Happy Halloween!

Last night we took Lily to a Halloween Party at the Keane's. She was so cute! We went with a family Angry Birds costume theme. We got the idea when my work decided to do Angry Birds, then we found a red bird shirt for Josh and decided Lily would make the perfect little blue bird.

I made Lily and my costume by piecing together felt (thanks to help from Lisa Meyer) faces. I wanted to make Lily a pig, but Josh said they are the "bad guys", and wouldn't let me! Amazingly, she even kept her little top "feathers" on most of the night. She had fun at the party, but was a little unsure of some of the masks.

Tomorrow, for Halloween, I think we are going to have a quiet night at home handing out candy to any little goblins that show up. Next year, the trick-or-treating will begin!

Boy Clothes!

Today I got my first baby boy clothes! I'm super excited! I've resisted shopping myself, but now our little man won't have to wear pink! :) Thanks Elizabeth and Madison!

It's a Boy!

Yesterday Josh and I had our 20 week ultrasound of baby Hall #2. Everything looked healthy and great, and the very first shot the technician got was a very obvious junk shot of our little man! There is no question that he is a boy. Josh and I knew it even before she told us.

I have to admit that I am surprised. I really believed it was a girl. I'm not sure why. I had completely convinced myself that we were having a girl and when it was obvious that wasn't true, I was in a bit of shock. Josh said I acted strange, and I'm not surprised. I really felt sort of off balance for a little while, almost like I didn't know how to change the picture I'd created in my head of our future family. I wasn't exactly sad, how could I be with a healthy little man, just really surprised.

Last night Josh and I went out to dinner and had some time to really talk about it, and I started to create a new picture of our family. We started to talk about names (no final decision yet on that front, but lots of ideas) and bedrooms, and other baby boy things, and I started to get excited about meeting him. Josh is super excited and said he has always pictured his family with a boy and a girl an older sister and younger brother. He said he really hoped for a boy, but didn't want to say so in case it was a girl. He pointed out to me how this way each of them will be unique and special rather than being "the girls" the way it could be with two the same sex so close in age. I agree and think this new little man will be a wonderful and exciting new adventure for our family.

Lily's Party

This past weekend was Lily's first birthday party. It was a festive event with our family and close friends. We grilled hot dogs and had a variety of toppings, her grandma's helped out by bringing baked beans and chili, my friend Lisa made an amazing cake, and the Wagners and Keans helped with the alcohol (for the adults, although I'm pretty sure Lily got at least one taste of wine from "someone's" finger). There were absolutely no tears, and I believe she enjoyed the party much more than most one year olds!

It was so adorable to watch her actually open her gifts and play with them. We had to take a few away so we could get her to move on to the next ones, but she was seriously interested in taking things out of the bags and boxes! She also dove into her cake in true video worthy fashion. At first she didn't like having the icing on her fingers, but once she got the first bite, she was hooked! We had to eventually take it away, but not until we good some great pictures and video! We ended the night with a bonfire in our back yard and roasting marshmallows. It was truly a great night for all!

Ready for Her Close Up!

This past weekend, my dear friend Star was here to visit with us and take some one year photos of Lily. This less than stellar shot is with my phone, but I absolutely can not wait to get her photos! She always does such a good job and, not to brag, but my little girl is pretty photogenic!

I really wanted Lily to have something special for her pictures, but I waited too long to order something online and everything I found was really expensive. So, I decided to "make" her something to wear. Ok....I'm not very crafty. I do some jewelry, but I'm certainly not a seamstress. I'm blessed with very talented friends, but, for some reason, it was important for me to take on this project myself.

At my friend Sabrina's wedding a few weeks ago, she made shirts for her sons that looked like they had ties on them by cutting out fabric and using double sided iron on stuff (apparently called heat 'n' bond). She had gotten the idea from another friend, Cristin, who used the same method to make a onsie for her sister. She had written this blog post about her project. I read the post and figured this was one project I could handle!

The hardest part of the whole project was finding the materials. I had a tough time finding a solid color shirt and fabric I liked. In the end I found this shirt and pants on the Target sale rack. I purchased two pair of pants so I could cut up one to make the "1" coordinate. I ended up having to borrow some left over heat 'n' bond from Sabrina, since I couldn't find it at Michaels or Walmart (and didn't have time to make it to JoAnn...I know...I shouldn't procrastinate).

It was actually very simple. I followed Cristin's directions and the ones on the package and the whole thing was done in around an hour (plus the time it took to wash everything). The stitching is far from perfect, but I have to say I'm very pleased with the results! Next year I'll have to make one with at "2", but I prefer not to think about that yet.