Pinterest Post: Mom's Surprise Party!

I've been holding back on my "weekly" Pinterest posts because I was busy planning my Mom's surprise 60th birthday party.  I had a nice Springtime luncheon with our family for her.  She was very, very surprised!  I was so happy to bless her in that way.  Pinterest comes in, of course because I used many ideas from Pinterest to make her party extra special, from the menu to some of the decor.  Here are some photos of the extra special party!

I used a lot of vintage table cloths and rose china for the tables.  

The first surprise...

(Skip to 1:10 for the "Surprise!")

Sisters!

The menu was a "laid-back Easter Sunday dinner" from my recipes.com. (LINK HERE)  I found this menu on Pinterest.  Instead of making the chicken myself, I let Costco make it.  I also replaced the pasta bake the menu suggested for Juan Pollo's potato salad (which is delicious!).  This way, I was able to focus on the other sides like the roasted asparagus and Brussels sprouts and the spinach-strawberry salad.  YUM!

To include my siblings who live out of state, we set up two laptops and Skyped with them.  This was the setup for the second surprise.  About seven years ago, the diamond fell out of my mom's ring at church.  Despite several church members looking over every square inch of the floor and the pews, the diamond was not found.  She hasn't worn her ring since.  I had my brother sneak it from her jewelry box and with the help of family, we were able to get the diamond replaced, the ring repaired, and get it all shiny!  My mom was soooo surprised!  See for yourself...

I loved her reaction!

Trying on the ring.

Perfect!

The cake was from Alberston's.  I usually don't like store bought cake, but I've tried this cake several times in the past and I loved it.  I knew my mom would like the light cream, the fresh strawberries, and the light and moist cake.  It really is delicious.  Well done, Albertson's!

My mom and I!

For the bunting, I folded paper doilies over brown string. I then brushed on a little Mod Podge on to secure the middle of the doily.  Very easy, but very pretty!  (Another Pinterest idea!)

I love to use chalkboards.  This time, I used one for a menu and one for a birthday sign.

Flowers always look great in pitchers! 

And in Mason jars!

The butterflies were used at my wedding reception around the cake table.  I was glad I could bring them out again!  The wooden blocks on the wall spell out "Happy Birthday."  The were made a while ago by my father-in-law and they can spell out several different things.  Very cool!

Overall, I really liked how my mom's party decor turned out.  Most of all, though, I enjoyed being able to bless her with so many surprises in one day!  Thanks to all the family who made that possible!

Owen @ 11 Months

It feels as though Owen is running a marathon and I am running with him, only I need to stop to catch my breath and he keeps on running.  He is only a few short days from running that marathon of his first time circling the sun.  I know.  Sounds like a lot for his first year of life, right?  His eleventh month has been a milestone for him.  He started walking this month.  He also started saying  few more words ("nana" for banana," and he continues to say "ba" for ball and "keekee" for kitty).   He began to explore more things, which keeps me on my toes!  Yes.  He opens every cabinet, especially the pantry, several times a day, and will get into trash cans, toilets, or cat bowls, if given the opportunity.  Of course, I take those temptations away from him by closing bathroom doors---yes, we learned the hard way on that one---and getting trash cans and cat bowls off the floor.  I need to put locks on the cabinets, but have yet to do that.  

As you may guess from his exploratory behavior, he is interested in EVERYTHING.  He is a curious little boy with facial expressions to show off that curiosity.  He makes a "monkey face" when he gets excited about something or finds something of interest.  The "monkey face" I am referring to is when he gets wide eyes and puckered lips while making the sound "Ooooh.  Ooooh."  

In addition to the words Owen is speaking now, he also has learned some "signs."  I don't practice a huge array of sign language with my kids.  I just teach them "more," "all done," and waving goodbye.  He now does all three.  Oh!  And he started clapping this month as well!  We are working on blowing kisses.  So far, he just pats my mouth to blow the kisses. :)

Another thing that stands out in Owen's personality as an 11-month-old is that he is extremely cuddly and he loves to cuddle with his daddy.  When Troy comes home, Owen walks (or runs) to him and holds up his hands for Troy to pick him up.  Then he just sweet lays his head down  on Troy's shoulder and keeps it there.  It is so sweet.  When he gets up from naps, he cuddles me in the same way.  I really do treasure that.

I know that this time when he is small enough to hold in my arms is such a short time, and it still amazes me how fast it goes!  It doesn't seem like a year ago that I was a few short days from delivering my little Owen.  But, at the same time, it seems like life has always been with him.  He is such a part of our lives!  We thank God for the blessing he is to our entire family!

As with every post, here are some photos from this month to enjoy!

Owen's favorite thing to do: get into the pantry.  On a side note, the Gyro bowl doesn't always work the way they say it will in the commercial. 

 Owen never liked to be IN the walker, but it loves to hang around outside of it!

Owen also learned to clap this month.  Here he is clapping for his cornbread.  Like father, like son.

 Owen's first Easter basket included a board book about Jesus, a Sesame Street bath book, some organic cereal crunchy things, and an O ball.  He was impressed.

 Yes.  Most of Owen's baby pictures are with food.  He really likes food and is in his highchair eating quite a bit throughout the day!

 Yea for clapping!

 One of Owen's favorite chores is helping Mommy with the dishes.  :)

Owen and his daddy!

Owen when he first was walking.

And again. 

Owen likes to put food on his head.  I keep washcloths by his highchair for this very reason.

Again, his favorite place to get into is the pantry.  This time, I wasn't fast enough!

Owen @ 10 Months

I can barely believe it myself.  My youngest child, my last little baby, is only two months away from turning one.   Owen is ten months today.  He is still such a sweet little baby.  I am trying to cherish these last days that he is an infant, but he seems to want to become a toddler all too soon!  He still is crawling, although he took a couple steps on his own this month.  His main goal of crawling it to get to an object to pull himself up on.  He loves to stand next to his brother and sister while they play or watch TV, like he is one of them.  It is so cute.  Owen gets such joy out of his siblings.  I know I say that every month, but the expression of his joy keeps increasing.  When he sees his brother and sister now, he makes a deep chuckling sound.  Certainly it is a sound of satisfaction because he does the same thing when he discovers he can climb something or open a new cabinet.

Owen's attachment to me and only me has dwindled a bit, which is nice.  I can still be in the room and not be the one holding him.  Although, he still prefers me, he just doesn't make as big of a deal of it.  He is definitely a social little man.  He thrives on crowds.  He doesn't want to miss a thing, which is why it is very hard to put him to bed when we have guests over.  He is also very content.  He will play on his own in his pack-n-play for 30-45 minutes, as long as someone is in the room with him.  This really helps me get the dishes done!

Owen's favorite sounds to make are "dada" and "ba."  He says "BA!" when he is referring to an object or thing, like our cats.   His favorite things to do are crawling, standing, getting into cabinets, playing with his brother and sister, eating, and going outside.  He makes an "Oh, oh!" and jumps up and down when he hears the keys when we are going outside.  Speaking of going outside, he loves going to the park and swinging on the swings.  He giggles and laughs the whole time.  It is simply precious.  He also likes to bounce/dance when he hears music.  Owen loves to drink from his sippy cup, and everyone else's sippy cup if it is in reach.  He still loves to smile at everyone who he sees.  He loves to eat food in general, but his favorites this month are chicken nuggets, meatballs, homemade beans (Yes.  He now rejects canned beans---in fact he prefers his meatballs homemade as well!), banana spears, sweet potato spears,  and any sort of sliced fruit.  He also still loves broccoli, so much so that I have to hide the broccoli if I want him to eat anything else.  I'm not complaining about that!

Owen is still pretty small in size, but the doctor said he really just thinks he has a really, really fast metabolism.  So, fast, though, that he goes through nutrients like iron quickly.  He was anemic at his 9 month appointment and in a few days he has a iron check, so I'm hoping with all the red beans and meatballs that I've been feeding him, that has improved.  He is just now growing out of some of his 6 month and 3-6 month clothes, although some of that is still too big around the waist.  The doctor mentioned that with boys, their size now may not matter in regards to how big they will be as an older child or adult.  Who knows?  He still could grow up to be 6'2" like most of the males in his family.  He got in two teeth this month, but he seems to be working on a few more.  I will be telling people this for the next 2 years.  :)

It is a bittersweet knowing that this sweet baby only has a few months of infant-hood left.  I am soaking it in as best as I can.  I have seen with my third child how fast this time really goes!  So, without further ado, here are some photos from the last month for your enjoyment!

Owen tried a homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookie the other day.  He liked it so much, he went cross-eyed.  

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this cute diaper-butt!

One of Owen's favorite toys. 

Big boy standing up!

Soak in the cuteness!  :)