Birthday Boy

This past Friday, Hammond celebrated his 2nd birthday.  I hardly have words for how precious this kid is to us.  But, here are a few I shared on Friday.

Hard to believe I've had the privilege of being this kid's mom for the past 2 years. Hammond James, you are certainly a bright light, an adventurous spirit, and you already love people so well. Happy happy birthday!

All of these words ring so true.  I've got high hopes for you, buddy.  And I could not be more thankful to be your mommy.

1st Birthday Party

For Hammond's first birthday, Jamie and I decided we would celebrate him (of course) and the fact that he and I had made it through one full year of parenting!  Woohoo.  So we threw a big celebration with our friends and his. :)

Here are a few snapshots of the celebration...

Hadley was a huge help setting up the kids' snacks

(popcorn, goldfish, raisins, apples)

the dessert table

I made a banner of pictures from Hammond's first year...it was

one of my favorites.  and i still haven't taken it down yet!

beverages just taste better out of a mason jar + a striped straw :)

family photo

 And then came the cake...

wait for it...

wait for it...

 and the meltdown!

Outside of the cake meltdown -- I'm thinking it had more to do with all of the attention on him and the birthday song -- the rest of the birthday celebration sure was fun!  And I loved celebrating his first year of life.  

Dear Hammond James...

Happy first birthday!!  

(Well, technically happy birthday + 6 days...I'm still catching up!)

I could not be more grateful that God chose me to be your mama.  Being a mom has been one of the biggest challenges that I've faced so far, but more than that, it's been one of the most gratifying experiences yet.  I wish I could show you just how much I love you.

You are full of LIFE, and so curious about everything going on around you.  But, like your daddy (and unlike your mama), you like to sit back and take it all in.  You are content watching everything unfold around you, and being on the outskirts of all the action.  

You are determined to perfect whatever you start (or at least that's the excuse I am giving for the fact that you've been crawling for SIX months!).  

Finally, you have such a tender heart and are full of love.  I have no doubt that you will be strong and courageous as you grow (very manly characteristics), but you can't be the best of those without the first two listed. :)  Thanks for loving your daddy and I so well.  

I can't believe a year has already flown by, and I know these others will just go faster.  Again, I'm so blessed to be your mama, and continue to pray that you know Jesus more and more over the years and that we can help lead you into a growing relationship with Him.  

12 month update:

- we're off formula and bottles completely!  he basically eats whatever we eat (except that I probably feed him a much more balanced meal than I do myself :).  

- some of his favorites? eggs, zucchini, veggie burgers, turkey burgers, chicken burgers (!), fruit of all kind, yogurt, oatmeal, toast, and it just goes on and on

- still naps twice a day (has pretty much dropped the evening nap), but due to some commitments, our schedule isn't quite as set.  which throws us off some.

- has 4 teeth fully in, and 2 more on the way

- drinks lots of water a day (like his mama)

- LOVES all of his new toys that he got for his birthday....we hadn't updated our toy box since he was a baby...oops!

- is taking some steps, but still prefers crawling

- still lots of babbling, and I like to convince myself that it makes sense (mamamama while looking at me means that he knows, right?!)

Congrats Kelly + JP!

 This past weekend we celebrated the engagement of Jamie's sister, Kelly, and her boyfriend, JP!  Pictures of the event to come, but first, Hammond and Scout knew they wouldn't be able to make it to Barnsley Gardens to celebrate...and they wanted to find a way to say congrats.  

After all of these attempts (and many more not pictured), we decided to go with this one...

Lots of fun to come in these next few months!!

celebrating

In my family, we have a tendency to celebrate birthdays (and all other fun, exciting milestones) for at least a week.  Jamie doesn't feel quite the same way about his own day, but he is always so good to recognize that it's just what we do. :)  That being said, he did a pretty amazing job at making sure 30 was one birthday I'll never forget. 

it's been on my wish list for so many years...the Nespresso Citiz

amazing, husband...really, amazing!

SURPRISE!  husband and i made a lunch date, and when i showed up, it wasn't

husband at all!  it was some of my favorite people at one of my favorite lunch spots!

[sidenote: Unfortunately, I'm almost impossible to surprise.  But he pulled it off!] 

Scout forgot to give me a gift on my actual bday, so Thursday morning

he found and tore apart our new phone book!  and i got to pick up all the little pieces! 

We were back and forth on how to celebrate 3-0 (mind you, I'm 7 months pregnant,

and not much for a blowout event right now :), but he threw together a pretty

great get-together with some of our closest friends.  It was a blast, and the perfect

way to ring in 30.  Big thanks to some of the women who helped him pull off this spread! 

 so much yummy food!

 we also got to use the fire pit that J's mom got him for Christmas!

it was cold outside, but this was perfect (and that's the only pic I got of it).

 4 of my absolute favorite people came to celebrate, too!

I love it when my sister comes to visit, for so many reasons, but in part 

because she will sweep through my house and help me change things

around, rearrange, and just revamp.  30 minutes before the party, she did

just that!  she's so talented!

 party planner extraordinaire, with his really pregnant wife.  

thank you, Jamie, for making this such

a great birthday.  i know you're glad it's over. :)

and just because i love him so, check out scout hanging out in the

middle of all that was going on.  he had such a big night (the twins wore

him out pretty good beforehand).  he just sat and took it all in until

he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer!

Thanks to everyone for making it such a great birthday!  I know I've said it over and over, but I am confident that 30 is going to be our best year yet!  Grateful to be surrounded by such amazing friends and family.

3-0

Today's the day.  I'm kissing my 20's goodbye, and am officially entering a new decade.  Hello 30, hello baby, and hello parenthood!  If the celebrations (oh, and the baby-to-be in my belly) are any indication of how great 30 is going to be, then I'd say we're in good shape.  

birthday lunch at JCT Kitchen with mom, dad, RA + Bob

celebrating at FLIP w/ Kelly + Sue

husband's eggs + bacon this morning

office birthday party :: all things child-like, princess, and 

tacky :)  except for the amazing tiffins from ESS!  streamers, 

balloons, party hats, favors, toys, barbies, and.....

a unicorn cake!!

party planner extraordinaire, Dawn

Tonight it's just me, Jamie, and Scout.  With Chef Jamie cooking up something yummy, I'm actually really looking forward to just hanging out.  And going to bed early.  Lame?  Yep.  But I've come to totally appreciate this season. :)  Here's to you, 30!  Bring it on.

fun facts

This week, I am 30 weeks pregnant.

Next week, I'll be 30 years old.

Totally intriguing I know.  But, hey...kind of cool. :)

Monday Night Brewing

Last night was the officially launch party for Monday Night Brewing! What's MNB, you ask? Well, it's a group of three guys, all connected to Westside Church, who started experimenting with hops a few years back. Turns out they were pretty good at it, and they started hosting a Monday night event where they'd serve their beer to neighbors, friends, friends of neighbors, etc. All out of a garage. A garage that happens to belong to our neighbor, Jeff. (For the most accurate story, see the About section on their website.)

Next thing you know, their beer is actually on shelves! Well, at least in kegs at local watering holes. Last night, a rather large group showed up at Ormsby's to celebrate, and to buy their beer for the first time! Such a fun night of friends, neighbors, yummy food, and of course really great beer.

If you're out at any of these spots over these next few weeks, be sure to try one for yourself!

Celebrations with Food

This past Friday was Jamie's 29th birthday! In true fashion, we ate our way through the weekend, while celebrating one of the greatest men I know. And definitely the handsome-est.

Exciting morning...happy birthday, J!

(Pretty sure I love birthdays more than he.)

First up, Lindsay's amazing Oat flour pancakes for bfast. I used her

Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes recipe, but I substituted bananas

(Jamie's favorite) for the pineapple. I had never baked with oat

flour before (or Greek yogurt), but they were amazing! And so

much better for you...don't know that I'll ever go back!

Next up: (later that night, of course!)

Jamie's favorite appetizer in the world.

Bistro Niko's mussels. Yum!

On to my mom's pecan crusted salmon recipe with

roasted brocolli, yukon gold mashed potatoes and

french bread - all at his request.

We capped off the weekend at Kyma with Jamie's

mom and sister. Yummy Greek, and they've

got fabulous $7 appetizers on Sunday nights.

Was a really great, exciting weekend, and I can't wait to tell you more about it! More pictures to come too, as we had a Saturday visit from the cutest nieces and nephew you've seen!

celebrations

Lil' sister turns 27 tomorrow! She'll be celebrating in Pascagoula, MS because she's always wanted to visit. Kidding. (Not that people can't vacation in Pascagoula...) She'll be celebrating her bday at an engagement party for some close friends. So, I took her out when she came through ATL.

Happy Birthday, RA! I can't imagine life without you...in so many ways! :)

Also in big news this week...one of my best friends got engaged! Shellie met Jose almost one year ago, and they are getting married in October. I don't know if I'm speaking for everyone, but once you're married, it makes watching your friends fall in love that much greater. I really think so. God is good! Or, thank you, Jesus, as the Cochran ladies would say.

Friends and family celebrating at Tijuana Joe's

And, finally, this has nothing to do with celebrating, but just because he's the cutest pup in the world. Here's Mr. Scout.

Don't you love how he's got the whole smoky eye look going on?!

One of my favorite things about him...his white eyelashes!! Can you see them?