the family might keep so I printed off a little notecard from a 4x6 index card to use.

At 11:52 a.m.

One year ago Noah David came crying into the world. And our world would never be the same again.

Noah: Comfort; rest; quiet. We didn't necessarily choose the name Noah because of any specific reason. Lucas is more of a traditional name guy...me, I like a little more original. Well, after several vetoes on each side (and if you've seen a particular Friends episode you should get a chuckle here), Noah stuck. I do love the meaning of his name. And while the poor boy gets referred to from other kids as Noah..."like Noah and the Ark?" I love the fact that Noah from the Bible was such a wonderful and obedient man of God. A role model I don't mind if Noah looks up to.

David: Beloved or friend. The name David flows throughout both sides of our families so it was a more obvious and meaningful choice. It is Lucas' middle name and father's name as well as my brother's middle name and nephews middle name. (Did you catch all of that?) Seemed fitting to continue it on.

We've been so blessed by this past year and the experience of watching our little one learn and grow is like none other.

Thank you, Lord, for all that you have given to us. For bringing Noah into our lives and for trusting in us to raise him to honor and glorify You.

And thank you family and friends who have loved on us and Noah this past year. Served up countless prayers on our behalf and look forward to "doing life" with us as we continue our journey.

I promise more fun posts to follow of Noah's festivities...and they won't be as sappy as this one! And just in case you didn't notice how relatively clean Noah stayed in the above photos, the only little piece of icing that made it to his mouth was from Lucas and I trying to urge him to take a bite. He wasn't interested.

And a HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout out to Uncle Micah who Noah lovingly shares his special day with!

I feel the same way kid...

I have loads of birthday party photos to share, but while I'm getting those ready I thought I'd show you the end result of our day. What a great day.

Great Grandpa and Oma come to visit

I'm way overdo on a post and have some fun photos to share with our latest life happenings. Great Grandpa and Noah's Oma came to visit a week ago. Noah loved spending time with them and getting lots of hugs and kisses.

We also got to open a couple of early birthday presents.


Noah loves to swing high!



Teaching Oma how to read...

Four generations.

This would look so cute Christmas Eve on our fireplace...if we had a fireplace in Arizona. Who wouldn't want to eat cookies off of these irresistible plates? The Nest also has these plates perfect for baby gifts.

I found this genius invention from Gerber a couple of months ago. My little one loves the Spill Proof Water Spout and feels like such a big boy when he gets to drink out of the big water bottle.

My husband and I are big fans of Jeremy Camp. He's just released a new album so quick, go out and get it! And what a great stocking stuffer it would be.

Elf Yourself. This cracks me up every year. Go and Elf your dog, baby, yourself...whoever you want. And then email it to whomever you want.

He's a walkin'

Well...since it's been a little bit since I've last posted, I first need to send a congratulations to Micah and Amy on the birth of our new nephew, Gabriel. He was born November 30th. We're thrilled to get to meet him over Christmas.

And on the Noah news front...he is now walking. We, of course, have the walking along with the falling but he's getting better. He's coming up on a year old and suddenly I have memories coming back to me of when he would just eat, poop and sleep. Those memories come back to me while I'm chasing him around like a crazy woman.

And a couple more photos just because it's been so long. If you look closely you can see he has some more hair coming in on that bald head of his.

Such a sweet face and yet you know he is up to something.