Addison's 1st Birthday Carnival

Addison's 1st birthday has come and gone so quickly I feel like I already need to start thinking about her next birthday!
When thinking about Addison's party, Dave and I were on the fence with what to do. Do we just have family or do we invite all the people who have been involved in her first year? Do we hire somewhere? Um we have no money for a huge party, what can we do to still have a great day?

We decided on going all out on the people front, I think around 35 people were invited and maybe 30 showed up (including a few littlies). We decided to risk the weather and have it in our backyard (so risky for April!) and Dave mentioned a carnival/picnic type theme.

So I whipped up a few invites and asked people to bring a plate of food to share. We borrowed an amazing gazebo from a friend and jazzed it up with streamers and balloons, We used items lying in our yard (an old door, a pallet, a broken wooden ladder) to paint and turn into simple carnival games and bought some lollies to play 'Guess How Many In The Jar'. That was pretty much all we needed to have an awesome afternoon of party fun!

We put out all the chairs we could find and spread some picnic rugs on the ground with toys lying around for the under 1s. The food tables were chocka and it was a grazing style lunch.

The birthday girl managed to nap right before her party so she lasted most of the afternoon without any tears. I made a felt crown for her and made a banner that said 'ONE' that I attached under her high chair. We put her in the chair for most of the time because with so many people around, our delicate little girl would be easily overwhelmed. Food is a great distraction.

I tried to say a little speech about how much I appreciated everyone coming and having input into Addison's life over the past year but I ended up in tears and Dave refused to take over so I managed to get everyone singing Happy Birthday to distract from me crying (smooth Amy). We blew out her candle and offered her a smash cake.

A smash cake is a bit of a trend at the moment - you put a cake in front of a baby and take a video/photos of the child *hopefully* getting really messy into their first taste of delicious icing and cake.

Our child decided that having a huge cake in front of her was a bit overwhelming and after a bit of consideration she picked at the icing ever-so-slightly and proceeded to lick her fingers and that was basically the end of it. She loved the icing but didn't quite get the smash concept so I told the other children that were eying up the cake to dig in, which they did with much delight.

We then opened up the presents - Addison was so spoiled (THANK YOU!!) - and then we ate food and socialised for the rest of the afternoon. I had so much fun and was in my delegating element for set-up and pack-down.

It was a perfect day and I am so thankful for all the people involved in Addison's life (whether you made it to the party or not!) and I know that she will grow up feeling loved and part of a community where she has her own special part to play.

XXX

Ball Throw - knock down as many as you can!

Winner takes all!

Ring Toss - there were nails in the door and we used glow stick bracelets to throw

Drinks Station (chilly bin full of ice + soft drinks)

The cake for the grown ups - Banana Cake with Lemon Buttercream

Addison's Smash Cake - also Banana Cake with Lemon Buttercream. Both cakes made and iced by me :)

Streamers and balloons inside the Gazebo

Classic Addison

Birthday Throne

Before the food arrived!

Cake Smash*

Dear Addison - 10 Months

Dear Addison,

I think that I would like to pause time this month. You are at such an awesome age and I fear that the next few months will zoom by with a more mobile you.

This month you learnt how to get around the room. I'm not saying crawling because you are still a while away from that, but you can commando crawl around by using your forearms to pull yourself along. It has helped a bit of the frustration noises you have been making but they are still happenning because you want to be standing up most of the time, which you still need a helping hand with. You are getting pretty close to pulling yourself up though and you are getting more and more confident stepping around furniture. I think in a month or two you will have caught up to your little friends, some of whom are walking already! I am enjoying the restricted movement in a sense, because it is not too crazy yet.

 
You have 8 teeth now and it is mentioned in everyone's comments when they see you. You have also started chomping on the length of your fingers so those molars of yours are probably getting ready to make an appearance soon. You are a pretty good teether I think. There is a lot of drool so the bibs are out in force. You also seem to wake up about 30min after we put you to bed with such a sad cry so we give you teething powder and sometimes Pamol and you generally go back down without a fuss.

You have started biting a little bit, you got me pretty good on the cheek the other day when I thought I was getting a kiss. You suddenly bit down hard and clamped on and I couldn't get you off. There were a few tears from me then and an invisible bruise. You have also bitten me while feeding a few times which ends in yelping and you end up in tears. We are looking at slowly weaning you around the 1 year mark so not too much longer but I will miss it.

You have started to copy sounds and mimic our mouth movements. You try to say 'beep' and 'ball' but both end up being 'buh'. You can identify 'Dad-dy' and 'Mam-a'. Killer is 'La' and Banana is 'nananana!'

You are now a pro at waving goodbye but you need to master the eye contact that goes with it.

Your newest trick is turning the pages of a book. We read Hairy McLary - the touch and feel version - and I zoom through it trying to keep up with you turning the pages, stopping at the last page to feel the scratchy velcro tongue of Scarface Claw (the toughest tom in town). Touch and feel books are the only books you seem to be interested in, but we can wrangle you into listening while you brush your teeth.

You love music and enjoy toys that bang, rattle or shake. Balls are a hit and so are bubbles. Everything still goes in your mouth so we have to be careful what ends up on the floor, you are quite partial to bits of last nights dinner we didn't sweep up. You also love the mirror and play games with us when we hide from you.

You are starting to transition to one nap per day (nooooooooooo) especially if we head out in the morning. This was kickstarted by the demolition of the house next door. It was so loud and house-shaky that you couldn't sleep during the day for the few days there was work going on - and fair enough too! We have since had other road works and the concrete cutter is not your favourite.

You went swimming this month for the first time! Nana and Koro were here for a visit and we went over to one of the indoor pools. You loved it! there was no apprehension and you enjoyed being swum around. You liked being on your tummy in the water but not being tilted onto your back. Aunty Jane is coming next week and we will go swimming again with her.

Your cousin arrived two weeks ago, he is beautiful and you were quite excited to see him at the hospital, you leaned over his bassinet and smiled as you tried to touch him. I can't wait until you can both play together.

You are beautiful Addison, you make people smile and draw them to you. I love you to bits.

xx Mum

{DIY} Blue and Gold Dresser Makeover

About a month ago, Dave was away for 8 days on business. To fill up my evenings, I decided to tackle a long overdue project.

This dresser literally arrived on my doorstep one night. My wonderful brother-in-law is always on the hunt for roadside treasures and he saw this one, loaded it into his car and dropped it off one night way before Christmas! I put it away in the shed and forgot about it (Dave didn't - he kept reminding me it was taking up precious shed space!) until I had a moment of inspiration. 

Below is the before pic - I had to borrow this one from TradeMe because I forgot to take one! Mine was without the mirror or lip on the back edge.

It was in ok condition, a few rough patches here and there and a few of the rails need replacing but still perfectly functional.

When we bought our house we inherited a bunch of paint cans in one of the sheds. One of the cans had this really pretty blue colour that I kept in my head for a someday project. I am also really loving the metallic/gold trend at the moment so I put the two together and boom.

I also wanted to make a feature of the inlays, not just paint the outline but fill it up with a statement piece. The Moroccan-ish pattern stuck out to me and so I went in search of something I could use to stencil.

Unfortunately what I wanted wasn't easy to stencil so I took the long route and made a template and carefully traced around it a bazillion times, trying to get the spacing even.

Then came the hours of hand painting between the lines, they needed a couple of coats too - Dave bought me a gold paint pen to make things easier but it got clogged and bled everywhere so I ended up using the paint from the pen and brushing it on.

Once that was done I had to figure out what to do with the handles. They were silver and white pewter and I couldn't make up my mind what to replace them with. I ended up spray painting the original handles gold and they turned out pretty good and still go with the new drawers.

I am so stoked with how this project turned out, it is exactly what was in my head and I managed to execute it all by myself!

It also cost pretty much $0 because we had everything lying around - (no wait I had to buy gold paint and the paint pen - so lets say $20)

This beauty is going in Addison's room and is the inspiration piece for the colour scheme. I am still to work out the details though. It is almost ready for painting - so close!

While I was taking these photos my kitty Killer came to help model the drawers for me!

Dresses For Cambodia

A while ago a friend of mine, who has a very generous heart, put out a call to anyone who can sew.
I won't ever win any awards for sewing but I can get the basics done to a passable standard so I answered.

The call? To make simple dresses for little girls that get rescued from the streets of Cambodia. They normally get clothed in soccer uniforms but what little girl doesn't want a pretty dress of her own!
Sophie has a friend that works with these girls and is able to facilitate the distribution of the dresses that get made. How cool!

I have been hoarding vintage sheets for a good few years now, using bits here and there but I still had the bulk of the fabric left which is perfect for making lightweight dresses for the heat of Cambodia.

I used this free pattern to make the dresses and made one in each size from 1-8. I feel like the gap from shoulder to armpit isn't big enough for the average kiwi girl but hopefully they will fit someone! I really love seeing the pretty dresses all lined up and I love that I can use my time and resources to do something good!
 
 I just need to get my hands on some size labels then they will be off on their adventure!

If you can sew or if you would like to contribute fabric to the cause then get in touch with Sophie or I!
xx

Dear Addison - 9 Months

Dear Addison,

This year is already flying by, you are 10 months old today and it's almost March! That means April next which is your 1st birthday. SLOW DOWN! Mama isn't ready for her baby to turn into a toddler!

This month you have decided that you are happiest when standing, whether holding on to us or hanging onto the coffee table and you have started 'cruising' or taking tiny steps along the table. You are a confident stepper when holding our hands and you are rearing to go when we stand you up. Once you sort out your wobbles and get your balance you will be off.

This new passion for stepping has meant that learning to crawl is taking a back seat. While all your little friends zoom off you just sit in one spot happy as can be. If you can't reach something then you just find something else to amuse you. You don't mind being on your tummy and you are awesome at spinning yourself around and pushing backwards, which can get you quite far especially on our wooden floors! But you haven't quite figured out how to get up to your hands and knees. You will get there eventually, every day you are learning more and more how to control your body.

 We have found your ticklish spots where we are guaranteed to get laughs and we always have lots of fun rolling on the bed having a tickle fight. 

We have been teething all month and you now sport your two bottom teeth, the top right, the one next to the top right (you are a bit lopsided at the moment) and your left middle and the one next to it have just cut over the last few days.  You have been dealing with it like a champ, the only time it seems to bother you is an hour after you have gone to bed. You wake up with a very sad cry and we get you up, give you pamol and some cuddles and then back to bed. We never quite know how your teeth are going because any time we try to open your mouth you bite! It is only when you grin that we can see your toothy situation.

You have added a lot more noises to your repertoire. Mama has made an appearance and you copy a lot of our sounds. You made a car sound when Daddy was pulling up and are just generally pretty chatty. 

You love the outdoors, or perhaps you just get bored of being in the lounge all the time. You get excited when we get to the front door and enjoy walking around the garden or getting the mail. You rip leaves off trees and 'walk' on the grass or sit and play with pegs while I hang the washing out. Any trip in the pram is met with excitement.

You have just moved into your new carseat. We said goodbye to the capsule and it has gone to live with your new cousin (still in-utero). You are a bit more upright in this seat and chat away and enjoy being taken out of the car and carried around with us.

You hair is finally growing! You have a bunch of new growth at the back which is getting quite long but the top of your head only has a tiny bit. You may venture into mullet territory for a wee while sorry darling.

You have started dancing to music which is ADORABLE! if you are standing up you bounce up and down and shake your booty, if you are sitting you bop and wiggle. You can also hi-5 people and wave. We are trying to do a bit of baby sign with you but we need to try harder I think as well as give you time to figure it out. Just basic ones like: more, drink, finished and cat.

Addison you are becoming a little lady. I can't wait to see the next stage of your life develop!

xxoo Mama

Baby Shower Makings 4.0 (For my Nephew!!!!)

As I may have mentioned a few times, I am soon going to be an Aunty! Dave's sister is due in a couple of weeks and I am soooooooo excited! She is having a wee boy who is going to grow up to be forced into paying dress ups and tea parties with Addison. Can't. WAIT!

Anyway, she had her baby shower last weekend and, true to form, I got my craft on.

You may remember the Granny Square Baby Blanket I made for said nephew around Christmas time - well I had a lot of yarn left over so I decided to make more things for him out of it. A bassinet/pram sized chevron/ripple blanket and a crochet giraffe. I also made a black and white taggie with a natural wooden teething ring and I bought her a couple of pairs of reusable breast pads. I don't have an overlocker, nor can I sew perfect circles!

The giraffe got named Damian. Long story short, all toys at the baby shower got named after the couple that gave the gift. For example: Jenna and Tim = Jim.
Our couple name is Damy, but that didn't quite work so someone suggested Damian, which is perfect because Addison can stake a claim in it too! Yeah, we are weird.

My beautiful sis-in-law has so many amazing friends who care about her and it was so great to meet them/see them again and bless her little family!
We are all praying for an awesome next few weeks and a great birth. Can't wait to meet the little guy!

xxx