Successful Baby Food Recipe of the Day!

For any moms out there looking for a simple and easy baby food recipe--I have found the secret! (At least for my picky eater.) Pastina! These are the super tiny cute little star shaped pastas usually found in soups. Takes 6 minutes to boil on the stove. I added shredded cheese and voila! Mac and cheese that Carter scarfed down. Then, I mixed in carrots and peas... and Carter gobbled it up. I don't know if he likes the texture or what but I am now dreaming of adding these little star shaped friends into every meal. I think I will try a veggie soup and see what he thinks.

Random Cuteness

Have I mentioned how much I love this boy? He is active, silly, wild, and crazy and he keeps me smiling all day long. Yesterday he took four steps on his own! He is very determined and I love his fearless spirit. Here are some random acts of cuteness from last month:

Growth Chart

In one year, Carter has grown from this:

To this:

We have a lot to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Carter's Owl Birthday Party Extravaganza

I really wanted to have Carter's birthday party at Rimgate Park. It's his favorite place to play and I thought it would be perfect. The weather was supposed to be sunny and 70... but a huge storm decided to blow through the weekend, and turned our sunny and 70s day into a blustery, freezing, windy, rainy nightmare. So after being extremely annoyed and disappointed, the only solution was to move the party indoors (so thank you to my in-laws for being so flexible and giving up their house for the day!) For our "owl themed" party, we had owl cupcakes, an owl pinata, special owl treat bags, owl coloring pages, and a Pin the Beak on the Owl game. (Special thanks to Aimee and Torrey who spent all night helping cut, glue, stamp, decorate, and patiently twist Oreo cookies in half!)

It was a tight squeeze fitting everyone inside but it turned out to be so much fun. Carter really enjoyed all the attention and loved having a house full of kids. I didn't manage to get pictures of everything but here are a few of the guests that I managed to capture:

Carter was not too impressed with his birthday cake. I think he was annoyed that I made him sit in his high chair and refused to eat a bite!

After all the festivities, Carter needed a nap!

After Carter's nap, the kids helped him open his presents--a very overwhelming activity! I couldn't believe how many presents he got! It was like Christmas morning x 10!

Thanks to everyone for coming to Carter's party. It sure was a fun day!

I can't believe that my tiny little boy is a year old! He can sit up, roll over, pull himself to standing, walk (while holding onto furniture or someone's hand). We had to move his crib down to the bottom when I found him standing up in the middle of it! Carter loves to climb anything (including people!) I am so thankful for every second that I spend with this little boy. His personality is developing more each day and I am beginning to think that he is going to be a bit of a handful--and yet I am eagerly looking forward to the mischief!

Happy Birthday Grayson

Dear Grayson,

On November 17, 2009 at 10:17AM you were born. I have a video of the NICU doctors wheeling you out of the room but before they left, they lifted you up so I could see your sweet face. You raised your arm up a little bit and opened your eyes to look at me. It will forever remain one of the most precious moments of my life. I can close my eyes and see you whenever I need to. I haven't forgotten a thing. I remember the way you smell, the softness of your skin, the fuzziness of your hair, and the strength of your tiny grip. This year, your brother and Daddy and I decided to celebrate just you on November 17th. Carter willingly gave up the day because he knew he was having a big party on the weekend. So our day began with a picnic to visit you. Daddy and I ate breakfast and Carter giggled and talked to you and played with his toys. Daddy and I brought you some yellow flowers and Carter brought you a Happy Birthday balloon (which he played with all morning.) We sang Happy Birthday to you. That night we came back with Grandma and Grandpa. We went for a walk and collected some pinecones and sang Happy Birthday to you again. My heart hurts sometimes when I see how much your brother has grown in this year and I get sad to think that I only can know you as a one-month-old. The other night I was rocking Carter to sleep and he was giggling with his eyes closed. I wonder if he was dreaming about you.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful son. You will live in our hearts forever.