My birthday was part of labor day weekend, which rarely happens. We had planned on doing fun stuff in the sun on labor day, but the weather had different plans.
We stayed inside and played with stamps
Emmalyn and her messy face
It started pouring, so I had Maxwell run out in it to grab the toys on the lawn
You can't really tell in the pic, but he was quickly getting wet
Shopping for supplies for dinner and Maxwell wanted to try to use his watch to pay, like he has seen daddy do with his Apple Watch. Unfortunately, it didn't work.
Emmalyn loves this book and pushing the numbers, which make noises
It was a downpour, the so-loud-you-can-hear-it-beating-on-the-windows kind of downpour with loud lightening too. One hit when I was outside and the thunder was so loud that I screamed without meaning to.
The boys toughed it out to make sure that we at least had grilled burgers
Our yummy spread. I love grilling and summer picnic food!
So, no fun playing in the sun for us this year. :( Picnic inside!
On Sunday August 26, 2012 we had Max's First Birthday Party!
3 months ago I thought doing a kid's birthday party for the first time would be no big deal but when the time was close, I was freakin' out and asking friends with kids for advice. Do you have games at a one yr old party? How much food to have? etc. I have heard of pretty elaborate 1 yr old parties thrown by these crazy Texans (bounce houses, big elaborate themes, clowns, magicians, etc). I knew I didn't want to go that far! So we kept it simple... fruits and veggies, cake, presents, and visiting with friends.
I stressed last night about getting as much as possible unpacked and cleaned up (or at least boxes stacked up neatly). Everyone that was coming KNEW that this party was happening the day that we moved in. I did this on purpose because then they wouldn't have huge expectations and would focus more on the house than the furnishings. Someday my house will be completely decorated and furnished but that is a long way off and will be a slow process...it's a big house! I figure it's better to have our friends see the house and get the "tour" when they aren't expecting it to be all decorated rather than come in 6 months thinking it will be decorated when it won't be. :)
Stinkin' Pinterest! I have had 0 interest in Pinterest until Max's birthday (I have a belief that Pinterest would really only serve to make me feel inadequate and frustrated since I don't have much free time to cook, create, travel, etc based on the things I pin)... I got on there to look for one thing and ended up with a bunch of ideas that I now had to execute. (Which also meant staying up late the night before the party getting everything done. See why I have stayed away?!)
Pinterest Project: I made (with some help from Peter) a photo banner with one picture of Max. There was one picture from each month from day 1 to 1 year old. I love how it turned out.
From Day 1 to 7 months
5 months to 1 year
The entire banner
Pinterest Project: I got these white wood block letters to put at the front door with some balloons. It was my idea to decorate them to match the "theme". (There was no real theme for the party, just some decorations with polka dots.)
Max woke up in a happy mood like usual.
Decorations
This was Peter's present on his birthday -
we both love this picture of Max and I got it printed on canvas for him.
Decorations on the patio
It was windy outside and the balloons were blowing everywhere.
Max was shy with all the attention at the party when we were singing Happy Birthday to him.
Tyler and Hayden help him blow the candle out (you can see his 2 cakes - the dinosaur cake for everyone else and his brownie bear cake) You can read here and here about why I went with the brownie cake.
I tried to get Max to wear the hat - no go.
Max trying the frosting on the bear
Yummmm
About to dig into that bear's head
Max loved the brownie. I tried to get him to try the other cake and he wanted nothing to do with it.
Max watched the other kids while we opened his presents. :)
Jeff and Andrea
Max was really excited about this little people airplane.
Awesome Aunt Kimi - I was so glad she could be in town for the party.
Max reading one of his cards.
Cute PJs!
Max's first crayons of his own and paper
Aunt Kimi got him the cutest outfit from Janie and Jack - look at the hat.
"Which toy do I play with, I can't decide!"
"For now...I'll play with the dump truck"
Max is going to have fun playing with the mega blocks
(in a few months - right now I don't think he gets it)
I was trying to get Max to wave goodbye but he wouldn't do it
The food
I didn't do a good job of getting pictures of everyone at the party. I will do better next time!
People at the party:
From Peter's work -
Andrea, Jeff, and S
Tim with his cute kids C and J
Our Friends - Jessica, John, and C
From Kallie's work - Lori and K
Brittany and Kimberly and their families
I thought the party went well. I am glad we did it even though the timing was crazy. Big thanks to my sisters for helping get the house ready, plus helped so much with the party too (they made the awesome brownie bear). I seriously would be lost without them.
After the party all the family went to Olive Garden for some food before we had to take Kimberly and the kids to the airport.
Max was finally warming up to Aunt Kimi
Uncle Peter, Tyler, and Kaity
Cute!
Brittany, Landen, Joe, and Hayden
The whole group - the Nelson girls and their families
At Max's birthday party, C (who is 3 months younger) was clapping. We showed him jokingly saying, "see Max? That's how you clap."
Well, all of a sudden that afternoon at the restaurant, Max started clapping!!!! We couldn't believe it. Once he started he didn't stop. So proud. :) (I think he may not have wanted Claire to be able to show him up anymore.)
Video - Here's Max clapping to a song. Way to go buddy!
Peter grilled some burgers for dinner. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH finally!
Max has started laying his head down on our shoulders a lot more lately which is sweet and I love. He is also starting to interact with Landen. In the past he would play next to him but wouldn't really play with him. It's fun to watch.
Poor Peter. He didn't get to do anything fun for his birthday. Instead, we spent the day moving into the new house. The movers were there early but it took much longer than I thought it would. It ended up being about 6 hours total! (Worth every penny though to have someone else move my stuff and not have a sore back at the end of the day or feel bad for roping our friends/family into helping.)
Apartment is starting to look empty
Our apartment closets were full of packed boxes so that they didn't overtake us in the living areas
The movers were gone around 2 and then Brittany, Kimberly, and the kids came over. I was starting to get really stressed out with the efforts to get things unpacked and the place clean enough to have a bunch of people over the next day for Max's birthday party. My two awesome sisters helped me unpack the kitchen. I would have been LOST without them. They are the best sisters ever and are always so willing to help out. Sometimes I feel like they got the short end of the sister stick because I don't help them as much as they help me. (Things that stress me out are no big deal to them.) They were both so very helpful when Max was born, they both again came to my rescue when I broke my foot, and now again here they are helping me move into a new house. I miss my mom and not having her around to help in times like these would be so hard if I didn't have such helpful and supportive sisters.
Video - Max and Landen were hilarious chasing each other around this pillar.
We bought the very first purchase for our new house - a gas grill! I have greatly missed the convenience of having our own grill not to mention the yummy food. I have looked forward to this sooooo much. Our new place has a gas line on the patio so we don't have to deal with propane. My sisters stopped at the store to get the fixings for burgers for dinner and Peter got to work on putting it together.
Unfortunately, Peter ended up not having all the parts he needed and by that point everyone was tired and hungry so we just cooked the burgers inside. While we were all a little disappointed, the burgers were still good and I know I'll enjoy a grilled burger soon! (Yeah for cooking with gas both inside and outside!)
Max has never spent a night alone in his own room. We thought maybe now that we are in the new house, it might be time. So during the day when we were unpacking, we set up the pack-n-play in his new room and tried to lay him down for a nap. It didn't work at all. He just screamed. I could tell that he was scared (terrified!) in his new room. It was full of boxes and was completely foreign to him. I can understand being scared. So that night, I didn't feel it was right to torture him and make him sleep in his room so we let him sleep in the pack-n-play in our bedroom. And to be honest, I was super happy about it. Peter talks about moving him to his own room but I'm really not ready for it. I know this is silly and if you asked me a year and 2 weeks ago if I was going to be like this, I'd say NO WAY! But I want him close to me. I still get up in the middle of the night to check if he's still breathing. I want to be able to hear his little cries quickly and be able to get to him fast when he wakes up and is ready to nurse in the morning. I worry about him being in a room by himself, and this is crazy I KNOW, and someone breaking his window and hurting or taking him. I want him in my room for now, by me.
Max hanging out in the new master bedroom
Since Peter is being so healthy, he didn't want a cake or anything. So we didn't really celebrate his birthday at all. And moving days are stressful, people's patience wears thin, and neither of these make for a great day. Sorry Peter - next year will be the best birthday yet! (Although he says birthdays aren't a big deal for him... you know how it goes, it's not a big deal but yet it still kinda is...)
Wife, Mom, and Career Woman. Trying to succeed at all three. Enjoy cruising, time with friends and family, and sleeping. Busy life doesn't leave time for as much fun as in the past but that's okay, it's still a good life.
