California Adventure with FTMG

I am a member of a facebook group called First Time Mommy Group. My good friend Vivian invited me to join and it turns out a co-worker is a member and the founder is an acquaintance from college. Small world, huh? The mom's group had been talking about a Disneyland trip for a while and since I now had a pass I was excited to go. Vivian and I carpooled down and only Masae (the friend from college) ended up coming. We had such a fun day!! Vivian and I took the kids to Bug's Land and on Monsters, Inc. Then we met Masae and her daughter Raegan at the Disney Junior Live show. It was Hudson's first time seeing it and he loved it!! Hudson fell asleep on the walk to the Little Mermaid ride so I grabbed lunch while the girls went on it. Then we took some photos and went on the Little Mermaid ride one more time before we decided to head home. It was a very relaxed and fun half day at Disneyland. 

When we got back to Vivian's the kids played together for a bit before we went home. Hudson loved playing with all of Leah's toys (other kid's toys are always more exciting than your own-until someone else is interested in them) Leah was not a huge fan of Hudson using all her stuff. She did love giving Hudson cuddles though!! She is such a little cutie pie!

Artwork

One of the cool things about Pretend City is that they give you evaluations for your child based on age. It lists all sorts of milestones they should be reaching and some they can work towards. Before conducting the evaluation with Hudson, I hadn't even considered that he might be ready for coloring/drawing. I gave him a few highlighters and we went outside with some paper to see what he would do. He held the highlighter well and immediately started scribbling on the paper. I was so proud of him and his first piece of art.

Pretend City Play Date

On September 9th, Hudson and I met Ashley and Avery for a play date. We had lunch at Ashley's before heading to Pretend City. Pretend City has so many fun little rooms including a fishing area, the beach, a firehouse, a grocery store, a farm and so much more. The kids had such a great time and Ashley and I were dying over how cute they were together! We had a blast and can't wait to do this again!!

Ornaments

On September 8th, we took Hudson to the mall to get ornaments made of his hands and feet. He really enjoyed the process and we got adorable Christmas gifts for the grandparents and ourselves. If you are in the area, the business is called Little Prints by Silvia. She is on facebook and she advertises in Baby Gaps in the area.

Rachelle's Birthday Dinner

On September 7th, after the scrapbooking baby shower and 1st birthday party, we went down to Rachelle's for her birthday dinner. As soon as we got there she told me she had a gift for Hudson. When we got to her room, she pulled out the mini cupcake stand that I had given her when I told her I was pregnant with Hudson. It had a mini cupcake on top and she was grinning from ear to ear. I knew right away what she was telling me! I started crying and jumping up and down with excitement. My best friend is going to be a mommy!! 

Later that night, after dinner, she announced it to the table. Everyone was so excited and people were tearing up. A few people, including Nic, looked at me and were surprised that my reaction wasn't better. I explained that Rachelle had told me earlier in the night and I had already done my fair share of crying. :) What a great way to celebrate Rachelle's birthday! I know this upcoming year is going to be one of the best years of her life!!

Tyler and Rachel's 1st Birthday Party

On September 7th, we also squeezed in a birthday party for friends we met in our birthing class. Hudson's friends Rachel and Tyler turned one. We got to see a few of our other friends from the birthing class as well as friends from Gymboree. :) The party was so fun and I'm glad that we were able to be there. 

Tonya's Baby Shower

On September 7th, my mom and I went to Tonya's scrapbooking baby shower. It was an all day scrapbooking event and we had a blast! It was perfect for Tonya (she owns the scrapbooking store) and it was nice to have a girl's day crafting with my mom. One of the cutest aspects of the shower was that everyone was asked to make a scrapbook page for Baby Milo. Of course, all the pages turned out SO cute!! It was a lot of fun even though I had to keep leaving for other events and we wish Tonya and her little boy on the way lots of Love!

Lake Mead

On August 31st, we drove out to spend Labor Day weekend with my family at Lake Mead. We just love it out there. We had so much fun water skiing, wakeboarding, wakeskating, and surfing. Hud was not a fan of his lifevest though so every time we took him out on the boat, he got really quiet (and hot). He loved being in the water though and his favorite thing was riding the seadoo with daddy. We had such a great time and I can't wait to see Hudson grow up with the same fond memories of lake trips as I have.

Hudson's party DIYs

I started quite a while in advance of Hudson's birthday party. Ordering things on-line and mostly making stuff. My scrapbook room became birthday prep central. It was a lot of work, but I really had fun doing it. :)

Highchair:
I searched for months to find a vintage high chair for Hudson. I finally found one on etsy at midnight one night and ordered it right then and there. When it arrived, Nic fixed a loose nail, then I got to work sanding it down. I had never sanded anything before and it really took a long time! Once I was done, Nic spray painted it. We are so happy with how it turned out.

Clothespins:
I bought regular clothespins and took them apart (apparently this step is optional). Then placed them in jars with boiling water, vinegar and food coloring. I let them soak for over an hour, then placed them on a towel to dry. Once dry, I put them back together. Here is the tutorial I followed: http://www.hellobee.com/2012/09/18/diy-stained-clothespins/

Crates:
I bought white crates from Joanns (on sale). I wanted two of them to be shelves, so I bought wood planks, painted them white and glued them in. Then Nic added nails to make them more secure. They turned out great and are so functional. They fit my mason jars perfectly. 

ONE: 
I bought cardboard letters from Michaels, painted them white, then added scrapbook paper to the fronts using mod podge. 

Banners:
I used scrapbook paper, chipboard, my cricket for the letters, and ribbon to make the banners.

Washi Flags:
I wrapped washi tape around the toothpicks, then cut out a triangle in the ends. These were really easy and looked so cute! (I also used the washi tape to cover the red handles on the turquoise suitcases I bought, I wrapped plain chalkboards that I bought from Joanns with washi tape and used the tape on the back of the envelopes for the invitations).

Bowties:
I bought fabric from Joanns (the small squares they sell at a discounted price). The followed this tutorial. http://www.fourthandhazel.com/diy-bow-tie/ I used clips on the back though instead of bobby pins. 

Centerpieces:
I bought two bouquets of hydrangeas from Costco, $1 buckets from Party City, florist foam from Michaels and wooden dowels from Michaels. I used one bunch of hydrangeas for each bucket. Then I printed out the bowtie image I made and glued them onto the dowels. I stuck three bowtie dowels in each bucket. It was a total last minute idea and they turned out really cute!

Signs:
I used the Creative Memories Software I own to design all the signs and personalized labels. I placed most of the signs in hand painted wooden frames from Michaels. 

Photo Booth: 
We bought a backdrop and ipad holder from Amazon. We then downloaded the app pocketbooth. I made and/or bought tons of props and my parents brought their wireless printer with photo paper. The app makes it possible for everyone to e-mail the pictures to themselves, plus we got a copy of every picture taken. It is easy to use and everyone had tons of fun with it!!

1 Year Appointment

On August 26th, Hudson had his 1 year appointment. He weighed 19 pounds 10 ounces and was 29 1/4 inches long. He got his 1 year shots and overall got a great report from the doctor.