Joel's 1st birthday!! (Wild Things Theme)

Today we celebrated our littlest man turning 1 with family and friends!  He officially became of age last week, but today was the big shebang.  Earlier this year, I actually WON a birthday party package from a fun local playground place-- they sell swing sets and trampolines and allow open play throughout the year along with birthday celebrations. (Think huge warehouse of swing sets.)  The party package included the time there, and then we could bring in table decor and whatever food we wanted. And Hallelujah!! --that meant that I didn't have to scrub our house down for people to come over. Ha!

Here's the down and dirty on his party-- it really was a super fun theme!  Maybe you'll want to throw a wild things party too.

The invitation purchased from Etsy's Katie Did Designs here.

Joel's super fun "Wild 1" birthday shirt purchased from Etsy here at Shop The Southern Bow.

Him and his "Nana!"

I crocheted Joel's crown (see invite picture, he wouldn't keep it on at the party) and I also made the tissue paper garlands using this YouTube tutorial.  The really cute 8x10 themed pictures came from a link over here on this site and after I downloaded them, I had them printed by Costco.

Crowns in place of party hats

We had a copy of the "Where the Wild Things Are" book out for folks to sign and write a sweet message to Joel on his birthday.  It will be a keepsake that we'll have for years to come. He is SO loved!

I love the way his cake and cookie treats came out! I was in a rush to get them done after vacation.  I found great cookie cutters from Sweet Savanna on Etsy. (His birth announcement we had on display was made last year and ordered from Vintage Sweet Design on Etsy.)

Kiddo has no idea how spoiled he is!  Parties are SO fun for little ones because they are completely oblivious to all that is going on.  He wondered around the warehouse checking out all of the playground equipment.  The trampolines and the basketballs were his favorite.  He got to open presents which consisted mostly of him grabbing tissue paper and running away and then he made a complete and total MESS of his smash cake.  He liked playing with it, smashing it, and throwing it on the ground better than he liked eating it. 

This kid sure is loved!  We are so blessed to have such supportive families nearby to come to our kid's parties.   Another year of fun memories up ahead for this "wild 1!"  Happy birthday Joel!

Happy Birthday Joel!

Today the littlest Kroh is one year old!

...And I wouldn't be a very good blogger if we didn't take a look back at the last year.  This year has been pure joy!

The very last bump photo-- 41 weeks.  He would arrive within a couple days.

I love reading birth stories, and Joel's birth story happens to be one of my favorites.  A witness to God's provision and His love and care in every single detail.

Of all the monthly photos I have taken, the pumpkin bonnet photo is my absolute favorite.  That sweet face, the pumpkins, the cheeks, the blue eyes... I melt every time!

The struggle of getting "the shot" in our first photo session as a family of 5.  This pretty much captures it all!  (Photo credit, my sweet friend Alisa)

You know I had to include a Christmas shot from the year.  Joel is the only baby (of our 3) to not cry on Santa's lap.  We'll see how it goes this year though!

Big 'ole grin and sweet baby chub at the park.

We blinked and suddenly he was standing for his monthly photos.  (7 months)

That very first time I got "the shot" of all three of them both looking and smiling! Victory!!  (And this one totally got framed!)

Baby boy loving the beach for the first time.

The picture we chose for his first birthday invitations.  (Can't wait to party with our family next week!)

Baby's very first haircut.  No longer a baby... definitely a toddler!

What a year it has been!  After genuinely believing that Hayden was going to be our last baby, I'm overwhelmed that we were blessed with another.  I'm so thankful that I have been entrusted by God and called to Mother the hearts of each one of our precious boys.  The year definitely went by way too fast but I have been challenged, and grown... I've laughed and I've cried... I've learned so much about myself, but even more about our mighty God!

Joel is such a sweet soul!

He loves to smile, and giggle, and snuggle.

His big brothers make him laugh the hardest.

He loves books and music.

He literally never stops moving-- not even in his sleep. Haha!

He loves church and gets so excited when we arrive to his class.

...and Joel is loved beyond measure by our family.

Happy 1st birthday Joel! We thank God for you!

What's in the "mom bag!?"

Many many moons ago, I posted a review and "what's in the bag" post about the diaper bag that I was carrying at the time, so I thought it'd be fun to go through again.  That was back when we had TWO in cloth diapers and I carried basically everything but the kitchen sink everywhere that we went.  The new "mom bag" is much more streamlined and for the most part, experience (3 kids) has taught me to carry only the necessities!

This post is in NO way sponsored by Thirty One, but I am really enjoying these purchases and know that many of you would too!  If you are interested in checking out more that Thirty One has to offer, my friend Leslie has been so wonderful to work with for all of my Thirty One needs, and you can check out her website here.

So without further ado.... "What's in the mom bag!?" Enjoy!  .... and give grace to my Mom bun. Haha!

The Instant Pot

Ya'll... myself and literally 214,999 others purchased Instant Pots on Amazon prime day.  Were you one of those??  They were $50 OFF guys!!

Mine has already found a cozy home out on the counter joined by the Kitchen Aid.  If you don't have one, you are missing out and should run and add it to your Christmas wish list. (Just my opinion, but it's true.)

Missing out on delicious, fast food...

AND also missing out on the cult that is the Instant Pot Community on Facebook.  

There is a growing trend over there of folks naming their Instant Pots, which is awesome and hilarious.  I haven't made a habit of naming appliances previously, (though our 2 vehicles do have names), but after seeing some of the creative things folks are coming up with out in internet land, I know that I need to name our instant pot something now... I just need a day with my thinking cap and a lot of coffee first. 

Here's just a glimpse... 

P-O-T

Confession-- I laughed way too hard at the Donald!

Classic!  Can't go wrong when it involves The Princess Bride.

Of course the husband liked this one. 

The Instant Pot is a magical 7 in 1 appliance, including rice cooker, steamer, slow cooker and yogurt maker, but it's mostly known for being an electric pressure cooker and for getting dinner done quick and easy.  

Anyway, I've had so much fun with it already-- here's a list of some things we've tried.  (Best read in a Bubba Blue/Gump accent.)

So far we have had...

• Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Pressure cooked chicken breasts for shredding to go into various recipes
• Homemade whole milk yogurt
• Salted Caramel Cheesecake
• Perfectly cooked brown rice
• Popped popcorn
• Rigatoni with a meat sauce
• Whole wheat macaroni and cheese (with broccoli)
• Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
• ... and roasted potatoes

All made in the Instant Pot, and my list of things I want to cook in it just keeps growing.  I've heard that hard boiled eggs in the instant pot come out perfect and peel easier so I can't wait to try that!  And I'm really looking forward to having this handy appliance for the school year when co-op starts back up, our school work load grows and we are involved with more extra curricular activities  because I really need fast easy dinners on the days that we are busy.  

So, spill friends-- do you have an Instant Pot?  What's your favorite thing to make in it?

Baby's 1st Haircut!

The littlest got his very first haircut today!  I cut the big boys' and Daniel's hair myself, but in an effort to make a big deal out of Joel's very first haircut AND because I was feeling a little anxious about the idea of having scissors around the wiggly guy, we took him in to a kid's specialty salon.

BEFORE

Bless the sweet lady that worked with him.  He NEVER stopped moving the entire time she was working... and in reality there wasn't a ton to cut.  He just needed to be evened up a lot because some of his baby hair was long and getting knotted and he was growing a little "rat tail."  But anyway, he was pretty enthralled with the police car and spent pretty much the whole time bouncing up and down to the sound of the sirens! No tears at all-- he really was a joy! Haha!!

The big boys are never going to want me to cut their hair ever again.  Going on a random Tuesday afternoon meant that the salon was empty, so they had a blast attempting to play video games and riding in the other vehicles.  (They had NO clue what they were doing with the video games.  Bless them, it was quite funny!)

AFTER (including his very 1st sucker!)

Such a sweet babe!  Handsome going in, and just as cute coming out of the salon. 

2016 Reads: July

Two new books for July--

• "Living Among Lions" by David and Jason Benham
• "Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child" by Anthony Esolen