Friday Favorites-Middle of May

Hi friends! I feel like it has been forever since I have done a Friday Favorites post. In reality, I think it was only last week when I posted for Lincoln's birthday? I honestly lose track of the time most days! But, with every break from regularly scheduled programming comes a load of things I am loving and have not shared! So, this week I am hopping right into my favorites for the week!

1. New Jeans

You guys, my dearly beloved pair of favorite jeans just wore through on the back pockets. As you all know, this basically means that one wrong move, and people will be seeing much more of me than they ever wanted. Too much information? Sorry :-) Anyway, with sales I was able to scoop up the exact same pair, as well as a new pair of jeggings from American Eagle, and they were only $25 a piece! Can I just say, what were we thinking wearing super low rise pants all of these years? High rise jeans are the best, most comfortable thing that has ever happened to me. I am really loving this pair too, but have held off so far. I love all of the distressing but figured I needed some staple pairs that can be dressed up if need be. And for those who are already in the throes of toasty temperatures, the cult favorite tomgirl shorts are back in stock!

2. Lincoln's Birthday Party

I had the best time throwing Lincoln's first birthday party, and I recapped it all earlier this week. I did a lot of DIY projects, and am so proud of how they turned out. And, I wish I could have golden crown cupcakes and teepee dirt cups every day. I just loved how it all came together!

 

 

3. Sunshine

I know the weather is such a lame thing to list as a favorite, but this week it really is. Pretty much every day has been sunny and around 70 degrees. This weekend, it gets even better when we are in the 75 range with tons of sunshine! I am totally planning on filling up our new water table and letting the boys play outside. Sunshine, happy babies, and some dinner on the grill sounds like absolute springtime perfection!

4. Giveaway

If you haven't already, go to my post and enter to win yourself a $50 gift card to Pink Blush! They have the most precious items, all so pretty and perfect for mothers whether you are expecting or not. It is open through midnight tonight!

5. Fresh Blooms

Another semi-weather related post, but I just don't care and I won't quit. Things are finally blooming around here, and I cannot get over finally seeing leaves on the trees and pretty white blooms everywhere. Our harsh Midwest winters really make you appreciate seasons like spring (and fall, too). We have the ultimate gray season with everything being covered in snow and dying, so to see everything come back to life is truly a little bit like magic. We are in one of those seasons of the year that is always so quick, and I wish I could freeze time and slow down this perfect weather a bit!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend-for the first time in a long time, we have pretty much nothing on the calendar. I am hoping we make some major progress in our yard work, and just enjoy some quality family time.

Five on Friday // Oh Hey Friday! // Friday Favorites // Friday Favorites // High Five For Friday

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White Lace [And a Giveaway!]

I love a white top. I am not sure if there is anything more versatile, flattering, or easy than the color white. I am also crazy about all of the lace going around this season, and I knew when I saw this pretty white lace kimono that I had to scoop it up! It is a 'one size fits all' piece, and thrown on over a white tank top, it is perfect for sprucing up an everyday outfit. Paired with a classic pair of skinny jeans and some cute shoes, and you are good to go!

 

 Top c/o Pink Blush // Jeans
Pink Blush is a brand I am familiar with and have shared before on my blog. They are a trendy online women's boutique, and while their focus is often on their maternity line, they have so many pieces that work for you at any stage of life! Their service and quality are top notch; there is a reason I keep going back!
Now for the best part. I am once again giving away a $50 gift card to Pink Blush! Simply enter below. Winner will be announced next Monday. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Lincoln's Wild One First Birthday

This past weekend, we had so much fun celebrating Lincoln's first birthday party with a small party with family. He is a crazy little one who is pretty much unstoppable, so a 'Where The Wild Things Are' theme was absolutely fitting. I had so much fun pulling together everything for this party. One of my favorite themes so far!

I put together this balloon wall using some aluminum wire, and LOTS of scotch and painters tape. The ONE balloon was purchased on Etsy. 

The wood chalkboard and birthday crown were both DIY projects. I love how they turned out!

 

For the cupcakes, I went all out with box mix ;-) The gold wraps are from Hobby Lobby, and the toppers were another DIY make from thick gold felt paper!

I am kind of obsessed with how these 'teepee dirt cups' turned out. They were easy to put together and so cute!

We also had smores on a stick. There we no shortage of sugar at this party!

For the actual meal (because there were things besides sugar, I swear!) we had three different kinds of friend chicken wings, French fries, seven layer salad, and mac and cheese. My husband and brother in law deep fried a LOT of wings, and between that and the homemade sauces it was a constantly moving process so therefore, no food pictures. But trust me when I say, it was all SO good!

The banner for the high chair and the mantle are..wait for it..another DIY! I was so proud of all of the things I was able to make for this party. All of the ribbon is from hobby lobby, and the letter tags were spray painted and then hand drawn with paints we had on hand!

The cake topper was made with gold glitter felt, too!

 

 

 

 

How cute is this picture of Lincoln and my brother!? So sweet.

 Wild One tee from Here We Go Hunter.

This is about the full extent to Lincoln's cake 'mess'. He wanted nothing to do with it! we tried to put his hand in it a few times and he was NOT having it! For being a wild one, he sure isn't wild about being messy ;-)

Just chomping away on his new water bottle.

 

 

 All of my in-laws went in and got Lincoln (and let's be real, Jackson too) this Radio Flyer wagon! We immediately took them for a swing around the yard!

 

We are so grateful for our family that came out to help us celebrate our little man. Now, onto all of the adventures that year ONE will bring!

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Dear Lincoln

My sweet baby boy,


You are one. I can barely believe the words as I type them. This has, without a doubt, been the fastest year of my life, and it seems unfair that your first year passed by in the blink of an eye. And while it has gone by so quickly, I already feel like I cannot remember your newborn days. Sometimes that is a blessing, because those first few months were hard. You, my sweet boy, were not exactly an easy baby to deal with. You cried a lot. you never wanted to be put down, and yet you also never wanted to be held. There were few moments when you were content. In the thick of it, I sometimes thought we would never get to better days. And then, magically, one day I was able to hold you, and you relaxed into my body, and finally I was able to truly start cuddling you, snuggling you, and getting to know you. I haven't looked back since.
You are so sweet that it almost hurts. Your daddy calls you 'cheeser', and with good reason. Ever since you started crawling, it is a common sight to see you coming at us with the biggest cheese face we have ever seen, so proud of whatever trouble you are undoubtedly getting into. And speaking of trouble, my goodness, I do not even know where to begin. You are my sweet little man, but my gosh do you know how to get into things! You love phone chargers, wall outlets, knocking over furniture, and chasing the vacuum. You have absolutely no fear, but also get pretty darn angry when your plans don't go according to plan and it results in you taking a tumble. You are 100% our wild child, and while you are the cause of a gray hair or two, I love your fierce independence and desire to explore.

You also are very aware of your voice and how to use it. While we rarely heard your brother cry or scream, we became very familiar and conditioned to your cries and screams from early on. You used your screams to communicate any frustrations, and we learned to know when they meant you needed something, and when you were simply working through something. You may be our second child, but you have ended up being an entirely new, and very big, learning experience for me and your daddy. You are such proof that every child is so unique and different, and it has been such a joy to watch you make sure to remind us of that every single day for the past year.

Your strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, and dimples are something I will always be amazed by. You are so beautiful, the picture perfect baby, the blonde haired blue eyed child I never imagined I would have. I constantly look at you, amazed that you are mine. Being your mommy is one of my greatest blessings. I watch you alongside your brother, cut from the same cloth and yet so vastly different, and swell with emotion. You love each other so much, but also push each other's buttons, as I imagine any set of rough and tough brothers would. You love to follow him around, and are overcome with glee when he takes down the baby gate, encouraging you to follow him upstairs when he knows mom isn't looking. This week, the three of us were cuddled in bed in the early morning, and Jackson was on a mission to give you the biggest kiss, giggling the entire time. You, of course, were more focused on eating, but your love for each other is something I pray continues throughout your entire life. You two are going to get into lots of trouble together, but you are also going to have so much fun.

I want to remember every last detail about you at this age. You are curious and into everything, yet you are still so sweet and innocent. Those little dimples on your fingers, and those baby rolls on your wrists. I love the way you babble when I feed you before bedtime, and the way you breathing turns over as you drift off to sleep. You adore putting on your 'snuggy' before bed, and love to cuddle under your blanket as we settle in for an episode of Mickey Mouse. You are beginning to shake your head no, and can also point at things you are intrigued by, and it is the cutest thing ever. And, I am going to go ahead and say that your first word (said with intent) was definitely mama. You usually say it when you are sleepy or want to be picked up, but nothing makes me happier than hearing you say that sweet word. You are stubborn and have little desire to start walking, and yet I know that once you do, we won't be able to keep up. We are in no rush; you stay little as long as you would like.

There are no words to describe my love for you, Lincoln. You have taught me so much, and are an absolute joy to be around. Now please, stop growing up, just a little bit. Although I know the years are going to continue going faster and faster. You are my baby, and I love you from the bottom of my heart.


Happy birthday baby boy!


Love,


Mom

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Lincoln: One Year Old

I absolutely cannot believe it. Tomorrow, our sweet baby boy turns one! I am starting to sound like a broken record, but this has, without a doubt, been the fastest year of my life. I cannot pinpoint exactly when he stopped being a baby and became a toddler. I was most likely blinking. Regardless, he has become so much fun lately, and is into all of the naughty things. I just love this age; it is a lot of work, but it is that magical stage where baby still has that innocence (of course don't get me wrong, he can definitely be naughty!) but also is developing the best little personality. This month has been a fun one-I just love watching him grow!

Romper // Shoes c/o

Age: 12 months

Height: 32 inches. 99th percentile. I honestly think he and Jackson have the EXACT same stats for their one year mark!

Weight: 27 pounds. 99th percentile. He is wearing size 18-24 month clothing, size 4 diapers, and size 4 shoes but is inching towards size 5!

Milestones: He has really started to communicate and mimic us this month! He has officially said his first word, and it is....mama. He has been babbling for months, but mama is definitely his first intentional word. He usually says it when he is sleepy and will crawl at me wanting to be held. It is music to my ears!

He also still loves to wave bye bye, and also shakes his head 'no no' whenever we tell him to stop doing something. Which is pretty much all of the time-he is into everything! He will stop what he is doing when he hears the words no no, and shake his little head back and forth. It is SO CUTE. He has also started pointing at things, and I don't know why, but it just melts my heart. I still just find myself so amazed of how he is already big enough to be aware of the world around him! We are working a bit on signing, and he has started to mimic 'all done', so I am hoping we are able to teach him please and more soon.

No walking yet. I honestly thought he would walk by his first birthday, because he is so determined in everything. But, instead of using that determination to walk, he uses it to avoid walking. If I set him down to walk, he goes limp like a noodle; an outright walking refusal. If I get him going and don't let him realize what is going on, he will hold my hands and walk clear across the room. We have coaxed a solo step or two out of him, but he immediately drops to a crawl when he realizes what is going on. Stubborn boy. He cruises around the furniture all day long though. All in due time!

Sleep: When it comes to sleep, Lincoln is my favorite child ;-) Still going down at 7pm on the nose, and usually wakes up anywhere between 5-6am. He takes two naps a day, but they seem to be getting shorter. I am trying to remember when we cut down to one a day with Jackson, I have a feeling some time this summer we will make the shift.

Best Moments: Hearing him say mama. I just don't know if there is anything better than hearing your little one say that word. Spending lots of time outside with him has been great, too. A sharp contrast to last summer when he despised walks, Lincoln could now not be happier to go in the stroller and spend some time outside. While he is down to one week left at grandma's house for daycare, I have absolutely loved when I leave after dropping him off. My mom carries him outside, he gets to go 'buh-bye', and stands on the porch waving, and then watching the birds. I think one of the most magical things about children is seeing the joy in the most simple things through their eyes.

Worst Moments: Nothing sticks out this month. Aside from an occasional tantrum and trying to keep him out of trouble, this past month was a pretty good one!

Eating: He is a bottomless pit, truly! I am pretty certain that he eats more at most meals than his older brother. He loves pasta, garlic bread, blueberries, strawberries, clementines, and graham crackers. He is not a fan of deli meats, but loves rotisserie chicken and will eat hamburger. He seems to have inherited the family sweet tooth, and he about loses it when someone shares their dessert with him. We have really been able to increase the kinds of things we give him now that he has a good number of teeth to chomp with. I hope he continues to be such a good, happy eater.

Teeth: 6. There has been quite a bit of drooling happening lately, so numbers 7 and 8 will likely be here sooner than later.

Likes: Food, bath time, going for walks, climbing the stairs, crawling/chasing after his brother, sitting in his Pottery Barn chair, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, climbing on/knocking over furniture. He has started to play with cars and trains and drives them (how do all boys learn this almost immediately!?) He loves to be tickled, and playing pat-a-cake and so big with mommy. He likes to sit in the toy room with his big brother, and they are really starting to play well together!

Dislikes: When he wants to be picked up and it doesn't happen, getting out of the bathtub, not being allowed to climb on things, deli meats, when his brother screams in the car (he HATES that one).  Every month the dislike list seems to get shorter; this boy really has become such a happy, curious little guy.

Our sweet Lincoln, this year with you has been like a Sour Patch Kid. Just keeping it real. First you were sour, but now you are so, so sweet. Your daddy and I are so incredibly excited to enjoy this summer with you, and to watch you experience so many new things. You are our big cheeser, and we love you to pieces!

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Lincoln: One Year Photos

 I don't know if one could look any cuter. This little boy is our wild one, and I figured there is no more perfect theme to suit us celebrating his first birthday. These pictures are such a perfect example of who he is at this exact stage; a little bit sassy, not one bit inclined to pose for the camera, but so darn sweet.

 

"I'll eat you up, I love you so."

Teepee // Hobby Lobby

Wild One Tee // c/o Here We Go Hunter

Crown // DIY

ONE Banner // DIY

Leaf Garland // Target Dollar Spot

Chambray Top // Old Navy

Tulle Skirt // HM (sold out online)

Baby Button Up // Gap Factory

Moccs // c/o Freshly Picked

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