Legs Trio

And just to show you how Henry has grown here is a visual comparison

 I have prepared for your enjoyment. From not even being able to stand on his own, to not being able to stand still, to being able to jump.

Family Pictures 2012

We went to Chelsea again for our family pictures and were AGAIN very pleased. These are some of my favorites. Mostly I cannot get over how big Henry is. Not at all a baby anymore. He did really well posing too not like last year where he was super distracted. You can find our pictures from last year here.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We hope you are having a wonderful day with family, friends and feelings of Joy! And one last video from Henry.

Henry turns 3

For Henry's actual birthday we kept it simple and just our family. We had presents, balloons, lots of fun new toys, and plenty of Snoopy fruit snacks. We spent the afternoon doing things Henry loves to do. We went to Memorial Park and fed a whole loaf of bread and some hamburger buns to some feisty ducks. Henry loves doing that and the ducks were starving. We also went and rode the train at the mall. I never have cash so it was the first time we were able to go. Plus the conductor gave us his ride for free since it was his birthday. Then we ate dinner at McDonald's (Henry calls it Old McDonald's and loves their chicken nuggets) and Henry played in the play place. It was the perfect day.

And I have successfully spent 20 minutes learning iMovie which our old Mac didn't have. So now you can enjoy a video montage of the day. And I did try out lots of text and transition styles for your enjoyment.

bexcaliber: Atlanta Parent Magazine

A couple of months ago I was approached through etsy to do an interview for Atlanta Parent Magazine. I guess I was one of a handful of shops in the area whose owners were also parents. Not a lot of crafty etsy moms in Athens-Atlanta. So I lucked out and they featured me and my shop in their November issue. It was fun doing a phone interview and being asked to consider all the aspects of having both a business and a family. Plus the article makes me seem cooler and way more put together than I really am which is a definite plus. Hooray for more free marketing!

I seriously doubt I will be able to top three magazines in 2013. New Year's Resolution?

Oh and the picture of me is super vibrant but they print on a duller paper so I am not so intense in the physical magazine they sent me.

You can read the entire issue here.

Video Viernes: Rudolph in the Tub

Henry loves singing in the bath and he loves Christmas songs. I took the opportunity to film a little christmas cheer from our bathroom.

Henry's Pirate Birthday Party

 

 Henry was super excited for his pirate birthday party that we had last Saturday. We took advantage of staying in town to let Henry have his first birthday party with friends. Every year we have been traveling so it was fun to celebrate with other little kids. He has loved pirates for a few months so I locked his theme down awhile ago and took advantage of some Halloween deals.

Our invitations set the tone from the start. I had a roll of kraft butcher paper from our thanksgiving poster so I used it to make treasure map invites. I hand drew it and then made copies. I did color them each but it was the perfect tv watching activity. I found and copied some of the wording from other invites I saw online. They say:

Ahoy Mateys!
Shiver me timbers and Yo! Ho! Ho!
We're having a party and hope you can go!

Cap'n Henry requests your presence on his birthday voyage. Ship sets sail on Dec 15th at 2:00-3:00pm

Sign up for our crew by calling or texting First Mate beckie

Since the house was decked out for Christmas, we kept his decorations minimal. Red, white and black were a fitting pirate palette. I strung black and white streamers and red X's. I used my cricut to cut some of them but then also cut some by hand after I realized I didn't have enough.

Note pirate banner hanging behind Henry. I just cut big X's and made pirate flags out of black paper and white crayons. Easy as pie.

 X marks the spot!

Our front door hosted a pirate map (really the Caribbean, I think)

 For each little pirate attending the party we had a pirate hat, sword and goodie bag with eye patch, gold and silver and jewelry (rolos, hershey's kisses and a ring pop. Also everyone got a sheet of pirate stickers.

 Puff paint jolly rogers.

 Felt swords that Steve helped me stuff.

 We kept activities to a minimum since two and three year olds have zero attention span. We started by letting everyone play in Henry's room until all the kids arrived and then we passed out the pirate hats and sang a song. We sang "If you're a pirate and you know it...(say Argh! swab the deck, walk the plank and shiver your timbers)" to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it." Next we played pin the X on the treasure map. Again my hand drawn version of everything on kraft paper. I did steal that one eyed sea monster from one of Steve's drawings.

 Only Henry and Anders got it right.

 We also had a pirate ship! I'm super proud of this one. I took a big cardboard house we had, turned it over and painted it into a ship. We taped it to a table and then added a cardboard plank. The mast is two fabric tubes duct taped together and the sail is white felt I had with a black pirate face pinned to it. The ship is "The Black Reindeer." I asked Henry what he wanted to name it and he said "Henry." Narcissist. So I asked him what his favorite color was and then his favorite animal. Perfect.

 Steve said the sail should have been black but I really didn't want to buy anything and it looked great. The kids didn't know.

 Oh and Zippy got in on the fun too and made himself an eye patch. Clever Zippy.

 After playing in the pirate ship for a little bit we went on a treasure hunt. I had Steve run down and put the treasure in place-we had it hiding in the car-while all the pirates got their shoes on. We looked at the map and figured out we had to go outside and down the stairs. I drew our little area of the apartment complex with arrows leading to the X. The treasure was cupcakes and juice which we ate outside to minimize the mess.

 The treasure chest I made out of two boxes and a lot of packing tape. I also spray painted it brown on the outside and gold on the inside. Sequins were glued to the bottom.

 Inside the treasure chest after demolition. Yum. Some kids only ate the frosting including the birthday boy. We did take a video of the treasure hunt but I won't be posting it as it clearly shows where we live but I'll send it to you, Gramma and Nana.

 After the treasure hunt we opened presents and that was it. Henry got this cool train table from us which Steve ran in and set up while we were eating cupcakes. He also got some awesome art supplies, a helicopter, puzzles and games too. I love new toys. Its like a breath of fresh air in the house. We saved the majority of our gifts for his actual birthday so he would have something else to open on the big day.

And a few notes about birthday parties for small children:

-We kept the guest list small, only 6 which was manageable but still fun

-We kept the whole thing to under an hour with 30 minutes of play time

-All the activities were conducted back to back and we tried to have everything run smoothly so we didn't lose their interest.

-Having a gathering activity, the song, helped the children focus after playing.

-We also kept the treats simple, I saw so many awesome pirate themed parties but for small children that would have been a lot of wasted effort. A cupcake and juice box were plenty exciting.

-We asked that no siblings attend. I felt a little rude about it but since it wasn't a family party having only his little friends come was just enough.

-We kept it cheap. My budget was $20 and I stuck to it. I used mostly found items and stuff just hanging out in our apartment to make the decorations, goodie bags and invites. I also saw lots of cool ideas from blogs and pinterest on pirate parties but Henry is so young, he didn't need more than what we gave him.

Breakdown of Cost:

Kraft paper $1

Swords $3.50 for stuffing, I had the felt

Cupcakes and Juice $5

Stickers $3.50

Streamers $2

Candy for Goodie Bags $5

Everything else I had: FREE

Happy Birthday Henry!

For Henry's birthday we each write a little note about Henry. To read our thoughts about Henry from last year, go here.

Thoughts about Henry from Mommy:
One of my favorite things about Henry these days is his new vocabulary. He will easily repeat all words we ask him to and others we don't. He also has an excellent memory and will repeat words way after the fact. One funny example is from music he hears on the radio. The other day he was singing, "everyday I'm shuffling." Sad to say this is from an LMFAO song that is often on the radio. It was hilarious. He also quickly absorbs Christmas songs and songs from nursery.
 I have also noticed that within the last few weeks he has started adding emotion to his wording. Instead of just saying "Mommy, what's the matter?" There is concern in his voice. He also exhibits joy, "I did it," determination, "I want to do it myself" and frustration "I want some more fruit snacks." He doesn't just have two emotions anymore (happy or sad) he has them all and it makes him seem very grown up.
I also love that his imagination is growing. He it starting to pretend with his toys and with us. One of his favorites is playing "sleepy time." He will tuck one of us up in blankets and then he will tell us a story or we tell him one and then we pretend to sleep. Its heaven in the afternoon when I am really tired and get to just lay in his bed. He also adapts our everyday activities to his playtime. Often he will come out of his room with his shopping cart and say he is going to the "dost office" (post office) or to get gas or he's going to Publix. 
He is such a joy in our lives and I am thankful everyday (or try to be) that I have this not-so-little guy to be with.

Thoughts about Henry from Daddy:
Henry has grown a lot in the last year (just look at the picture). He is very independent yet still loves to be around people (especially us). He spends most days with his mommy but I'm able to interact with him at night when I put him to bed and in the morning when he wakes up. Our nighttime routine starts with family prayer and then continues with stories with daddy. I tuck him under his blankets with his bear and Mickey and then ask what he wants his story to be about. Every week or two he changes from such topics as Christmas, snowmen, Woodcrackers (Nutcrackers) to other things like dogs, werewolves, and ducks. I try to make an original story every night although with Henry now asking for two nightly stories, my ideas are growing thin. Mornings with Henry are very entertaining as well. He's usually the first one up but because he can't open his door (thank you child locks) he is forced to entertain himself. So, most morning we wake up to Henry singing to himself, talking to himself, or playing with his many toys. This is so much better than waking up to Henry in our bed or to him screaming to get him out of his room.
I'm grateful for all the time I am able to spend with him. Some days can be a challenge but the good days more than make up for the bad ones.

turning 30 celebration

here is my birthday celebration instagram chronicle:

Ah sour cream donuts

My masseuse was a little chatty, how do you feel about that? I would prefer to just relax and not make small talk. Still good though and he showed me how to stretch and massage my leg when my knee gets sore after running. Yes, I requested a man. For all my women are equal to men feelings, men just have stronger hands.

New earrings and some alone time

Nice legs. At the Chateau Elan.

Nice legs. My flirty purple skirt and leopard kitten heels. Both wonderful Goodwill finds.

Here I am with my booth and officially 30!

Yummy yummy cheesecake. Seriously some of the best I have ever had from Gigi's cupcakes.

Ike and Jane donuts

And a birthday present to me from bexcaliber. My new starburst fabric in teal and mint printed on knit and sewn into an infinity scarf. Love it.

Happy Monday!

I turned 30

I turned thirty last Saturday and I meant to post this then but I never got around to it. I had a great birthday and am excited to be 30!

I mean it.

I see no reason to get upset about the passing of time and the addition of an extra number to my age. I am generally happy in my life so hitting this milestone was a celebration instead of a depressing event. And while I loved my 20's and had a particularly awesome 29th year, I know that my 30's holds so much more for me.

I stretched my birthday out into a weekend affair. If you're going to do something, do it right. My birthday was Saturday but I was going to be at a craft show all day so I took advantage of Friday as being my Birthday Eve. I started the morning as all good birthdays should: at Dunkin Donuts. Then I headed off for a massage and some shopping. Solo shopping. I find as I get older I tend to just want some time alone without my constant little companion. The afternoon was spent doing last minute craft show prep and then that evening Steve and I went out to dinner. We went to the Versailles restaurant at Chateau Elan which was featuring a holiday feast buffet. I wanted the food to be better but we did have some good items including a delicious Strawberry Lemonade Cheesecake. The dining area was in the atrium of the hotel which is cavernous and not intimate. Coupled with sparse fellow diners, we felt a little alone and exposed. Not in a good way. And I was so excited to see a huge dessert display especially a carrot cake but it turned out to be the worst carrot cake I've ever had. Sad since carrot cake is my favorite dessert. I was surprised since it was such an upscale place. And I've had my share of carrot cake. We did have a lot of fun being together which saved the evening.

On my actual birthday, I did the Indie South Fair all day. I even had a plan to make it fun. Since I would be in my own booth for the first time ever, I was going to be alone all day. But knowing I would be super bored, I emailed my friends and had them sign up for 1-2 hour slots to come help me and hang out. It worked out perfectly. And not only was everyone a great help and even better conversation but everyone brought me something. I received donuts, earrings, lunch, cheesecake and cookies and over 70 oz of diet coke. It was a wonderful day and the craft show was a huge success, my best one ever. As an incentive to customers, I created a punch board ala The Price is Right and had the first 30 customers punch for an additional savings of 10-50%. It worked like a charm and since everyone loves a birthday it was an easy ice breaker.

After unloading everything at home, Henry helped me open my birthday gifts-a new scarf, shirt, a new cover for my phone and a necklace-we had a dinner of easy and fast (and delicious) Taco Bell. So I didn't start my 30's out by doing anything good for my body but its just one day, right?

Recent Favs: Henry's Sayings

Henry is all talk these days. It is amusing even at high decibels. Here are some of his common phrases and funny sayings:

-Daddy, stay here long day. when Steve leaves him in his room for bed

-Mommy, what's the matter? with genuine concern in his voice

-Mommy/Daddy, play in my room.

-Mommy, don't kiss my head. when I sneak a kiss on his head

-What are those polka dots doing on there? When netflix loads.

-I want to do it mysuff. myself.

-Tell me if you see any pumpkins. while we're driving around town.

-I don't want to watch this one. Its too old for me. referring to a show he is tired of watching on tv.

-I got a good idea.

-Oh, I love this song. when a song comes on the radio that he likes.

-I want to watch Barney. I never thought I'd have a child say this to me and then me comply.

-Remember, Zippy is watching me. when he does something that he knows is wrong.

-Let me show you my cool trick. this is borrowed from Yo Gabba Gabba and sometimes his cool trick is just eating string cheese, other times its death defying leaps from ottoman to couch.

Zippy the Elf: Day 6-12

So I meant to post this days ago but this week was crazy busy for me. I seriously was going to and fro every night. So here we go, the continuation of Zippy's adventures.

 

Perched above the stove, ready to observe in the kitchen.

Zippy comes bearing a book and marshmallow snowmen. This is also the day when I accidentally knocked Zippy over when trying to get a marshmallow and had to leave him laying behind the tv until I could secretly sneak him back into a sitting position. As Henry reminded me, "Don't touch Zippy, Mommy."

Nested in a garland. Aerial view.

Vase sitting with crossed legs.

Super Henry and his brigade. I cut out simple felt capes from scraps and tied them to Elmo, Grover and Zippy. Luckily Zippy is cloth so I could easily just sew through his body to suspend him upright from the garland.

Gilt lounging. Steve did this one. I love when he participates because he always comes up with things I never would have thought of.

The Star of the Show!