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Monday, August 09, 2010

Prince Simeon's Party

I should quit calling him Prince Simeon, he may start believing it then we'd really be in trouble!

This post has wonderful pictures! Daniel's cousin's wife Erin Quinn takes gorgeous pictures, she has a business Quinntography. Erin was so sweet to take pictures at Simeon's birthday and send some of them to me. Erin did our Christmas card picture last year and it was great, but she will take pictures for other occasions too. If you need a photographer give her a call. Maybe I should hire her to do a monthly or quarterly shot of the boy since my photography skills are lacking.


The boy ate so much cake I thought he was going to be sick last night. Next time he gets a smaller piece.


What a great Daddy! This may be my favorite picture ever.


Cousin Noelle having a ball

We had a great time, and are so grateful for all our family. I really couldn't have done it alone. Simeon (most importantly) really had fun even though the party was late. We had an evening party so my mom could come, thanks Momma for working so hard all these years. I hope no one ever has to go to the ER at St. D on a weekend night but if you do my Momma will take care of you. Evenings aren't the boys best time but he did really well.

We were able to party at the Oakmont clubhouse and it was pretty open, he seemed to love just running around a wide open space. There wasn't much for him to get into and he had a great time. Simeon ate too much delicious cake. He was excited about the presents, and he should be. The boy is set: a Grateful dead shirt, puzzles, a train, pjs, cool books, a pull along froggy, and a nice new (smaller) diaper bag. When the weather cleared up we got to take a little swim and even tested out the capacity of the swim diaper! That was our second hosing off of the night!

For the love of Etsy


So we had Simeon's first birthday party yesterday. We had a blast and I didn't have a emotional meltdown. It was almost like a wedding, I did so much preparation and planning and then it came and went in a flash. Now some momma's spend lots of time on what their kids are going to wear or some other detail. I focused on establishing family traditions. I love traditions, maybe because I don't like change and traditions are comforting. I also like using the same, quality items over because it is less wasteful. To each their own, but that's my style.

I found some awesome ladies on Etsy to make some special party decorations for me. First off I remember some birthdays when I got to wear a hat and I loved it. So I had Song at GirlGirlBoy make the crown up at the top. Yes if you follow the link you may die at the prices. But I went cheap on other things. And I don't have any free spending money for the next year, just joking:) Several of my guests informed me that Simeon will not want to wear this awesome bday crown for all his birthdays through 9. That's ok, maybe we'll have a sweet little girl who will. I have made a real effort to buy gender neutral party decorations so they can be reused by a future Root girl.


I found a great bday banner made by yellow label kids before I ever had Simeon and knew that I wanted it for our family tradition. They had a matching tablecloth, but by the time I had Simeon they quit making the set and I couldn't find the tablecloth!

So I found this great family on Etsy to custom make me a birthday quilt table topper. They even let me pick my own fabrics. Their price was so reasonable and it is fun, bright, and festive. I washed it this morning and it still looks great. The only hitch was I planned it for our table at home, but we ended up using the clubhouse at Daniel's parents neighborhood and the table there was bigger. If I had planned a bit better I would have had a longer tablecloth to go under it. It was nice anyway though.

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Slow cooker madness

Finally a food post!

I decided that I needed a new slow cooker to better prepare healthy meals for my family, how American right. We always need new stuff for some reason or another. I do like my new slow cooker. I wish that I had ordered my new slow cooker and this cookbook on Amazon and saved some $. If any of my friends out there have good slow cooker cookbook recommendations please pass them along.

I have enjoyed my new slow cooker. It is a better size and shape for my family. My old one was an oval and too big to prepare smaller meals so I didn't use it much. I have been looking for ways to avoid overheating the house during this horrible heat wave we have been suffering from. I have cooked beets and butternut squash in my slow cooker and was very happy with the results. I cooked some Swedish meatballs that Daniel really loved. I cooked oatmeal that was easy and a good, quick breakfast, we'll have to repeat that this winter. I will say some things I cooked seem a bit overcooked, I think my slow cooker might run a bit hot. I haven't got all scientific and checked the temp. during cooking. I'm looking forward to using my slow cooker more.

Sillies


I'm really hoping today was foretaste of my future as a stay at home mom to a toddler. We had a great day! He was so happy and silly. I guess he did get two good naps. Otherwise I'm not sure why he was so silly, but I certainly enjoyed it. I hate Daniel wasn't home with me all day to enjoy his antics. Warning this post may is kinda corny:)

He really has enjoyed his present from us, it's the first time he has been interested in a gift from us for more than 2 seconds. I found this nice family on Etsy that makes blocks in unfinished different types of wood. I really want to get Simeon some nice, eco friendly toys without breaking the bank and this fit the bill. I love the color variation of the different types of wood. He really enjoys pulling the blocks out of the bag and seeing what shape and type wood he has grabbed!

I will speak about my love of Etsy briefly, it is wonderful. I can buy from small business from my home. I love to support small businesses especially after running my tiny bakery from home for a few years. I have found that people on Etsy offer some great products for great prices and are happy to customize for picky people like me.

Other fun moments we enjoyed today. Simeon was interested in a candle in our prayer corner. I picked it up and sniffed it and he tried to sniff it too. It was so funny because he was breathing in and out of his nose trying to mimic me. I guess you had to be there...

Another silly episode, he has randomly thrown himself on the floor and while laying on his belly started kicking one leg and looking up at me like some sort of model. I have no idea where that one came from. I'm hoping he has inherited Daniel's delightfully sometimes silly personality.

We had a good day, I think the rain bringing a little coolness definitely helped my mood. I'm thankful for all our many blessings.

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

His big day!

Well today is the day my boy turned one year old! I can't believe it flew by so quickly. I also can't believe I have survived on so little sleep. I have been so blessed to be home with my sweet boy. It has been challenging too. I believe that being a mom is making me a more patient and less selfish person. This picture isn't the best, Daniel wanted to capture him opening his first bday present, but there will be many more I'm sure.

I will reflect on Simeon for a bit. He started walking oh a few weeks ago and now he is running! Seriously if I don't have the gate pulled he will run down the hall to explore one of the "not so baby proofed" rooms in a flash. He is still a big momma's boy, he really wants to be held a good portion of the day. I have given up trying to force him into amusing himself when he wants to be held. I am loving being able to wear him on my back around the house, and he loves it even more. I suppose some babies just need more attention and closeness. I'd rather wear him than hear him fuss, and he'd rather be worn too:) Simeon is interested in his toys and books more and will entertain himself happily for maybe 30 minutes a few times a day. By entertaining himself he completes wrecks the room, toys are from one end to the other. What a boy:) My grandmother nailed his little personality while we were visiting. She said "he's just a little busybody, I thought he was hyper but I don't think he is." Although Simeon is very busy he is also very focused when he wants to be. Daniel and I have worried that he might be a bit ADD, but my attitude now is so what if he is. We can help him cope with it it's not a death sentence. He is going to keep me very busy for the next few years. I'm praying that I have the patience to help him channel his vast energy and curiosity into helping me around the house and learning about all sorts of things! He hates to nap, he just doesn't want to miss much. I have gotten better about coaxing him into a nap.

He is still a good eater as he has been from the first! I have been blessed to be able to nurse Simeon for a year. I attribute my success to all the support I've had from my family and being able to stay at home with him. The mom's who go to work and pump for their babies are super moms and I really admire all they do for their babies. I will briefly mention that in the last few months I've started attending La Leche League meetings and wish I had done that so much earlier. Don't be afraid of LLL, not everyone there breastfeeds their kids till they're 6! I have met a lot of nice people there and Simeon enjoys playing with other kids. It's basically a playgroup, kids play and moms talk. I'm pretty much feeding him what I cook for me and Daniel, and he likes most everything. He tends to prefer food seasoned, like a little bbq sauce on his mashed hamburger but who could blame him?

He loves his daddy and will run toward the door when he gets home. He and daddy play fun games that I'm not creative enough to have invented! Daniel has been a great dad and I couldn't ask for more. He has cloth diapered like a pro with few complaints. He pulls Simeon's rickshaw behind his bike, with Simeon's heft it's a 50 lb load! More importantly he has helped me with everything I have asked him to.

I have been reflecting on this last year a lot over the past month and feel so blessed. Simeon is a blessing to us, it is difficult to put into words how much I love him. It does take a village to raise a child and I would have frazzled out this year completely if it wasn't for the support of my family and our wonderful church family. We are very blessed.