The First Birthday.

One year ago Saturday, December 18th, Laureli Lynn came into this world at 1 pm.

{Listening to your birthday song.}

{You were looking around the room during Happy Birthday looking at everyone like they’re crazy!!! Funny.}

Laureli,
On Saturday you turned one! I wouldn’t say the year flew by fast…. (lack of: sleep, showers, make-up, etc.) BUT, it’s been good. Since you turned 7 months: your personality REALLY started to appear. You weren’t just a baby anymore… you were a human. My little human. ๐Ÿ˜€ My little girl.

{Your FIRST taste of cake/sugar ever!}

{Ok, you like it!}

What have you been doing for the last month? Well…

– You are silly. REALLY silly. I’m afraid you have my sense of humor…
– Playing peekaboo is awesome. The way you play peekaboo: you turn your head away from me… then whip it around fast and wait for me to say, “Peekaboo!”.
– You LOVE LOVE LOVE books. You will sit and “read” a book for a good 20 minutes all on your own! Babbling and pointing at the words and pictures.

 
– The other day you asked me a question (in babble-talk). You sat there waiting for me to respond! When I did, you seemed pleased and went back to what you were doing.
– Every time we see a dog or a kitty on TV or in a picture you get VERY excited and point and babble!
– You talk SO much! We call it Aiden-ese (Aiden is our friends baby that would carry on babble conversations with anyone around). Talk talk talk.

– You like to dance.
– You’ve been cuddling…. sometimes. BUT, I just love it. It’s the best.
– You sort of want me to hold you 24/7… You cry when I walk away from you.
– Your new favorite toy: a stuffed Bernese Mountain dog that your grandma gave you for your birthday. You LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Cuddle it. Hug it. Rub your face on it. Pet it. We’ve named him Bernie.

– You absolutely LOVE to chew on my hair that his fallen out… Yeah, I’m still losing a lot of hair…. I find much hair in your poop.
– Speaking of poop: your poo is nasty! It’s no longer baby poop. Yuck.
– When I open the front door you get VERY excited. That’s the door your daddy comes home through and the door we leave the house through!
– Bath time is awesome.

– You think you’re pretty funny.
– You’ve started hiding things behind you back when I go to grab them! How did you learn that?
– If you put something in your mouth (suck as dirt) and I go to grab it… you crawl away FAST and clamp your mouth shut!
– Stick your finger in your nose and laugh.
– What you’re saying: Doggie (dah-geh), Angus (An-duh), Mama, Dada, Hi (also comes out as: heh), and I’m sure there are others that I just haven’t caught.

 – You wave at anything and everything.
– I think you weigh about 22 pounds.
– You love to eat: bananas, baby crackers, turkey in a jar (you like savory), sweet potato, satsuma mandarins, strawberries, avocado, and cake. Yeah, you thought cake was the best ever… don’t get used to it… you wont be eating much of that. ๐Ÿ˜€
– Bad food: Oatmeal (allergic reaction), applesauce, pear, carrots, and peas.
– Wearing size 5 diapers!
– Crawling like a maniac.
– You pull up on everything.
– You can stand without holding on to anything… but, you don’t think you’re quite ready yet.
– I swear you’ll be walking soon. You hold on to just a finger and walk (and fall).
– You have 6 teeth. 2 on the bottom and 4 on top!
– You are a little shy, but warm up with time.
– Your eyes are DEFINITELY blue.

– You share kisses (or you lick our faces, but we still love it).
– Raspberry blowing, fake coughing, high-pitch screaming… all sounds you love. ๐Ÿ˜€
– Still addicted to your pacifier… that’s ok. We currently use your pacifier to keep you from eating absolutely EVERYTHING you touch.
– You HATE getting your clothes changed. That includes your diaper.

The birthday party:

I made the paper banners. VERY simple to do. Would you guys like a tutorial? The lollipops are photos that I printed out and glued on sticks. You can buy the photo in my shop for $5 for your birthday party/wedding here!

The little ribbon banner tutorial can be found here.

{Mama made this birthday cake for you, with the help of Grammy.}

{Mmmm! Cake!}

I got the idea for this rainbow cake after I read Lacey’s (Our Life) rainbow cupcake post.

{Rainbow cake!}

{Gumdrop tutorial here.}

{Opening the birthday presents! See, there’s Bernie: new favorite toy!}

Look who showed up for Ruari’s birthday: Amy and Parker from A Good Life! I’m SO happy they showed up! She’s so sweet. If you haven’t seen their blog yet, you probably should go check it out right now!

Look, it’s my dried up and dead Christmas tree! It’s completely dead. Well… I guess that’s what we get for buying a tree from a grocery store. ๐Ÿ™‚

Happy birthday baby girl!!!

Would anyone be interested in a giveaway of the birthday decorations? Such as the banners and lollipops.

Ruari would LOVE a vote for her birthday!
Vote For Us @ TopBaby Blogs! The Best Baby Blog Directory

Would ya could ya? Vote for me?
Vote For Us @ topbabyblogs.com!

Categories: diy


Photo challenges for Saturday

Scavenger Hunt Sunday:


1. Winter
2. Black and White with Selective Coloring

3. The Wind

Cold wind blowing = Ruari keeping her warm and cozy hat on!

4. Framed
5. Remember When…
{My sister and I: 1983}
This is my sister and I when we were little babies (I’m the lump on the floor). Guess who got a red tricycle for her birthday? ๐Ÿ˜€
Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Steppin out in Saturday:

Well, Saturday was Ruari’s first birthday. What were we wearing on this special day?

Laureli:
Headband: Birthday gift from her auntie (purchased on Etsy)
Onesie: Target
Dress: Gift
Tights: Old Navy
Chelsey:
Top: Target about a million years ago
Pants: jeggings from Forever 21 for $8.50!!!
Hair clip: from the etsy shop Hi, Baby.

Oh yeah… those photos don’t show the hair clip! I was wearing the yellow flower below… don’t tell anyone, but it’s Ruari’s hair clip!

Two Moms Made a Photo Challenge: Christmas Past

My first Christmas ornament.

MM3

Would ya could ya? Vote for me?
Vote For Us @ topbabyblogs.com!

Categories: Uncategorized


She’s one!

It’s today. Miss Laureli’s birthday is today! 1 pm she’ll be one. Yay! She’s doing a little dance right now, as I type this.

We have a big day ahead of us! I guarantee I will have MANY photos to share of her birthday on Monday. ๐Ÿ˜€

Don’t forget Ruari has a birthday gift for all of you! Three giveaways! They all close Sunday night!
A photo manipulation from ME
An 11×14 print from Ashley Sisk
Pear Tree Greetings custom New Years cards

Ruari would like a vote for our blog for her birthday!
Vote For Us @ TopBaby Blogs! The Best Baby Blog Directory

Would ya could ya? Vote for me?
Vote For Us @ topbabyblogs.com!

Categories: Uncategorized


The Paper Mama Photo Challenge: Winter

Yup, it’s me judging again. ๐Ÿ˜€ I thought I wouldn’t bring in any guest judges until after the holidays. BUT, I will have some other judges besides me after the New Year. ๐Ÿ˜€ Happy photo shooting!!!

This weeks guest judge: ME!
This weeks challenge: Winter.
The challenge: The challenge will be based around your children. Take or find a photo of your baby (or kid… or puppy… or kitty) and what winter looks like to you. Picking out a Christmas tree. Snow. Rain?

My example of “Winter”:

Winter to me: tree and ornament hunting at Sleigh-bell’s in Oregon. Love it. What’s winter to you?

……………………..

Here are a couple links to some free photo editing software if you don’t already have something:
Picnik
Picasa
Gimp
Pixlr

……………………..
There always has to be rules… I know, boring right? But, it’s to help me and you. ๐Ÿ™‚ Click on the link for more details… Each entry does need to link back to my blog… All photo entries need to be in by 11:59 PM Pacific Time on December 23rd…
……………………..

Guess what…. after 4 challenges there will be a week long vote off of the winners from the 4 previous challenges… 3 more challenges to go…

Winners so far:
Holiday Colors: … Window to My Soul …
Winter: … no one yet …
Your Holiday: … no one yet …
Bokeh: … no one yet …

The Paper Mama

And, if you all get a moment…. I’d LOVE a vote! ๐Ÿ˜€
Vote For Us @ TopBaby Blogs! The Best Baby Blog Directory

Would ya could ya? Vote for me?
Vote For Us @ topbabyblogs.com!

Categories: Uncategorized


The winner of this months Vote Off is…

 Cozy: Hi, Baby!!
{ Cozy: Hi, Baby}

Congrats! What a sweet photo! Thank you so much for playing! You had 34% of the votes. Followed by These Days, Bunch of Barons, and Window to My Soul! Thanks so much for playing!

The Paper Mama

Would ya could ya? Vote for me?
Vote For Us @ topbabyblogs.com!

Categories: Uncategorized


AND, the winners of the "Holiday Colors" photo challenge are…

This weeks guest judge: ME!
This weeks challenge: Holiday colors.
The challenge: The challenge will be based around your children. Take or find a photo of your baby (or kid… or puppy… or kitty) wearing red and green… blue and white… or, whatever colors make you think of the upcoming holidays. Feel free to play around with photo editing programs! Have fun!

My winning picks:

First place: Window to My Soul
Why I chose this photo: “The light and contrast are beautiful. But, I mostly love how cool he is. ๐Ÿ˜€ In his snow gear enjoying a candy cane.”

{Window To My Soul}

The Paper Mama


Second place: Linkie Lueville
Why I chose this photo: “I’m pretty much always a sucker for babies in tutu’s. And, it’s a very lovely photo.”

{Linkie Lueville}

Third place: Loving My Life
Why I chose this photo: “I love the holiday colored messy fingers! It’s a great shot.”

{Loving My Life}

Fourth place: Mel
Why I chose this photo: “I love the whole set up! The bright glow of the window in the background, the Christmas tree, and the sweet kid!”

{Mel}

Fifth place: Hot Coffee Mama
Why I chose this photo: “A super awesome family portrait. So different and TOTALLY a holiday color.”

{Hot Coffee Mama}

Congrats to the top 5 winners! Great job, and please feel free to grab the top 5 button below! You’re all awesome!

The Paper Mama


My favorites (in no particular order):

{Buckeroomama}

{Hi, Baby.}

{Being What I Want To Be}

{Holly Days}

{Ashley Plus 3}

{Carolyn Haines}

If you’re one of my favorites you are more than welcome to grab a “Paper mama hearts me” button below!

The Paper Mama

Guess what…. after 4 challenges there will be a week long vote off of the winners from the 4 previous challenges… The winner of the vote off will get a small prize! 3 more challenge to go…

Winners so far:
Holiday Colors: … Window to My Soul …
Winter: … no one yet …
Your Holiday: … no one yet …
Bokeh: … no one yet …

And, if you all get a moment…. I’d LOVE a vote! ๐Ÿ˜€
Vote For Us @ TopBaby Blogs! The Best Baby Blog Directory

Would ya could ya? Vote for me?
Vote For Us @ topbabyblogs.com!

Categories: Uncategorized


This day last year…

This day last year… December 17th, 2009… I was in the hospital. No one knew what was wrong with this pregnant lady… I wasn’t doing well… But my baby was. My situation baffled every doctor that came in to see me. I really had no idea what was to come the next day. It forever changed my life. In more ways than just one.

PhotoStory FridayGive me your best shot at Better in Bulkand then, she {snapped}

 
Fix it Friday:

Before:

After (I couldn’t decide which crop I like better, so I shared both):

After 2:

Fix-It Friday Graphic

Don’t forget Ruari’s three birthday GIVEAWAYS that end this Sunday! Enter before it’s too late…
A photo manipulation from ME
An 11×14 print from Ashley Sisk
Pear Tree Greetings custom New Years cards

And, can Ruari get a vote for her upcoming birthday?
Vote For Us @ TopBaby Blogs! The Best Baby Blog Directory

Would ya could ya? Vote for me?
Vote For Us @ topbabyblogs.com!

Categories: Uncategorized