hiatus

If you can't tell this blog has been on a hiatus and will probably be on one a little longer. I currently have a lot of journal outlets and I'm trying to find a balance for it all. I have Oliver's baby book, my own journal, the yearly family photo book, and this blog. I have tons of happenings I could be posting here, but I'm just running out of time! Especially with Scott now in school again and Oliver being a busy little toddler. I may be able to post something sporadic here and there, but if you want to see more of my little life updates I recommend following me on Instagram: Steele_Happy. 

Much Love!!

Jaime

The Dude's 1 year announcement

See this ultra cute Oliver turned One announcement below? 

Our friend Kelsey made this for us and it's so awesome!! 

Seriously, if you're in the market for any type of card, announcement, art, etc. check her out!

Everyone that has seen the announcement has asked me if I really tracked all his diaper changes...yes, yes I did. I tracked everything! Diapers, feedings, sleeps, baths, photos, milestones, etc. You name it, I probably tracked it. Hey, I'm a first time mom and I wanted to make sure I did everything right! Plus you know, I super love this kid and everything he does is gold so I had to write it down! :-)

Ps- Are any of you surprised at the amount of photos we've taken...cause I'm not.

a 1 year olds supermodel photo shoot

I know I'm partial to The Dude, but these photos are serious cuteness!!

I mean, those eyes!! That big toothless smile!! His crazy curls!!

I'm completely smitten with this kid!!!

  

 

 

 

 

 

Photo credit to the amazing Duston Todd. You can see more of his work here and here.

the force is strong with this one

Ollie's first birthday was a success!! 

We had a black & gold Star Wars theme and it was so fun!!
We all wore Star Wars shirts, but his first birthday Star Wars shirt was the cutest!

Turns out I am one of those crazy mom's that go overboard.
Yes, I realize he's one and doesn't understand what the big deal is,
but I do,
and I think Ollie is the biggest deal!

So lets begin the picture tour of his awesome party:

the decor

Gold stars hanging everywhere from the ceiling. Super cute Darth and gold banners. A monthly picture progression of his growing.

 

the food

These food labels were my favorite part of the party (besides Ollie of course)!

 

 Scott made the cupcakes and they were sooooo super tasty! We bought some Star Wars stencils to give the cupcakes an extra boost of awesome, but it didn't work out as planned. 1. The stencils were too big for the cupcakes and 2. It doesn't work to use powdered sugar to stencil a cupcake when there is frosting on it. The cake didn't turn out as planned either. I just got the cake at Harmons Grocery Store (since the plan was for Oliver to dig his little hands into it) and for some reason they thought they should add a purple border when I told them no border....so yeah. We added the X-Wings and Tie Fighters ourselves from a Star Wars battleship game we have.

the games

Since Ollie's cousins are older I wanted to have a couple fun games for them. We had a Millennium Falcon pinata full of candy and Star Wars rings. Then we played pin the Darth mask on the baby. Both were a hit!!

I really did love planning all the little details and decorating for the dudes first birthday! It was fun, if not a little stressful at times, but mostly fun. I'm pretty sure Ollie had some fun too. At one point he was under the table eating food...what kid doesn't love that!?! Haha! The only part he didn't like was when we sang Happy Birthday. Poor little guy cries every time he hears it...maybe we are all just terrible singers?? I'm pretty sure I sound like Pink so it can't be me that's causing the tears! :-) Hopefully by his next birthday he will enjoy the singing a little more.

A big Thank You to all the family and friends that made it to the party or wished they could. Having good people around us makes these life events even more special!

Ollie is #1

 
Guys, I have a 1 year old!! A perfect, happy, chattering, hugging, throwing, snot nosed, curly haired, adorable 1 year old! Yes it's been making me emotional. Yes I've been trying to deny it. Yes I've been squeezing him harder than normal. No I haven't squeezed him to death. No he will never stop being my baby boy no matter how big he gets or how much he dislikes it. It's crazy how much I adore and love this baby! We have some fun stuff planned for him turning one! He's going to have a Star Wars party this Saturday, then a photo shoot next week, and then we should be getting his 1 year old announcement. So stay tuned for more on The Dude turning one! In the mean time here is Oliver's cuteness from the last month:

 

^^^ Ummm...you're missing your mouth kiddo!

 

^^^ Daddy reading to Ollie at church.

 

^^^ His tongue has been out non-stop this last month. He's a natural Michael Jordan!

^^^  His cheesy smiles are the cutest!

 

^^Isn't he a little sleeping angel!?! I'm with this kid everyday and I still can't get over his cuteness! 

Some things I've learned about me over this last year since having Oliver:

• EVERYTHING will make me cry! Especially if there is a child involved.
• I now think ALL children are beautiful (yes I used to judge your kids cute factor). There is just something special about these little angels that God has blessed us with and allowed us to become mom's and dad's.
• I will play out bad scenarios in my head so I can think of ways to protect my baby. Does anyone else do this?? Sometimes I make myself cry. Haha! Seriously though, both Scott and my biggest fear is something happening to Ollie so we've already decided that if only 1 person can be saved it has to be him. I don't think I could live if he was gone!
• I no longer think a Zombie apocalypse would be cool. Seriously how do you survive when you have a baby that doesn't know you should be quiet because there is a hoard of undead around the corner that will eat you if you make any noise!?!
• I'm OK with sniffing butts, picking noses, and catching spit up or vomit with my hands. Well on a little one...I promise I will not sniff a grown persons butt. 
• Lastly, I absolutely love being a mama!!! I actually always knew I would love being a mom, and everyday with Ollie confirms how being a mother is the greatest adventure. With that said I need to throw in there that I am completely grateful that I am not on this adventure alone. Scott makes this adventure fun, and the hard days easier.

This first year of many with Oliver was so much fun and I'm so excited to see what the future holds for him. Lets just pray that the time goes by slow.

11 months...agh!!

The dude is 11 months old!! 

I am dying that Oliver will be a 1 year old in less than a month. How did we get here so fast?!? I want to start crying thinking of my baby boy growing up. Just tell me that he will always want to cuddle me and think I'm the greatest...I mean that seems reasonable right?!? I just love this boy so much I think I might burst! He is seriously so much fun! He is silly and cuddly and messy and just so darn cute!!

Here is some cuteness of the last month with my giant baby!

 

^^ "Helping" mama sort socks

 

^^ Nana & Papa came for a visit!

 

^^  Cutie in a crib! Serious bed head in the bottom right!

^^ I think we are going to have a hard time weaning him off pacifiers.

^^ Peeping tom alert!! No one is safe!

 

^^  We have cartoon/popcorn snack time more often than I should admit :-)

^^ Ollie's favorite zoo animal!

^^ Some things Ollie loves: being naked, being outside, wind on his face. 2 out of 3 here isn't bad! :-)

^^ Check out these curls!! His after bath hair is the best!

There's a new cupid in town! 
Is there anything cuter than a baby butt?? I think not!

Oliver is a ten!

Now that we have a crawler, Oliver is getting into everything! Of course he is going right for the things we don't want him to: stairs, garbage can, toilets, fireplace, and eating everything he can find on the ground on the way! It's pretty darn adorable to see him crawling around though! Things that are also pretty darn adorable (besides his cute face): Ollie clapping his hands whenever he hears someone else clapping, his screams of excitement, his laughter, seeing him "read" his books, his silly personality, smacking his lips when he's hungry, and really anything he does that isn't fussy butt crying.

We sure are smitten with this happy baby! Only 2 more months and he'll be 1!! So crazy! I need to start planning his party now!!

^ ^ ^ I think this is my new favorite photo of my boys. Haha! I feel like this is going to be my life trying to get a good photo from them.