Elijah turns one!

It's entirely possible that at this time last year, I was sleeping.  I had been awake for at least 24 hours you see.  Nathan and I had driven 7 hours and stood in a hospital room in awe as our son Elijah was born.

Yep, Little Guy is one year old.  It's still surprising to me.  We spent the day in high fashion with a party with friends and family at our house.  We felt very blessed that so many people came to help us celebrate Elijah.

So, I made this.  I wanted to do a lot more crafting for the party.  I even attempted to make my own invitations, but it did not go well and I gave up.  I was going to give the party a "farm" theme, but decided that themes didn't really matter that much to me this year since he won't remember.  Though, I did find a bunch of farm themed items at Party City later.  Instead we just went with a blue/green color scheme.  The cake was delicious and made by a friend of mine from high school.

My grandmother was one of the first people to arrive.  She is also one of Elijah's biggest fans.  They had so much fun playing together in the relative quiet before people really started arriving. They played peek-a-boo across the room and he loved it.

 But, I like this picture better!

Oh, the smash cake.  Wait for it....

He was a VERY big fan of the smash cake.

He even got down to the cake part.  It may look a little extreme, but I am very glad we decided to strip him to his diaper before the smash cake.

This is what the living room looked like before we settled in to eat and talk and enjoy each others' company.  That's my dad in the chair.

This picture looks hilarious to me with Scout in the high chair.

By the time everyone arrived, more children were at our house than ever before.  Counting Elijah there were six little ones here ranging from 9 months to six years.  It was so neat!

They mostly hung out in the sun room where we had toys and crayons and paper for coloring.  They also spent time in the kitchen where the food was.  We had Casey's pizza.  Elijah got many lovely presents which of course I don't have pictures of because I was opening them.  It was such a fun day!

7 Quick Takes (vol. 4)

Yes, I'm late with this.  Today will be my baby faces edition.  All week I have been taking pictures of faces Elijah makes.

-one-

He has started smiling, too, but only occasionally.  I haven't gotten a picture of it yet.

-two-

 Pam calls this his "Cheerio mouth" and it cracks her up.

-three-

 I'm pretty sure we can all figure out what he's doing here.

-four-

 Poor sleepy baby!

-five-

Tummy time is no longer completely hated.  He's started napping during it.

-six-

 I think he was talking here. 

-seven-

In other news, Nathan has contracted, what I can only assume is a mild form of plague.  He has been aching and coughing for three days.  And yesterday he celebrated his 31st birthday by staying home and lying on the couch all day.  Elijah and I have been coping by not spending too much time around him and getting out of the house at least once a day to give him time to sleep without being woken up.

For more 7 Quick Takes visit Conversion Diary!

26 and All Grown Up

I don't know why, but more than being married or living on my own or having a steady full time job, there has always been another factor that has seemed to me to be the indicator that someone has truly grown up.  It seems silly but I've always felt that without this, a household really isn't complete yet.  (This is not meant to be derogatory to anyone who doesn't have one, it's just the way I've always thought of it.)  But I got one for my birthday from my husband.

I don't understand it, but I've always thought a grown-up household needed a sewing machine.  This one is actually a million times nicer than the one I asked for.  Thanks, Nathan!

I also received the knitting needles I asked for from my mom and dad, plants from my sister-in-law, very nice gift cards from my own sibilings and this, from my in-laws:

No one else seems to understand it, but I have wanted a globe all my life.  I'm in love with it!

25

Today is my twenty-fifth birthday. I am spending it with Nathan and most of my family and my good friend Jules. My dad made pizza, and his pizza is my favorite food.

Here is a list of 25 things you may not know about me:

1. I am afraid of any bug with more than two eyes.
2. I hold onto three impossible dreams from my childhood: to climb Mount Everest, to live a summer in the Antarctic, and to compete in the Iditarod.
3. I aspire to be more like my sister-in-law, Janelle.
4. Every day, I think about the three months I lived in England, and if Nathan agreed to go, I would move back in a second.
5. I have one weird superstitious quirk, when I write, I get freaked out if I have to use anything other than a blue ballpoint Papermate pen.
6. I think my sister's name: Anne Cecilia, is the most beautiful.
7. The thought of putting in my contacts is enough to make me not want to get out of bed.
8. I hated my wedding dress.
9. I consider Anne and Elizabeth my best friends. (Nathan has moved above best friend status.)
10. I still hate taking my medicine every morning.
11. I'm extremely susceptible to nightmares.
12. When Nathan is gone overnight, I have to sleep with the closet light on.
13. I can recognize qualities I admire in people I don't.
14. Books are my favorite presents.
15. Giving up my maiden name is one of the hardest things I've ever done. If I weren't too afraid of needles, I'd get it tattooed on my hip.
16. I will do almost any chore before washing dishes.
17. I realize he was not the best actor, but I love every movie John Wayne ever made. They help me relax when I'm stressed.
18. I love getting to see my brother Nate and sister-in-law Alicia.
19. My friend Bonnie is one of my favorite people to have a conversation with.
20. Any day I don't write, I feel I've wasted.
21. My favorite thing about my life is my big family.
22. Nathan and I have favorite cats: mine is Hecate, his is Hyperion.
23. I actually do miss Macomb.
24. The only state I have ever lived in is Illinois.
25. I am lucky enough to have parents and in-laws I love.