Hollin's 1st Aspen Birthday!

My Hollin is one! At 12 months she: *is still breastfeeding before naps and bedtime, but drinking whole milk with meals. *is crawling, but has no interest in walking. *wears 9 month clothes {tiny little thing!} *weighs 17.13 pounds / 20% in weight *is 29 inches tall / 43% in height *has a head circum. of 45.2 cm / 58% *says "uh-oh!" if she drops something *babbles, laughs out loud, waves goodbye, and points at pictures in books. *holds books and turns the pages *loves to read *still loves to jump in her jumper *is a restless sleeper and nurses through the night, every night {Yawn!  Tired mama!} *is on the verge of having eight teeth *eats table food like a champ *is the least picky eater I have- she eats everything,  We haven't found one food she doesn't like yet. *drinks with a sippy cup *is a fantastic car rider and never cries while driving!  She likes her car seat! *cries if a stranger picks her up *likes to play chase with her brothers on the carpet *dances to music on her knees *Has deep blue eyes, a tiny gap in her front teeth, and strawberry blonde hair. *is the tiny princess with a court of two jesters who dote on her! We love her so! For her first birthday, I knew I wanted an outdoor shoot deep in an Aspen grove. With wild Colorado grasses, pine cones, tree stumps, Aspen logs, and flower wreaths, it was a day to remember. I'm so thankful to have had the help of a great photographer who captured a very big milestone. I'm so grateful she drove over an hour into the mountains to capture this day. No tripod pictures for us! Yay!   : ) I used wild flowers for cupcake toppers, three different vintage lace tablecloths on the table we loaded and set up an hour from home, and used a headband, floral wire, and a hot glue gun to create a massive wreath crown for her little hair. When you can't do big bows, big  wreaths are the next best thing! A few weekends before her photo shoot, we drove up into the mountains and scouted locations and supplies.  I brought my camera and took pictures of possibilities and narrowed it down to this spot located off the North face of Pikes Peak. We found a large, level tree stump for a cupcake stand and gathered pine cones and limbs to stage our table.  The tree stump was already cut, so we loaded it into the van and let it air dry for two weeks. We kept the color palette light with creams and whites and kept things super simple. We only gave her two presents this year: a bead activity toy and a Barbie- her very first!  It was beautiful and breezy, low key, and all about getting out into nature. Happy Birthday, Hollin! You are the Aspen to my grove, the flower in my hair, and the skip in my step.

First Grade

And just like that- poof!- summer is over and gone! It is just the beginning of a new era for our family,and to be truthful, it hurts. This is Harbor's first year to be away from home all the livelong day. And I know there will be no stopping it from here on out. I'm in the minority of moms, I think, but I am the happiest when my kids are home. When I taught back when Harbor was a tot, I really struggled to find joy and balance in my work/life. I just always felt stretched thin. Everything in me yearned for more time at home: time to cook, and play, and rock babies. I know God has made us all different and planted seeds that flower different fruit in different seasons, and I'm so thankful for that!  Someday, I think God may call me again to teach, but I know the time isn't any time soon. : ) Harbor had his first day of first grade today. He was ready, but still a bit hesitant. He had a magical year in kindergarten last year- he really excelled and grew and found the work interesting and fun.  It will be a hard year to top- and he knows it. But he is excited about seeing old friends and making new. We took our annual chalkboard pictures to document his favorites this go 'round. Mommy confession: I dressed him in his school uniform {he attends a classical academy with a uniform policy} and took these pictures on Sunday, three days before school actually started. David played at the park with the little ones while I snapped away, and then Harbor changed clothes and joined them. I just knew that the first day would be hectic and trying, and I wanted to make my load as light as possible.  Having these pictures done ahead of time helped us all have a much smoother morning.  

He chose an L.L.Bean backpack this year and I have high hopes!

His Lillian Vernon from last year barely came across the finish line.

Praying this one lasts!

We spent one evening coming up with menu ideas for lunch and posting them on the 'fridge.

He was really excited about having a "real" school lunch since last year he only went half day.

I hung a few streamers and made a simple banner out of construction paper, and we surprised him in the morning.  It took five minutes to throw it up the night before, but Harbor's little face was the prize!

A sweet friend of mine drove over to my house at 7:00 a.m. to watch a sleeping Henry and crawling Hollin so that I could take Harbor alone and walk him in properly and really just be in the moment.

It was a total blessing to spend that time alone with Harbor.

I'm really glad I asked- and so thankful for her time to do that favor for me.

Harbor got right to work and colored away as the students trickled in.

After drop off, I met a few friends at Chick-Fil-A for a "Boo Hoo Brunch" as we all had first graders starting school today.

It was a special time to encourage one another.

We each have three children, so nine total between us, and when you get moms of that many littles together, it is always good for the soul!

{that is me in the polka dot top- always fun to be in pictures once in awhile!}

When dinner was finished, we sang "Happy First Grade to You" to the tune of "Happy Birthday" and ate  a vanilla cocoa puff inspired cake.

I baked it really quickly while he was in school and iced it right before dinner.

{I'm eating seconds thirds and blogging right now!}

: )

We love  how sweet and simple all the students looked today in their little uniforms.

It makes getting dressed SO easy in the morning.

And it also makes comparing pictures from year to year look like your child stepped into a time machine.  

What a difference in 12 measly little months.

And right before my own eyes.

It is the reason I blog-

I'm so very thankful for the opportunity to preserve these thoughts in my head.

I designed some photo cards as gifts- one for last year's teacher, and of course, the new one this year.

We passed them out today.

Each print was only 34 cents, plus a candy bar.

Really affordable and so fun!

Who doesn't want a candy bar on the first day of school?!

: )

I attached the candy bars with double stick tape.

We had all the kids in bed by 8:30 p.m. tonight. Though I'm sad to lose Harbor during the day, I know he is ready. And little Henry is getting ready to start his home school experience with me. I need to do some final tweaking in our schedule and really get a feel for how carpool and commute times will go first, but I'm just thrilled to get more one -on-one time with him, Before too long, my Henry will be in school! What a joy to get to do this a few more times with each child. Hope all is well with you! Cooler weather is heading to Colorado and we had some snow on the mountains just a few days ago. Pumpkin everything is around the corner. : )