I just wanted to answer a few questions I had in comments and emails regarding the party. 

First off, the galvanized cupcake stand and this napkin/utensil “thing” ARE from Pottery Barn, other galvanized items are from Lowe’s/Home Depot. The “word” dishes are Emma Bridgewater’s Black Toast..the cheese stand is reproduction from Portobello Rd. Napkins from Target.

The cute blocks are from Target! In fact, I think all of their vintage-inspired Fisher Price items are on sale right now!

Henry’s outfit is from here. Melia is great!

The kraft paper tablecloth is kraft wrap from Michaels..i just doubled it over..the seam is not even in the middle of the table..its off to the side..i creased with my hand at the corners and put duck tape underneath in several spots to anchor!

The cupcake “wrappers” were made with a cricut cartridge..I know nothing about the cricut but my friend Lori does and our friend Edna had the cartridge so voila!  You can also order these from etsy…there is a girl paper doll template and boy paper doll (woohoo!) as well as many others including a sweet scalloped one..i wanted to use book pages for the paper but it would not go through the machine but the jbs paper looked great..I will say they are a little wonky size wise..you have to get it just right  so you might want to do a practice run with cupcakes before your party…also double sided paper might look better if you use you a “tall” wrapper design.

{Cousin Charlie always has a great time at these parties!}

And that rounds out party week…wheww!

So we set up the food and drinks on the porch.  Henry’s Party: Part 1 posted here.

  Cupcakes, brunch food..yummy lemonade..Jones soda and Dad’s root beer…Jones is so good!

Enough! I could go on and on about the porch (like about this fun JBS birthday bingo card banner with book pages)…but I won’t;; ha! Let’s go outside!

OK let me just admit, the game area was a total flop..vintage-y ring toss and rubber horseshoes (kid safe)..total flop..who wants to play those games when you can play on the new treehouse fort! (Thanks Dad!) My husband was so right about this one BUT the chalk cloth (yes it is CHALK cloth) made a cute and easy sign! I bought the chalk cloth at fabric.com and you season it just like regular chalk paint.

And below, tables and centerpieces..in front of our shed! kraft paper coverings..

The centerpieces were paint cans. I was going to chalk spray paint terra cotta pots but too rainy so i just did the paint cans with Jenni Bowlin scalloped crepe paper edging and her paper for pennants, the small version of the birthday bingo cards, and notice cute chipboard buttons.so vintagey! I love her stuff! I just used 99 cent monkey grass from the garden center…if I had put in chalk painted pots I was going to write “GROW” on some and “Henry is One” on others..but this worked out fine and was much simpler! I would have used little galvanized buckets but Home Depot (THE place to get galvanized buckets of variouse sizes..or Lowes) but they did not have so I bought what they did have…little paint cans! Little buckets of crayons would have been fine too!

And lots of sweet friends and family…

{Debbie, Lynsey & Ruthie and Henry with Grandmother}

The picture above is so funny to me…I wasn’t going to have Henry open gifts…he was getting sleepy but the little girls were so funny curious about “present time” so I had them bring them over and help him and he actually enjoyed it!

I have a zillion photos I could share but will stop droning on..thank you for all of your kind comments…we had no cake time with the baby or even a photo of our family of four..but it was still such a great day..thanks to everyone who helped prepare and celebrate!

Thanks for listening to my mommy ramble about my party!

Wow! Parties are work..but fun!  Please remember it is not all cupcakes and balloons around here everyday BUT on Saturday we had a blast celebrating Henry and the joy he brings to our family….We don’t do this every year but we had a big party for Drew’s first birthday so we did the same for little brother! So grab a cup of coffee, this may get long!

First off, some of the food and treats! We had cupcakes instead of a big cake and that was perfect.  The crayons went on the kraft covered tables outside. The adorable papers on the banner and cupcake wrappers are from Jenni Bowlin Studio…I used several of her things for the party, more on that later..I love her stuff! Thanks to our friend Lori for the help with the banner!

Blowing up balloons before the party…I just bought one of those $19 bottles of helium in a box at Target…..it was just enough to tie around the tables outside…I can’t believe for Drew”s party I actually rented a big bottle from the local welding supply place! The fabric scraps (I mean tablecloths;;)  are from Premier fabrics. I did not even hem them.

Our house is small but this screen porch is large and so great for parties….I set up the brunch food (mostly from Sam’s if you are wondering how I had time to decorate, well I only made one casserole myself, the rest of the food was ordered, fruit or made by a friend!)…My sweet father-in-law supplied the fresh watermelon and my friend Jill made a ton of sausage balls…thanks Jill!

We had candy and cupcakes on the kids dessert table and on the “adult table” we had carrot, red velvet and chocolate cupcakes from a local bakery AND gourmet chocolate chip cookies (HEB’s Central Market) in bags…the grown up party favors!.. Recognize the stickers from Jones Design Company?!

You can see the kid dessert table below in the background..it was located too out of the way though, I was shocked they did not raid it as much as I anticipated..their moms were probably glad!

Below…bags of chalk for favors and balsam wood vintage airplanes from here. I love the blue plumbago that we ran out of time to plant so we stuck in a pot! We’ll have to get that in the ground soon.  The star pillow is borrowed from Drew’s room!

All of this, and the birthday boy just wanted a cracker! We love you Henry!  Happy Birthday!

[More party fun tomorrow!]

To say I love it would be an understatement.  I didn’t intend to carry this silhouette theme from his shower to his first birthday but it sure is fun! And that background design, also not intentional but very similar in feel to his nursery drapes (lattice by Waverly) ….drapes that I must admit he will be outgrowing VERY soon..they will be giving way to cowboys or burlap …so this gorgeous invitation ended up paying homage to sweet things you can get by with boys only for a short time…pretty patterns and silhouettes..in a short time it will be Transformers and Star War so i am enjoying the “sweet” while I can…

Emily also made these adorable stickers for the favor bags.  Actually I can’t decide if I like or despise favor bags..I may use them on little bakery bags with gourmet cookies inside..now that’s a favor! What is your thought on favor bags for parties..if you are a mom, do you love or hate????  If you are a fan, what do you like to fill with..so far I have bubble gum and organic raisins..that’s an odd combo huh?!

[Edited to say, great favor ideas on the Jack & Izzy blog, check out here...love the water bottle idea and just might do the chalk bags especially since I have a huge chalkboard door on my backporch where the food and favors will be!] 

{Next I will share party inspiration from girl parties–both birthdays and baby showers..stay tuned}

Weeks ago,yes I am serious, I layed out what I had (an old banner of Drew’s, fabric scraps, etc..) to see what I had and what I needed….I began hoarding napkins from Target before they were snatched up in the Fourth of July frenzy….oh how I love those red polka dot napkins!

I must say, I was very happy when I discovered I was pregnant with Henry and due in July (aside from the scary thought of being largely pregnant in the Texas heat).  I hate the heat but I love the Fourth of July and the thought of a little Star Spangled baby boy made me very happy and still does… So lots of flags..I’ve even been tea staining them…yes, I am serious. And loving the “American summer” theme which involves a little circus/carnival, a little retro/vintage, silhouettes, and a little July 4th rolled in one…its the mish mash theme/non-theme. Of course I totally made that up!

And then the invitation of course. More on that to come.

SEE!  Time truly does FLY!  He is going to be ONE YEAR in two weeks! ONE YEAR y’all…hard to believe..seems like I was just posting fabric ideas on here for his nursery and now I am thinking about how to change it! Crazy mama!

Oh and yes that is a bit of the new master bedroom drapes you see in the background and no its not finished yet..I have two of the four panels up, haven’t put up the new rod, never even finished “glazing” the blue dresser..

But that’s okay..we are having fun and just trying to keep up!  Next adventure, Henry’s first birthday party..stay tune for sneak peaks and little details next week..it is going to be so fun!  My little Fourth of July baby is getting so big!  So I am switching gears and trying to keep up!

Hope y’all have a safe and fun weekend..I adore July 4th..homemade ice cream, watermelon and flags!!!!

As many of you know, finding cute things for boys is not easy..they can only wear so many overalls but I am glad warm weather is here so Henry can now wear these one piece “outfits.” Some call them rompers, I call them “jon jons”  what do you call them?

{from MEKO kids on Etsy}

Daddy can’t hardly handle the peter pan collar shirts underneath these type of one piece rompers but who can resist the chubby baby arms? Daddy probably wouldn’t go for the dot print either. We won’t even discuss smocking. But even Dad would like this blue with red.  And for my July baby..might just be perfect for a birthday outfit!

{from Bud and Branches on Etsy}

Or seersucker..oh how I love seersucker.  This is also seems like the last “baby” baby outfit so maybe the soft colors are a good choice.  And don’t laugh at me for overthinking this..it is pure joy..why deny myself this fun?!

{seersucker from this Etsy shop}

Which is your favorite..I am trying to choose something for Henry’s one year photo and birthday too (maybe all in one).  Drew had pale blue and white  toile for his first birthday outfit (don’t laugh yes toile) so I should probably do something similar color wise in case I want to hang the photos side by side one day.  (See there is a decorating point to this post;;)  BUT I could always do them in black and white if needed and I might anyway…OK I will stop..starting to make even myself sick…ha!

But one last thing, you know what I love about these Etsy clothes…they are well made and you are supporting a regular person not a big corporation with these purchases but also the PRICE.  Everything shown here is $28-39..similar items from Orient Expressed, Ragsland or Strasburg would be two to three times the cost!

So what do you think??  Seersucker for a portrait?  What are your favorite tips for dressing a little boy?  Share your favorite Etsy sellers in the comments..we would love to hear!

I love those chubby arms so much! and this sweet face!

Not to leave brother out of this report…Drew had a big week at school…”rodeo” on Wednesday (it is like a game/obstacle course thing..big deal! If I had KNOWN what a big deal it was I might have taken my CAMERA), then he went to the real “Houston Rodeo” last night with Daddy AND (not to brag, ok i will just for a bit) he is learning to read recently..BOB books are awesome.  So that is where big brother in a glimpse at  5 years. So proud of him and for Daddy for teaching him so patiently!

I love my boys, even though vomit in the hair yesterday was not fun, it is still the best job I have ever had! HAPPY SPRING BREAK..I can’t wait to just BE AT HOME.

What are your plans???

It is a tiny tiny hallway so the small scale is perfect…and I love the clear glass.

But really, anything is better than what it replaced.

I can explain about the brass.  When we moved in to our little house NINE + years ago, I found this little light in brushed nickel and it was fine, especially for $20 bucks.  BUT they only had one and I needed TWO (one for another little hallway upstairs)..  So I got the nickel for upstairs and the brass one for the hallway so we could have a light for a few weeks and then I just thought I would simply  replace it when I had time to find something I liked better.  You know how that goes…so finally…finally we have a better light in this little space and I love it! I will say it casts a shadow on the ceiling that bothered me at first but who cares, the brass is gone and I dont even notice it a few days later.

And THIS little light, which BTW is exactly what he is, pure light and joy, well he is 6 months old today!  We love you baby Henry, you are such a blessing to our family.  What did we do without you?

This is what I find in his crib every morning…a happy baby!

all day long for the most part…

don’t hate me, my first one was not this content so I am very thankful. 

soaking. it. up. thankful.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. -James 1:17

i just love felt.

at first i was not sure about the colors but now i love them…i am so in love with orange lately. we even got an orange stroller! the color brightens up the pale room just like his little smiley face!

notice his initials on the tree..how cute is that?!

from this great Etsy shop!