Memory Box

One thing that I wanted to make sure of was to keep special memories from Hazelnut's childhood.  Not every memory, but certain ones that stick out.  I also know my limits, and that creating scrapbook pages by hand every month is just not going to happen. So once a year I make a family photo book (more about that on a future date) in a coffee table style book.  I also keep another photo album with 4x6 prints.  Why?  Because when she's in kindergarten & needs to bring a picture of her as a baby, I don't want to be pulling out external hard drives looking for the pictures, then running to Wal-Mart at midnight to pick up the prints.

I digress.

But some things just can't be stored in a flat album or fit into a 4x6 sleeve.  For those, I have this box.

 

Someone gave it to us for a baby shower gift, and it's been very useful!

I've majorly slacked off on things to put in there after her first birthday.  So many big things happen in that first year-- hospital bracelets, birth announcements, first visit to Santa, birthday cards, cake smash session... the list goes on & on!  I also saved handwritten notes, and the little foam letters you see on the left- H F.  Those were in a gift bag from a breastfeeding group I went to.  They're not really useful, except that they are a vivid reminder of what life was like during those first 10 months of working so hard to nurse.  Looking at those letters brings it all back like a tidal wave.

But one problem--- nothing else fits!  Luckily, one of her birthday gifts this year gave in this cute box.  It's very sturdy & perfect for the job!  

How do you keep track of memories?  Do you put too much pressure on yourself for not doing it enough?  I seriously love the memory box because it's so low pressure.  Just toss the memory in & you're done!

I also have one full of love notes & cards from when Josh & I were dating.  We should have kept it up through marriage but life got a bit busy.  I love looking back on those notes!

Minnie Mouse Birthday Party

I was so busy planning the Pink & Chevron Baby Shower for one of my best friends that I nearly forgot about Hazelnut's Minnie Mouse Party!

My amazing friend Devin made the cake again!  She made the fabulous cake from Hazelnut's Little Miss Sunshine party last year.

In the background you can see the banner I made, and on the right another sign.  I got these free printables here & just added my own text!  It's also where I got her invitation from.  So simple!

For food, we got Chick-fil-A!  Let me tell you, there is nothing easier, and nothing more enjoyed by party guests!  I live about 15 minutes from my preferred Chick-fil-A (Patrick Henry Mall!) so I opted to get a reheatable nugget tray and reheat it at my house rather than try to juggle picking up food & keeping it warm for guests to arrive.  Much easier just to throw it in the oven, and they reheated perfectly!

We also had CFA Chicken Salad Sandwiches, fruit, and Sweet Tea!  Then I used my friend's punch recipe.  A 2 liter of ginger ale, a bottle of sparkling grape juice, and frozen fruit on top.  It's pretty, the fruit keeps it cold, and it's sooo simple.  It's a definite crowd pleaser!  Mine was a little foamy-- it probably wouldn't be if I hadn't of dumped everything in so quickly.

For favors I had some bags from a rainbow birthday party I thought I was going to throw last year, but changed my mind.  I thought about getting pink favor bags, but then felt a little bad for the guys at the party, so went with these since I already had them.  Did they match?  No.  Do I care? Not really.

I put candy in all, and then headbands & necklaces for the girls & play-doh & extra candy for the guys.

For decorations I got this decor kit from Amazon.  It was $7 and perfect.  

Another look at the decor from the night before.

 My main thought with adding the decor set from Amazon was that she's two years old, and very visual.  Seeing Minnie Mouse all over her house made her a happy little girl, and isn't that what a birthday party is all about?

One more look at that cake... oh I just love it so much!  Ombre pink Minnie Mouse birthday cake... what could be better?  It was delicious!

2nd Birthday Party (& Video!)

Birthday party fun here on the blog today!  Tomorrow I'll have more about the details, but today we have a video!  A year ago when Josh picked up videography again I was a little weary.  Was he in this for the long haul or just a passing hobby?  It was quite an expensive endeavor, but I'm so glad we did it!  Now we have a great added bonus of using that equipment to document our lives.  It's a quick video- 2 minutes- just enough to give you a taste & it's full of sweetness.  Warning: You'll hear potentially the worst "Happy Birthday" singing on the planet.  The bad news: we started in a funny key.  The good news: we're well rounded & hit every key through the course of the song!  lol

Hazel's 2nd Birthday Party from Josh Fowler Cinematography on Vimeo.

And a few pictures from the party:

Our baby girl was TOTALLY exhausted.

But if there's cake to be had, who is she to say no?

 

Pure sweetness.  I love these two!

 

We've hit that age where sometimes you just turn a blind eye because, well, it is her birthday after all.  Here she is with her buddy who is 10 days younger than her-- eating as many Hershey Kisses as they can stuff in their mouths!

Ahh childhood.  It was a wonderful (& totally crazy house-packed) party.  We loved it & I think she did, too!

Birthday Traditions

Birthdays have always been a passing thing for me.  They're fun, but nothing overly special.  This year, that has changed!  Hazelnut is actually old enough to enjoy her birthday, and it brings a special joy into our home!

 

Last year we had a special breakfast before Josh left for work.  I made a huge stack of pancakes which she refused to eat.  Lame.  This year we switched it up a bit.  I love the tradition, though, to celebrate first thing!

We woke up an hour earlier than normal this morning to make breakfast, eat together as a family, and open presents.

   

We all like our sleep-- including Hazelnut!

But oh what a sweet smile.  I love her crazy hair- check out that awesome volume first thing in the morning!  And the way she pushes up her sleeves.  I wonder if she'll continue that her whole life... pushing up her sleeves.  She's obsessed with it right now.  Even in the car, she'll push up her pants legs!

After buying the Minnie Mouse lunchbox, I realized I bought her a lunchbox for her birthday last year.  Weird!

I also used a printable template to make little birthday tags for her presents.  It was a fun addition!

 

Seriously, mom?  Still taking pictures?  Can I at least eat my eggs (ayyy-gs) now?

Candles!  And she almost burnt herself.

This child can give some pretty awful looks with her eyes!  We'll need to work on that poker face.

   

 

Blowing out candles!
 

 This little face made everything worth it.  We are so very thankful for her.

  

Happy Birthday Beautiful.

Happy Birthday Princess!  We can't believe that you've been in our arms for two years.  We are so blessed.

 
We still check you every night before I go to bed, just to make sure you're still breathing.

We still keep you rear facing in the car to keep you as safe as possible.

But despite being overprotective, we still let you fall.

We let you learn new things, often by trial & error.

We're not perfect, but we do love having you in our family!

And we love you.  So very much.

Life with a Toddler.

Little Miss Hazelnut loves opening the fridge these days.

It was nice at first, actually.  She could get her own sippy cup and put it back.  I'd put snacks on the bottom shelf for her so she could be a little more self-reliant.  A pretty sweet deal, overall.

But all good things must come to an end, I suppose.  :)

Making eggs for dinner is perhaps a little too self reliant for an almost-two year old.

But then she has to go & be all adorable.  Seriously.  How can you not just love this face?

Love who you are.

Comparison is the thief of joy. -Theodore Roosevelt

There are a lot of contradicting messages out there to soak in.  Pinterest is full of amazing decorations, parties, lunches, etc.  There are countless blog posts from moms practically bragging that they don't have it all together... that their house is messy & their kids ate Doritos for dinner.  And don't even get me started on parenting tirades covering everything from infant sleep to breastfeeding to discipline.

Here's the thing.  I'm definitely not an 'everyone gets a trophy' type of person, but sometimes, that's just the way it is. This world needs all types, so please, find your type & go with it!

Love who you are.

And instead of cutting someone else down or making it seem uncool... appreciate it.  Appreciate them.  Celebrate whatever it is.

If you are great at decorating, awesome.  Please always take pictures & post them on Pinterest!  Yes, be a show off.  Be proud of yourself.  And the rest of us need to cheer you on.

Is you house constantly messy?  Are you okay with it?  If so, then embrace it.  Don't skip over posting a cute picture of your kid because the background is messy.  Your kid is cute, so celebrate it.  And the rest of us need to celebrate it, too.

Is your kid not sleeping?  Sure-- search the interwebs for some ideas!  But also, remember that every kid is different.  I found a method that worked absolutely wonderful for my kid and yes, I would highly suggest you use it for yours.  But you may choose another route & that's okay.  It's the beauty of having your own kid-- you get to craft him/her into a tiny human that you like.

I could go on & on.  Every mom could.  It's a constant barrage of messages we're met with each day. 

So I'm working to do my part & I hope you do, too!  What's your part, you ask?

Each time I feel myself thinking too much about something, I think of a way to celebrate it. 

Does someone's Facebook post bother you?  Find a way to celebrate.  See a friend who just had a baby & looks amazing?  (WAY more amazing than you ever did after having a baby?)  Celebrate it.  Share in her joy.  Really truly celebrate.

Comparison is the thief of joy because there is no comparison.  We're just not all the same.  You can't compare yourself to an 18 year old version of you, or a 34 year old version of anyone else.

Love who you are.

Celebrate others.

Rattlesnake tail, coyote tail, and all sorts of other vacation fun!

I haven't updated on our family in awhile.  We've been on vacation this week so here are a few things that we've been up to:

Finding ridiculous posters.  Please notice that the green cup is for the 'girl with hangover.'  I can't even...

 
Happy baby girl.

My man working hard.  Yes, even on vacation.  If there's something that needs to be done, he's going to do it.  I love that about him.  He values family time, but also doesn't expect things to just be given to him.

And we have quite an assortment of photos like this: 

 

Then we have four little monkeys jumping on the bed.

And two little monkeys not willing to share their Paw.

And this.  Sorry it's so dark, but it's pretty awesome.  This is my parents living room on any given day.  This wasn't a family reunion.  No one was invited.  It was just my siblings picking up their kids at the end of the day.  One sibling & his wife is missing, as well as Josh.  The best times are when everyone is up here, crammed in one room.  There are actually 11 people in this photo.

Doing a little work isn't so bad on vacation when this is your view!

 Three little monkeys jumping on the bed this time!  Notice the little chairs.  They brought them from the living room into this bedroom so they could climb on the bed.  All three are within 6 weeks of each other age-wise.

Love this crazy kid.

Totally not scared of anything.

Swinging with mommy!

 And mommy taught her to swing like this, too. She was a fan!

Then we went to Paw's office & he had lots of fun toys to play with.  Rattlesnake!

Sweet baby playing the ukelele!

Playing with a coyote tail.

Drinking Paw's homemade apple cider!

Not at all willing to give this saw up.

And we finished it off with a little harmonica tune.  In which she hummed into the harmonica.  :)

Then Paw took her to town & bought her a necklace!