14 Months and Climbing

As I walked by our office/playroom the other day I saw this site that made me run and grab my camera..tip-toe around...stalk my child for a few minutes while taking pictures of him....all while I watched, smiled, and felt my heart melting because once again...we are moving into a new phase. Climbing.

Sweet Boy had climbed up in the chair all by himself as I was cleaning up after breakfast, and was playing with his toys as if no one else was around. Melt.

...which of course was followed by him pushing all the toys off the chair....

....and then climbing down all by himself too!! Ahh....who taught him this? He's getting so big!

Busted. He spotted me! ha.

 Hey mom! Watch me climb!!

 And yes, I know our windows are covered in little fingerprints....but I can't bring myself to clean them! I kind of love it.

Great Job, Sweet Davis. You are picking up new things every single day and we are so proud of you!

Meet Me Here Monday: My "New" Blogging Goal

I don't know about you, but I LOVE starting things on Mondays. And if it doesn't happen on Monday, then it probably won't happen the rest of the week. {For example, I love to make workout goals for the next week which always "start on Monday"...but when Monday rolls around and that "goal" doesn't get met...forget starting it on Tuesday or Wednesday...I'll just wait for Next Monday!}  And don't even get me started on when the first of the month begins on a Monday...it's almost too much for me to handle. haha.

But thankfully "God's mercies are new every morning"...not just every Monday, right?! {If only I could remember that! ha. ;)}

Well, I've decided that this is a character trait/habit/flaw/sin that I really can't stand...and would love for it to change...or just go away for good! I mean, why do my goals have to start at the beginning of a week? If I want to do something or get something done...just do it NOW Chelsea!

I think the area that gets me the most when it comes to this "issue" is in blogging. I have had the hardest time transiting from doing just photography blog posts to now solely personal ones. I have this constant battle within me {did I really just say that I have an internal battle over blogging? I need help.} that screams "Blog EVERYTHING because you want to make it into a book one day"...but on the other hand just not knowing what in the world to blog about or not feeling like it "tells our story"! What?! {Did I really just say that?} Ugh! I know....total and completely First World Problems.

So...here is what I've decided to do.

Around the time that Davis was born I saw this clever little thing on Pinterest via The Design Sponge Blog

Immediately I thought, "YES....now THIS is the answer to my problems."

Well...of course...I didn't start it on January 1st {because Davis was born on the 10th}, I didn't have any awesome vintage postcards laying around the house {even though a piece of card stock would have worked} and where in the world would I have found that cute little carton to hold the notecards {try your refrigerator, silly, it's holding a bunch of blueberries as we speak}, and needless to say..I never made it to Office Depot to get that cute little date stamper. Excuses. Excuses. Excuses.

Sooooo....to kill a few birds with one stone...I thought...why not implement this same concept on our blog?! Genius, I know, right?! And let's be honest, with a 1 year old running around, the chances of all of those notecards staying in order and actually IN that container is about as likely as me starting a workout regime on a Wednesday! Can I get an "Amen?!" :)

I think with this little "system" I can write as short or as long of a blog post that's needed and I won't feel like I have to "catch up on the last 3 months" that have passed by....which inevitably leads to the longest blog posts ever!

So, that's it. That's my goal. Just to blog about the little stuff. Or the big stuff. One line...or 401 lines. But the point is to just document it. Here. It might be a repeat of what I put on Instagram or Facebook that day. But who cares. I don't need to worry about it. {Once again...why all this worry?! Case. In. Point. Why I'm pretty sure this was on my list of "What are your current idols" from my Bible Study this week. Yuck.}

Final confession: This post was written on Friday, but saved so that I could post it on MONDAY! Haha

Here's to a great week of things starting on Monday!!

Omelets and ONEsies!! {Davis' First Birthday Party}

I know that I already blogged about Davis turning ONE but what I didn't mention was his First Birthday PARTY!! And what a party it was!

If you know anything about us, we are serious about some birthdays around here. {Confession: I am really the only one serious about birthdays...but I do plan on converting each member of our household...one by one. ha. Starting with Davis.} So, on his actual birthday, Del had the day off so we were able to spend the whole day together...as a family. It was wonderful. Del made Davis a special 1 pancake {which he wasn't really into...but it sure looked awesome, huh?}...but then we quickly moved onto the photo shoot that I had been looking forward to for...well...the last 12 months.

I know I've said it before....but I LOVE Smash Cake Sessions. So...I had BIG hopes and dreams for Davis'. I made the cake myself. Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting and everything! It was going to be perfect.

CUE: Dreams Shattered. Haha

The child did not want ANYTHING to do with his cake. Nothing.

As soon as his hands and feet touched the icing he FLIPPED OUT! Liiiiike....screamed like I've never heard him scream before. Yikes!

But at least we were able to get a few sweet pictures of him {pre-cake meltdown}...and it captured the moment and his personality...which is what really matters.

{I'll stop crying about it hopefully by the time he graduates high school. haha. Kidding.}

The rest of the day was great, just being spent as a family. At dinner we gave the cake another whirl so he could blow out his candle. He did like the candle part....

...but just ended up eating his favorite noodles. No cake. ha.

All that to say, for his birthday party...we decided that a cake might not be the best idea. haha.

Del had to work the night shift the day of his party, so we knew we needed to do something in the morning...and who doesn't love a good breakfast on Saturday morning?!

So, we decided to have an Omelets and ONEsies Party, in honor of Davis turning ONE!! Everything we served had the letter "O" in it, and all the kids {and majority of the adults} came in their pajamas! It was sooooo fun!!

And what pajama party would truly be complete, if it didn't come with a stellar case of bed-head? ha. Thank you Davis for coming in "costume". :)

Sweet friends in their jammies!

Sweet Mary Beth and Kennedy in their matching robes! I love their little friendship.

Del was our master Omelet chef, accompanied by our neighbor, John. They were the perfect team!

In addition to Omelets, we had dOnuts, yOgurt, granOla, cheeriOs, gO-gurt, fruit kabObs, and Oatmeal.

Oh yeah.....and more donuts!

This time around Davis loved his cake {but really, who wouldn't....it was made of donuts}, and especially loved all the candles.

Be still my heart. I could not love these two any more!

Then once the time arrived for Davis to open presents, I'm pretty sure some of these pictures could be found in the dictionary under the phrase "Beautiful Chaos". haha. I love the heart of kids and how they want to help and tell you everything that is in each bag! Wouldn't have it any other way!

{Of course all Davis wanted to do was play with the cardboard from the wrapping paper. haha.}

Then just like that...everyone's bellies were full and it was nap time!

We had such a great time, and we felt like it was the perfect mix of memorable, fun, kid & adult-friendly, but still laid back. Not one time during the party did Del or I feel stressed or overwhelmed...which is exactly what we wanted.

Thanks for reliving this special day with us and for "coming" to Davis' party! Please take a little breakfast snack on your way out! ;)

Valentine's Day & Our First BIG Illness

 This past week has been quite the whirlwind of emotions!! The week started out full of Love, Giving, time with Friends, and then ended with a big ole' yucky case of pneumonia {which by the way I still don't know how to spell. Thank you spell check for correcting me every. single. time.}

I don't know what comes over me sometimes, but I think that it is super fun to make the "non-major" holidays super...well...FUN! :) Like Valentine's Day!! Maybe it's the fact that we have a kiddo now, so it makes you want to celebrate more than you would otherwise. Or maybe it's just a good excuse to make an "ordinary" day a really "special" day! Or maybe it's just a good excuse to act like a kid again yourself!?!  I don't know what it is...but I was totally into it this year!!
And thanks to Pinterest, I had a million different things I wanted to do/make...but I finally landed on these fun little goodies for Davis' best buddies at Bible Study. Mainly because I had everything I needed at the house the night I decided to make them! Boom.

On Wednesdays we have Bible Study in the morning, and afterwards we usually go to lunch with some of the other ENT wives that also attend the same Bible Study! It's amazing how God provided great friends, fellow mommies, and sisters in Christ all within this group of women...whose husband's are also training to do the same thing mine is?!?! Truly...too good to be true!!

Davis dressed in his finest Valentine's Day attire (thank you Jonathan and Mandi for this shirt! It's perfect!!)...which made me laugh because last year, on Davis' first Valentine's Day, a friend had also given him a shirt about "the Ladies". haha. This may be a new tradition! {I love traditions!!}

Gah! {I'm sure you're not surprised} but look how much he has changed since last Valentine's Day?!!
He was just a little over a month old at that point!

After we ate lunch, we traveled downtown to an amazing cupcake place called "Sweet Charlie B's". Hanna and Davis looooved their cupcakes...mainly the icing!

Davis really IS out numbered by the LAAADIIEEESSS! :)

So...on the ACTUAL Valentine's Day....I pretty much spent the entire day cooking! Thankfully Davis took a GREEEEAAAT nap in the afternoon, so I had some time to concentrate. Like I've said before, Del and I have never really celebrated Valentine's Day, but this year I did want to try and make something special and different. While we lived in LR, our favorite restaurant was Loca Luna and Del's favorite thing to eat there was Osso Buco....soooo...I thought I'd put on my big girl cooking pants and try to recreate it! With the help of Mario Batali and my awesome neighbor {that seriously held my hand though the entire process. I love you Stephanie} it was a HUGE hit! Del looooooved it!!

Sorry I didn't get a better picture of it....but by this point I was so severely starving {after smelling that goodness all day} I literally wanted to get it on our plates as fast as possible so that we could INHALE it!! haha. And that is exactly what we did. I served it over garlic mashed potatoes and a side of sautéed veggies. Yum-O! Davis had his favorite noodles to eat, so everyone was super happy!!

Then we had our neighbors, John and Stephanie, over for a delicious Sour Cream Pound Cake Dessert...so it was the perfect way to end a really fun day!! And as if we hadn't laughed enough already that night with John and Stephanie...I got on Facebook before bed and when Del and I saw this...we were literally crying. If only I were that witty and hilarious.

Then on Friday....our wonderful, joyous, calorie-filled festivities came to a crashing halt when Davis woke up from his nap with 104.4 fever. 

Cue: lots of blazing hot cuddles and not wanting to be put down for the next three days.

We stayed home all weekend, and with the help of Tylenol and Ibuprofen, his fever bounced around between 101-104.  So on Monday, when his fever still was periodically spiking up to 104, we decided to go to the ER {because ALL the clinics on base were closed}.  His chest X-ray confirmed that he in fact had pneumonia in the upper part of both of his lungs. He received a big shot of antibiotics in both legs, cried a lot, got really antsy being in the same small room for 5 hours....then after observing him a little longer, we headed home.

When we got home, he was starting to show some signs of respiratory distress, so after watching him for a little bit and discussing what we should do....we we decided to head BACK to the ER to make sure everything was ok. Better safe than sorry, right? :) Thankfully they got us right in...since we had just been there! ha. They monitored his breathing and oxygen levels for a while, and eventually all of his stats leveled out, so we felt comfortable with the decision to take him home rather than having him admitted overnight.

It truly was amazing, because while we were waiting and watching his stats, we began getting text after text saying that Davis was being prayed, prayed, PRAYED for!! It was amazing to feel that kind of love and support from The Church {as a whole} during that time of waiting. Thank you to all who prayed! It meant the world to us!
Since then, our days have been filled with lots of meds, lots of napping {for Davis}, not too much eating, and lots of Pedialyte! ha. I have started to see an improvement in his demeanor today, so I'm hoping that this is just the first of many signs that he is on the mend!
Thanks again to everyone who has been praying for our little guy! God is hearing your prayers and we are anxiously awaiting our little guy being back to 100%!
Have a great day!

DAVIS IS ONE!!! {and a look back on the last 6 months}

Before this month completely gets away from me....like the last 6 months have, I'd like to announce that our sweet baby boy is ONE!!!!

Can you even believe it? And the fact that I am just NOW blogging about these last 6 exciting months makes my mommy heart really sad. However, I will not succumb to the "social media guilt pressure" and beat myself up about it! Ha. I did make a few efforts to document these last few months...but then...I'm not sure what really happened. Oh yeah. I'm a mom now! THAT'S what happened! Not only have I supposedly lost 1/2 of my brain cells, it's now hard for me to complete a single task without starting another one....or picking up one that I forgot to finish yesterday. :)

Case. In. Point.

I originally started to backtrack {in SEPTEMBER} to do his 7 month blog post...but then obviously gave up...or got distracted...or had to cook dinner...or change a diaper...or well...who knows. And then two months later decided to lump the last 4 months in together....and that obviously didn't get finished either! haha. 

So...here we are. It's January, 2013...and I feel like I should reintroduce myself! Ha.

Hi, My name is Chelsea...and I haven't blogged in over 6 months.

It's nice to meet you.

Whew....where do I even begin?!?!

I guess if I could sum up these last 6 months in a few words it would be:

Crawling, Chewing, Climbing, and Chasing!!

Right at the end of 6 months/the very beginning of 7, Davis took off! I thought the whole "crawling process" would be just that....a process. Not so much. He began with the army crawl...which was really cute and fun...and a phase that I expected to last....for maybe....I don't know...a month? ha. {Have I ever been around babies before? Ha. Apparently not!} That phase lasted 2 days. Done. He wasted no time in that department. Boom. Crawling.

And then what seemed to be a few days later {which in all actuality, probably a month later} teeth started coming out of no where. Once again. I thought it took a long time for teeth to come in. Apparently not. So we started introducing more "real" food, but this child still loves some baby food!

Then one night, I look back and Davis is taking off up the stairs! What!?!?! I turned to Del and said, "Where did he learn to do that?"....to which he replied, "I might have taught him that last night". haha. Awesome. *Note to self: Pick up baby gates at the store.*

Then on Thanksgiving Day, Davis started walking. Our 10 1/2 months old boy took off like he had been walking for years! Which truly, I'd have to say, was the biggest blessing and exactly the gift we needed on that day.

A week before, Davis had crawled over to our gas fireplace and put his hand on the glass in an effort to pull himself up to a standing position....which resulted in his right palm and fingertips severely burned. Ugh. Maybe the worst night of parenting to date. Del and I were literally sitting a foot away from where it happened and in a split second we just heard screaming...which lasted for the next 2 1/2 hours until he finally fell asleep sitting in his high chair eating dinner. So, on Thanksgiving Morning we took him in to the ER to make sure everything was ok with his hand. We just kept thinking "what an awful 1st Thanksgiving for our little buddy"....so when we got home and he started taking his first few steps, it was exactly what we needed to turn our sorrow into joy!! What a gift it was!

Thankfully his hand healed perfectly! Del made sure we followed the instructions of the ER doctors and the doctors at the Burn Center in Seattle to a tee...because when it comes to an infant and the use of their right hand...you don't mess around. And now you can't even tell anything happened!

Our first Thanksgiving in WA was spent with our dear friends, The Pulleys. It's amazing how the Lord knows exactly what you need...and He knew12 years ago...when Lindsey and I lived on the same floor in the dorms our Freshman year at the UofA...that we needed to be friends for something He had planned later in life! {aka, them moving to WA two weeks after we did!!} So thankful that we serve a God that is ALL knowing and whose plans are PERFECT! Their friendship has been a HUGE blessing to us.

Ok...back to Davis...
Since he has started walking, life looks a lot different. He is super busy and suuuuuper curious...all. the. time. But thankfully he is still taking 2 naps and sleeping great through the night. So, we get a few little quiet moments throughout the day.

Davis' First Christmas was great {aka very anti-climactic. ha}. We had built it up so much in our minds and hearts...wanting the day to be filled with new traditions and seeing pure joy across his face as he ripped into his gifts....Ha...not so much! He wasn't old enough to enjoy all of our new traditions...and as for the gifts...he could have cared less. All he really wanted to play with was his broom! Of course!

We celebrated Christmas as a family in WA and then headed to AR for Christmas and New Years. It was a wonderful time with family, and the few friends we were able to see. Unfortunately, both sides of the family were hit with either the stomach bug or a nasty virus...so it really limited us on the amount of interaction we had with the outside world.

But we made it back to WA safely and just a week later our baby turned ONE!!
Del had the day off work, so we spent the day as a family! It truly was wonderful for this momma's heart....and I'm sure Davis enjoyed the day as well! :) ha. I agree with the friends that said that the leading up to the 1st birthday was "worse" than the actual day. Amen and Amen. As I rocked him the night before he turned one, I never wanted the moment to end. I flipped through all of my favorite pictures from the last year on my phone and was overcome with joy, awe, and unworthiness. It truly is amazing watching this little boy grow, and am humbled at the thought that the Lord entrusted him to us for this time! Truly amazing.

Thank you for enduring this looooong post! I just wanted to get some of this stuff down before I forgot it all!! Wishing you a very happy weekend from WA!