Goodbye for now

Monday morning rolled around much too fast for my liking and we were soon loading up the car with Captain Husband's luggage for his return flight to South Korea.  CH checked his bags and we had some time to kill before he had to head off to his gate, so father and son got in some last-minute bonding.

It was like déjà vu all over again: this was the same location in the airport where we had said our last farewells.  Only this time around, rather than sleeping through all of the hugs and the tearful goodbyes, Sammy was toddling everywhere, flirting with strangers, and watching the airplanes go by.

Before we knew it, it was time for CH to head off to the security check-in.  We had the option of accompanying him to the gate (most airlines offer gate passes to the families of service members on a case-by-case basis; check with your airport's USO office for more details), but CH wanted the downtime to make the mental switch for heading back to South Korea.  Turns out he got more time than he bargained for: due to maintenance issues, his plane didn't board until 9:00 pm.  Sigh--that's practically a whole other day we could have spent together as a family, but I can take solace in the fact that he'll be home for good in less than a month now.  Time to start counting down!

Wordless{ish} Wednesday: Cake smash (well, kind of)!

{Bringing out the cake.}

{Sammy didn't really know what to make of the candle.}

{The daintiest cake smash ever.}

{Captain Husband gave Sammy a taste of frosting in the hopes of getting him going.}

{It didn't really work.}

{My mom gave him a spoon and that's when Sammy really began to dig in.}

{Yummy!}

The cat's meow: Sammy's first birthday party

I was having the most difficult time coming up with a theme for Sammy's first birthday party until I had what I like to refer to as my Carol Burnett/Gone with the Wind moment; a few months ago I was doing some cleaning and came across a vintage curtain panel that had hung in my old apartment.  I knew I had found my theme as soon as I saw it:

 

Sammy's favorite animal?  Check.  My favorite colors?  Check.  Cute factor?  Check.  I then did what any other [in]sane person would do and set about scanning the curtain and working on designing the invites and other accessories, like stickers that could be used as cupcake toppers and on the lollipop favors and party hats (the frames were free downloads courtesy of Maybe Mej--she has some lovely digital downloads on her blog, so be sure to swing by and check out her work) .

I used the stickers to jazz up some plain yellow party hats that I had picked up at a local party supply shop; add some curly ribbon and you've got yourself some delightful personalized hats.

After the success of the lollipop favors that I made for my friend's baby shower this spring, I knew I wanted to make them for Sammy's birthday party.  I really like how they turned out this time around--plus it doesn't hurt that I was able to find the lollipops in my signature color.

The cupcake toppers were next: I used a 2" scalloped punch for the backing paper and then affixed a sticker to each one, using double-sided tape to adhere everything to a craft stick. 

My mom and I made all of the cupcakes the day before the party; they were a yummy vanilla with a vanilla buttercream frosting.  It was my first time ever making cupcakes and frosting from scratch and I think they turned out pretty well.

To keep with the cat theme, I made citrus sugar cookies shaped like kitties and decorated them with yellow and blue sugar sprinkles.  They were as tasty as they were charming.

And last but not least, the smash cake. I used leftover batter from the cupcakes to make a Sammy-sized 6" cake that my mom then decorated to look like the cat on the invitation--she did an awesome job!   To save you all from photo overload, I'll be sharing the last batch of party photos tomorrow, so be sure to come back for candids from the party, including Sammy's cake smash and other random cuteness.

Today's blog post is brought to you courtesy of cute kids in party hats

I'm still recovering from Sammy's first birthday party this weekend; add to that the fact that Captain Husband heads back to South Korea today and I'm pretty much wiped out. I'll post more photos and details from Sammy's party tomorrow, but until then, I hope these photos of ridiculously adorable kids will tide you over in the mean time.

Foto Friday: Broken

Captain Husband, Sammy and I took a rather impromptu trip to the Barboursville Ruins in Orange County, Virginia, on Wednesday; I had always wanted to see the ruins in person and I knew that CH would appreciate the visit as well as he is a bit of a Thomas Jefferson fan.  The ruins are all that remain of the stately home that Jefferson designed for his friend and political ally, James Barbour (1775-1842).  The residence burned in an accidental fire that took place on December 25, 1884, but even in its ruinous state, its elegance and architectural importance remains apparent to all those who visit.

Jefferson designed the home, which was built around 1822, in the fashionable Neo-Palladian style and employed much of the distinctive architectural vocabulary that he used at Monticello at Barboursville, such as the emphasis on symmetry and the use of an octagonal drawing room located at the rear of the house (the original design also called for a dome to be placed over the octagonal portion, but it was never realized).

Walking around the grounds of this once elegant residence, I couldn't help but wish I had a time machine at my disposal so I could travel back in time and visit it when it was still intact; I wanted to walk through the grand, double-storied rooms, and explore all of the building's nooks and crannies.  I suppose my imagination will just have to suffice for the time being.

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below; 

have a great weekend everyone!

Momma in Focus: Freebie

Hold on to your seats, everybody, because I have not one, but TWO photos to share with all of you this week.  I was quite the little overachiever.  Of course, it also helps that I have Captain Husband around to serve as my photographer so you better believe I'm taking advantage of that. 

This first photo was taken by CH at the neoclassical temple on the grounds of Montpelier; believe it or not, this architectural gem actually sits over a 24-foot-deep ice house.  I think CH managed to do a pretty good job--just look at the awesome bokeh he managed to capture (which almost makes up for chopping off half of my dome):

On our way back home after our Montpelier excursion, I had the sudden realization as we were driving that CH had never been to the hospital where Sammy was born so I thought it would be a fun way to commemorate Sammy's first birthday by taking a group photo in front of the hospital:

And just for fun, here's the second-most recent group shot of the three of us, which was taken just before CH boarded his flight to South Korea last July; what a difference a year makes.  (If you look closely, however, you'll notice that CH is wearing the exact same shirt, so I guess it doesn't make that much of a difference, ha!)

Be sure to check out the other lovely photos this week by clicking below

--and don't forget to show Casey some love.

Twelve-month update

Today is Sammy's first birthday!  Holy crap, where has the time gone?  No, really, I'd like to know who's responsible for switching my tiny little baby with a pseudo-toddler.  To celebrate this momentous occasion, I finally got around to writing and posting Sammy's birth story, which you can read by clicking here.

It seems like so much has happened since the last monthly update; Sammy cut a fourth bottom tooth, bringing his total count to eight.  He is now comfortably walking across the room although he prefers to crawl most of the time because it's faster.  Sammy is saying the following words: mama, dada, daddy, kitty (though it sounds more like giddy), hi, and uh-oh; the last one is by far the cutest, as he says it when he drops something.  My brother also swears up and down that Sammy said "dog," but since I wasn't there to hear it, I'm not counting it just yet.  Sammy is awesome at mimicking sounds and can hiss like a snake, moo like a cow and baa like a sheep.  He also loves to make "vrrrrrrooooooom" noises whenever he's playing with his toy cars.

An interesting recent development is hugging.  Sammy will now crawl or walk over to me, climb into my lap, throw his arms around my neck and shoulder, and burrow his head into my neck, all while drooling on me the whole time.  This warms the very cockles of my heart--minus the drool, of course.  He's also become very clingy with me and will cry if I leave the room but he usually gets over it pretty quickly; hopefully this is a stage that just happened to coincide with Captain Husband's visit home.

CH and I are taking him in for his one-year well-baby checkup later today and will get all of his vital stats then, but I'm going to guess that he's pushing 27 pounds.  Sammy wears mostly 24-month clothing with a few 2Ts thrown in there for good measure.  The kid also has huge feet--he's currently rocking a size six and a half.  He sure does take after his mama.

And just for fun, here's a video that was taken moments after Sammy's birth; in case you're wondering why I'm going on and on about Sammy being number one, it's because a women in the room next door to me was having a son and naming him Sammy, too.  Nothing like a little friendly competition to speed labor along.

Wordless{ish} Wednesday: Goofball

{I don't know why, but I have the strange feeling that perhaps Captain Husband is
beginning to tire of me taking so many photos of him and Sammy.}

An introduction to the joys of parenthood

Yesterday marked our first full day together as a family and it did not disappoint.  Sammy was his usual rambunctious self and kept his daddy busy all morning long as he played with his toys and practiced walking some more (I think he's going to be running circles around the two of us by the end of the week; there were several times throughout the day that Captain Husband turned to me and said, "You do this every day? I'm exhausted!"):

After Sammy took his morning nap, the three of us headed out for a gourmet lunch at Chick-fil-a (Captain Husband hadn't eaten there for almost a year and had a serious craving for some nuggets); after that we headed over to Wegman's to pick up some things for dinner for that night (barbecue chicken, sweet potato fries, and broccoli). It was a pretty gorgeous afternoon, so we stopped by a park on our way home so that Sammy could swing and play outside for a bit.

{I'm still figuring out my new lens, but I kind of like how this photo is softly out of focus}

This photo pretty much sums up everything I love about CH and his relationship with our son--willing to let Sammy try new things on his own (like walking), ready to support him in any way possible, and there to catch him should he fall.