Craft Day with Sara

One of my best friends, Sara, and I decided instead of exchanging Christmas presents this year we we would spend the money on craft supplies and get together to have a craft day together! It was the best idea we’ve had! Quality time with one of my best girls and crafting; doesn’t get much better! We didn’t get together till a weekend in February, but it worked perfect because the busy-ness of the holidays and the craziness at my job in January was all over with! {note: we were at my sister’s house and she was in denial that Christmas was over and hadn’t got her decorations down yet…j/k she wasn’t in denial}

We had some fun snacks and alcohol free/calorie free margaritas and crafted for a good 6 hours!

Our first project was some burlap door hangers! Sara saw this at a friend’s house and then we looked over pinterest and thought it would be a good project to do together. I made an elephant for Avery’s party {which is now hanging in his room} and an “I” for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Sara made a few last name initials for gifts and an “I” also. I love how they turned out and want to do more!

Our other project was the paper wheels I had around at Avery’s party. And we finished up our day with a few random items.

That same weekend I was still in the crafting mode and did a simple project to add to our bathroom décor. I printed a few “printables” from Pinterest, matted them with some cute paper, and framed them for our bathroom! Love how they turned out!

Our next weekend together will hopefully be shopping! We had such a great time and I can see this becoming our new tradition!

Avery Turns One: Party People

Avery’s party was quite different in guest attendance than Adelyn’s first birthday party, but still special nonetheless! Aunt Wendi & Hayen got sick, so they couldn’t come. Aunt Stef wasn’t allowed to travel since she’s expecting triplets so Barton’s weren’t there and Kyle’s sister from Chicago weren’t coming until a few weeks later.

Love my family so! <3

Grandma Cindy & Grandpa Duane

Uncle Preston & Aunt Mindi

Grandma Sharon & Grandpa Jim

Grandpa Steve

Great Grandma Donna

Great Grandma DeWall

Great Grampo – Avery’s saying “look I have more hair than Grampo” ha! <3

Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate our sweet Avery!

In case you missed the other posts make sure to check them out at the links below:
Avery Turns One: Party On
Avery Turns One: Party Details

Avery Turns One: Party On

I love the look in Avery’s eyes – totally checking out that cake!

Love the one arm behind his head!

Really starting to dig in!

After! He was a mess and we had a tub full of cake!

We got him all cleaned up and partied some more! He liked being the center of attention!

In case you missed the other posts make sure to check them out at the links below:
Avery Turns One: Party People
Avery Turns One: Party Details

Avery Turns 1: Party Details

It was kinda fun for a change to plan a boy party! I used the colors from his room so we could incorporate his nursery decorations into the party. Orange, teal, & chevron with a few elephants!

Kyle’s sister, Laura, graciously designed the invites from a few ideas I had. She did a wonderful job, as usual! I made a welcome sign for our door to greet guests using the elephant graphic from the invite!

With Avery’s birthday being in March it was too cold to host his party in the garage, so we kept it a little smaller with only immediate family & grandparents. Our 1200 sq ft house was plenty full! I made a “Avery Turns One” banner for the serving table, displayed the invite, and his one year pictures, sure does make decorating easy!

We did an afternoon party after Adelyn & Avery’s naps, so we kept food simple by serving some snack items: cookies, crackers & cheese, carrots & ranch, rice krispy bars dipped in almond bark w/sprinkles, and of course cake & ice cream. I wanted to do fun orange snacks!

A local bakery made cookies & cakes (Laritas is family fav)!

I love all the fun chalkboards I have seen on pinterest. I purchased one at Hobby Lobby using my 40% coupon, spray painted the frame white, and also purchased some chalk markers (another day so I could just my 40% coupon as well) to sum up our little guy’s first year! Another pinterest find was using 2 tables cloths, cutting stripes and tying them at the top for the backdrop! Simple & cheap and makes a big statement! I will be using this idea again for sure!

And lastly for DIY decorations was his monthly photo banner, a burlap elephant, and some paper wheels. The burlap elephant was a joint effort with my good friend, Sara. We had a craft day and made that along with a few other things, but we’ll save that for another post. The paper wheels were super simple and I love the look. Click here to see my PIN for instructions.

The rest of the decorations were items from his nursery that I set out around the living room, helped to make things a little more festive!

And lastly, but not least, my favorite decoration, the birthday boy in his birthday shirt! Usually we order from SheShe Made, but Ashley was on maternity leave so I went with my next favorite place, Pumpkin Butter Kids. Ashley did a fantastic job! Love it! (photo courtesy of Ashley Wilkerson Photography)

In case you missed the other posts make sure to check them out at the links below:
Avery Turns One: Party People
Avery Turns One: Party On

Avery’s 1st Birthday

Friday March 7th Avery turned one! We celebrated with a traditional donut for breakfast. Usually I would put a candle in it and we’d sing, but I didn’t have any on hand. Avery didn’t mind though!

He got a few good bites of the donut and then ended up throwing most of the pieces on the floor. I’m sure he will quickly discover the deliciousness of donuts!

He spent the majority of the day at daycare. Kyle and I had both been home with Avery in the days prior to his birthday because of his mystery rash. We got some take out KFC for supper that night and had a fun little celebration for our little guy! He was quite excited about his cupcake!

Enjoy the following pictures of his first crash {cup} cake!

Safe to say he enjoyed {destroyed} his cupcake!

We asked friends & family for no gifts. We did have a few random gifts, but for the most part they honored our wishes. Our family is more than blessed and the last thing Avery needed was more toys or clothes. Instead our family blessed Avery with contributions to his college fund.

I did take Adelyn to Target to let her pick out a gift for Avery. I thought it would be a good teaching moment for her. She did fantastic and ended up picking out an airplane and so I “gently guided” her to also pick the Planes movie!

Avery was thrilled…ha! Just goes to prove he doesn’t need toys…only empty boxes!

Happy 1st birthday sweet boy! Next up, birthday party posts!