13 Months

I'm just 8 days late on this post. Nothing much to say since I've already updated on Caleb's latest words and activities, but I know you're really interested in the pictures anyway. You'll notice that there's a new bear this year. Aunt Dani and Uncle Matt got C this "Phil E. Bear" for his birthday. He is so darn cute down to the stirrups and cleats! Anyway, this will be the bear for pictures in C's 2nd year.






P.S. As we get ready for the World Series this week...Let's Go Phillies!

Fun Saturday

Since the weather has finally cooled down again, we've been taking advantage and trying to get outside as much as possible. This morning we took an impromptu trip to the zoo. This was the second time we've been there in three weeks, and I can honestly say that I'm so glad we got the membership. Caleb is really starting to enjoy seeing the animals. Ever since he was a baby I would say animal names and follow them up with animal sounds. He's now able to bark like a dog, growl like a lion/bear, and baa like a sheep. It is so cute! On the way to the zoo this morning I asked him, "What sound does a sheep make?" and he said, "Baa!" ADORABLE!






What we didn't know/remember when we decided to head to the zoo was that today was the annual Boo at the Zoo Halloween weekend. I can pretty much guarantee that if Andrew knew that, we wouldn't have gone. However, since as members we're able to get into to zoo an hour before the regular crowd, we managed to get in and out before the crowds got too large. It was nice to be able to take a walk through the farm portion of the zoo where all the pumpkin festivities were set up.


Afterward, we discovered something that we hadn't seen before...a giant cactus slide. Of course C wanted to climb the stairs, and then he decided to slide head first.



Then Caleb got to ride on a lion...


and some elephants...


After the zoo we came home for a quick nap before heading out on a boat ride with GranB and Pop Pop. This was C's first boat ride since he's been mobile thanks to the wonderfully hot summer. Consequently, it was his first boat ride wearing a life vest. We weren't sure how he'd do with that. Our only experience with kids and life vests has been with our nephew, Nick, and let's just say that those trips didn't last very long nor were they very peaceful! However, it turns out that Caleb didn't mind it too much. And...he looked so darn cute!




It feels so great to be able to get out of the house again on the weekends. As always, I start going stir crazy in the early fall as we wait for the weather to cool. It finally feels like Fall and Halloween is only a week away. Let's hope that this wonderful weather stays with us right on through Thanksgiving!

Y3W

Birthday Pictures

I'd like to say that baseball has become a huge part of our life over the past few years since we've had season tickets to our local college team, but the truth is that Andrew and I have always enjoyed baseball together. Back in our dating days, when I would fly across country to visit Andrew, we would always be sure to make it to a MLB or Spring Training game when they were in season. I distinctly remember watching the World Series from my dorm room while talking on the phone with Andrew as our team took home the championship. Heck, even the tables at our wedding reception were named after stadiums we had visited together.


So of course we had a baseball theme for Caleb's first birthday party. I got all kinds of decorations from a local party store, and bought tablecloths in colors corresponding to our favorite team. We asked our guests to wear gear to support their favorite team, and of course, Andrew and I were supporting C's team the "Rookies."

Here are some of C's friends sporting their party hats.


Caleb sporting his "jersey"



The area we had set up with toys for all the little ones. Check out C's backward facing hat just like daddy!


I thought and thought about what to do for centerpieces. I didn't want to spend too much money, but I did want to stay with our theme. My first idea was a huge flop, then I decided I couldn't justify spending money to buy colored M&Ms, and so I again thought back to baseball...sunflower seeds. So I filled small vases that I purchased for $1 each with sunflower seeds and then stuck in some silk sunflowers in our team's colors. I was able to get the sunflowers on sale, so this was an overall very cheap and cute centerpiece. I don't have any images from the party itself, but here is the mock up.



Now, I have to say that I went a bit overboard for the cake, and honestly, I think it was a bit much for the cake decorator to handle. I asked for a baseball field with scoreboard and pennants. The cake lady suggested having a figure of C sitting on the mound. I agreed, but sort of wish that we had left that part off.


See what I mean?


The scoreboard was mostly what I envisioned.


The good news is that the cake tasted fantastic. Caleb loved his smash cake, well, mostly the icing.




He did not love being cleaned up.


After cake it was time for swimming. A lot of our guests enjoyed hanging out in or around the pool. Caleb got to hang out in the pool with my mom which was great bonding time for the two of them.



Drying off with Daddy.


It was the perfect day. Caleb arrived after his morning nap just as the party was starting, and left to head home for another nap as the party ended giving mommy and the grandparents just enough time to set up and clean up. I can't thank my mom and in-laws enough for everything that they provided to help us out. We couldn't have done it without them! This amazing day was well worth the effort. After all, he'll only turn 1 once!

Catching Up

I've really started to slack off on the blog posting this past month, hoping that no one would notice as long as I kept up with my half-hearted attempts at weekly Y3W posts. It has been almost a whole month since C's birthday, and I have yet to post any pictures. I promise, they're coming in the post right after this one. Now, let's see...what has been going on at our house lately? Caleb's vocabulary is growing daily. His current favorite thing to say is "Bah-bye" while waving his hand from side to side. He of course uses this to mean goodbye, but also when he means hello, good night, I'm done eating, and I'm done with whatever activity I'm currently participating in. He's also obsessed with his ball pit, that was a birthday present from mommy and daddy. We were originally looking to purchase some sort of climber/swingset type of toy, but decided to wait until we're in a bigger house. So I started searching craigslist for other options and got a steal on the ball pit. I purchased extra balls from One Step Ahead to fill it in. Needless to say, it has been a big hit, and well worth the money that I spent on it. Every morning/evening (ok, pretty much every time he's in the room with the thing, Caleb walks up to the ball pit and says, "ball" then looks at you until you lift him into it. I suspect this will be changing as he's now able to climb in over the edge without help. He can also climb out the side and will go head first down the slide that is attached. Andrew has been taking lots of videos to send to our families, so you can check it out for yourself:




I think that's about it for now. Check back later today for the first birthday pictures.

Y3W

Y3W

Last year at this time I was on my maternity leave spending all day at home. Once I caught up on all the shows we had on our DVR, and I had surfed the internet for a few weeks, I found that I was bored out of my mind during naps! So, I offered to design invitations for my sister's upcoming wedding. She accepted, and I was so excited to have a project! It was also exciting because she's having a winter wedding, which I think is so wonderful! I got to plan my own spring/summer wedding, and now I got to be a part of planning her winter themed wedding!

I got straight to work designing several options for she and her fiance to choose from. I designed several different monograms as well as several different invitation templates. While we were visiting over the holidays last year, they settled on a pocketfold design from Cards & Pockets. However, it wasn't until just a week ago that they finally settled on the final design for the monogram (top of the invitation), invitaiton and informational inserts. Of course, the deadline for printing and sending them was fast approaching, but it couldn't have come at a worse time with C's birthday party and then having to catch up with work for my job. However, this weekend we have made it a priority to get everything finalized, invitations printed and cut, so that we can get them in the mail on Monday for my sister and her finace to assemble and send them out. So without further ado, I present this week's Y3W...


*Note: personal information has been changed to protect the innocent! My sister is not a bridezilla, I simply couldn't think of anything else! However, I'm sure my future brother-in-law will be happy to see he's listed as "Groom ofthe Year."