Family Birthday

Pretty cupcake picked by daddy.

Excited for the family festivities to begin...

Quite excited!

Playing with toys waiting for it all to begin...

I think it's official. Those baby blues are here to stay.

First encounter with fire, and oh-so intrigued.

Hesitant at first...

She figured it all out preeeeeeetty quickly.

Yummmmmmy.

And then the sun set on Chappell's first birthday...

Baby is One!

Warning:

This post will be full of emotion and all things considered cheesy.

Oh, Chappell.

What a year it has been! Last night I had the hardest time falling asleep. I kept looking at the clock and reliving (in my head...) what was happening exactly one year before.

Just like last night, I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

You have changed our lives in so many ways. I'm not going to lie, some things were hard to adjust to at first, but it's all been well worth it. I can't imagine our life without you and wouldn't do anything differently.

I always thought I wanted a career. I thought I would go to law school... or do something "important." Things change.

I love staying at home with you, and I know that nothing else would/could be better for me (or you) than this experience. Although I know that I will love our second child just the same, there will always be something special about you, Chappellina.

No one will ever be able to replicate the bond that there is between us. Being a tad on the selfish side, I kind of love that.

I love you so much, and I can't wait to watch your little (big) personality continue to unfold!

You are beautiful.

I told you it would be cheesy.

Trust me, it could've been much, much worse. I tried to reign it in a little bit.

If you have a child, I'm sure you understand. If you don't, I truly hope that you get to experience it someday!

I think I'm going to save the milestone post for the day of her doctor's appointment.

Consider yourself spared.

We love you, Cha Cha!

Birthday pictures later...

H

Chappell's Birthday Bib

Today I had a problemo.

With Chappellina's birthday only hours away {yikes!}, I still had no birthday bib for my birthday girl.

Since online shopping was no longer an option,

I was beginning to think I'd be forced to pay an arm & a leg at one of the touristy children's boutiques in town...

Time to get crafty.

This brings me to problemo numero dos.

While I really do enjoy the perks of living in such an incredible area, there are, however, pitfalls. There's no sewing or fabric store around. I think the closest one is in Ft. Walton.

Where does one go when truly desperate?

Walmart... booyah!

Well actually, that's not exactly true. I tried Michael's first.

But they don't have fabric. Or cute appliques.

So on to the mart!

Same problem at Walmart. Not much in the way of selection.

Time to make do.

I grabbed some fuzzy white fabric, claiming (I think) to be fleece. Felt more like terry cloth to me. Who knows.

Have I mentioned I'm quite the novice in the sewing arena?

I found some green and pink felt, rick rack and practically ran out of there. Ick. I still feel dirty. What is it about that place??

I zipped on home and began to ponder... how in the H E double hockey sticks could I make this work?

Once I got home, I pulled out one of Chappy's bibs. Since I wanted it to be a little bit bigger than the bib in hand, I drew an outline about two inches bigger onto the fabric.

I cut out two identical pieces, pinned them and sewed them together inside out.

Now... what to put on this thing? I knew I wanted a cupcake, but how would I possibly do that?

Started paging through Real Simple magazine for inspiration and found...

a Duncan Hines ad. Perfect Size.

I cut the cupcake into two pieces: top and bottom.

I then traced the cupcake pieces onto green and pink felt.

Cut out the pieces. Pinned the pieces.

Next, I sewed the cupcake bottom on to the bib.

Added some rick rack to make the bottom look like the wrinkled paper...

Sewed on the top...

I glued Chappellina's name to the top of the cupcake with fabric glue.

Wow. Did I just do a step-by-step craft post? I think I did. Weird.

For the record, I'm almost certain that this garment will not survive Chappy's birthday.

It's white, which is probably plain stupid. Colored icing's going to ravage the thing.

Also, fabric glue doesn't sound like a sure bet through the spin cycle.

BUT, the important thing is:

It was fun to make, and someday I hope it will make my daughter feel good to look back and see that her mom made something just for her.

:)

I cannot wait...

for this weekend!

My mom came in town to decorate the beach house for Chappell's birthday party-- and as always, she went a little over the top.

*See picture below to see what I mean. The cake is a present from mi mama.

"Tacky Christmas" | "Santa @ the Beach" is our theme...

Think we nailed it!

I just want to say, there's no way this weekend would be possible without both of our moms. They have both been so helpful in the planning process.

My mom's the decorator and Reed's mother, Emily, is making a ton of delicious food.

I'm so excited. So is Chappy. I can tell.

Have I mentioned that my little baby will be ONE on Wednesday? heh. Perhaps.

It's kind of sad... but...

I get over it pretty quickly whenever she does something hilarious (which is often), like dance to the Bama fight song or give me a high five.

Newborns aren't nearly as much fun!

Wednesday we're going to have our own little family party at home. We're gonna keep it simple.

By the way... you know what a birthday means... a detailed post alllllll about Chappy's development and milestones! Sound fun?

If not, skip my blog on Wednesday.

Night Night.

*Not the actual cake in the picture. Only a photo of what it should look like. I promise we won't be serving rotten cake at the party.

**Photo of cake courtesy of Betty Webber of Pensacola, FL. She makes the best cake I've ever tasted... and I'm sure many would say the same!

Mac Attack

Don't you like my title? That's courtesy of my brilliant husband. Yup. I'm one lucky gal!

A few years back I got a computer. 2006 I think? My parents gave it to me for my birthday, Christmas, Arbor day, Valentines... you get the drift. At the time, mom and dad were under the spell of some some creepo computer-techy who managed all of their computers.

Anywho, he "custom built" my previous computer.

Oh my word.

The thing was a piece of crap. And my poor parents...

I know for a fact that they payed a pretty penny for the thing.

Long story short, when it crashed today, I could barely wait for Chappell to wake up from her nap to make the trip to Best Buy. To some this may seem a little rash, but I've known it was coming. The thing has been acting weird (weirder than usual, if that's possible) so I've been conscientious about backing up all of my pictures and even e-mailed our master address list to myself.

Geez... I can't imagine what I would do if I lost all of the pictures I've taken over the past year! There are a few files that will need to be recovered... but I think most are in my e-mail somewhere.

About an hour after my trip to BB, I became the proud owner of a Mac.

Merry Christmas to me!

Oh this is funny.

For the past day (or so?) Chappy has been saying, "weeeeeed, weeeeeeeed, weeeed!" over and over again. Reed thinks she is saying "Reed." And I think he might be right!

Ha ha ha...

If so, how hilarious? Imitating her mom nag her dad.

Priceless.

*To note, more independent standing! Still no walking, but she will let go and clap for herself. Pretty cute.

Busy Nothings

I just read Allison's post on Riley's invitations, which reminded me to post my own! I started this a couple of weeks ago and sort of/didn't finish. So, here.We.Go!

---------

I could not be more pleased with Chappell's 1st birthday party invitations.
I really wanted to share them with you.

I'm not exactly sure who reads this, but if I have any audience, whatsoever, Busy Nothings is worth promoting!

I grew up with the owners, sisters Rachel & Stephanie, in Pensacola, FL. We vacationed together, spent holidays together and lived only a few houses apart.

Rachel & Stephanie are both incredibly sweet, kind and undoubtedly creative.

Here is the digital proof of Chappell's 1st birthday party invitations.
I've included pictures of the invitation, envelope liner & envelope seal. The digital proof doesn't do them justice, but I figured it would be even harder to hide our personal information if I took pictures... so this will have to do!

*For my own peace of mind, I blacked out my address & phone number...

They specialize in invitations, stationary & many other paper products. I highly reccomend checking out their store on Etsy.

We narrowed it down to family, locals, and a few pals with kiddos. But if you want to make the trip, you know you are always welcome!

Thannnnnnksgiiiiving, is a Special Time... (sing it)

This year we spent Thanksgiving with Reed's side of the family at Bay Point.
It was a lot of fun.
But, as usual, it was quite chaotic due to the fact that there are now four Williams grandchildren ages 4 & under attempting to coexist under one roof.
Just realized that this was my third Thanksgiving away from my side of the family... WoW... Weird...
Trying to remember Turkey day last year and my brain goes hazy... we were stranded in Birmingham alone (thanks fam) waiting on Chappy-doodle's arrival.

Back on track...

Wednesday was the day of departure. Reed finished work around lunch and we filled the Volvo to the brim. Ummm SUV, here we come?!
Everyone arrived and the madness began. Chappy tried cows milk (see previous post). Chappy loved cows milk. And all is right in the world... my world...

Thursday was the big day! We ate lots O food, played spades (I stink), and just hung out.
All in all, a perfect turkey day.
*Note to self... We should spend Thanksgiving with the in-laws every year. When I am at my parents house I eat far too much and feel absolutely awful. When with in-laws, one musn't act like a (completely) gluttonous pig.

Friday, most of the Williams clan drove over to Apalachicola so the kiddos could see Santa arrive on a shrimp boat. It has become a tradition over the past few years that is sure to continue... however, Reed and I politely (I hope) bowed out to watch the Iron Bowl.
We babysat MP while her parents were gone. It was very interesting to see what it must be like to have two kids. Or twins for that matter. To reiterate, MP and Chaps are only six weeks apart. We felt very lucky that Mary Parker is a much calmer baby than our own. Otherwise, it would've been one long day.
We determined that man to man defense was the best plan of attack. And that's what we did.

Saturday, Emily (Reed's mom) helped me put together the (never-ending) blue dress! I love it. I'm so glad that it's done. The construction side of smocking is going to take some practice. Eventually I'll get the hang of it...?

That's enough for now. I have hair to dry, laundry to do, presents to wrap & dinner to eat.
Adios!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for!

Here are the pics:

Babies on a blanket...

How cute are they?



Chappy got a little excited...

Diggin' in. She was lovin' some turkey on her 1st Thanksgiving!

First ever family Thanksgiving pic.

Will & Brody...

The dress!!!

Up close... LOOK... feast your eyes on my blood, sweat & tears...

My baby wearing the dress! Chappell if you ever throw this away, I will haunt you. :)

Fascinated by the flash = funny faces.


The End!

Gearin' up for Monnnnday

I guess I've been on a break (of sorts) from the blog.
At least for me.
It's been more than a week since I've written anything. I know you are dying, right??
I'm going to do my best to catch all of you (?if there is anyone?) up on our more than interesting life.

I think I'm going to do it like this...
I'm going to mention top 5 things that have happened in Chappy's life over the past week or so. I might just mention a thing or two about myself. And I apologize for that.

Here we go:

1) Chappy ate Chinese food for the first time and loved it.
This is huge for me. I love ethnic food (all of it) and hope this is something I can share with my daughter since my husband isn't such a fan. He suffers through all kinds of cuisine to make me happy. Although it means a lot to me, it's just not as enjoyable when you know that your date will inevitably be ill from your meal. Just sayin'.

2) HUGE MILESTONE. Chappy switched from formula to whole milk on Wednesday.
Oh my.
What a miracle this has been for us.
This is how it went down...
Chappell's formula (Enfamil Lacto-Free) was discontinued in May. I've been buying it online for months and it finally disappeared from the Net (as in InTeRnEt) a couple of weeks ago. Being so close to the 1 year mark, I didn't really know what to do...
Chappy's kind of picky (super picky) when it comes to her bottle and hasn't accepted other formulas when I've attempted to change. I called the doctor to find out what I should do... force another formula? And therefore make my life a living Hell... or make the switch to cows milk?
Thank the Lord, the doctor called back and said to go ahead and try cows milk.
THIS has CHANGED MY LIFE.
Chappell loves it.
She's taking so much more milk than formula, going to the bathroom more (hallelujah!), and the savings!!!!!!!
Welcome back to my budget, 150 buckaroos a month!
We are so happy about this change...
Now if I could only figure out how I'm going to have her off of bottles in 10 days... not happening.

3) Thanksgiving. What a nice 5 day break from reality, ya know? I'm sure that I've gained 5 pounds. We had a wonderful time with Reed's side of the fam at Bay Point.
I've just decided that will be a separate post. Maybe later tonight or tomorrow...

4) I got Invisilign.
Oh wait, is this not about Chappy? Oops.
Let's just say it's super weird to have retainers in your mouth 24 hours a day (again). I spent about 7 years in braces. Currently, I'm wishing that I wore my retainers after the first go around.
I feel like I'm 12 and my husband refers to me as "plastique," pronounced: plas-teeeek.
My mother in law just got braces, too, so at least I wasn't alone this week with all of my dental gear.

Final # 5) This makes me very, very sad to report. Couch to 5 K had to end and I am so sad about it.
My knees started to hurt so bad that I could barely make it up the stairs. I've been off of them for 5 days now and they still ache. It's really sad. I was so excited about running... and the last thing I wanted to do was post about my failure... but oh well. I guess running's not for me. The elliptical will have to do. Sad...

Thanksgiving pictures and post to come soon... I hope!

A few pics to keep you goin'