Made By Me Monday - a DIY Birthday Party

Charlie's first birthday is coming up, and we had a small party for her on Sunday with family and closest friends.  We were trying to keep the entire thing under $100, so that meant endless DIY projects for me.  (And some commissioning...thanks Meg for cupcaking, Dad for pizza and super glue provisions, Chie for Jordan Almonding).

I'll share party pictures later, but here are the decor shots (mostly taken after the fact, cause I was too busy leading up to the party to care about documentation.)

The theme was either "Birdie Birthday" or "Put a Bird on it", depending on whether or not you're a Portlandia fan :)

Here goes.  The front room.

I made endless amounts of paper pennants, using scrapbook paper I already had, relating to either birthdays or birds; yarn; and a paper cutter.  Simple, yes.  Time consuming, yes.  With the excess paper from the solid colored pennants I cut out little abstract bird shapes and perched them on every ledge I could find.  These items were through out every room , tying it all together. 

I put up a folding table and wrestled a giant disposable tablecloth onto it, strategically taping to keep the size under control.  This table held had table scatter (reusing the holes I punched out of the pennant garland paper); a rubber ducky; and a Jellybeans free download of two birds in a tree.  So far, I spent $3 for the table cloth.  Everything else I already had.
Streamers were placed here and there, since nothing says party like a little crepe paper, and bird toys that Charlie had were placed on every surface.

The entry way door and front window with pennants and bird. There was also streamers, a photo from Charlie's birth and 6 month photos, stuffed birds, and polka dot rubber duckys.

 

I hung paper lanterns leftover from a bridal shower from our chandelier, and to make it over the top, hung birdie stroller toys between them.

Chie had given me a book of beautiful postcards before Charlie was born, and I was able to find a bunch of bird ones to hang from our (overcrowded) bookcase.  I also added various pictures of Charlie, blocks spelling her name, and stacking blocks with bird images.  All stuff I already had, so our running total is still $3.

The table:

Here you can see the banner (held up by two birds, Disney style), artwork and duck.

I made some sugar cookies from a mix ($3, plus $2.50 for sprinkles - $5.50 total), but I forgot to take pictures before they started disappearing.  Most were birds, but I made "One" for a change of pace.

Chie brought me meringue cookies the week before and those were added to the mix, and Meghan made vegan cupcakes with strawberry jam frosting (yum).  I didn't want to introduce Charlie to new foods at her party, just in case, so vegan was a good route to go.  I made the cupcake toppers with a free download, though I did buy the circles, for about $5, bringing us up to $10.50.

Not pictured - we also served pizza and nachos, care of Papa, Mike's Hard Lemonade ($20), pretzel sticks ($2) with Jordan almonds (from Chie) on top (to look like eggs in a nest), pasta salad ($6), Caesar salad, ($10), lemonade and cucumber water ($4), plates and napkins ($7) bringing us to $59.50.
The family room:

 This room was done simply, with pennants and birdies on the fireplace and a banned I made for Tim's birthday over the window.  Little bird books and toys were here and there.

The kitchen and dining room:
I took these pictures the next day, so picture heaps of food, and pink polka dot table cloth and Settlers of Catan laid out of the table.

So, there were streamers that I already had, pink and green lanterns left over from a baby shower, the table cloth from the same baby shower, bunting and birds.

The high chair was in the living room for the party, but regardless:

It already had a bird on it, so I added tiny bunting to make it festive.

When everything was said and done, the entire party, including gifts, was at $100.  If you have questions on anything you see, let me know.  Also, sorry for the weird lay out, I haven't gotten used to the new blogger format yet.

Sleeping and teething don't mix

Sometimes I think that the people who write parenting books have never met a child.  And they certainly cannot be parents.  To the one who wrote that teething should not alter a baby's sleeping schedule, I submit that you are wrong crazy.

Charlie has been doing great on a 2-3-4 schedule.  (Nap 2 hours after wake up, 2nd nap 3 hours after end of 1st nap, bedtime 4 hours after end of 2nd nap, give or take a half hour.)  She rarely fussed when put down for her naps, and almost never at night. 

Enter teething (thunder crashes, scary music plays).

Somewhere in my sweet baby's mouth, hundreds of teeth are trying to get through.  At least, that's what it seems like.  We can't see any yet, but the shape of her gums are constantly in flux as, at the very least, the middle top two try to force their way out.  Two nights ago she woke an hour after going down for the night, screaming.  She fell asleep as soon as we took her out, but woke every time we laid her back down, resulting in a terrible nights co-sleep session.  That girl takes up at least 3/4 of the bed.  I was literally half on/half off the bed for a good portion of the night.  I attempted twice to put her back in her crib in the middle of the night, to no avail. 

Yesterday naps were hard to come by.  The first one was a fight, and when she did fall asleep, she was out longer than normal, I think because no one slept well the night before, including the bed hog herself.  The second one was a full on battle, and the stubborn girl simply sat up in her crib for an entire hour, waiting until my resolve broke. 

Again, I put her down for bedtime, and an hour later she was screaming like she was on fire.  We've heard that cry a few times: when she gets her shots, and when she has painful bowel movements.  It took a long time to calm her down and coax her in to taking baby acetaminophen.  We got her down again, but she soon woke screaming, and we brought her into our room while we read before bed.  She promptly fell asleep and was successfully moved to her crib before Tim went to sleep.  At about 5 am she scared Tim awake with a scream - one short scream - and he ran in there to find her sound asleep, but hitting her head repeatedly on the crib slats.  He moved her a safe distance from the slats, and she woke up wailing.  Back in to our bed, where I was able to calm her and snuggle her to sleep again.  She slept, with a few interruptions to cry a bit, until 9 am. 

Now, here we are, two hours later, and I'm listening to my fed, changed, sleepy child scream herself silly from her crib.  Please Teeth, I am begging you...stop dragging your feet (roots?) and just come out already.  It's been long enough. 

10 on 10

Making decor for Charlie's birthday

 Walking practice

 Picking an outfit

 Reading time

 Remembering

 Unsure about a car ride

 Giant dahlia at a friends house

 Admiring jewelry

 Spinning

Wiped out

Link up here

Whats Charlie Wearing Wednesday(s)

Buckle up...here comes three weeks worth of cuteness. 

Pajama day...sometimes we here at the Fulton home are a bit...lazy.  And sometimes jammies are too hilarious not to document.  Resulting in the first ever (I think) pajama WCWW.  We have a box of hand me downs from my nephew Mitsuki, and some of these gems are direct from Japan.  Some of these Japanese items have non sensical Engrish English on them...like these bell bottoms.

The pants say (in cursive, no less)  "Nice to meet you.  Love, Kids Zoo".  Awesome.  And, as usual, the top is a simple white onesie from Carters.  Moving on...

Our friends Andrew and Sara were here last week from Santa Rosa to meet Charlie.  Charlie was immediately showered with gifts, and she got some awesome boots that were sent with them from our other friends, Alison, Jason, and little Cora.  Here's Charlie rocking her Hatley rain boots, which are covered in little birds and flowers (and totally match the coat that Sara and Andrew gave her.)

She's also wearing a Carter's top bought with a little pink and white polka dot romper at Costco for $5ish way back when.  And, the H&M jeans she's sporting are also from Alison and Jason, sent before either she or Cora were born.  We had an awesome time with Andrew and Sara (and their little boy on the way) and can't wait to see them and meet the Superbaby.  We're hoping we'll get to see Alison and Jason and finally meet Cora sometime this year too. 

Lastly, yesterday Charlie played the part of a ballerina (until she pulled her bib off and covered her shirt in peach puree.)

She is wearing a white onesie ruffle tee from H&M ($3, I think), a Circo tutu with polka dots under the tulle ($6), and a interchangeable flower headband from an Etsy shop that no longer exists.

The stubborn girl no longer wants to sit and pose, hence the book and standing shots.  But, she's still stinking adorable, so I'll let it slide.

Charlie, The Dog Whisperer

Eleven Months

Somehow my tiny just over 6 pound baby has turned into a whopping 18.8 pound almost toddler. This means many things...less inclined to sleep, more inclined to climb, no time to waist smiling for the camera, getting into everything, and many more bonks and bangs.

It's really a shame that she won't smile for the camera any more, cause her little grin is a show stopper. She's fearless, as anyone ignorant to consequence might be, attempting to launch herself over the back of the couch, off the bed, through the crib rails...whatever is nearby. With one clear exception. Boys are terrifying. Especially boys with facial hair. While this could come in handy in high school, we're trying to work her through it for now.

She is getting closer to standing on her own, and is happiest when she's able to stand and bounce for long periods of time. She's still rocking two teeth, but all signs point to at least 6 more getting ready to pop (please soon, please soon). Currently, her favorite toy is an empty bottle of ginger ale, go figure.

She has gotten increasingly more giggly, something she used to make you work for, so that has been a lot of fun. She has also gone from screaming angrily whenever a book was opened (they were delightful as long as they stayed closed) to loving books, especially Pat the Bunny. I think she's memorized it, cause her hands immediately fly to the activities, her favorite being Peek A Boo.

Speaking of peek a boo, this is an all day, every day game. Anything in her hands becomes a hiding place. She's learned to snatch it in different directions for an element of surprise, and is always thrilled when we respond with a "Boo!"

Being eleven months is tiring business. I can't believe she's almost a year old!

I Heart Faces - Beautiful Eyes

Charlotte has the most beautiful blue eyes, so this seemed like a natural one to enter with a recent snapshot.

Link your own picture here.

What's Charlie Wearing Wednesday

Ten on ten and Wednesday landed on the same day...what a conundrum. So, at the risk of being repetitive and redundant (and repetitive and redundant...name that show), Here are more pictures from the same day! And, to be totally honest, one of the same pictures, cropped differently. Call me lazy.

We love classic prints around here, so I flipped for this Gingham number from Carters. I found it at Fred Meyer for $10, a bit of a splurge, but I made an exception since it included pants that could be worn with other outfits.

So there you have it...now I'm going to scramble and try to get ready for my day before this one wakes from her nap.

Ten on 10

What's Charlie Wearing Wednesday

Aside from a coon skin cap and Art Garfunkel style hair, Charlie is wearing a chevron dress from GAP outlet.

We had a busy and fun day, playing with familyand later playing with daddy on his one night off this week.

Doesn't the picture of Charlie with Mitsuki remind you a bit of this, or is it just me?

On hope, where it comes from and why we have it

I have been so blessed by the outpouring of support that has come from friends near and far. I was directed to a blog called 4 Day to Eternity, created by a family who lost their son Mason after 4 days with him. As part of their ministry, they send the book Safe in the Arms of God (truth from Heaven about the death of a child) by John MacArthur, to anyone who has lost a baby.

We know of the couple, Chris and Anna, because we briefly went to college together. If I remember right, Chris was a senior my freshman year. The college president happens to be John MacArthur. We were so happy to receive this book, knowing it was full of truths that would take us a long time to discover ourselves.

I think it's natural to wonder what happens to babies that die. I am so thankful for this book, which answers that question with biblical support, something vitally important to us.

We already know that God knows us from the womb. The passage assuring us of that was what we clung to as we waited in the hospital.

"For you formed my inward parts, you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made....You saw my unformed substance, in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." Ps. 139:13-14, 16

Excerpts from the book:

"You may think you 'made' your baby. Not so. God made your baby and breathed life into him or her. Your child is His creation." 19

"Your child has never been beyond the loving care and concern-or the watchful eye-of the Lord." 22

"He does not allow a conception that is beyond His sovereign plan and purposes." 23

Dr. MacArthur addresses the topic of the sin nature, inherent in all humans because of Adam's original sin. Having this sin nature means that eventually when faced with a choice between right and wrong, we will inevitably pick to do wrong. This begs the question, are babies condemned to hell because they are carriers of the sin nature, despite never having chosen to sin?

Because we are born with a sin nature; "we cannot say that babies who die go to heaven because they are 'sinless.' Rather, babies who die go to heaven because God is gracious." 72

Throughout Scripture, God refers to children as "The innocents." (See Jer. 2:34 and 19:4 for examples). "Though fallen creatures like all Adam's offspring, infants are not culpable in the same sense as those whose sins are will full and premeditated." 35

"The Scripture weighs very heavily toward the fact that innocent children are in heaven, redeemed and dwelling in the presence of God." 41

Though babies do not have the ability to accept Christ, Christ is gracious to accept them. Quoting John Calvin, MacArthur says, "Those little children have not yet any understanding to desire His blessing, but when they are presented to Him, He gently and kindly receives them, and dedicates them to the Father by a solemn act of blessing." 60

"The saving grace given to an infant who as no part whatsoever in his salvation is a perfect example of salvation, which is always wrought sovereignly by God through grace." 77

"If we understand God by His nature as a Savior (see 1 Tim. 1:1; 4:10), is it not the truest expression of God's heart that He chooses to save infants?" 79

I'll end with this:

"Yes, children are in need of a Savior.

"Yes, God has provided a Savior for them, Jesus Christ.

"Yes, all children who die before they reach a state of moral awareness and culpability in which they understand their sin and corruption--so that their sins are deliberate--are graciously saved eternally by God through the work of Jesus Christ. They are counted as elect by sovereign choice because they are innocent of willful sin, rebellion, and unbelief, by which works they would be justly condemned to eternal punishment." 89-90

These are small snippets of the comfort this book, written through searching of the Scriptures, can give. There is so much more, but I'll leave it here.

We know Isaiah is with Christ, free from all the pain and hardship, as well as the sin and temptation of this world. We do not grieve that he is with Christ, we grieve only for ourselves, for our empty arms, for the son we can't know until we are reunited. He has gone ahead of us...but we will be reunited in Perfection.

If you have questions, please let me know, I'll do my best to answer or direct you to someone who can.

On us, three weeks later

It's been nearly a month since Isaiah was taken Home. How are we doing? I don't really know.

Most of the time we're fine.

Physically:

I'm pretty much healed from the delivery. This helps a lot, I think, with the fits of anger I had the first two weeks after he left us. My appetite, after an initial decrease, is back to normal. Unfortunately, my hair, which has just started growing back from my post-Charlie-pardem hair loss, coming back in wild wings in awkward places, is now falling out again. This is very frustrating, not to mention disgusting. I can't pick Charlie up from the floor without then having to pluck obscene amounts of hair from between her toes and fingers...sigh.

I am still very tired. No one told Charlie that mommy's body is recovering from chaos, and filling to the brim with excess hormones, so she's being the busy 10 month old she is, and I'm doing my best to keep up on about 6 hours of sleep a night.

Emotionally:

Initially I had such a great perspective on this whole thing. The baby center we were in plays a little lullaby every time a baby was born, and as I labored to birth our stillborn son, I surprised myself with being happy for those mommy's who were marvelling over their new baby. I had expected to be bitter, but I was so glad that they were spared from my pain. I also surprised myself to discover that it's now that I'm bitter. I see pregnant women everywhere, and experience varying levels of jealousy, from slight (generally people I know) to extreme (strangers). I see people carrying newborns or playing with their baby boys and feel a lot of self pity. Why did this have to happen to us, is a common refrain in my mind.

I've learned the things that will set me off - some I can avoid (gazing at the baby boy clothes at H&M and thinking of what I would be buying had things gone differently), some I can't (pregnant women are every where. You can't dodge 'em.)

I often want to feel numb. I have a stack of cards and a dried rose from a flower arrangement waiting to find their place in the keepsake box from the hospital. Although the box is sitting in my line of vision most of the day, I dread opening it, and feeling the pain that, in a way, I've buried in it. As long as I don't open that box, see his tiny footprints, the notes from our nurses, the reminders of the son who went ahead of us, I can contain myself. I don't have to feel.

It's a really hard thing, grieving for someone who was such a large part of you, but whom you never knew. I don't really know how to do it. For 19 weeks he was growing in me, reminding me he was there first with cravings for salty foods, then spicy foods, then with the nudges that a mother can't get enough of. Then he was gone. In my arms for the briefest moment, then presented to me as ashes in a little wooden box. It's almost surreal. I told a friend recently that sometimes I feel like I'm recovering from a disease. I was hospitalized, sent home to recover, then sent a nice big bill as a reminder. There's no baby at my breast, no first smiles to wait eagerly for, just another bill to stress over.

Tim is experiencing this in an entirely different way. When he told his coworkers that we lost the baby, the reaction, for the most part was, "Oh yeah, I knew someone who had a miscarriage once. That sucks." and on they go with whatever work related thing they have.

To say "That sucks" to someone who actually held his dead child in his arms doesn't cut it. I watched my husband sob when the nurse sadly said, "A little baby boy," as she wrapped him up for us to hold. Tim clung to him, holding him longer than even I did, kissing his face, gazing at his hands, already missing the boy we'll never know. So, I'm beyond frustrated that his coworkers aren't more sympathetic, and even more so that some of them hold grudges over having to cover for him for those three days he took to be with me in the hospital and at home while we grieved.

Reading this through, it kinda sounds like we're a mess. Sometimes we (usually me) are. But day to day, we're doing really well. We have hope and faith that Isaiah is with Christ in Heaven, and that eases the blow of his loss immensely. It enables us to pull ourselves, or eachother, from despair. To seek strength in the Lord. To be better parents to Charlie, not taking her for granted. This post was written purely from my human response to my loss, but there's a lot more to it.

We have hope, and I'm going to tell you about it. Read on, friends.