our little monster is 1...

so hard to believe that B is 1 already! 

taking a break from all of the fun at his MoNsTeR party!!!

I was determined to do some cute things for his
MoNsTeR-themed 1st birthday party - 

so I started about a month ahead, making a list of things to do each week... 

(because if I didn't, then it wouldn't happen until the night before!) 

Truly the most organized I've ever been when it comes to a project or party - 

and I was VERY pleased with the results!

check it all out..........

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

My first project was the TabLe DeCOraTioNs... 

for his 6 month mini-party that his dad and I had for him, 

I had made some hanging decorations out of styrofoam balls and cupcake liners... 

so I repurposed those (and made 4 more) into little monsters!

This was B's favorite - he loved trying to
stick his finger in this monster's"mouth"!

 Next, I worked on a PeNNanT BiRthDaY BaNNeR... 

loved the look of these on the blogs and pinterest posts I had seen in the past! 

The hardest part was picking out a picture of Bryce from each month. 

Once I had those printed, I picked out some fabric quarters and ribbon at JoAnn's, 

cut triangles and numbers from the fabric, and hand sewed it all together. 

I used the same materials to make a banner for his HigHChaIR TrAy...

I used scrapbook paper, scissors, and glue to make some SiGNs!

                                     Decorated a tissue box to be used for a SpOOn HoLDeR...

The favors were little 2oz Play-doh containers 

with a giant google eye and foam hands and feet...

(a make-your-own-monster kit)

put them in a polka-dotted cellophane bag 

and wrapped it up with a Twisteez wire... cute!

He had to have a SpeCIaL SHiRT to wear for his big day....

got a dark blue onesie from Old Navy, fabric and buttons from JoAnn's...

my sewing machine broke halfway through sewing the "1" on the shirt, 

so I ended up hand-sewing most of it. I actually ended up 

loving the "messy" look of the stitching - made it more monster-y!

And, I made him a GiAnT "B"...

something I wanted to make for the wall in his room anyways, 

but turned out to be a great focal point on the cake table!

Made this by creating a 3D B in posterboard and masking tape - 

and then using papermache and paper grocery bags to cover. 

Added a little brown paint for a rustic look, and voila!

The week before was BaKiNG week!

Made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes,

and frosted them with super bright, fun colors and designs!

And made B a Monster with a Mustache smash cake!

And here it is... all put together for the big day! 

<3 LOVE IT!!! <3

check out lots of other creative stuff at 

and

baby feet...

I    *L*O*V*E*    little baby feet, 

even tucked inside adorable little baby shoes. 

Edited with PW Heartland & Sepia, Linear Burn with 70% opacity, and Edge Burn with 40% opacity.

Especially B's feet in his first pair of converse chucks. 

{Which, sadly, he's quickly growing out of...}

Linking up B's cute little feet with The Paper Mama Photo Challenge!

"Feet"

what's this white stuff....

Back in December, Bryce-chex and I went out to play in the snow.

We had a day where this white stuff fell from the sky... 

I'm so glad I took B out to experience his first snow, because it's only happened one other time since!

Hoooo's the cutest?!?! 

Linking up with The Paper Mama Photo Challenge "Winter"

chickens?! I love chickens...

Why haven't I posted in awhile?? Part 'lazy'... part 'way too busy' trying to make a halloween costume for B. 

And I think my efforts were successful! 

Check out my little chicken nugget...  

Because I'm an over-acheiver...
he even has an egg basket to collect his goodies!

He's a stylin' chicken with Converse chucks... lol






And possibly the funniest picture I took... is there a baby in there?!?!?! Hahaha!

And, here's my chicken with his cousins... a farmer and his animals...

See that adorable little lamb... he won "Cutest" at the contest!
And the B-man? He got "Most Original"! 

Linking up with The Paper Mama Photo Challenge

catch me when i fall...

The B-man has been spending a lot of time standing up lately. And the past few days, he's been experimenting with crawling up on things too! (Watch out stairs - here he comes!)

He's definitely keeping mommy and daddy busy, and I've been trying hard to balance my reactions when he takes those inevitable falls that come with his adventurous antics... I don't always want to treat him like it was a near disaster - because, let's face it... most times, the crying will stop in .3 seconds. But sometimes, a momma's gotta be a momma. I just wanna be there to pick him up and cuddle away the tears. He's not always going to reach for me when he's upset, so I have to take advantage of the moments that I get now. They're already going by so stinkin' fast!

So, follow what "they say" and don't react... or sweep him up in my arms and tickle 'til he's giggling uncontrollably.... hmm.... hard choice....................... :)

And, in honor of the falls that we're taking in the house, 

thought I'd add some pics of the fall happening outside! 

Kinda proud of this fall pic that I took and edited... Isn't he a sweetheart?! :) 

And to see more pics of me and my fam celebrating fall, check out Danett Setmire's blog 

for a sneak peak at some of our fall family pictures{pictures 3, 5, 6, & 7}... so cute! :) 

Isn't she an amazing photographer? 

Linking up with the anderson crew 

my favorite subject...

It's no question what my favorite thing to take pictures of is these days....

see that puff stuck to his cheek? yeah... he had no idea it was there.
he's still learning how to get them into his mouth!
how can you not love this little guy!!!

Can you believe he's 8 months old today?!?!?! I can't......

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to play with camera features and editing (just a bit less now that I have that silly job to go to!) And, I'm currently trying to sell my cameras... I have a point & shoot and a film SLR... so I hope to upgrade from the point & shoot and downgrade from the SLR. Something in the middle, that still has some cool functions and excellent picture quality, but that doesn't require that I take out a loan for film and processing. ;) 

I can't wait to be able to get that camera!!!! 

But........... while I wait............ here are some highlights from September. Enjoy! 

Daddy made me this playhouse out of a box... aren't I the coolest?!?! 

This is the longest I've ever let any tower stand... i love to destroy!

My cool cousin's shared this toy with me! 

Mommy thinks it's funny that I'm standing like this... but I was just relaxing while I play!

I'm lovin' the shadow self-portraits that I've been seeing online lately...
so this is our attempt. Kinda cool! :)

slowing down...

These last few weeks have been so busy...

I started back to work (yuck!) after almost 7 months off with my sweetie. Luckily, it's only three days a week, but let me tell you... it's three days too long! With my schedule way busier than it has been in years past, by the end of the three days I feel like a stressed out, crazy person. Instead of focusing on the madness in my day, I need to slow down and enjoy those kiddos and the art they're creating...

Bryce has been doing new things every day it seems! Although he's been scooting himself around for a month or so now, he started using his knees yesterday. A couple of days ago he decided his new favorite thing was to  stand himself up next to the couch... what?! 7 months old!!  Slow down baby boy!!

So, in my busy schedule and overwhelming feeling of missing my little guy - I held and cuddled him through a nice, long, cozy nap {something I hadn't done in months, because I figured he was getting better sleep in his bed... silly mommy... cuddling with mom is always better, right?} I marveled at how old he's starting to look {when did your hair get so thick?? when did your hands get so big!} and how precious these days are. *tear*

And, at the risk of waking him and "ruining" the moment... I snapped some pics.

the fair...

This was our first of many years to come camping at the fair! I was very excited to try to get some cool shots of the rides at night... but by the time night came, I was usually putting B down to sleep and whooped myself! 

On the last night, as my sis and I walked back from getting our last yummy milkshakes of the year, I remembered - and took this pic with my cell phone! I was amazed at the quality that I got in a night pic with the lights so bright! Edited it to give it a 70's faded feel.... and here it is!

Linking up with Live Every Moment's Photo Challenge

This week's theme: FAIR!

sweet baby sleep...

Bryce is almost 7 months old and I still can't get over some of the poses that he's in when I lay him down, or check on him when he's sleeping...

The timing of this picture happened to line up perfectly with A Step in the Journey's Photography Challenge:

Week 5: Shoot from a High Angle

Think this little guy is cute?! Help him win a professional photo 

session by following this blog and voting for Photo 6!

Bryce says "THANK YOU!"

bokeh...

In my search for better photo capturing and editing, I have run across the word "bokeh"...

dictionary.com defines it as "a Japanese term for the subjective aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas of a photographic image" {blah, blah, blah}....

basically, as I understand it... it's a picture that has parts that are out of focus.

Well, Live Every Moment Photo Challenge's theme this week is bokeh! And, I have a favorite bokeh image that I had posted here before.... so here it is again! The bokeh turned out backwards from what I intended when taking the picture... but I love it this way! Happy accidents! :)

Enjoy! :)

Think this little guy is cute?! Help him win a professional photo 

session by following this blog and voting for Photo 6!

Bryce says "THANK YOU!"

cutest photo contest...

Okay, Bloggie-friends... can I ask a huge favor??

 B has been entered into the Cutest Photo Contest on Danett Setmire's Photography blog... and I need votes! :)

Danett is a super awesome photographer -- and I haven't been able to have her take pictures of Bryce since he was just an itty bitty baby! (Don't get me wrong - having no money was worth the time off from work to be with him... but boy do I wanna see what adorable things she can do with his super cute smile!) The winner gets a $50 credit... so I really wanna win! :)

Check out his serious little face and folded hands.... how CuTe is that?!  {He never stops long enough to fold his hands like that anymore... but used to do it a lot... *tear*}

Okay - so click on this awesome picture taken by Danett Setmire Photography....
























.... then follow her blog, and leave a comment voting for my Bryce-chex - Photo 6!


                                      ThAnK YoU, ThAnK YoU, ThAnK YoU!!!!!!!!!