Carrington's 1 Year BIRTHDAY!!!!

Our sweet little baby girl is 1 years old!!!! She is the sweetest, funniest, little girl ever :). For her birthday, I wanted to make it extra special and fun, but I didn't want to throw a huge party. When I told my brother this, he made me feel awful, since we went all out for Trey's first birthday, so I made up my mind to make her day super fabulous, "Family Style".

My take on a family birthday goes a little something like this... My Mom and Dad, Grammy and Papa, and Uncle Brian and Aunt Kristyn all came down to visit on Friday (Carrington's birthday was Saturday, Oct. 29th). So, for invitations, I put a handmade invite in each person's bedroom, inviting them to the party the next morning. It included the theme (Sunshine), the date (Sat. Oct 29th), the time (9am), and location (DeEsch Dining Room). We missed the DeEsch side of the family a TON, but I'm hoping to do something special with all of them soon! We missed you all: Uncle Adam, Aunt Shannon, Allie, Uncle Brian, Aunt Melissa, Rylee, Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Nancy!

Theme? That's the easy part- Carrington is most definitely the light of our lives, and the theme was "Bright as the SUN, our little Carrington is turning 1!" Decorations? Pictures of the birthday girl, fun colors of yellow and hot pink (the table cloth is actually just a scrap of fabric from the fabric store), and a birthday banner (Serendipity).

Cake? You betcha! An adorable Sunshine cake (flavor- sprinkles with white chocolate filling), and cupcakes from Just Baked Cupcakes, with adorable cupcake toppers (again, Serendipity). I was bound and determined to make this party a SUCCESS!

Games? Of course! Just because we don't have a bunch of screaming 1 and 2 year olds doesn't mean we need to skip games and prizes :). I stole this idea from Aunt Shannon and Uncle Adam (I LOVED it at Allie's birthday), and played a little game of "Guess My Age", with a Starbucks gift card prize. I even made Doug play (to see how well he would do), and he did NOT win! The big winners were Uncle Brian and Aunt Kristyn (they played individually, sort of- I'm pretty sure there was some cheating going on) but since they both only missed 2, they got to share the prize.

Food? Breakfast, Carrington's favorite meal of the day! We served French Toast Casserole, fruit kabobs, sausage biscuits, deviled eggs, yogurt and granola, and raspberry lemonade. It was delish! :) This also made it easy for all of our party guests to show up on time- you KNEW they were going to be hungry!

After breakfast we opened gifts- Carrington got a beautiful growth chart (pictures will come this week) from Uncle Brian and Aunt Kristyn, plus a gorgeous children's book. She got LOTS and LOTS of clothes (I think she got 4 pairs of tights, 4 new dresses, 3 new shoes, a jacket, 6 new sweaters- and that is just what I can remember!). I've said it before, but my kids will NEVER go naked with a NaniJay and Grammy in their lives! Carrington also got an adorable baby doll from Grammy and Papa. I can honestly say that she was completely spoiled.

Here's the funniest part of the whole day- Carrington had 4 outfit changes!!! What a DIVA! Actually, Carrington is much more tomboy than girly, but she really did change 4 times. First her party dress, and then she tried on one of her birthday gift dresses, her birthday play clothes, and then there was a "wardrobe malfunction" with diaper issues, and she had to change into a new birthday outfit play clothes. My mom also decided to make her try on her snowsuit bunting from last year, just to see if it fit, and of course jammies at the end of the night. The girl was DONE changing by the end of the day! :)

She also "bonked" her poor little self 3 times on her birthday! She had a lamp fall on her little head (I don't think it actually hit her, but it sure scared her), NaniJay tripped over her (pretty hard!), and she fell backwards on hit the back of her head. She really is a little climber, and manages to get into everything! I am very surprised, since I KNOW she is capable of doing it, but she is not walking yet! No matter how hard we try, she just won't! It's hilarious to try and make her, but Carrington is a stubborn little thing, and she will NOT walk until she is good and ready. In the meantime, she is happy crawling her way through life.

All in all, it was a wonderful day, and I hope that she had a great birthday- or at least I hope she looks back at the pictures one day and will know that her Mommy, Daddy, and Brother love her very, very much and wanted to make her first extra special in every way possible. Trey is so sweet, and he calls her "Baby Sweetheart", and the name couldn't be more fitting- she truly is our little baby sweetheart.

Yo Gabba Gabba LIVE!!!!

Friday afternoon, we took the kids to go see Yo Gabba Gabba!!!! I know you are thinking: we must be insane, and maybe we are, but I have to tell you- IT WAS A BLAST! Trey has been obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba for about 18 months now, and he is the pefect age to really "get" a live show. We splurged on 3rd row, aisle seats (1st row was sold out), and it was awesome. Trey's eyes were as big as saucers, and even Carrington sat in perfect amazement through all 70 minutes of the show (she loved it, since it was lots of colors, singing, and we let her munch on M&M's the whole time). It was literally a real life version of our favorite episodes. Trey knew all the songs (to be honest, so did Doug and I, and every other adult in the auditorium) and he danced like a maniac through the entire second half. The first half was great too, but it took Trey a little while to let loose and "go crazy, go crazy, go crazy"! The show included tons of confetti and streamers streaming from the sky, leaves falling during the "Weather" song, and snow falling during the "Winter" episode. Biz's Beat was there, and Lesley- along with the Yo Gabba Gang :). If you don't watch the show, none of this will make any sense, but if you are an avid follower (as everyone in our house is), it makes perfect sense.

They didn't allow pictures or video to be taken during the show, which was such a bummer, but I did sneak in a few pics and videos from my phone- not great quality, but still fun to see. It was so fun for all of us, and definitely worth the money!

Halloween Party at School!

Thursday night was Trey and Carrington's big Halloween party at their school! This year, Carrington is going to be a cow, and I wanted Trey to be a farmer. This should be easy, right? Well... I've had an "off" sort of week. About 2 months ago I went online and preordered a very basic, cute farmer costume for Trey. I found out last week that it still wasn't in stock and they were cancelling the order. I then spent hours online trying to find this costume in his size (which was sold out everywhere), only to give up and decide that I can do this myself. I then online shopped and found all the parts, and had it shipped to the house. This seems very simple, except that on Monday, I realized that I actually shipped everything to my mom's house (in Virginia). I can't begin to describe how frustrated I was! Luckily, my brother- with a very level head, and willingness to help- managed to have all the packaged overnighted to me in time for the party. Words cannot express how grateful I was/am! :)

The kids LOVED all the games at the school, and they looked super adorable. Now Trey cannot wait to wear his costume again (the concept of Halloween is still lost on him, but he loves dressing up and getting candy). Of course!

Patterson Farms- I fall more and more in love every year...

We spent the day at Patterson Farms, and every time we go there, I fall more in more in love with farm life! Not in the way that would make me want to have a farm, or live on a farm, but definitely in a "I want to go every weekend from now until they close to the public" kind of way. It is amazing- the petting zoo animals are wonderful and well-behaved, the playgrounds are so much fun, the hayrides are the perfect length, the pumpkin picking is awesome, the pig races are hilarious, the ice cream and kettle corn make it feel like fall,... I could literally go on and on! It was so much fun, and definitely the perfect way to spend our Saturday.

Trey is in an odd picture taking phase- every time I go to take his picture, he screams "FUNNY FACE", and proceeds to make his version of a funny face- see above. I'm sure this phase will pass, but it makes for some odd pictures in the meantime.

Carrington is 2 weeks away from being 1!!! I still can't believe it! I'm super excited for her birthday- we aren't doing anything big and flashy, actually we are only going to do a family party, but I don't want her to feel slighted 16 years from now, because Trey had 2 big, huge 1 year birthday parties, so I've got something special planned- just for her. :)

She isn't walking yet, and every day I wonder if she actually will walk by her birthday- I guess we will wait and see! This past week we decided to switch her over almost exclusively to table food, and she is doing awesome. Trey hated baby food and was definitely a table food kind of guy, but Carrington has always been a great eater, and she loves her baby food jars! I had nothing to worry about- Carrington doesn't care what form the food is in, as long as she is fed!

I'm looking forward to the next few weekends! Birthday parties, family visiting, Carrington's birthday, and Halloween!

A trip to the beach, and life!

I hate that I let so much time go between each post, and I think of things I want to write constantly, but never actually sit down and do it!

A few weeks ago, we went to Carolina Beach for a few days, and the trip was actually so wonderful that we stayed an extra day. The weather was a little chilly, but it actually ended up being perfect, since we never got cold out on the beach, and we were able to spend the entire day just relaxing. We even spent one morning at the Aquarium, and we got to have breakfast with Grandpop, Doug's grandpa, and the kids great-grandpa. Trey loves his Grandpop, and any time he sees an older man, he points and shouts "Pop Pop"! Doug and I were able to sneak away for a date night, while Grandma and Aunt Nancy watched the kids, so all in all, vacation was a complete success!

We got home from vacation and Carrington started teething, which then created a low fever, a runny nose, diarrhea, and the worst part of all: a God-awful, terrible, raw and bleeding diaper rash. I felt horrible for her, and all the cream in the world just didn't seem to make it better. One night she was in so much pain, I even started crying and Doug had to take over the diaper changing, since I just couldn't handle it. Watching your baby be so miserable, and not being able to do anything about it, is the worst possible place to be. There is a slightly comical part to this story, though. I called the doctor begging for some solution, and she had me create my own diaper cream. For you moms out there, take note- this actually managed to clear up the worst rash I have ever seen in my life. I mixed Aquaphor lotion (it's a super thick, water based lotion) and liquid Mylanta (yes, you read that right). It created a white paste the stayed in place regardless of what the diaper got filled with. It was awesome, so between my homemade diaper rash cream, warm baths in baking soda, and wiping her with warm soap and Cetaphil, we managed to get relieve her poor little bottom :(.

What else have we been up to??? Well, Trey and Carrington have been going to the preschool 4 days a week in September, but starting next week, Amanda comes back (Yay!!!!) and we will get into a more normal routine (and it will be a LOT easier on me). We had an awesome playdate with Liz and Olivia this past Monday- and I definitely had even more fun than the kids. I don't think we've playdated in months, and it was great catching up with one of my favorite Mommas!

Carrington turned 11 months old yesterday- I still can't wrap my head around the fact that she will be 1 in just a month!!!! My baby girl is actually a big girl! She is standing on her own, and considering that first step, but she hasn't actually taken the step initiative yet. We'll see! I predict it will come anytime now!

October is already looking busy, but I love it! We have a ton of birthday party fun coming up, Uncle Brian and friends are coming down for a "guys weekend"... not exactly sure what that entails, and we are also looking forward to a visit from Grammy, Papa, Big Daddy, and Nanijay. I'm hoping Uncle Brian and Aunt Kristyn will make it down that weekend too!!! I miss Aunt Kristyn a LOT! :)

Lastly, it looks like Doug and I are going to make a trip to New York, with 2 kids- 2 and under, on a plane!!!! I'm not sure if we are crazy, brave, or practical, but I'm pretty sure it will be quite an adventure.