Colten Turns One!

(still working on 2011 catch-up posts...)

Hard to believe that our baby is already one!
Colten turned one on August 30,
and we threw a Dr Seuss party for him on Sept 3.

I have been just a little obsessed with the turquoise
and red color combination lately,
so I had a lot of fun with this party!



(The Dr Seuss printables came from the Etsy shop Photo Designz)

I made some cat-in-the-hat cupcakes and
tried my hand at fondant for Colten's smash cake.
(I found a recipe for marshmallow fondant on Pinterest and
used that for the smash cake. It was a little messy to make,
but much cheaper than buying it and
I could make it any color I wanted.)

I made a photo banner with Colten's monthly pictures.
I used photoshop to convert the pictures to black and white and
just colored in the number on his onesies.
In fact, I loved it so much that it is now on display in his room!

I also made him a special hat and shirt.
I wasn't sure how Chris would react to the foo-foo hat but he obliged me!!

Big brother had to wear the hat too!

After some lunch and presents, it was time for cake!

Happy Birthday to our precious baby boy! We Love You!!

Tanner's 7th Birthday

{Bear with me as I continue to play catch up on 2011 - this is from July 2011}

Every year we do a themed party for Tanner's birthday. This year he wanted an "army" party. So we pulled out the camo gear and GI Joe's and what a party it was!

Tanner dressed the part and eagerly awaited the arrival of his guests:


I borrowed some old army gear from my parents and used it on the food table, along with some vintage GI Joe's with their jeep.








When the boys arrived, we had them check-in and get their gear (an army hat, dog tags, and face paint). We then had a table set up for them to make cards for the troops. Tanner's uncle is currently serving in Afghanistan, so we sent him all the cards that the boys made.




Once the card making was finished, Boot Camp began. Chris and Darren had the boys running various drills and it was pretty entertaining to watch!!












After the drills, we had the land mine walk. We had water balloons on the path and they had to walk through them blind-folded. This was a big hit!


They then had a water balloon and water gun fight and it was total chaos...just the way boys love it!





We then ate lunch and had cake and ice cream. I made an army tank cake and Tanner loved it. When I was working on the camo effect the night before, I was a little concerned since it was looking more like smashed green bugs than camo. But in the end it was a recognizable army tank...success!!

The whole crew of army boys (and Lena Jane!):

Happy 7th Birthday Tanner! We love you!!

Christmas Cards

It's that time of year again...the holidays are right around the corner and my head is spinning with everything I need to do!

One thing I love to do during the holidays is get some good family pictures and design a Christmas card (or New Years card!) to send to family and friends. There are so many great options these days for photo cards, but I have to say that I have a new favorite this year! Earlier this year, my sister-in-law introduced me to Tiny Prints and I fell.in.love!!

Their products are fantastic quality, and they have some adorable and really fun designs! I have purchased several special occasion cards from them, as well as some address labels and postcards for my business and I have been very pleased with everything I have received from them.

So I looked over their Christmas card selection...and oh my, it will be tough to pick a favorite!

Here are just a few that I like:

The tri-fold design on this card is great...and I love the fun, bright colors!

I love the message of this card! And check out the back of the card...love it!

Another favorite...and it also has a great design on the back of the card!

So now to get some great pictures and decide on a card! If you are planning to do some photo cards this year, I encourage you to check out Tiny Prints. You won't be disappointed!!

Spring/Summer 2011 Highlights

This first highlight was actually winter, but it was too big of a deal for me to not include it! On February 4, 2011 (drum roll please) we had snow!! It actually barely covered the ground but it was exciting for us since we rarely see any snow. Everything shut down for the day and we enjoyed our little taste of the white stuff!

LOVE this picture of my boys!! (March 2011)

Easter - April 24, 2011:

Tanner & his cousin Keller (May 2011):




Memorial Day (May 2011) at the lake park across the street:





July 4th parade in Startzville:




Tanner lost his first tooth!! (July 18, 2011)