18 months

Our little man is a year and a half old today!
He weighs 24 1/2 lbs, is 31" tall, and has 12 teeth.
Recently he's become quite the chatterbox and although his words aren't always clear, it's pretty easy to understand what he's trying to say when he tries. He likes to tease us though because he'll say a word perfectly clear one time and then not say it again. Some words he's said at least once- mom, dad, help, cat, dog, cheese, eggs, up, hi, thank you, fish, and pancake. Yep, he actually said pancake- clear as day while helping me make them for breakfast. But only once. That little turkey! He's pretty good at communicating with the little sign language we taught him too. He knows milk, please, thank you, help, and all done. It melted my heart the other day when he walked over to the hose and did the sign while saying help. You bet I turned on the sprinklers for him after that!

Atlas loves to be outside and play in the dirt (we can't even get a picture before he digs in and gets his hands dirty). The highlight of every day is going on a walk. Weston has gotten into a really good habit of taking him on a 3 mile walk every morning and depending on the heat, I try to take him on an afternoon walk of at least a mile or two. He can't get enough! 

We just can't get enough of this little boy and love that he keeps us busy and smiling! Happy half birthday little man!

Atlas turns a year old!

I think I was more excited about his birthday than Atlas was, but I was glad my excitement was contagious and he was smiling as I got him out of bed. That, of course, made me even more happy because my one year old little boy is just the cutest! I hated going to work and missed him even more than I do on regular days. I was just glad he could spend his birthday at Grandma Gardner's because he probably loves it there more than anywhere else (including home). 

I made all the decorations for the party and spread out the crafting for at least a month so it didn't seem like too much work (I can hardly call it work because I love creating things). Side note- there seem to be two groups of people when it comes to a baby's first birthday party. There is the group that makes a big deal and throws a themed, decorated party and the group that says, 'a one year old doesn't care about a party'. I knew Atlas didn't care about a birthday party but I still found myself in the first group. I came to the realization that I wanted to make all the decorations and throw the party because that is what I really love to do, not because he cared or because other moms might care. It was a little reminder that I can still be a mom and incorporate doing the things I love into my child's life.  End of self introspection. Back to the cute boy. 

I wanted him to have a fun hat to wear since little girls get to wear tiaras. I think this fit him well. The theme of the party was "Celebrating our little adventurer". His baby shower was nautical themed and he's had whales and such in his room for the past year, but it just didn't seem to fit him as he grew into a little man. So I came upon this adventurer theme that fit him perfectly. The bonus is we can use these party decorations to decorate his room (who wants to throw away all their hard work?!). 

I kept the food super simple- Costco rolls, green salad, and a hearty Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli copycat soup (recipe here). 

I've got to brag a little here... I designed this myself on my iPhone with the Rhonna Designs app. It's probably the only app I've ever paid for but I think it was well worth the $2 to make this poster. And then I printed it on engineer paper at Staples for another couple dollars. I love cheap and easy!

I had some ideas about making a healthy cake from scratch, but in the end I decided I'd rather use my time on other parts of his party. So I just cooked up a box cake mix. However, I probably shouldn't have chosen the pudding-in-the-mix cake because it pretty much fell apart when I tried taking it out of the pan. So his two layer cake ended up being one. I know he didn't mind. 

Let's be real here, the best part of the whole first birthday party is the smash cake. We couldn't wait to see how he would react to a whole cake to himself. He actually took a long time to get into it. He loved digging in and then putting it on his tray but we had to convince him to start eating it. Even though he seemed to like the taste, he didn't eat tons. I don't think he loved having his hands covered in goopy cake (I really shouldn't have gotten the pudding mix kind). But he got messy and had fun while we all loved the entertainment, so that alone made the party a success. Side note- I'm so glad we live in San Diego so that it was warm enough to be possible to have an outdoor birthday party and be able to strip him down for the cake smash! 

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Watch the smash cake video here!

Atlas isn't your typical baby when it comes to presents. I know most people say the kids will love to tear open the wrapping paper and play with that or the box instead of the gift. Nope. There's no foolin this kid. He doesn't care at all about the wrapping paper until you open it enough for him to see there's a toy inside. So I had to wrestle him to open each gift and then he absolutely loved his new toys. Grandma Carpenter got him a big dump trunk with a shovel and other toys that he's been using outside to play in the dirt (his favorite pastime). I'm sure it's going to be fun at the beach too if we ever decide to take him on that adventure. She also got him this little lawn mower that sings and it's become his other favorite outside toy. 

Grandma Gardner and family got him this cute puppy, Scout, that talks to him and sings. It even calls him "Attie" in this adorable little voice and sings his name into songs. I'm not gonna lie- I sing along to those songs and love them. And now I've started calling him Attie, even though I didn't think I would like that nickname. It also plays bedtime music and he uses that to go to sleep at night. So, yeah, we love that toy. Aunt Kamden sent the perfect moccasins, which he now wears everyday. He brings them to me when he wants to go play outside. 

Apart from our family, we were so happy to have our friends Parker, Stephanie, and their little girl Cora join the party. I don't know who loves the play dates more- the kids or the parents. But tell me they aren't adorable playing together! Cora gave Atlas this little plane toy but wasn't too excited to give it up. 

  

He loved this water bottle from mom and dad all of two weeks and now we can't find it anywhere. :( 

Atlas also received birthday cards and gifts in the mail from family we love and don't get to see often enough- so thank you for those! 

Aunt Sue and Cousin Andrea crafted up the cutest box frame from classic children's books. It's already on display in Atlas's room and it fits in perfectly!

While we were all sitting around enjoying each other's company, Atlas couldn't contain his excitement. I wish I would have taken a video of him. He basically did laps around the yard. He would run down the sidewalk, run through the grass, run onto the patio (occasionally fall and hit his head- oops) and ran back to the sidewalk. Over and over and over again!  He didn't even eat enough of the cake to blame it on a sugar rush. He was just so happy because it was the perfect combination of things he loves- being outside and free to run, and being surrounded by people. I'm glad he enjoyed his party! 

Thanks to the wonderful family and friends that were able to help us celebrate this little boy we love so much. We wanted to invite so many more friends but you can see the space didn't allow for it. Regardless, we are so lucky to have many more family members and friends in his life that love him and we wanted to share this party with you at least via this blog. And a big thank you to my incredible husband Weston for putting up with my big plans and helping me with everything. Poor guy didn't even get in the photos because he was being the photographer! So it looks like he was MIA but let me tell you he was the man behind it all. We both love our little adventurer Atlas!

Atlas: 8, 9, 10, 11 months old

Since Atlas turned a year old, I'd better catch up on old pictures before I need to post his first year birthday pics. So here's a quick summary of the last four months...

Las Vegas

It was our first night away from Atlas and his first sleepover at Grandma Gardner's house. (Do I say enough how blessed we are to live so close to Weston's family?!) My friend Kim invited us to her wedding in Las Vegas. Her and Joe have been together for 10 years and decided to celebrate by finally tying the knot. I couldn't have been more happy for her! Atlas must have been excited for his weekend away from us because he was wide awake at 4:00 am, so we got ready and took him to Weston's parent's house around 5:00 and embarked on our road trip. Our favorite thing to do on road trips is listen to a book on tape. This time we listened to Allegiant, the third in a series we've read. It keeps us entertained and I'm glad we both enjoy the same books.  

We got to Vegas a little earlier than we expected and stopped at Smash Burger for lunch at 10:30. I felt justified eating a burger that early because my breakfast was at 4:00 am. 

Luckily there happened to be outlets right there so we had to stop. We hadn't planned on doing any shopping but Weston found a great deal on some fitted dress shirts and I found a couple pairs of sunglasses that I love, which is rare for me. A success for both of us! 

The wedding was going to take place at The Venetian and I planned to be there around 1:00 to hang out with Kim beforehand, since I was a bridesmaid. Since we weren't going to check into our hotel until after the wedding, Weston got ready in the parking garage and I threw my dress on in the hotel. Tell me my man doesn't look good. Mmmm. 

Kim and I have been friends since before I can remember. Our families lived in the same apartment complex near USU when we were babies and then both happened to move right around the corner from each other on the island in Logan after that. They moved to AZ when we were in 4th grade but we kept writing letters and calling each other long distance (yep, I'm old) and visited each other every summer. It seems crazy to think we kept in touch since we were that little and it wasn't so easy to keep in touch back then before the internet and cell phones. It was fun to see her family again and meet the friends that she made after moving away. 

As it always goes with a wedding day, everyone was rushing to get ready and to the ceremony on time. Kim practically ran out of the hotel room with all of us bridesmaids chasing after her. But she pulled it all together in time and looked stunning. 

They planned a gondola ceremony in The Venetian and a dinner following at a delicious Mexican restaurant nearby.

Dinner was a-mazing. We had chips and salsa, then they brought out pork empanadas, then a taco sampler plate, then the salad, then the main dish, and then the dessert! Now that is a meal! 

Doesn't she look beautiful?! And check out that gorgeous dress! I love her so much and I'm glad we've kept in touch all this time. There's no going back now, we're gonna be friends for life! 

Yep, he looks good. 

We don't do it very often, but I love a chance to dress up with my love. 

The only thing I really love about Vegas is the fountains at the Bellagio. I've always told Weston how much I love them and was so excited to finally show him. Even though we were exhausted from the long drive and he'd been up since 4, he still went out on the town with me. Now that's love. 

We also stopped by the M&M's world. No, we're not scared of m&ms, we're just scared of decision making. How were we supposed to pick?!

Of course he looks good and I look ridiculous. But at least we have fun together. 

Seriously, just look at this room. It's definitely the nicest place I've stayed. We had a friend hook us up with a deal on this room at the Paris hotel and absolutely loved it. Especially when you compare this to the last hotel we stayed at (I'm ashamed to say it was Whiskey Pete's. Yuck!).  Apart from the sweet decor, the best part was the fact that I didn't have to wake up five times a night to a crying baby.  We went to bed at 11:00 pm and I didn't move a muscle until 7:00 am. It was glorious.

Goodbye Paris... I mean, Vegas.