I'm on Cruise Control.

I'm in full planning mode for big boy's party. It's going to be baller.

Can you tell that I'm staring to come to terms with him turning one?

Not really, but I'm trying. I'd be lying if I said I haven't looked at his newborn pics one zillion times this past week and tip toed in his room a few extra times at night to check on him.

My baby (who is not a baby anymore) is turning one. In just a little over a week.

That's a really hard thing for a mommy to deal with. {Sigh}.

But...I can't wait to see all the details I have planned come together for his special day. He won't remember it, but nothing but the best for our sweet boy.

Without giving too much away, I thought I would share a few things I've been working on.

Theme
Deciding on a theme for a boy is tough. In my opinion. When you're throwing a party for a girl, slap pink on...I don't know...everything, and it just works.

I didn't want a simple theme centered around the number "1", but I also didn't want to use a children's book theme or anything too detailed. I wanted something in between.

A simple football theme seemed just perfect so that's what I went with. 

Invitation
Invites went out a few weeks ago and I'm really pleased with how they turned out.

I designed these myself and printed on cardstock paper. I especially liked the cheesy super cool wording to match the theme.

 
I again used the label wraps for envelope addressing. Doesn't it look so packaged?  I'm such a sucker for having everything tie together.

Party Hat For the Birthday Boy
The party stores didn't have anything that matched a football theme (when it came to a hat), so I decided to make my own.

There are a ton of tutorials on Pinterest, but I simply started from a friend's daughter's party hat and went to work.

First, I measured the old hat and set up a digital template. I saved it here, if anyone is interested in making one.

1. Cut out the hat along the dotted line. Note: If a colored hat is preferred, use it to trace onto a piece of scrapbook or construction paper.

2. Form the cone shape by pulling the edges together and adhering. This can be a little tricky. Be patient and have the form ready before picking up the glue gun.

3. Using a glue gun, glue the seam together. Be careful and don't worry about it looking perfect. The seam will be in the back!

4. Using hot glue, embellish the bottom and top with raffia confetti paper, ribbon, beads, feather boa, etc.

5. If using confetti paper like I did, grab a bunch of paper and stick to the hot glue without burning yourself.

6. Pull down excess paper and trim off.

7. Embellish with other fun items, but make sure you do something to the top to finish the look. Glitter, paper dots, beads, a number 1, etc.

8. Glue an elastic string to the inside of the hat. My string was about 10 inches. (Not pictured)

Ta da! A custom made, themed party hat!

More details to come on Big Boy's baller party:). 

Friday Love

I love Friday.

I love weekends. 

I love fall in Kansas City.

I love 75 degree days in the fall.

I love not thinking about work for two whole days.

I love Wildcat Saturdays.

I love lazy Sundays.

And I love date nights.

What are you loving today?

Confession time. 

This is our first date night since Carson was born. Sad? Absolutely. Pathetic? Totally.

It's quite embarrassing, really.

Now, please know that we've had babysitters before and plenty of time away from C in the past 11 months (we're not that sheltered). But, it's always been for weddings, birthday parties, game days and social events.

Trust me, if our parents lived in town, we would have been on more dates by now. But they don't, so we have to make due with our situation.

So tonight, we're going to dinner and a movie. I'm absolutely pumped.  It's not every day you get to go to dinner and a movie with your husband. Ha.

What are you doing this weekend?

I missed last week's Friday Phone Dump post, so you get double this week.

Follow me at kutterchoas

TOP | willie hat | diy canvas art | super kutter

MIDDLE | somebody has a birthday coming up | too cool | candy dump

BOTTOM | you're my hero dad | peek-a-boo

TOP | big boy's first wedding | {showing him a cookie} | {teasing him with the cookie}

MIDDLE | gangsta C | stop growing please | bestie is getting married

BOTTOM | addicted | mmm...paper | the crap my husband does

Four.

Four years ago today, I married my better half.

The one who keeps me grounded. The one who makes me laugh. But, mostly the one who was crazy enough to marry me.

It was a crisp, fall day in November, and I was ready.

Ready to embrace everything that day meant. 

I was ready to say I do.

I was ready to be a wife.

I was ready to give up being selfish.

I was ready to share.

I was ready to compromise.

I was ready to grow old together.

I was ready to become one.

I was ready. 

I'll never forget that day...when I walked down the aisle towards my groom, seeing him for the first time that day.

It was such a special, sacred moment I will cherish forever.

As I neared closer, walking towards him, I realized his eyes were filled with tears. We locked stares as everything around us faded out. Nothing else mattered.

That one moment represented so much emotion and confirmation for me.

Because at that moment, I knew he was ready too.

It's been four years since that day. Consumed by good days, bad days, challenging days and blissful days.

We were both ready for the experience, the memories, the unforgettable moments, the storms, the roller coasters. Ready for all that comes with marriage.

But I wasn't ready for today. Or yesterday. Or the past 11 months. Not ready at all.

I wasn't ready for the shock of creating a human being together. 

I'm still amazed we created him.

I wasn't ready for the first time Carson looked into my eyes.

What is this feeling? I've never felt this before.

I wasn't ready for the feeling of being a mom.

Nor to cry at every little thing, even commercials.

I wasn't ready to share parenthood.

It's brought us closer than ever.

I wasn't ready for this unexplainable feeling of having a son together. 

The greatest gift.

On that day four years ago, I knew we would start a family someday, but I wasn't ready for all this.

This, being the most honest, humbling, self sacrificing emotions I have ever felt.

I wasn't ready because it's something I couldn't be ready for. It's something I had to experience, embrace and endure with my husband before I truly understood it.

And because of him, and that precious child we created together, I now get it. And it's the best feeling in the world.

Happy Anniversary, Brian.

Pressure

I've been feeling a lot of pressure these days.

It's like I'm running through a hailstorm, desperately trying to find somewhere to step inside, but every door I try is locked. So I continue to get nailed. All I have to do is find the one door that will let me inside, and I can't.

It's been occurring for several weeks now. This pressure I speak of.

I have knots in my back, and I've never had back problems before. I'm not sleeping very well. My mind is constantly racing. Ambien hasn't even worked (yes, I resort to drugs when I can't sleep for weeks at a time, don't judge).

Brian has asked, "Are you stressed? Are you having anxiety?"

Yes, we're busy and life is chaotic. But, that isn't slowing down anytime soon. And yes, I'm a planner and tend to be an over-analyzing perfectionist, but not able to handle pressure? No, that's not me.

Ok, I am an over-analyzing perfectionist. Couldn't be closer to it if I tried.

But today, after reading a friend's blog (about pulling the plug on her blog), I had an epiphany. Yes, a bring-you-back-to-high-school-reading-lesson epiphany.

No, I'm not pulling the plug on my blog (sorry friends, you're stuck with me).

I'm simply feeling pressured.

Pressure to blog. 

With pictures in every post, of course.

Pressure to not have to resort to frozen meals for dinner.

Because frozen pizza doesn't win you the mommy of the year award.

Pressure to have a spic and span home.

Because people will judge me if I hire a cleaning lady.

Pressure to get my pre-pregnancy stomach back.

 C'mon, it's been almost a year, what is taking so long?

Pressure to dress my kid cute for school.

 He cannot wear sweat pants everyday, can he?

Pressure to capture the perfect picture of my kid.

Then, post it to Instagram, Facebook and my blog.

Pressure to make his first Halloween memorable.

Because he's totally going to remember it.

Pressure to make a big deal out of every milestone.

And be sure to document them...pictures included.

Pressure to be the one who starts our family traditions.

If I don't, who will? 

Pressure to not feed my kid ice cream before he turns one.

Apparently, it's not ok to feed your kid sweets before one. 

Pressure to plan the perfect 1st Birthday.

Complete with color-coordinated and themed everything.

Pressure to finish C's baby book before said birthday.

I have all these pictures, and no book to show for it? 

Pressure to please everyone else.

And keep a smile on my face.

Pressure to keep up with all the other craftastic, artsy, involved moms.

What is this a competition?

Pressure to not scream and fall apart when I really want to.

For the love, quit your whining Krista.

Now, I know some of these sound extremely silly.

Especially since we have the east coast in shambles after Sandy. Including one of my dear friends who lives in Hoboken and just went six days without power.

But it's seriously a problem for me. I am pressuring myself about things that shouldn't even warrant pressure.

Who cares if we eat a frozen pizza for dinner or Carson's birthday plates don't perfectly match. Why am I causing all this anxiety and worry? Why do I care so much?

I come from a family with worry genes. I worry too much, and feel off kilter if one little thing isn't perfect. It's not ideal, nor who I want to be, I wish I could let go and not care...but it's the way I am.

I don't know...

how an anal, detail-oriented, obsessive planner (I have no idea who that might be) will learn to come to terms with not making everything perfect.

But I do know...

that something needs to change. I need to relax. Let things fall into place. Redirect my energy and focus on things that really matter. Don't sweat the small stuff.

I'm not the perfect blogger. I'm not the perfect wife. And I'm definitely not the perfect mother. But I do the best I can.

Lucky for me, I married one of the good ones. He's patient and laid back, and continually tries his damnedest to get me to relax. And puts up with my moodiness and antics when PMSing goes into overtime.

And that sweet, precious kid of mine? He doesn't give a damn about what he wears to school, how many pictures his baby book will contain, or if his birthday cake will be homemade or store bought.

If you're feeling pressured, mom or not, join me and just let go. Even if it's just for a day.

I must say, writing this really did help. Thank you for listening. Now go vote.

Watch Me Grow: 11 Months

We are one month away from having a one-year-old.

I'm already a mess. And it's just like everyone said it would be.

I'm that sappy mom who whimpers at the site of one of his baby onesies, cries when looking at old pictures, and sulks when he wants to do something himself. And when he pushes me away? Oh, this mom has a downright meltdown.

I'm just not sure I'll ever come to terms with this toddler stuff. It's horrifying, really. I guess I need to face the facts and let it happen.

Carson at 11 months:

In the Closet: Mainly 12 months, some smaller, some larger 

Diapers: Size 3, but just getting through our stock. We have the 4s ready for your tushy. 

Teeth: Five! Two on the bottom and three on the top.

Grub: Most anything and everything. Except honey and nuts of course. You try it. You like it. You eat it. And when you don't like it? You throw it on the floor. And then Jake comes running.

Sleep: 11-12 hours. Love you for this child.

New Activity/Development: Walking, but not very well. You're close buddy.

Loves: Blueberries and animal crackers. Going upside down. Climbing Stairs. Walking toys. Getting into everything. A little game I call "hide and appear"...hide around anything...doors, chairs, blankets, coffee tables, toys....then appear. You love it and laugh hysterically.

Hates: Being ignored. Getting your diaper changed when you don't feel like it. Falling down when you are tired (your screams could be heard a mile away). Vacuums.

Carson, you are such a big boy.

I can't believe how independent you have become. You don't like us to hold your bottle, you don't like to be rocked, you push our hands away if you don't want something, and you make it very apparent something isn't going your way by screaming very loudly.

At least you still give me the occasional cuddle at bedtime. They are few and far between, but those nights, the nights you let me rock you to sleep, are just priceless.

Two nights ago, I found myself holding you so close, and so tight, just staring at you for what seemed like five minutes. Forty-five minutes later, I finally managed to lay you down and tip-toe out of your room.

Your dad and I sometimes fight over who gets to put you down. I always win. But that's because he is a gentleman and gives me what I want. Are you taking notes?

I just can't help it. It's the one time I can stare at you, play with your hair, stroke your cheeks, touch your little lips and kiss you goodnight without you trying to pull away to play with the next thing you can discover.

Discover. Huh, that's a word you should know. It seems you are discovering each and every thing you are not supposed to. I like to call you my tiny destructor because that's what you are. I pick up the same mess three times before we even walk out the door in the mornings.

Speaking of morning. You have a thing for pooping right before we walk out the door. Every. Single. Morning. Is that your way of saying you wanted just five more minutes with your mommy?

I'll take it.

The other day, you were trying to knock over the tall glass vase in the basement, I, from across the room say, "Carson, no, no." You stop, look up at me and start shaking your head left to right. Brian and I were both like, "where did he learn that!"

So what do you do? Go back for the vase, so we say no again. And you shook your little head back and forth again. It was so so cute.

You took your first steps this past Sunday. A few days past your 11-month birthday. You have been trying a lot more this week, but you seem to fall a lot. I have a feeling you'll be an actual walker by next week.

Can't we please just stop the time and enjoy this very moment, right now? I don't want to think about tomorrow, or you walking, or your first birthday, or your first day of kindergarten, or when you leave me for college. You better to go to college mister.

I just want to think about tonight. Your very first Halloween.

A night where we will dress you up and take lots of pictures, goo and ga at you in your costume while you look at us like we're crazy.

We're not crazy sweet boy. Just totally in love with you.

But for tonight, I just want to enjoy our not-yet-one-year-old.  

10 Months
9 Months
8 Months
7 Months
6 Months
5 Months
4 Months
3 Months
2 Months
1 Month
Newborn

A Birdie Baby Shower

This past weekend, I helped host a baby shower for my sweet sis-in-law. She's super special, so her friend and I gave our best efforts to make it just perfect.

My kitchen table was covered with serving dishes and decor for days leading up to it, and Brian was annoyed by my crafting for weeks, but I must say, it turned out pretty perfect.

And that means a lot coming from me. I'm rather anal and can't seem to plan a party without thinking of every single detail.

If you remember, I revealed the invitation to you here. Bird-themed for a sweet baby girl named Madison.

We tried to include a little bit of everything.

Delicious bites. Simple decor. Small (but noted) details. Personal touches.

The menu was simple. The shower was a "brunch" baby shower starting at 10:30, so we decided on a yogurt bar with various toppings, breakfast casserole muffins, sausage balls and mini quiches.

Yogurt toppings included blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple, pumpkin granola, almonds, chocolate chips and a cookie stick.

The drinks were cherry limeade (recipe here), lemonade and water. I served them in wine bottles and kept them cold in a metal beverage tub. The dessert table included cupcakes from Cupcake a la Mode and chocolate "bird nests."

 

Some of the small details incorporated were favor treat bags adorned with custom bird tags (more details below), a clothesline of bird onesies using twine and clothespins, decorated mason jars for utensils, and mason jars as cups. And pink paper-striped straws. I don't care if these are everywhere right now, can mason jars and paper straws get any cuter?

Note: I found that Wal-Mart had the cheapest mason jars. I believe I paid $8 for a case of 12.

All the food was labeled using clothespins, glue dots, and custom made tags. Both tables were decorated with paper pinwheels of all sizes (tutorial here).

I prettied up the chandelier by hanging paper birds and pinwheels with twine.

I also used the cutest wooden bird house on the top plate of a tiered server, purchased at Hobby Lobby, which now serves as decor in my house.  

Small birds nests made with plant filler and jordan almonds gave the table just the right touch.

A custom-made banner that said "Baby Madison" greeted guests in the front room and was hung on the fireplace mantle.

A 4x6 framed print instructed guests to fill out advice cards. Print read "It can be practical or it can be sweet, let's share words of wisdom or advice about the one we are waiting to meet!"

An 8x10 framed print accompanies the food table that read "First we had each other. Then we had you. Now we have everything."

Bird nest favors were made using this recipe. To my surprise, they were super easy and pretty fast! The hardest part was dropping them into the individual bags and tying the tags.

I purchased strawberry cheesecake jelly belly's from Amazon, purchased the treat bags and raffia ribbon at Hobby Lobby and made the custom tags that read "Thanks for filling the nest" and "tweet tweet."

And....that's it! Thanks for letting me share all the details with you.

I'm a little sad it's over because I had so much fun crafting, designing and making things for this shower. Good thing Big Boy has a birthday coming up.

On to the next party.

A Perfect Day

I'm a different person today than I was last year at this time. For obvious reasons of course.

I have a new special someone in my life. A special little boy that Brian and I created together. The boy who brings tears to my eyes just thinking about.

And brings our family together in ways he doesn't even realize.

Together for laughter, experience and traditions. Traditions like going to the pumpkin patch.

He won't remember this day, but it was perfect.

It may have been windy, a rather short trip, and he might have been coming down with a cold. But, I'll never forget his first trip to the pumpkin patch.

You see, Brian and I had never been to the pumpkin patch together before. It was a first for our family.  Just the three of us.

It's the little things in life, and the traditions we create together, that make it all so worth it.

Hey Hey

oh hey friends. Oh hey Friday.

Carson says hey. It's dreary in Kansas City today.

The hubs begged for a blog post today, literally.

It's pretty cute that he reads my posts and loves all the pictures of our little man.

I guess I can't blame him. Good thing I take a lot of photos, because sometimes, I don't have much to say.

Like today.

I'm headed to PowerPlay with my company this afternoon for some fierce games of Whirley Ball and go carts. Gotta love Friday afternoons where you don't have to work.

I missed last week's Instagram phone dump pics, so I have a ton this week. 

The iPhone has definitely upped my picture taking. And I am clearly obsessed with my kid.

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend!

Cheers

I totally meant to blog this week, but some contraption called an iPhone has consumed all of my time.

Yep, that's right, this girl finally got an iPhone! Cheers to that! I might have been one of the last employees to receive one, and that girl who earned her spot on the IT guy's shit list (I begged for months), but I don't care. I'm pumped. I'm obsessed. It's that cool.

Thank you to my amazing company for finally switching me over, and being oh so awesome to allow me to use it as my personal device as well.

I have totally been missing out friends.

I've mentioned before that I was the last lone soul on earth with a crackberry, and I'm positive now that I truly was. Anyone would be crazy not to own this genius piece of technology. I'm not completely foreign, as I'm an owner of an iPad, but I feel that much cooler.

Yep, I'm cool. And so are you. Because I'm sure you have an iPhone too.

I wish I had more exciting things to share with you these days, but I don't. Only news about my kid. I know...geez, not more about her kid? But, he's so freakin' fun right now.

He's standing. Unassisted. 

Growing like crazy. And learning to talk more. 

He's eating real food like ground turkey and breakfast casserole. 

And edamame and Craisins. Yes, they come out whole in case you were wondering. 

He's waving goodbye. And understanding how things work.

Wearing shoes. Making the transition to sippy cups. And becoming a toddler.

And continuing to just melt our hearts. Every. Single. Day.

My husband trimmed his hair around his ears the other day when I wasn't looking and I could have killed him when he told me. I didn't notice, but seriously, don't mess with my baby's precious locks!

What else have we been up to? Hmm, Nana came this past weekend to snuggle. Brian is redoing our downstairs bathroom. Jake is busy hovering under the highchair all the time, and I am addicted to my iPhone.

Carson, well, he just loves the swings.

Hope you all had a fantastic week. Cheers to the weekend!

...a few days late

TOP | favorite time of our nightly routine | please don't inherit dad's road rage

MIDDLE | screaming fall | glowing morning hair | swinger

BOTTOM | twinsies | big boy toy | unassisted standing...and yes that's a shot glass