Boston's First Birthday Wishlist

With Boston's first birthday party taking place next Saturday, I thought I'd share some of the items on his "wishlist". You'll notice pretty quickly that there aren't many toys on his list. Having just celebrating Christmas, our little guy was blessed with SOOO many toys that we had to put many in storage to pull out as he tired of the ones in the house. That being the case, we hated the thought of people spending money on toys he just didn't need or wouldn't play with all that much. So in lieu of toys, we asked our friends and family to donate some things our little guy could actually use. I'm not sure how much he'll approve of this little list but his parents sure do appreciate it (; 

Rash Guards + Swim Trunks: Kevin's aunt has a pool and we have all intentions of spending our summer there. That said, our little guy will need quite a few swimsuits and the Cat and Jack line at Target sure doesn't disappoint.
Pajamas: At the end of last season, I scored big on Boston's wardrobe for this summer. I was able to grab tons of shorts and shirts for $1-$2 each piece. However, I didn't get my hands on any pajamas at the end of the season and considering our little guy is busting out of his current ones, I'd say it's definitely something he could use. I'm currently loving all of the three piece options Carter's has to offer. 
Camelbak Kids' Cups: Sippy cups are one of my biggest nightmares. They can't break easily; can't leak; and I like them to all be uniform so I know which pieces go with what. That being said, we decided to skip all of the stage sippy cups for our little guy and jump straight to the Camelbak and Contigo cups for kids. Harper has them and we LOVE them.
Baby Wipes, Diapers, Diaper Pail Refills: We can always use diapers, wipes, and genie refills! And it always makes me sad that no one thinks to give them after you actually have your baby. Any of you mamas feel the same way?
Police Car Cozy Coupe: It might be a toy, but his cozy coupe can be used outdoors. Harper got one for her first birthday and still uses it to this day. Since she has no intentions of sharing hers, and it happens to be pink, this police car themed cozy coupe is just perfect for our little man. And apparently some friends of ours think so too, because they've already purchased it :P
Target Gift Cards: We were blessed to have gotten a convertible car seat for Boston at one of our baby showers. However, we need another one for Kevin's car. Since we hate to ask for a car seat as a gift, gift cards work great to be combined to get our little guy a new seat. And if we get too many gift cards, we can definitely use them to purchase other items he'll be needing throughout the year. 

Well that's his list in a nutshell. We in no way expect our guests to bring our little guy something when they come to his party but so many people ask what he needs so hopefully putting together this little list will help. 

Boston's One Year Photos + Cake Smash

It's hard to believe our little man is approaching ONE! It seems like only yesterday we were anticipating his arrival and here we are eleven months later anticipating his first birthday party. And when I say, anticipating, I mean it. I am so, so excited and can not wait for the actual event to get here. As the co-owner of a party business, it should come as no surprise to you that I've been planning Boston's birthday party for the last four months. Our intentions were to have a vintage themed baseball party for our little man but as we got to know his personality and started nicknaming him, "The Wild One", it only made sense to throw our little guy a Where the Wild Things Are birthday party. As a teacher, it's one of my favorite books, and it couldn't be more fitting for our little guy. 
As I prepared for his birthday party, I also started thinking about his first birthday photo shoot. In my mind I knew exactly what I wanted. I shared my vision with my cousin, who happens to be an amazing photographer, and a few weeks ago, we got to carry it out. The end result was everything I could have envisioned and so much more. Just look for yourself...

Let Try This Again + Weekend Recap

Oh my goodness, ladies. I have really missed this little space. I used to log into Bloglovin' every morning as I got ready for work to catch up on what was going on in everyone's lives. It was like all of you online friends were like in-real-life friends and it felt wonderful to keep up with your lives. But then two kids, a full time job, a side business, and life just got in the way and I barely had time for my in-real-life friends, much less all of my blogging ones (unless of course you're on instagram!). Now that life is settling down a bit, I wanted to try this blogging thing again. No promises but we'll see how it goes! For now, it feels good to be back! So onto our weekend recap...
.................................................... Friday Friday was pretty low-key here in the Holt household. We used to spend our Friday nights doing dinner with my family at local restaurants but here lately, we've started staying in. Our little wild man tends to call it a night around 6ish so trying to keep him up until 7:30 or so for dinner each Friday has been quite the struggle. Therefore, we've been grabbing take out, catching up on programs we have recorded on the DVR, and doing a little cleaning and straightening up before calling it a fairly early night. 
Saturday We were lazy bums all day on Saturday. The kids and I spent the day in our pajamas while the hubs slept from a long night at work. We watched tv, played games, built castles, played with Disney princess barbies, and took naps together in bed. The only productive thing that happened was I managed to do about 100 loads of laundry. Seriously, our washer and dryer ran ALL day long! 

We finally ventured out of the house around 5 for a quick dinner and some live music. When we got home, Boston had already called it a night and Harper was already telling me she was "so tired". Since both kids ended up asleep by 7:30 and the hubs had to head in to work, this mama decided to tackle a project I've been saying I was going to do forever....paint our living room tables. 
I've never been a huge fan of our coffee and end tables but they're huge and provide a lot of storage. Since we have other home projects we're trying to tackle right now, purchasing new tables wasn't really an option so giving them a face lift was just what they needed. I happened to have some extra chalk paint on hand so while I watched the newest Hallmark movie, I decided to get to work on them. 

Sunday We slept in Sunday morning which was absolutely heavenly. I managed to sleep until  8:30 and even managed to get ready for church before the rest of my crew got up. Not sure how that happened as my kids are early risers but hey, I'll take it! After getting ready and fixing breakfast, I finished the living room tables by distressing them with some sand paper and topping them with a thin coat of clear wax. I am in love with the end result and it brightens up our living room so much. Hallelujah!

We headed to church with my family and then did the usual lunch at my parents' house. It was a packed house as everyone was there in addition to my best friend and my aunt. The kitchen and dining room was completely packed and we had conversations traveling from the two rooms but those are the sorts of Sundays I will always remember and hope my kids do too. 
After lunch, we headed home, got the kids ready, and headed to a local trail to have Valentine's Day minis done. The kids hadn't had naps so I didn't expect the pictures to be all that great but the kids did amazing!! Maybe next time, I'll keep them from taking naps. It seems they operate better when they're tired. haha We ended the night and our weekend with hot dogs and ice cream, too many episodes of Fixer Upper (yep, no Super Bowl for us), and a line up of blog posts.
Hope your weekend is just as amazing!

Friday!

Hey ladies... long time no see! If you caught my post last week you're aware of why I've been a bit absent around these parts over the last few months. Since my last post, I had all intentions of jumping back onto the blog train but let's be real, wifing, moming, and working is a full time gig. Trying to juggle it along with Cupcakes and Confetti has been quite amusing here lately. But since today is a workday at my day job, I found a few free minutes to join in for the usual 5 on Friday. 

{One} The Magnolia Story

It's no secret Chip and Joanna Gaines are my favorite power couple. They're seriously the cutest couple ever and their designs are amazing. I mean for real, give me all of the shiplap, concrete counter tops, and mixed metals. If you love them as much as I do, then you better get to your closest Barnes and Nobles and grab their book. It's amazing and I can't put it down. I've seriously stayed up until 9:30 each night trying to read it... and for a mama going to bed at 8 each night exhausted, that's saying something (;

{Two} The Iphone Debate

I'm struggling guys. I had no intentions of upgrading my phone anytime soon because having the latest and greatest iphone really isn't that big of a deal to me anymore. However, over the last few weeks, my phone has been messing up. Anyone else find it ironic that your phone starts giving you problems when a new model comes out? It seems to happen every time. But that's a story for a different day. Anyways, back to the debate. I've been to the store several times now trying to decide on a new iphone but I'm torn between the Iphone 7 or the Iphone 7 plus. The plus seems so huge to me after having the regular 6 but the camera is amazing and considering I use my phone so often for browsing the internet, I'm kind of loving it despite it's large size. Yet, being a mom, my phone always ends up in my back pocket so I'm a little worried about it being so big. Thoughts? Who has the regular? Who has the plus? Hit me with your best shot. 
{Three} The Elves are Taking Over! I have a few pesky little elves that are taking over our house at the current moment. Our business puts together Elf Activity Kits for those cute little Elf on the Shelf elves. The kits include pre-planned antics for the elves from the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas day. This year we took pre-orders for these kits in hopes of making it easier on us but they're selling left and right each day and currently, there isn't enough time in the day to keep up. So this seems to be the permanent look of my dining room these days. 

{Four} Christmas Present Problems Speaking of elves, let's talk about Christmas for a minute. Is anyone else having trouble figuring out what to get your kids for Christmas? Boston's Christmas list is done. We've purchased everything he's getting, but haven't made the first purchase for Harper doodle. We took her to Target yesterday to wander the aisles and pick out presents for Santa to bring her but other than a few little things, she didn't really want much. While on one hand my mama heart is so proud that she is a minimalist, the other is frustrated as I can't give one kid a big Christmas and not give the other. So suggestions on gifts for a three and a half year old?
{Five} Disney Countdown The countdown is officially on. We leave for Disney World in just 10 days and I am so, so, so excited. Every day Harper wakes up talking about Disney. We discuss what all she's taking, who all is going, etc. I can not wait to see her face when she arrives. I'm so excited that I may or may not have already started packing! 

On Being Content and Thankful

Good morning, ladies! I'm not sure how many of you are still around after I took a two month long break from blogging. But it's a break I was in desperate need of. You see, a few months back I stumbled across a quote that resonated with me. 

"The reason people struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel."

In the world of social media, this quote couldn't be more true.  Over the last several years, I've spent countless hours a day staring at a screen. Hours have been wasted scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest wishing I had this or looked like that. All the while never realizing I was growing more and more discontent with the things in front of me. The very things I once prayed earnestly for or wished I had. But thankfully God got a hold of me and opened my eyes so that I could see how misguided my vision had become.

Over the last few months I've taken time to step back and re-evaluate. I stopped blogging, stopped reading blogs, spent less time on social media, stopped posting as often on my own social media accounts, and tried to regain focus. I'll be honest. It wasn't easy. It's hard breaking habits you've had for years. But it was worth it.

Over the last few months, God's helped me to have a life of more contentment and taught me how to be more appreciative of the things in front of me.  I've learned to not look at my closet each morning and say, "I have nothing to wear" but instead look for ways to reinvent the outfits I do have. I've learned that I don't need to have a new home to have the home I want but instead I can renovate and redecorate the one we have to make it look more like the home I envision. I've learned to cook new recipes in an effort to save money and in turn enjoy dinners around the table with family and friends. I've learned to say no to frivolous spending and in turn invest money in things that matter like family outings and vacations. But most of all, I'm learning to love the life that God gave me. The one that isn't so picture perfect or blog worthy; the one filled with anxiety, arguments, meltdowns and chaos. The one that speaks truth and doesn't just showcase the picture perfect reality.

So from here on out ladies, this blog is about to get real...