Our Little Honey Bun's 1st Birthday Celebration!

Here are the sweet and short details of the party:
Theme: Mustache
Guests: Friends and Family (and lots of babies!)
Activities: Food, Cake Smash, Photobooth, Baby Play, Iron Chef Competition, Trivia.

I'd like to start out by saying that I have a love and hate relationship with Pinterest. I love Pinterest because I was able to find (quickly), lots of cute ideas for his party. I hate Pinterest because I found LOTS of cute ideas that I wanted to do for his party. Looking back, I may have gone a bit crazy with the mustache theme, but it was worth the hard work, it was fun, and the little one really enjoyed it.

Here are a few pictures of the details of the decor:

I piped each of these chocolate mustaches to top the cupcakes. They were actually really fun to make.

Steve printed out a mustache cookie cutter on his 3D printer. I made a maple sugar cookie and later frosted them with chocolate.


I made a banner with paper that came in a package. I first stamped the paper with mustache stamps, cut the pennants out and then glued letters that I cut out from red construction paper.

 We also had a ghetto photo booth set up in the game room. We provided props (by the end of the night, somehow many of Nathan's toys from his room ended up in the pile) and I used a photo booth app, my kindle and a music stand to set up the photo booth.

Here is the background that I created. The balloons are tied onto a pool stick that's behind the sofa.

Here are a few pictures from the photo booth. 

My niece, Grace, really liked the photo booth. About 30% of the pictures were of her.

The food spread. Pringles, Veggies with 2 types of homemade dip, baguettes with a roasted eggplant and bell pepper spread, Goat Tea Sandwiches (Goat Cheese, olive tapenade, and greens), pulled pork sandwiches with a creamy kale slaw. Not pictured: Pom Selleck cocktail drink. Pomegranate juice, Pom liqueur, triple sec, white rum, seltzer water.

I went ahead and made 2 types of cupcakes. Carrot cake and chocolate cake. On the bottom of the chocolate cake I put either regular or mint oreos. The frosting was a cream cheese frosting. You can kind of see the frosted mustache cookies to the right of the cakes.

As people entered the door, they were welcome to pick a mustache. I'd say about half of the guests started out with staches, but as the day went on, they started to disappear. I ended up taking mine off after 2 hours.

In preparing for the party, I had this silly notion/idea in my head that I needed to create this awesome Pinterest-worthy party for my son. All of my boards and pins caused me to forget about what was most important: celebrating surviving the first year with our family and friends. Despite the fact that the party may not have been exactly Pinterest-worthy, I had a blast! A big part of it was because of my sister and her boyfriend helped us out tremendously. They worked behind the scenes and put the final touches on the party while I was able to visit and really spend time with our guests.

Here are just a few of the babies that attended. We also had a few older kids. It was crazy! Boom, waaa, giggle, squeal, were the sounds of the house.

The most amazing part was this moment. Nathan sat on the dinner table while all the guests surrounded the table. We started to sing Happy Birthday.

 Suddenly, he perks up, looks around and gets this hey, they're singing to me! look on his face. Thinking back now, I realized that during those few moments, like in a movie, the singing faded, the people disappeared, and in front of me was the most amazing little creature. Tears came to my eyes as I looked at him and this overwhelming feeling of proud took over. It was pretty amazing. I'd have to say it is one of my top 10 favorite moments of my life.

It didn't take long for him to quickly crawl over to the cake. He cautiously approached it,

 Daintily tasted the sweet frosting,

 and then went to town. 

As baby/toddler bedtime quickly approached, the guests gradually said their goodbyes and for about 30 minutes, the house was calm. And then more people showed up for part 2 of the party.

The second set of guests all said their Happy Birthdays to Nathan and then it was bedtime for him. Twice a year, we host an Iron Chef party where people bring a dish that features a certain ingredient. In the past we've done chocolate, egg, and squash, so this time it was Oreos. We had a pretty good spread of food.

Top left: Oreo crusted bbq pork ribs. (best tasting)
Underneath: Oreo Tiramisu
Top right: Gorgonzola, pear, smoked turkey quiche with golden oreo crust and crumb.
Bottom left: Whiskey Oreo cake balls.
Above: Peanut butter/banana/oreo cheesecake cupcakes with bacon topping. (best presentation)
Bottom right: Oreo crusted beef satay with Oreo cream, coconut, chili sauce. (best overall)
Above: Savory Oreo tamales with oreo whipped cream topping. (most creative)
Not Pictured: Mint Oreo ice cream squares.

After the feast was over, we set up for a few rounds of trivia featuring famous mustaches for both visual and audio rounds, 2 rounds about cookies, 1 round on space, and then a random knowledge round.

Was I tired? Yes. Is there still a bunch of stuff to clean? Yes. Do we have a fridge full of Oreo desserts? Yes! But the laughter, food, and joy that came out of it was worth it.

So there you go. We survived the first year. (And we're responsible for at least 17 more years...)

When My Water Broke 365 Days Ago

Dear Nathan,
Exactly a year ago, my water broke around this time. It was then, when I realized that my life would never be the same...and that's a good thing. To tell you the truth, for the first few months that you were home, you were not so fun. All you did was sleep and feed. You didn't smile, you didn't give us any kisses, and instead of feeling like a mom, I actually felt like a cow. But as the months went by, you started to smile, give us kisses, roll over, sit up, give us hugs, play peek-a-boo, cruise, crawl, and do lots of other cool tricks. You are playful and like to joke around with us. For now, you are pretty good at following instructions. You understand and follow "no". You will give things to me if I ask for them. You will sit down when I ask you to. You are super social and will wave to others. You love watching other kids play. You love music and you love to dance. The people who watch you while mommy is working out or at church all love you. I am so proud to be your mommy!

You are also stacking blocks pretty well. We are now up to 3 wooden blocks. You get pretty happy after you successfully stack a block. Here's a link to a video of you working on stacking 2 blocks.

Things like lids are also very interesting to you. It seems like you are now starting to understand how things work together. No longer are things separate entities. You've discovered that plastic lids can snap onto their containers and be separated again. One day you were pretty much entertained for at least 20 minutes as you figured out how to put the lid on and pull it off.

There have been instances where you are accidentally standing for more than 5 seconds at a time. The first time we noticed it was when you were playing with Daddy and the TV remote. You pretty much stood up, and held it over your head. You did the same thing with an egg plant yesterday. In both instances, as you held the objects up high, you kind of let out a victory exclamation. Soon after you realized that you were not holding on to anything, you sat down. So with this new awareness, you are also able to travel a farther distance between the couch and coffee table. You are comfortable with a distance that requires you to take no more than 2 steps to reach the other side. Sometimes you miss and bonk your head on the couch, or worse, the glass table top, but you seem to be ok.

Unfortunately, you have been a bit under the weather this week. First it started out with you just not wanting to eat food. This went on for a couple of days. Last night, I finally got you to eat some pureed stuff. Your stools had been a little on the soft side, but you were wetting diapers normally and your normal self. This morning Daddy comments on how mellow you were. On our way to the grocery store, I heard a sputtering sound and immediately afterwards, I smelled something pretty stinky. Luckily I forgot to refill the diaper bag with more diapers, otherwise I would've driven all the way to the grocery store and would've had to turn right back. So, I turned around and drove home. When I opened up the back door, I was shocked to find you pretty much covered from your waist down.  I grabbed a towel, wrapped you up and stuck you in the bathtub. We washed up and afterwards, we went outside to hose the car seat down. It took me awhile (of pulling on slimy straps) to figure out how to get the car seat out. But I got it out, hosed it off and now it's drying on the sidewalk.

Here's a not-so-graphic representation of the mess. Notice how all the crevices and holes are covered? Let's just say gravity did not suddenly stop working.

I'm pretty proud of how I handled it. I'm proud how well you handled it! You were so calm and still playful. You were probably a bit confused why I stuck you in the bathtub with your clothes and diapers on, but I really didn't know what else to do. Which reminds me, I need to go do some laundry now. 

I may make a special post about your first birthday party which is coming up. But here is a picture of your friend celebrating his first birthday. He didn't quite go crazy with the cake, and your other friend who turned one didn't either. I wonder how you'll react to cake. Daddy wanted carrot cake for your birthday, so carrot cake it is.

This weekend will be pretty exciting. Not only will you have your own birthday party, you will have another friend's to attend as well on the next day. And then in October, there will be two more! Exciting times.

365 days ago, my water broke. A year afterwards, you are sitting beside me, helping me with prepping dinner. Son, we have come a long way, and oh the places we'll go!

Well little guy, I hope you get better soon since you will have a pretty exciting weekend ahead of you. I love you so much!
Mommy

Pooping and Peeing in the Potty: Week 51

Dear Nathan,
Each day, you surprising me with new tricks. Today, you were throwing a mini fit when I put you in the car seat. You were whining and standing up in the car seat. As soon as I gave you a toy, you stopped whining and then when I asked you to sit down, you immediately bent your legs and sat down. How cool! I could see on your face that you thought it was pretty cool that you understood what I said.

Your signing is becoming more muddled. "More" and "all finished" pretty much look the same, except you lead with your right hand for "more" and you lead with your left hand for "all finished." We are going to have to work on this.

You've been waving your arms in front of your face a lot. What are you trying to tell us when you do that? I think you are trying to say "Something new," but I'm not sure. You also show the milk sign sometimes when you want to cuddle. I guess I can see that connection.

You like to climb up the stairs. You will go up full steam and will occasionally stop to look back to make sure that I'm behind you. You have tried going down the stairs by yourself, but did not successfully complete the task. I let you learn a lesson by letting you fall, but catching you after tumbling over one step. Now, you are more cautious when you are by the stairs.

 You are getting pretty good at putting things away. You can put all of your cars in the bucket. You even helped mommy empty the CSA veggies from the bottom of the stroller.

Afterwards, you had fun playing with the stroller.

You just went around and around. Occasionally, you would fall down, but you just got right back up and continued to go around. It was too funny! 

You are also pretty handy in the kitchen with the dishes. You take the dishes out of the bottom rack and hand them to mommy. I turned around for a second to put the dishes away in the cabinet and found you here. 

Since the weather is getting nicer, we'd like to take you out on more bike rides. The only problem is that you don't really like wearing your bike helmet. We decided to get you used to wearing the helmet by putting it on you for just a little bit each day. You still don't like it too much. 

Last night after dinner, we were able to take you out for a spin. You liked it when I rode fast down a hill. You tried to take your helmet off when you remembered that you had it on, but I was able to distract you by asking you "Where's the tree?" You then looked around and pointed at one. 

Now that you are sleeping pretty well. In fact, you are on a pretty regular schedule. You sleep for the most part from 8 at night to about 7 in the morning. When you wake up, you just play in your bed for sometimes as long as 45 minutes before you cry for us. It was kind of nice this week when you decided to sleep in until 8 because I was just starting to get sick and needed the extra rest. 

In the afternoon, you take 2 naps, both at least an hour. Sometimes you'll surprise me with a 2 hour nap, but most naps are about 1.5 hours. Since you are sleeping so well, you are even happier during the day and can play more independently. I love watching you play and figure things out. 

You like to push cars that are linked together around. You know that a lid fits on top of a container. You can stack 1 thing on top of another. You hold my phone up to your ear. You mimic my mouth by opening it and closing it when you see me eat something. You crack me up all the time. 

Oh, before I end this letter I want to mention that you have pooped and pee'd in the potty several times this week. I remember when your aunt momo was a baby, we would hold her over the toilet and whistle. She would then use the bathroom. I tried it with you and sure enough, the first time, you started peeing and you pooped 2 pellets. So, after I nurse you, I would hold you over the toilet, whistle, and you would pee and most of the time poop too. How cool! Apparently, this is a modification of what the Chinese do to potty train their babies. I'm going to ask your grandma to see how long we were in diapers to see if it is worth continuing. 

Next week, you'll turn 1 year old! I can't believe it. We've been through some rough times, but I am thankful that God has given us the strength to get through it all. At last, it seems like we can take a breather for now...until your little brother or sister comes along. Not that we are pregnant or anything, just saying. 

Since you like peaches and bananas so much, I'm thinking about making you a banana/peach cake. The bananas and peach will provide the sweetness, so I won't add any sugar. The frosting will be a cream cheese and avocado frosting with a little bit of powdered sugar. Since it's a special day, I'll let you feel a little bit of what it's like to have a sugar rush. 

Stay cool, little one. I love you so much! 

Mommy

Being So Nifty at Week 50

Dear Nathan,
Not a day goes by lately when you don't surprise us with something amazing. For example, this morning at breakfast, I noticed that you were finished with your pancakes. I pointed to a piece and said in Chinese, "Can you feed that to mommy?" Without any further prompting, you picked that piece up and reached it towards my mouth. Daddy was super impressed. I was too.

On Thursday, we went to a free demo music class put on by Heartsong. You enjoyed it for the most part. You roamed around, met a lot of other babies and other mommies. We sang songs, danced, and you even tried to play the guitar! It was fun, but I think mommy's class is just as fun and free too. Here you are with Mason, who walked around his daddy that day for the first time. You don't have to worry about walking just yet.

On Friday, I went to my first mops meeting, and you, being a moppet got to go play with a bunch of other babies your age. The ladies who watched you said that you were a very happy baby who just played and played and played. You got a little fussy towards the end because you were tired, but you didn't cry. When I went back to pick you up, the room I walked into was a mess! Toy strewn everywhere and babies were passed out on the floor left and right. Kind of reminded me of a scene from a movie where college kids had a bit too much fun the night before. Nonetheless, it was cute. You were in a little corner, lying down next to another little girl and you were playing with her hands. Cute. We have a break this week, but next week, we'll be back. 

Last week, you started to sign "more." This week, you now shake both hands to show that you are finished. You also know how to ask for more milk. 

You are making "M" and "B" sounds this week as well. I thought I heard you say mama once, that made me so happy. We are pretty sure you know who Mommy and Daddy are. You point to the correct person about 80% of the time. You know who Teddy is for sure, you will point to him correctly about 90% of the time. 

This week you also climbed the all of the stairs all by yourself! Last week, you got nervous when the stairs stopped and there wasn't a step in front of you to pull up on, but you figured out that it's just as easy to climb that last step without pulling up with your arms.

Another cute thing that you are doing often this week is head bobbing to music. When music comes on, whether from my computer, the phone, or a toy, you will shake your head back and forth with the biggest smile. Here's a short clip:

Putting objects in larger objects is very interesting to you. Here you are playing with a ping pong ball and a plastic lid.

And it's never too early to practice for the Easter Egg Hunt!

Somethings haven't changed: You still like being read to.

You still like to put stuff in your mouth.

And you are still stinkin' cute!

Sleep is still going pretty well. You are starting to take shorter naps in the morning (around 40 minutes) and then taking super long afternoon naps. You've taken 2+ hour naps in the past few days and I just don't know what to do with myself! (Plenty, really, but it's nice). You are sleeping until about 6:30 in the morning. You wake up a bit before, but you are happily playing in your crib. I wonder what you are saying as you blab away to yourself. It's cute and awesome, because I get to sleep a bit extra. 

Teddy is still a bit nervous around you, although he is getting a bit better since you will play with him and give him food. 

 But you really have to stop pulling his hair. Once you stop doing that, I'm sure Teddy will be your best friend. He may even snuggle with you at night. 

You are a pretty determined boy. Today, I saw you do this. 

If what you wanted (the string to the shades) was further out of your reach, I'm sure you would've climbed over that couch! You have to be careful. I have to be careful! 

Yesterday, we both went to our first official Chinese class of the semester. It was a lot of fun. You got a chance to meet even more babies and play with different toys. You caused a bit of mischief during the first class, but for the second class, you were happy to play with another teacher who was observing me. Mommy was exhausted after 2 45-minute sessions of singing, dancing, and reading with enthusiasm. I think the class went really well and I look forward to next week. I'm not sure if I should bring you along, or try to get someone to watch you for those 2 hours. We'll see how your napping goes. 

Wow, what a busy week it's been! Yay for the weather getting cooler. Maybe we'll get to go outside and do more things, especially once you start walking...no pressure. 

Mommy

Week 49

My Dear Nathan,
This week has been such an interesting week. You've started to share with me all thing things that you find really neat. It all started on a walk one morning when you were pointing at a tree. As we continued, you pointed at more trees. In fact, you pointed at every tree we passed by, and in our neighborhood, there are a lot of trees. Later, when we got home, I took you to our back yard and I asked you in chinese, "Where is a tree?" You pointed to one! You also know who Teddy is and can point to him when I ask you to.

Later this week, we took you to Ikea for the first time. There are so many cool things at Ikea, you made sure that you pointed every one of them out to us. I love how you are sharing your new discoveries with us. Also, at Ikea, you really enjoyed eating their famous meatballs. You didn't like the carrots as much, but you did like the mac and cheese a lot as well.


Despite the fact that you have another cold this week, you have been eating pretty well. You are eating meals with us and you are able to eat almost everything that we eat. You still don't like rice and anything with a tough-ish peel. You tried quiche and really liked it. Mommy's oatmeal, whole wheat, blueberry pancakes are also one of your favorites as well. Oh, and peaches, you pretty much can't get enough of them. In fact, you have learned to sign a very rudimentary "more" by shaking your arm as you point at what you want. It's not quite right, but it's getting there.

Here's a goofy picture of you with a soba noodle on your face. This is the inspiration for the theme of your first birthday party which is going to be coming up really soon. Daddy and I were trying to decide how big of a deal we wanted to make for your first birthday. Since you only have one first birthday, we decided to go all out and have a birthday party for you. As a heads up, your next few birthdays will be low key, so don't expect a huge party every year.

You are becoming very affectionate. I caught you giving your sheep doll a hug the other day. I didn't get a chance to grab the camera in time, but seeing that little snuggle almost brought tears to my eyes.

 Here's another picture of us snuggling. I love it when you tilt your head towards mine and I love it even more when you sneak me a slobbery open mouth kiss.

Pineapples are delicious, but they are not too cuddly. You found that out pretty quickly.

You are still bringing me books to read to you. I really hope this love of books continues and you become a book worm like me, and not like daddy who hasn't cracked a book since college. (He's missing out on so much!)

 You're also getting really good at pressing buttons. Here you are trying to figure out which button makes your bus sing.

This week we are starting to see some evidence of you understanding what we are saying. For example, you will shake what's in your hand when we say "shake." Or you will splash the water in the bath tub when we say "splashy splash." Sometimes you will bob your head back and forth when we do it and say "dance." I want to apologize ahead of time for your dancing ability in the future. Both your dad and I are not the best dancers. We like to dance silly, but we most definitely look cool doing it. We have fun, and that's all that matters. A good lesson to learn in life.

Another thing that I didn't really notice until the ladies at the gym pointed out is how you will stand on your tip toes when playing with things on the table. It's really cute. I've tried to capture it with a camera, but every time I grab the camera, you see it and reach for it. Oh well.

You are still doing awesome at falling asleep when you are supposed to. However, this week, you are continuing to wake up between 5:30 and 6:00. Last night, you woke up at 4:30. You must have been hungry because after you nursed for about 20 minutes, you were tired and went back to sleep until 7:00. So I guess you are back to not sleeping through the night, which is ok with me, if I don't have to wake up before 6, I don't mind waking up for a bit and going back to sleep until the sun comes up.

This Friday is our first MOPS meeting. This takes place partially during your nap time. I'm not sure how you will do, but I hope this won't mess up your schedule/mood too much. You are generally such a happy and sweet baby. I love you so much.

Tomorrow, you will get to see your friends when we try a Heartsong music class. I can't wait. I definitely write about that and all the other cool things that you will do next week. Until then, sniffles go away.

Mommy.