Hi Friends!
If you follow Fawn Over Baby on Instagram, you may already know that this week we are GIVING AWAY one of our beloved hand-made wooden activity gyms for baby...along with a set of beautifully coordinating wooden hanging toys from the AMAZING toy shop Hey Jude!
We will choose a winner this Friday at random and announce on Instagram shortly after!
If you are in need of a gift for an upcoming baby shower, or have a little one in need of a floor time play activity, head over now and enter to win this fabulous set-up that will fit with any theme or decor in your home! Hurry, there are only two days left!!
9/21/16
9/11/16
A Love Letter To My Second Born Turning ONE: Happy Birthday Haines!
Well, I'm at again! A mixed ball of emotional mush as we celebrate my baby boy turning the big O-N-E! I thought it might be easier this time around, since Ive seen how much fun and heart warming it is witnessing our daughter grow beyond her first year of life. She's almost 4 and it's hard to believe that I wrote her One Year Old "Love Letter" three years ago.. (what?!/!) Since then it has been such a blast watching her morph into this sweet young lady, learning her way through all that toddler life throws at her. So today as Haines turns one, I know I have so many exciting times to look forward to, however it's a bitter sweet feeling knowing that his little thigh rolls will soon smooth out and his 7 tiny little teeth will soon be be accompanied by 13 more. So i'm going to spend these next few years making sure to squish his little legs and cheeks more often and not be so quick to lay him down in his crib after he falls asleep in my arms because one day I will wish he was tiny enough to fit in them.
Dear My Little Man,
When we found out that we were going to bring a second baby into our family of three, we were excited and nervous all over again. We had to wait a bit longer to become pregnant this time around, however we knew GOD had someone special He was sending our way that would be worth the little bit of wait. Of course, my initial reaction was "finally!" and your daddy's initial reaction was "really? seriously?" holding back his panic as hard as he could. I could see all the $$ signs flying out of his head the very moment I gave him the exciting news. That soon passed and it became all about preparing for your arrival! Except this time, we were not only preparing ourselves, the house and your nursery we also had to prepare your big sister. For three years she would be the only "baby" in the house and we wanted to make sure that her big sister transition was a smooth as possible so that she would be the best big sister to you! It was so wonderful to see that she was a natural and her love for you was immediate.
The day we welcomed you to world was an early morning scheduled delivery which was new for me. I have to say, it was a nice change of pace from feeling those labor pains I felt the first time around. The moment I heard your cry, my eyes immediately welled up with tears. I thought, "my baby boy is here and healthy!" Your Daddy and I were smitten at first cry! The next day, your Mimi and Sissy came up to the hospital to meet you and just like your daddy and I, they were smitten too! Soon after we brought you home, we all couldn't keep our hands off of you. Though we definitely missed sleeping at night during those first three months, your calm and chill nature during the day made up for the sleep that was lost!
All About You:
From the moment you were born, you had a certain ease and laid-back temperament. You only fussed when it was necessary and your patience was spread thin. With having to share your parents with big sister, you were so forgiving when your needs were not met the second you needed them to be. One of the many things that I appreciate and love most about you.
I love that we can go places as a family and not have to worry (even though we still worry) that you might get uncomfortable or spooked by someone that you are not familiar with. You give a sweet little shy smile back to anyone and everyone that stops by to say hello. You are our little charmer and we love that you are so willing to show love right back to the people around you.
I love when I greet you in the morning, you wiggle your body around in your crib with such excitement and delight like you are so ready start your day and see what the rest of the family is up to.
I love that you love to be close to us whenever we are in reach. You love crawling and climbing all over us just so you can fall into snuggle nook wherever our arms lay. You give that sweet little grin like you're saying "thanks for loving me". My heart melts at those grins every time!
I love that you L O V E your sissy! She thinks the world of you and loves teaching you about the world. Your daddy and I love to sit back and watch your amazing sibling bond and pray that it continues for the rest of your lives.
Every night we thank God that He gifted us you and we feel so blessed that He chose us to be your mommy and daddy. You bring such an extra level of joy and happiness to our lives that our hearts are overflowing with thankfulness and gratitude!
You amaze us everyday with your kindhearted, permissive soul and sense of appreciation for everything and everyone around you. We can't wait to watch you grow and develop into the Man that God created you to be and we will be here to cheer you on, dust you off and love you every step of the way!
Happy First Birthday Sweet Boy! I love you will all my heart and all of my soul!
Love,
Mommy
Dear My Little Man,
When we found out that we were going to bring a second baby into our family of three, we were excited and nervous all over again. We had to wait a bit longer to become pregnant this time around, however we knew GOD had someone special He was sending our way that would be worth the little bit of wait. Of course, my initial reaction was "finally!" and your daddy's initial reaction was "really? seriously?" holding back his panic as hard as he could. I could see all the $$ signs flying out of his head the very moment I gave him the exciting news. That soon passed and it became all about preparing for your arrival! Except this time, we were not only preparing ourselves, the house and your nursery we also had to prepare your big sister. For three years she would be the only "baby" in the house and we wanted to make sure that her big sister transition was a smooth as possible so that she would be the best big sister to you! It was so wonderful to see that she was a natural and her love for you was immediate.
The day we welcomed you to world was an early morning scheduled delivery which was new for me. I have to say, it was a nice change of pace from feeling those labor pains I felt the first time around. The moment I heard your cry, my eyes immediately welled up with tears. I thought, "my baby boy is here and healthy!" Your Daddy and I were smitten at first cry! The next day, your Mimi and Sissy came up to the hospital to meet you and just like your daddy and I, they were smitten too! Soon after we brought you home, we all couldn't keep our hands off of you. Though we definitely missed sleeping at night during those first three months, your calm and chill nature during the day made up for the sleep that was lost!
All About You:
From the moment you were born, you had a certain ease and laid-back temperament. You only fussed when it was necessary and your patience was spread thin. With having to share your parents with big sister, you were so forgiving when your needs were not met the second you needed them to be. One of the many things that I appreciate and love most about you.
I love that we can go places as a family and not have to worry (even though we still worry) that you might get uncomfortable or spooked by someone that you are not familiar with. You give a sweet little shy smile back to anyone and everyone that stops by to say hello. You are our little charmer and we love that you are so willing to show love right back to the people around you.
I love when I greet you in the morning, you wiggle your body around in your crib with such excitement and delight like you are so ready start your day and see what the rest of the family is up to.
I love that you love to be close to us whenever we are in reach. You love crawling and climbing all over us just so you can fall into snuggle nook wherever our arms lay. You give that sweet little grin like you're saying "thanks for loving me". My heart melts at those grins every time!
I love that you L O V E your sissy! She thinks the world of you and loves teaching you about the world. Your daddy and I love to sit back and watch your amazing sibling bond and pray that it continues for the rest of your lives.
Every night we thank God that He gifted us you and we feel so blessed that He chose us to be your mommy and daddy. You bring such an extra level of joy and happiness to our lives that our hearts are overflowing with thankfulness and gratitude!
You amaze us everyday with your kindhearted, permissive soul and sense of appreciation for everything and everyone around you. We can't wait to watch you grow and develop into the Man that God created you to be and we will be here to cheer you on, dust you off and love you every step of the way!
Happy First Birthday Sweet Boy! I love you will all my heart and all of my soul!
Love,
Mommy
Haines's Monthly Photos
9/10/16
A LumberJack 1st Birthday Party In The Woods
Hi Friends! We are celebrating Lumberjack style over here on Fawn Over Baby Blog! This sweet little birthday party in the woods is extra special as the guest of honor is our precious baby boy Haines! Yes, it has been a year already and what better way to distract myself from this bitter/sweet milestone than to dive into planning mode!
Like McKenzie's One Year Milestone Celebration, we decided to keep Haines's festivities small and for just our little family of four. It sort of became a tradition by accident. When McKenzie turned one, Ryan was away at training and was unable to come home for a birthday party. So we brought the party to him and scheduled an adorable Tea Party Photo Session in the town that was hosting his training. So this time around we did the same! We set up a fun party-like atmosphere and celebrated how grateful and smitten we are over our little LumberJack Haines!
When it came time to plan, my husband and I thought of having a picnic birthday breakfast. Of course, I had to take it a step further (more like 200 steps further) and throw a theme onto this wonderful picnic idea. Since his nursery design is an "outdoor" theme, I wanted to create a picnic party in keeping with that and set a stage that resembles the space he loves most - His Room!
As I started my "outdoor party" google search, I came across a lot of LumberJack parties that blew me away! I mean these mama's out there are so creative and inspired so many of the details I used in Haines's Birthday set-up!
With Lumberjack Buffalo Plaid Red as the anchor, I began pulling pices that brought a rough and rugged element. Just a few days prior, Hurricane Hermine came through our town and with that came a lot of fallen trees and tree limbs. My husband helped a co-worker cut down an old oak tree in his backyard before the storm hit and lucky me, it meant lots and lots of twigs, limbs, and tree stumps -Exactly what I needed to bring my vision to life! ( I never thought I would ever in my life be so excited over tree stumps!)
In keeping with our outdoor Logging/Lumberjack theme, I called upon Marcia from the amazing custom cookie shop here in town, Yaya's Sweets & Treets to create these adorable cookies that represented The Great Outdoors! These were so beautifully done, I was hesitant to let anyone touch them, much less eat them.
The Food Buffet consisted of yummy breakfast items and a few treats for the kiddos. We had breakfast Sausage "TIMBER LOGS", fresh mixed berries "BERRY PICKING", mini pancakes with maple syrup "FLAP JACKS" w/ "TREE SAP" & Graduates lil crunchies "CAMPFIRE FLAMES". We washed everything down with either apple juice "RIVER WATER" or chocolate milk "MUDDY PUDDLE".
The Cake I made the night before. I found cakes that look like tree stumps on Pinterest and thought what an awesome touch that would be to our party in the woods. So I melted caramel candies to ice the top of the cake and melted then refrigerated chocolate melts, broke them apart and used them as the outer shell of the cake to resemble bark. I used a toy moose and trees I found at Michaels as toppers.
I thought how perfect would that be to re-create a similar scene! So my handy dandy husband made a beautiful toddler harvest table out of old pallet wood we had laying around, stained and sealed it and before you know it our "Logging Camp" breakfast was born!
Our little LumberJack enjoyed his morning feast full of fun, food and family!
I found a few clipart images online, printed them out and glued them to wooden dowels to create last minute photo booth props. Even though we didn't necessarily have a "Photo Booth", we had fun posing with the different silhouettes.
When it came time for Haines's 1st Birthday Present from Mommy and Daddy, I was excited to have found this adorable felt campfire set from the wonderful Shop, Three Wee Monkeys on Etsy. McKenzie had a ball making Pretend S'Mores and showing bubba how to roast the perfect marshmallow. Haines's mainly used these pieces as teething toys, however, I know he will be building his very own campfire on the floor of his bedroom someday very soon!
CAKE SMASH TIME!!!
We had such a wonderful morning celebrating our baby boy! Its moments like this that just make me want to hold my family even tighter, as I feel so blessed to be apart of this little tribe and look forward to more memorable moments ahead!
***