The Big "B"-day Party! (Part 1)

     Sara Beth had a great first birthday party a couple weekends ago! Even though the weather was drizzly and overcast, I think everyone had a good time. I was just glad it never really rained. That would've been a disaster for this outdoor party. We celebrated at Adam's parents' house on Cross Lake. I'm so grateful they allowed us to take over their home for the weekend! It's beautiful out there! The party was "B" themed (as in the letter B). I did my best to have everything start with B, from the games to the food. The theme came about because we realized that all of Sara Beth's favorite things, and most of her words, start with B. Also, little birds have been a constant theme for her, from my baby shower, to her nursery, and now for her first birthday party. I think it came out really cute! See what you think. . .

I LOVE the invitations! Adam designed them and I wrote the wording. We must be a great team or something!

A fabulous cake by Kathy Cubley, adorable little edible nests made by my mom, and a few handmade touches by me. The pennant banner is made out of felt and ribbon. The birthday hat, which matched her outfit, is repurposed from scrap fabric, ribbon, ruffles, and a Christmas gift box. The SB pictures that hung from the chandelier were from her photo sessions with Nicole Spikes (newborn, 6 months, and 9 months).

The food, play areas, and my favorite part of the party-- a clothesline of pictures, one from each month of her sweet little life.

The Menu: 

Burgers, BBQ chips, Bowtie Pasta Salad, Berry Spinach Salad, Bean Salad (of the Mexican variety), Berry Kabobs, Baby Bites (little food for the kiddos), Beverages (sweet tea, pink lemonade, and water), Birthday Cake, and Birds' Nests

By far, the most popular play area of the day-- Balls. We borrowed Tristen's ball pit and also had other balls to throw and roll around the yard.

The Blocks center--- SB and her cousin played hard after the party. We used some of SB's blocks from home and a wooden set that I found at a consignment store in town.

Ah, the Barrels! Our original idea was for box tunnels, but we didn't have any boxes. We did have these plastic barrels sitting in our backyard though. Adam did a fabulous job converting them into fun tunnels for the party!

To round out the "B" activities, we had a little bounce house (once again borrowed from our friend Tristen) and a bubble table. My attempt at homemade bubble solution was not very successful, so there weren't too many bubbles to be had. It was really messy too! I had pipe cleaners and cookie cutters so the kids could make their own bubble wands. A good idea, in theory. . .

Happy 1st Birthday, Sara Beth!

     Wow! I really can't believe how fast this first year has gone by. It seems like just yesterday that we were holding Sara Beth in our arms for the first time and now she is one. I was never really sure that I would be a good mother. I mean, I loved kids and worked well with little ones, but babies just never were my thing. Then God allowed me the privilege to be Sara Beth's mama and every day has been amazing since then!
     I am in awe of how a woman's body works so perfectly for her baby. She grows that baby inside of her belly for 9 months (or longer in my case), its only nourishment coming from her body. Then, after being born, that baby still gets exactly what it needs from mama's body. It has been such an honor to be able to breastfeed Sara Beth for this year. For the first 6.5 months of her life, all she had was my milk and still she grew strong and beautiful. I know that nursing is not possible for every mother, but I am so glad that God allowed it to work out for us!
     Sara Beth has grown into such a precious little girl. She's smart, funny, and cute, cute, cute! At her 12 month check-up with Dr. Ritch she weighed 19 pounds, 13 ounces and was 30 inches long. That puts her in the 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. Everything else looked good too. We are blessed beyond measure!
At one year old, Sara Beth:

• still loves books. Among her favorites right now are The Belly Button Book, Mr. Brown Can Moo, and any book with fuzzy parts to rub or real photographs.
• can identify her head, eyes, nose, hair, feet, and her favorite of all. . . her bebo (that's a belly button in case you didn't know).
• is officially walking now! She can also stand independently for a long time and even clap, pick up a ball, and sway from side to side while standing up.
• has lots of new words to use: yay, no, bowl, thank you, whoa, berry, cracker, cheese, more, Papaw, Nana/Nonni (sometimes), uh oh, bebo, and she is working on Opa and diaper. She can say each separate syllable, but when she tries to put it together it becomes baba.
• can tell you the sound that each of these animals makes: dog, cat, elephant, and duck.
• finally has 2 top teeth to help her chew. They are spread far apart (a trait that I passed along), but they get the job done. We try to remember to brush them every day. She even got a toothbrush and toothpaste in her Easter basket.
• eats everything! She's not a huge fan of beef or baked goods (cake, pancakes, waffles), but I'm sure that will change. She loves to take a bite off of a bigger piece of food. I think it makes her feel like a big girl. We introduced strawberries this month and she loves them!
• has a head full of hair. She never did go completely bald, but she has a lot of hair now. You can barely tell that we gave her a haircut last month.
• has a fairly regular schedule, but all that will change when we start weaning this week. Right now she sleeps 11 hours at night (8pm-7am), takes 2 naps most days, and nurses 4 times along with eating solid food at the table with us.
• had a wonderful birthday party last weekend! More to come about the party. . .
  
  

  

  Celebrating Daddy's birthday on April 5



Park fun



Smelling the flowers with Nana on Easter Sunday



Loving on Nonni at her first birthday party



At Tristen's party, making the elephant noise

An "Egg"cellent Easter

It was a beautiful day outside on Easter Sunday this year. First, our family joined us for the Easter worship service at church. Then, we headed over to my parents' house for a delicious lunch and some egg hunting (sort of). Mostly, Sara Beth just sat in the grass and played with the eggs, but she certainly had fun doing it. Later that afternoon, we went to Adam's parents' house. Adam's brother, Travis, his wife, Carie, and their little boy, Charlie joined us too. Sara Beth really stepped up her egg hunting skills for the second round of egg hunting. She had fun walking over to the eggs and putting them in the basket. Putting something IN the basket is a feat in itself! Usually, she just takes things out. All in all, it was a wonderful day!

At Nana and Papaw's house

Roly Poly lesson

At Nonni and Opa's house

My favorite picture of the day

Cousin Charlie

Nana and Papaw

Nonni and Opa

Just us!

Birthday Teaser

I just made my very first hairbow for Sara Beth! I had to have one that matched the birthday outfit that I made for her to wear to her first birthday party. Her outfit is adorable and this bow isn't too bad either! Here's a sneak peak of the birthday ensemble. Don't worry. There will be plenty of pictures to come after the party.

Bikes, Trikes, and One Sweet Friend

     Here's the back story on Tristen, in case you didn't know already. Tristen and Sara Beth were born two weeks apart in the same hospital room. We met his mom and dad, Diana and Justin, through Adam's racing. Since T and SB were born, Diana and I have become good friends and we get the babies together as much as we can. Tristen is a sweetheart and is very energetic! Sara Beth always learns new things from watching him on the move.
     Today we celebrated Tristen's first birthday with an outdoor party at his grandma's house. The theme was vintage bicycles and tricycles. It was so adorable! Diana did a great job pulling it all together! Sara Beth's favorite part was the ball pit. My favorite part was the personalized Jones soda bottle. Here are a few pictures from the party today.

Ball pit fun!

He's famous!

The beautiful cake table

Sara Beth trying out T's tricycle

My two favorite people in the world

Flattering, I know. But, look at those two new top teeth!

Time for cake

A wagon of ice is better than any toy

Real Food

Lately, I've been trying to offer Sara Beth some of the same foods that we are eating at the table. She's not a huge fan of eggs yet, but I know she'll come around one day. What she does LOVE is Indian food. I think I posted before about her eating curry for the first time recently. That first curry was a sweet curry (not spicy at all) with sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and kale. Tonight I made a curry that has had a special place in my collection of recipe "keepers" for several years now. It was a little bit spicy, but Sara Beth loved, loved, loved it! She thought basmati rice was awesome too! Here's the link to the recipe: Black-eyed Peas with Spinach and Coconut Curry.

In Times Like These. . .

     There seems to be a constant stream of bad news lately. There are people hurting all over the world. People we know are sick or dying. Just about every week we hear about someone having cancer or another terrible sickness. It can be depressing if you let it get to you, but God has promised good things for us. Here is one of His promises from 2 Corinthians 5:1-5.


New Bodies

1 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.[a] 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.