"Cherish every minute. They grow up fast."
Yep. They were right.
But you know what? I really tried to cherish every minute. Looking back on the past year, I am so grateful that I got to spend nearly every minute with my baby. I'm very fortunate to be able to stay home with Parker! Sure I have my moments when I'm exhausted, patience is hanging on by a thread, or I just want a break. But, most days I'm kissing that boy to death! (Yeah, I know that my time is limited with those kisses too!)
I remember those middle of the night feedings that seemed endless. And I remember that I would remind myself while I rocked him that someday he wouldn't want me to rock him. Those days are already here. Others gave me advice to just let him cry it out instead of rocking him to sleep. We finally took that advice and luckily it worked out rather quickly. But I truly cherished all the time I got to snuggle and rock him while I could.
So while in some ways the past year has gone by super fast, in other ways, I really feel like I tried to not let it just slip by.
Sure I already regret that we didn't have lots more videos of Parker. But then again, we have probably 5, 000 pictures! Matt took a lot of time to put together a video of the adventures and memories from Parker's 1st Year.
You can see it at:
http://youtu.be/C7NjXlKqcm0
We've already watched it about 20 times--making us laugh, cry, and reminisce. Parker, too, loves to see himself and those he loves on the big screen. I hope this video is something Parker will enjoy having and watching in years to come.
And you can't have an official First Birthday without a big ole' birthday party. Thanks to the creativeness of others on Pinterest and the handiness of my husband, we were able to pull off an awesome Sesame Street themed event! I also have to give a shout out to my former neighbor in Arkansas, Lindsay, who was my inspiration. We attended her son's 1st jungle-theme party in February. It was awesome! The picture video, the guest book, the high chair decor--all ideas I copied from Lindsay :)
Our house here on Sesame Street isn't huge. But we were able to squeeze in 22 family members and 5 friends for the shindig. But since all of you couldn't join us, here's some highlights from the day:
The Invite
16 invites hand made by Mama and Dada
The Food
Elmo & cookie monster cupcakes (use a little imagination)
Confetti cookies
Chocolate covered pretzels & Alphabet cookies (with sprinkles added)
Rainbow kabobs
Oscar, Big Bird, and Elmo veggie trays
(Oops, I forgot to add the eyeballs)
Our homemade crayon bowl filled with goldfish
The Decor
Balloon wreath
#1 shaped photo collage
Guest Book (Title of Book is "If I Could Keep You Little")
Streamers of course, and tissue pom poms
The Cakes
Parker's smash cake
The guests' cake (decorated by Matt)
The Birthday Boy
Shirt and birthday hat made by his Mama
He loved it when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him
The Cake Smash
And just so everyone knows, birthdays #2-??? will not be this extravagant! But then again... it was fun...so I think I'll start pinning some more ideas on Pinterest for next year :)
Happy Birthday, Parker John!
We love you!!
No comments:
Post a Comment