Hudson's First Birthday + Baptism

The morning of Hudson's birthday we woke him up with apple sauce pancakes, his favorite food. After grabbing the candle, and then blowing it out with the help of his older brother, it was time to dig in. Hudson devoured his short stack and kept looking for more. Until he spotted the gifts. Pointing and clapping excitedly, we passed the presents over to the birthday boy. Again, Behr helped the process along. These two, they were having a blast together ripping open the gifts and squealing in delight. You can see from the range of expressions in these photos, but it was pure joy in our home this morning. And that birthday sign behind Hudson? Behr helped me make it using these. Once the gifts were unwrapped, Hudson promptly put each and every object in his mouth. (inspiration)

Over the weekend, our extended family came into town as we gathered to celebrate Hudson. Sunday morning, Hudson was baptized in front of our church, who committed to raising him up in the faith. After the service, we picnicked at a nearby park for his first birthday celebration. Although the cherry blossoms hadn't quite come out, the sun was shining, the weather was beautiful and it was a lovely time with family. Hoagies, fruit salad, and cake were on the menu, as well as this delicious tea. The boys played and it was the perfect way to spend our weekend. We are so thankful for Hudson and the gift he is to our family.

Happy, happy, happiest Birthday Hudson!

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DIY Glitter Birthday Banner

In preparing for Behr's birthday party, I knew I wanted something personalized, but could not quite find the perfect fit. After seeing Anna's glitter garland, I had more direction, but still fell short of finding something within my reasonable budget. Then Anna shared a tip by one of her readers, glitter card stock, for cheap on amazon! Plus a little inspiration from Elizabeth, and I was ready to roll with my own DIY project.

Step One Supplies: 

• 12" by 12" glitter cardstock - I purchased a 24 sheet pack, but only needed about 3 sheets in case you are buying them individually
• printer paper, to print your banner template. I used century gothic, size 500, bold - lesson learned: use grey font color instead of black to save on ink, and only type each letter you need once.
• pencil
• scissors 
• twine
• tape

Step Two:

As I said in the supplies, you only need to print each letter once. I didn't want to risk missing a letter, so I printed them all, but only cut some out once (like the P). I also cut all of the printed letters first, so I could arrange them to maximize the configuration and reduce wasted glitter cardstock. Don't forget to flip your cardstock face down so your pencil lines are on the back AND flip your printed letters face down.

Step Three:

By arranging the letters as you cut, you catch any letters you might accidentally miss, or if you happen to cut a letter backwards, and determine which is the top of letters like H, because there is a slight difference with some fonts.


Step Four:

Lay the letters and twine out with the correct spacing to be hung. Then flip each letter vertically - towards you, not like a page in a book - and move the twine to the new top, not closer to you. This final step might require a book to hold the twine in place at the end, or an extra set of hands. Gently pull the twine so it is taut and tape the twine to the back of each letter. I chose tape instead of a hole punch because my banner was going to be back lit and I wanted to keep the letters solid. Also, I did not have ribbon on hand, but had plenty of twine. Note: Once you hang you banner, you may want to adjust the way a few of the letter hang and re-tape the back.

Be sure to check out my party inspiration board and the recap post (updated with sources!)

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Little Days: Bowling

Welcome to Little Days, a weekly post series geared towards capturing our children and their stories. I hope that this series becomes a way to continue to encourage one another to enjoy the small moments and also a record that we can easily look back upon to see the often overlooked moments of childhood. 

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For Behr's second birthday, we gave him a bowling set. As excited as he is to knock the pins over, he hasn't quite figured out the goal of the sport. Instead of using a bowling ball, he becomes a barreling Behr. I couldn't get Behr to roll the ball for a single picture since we first revealed the surprise. 

Fortunately, we did capture the reveal on video:

Behr's Birthday Bowling from Shannon Schreiber on Vimeo.

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Behr's Second Birthday Party (both of them!)

Behr actually had two birthday parties this year! Because most of our friends and family are split between PA and DC, we decided to have smaller parties in both locations. We had a blast and took way too many pictures. Instead of a never ending post, here is the quick collage version of the two events:

Pennsylvania:

Washington, DC:

Some of the pictures are so small you can hardly see them! But I promise we had a blast. And Behr could not be more excited to be TWO! As an extrovert, he thoroughly enjoyed the company and was ecstatic opening gifts, especially when he opened duplo legos, his absolute favorite thing right now.

p.s. and it was a complete coincidence that Behr and I both wore the exact same thing at both parties.

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The Greatest Show on Earth

Behr's second birthday is right around the corner. If I learned anything from his first birthday it is this: 1. Start planning right after Christmas and 2. Eat cake early. Don't wait until Behr is exhausted from all of the festivities and then expect him to perform. As grateful as I am for these lessons, they didn't help me figure out what to do this year. After racking my brain for potential ideas, under the sea, the jungle, red wagon, among others, I looked at what I had in my party supplies and started perusing pinterest. Some time in early November, I came across the chalkboard from a carnival themed wedding and finally settled on a circus theme!

I started pulling ideas from my own pinterest boards and all over the internet and this is what I came up with to get me started.

• If I Ran The Circus by Dr. Seuss provided my color foundation, and kept me from going crazy.
• Behr is obsessed with straws as well as milk and cookies. These yellow reusable straws will undoubtedly get use in our home for years to come. 
• Anna posted glitter garland and almost jumped in my car to drive to Boston just to see it in person. She gave me a few pointers that saved both time and money. I'll share more about those after the party. For you non-DIYers, you can also purchase the one featured here from etsy.
• Fun fonts! I love a good excuse to explore new fonts and make a new invitation design. You can order your own circus invitations from my etsy shop here.
• My original inspiration. Would you ever consider having a carnival wedding? It looks like a blast.
• I picked up these adorable red and white polka dot favor boxes at The Influence Conference Market in October, well before I had a theme in mind for Behr's birthday. But I couldn't pass them up. They might be perfect for animal crakers to go. 
• These rainbow skewers were one of the first items I ever pinned. I have been dying to use them for a party, so they will definitely be on the menu.

I find it incredibly helpful to create an idea board for any party, event, or project I am working on. It allows me to step back and refocus on my original plan, even if I decide to head another direction, knowing my initial inspiration is key. I cannot wait to share how this all comes together for Behr's party this weekend!

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Graffiato Birthday

I hearby proclaim March the best birthday month ever. I seriously love birthdays, and March is chock full of 'em. From two of my best friends from high school, Faith and Katie, and then March 23rd is not only my birthday, but I get to share it with one of my closest friends here in the district. This past weekend, we got around to celebrating together. And it was a hoot. We exchanged cards and gifts that make no sense to anyone except eachother and dined at Mike Isabella's Graffiato here in DC.

 

Our Menu Selections:

wine
malbec, detour, kolibri vineyard

charred potatoes
lemon, parsley, and parmesean

tortellini
butternut squash, goat cheese, walnuts

glazed pork cheek
with sweet potato and pecans

white house pizza
mozzarella, taleggio, ricotta, prosciutto, black pepper honey

...and we totally skipped our birthday dessert!
 

The meal was fantastic. Christie and I decided that going out to dinner together to celebrate our shared birthday, is a tradition worth continuing. We will be hard pressed to top Graffiato, we may just have to go back. And now I am officially hungry for lunch. How about you?

A Very Boston Birthday

 

A few weeks ago, on a whim, we booked tickets to Boston for my birthday weekend. Mark and I met in college and try to go back to visit a few times a year. This particular weekend, our alma matter happened to be hosting two home lacrosse games, perfect timing for a celebration and support for our former teams! So we made plans, hopped on a plane and couldn't have asked for a better adventure. We kicked off our Saturday morning bright and early with burritos and beer for breakfast at Agave in Newburyport. What better way to say hello to 10 am? After some quality time with Courtney strolling around and Behr excitedly "woof, woofing" at every dog we passed, it was nap time. Behr slept in his carseat as we cruised along some of the best coastal drives, through neighborhoods where memories were shared, and even stopped at my favorite cove for seaglass hunting. I love the ocean and miss living so close. The bulk of Saturday was spent on the lacrosse field, six hours of catching up with former coaches, teammates and friends. Those pictures deserve their own post, later this week. The evening was capped with dinner and copious amounts of laughter at our all time favorite restaurant, The Black Cow. Behr was a champ and lasted 3 full hours, well past his bedtime and into the late evening hours.

We woke up Sunday morning, said goodbye to our old neighborhood, and headed into the city for church, the aquarium, and a blogger date. Behr loved clapping along with the fur seals, and standing with his nose against the glass of the fish tank, and trying to touch the rays. Before we left the aquarium, Mark took Behr to the harbor seals to tell him the story of our engagement, about how Chuck the seal fetched the ring from the bottom of the tank, and mommy said yes! It was so cute. Behr looked with wide eyes, as if he understood every word.

And there she is, the lovely Alex, in person, woot! She was the ultimate, juggled her schedule, came down to the waterfront, scrapped our plans to get sticky buns at Flour, and accomodated our need for a full meal. We dined at The Living Room, and struck up fabulous conversation for a rainy day. Behr was completely tuckered out and fell asleep in Mark's arms. But one thing is clear, we are definitely getting together next time I am in Boston or she is in DC, over sticky buns and coffee for sure!

So fresh and so clean!

Today, I am linking up with {av} from Long Distance Loving for Friday's Fancies. However, I must confess. As much as I love to follow sports, since having a kid, this is an area of my life that has fallen by the wayside. For the first time since I can remember, not only did I not fill out a bracket, but I don't even have a clue what's going on in March Madness. I miss the thrill of watching games all day and rooting for the underdogs. My sports watching days have been trimmed to football and lacrosse. I have to warn you, I am a diehard Philadelphia Eagles Fan. Seriously. I scream at the television and truly consider myself part of the team. When refering to how the Eagles are doing, I frequently say "we." Behr carries around a Eagles football already, making a momma proud!

So, if Alison, my team, and my Dad will forgive me, I am taking a bit of liberty with cheering for my favorite team today...and even putting a twist on traditional Eagles green. {basically my excuse to share my minty love!} But hey, it's my birthday and mint chocolate chip is my absolute favorite flavor for ice cream and cupcakes! So mint it is.

Bracelettes / Dress / Cake Stand / Necklace / Cupcake / Clutch / Wedges / Polish / Pocket Knife

p.s. all of these items would make fabulous birthday presents. hint, hint.

Photo Booth Back Drop Tutorial

After hunting for weeks for a sky back drop, the perfect cloud print sheets, or anything else that would make our party guests take flight, I resorted to making my own sky. I used a roll of plastic table cover left over from a baby shower a few years ago, crepe paper, pom pom fringe (an obsession inspired by Sarah Richardson), and painter's tape. In total, this project set me back about $20 and an hour of my time.

You can see more of the pictures here. But the real gem is the late night, poorly lit, zoomed out view showing how everything held up.

How about that? Another bold impact that was easy as pie! And didn't even have to look pretty, although I might have trimmed it out in painter's tape if I had thought of it at the time. You may also notice that we needed to widen the streamers after the first round of pictures. 

Behr's First Photo Booth

 

The birthday party photo booth may not have been as successful as most wedding photo booths. But we managed to coax almost everyone into the front room to get their mug shot. Props or not, the photos turned out to be a wonderful way to see the love that is poured out for Behr. This group of people truly loves this little dude. And that makes me very happy.