A Peter Rabbit Party

Well, we have had a jam-packed week around here. My parents drove up from Tennessee for the whole week and my brother, Graham, and sister-in-law, Sarah, flew in from California for a long weekend. We only see them once a year and we timed the party so they could be there, since they've never been to one of their nieces or nephew's birthdays. (Channing turns one on the 28th).
Before I back up and share some of the fun we had during the week with family, I'll go ahead and post all of the party pics. It started with some invitations and gift tags I found at a sidewalk sale at PB Kids this past summer. They were only $2 or so and I thought, "How cute. Wish I had a reason to use these. Oh yeah! Channing's birthday!" So that was how I landed on the theme. Judie and I had actually done a Peter Rabbit baby shower for my sis-in-law so it was easy to decorate for.

 A book and bowl set that belonged to the Colyer boys when they were babies:

Inside the birdcage was a postcard that Big John sent Judie when they were dating. I think that was my favorite little touch. It needs to be matted and framed in a nursery:

I used the gift tags as cupcake toppers. Carrot cake with buttercream:

I found these little wooden seed packets at Michael's and Judie helped me figure out what to use them for and she painted them for me:

The only purchased decorations on this table were the cupcake supplies and the seed packet banner. The rest was mine or Judie's (and the blue book on the right was one of Channing's presents):

An antique crate I've had for a while became the centerpiece with fresh vegetables. The trowel with pink paint belonged to Judie's father:

Judie found the watering can at Michael's and actually made the Peter Rabbit ears to peek out since we didn't have a stuffed bunny! I love the personal touches she does for me to make these parties turn out so cute:

I also made a banner for the fireplace with Channing's monthly photos from the year:

The napkin & silverware idea I got from Family Circle magazine (which my sister, Claire, put together for me! Bless her and her love for crafting):

We had two different pasta bakes (my mom made one and Judie made the other), bread, garden salad...

 ...and for the kids, veggie cups with dip and a bucket of dirt (chocolate pudding & cookie crumbs). It was a very easy but yummy meal.

This is the only pic we got with our birthday boy :(  Its easy to photograph all the decorations. Not so easy to get people together! It was quite a full house with about 25 in all. The closest we've ever come to having our entire family (both sides) together. We were just missing 2 uncles from Jon's side. I'm really sad we didn't at least get a shot of all the kiddos. But Dawson was having a very rough night on top of all the other chaos which kept us pretty distracted all evening.

My sweet baby boy was very happy all night with all his favorites under one roof!

I also didn't get a good picture of him in his sweet little Peter Rabbit sweater but he'll wear it for Easter too so we'll just get one then. Too much to think about!

 My sister, Claire, designed these goodie bags for me. They turned out really cute:

I got really lucky since Target has all of their Easter/spring stuff out now! It was perfect timing. A garden shovel, a carrot full of sugar, candy flowers, a "carrot" full of goldfish crackers and tied with green rick rack, a mushroom pencil sharpener/eraser and a little flower growing kit:

 The big kids did an Easter Peter Rabbit sticker craft and it was actually a big hit:

The ONE shot of Channing opening a gift (he actually only got a couple small presents since I just asked for money to decorate the boys' rooms): 

We took a video of the first couple minutes of him with his cupcake. He had absolutely no clue what to do with it. He'd touch it gingerly and pull his finger away. Then he'd lean over and touch his lips to it over and over like he was bobbing for apples. He stayed quite clean! Very true to character. He never did want to eat all the sweet icing but he got most of the cupcake down:

This party was a lot of fun and was I was the least stressed I'd ever been beforehand. I had so much help from my family, especially Claire and my two moms. Plus, my dad and Graham and Sarah took the big kids out on a walk that afternoon so they were out of our hair. 

Channing, my peaceful prince, I know you won't remember a thing about this day but I hope you look back at these photos and see the love that went into it! I won't forget your gentle face, taking it all in. Ivory skin, rosy cheeks and your brown hair swept to the side, always a smile to give, always a snuggle for your momma. I love you and God knew exactly what this family needed when He gave you to us! Happy almost birthday!

For more theme parties, see: Where the Wild Things Are, baby circus, dinosaur, ocean, King Kong. I did a farm party for Dawson's 2nd and never got it blogged :(  Maybe I'll post it someday just for fun. 

Game Changers

Just a few things that have changed my life in BIG and small ways lately. Thought I'd share the love....

Need shredded cooked chicken for a recipe but hate all the prep time? So thankful for this discovery.

Do you hate that Minute Rice is so dang complicated and rarely turns out perfectly fluffy? ('cause I do. That used to take concentration like I was solving an algebra equation). This is sheer genius. I'm a rice cooking convert and make it way more often now. (Stir in some butter, salt and a good amount of Parmesan cheese and it becomes a delicious side on it's own. No need for sauce.)

Do you need a quick and impactful devotional? Try Jesus Calling. Its been life changing because its such a doable way to really connect with Jesus on a daily basis and I truly look forward to reading it. I can't rave about it enough.

One thing I'm loving lately is something my friend and I started a couple weeks ago, we're calling it Before & Afters. No secret-- I'm a terrible housekeeper. I love a clean house but hate the work it takes to get there. I was born lazy. I can sit around all day long with a good book or some good TV(and some good food...) and not feel the urge to get up and do anything. I know tons of people who can't relax at night until their house is clean. Not me. Kids are in bed, I go straight to my room to relax, with my hubby, in front of the TV, walking right past all the mess without a second thought. (bonus if it's Monday and The Bachelor's on. That's our favorite date night ;)
So anyway....unfortunately/fortunately I married a typical first-born perfectionist Type-A who looooves a spotless house. (Unfortunately because with 3 kids its NEVER spotless and it irritates him to no end. Fortunately because at least it makes me want to try. A little.)
So one day I had a big mess to tackle (that I wasn't in the mood to tackle) so I snapped a pic of the mess and sent it to my friend. I told her I was going to text her the "After" shot when I was done so I felt like I had some accountability. Duh. It was genius. I cleaned harder and faster than I had in a while, paying attention to more details so my "After" was more impressive. And we both loved it and decided to make it a weekly challenge.
Here are a couple shots, just so you can get in on the fun and be inspired to snap some pics of your messes! (Obviously we are NOT going for picture quality here.)
Our "normal" bedroom. Doesn't get more "real" than this folks....

And the "After". (I think it stayed like this for maybe 2 hours. Our kids trash this place so fast. Do your kids play in your room?)

 And today's Before & After when I really wasn't in the mood to clean....

(My kitchen counters are always too cluttery...but it's still much easier on the eyes :) Do you hate cleaning too? Find another messy friend and keep each other accountable!! I said to my friend how after you're done, you don't even realize how much you did until you look back at the Before. She said how satisfying looking back at these pictures are, because we work so hard all day long and don't usually have much to show for it.

And in other life-changing news...Dawson (who will be 3 1/2 in a month) is F.I.N.A.L.L.Y. staying dry and going in the potty. Sometimes I have a parenting brain fart. (This one lasted a few months too long). I realized he was more than ready. It wasn't like he couldn't do it. He just didn't want to. Do I let him stay up late at night because he doesn't want to go to bed? No. Do I let him him eat snacks because he doesn't want to eat what I made for dinner? No. So why was I letting him pee in his diaper because he just didn't want to go on the potty? I don't know. Three kids leaves you with very little brain space to think through things like these. And I was so tired of cleaning pee off the carpet and couch so I'd just given up and was waiting for him to make up his mind that he didn't like diapers anymore. Well, that was going to happen the day after never. So I quit letting him call the shots. And he's doing great. I still have to be firm sometimes when he doesn't feel like trying but we're nearly done, another mountain behind us. (The next one on the horizon-- Mount Pacifier. Its a huge one. And I don't want to climb it)

11.

What the?? How'd we get to that number already? Holy smokes, my baby's nearly one. Time flies a whole lot faster with the third child. In some ways its good. In some ways its heartbreaking. Most of life is like that--bittersweet.

He's been improving his army crawl this month. Which unfortunately means he doesn't really stay in one spot anymore and is joining in the mess making. Although, he'll sit in one spot much longer than his brothers ever did. I would still occasionally keep him in the church service when the nursery was crowded up until a month ago. Definitely could not have done that with Wild Thing #1 and Wild Thing #2!! So I'm still so thankful for his super mellow personality. This was just a few days ago...the first time he had even pulled up to his knees!! Seriously...he is laaaaid baaaaack. (Edit: I just went to get him from his crib where he was playing with toys and crying for me to find him standing!! So he went from knees to feet within just a few days. Big boy! It's so cute when they learn something new)

He's also a sensitive little thing. He always has been, literally from the womb. I remember Bennett & Dawson     startling in the womb from a really loud noise once or twice during my pregnancy. Channing startled in the womb constantly! He's still the jumpiest little thing. He also gets pretty nervous around men who don't "baby talk" at him. He'll just stare them down with a serious expression. Our friend made him cry just the other day just by looking at him too close and talking in a serious voice. I told him he had to baby talk and then Channing loosened up a little :) But he'll give a huge grin to any strange lady who smiles his way! I love shopping alone with him. I always get stopped by sweet old ladies who think he's the cutest thing ever. It never gets old. 

He's sporting quite the mullet these days. His hair is growing fast! Bennett's first haircut wasn't until 2 1/2 and Dawson's wasn't until 16 months. I can never believe how much hair Channing has compared to his brothers. They're all so different. 

Dawson seriously needs a haircut too. Its just a pain to get them in for one! 

I had to stand him up at the window for pictures again since that was the only spot he'd hold still. This photo sesh was a quick one. He's sort of in between sizes right now. I dug in the 12-18 month bin and put that shirt on him, which fit perfectly. Those pants are actually 9mos. He's a solid thing, like his brothers, just short limbed. 

We've conquered The Great Nighttime Battle. So that's over and done with. Since I wrote that post, he cried it out for about an hour and a half the following night. Still brutal, just not as hard as the first time. Its been several nights since then and he hasn't woken up! Big relief. His naps are still a bit of a struggle. Some days he does great with two if I wake him from his first one early but other days that backfires and he won't fall asleep for the second and ends up cranky all afternoon/evening. Its hit or miss. It will be kind of nice when he's down to just one. He's just still really tired an hour after he wakes up every morning. 

Like his brothers, he loves the bathtub. I can't resist a good mohawk. The only time I really get to have fun playing with their hair :) 

This video is from a couple weeks ago:

And yesterday we gave him his first pickle hoping to get some funny faces out of him. Instead he wanted to eat the whole thing:

Only one more of these monthly posts. Really hard to believe. But Jon and I remember so well that phase when Bennett was between about 12 and 20 months. It was our absolute favorite. We didn't experience that with Dawson because he spent at least half his days crying during those months and it was a very rough time for us. So we're looking forward to it with Channing, when he'll start saying words and doing funny tricks. I've been practicing the signs for "more" and "all done" for about two months now. He definitely understands them and smiles big and gets excited when I sign "more". He'll let me guide his hands too. He just started giving kisses when I ask although he won't perform for Daddy when I tell him to :) Love this sweet little man.

this is life

(Warning- this post is wordy. Skip it if you don't like to read)
3 nights ago, completely on a whim, I decided it was time to let Channing "cry it out". His sleeping schedule the past few months had gotten increasingly worse. It started way back with our trip to Florida, when he had to nap wherever and whenever. He never quite recovered from that. His naps weren't ever predictable and he started waking up occasionally at night, either a few hours after he went to bed (around 10:30 or 11pm) or earlier than normal in the morning (6 or 6:30am). I got into the habit of giving him a bottle at those times since it was still sort of a "normal" feeding time. Well then November and December came and he was sick more than he was healthy during those months. So there was more waking in the night for medicine and snot-sucking, etc. And since I took pity on my poor little sick baby, I'd just give him a bottle so he'd fall right back to sleep. Well, fast-forward to this week...the occasional and sporadic night bottle had quickly turned into an every night bottle. At 2am three nights ago, I decided I'd had enough. So...I didn't go in to get him. The longest I'd ever had to let Bennett or Dawson cry it out was 30 or 45 min. when they'd occasionally get off schedule due to sickness or teething. No big deal. The ironic thing is, I've given advice to countless friends over the years in regards to their babies sleep schedules. And in my opinion, you just have to eventually suck it up and let them cry it out-an hour, two hours, whatever it takes. The first night's the worst and for most babies, it gets way easier after that. Easier said than done. 
Well, Channing didn't stop crying after 45 min like I expected. He didn't stop crying after an hour. I so desperately wanted to go in to get him but I knew I was past the point of no return. I'd just have to start all over the next night if I did. So I laid there, listening to him cry (actually I was just watching the monitor lights flicker at that point because Jon told me to turn it off) in pure agony. Honestly, it was so painful and completely heart-wrenching. I just kept telling myself he wouldn't even remember it in the morning. Another whole hour went by and I was started to fade in and out of sleep. It was dreadful. The next thing I knew, I woke up and looked at the clock and it was 4:40am and he was sound asleep.

At last. 

If I weren't so exhausted, I would have popped open some champagne to celebrate. (Just kidding. I hate champagne.) He ended up sleeping til about 8:45 that morning (way longer than usual). Poor thing was pooped. But the first night was over. We survived. I gave him lots and lots of extra cuddles the next day out of guilt. 

Well, its been 2 full nights since then and the boy hasn't made a peep. He's slept from 7:30pm til 8 or 8:30am the last two nights and has actually napped better for me the last two days too. I don't know what it was but he snapped out of it. Hallelujah! That night was completely worth it. 

(I'm so in love with these pictures my MIL took while we were on vacation. How did she get smiles from all three?? Miracle worker, that woman.)

So the morning after the "night of agony", I was of course, completely exhausted. I felt nauseous in the middle of the night and all the next morning. (I'm blaming it on the pizza and cookies I ate the night before in combination with the lack of sleep. I've learned I'm sensitive to gluten and have been *mostly* GF for the past few months and that was by far the most gluten I'd eaten in one sitting in a long time). 

So in my state of exhaustion, I completely blew it in the mommy department that day. The first half of the day was mostly fine since Dawson plays fine by himself but once Bennett gets home from school, they usually fight and Dawson gets whiny and crabby (his way of getting attention). Jon was out of town that night so I was on my own. And I let it all get the best of me. I screamed at Dawson about who-knows-what two or three times that evening. Those are the days where I just feel like I'm utterly drowning. The house is a wreck (duh), the boys are bouncing off the walls and destroying things because that's what they do best and I just feel down anyway because its freakin freezing, dead of winter, no end in sight, disgusting January. And Dawson's freaking out because he doesn't want his diaper changed and WHY IS MY NEARLY THREE AND A HALF YEAR OLD STILL IN DIAPERS?? And can't a woman just get a nap, for crying out loud??! You get the gist. A day in Mommy hell. There were tears on all of our parts. Mine out of guilt that night when I prayed with the boys to ask the Lord for forgiveness. 

I started the next day out right and picked up my Jesus Calling devotional that hadn't been cracked open for too many days to mention. Thank goodness for His grace. Thank goodness for the grace of my children. Thank goodness that I don't have those days every day. Yes, I'm still completely and utterly spent at the end of every. single. day. (seriously. Parenting three boys this young is the hardest thing ev-errr. I'm still not sure why God thinks I'm strong enough for this job.) but at least most days I feel like I did my best to love my children and give them my attention when they need it and laugh along the way. Its all a work in progress but that's all He asks of us, isn't it? That we work at it? In marriage, in parenting, in our walk with Him? If we're conscious of our areas that need improvement and are working at those areas, that's the best any of us can do. 

My favorite Instagrams lately:

1) Mornin', Sunshine 2) Those two giggling about inappropriate words in the dictionary. Endless entertainment. 3) Laundry can wait 4) My favorite mug makes my day a little happier 5) In love with that baby in the mirror (him and me) 6) Sometimes there are *perfect* moments 7) That face 8) Bunny teeth 9) Pretending it wasn't winter for a couple hours at an indoor pool

One area I admittedly suck at in parenting is teaching my kids scripture. Its not a part of our lives even though I know its pretty much the most important thing. So one thing I'm going to work on this year is helping them memorize verses. I printed this off yesterday to teach my boys the character qualities we all want to strive for. (I heard Michelle Duggar speak last November and it pretty much revolutionized my mothering.) A great place to start and enough verses for one a week for a year (or it might take two...or three years. You know...work in progress :) Do you teach your kids scripture? Any tools you've found to make it easier?

so many books, so little time. unless you're on vacation.

Have you discovered goodreads.com? I know, it's been around a long time but I resisted joining it. I didn't want another type of social media taking up more time that I didn't even have to waste in the first place. But frankly, it's really hard to find really great books. I've read a lot of duds lately. A lot of pretty-goods and I-liked-its but not a lot of greats or I-couldn't-put-it-downs. Hard to believe that the last time I added a book to my blog list on the right (anything that's 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion) was a full year ago!!
Enter goodreads.com where I can see the average rating of any book out there. So instead of just going by one person's opinion (either from someone I know or a review from a magazine), I can verify it with hundreds of people's opinions and make sure it averages over 4 stars. It's awesome.
I read two "I-couldn't-put-it-downs" on my trip and got half-way through a third (two new ones added to the side-bar). Which frankly, having so much time to read is half the fun of traveling for me. I don't get a whole lot of time to read at home and if I am, it means I'm ignoring some mess that I should be attending to (or possibly a child or two).
I think I chuckled out loud at this line from Half-Broke Horses:

"I wished I could read every book in the library. Sometimes after I finished a particularly good book, I had the urge to get the library card, find out who else had read the book, and track them down to talk about it." 

Oh, how I relate! I wish I had time for a book club! Which books have been your favorites lately? #bookwormsunite

#heaven