Love Letter To My 1 year old Maxi

(right after you were born...exhausted! it was a tough 18 hours for you too!)



WOW! A year has flown bye hasnt it my sweet boy??!! I cant imagine what my life was like without you! You have changed me and your Daddys life in such beautiful ways! Ill never forget the day that you made your entrance into our world! 7/15/11 at 2:10 in the afternoon after 18 hours of hard labor and 40 minutes of pushing there you were. The nurses and midwife left the room immediately for 3 perfect hours for me and your Daddy to inspect, kiss and snuggle every single inch of your 6 pound 15oz 19 1/2 inches! And you....were...PERFECTION!

Over the past year you have made me laugh, cry, worry, and grow with you. I wouldnt change a single second of any of it. (Even the nursing every 3 hours, hundreds of poopy diapers, spit up, laundry,exhaustion and straight up crazyness that being a new mommy brings).

I have nursed you now for 13 months and find it just amazing how much you've grown! At your last checkup you were 23.5 pounds! And are currently trending some really cute 12-18 mo clothes! I love our special quiet time at night when I get to be alone with you in your rocking chair and nurse you to sleep. You pull your little feet to your head, you play with my hair and rub my face. It's the BEST part of my day. And I hope it's one of yours too!:)

(@ the Woodland Park Zoo!)

We have taken you on some pretty great adventures this past year: home to NH for your first Thanksgiving, out to the Olympic Penninsula to your Grandma and Grandpas for your first Christmas and Easter, lots of playdates with your favorite friends (Charlie and Ellery). Youve been to the Seattle Zoo and Aquarium ALOT! And we are headed to NH again NEXT WEEK! You will get to see all of your family and meet some NEW FRIENDS! Im really excited for this vacation with you and your Daddy, but Im a little nervous about our plane rides now that you are on the move! Im sure we will have a blast though!

(lunchdate with your g/f Ellery)

*LOVE*

Overall I have to tell you that this has been the craziest, most exhausting, challenging, thrilling and just BEST year of my life! You are my favorite person in the whole world and I just couldnt imagine my life without you in it! Mumma loves you VERY much! Now lets go on VACATION!!!!! :)))

*Next post will be all about our fun trip to NH!!!!*

Maxs First Birthday



tablecloth: found at Big Lots (3$) added felt shapes for ice cream cones and pom poms for cherries. Glued on with fabric glue from JoAnns (10$). Treats: flat bottom ice cream cones filled with cake mix, baked and frosted. Rice Krispie Stars on a stick, with a chocolate drizzle, wrapped in cellophane. Sugar cookies with cone shape in frosting. Ice Cream toppings (mini reeses, M&Ms, star shaped marshmellows,gummy bears) All treats are in disposable 9X13 tins, wrapped in matching wrapping paper (EASY CLEANUP AND STORAGE!) And little cone plastic dishes for ice cream, found at DollarTree! (1$!!!)

Well...its official! My baby boy, is no longer considered a "baby", but a TODDLER! Thanks to Pinterest, and others ideas I had, I think I threw him a pretty killer first birthday party! As he starts his first year as a toddler, I thought I would start my first year as a "blogger"!! Im so excited to be able to share the fun things we do, and places we go with all of you! So a special thanks to my Mumma, fiance' Dustin, and great friend/pastry chef Tanner to helping my dreams of Maxs first birthday party come to fruition!

Maxs personal birthday cake! Since everyone else at the party got their "cake in a cone"!



Personal Goodie Bags: found at DollarTree! Added cone pictures, and party words with the same glue I used for tablecloth. Filled bags with homemade finger paints, ice cream stickers, a BIG ice cream cone cookie, ice cream cone shaped bubbles, and other fun little toys and treats.

So there you have it! Lots of effort went in to my little mans first party! Including two nights of midnight baking in preparation for the big day! But it was ALL worth it! And as you can see I did it on quite the BUDGET! My plan every year after reflecting on his birthday is to write him a little letter that maybe someday he will read and appreciate! :) So theres the next blog post coming to you! My love note to my ONE YEAR OLD baby! Happy Birthday Beautiful Boy! Mumma loves you!