We Like To Party.

I know that having a big one year old party is kind of pointless. Your child is not going to recall any of it. That's why a one year old party is and should be nothing but a celebration for the parents making it through a year of complete unknown territory and having a happy thriving child at the end of it right? Right! We don't get the opportunity to host parties as often as I'd like (#restaurantlife) so when we do-we love to throw a good one and have the perfect space to do so! A lot of hard work went into this party and I feel sorry for those that had to deal with my all my ideas (Seneca Hope this is for you kid) but the ending result was perfect and incredibly memorable so documentation of this great event is a must. 






Most stressful part of a party? The theme. I'm not one for the total babyish ideas…not that there is anything wrong with babyish things I mean because after all the party is for a baby but I just prefer to go a little different route. That route I ended up being drawn to was a vintage travel theme- Nico being a world traveler and all I thought it was an appropriate direction to go. ;-)

The main attraction (besides this kid->) was the cake table with cloud lanterns and an airplane suspending above it. Along with giant "Nico" balloons. Of course there was an overload of balloons (which I never got a picture of-dang it) because who doesn't love balloons and is it really even a party without them? Thank you to my sister and sister in law Christina for helping with the set up and decorating!

I had a bunch of other grand ideas for decorating but last minute it did not work out. I'll save you all the boring details but I could have either chosen to have a panic attack over my ideas never transpiring or calmly realize no one (except my sister) knew the extent of my over the top of ideas and just let it go. I wisely chose the latter. Although my friend Karen totally saved me without even knowing at the time she saved me. She put together the cutest little slide show for me the day of the party. Now that is a friend! My sister hacked a way to have it on permanent repeat so I popped it up on the iPad and put it in a shadow box and it looked like I really had my crap together! Enjoy it below (or here if the preview doesn't work on some mobile devices). Thank you Karen!

In true Italian style our food was not the average one year old birthday party fare. Unfortunately, it was eleven pm before I realized I only had 3 mere bites of the fabulous food because I just do not know how to be the relaxed hostess with the mostess. I'm the slightly crazed making sure everyone is taken care of one. And you'd really assume we would know how to plan the appropriate amount of food for the number of guest we entertained. Wrong. According to some of them they took enough leftovers home to feed them the rest of the week. A special shout out and a big thank you to my husband and mother-in-law for spending their day off in the kitchen preparing this great meal! 

Dessert consisted of beautiful cloud-like cupcakes and a giant cupcake smash cake. We also had an array of homemade Italian desserts from Fannita's Bakery-and not one single of these Italian treats were left! 

A NiNi Cupcake? All of Grace's favorite things in one! 

I think most of you caught the big sing off but in case you didn't here is where it is posted-it's just too cute not to share! 

https://instagram.com/p/8wu1PnJN3q/?taken-by=jlove0623

He LOVED the attention and clapped along and after we blew out the candles he figured out if he clapped then everyone else would start clapping after him. He did this about 5 times while his monkeys (all of us) played along.

My amazing sister made an amazing milestone chart that we printed poster size to display as well.

Since I never did an "official" 12 month post I thought I'd quick throw in some additional milestones that our big boy is up to! Well, he is wearing mostly 18 month old clothing and wearing a size 5 shoe. He has 4 chompers. He knows how to use his fork like a pro. He says "duck" and pronounces the "D" so well that I'm sure it won't be mistaken for another 4 letter word. He makes kissing noises. He's obsessed with pears to the point if his father walks past the pear trees without picking one for him there may be tears. Speaking of tears-Nico threw his first fit at Target over a cheap plastic cart-so his TT bought him a real metal baby cart for his birthday which now he is crazy over. He is almost walking but we are smart enough not to rush it. He loves to say "no" and has multiple varying tones of the word. Nico loves to dance and loves his Kindermusik class. And he's the kid that is going around hugging and kissing everyone else in class. This is where I explain to the rest of the parents-"He's Italian. We hug and kiss a lot." He points to his nose and ears and eyes but only when he wants to. Nico also has learned how to bite-which I blame on his dad. But truth be told I'm known to bite when I get excited too. And most of all he is the answer to my prayers. 

Thank you to all of our family (including our Luigi Family) that were able to come and help celebrate our special boy. He is so blessed and so are we. 

Credits:
Invites, Milestone Poster, Menu, Banners, King Hat, Bow Tie, Clouds and basically the creative effort behind all my ideas- Seneca Avina (She Freelances Folks! Contact her for any of your needs!)
1 Year Old Photos - Karen Ann Photography - Make sure to "Like" her FB page too for more gorgeous photos!
Nico's Blue Vest & Pants Set Outfit- Caterina Bimbi Carini
Nico's "Drink The Wild Air" Outfit- Crowns and Coroknits
Smash Cake & Cupcakes- Bakery On State
Italian Desserts- Fannita Bakery
Personalized Cupcake Décor- Tailored Decor 
Airplane Bottle Openers Party Favors- Kate Aspen
Party Photographs- Nycz Photography and other friends that supplied pictures!
Venue- Luigi's Italian Restaurant

In my next life I want to be a party planner and photography prop coordinator (Is that such thing? Now it is).

Now on to those Thank You cards…...

XO. 

JLOVE AKA "Mommy"

Celebrating 7 Months, Theresa, & Being a Mom

Today marks 7 months for my big little man! Wait...I had a baby 7 months ago? What? Weird! But it's true! It's also been over a month since I last blogged too...the days slip away I tell you! We had big boy's weigh in-and he is measuring in at an impressive 29 inches (98%) which the doctor said is technically over the growth line based on his age and 20lbs 2oz (80%). He is well on his way to being a future Green Bay Packer. Did he just miss the Combine? Perhaps next year he'll be a top performer…watch for his name. 

Combine Weigh-In

Nico has tried a few foods in this last month but after it's in his mouth he's just like whatever and wants the good ol' reliable boob. I don't mind… and obviously the proof is in the numbers that there is some Miracle Grow in my milk. So we will keep plugging along (more like chuggin' along) and let Nico take the lead on when he wants to eat. What else can I tell you about that boy of mine? Wellllllll…..Nico is very focused and even months ago I noticed him doing things with incredible recall. Taking his lead I decided to "play" with it a little bit. I recorded this after showing him twice… 

Don't worry I won't be one of those mom grilling her kid with flashcards at the age of 15.5 months strapped to a chair. Even if I was...it would be none of your business-he's my kid to screw up. As you can see he was having a ton of fun (as all learning should be)-so I just went with it! 

He's growing sooooo fast and he's wanting to crawl sooooo bad but it's just sooooo hard and sooooo darn exhausting! But check out his party tricks/yoga poses that he just learned yesterday!

Hey Mom! Look at ME!

Nico's dad went to Vegas for a Bachelor Party a couple weeks back (best wife ever for signing off on that permission slip?!) and we spent the weekend in Milwaukee with our Nanny...AKA Seneca. So don't worry-we did OK without dad and had our own fun! But, I'm pretty sure Daddy missed you the most little one and will never take another plane trip without you again. Besides being abandoned for strippers, drinking, and gambling (totally kidding-only one of those sins are true-you can have fun picking which one you think I'm speaking of and letting your imagination run wild with it) - we are loving the sporadic "niceness" of weather we get here during Wisconsin's "spring". When it is pleasant enough to go outdoors-he loves going for stroller rides, playing in the grass and watching kids play. I took Nico to a function this past Saturday and he impressed all the party goers with his smiles, style, and ability to skip his usual nap and rage for 5 1/2 hours straight without being crabby-all in the name of FUN! That's my boy! 

Speaking of FUN! Today we had the opportunity to celebrate one of my dearest friends- Theresa. She had a birthday in March and the stars finally alined with both of our schedules and we were able to meet up and enjoy a meal together. Nico loves her. No matter how many days, weeks, or months pass he takes to her like a day has never gone by. His mommy feels the same way. She gets us...always has, always will.

We Go Back-Way Back-Era 7th Grade-Plastics Class

She's going make such a great mom one day! I can't wait to share in the joy of motherhood with her. I feel extremely fortunate to be blessed with Theresa as a friend and to have her in my corner in this craziness of life. She reads my mind and makes me laugh like crazy. I love you Cheese. Happy Birthday 2 months late. :)

Speaking now of mothers…. yesterday was extra special being my first "official" Mother's Day! Mother's Day wishes had been kindly coming in days before but each and every time-I got a big lump in my throat and my eyes filled with tears-as I pushed out a "Thank You" before my voice had a chance to break. I feel so incredibly blessed to be a mom. Having always wanting babies my whole life and now to have one here with me-especially one like Nico- makes my appreciation so deep.

I love being your mom Nico. Thank you for making everyday special.

Karen Ann Photography

XO. 

JLOVE AKA "Mommy"

P.S. If you haven't yet had a chance to see Nico's 6 months pictures check them out HERE. They are soooooo cute! Thank you Karen! I'm lucky to have you as a friend to capture my baby growing! Oh and don't forget to "LIKE" her page HERE too…I'm sure Nico will be making future appearances! 

Karen Ann Photography