So are you ready for my party rant? :)

Sunday morning, party day, Ronnie and I prepped the food sides and dessert (my first time making cake pops and they actually came out SO GOOD!) All was good and running smoothly until right before we had to leave. Let me break it down for you...

• 1:15 - Shit. V is still napping  (and you know you never wake a sleeping child).
• 1:30 - V decides to finally wake up and I still need to get her dressed.
• 1:35 Ronnie leaves to the park to take my boxes of décor, food, etc.
• Did I mention we were supposed to be at the park to set up the party at 1:30?
• 1:40 I get V loaded up and ready to leave. HOLYEFFSHIT! My keys are in my purse. In Ronnie's car. Immediately call Ronnie and he races back.
• 1:45 Ronnie shows up, literally throws the keys to me and races back to the park.
• 1:55 We finally arrive to set up for our 2:00 party!! Fun times made even more awesome when 10 of your 30 guests are already there!! AGH!!!

(And in case you were wondering why we didn't set up much earlier, it's because we only had the pavilion from 1:30-5:30. Thirty minutes to set up would've been plenty - had we been on time.)

Then. THEN. None of my decorations would stay put. The weather was great but it was windy and even windier under the pavilion. So...

• More than half of the décor had to stay in the bins, including my adorable favor bags.
• My cake pops wouldn't even stand up (And more than half were eaten within the first half hour. WTF.)
• My picture frames had to be taped down (classy)
• The kids were gone at the play area most of the time so the piñata never got hit.
• I took oh, about 5 pictures (Still waiting on some from family) 
• V had to wear a jacket covering her adorable shirt, for almost the entire party (oh and in the mad rush I'd misplaced the special headband I had ordered just for that day!! agh)

That's all fine though. The part that upsets me the most is that *I* didn't take more pictures. It's hard when you're running the shindig and even harder when the whole afternoon felt so rushed ya know? So no pictures of the little details, favor bags, none of the food table and hardly any of me WITH Violet. It was just a crazy time and I'm curious to see what pictures my family actually captured! The few I have are ones that I took with my phone and some that my friend took, mostly from across the room because she didn't want to butt in while we were with family or other friends. (SILLY.)

womp womp. Not the dessert table I'd planned on but it did the trick.

the party // love this one of her // Checking out the piñata that never got hit

Girl never wanted to be put down. See?

She finally wanted down when she saw a "big kid" playing. She's loving big kids lately.

So my party didn't end up Pinterest worthy like I'd hoped and nothing went as planned BUT we had a good time, our guests had a good time, Violet got a lot of love and gifts and it was fun for what it was.

But let me just say - I'm glad it's over.

I'm grateful we did it for her 1st because it's a big birthday and a fun one to celebrate but from now on, NO PARTIES. At least not until she starts asking for them. Birthdays will be just a day spent with her and maybe some friends and any celebrating we do will be at our house with just immediate families. I think the fun (and stress) of this party was enough to hold us over for a while ;)

I feel guilty for bitching so much! Please tell me I'm not the only mom who feels this way about parties?!

her 1st birthday.

So Violet's party was this past Sunday and while I won't call it a FAIL, I have to say it definitely did not go as planned. I was going to talk about it today but since this post ended up being picture heavy enough, I'll wait on the party talk for another post.

For now, let's talk about Thursday - V's actual birthday ;)

I had decorated around the house and she woke up in the BEST MOOD. I think all sadness I had over her turning 1 was gone the moment she smiled at me that morning :) She is a little fool.

After we had some breakfast, we took her to her 12 month appointment and she had her shots (I know, evil parents doing that to her on her birthday but I was already taking the day off and it worked out ok?) so afterwards we sat in the car trying to cheer her up for a bit and it didn't take long for her to knock out. Ronnie and I then ate a fabulously romantic lunch of Panda Express in the car while she napped. When she woke up, she was in the BEST MOOD again. I swear it's like she knew it was her birthday. ha So then we took her for some froyo and she had the best time. Cutest thing ever.

We decided to then take her to the Zoo but got there and decided it was too windy and chilly for it so we just stopped by some nearby antique stores (I'm sure this is exactly how V wanted to celebrate.) and then headed home. The rest of the day was spent being lazy, playing, eating pizza, trying to take some pictures of her. It was such a fun day!

Why yes, the only things that would keep her sitting still were my phone and her baba.
Please tell me how you got your kids off the bottle. Whatever we're doing ain't working.

We didn't do anything crazy special but I think it was the perfect way to spend her day with her. I still can't believe we have a ONE YEAR OLD!! Looking back now, we could've been done with just that day of celebrating - no party necessary. But, we were having a party and still had that to get ready for...More to come on that!

Go enter my giveaway, y'all! Chip & Chisel jewelry is the best and you can win $50 to her shop!

One year old.

One year ago today our baby girl arrived at 3:31 pm (the time I scheduled this post :) and our lives were changed forever.

It has been a year of more worry, laughter, tears, happiness and love than I ever could have imagined and it all went by too fast! Our teeny 6 pounder may be long gone but she has been replaced by a hilarious wild child who loves music and dancing, her pets, her dolls, eating anything and everything and taking drives with her parents. She's also the biggest Daddy's girl I think I've ever seen ;)

Thank you for picking us to be your parents, Violet Malynn. 

We are the luckiest people ever because of it. We love you like crazy, baby girl! 

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!

Nine days + freebies

Ok, we are down to single digits.

My baby girl will be one in just nine days.

NINE days!

It's insane, y'all.

I know I'll be a mess the night before and the day of. Oh, and at her birthday party of course. (No shame!)

But right now I've gotta say, I really am loving the silly, cuddly, soo smart toddler that she's becoming.
(She's also started throwing mini tantrums and having some major 'tude but let's go back to believing she's a perfect angel, k? ;)

I took this video the other night and it's just seconds long but it's totally HER. Always smiling, always making some funny noise and ALWAYS with the fro at the beginning and end of the day. This was at the end of the day. The destroyed living room might give that away :)


Ok and just to prove I have a life outside my kid (even if it's a very limited one), here's a few freebies I wanted to share!

-- Make your own Monogram Facebook cover (I will be doing this shortly!!)

-- "Think Happy, Be Happy" free printable

-- Free Printable Blog Planner. I personally don't ever "plan" for my blog (Obviously. I'm posting at freaking 5 in the afternoon!) but I know some of y'all do so this might be helpful!

Future math nerd.

So remember that time I spent all evening making props and getting two outfits + accessories ready for a certain someone's 1st birthday photo session? The session was a flop.

Not on my end. Not on the photographer's (my amazing and patient friend) end either.

It was all on my child.

The child who was in no mood to smile, no mood to sit still. She wanted to cry and flail around like a crazy who'd woken up too soon from her nap. (Oh wait, that's exactly what happened.)

I thought having her out in the sunshine and cool air would make her happy but nothing was making her happy.

Except for a calculator. That DAMN CALCULATOR.

Not sure why Ronnie gave that to her one time but since then she has become ub-sessed. Sure she plays with other toys but only for a little bit. At least until she remembers to look for her calculator.

Needless to say, the photos didn't quite turn out as I'd hoped but there's one that's my favorite...even if that DAMN CALCULATOR is front and center. I'm sure we'll look back on this many years from now and laugh.

For now, the outfits, the props and the smashing of a cupcake will have to wait until our rescheduled session next weekend.

Such is life with an almost 1 year old :)

Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend! Happy Friday!!

Glitter and some tears.

I swore I would never be a mommy blogger but I kinda am and I don't care like I thought I would. V really is our LIFE and if anyone had told me two years ago that I'd be talking this way, I'd have laughed and taken another swig of beer. But it's true. Having a baby changes you, your life, your relationship with your significant other, all of it. It's overwhelming and amazing all at once.

Last night I held her as she fell asleep and realized that YES, I'm going to be a wreck for the next 2 weeks. I'm taking a sad little walk down memory lane because I hate how fast it has all flown by and you know what, I'm allowed. She might be the only babe we ever have (and honestly could ever handle ;) and all sobbing aside, I really am just trying to live in each and every moment.

Last night I was knee deep in all things sparkley while I DIY'ed some props for her 1st birthday photo shoot this afternoon.

(This is definitely the fun part about having a girl :)

I'm completely excited for the photo shoot and can't wait to see her reaction to the cupcake but have to admit, I definitely have THIS girl on my heart:

Same baby Violet, just a brand new, 2 week old version.

The next 2 weeks are going to be real mushy. Fair warning, y'all.

1st Birthday Party Planning

Some of you have asked what I'm planning for Violet's 1st Birthday Party so I thought I'd share just a few details! I don't have much prepared even just a month away - just a whole lotta ideas that I need to get done ASAP. (I don't think I'll stop being a procrastinator!) I've also never hosted a big party like this on my own before so I'm pretty clueless but hoping that working in the event management biz for 5 years has rubbed off on me a bit. One can hope!

Theme:
When I found out Violet was a girl (and named Violet! :) I decided that we would have a Willy Wonka themed party. I pinned ideas like crazy but just about 2 weeks ago, I got over it. Just like that. So a new theme was born: Confetti + Glitter! (Said just like Flo the Progressive girl says "Unicorns and Glitter!". Am I the only one who remembers these things?) It's a simple and easy idea but still very girly. So the Pinterest board was updated and I finally got going and started everything off by asking my amah-zing friend Brittany to design the invitations. (Please go visit her blog and Etsy shop, she's the best!)

These are just a few ideas that really got the ball rolling. 

You can see more on my Violet's Party Pinterest board.

When:

Saturday, March 9th, two weekends after Violet's February 28th birthday.

Where:

Our house just isn't laid out for a party like this so we decided on a park right down the street from our house. I was nervous at first because of our wishy washy weather at that time of year but considering we're already about to hit 80 degrees, I'm hoping we'll be ok on that day. I was also worried about how we'd make an outdoor pavilion feel girly and sparkly but I'm up for the challenge! We'll be in this small pavilion right near one of the park's playgrounds so at least it's not a lot of space to have to decorate.

Who's Invited:

Violet gets nervous with huge crowds of strangers in her face so we decided to keep the guest list small. But that's easier said than done when I have close to 80 people on each side of my parent's families. Ronnie's family is much smaller but add in our friends and it's been tough making the list. We finally narrowed it down to immediate family + friends and family with little ones (plus just a few people who don't have kids but they're important to us and we would like them there). I'm dreading the guilt trips from those we didn't invite! 

To Do:

I have all kinds of DIY projects planned: banners, confetti to add to little pockets on the back of the invitation, serving trays I'd like to personalize, a couple cupcake stands I want to make and creating + adding glitter to treat bags, food labels, etc. There will be so much glitter I'm sure I'm gonna find it in Violet's diapers at some point. ha!

I also need to sit down with Ronnie to finalize the guest list (oy.), decide on what activities/games we'll have, finalize the menu and then get with my friends who have volunteered to help me with cooking, baking, DIY'ing. So the next few weekends are about to get ca-razy!

And because I'm such a tease (hey, I love surprises myself!), here's a sneak peek of the invitation that Brittany has put together. She's working on the final proof but what she already put together is PERFECT!

So what do you think? Any ideas/tips for me? 

Any wine recommendations? (I'm looking into becoming a heavy drinker starting NOW.)