Dump Trucks and Donuts

     Now that Davis is officially three, with the blog post to prove it, I guess it’s high time I show off his party. We did the party on the deck like last year, but this time we wised up and had a morning party. Those few hours saved us a few degrees and a little humidity (not much).

     Since we opted for a morning party, we went with a Dump Trucks and Donuts theme. Davis is majorly into trucks of all kinds, and I knew dump trucks were near the top of the list. (I got the donut idea from my sister.) With our plan to build him a rock box for his birthday, the theme was perfect, and it turned out so cute!

     I used my Silhouette to make the banner (and am ignoring the wrinkles…). We kept the food simple and breakfasty: donuts, donut holes, fruit, and sausage muffins. For dump trucks I obviously went diving under Davis’s bed #boymom. Davis has had a photo display at his party every year, and this year was no exception – caution tape for the win.

     Our deck isn’t huge, so we didn’t need much more in the way of decorations. A few dump trucks placed here and there and done! We came for the donuts anyway.

 
Matching party shirts for the rest of your lives. Get used to it.

     There was a definite trend in presents this year – sports! He’s got all the equipment he could ever need! The highlight, however, is the rock box…and Keith who made it based on some vague instructions from me!

Everyone took a turn in here! Keith is a serious hero. (Although…I did go get the gravel.)

     Three years. It has been the longest, shortest, wildest, best three years of our lives. Davis Malcolm is the most amazing, intense, fun boy in the world, and I love being his mom. He was so sweet and thankful to everyone at his party, and I was so proud to see him have his day. He is fun and funny and wonderful, and we can’t get enough! Watching him grow is the most incredible job I could ask for, and we are in such a sweet spot. In other news, I will not be allowing him to turn four. Not going to happen.

Go Davis Go

     I don’t know how it’s possible, but Davis is TWO! We are six days post-birthday, and I’ve never seen a more two-year-old two-year-old. He has so much personality and so much energy and so very much sass. We love him so much and had the BEST time celebrating him last weekend with our family. We were able to have the party outside on our back deck, and it was so FUN!

     We went with a Go Dogs Go theme because it is a major favorite right now. I tried not to go too much into a car theme or dog theme, and I love how it turned out!

     I printed off every Instagram print of Davis from the past year to make some fun displays. I thought I might find a fun banner or bunting in my colors that I could hang them on like I did last year but no such luck. I bought all the scrapbook paper (on the table) thinking I would make a banner, but then my (hero) mother found those tissue paper pom pom garlands at DOLLAR TREE. Done and done. I also hung two strands of twine vertically in another window and clippped pictures to those…but they didn’t photograph very well.

     We did basically the same food as last year, but of course I color coordinated the fruit (#becauseobviously). The idea with the green frosting was to make it sort of like the dog party at the end of the book…but I can never get food coloring to do quite right.

     Present time was a big deal this year. I think Davis got one of every single kind of outside toy on Earth. He is going to have such a fun summer!  He is good to go on tools and trucks and sporting gear of any kind! Parties are a little overwhelming for kids, but I have loved getting to see him rediscover each of his gifts over the past few days.

     This leaf blower was a last-minute thing I picked up and ended up being such a hit! He ran through the entire bottle of bubbles right away.

   

     Apparently that face plant is just how Davis eats cupcakes at this point in his life. I’ve seen him do it three or four times now. So funny!

     We love Davis Malcolm so very much, and it is one of my greatest joys as a mother to see people love on him! His party was just a perfect (albeit tiring) day full of love and fun. Davis loves seeing all his people and was so sweet to everyone. Any sadness at seeing my baby grow up is way overshadowed by the joy of seeing him come into his own! We are going to the doctor on Monday, and then I’ll be back to share a little update on him…and just in case you think this kind of photo-op is, in any way, true to life…

This is much more our speed. A healthy dose of defiance and “bye, y’all!”

Red, White, and ONE

     Well y’all…Davis is one.  He turned one on June 2nd, and we celebrated in style that Saturday.  I got the idea for his theme from my sister, and it turned out better than I hoped!  We had originally planned to party on our newly screened (thanks, Keith!) back porch, but 16540648% humidity and a high rain chance moved us in…boo.

     We loved celebrating Davis regardless of the weather, and I will look back on his party with a happy heart always.  Now let’s get to those pictures!

I loved looking at all of his monthly pictures side by side.  I feel like he really started looking like himself around month 9.

I used some things I already had and a lot of things we got on Memorial Day sales.

     Food was very simple: chips and dip, chips and salsa, fruit, vegetables, and cupcakes (from a box…#badmom).  To be honest, the cupcakes could have come from a dumpster, and Davis would have still eaten them.  He shoveled the entire thing in, laughing the whole time!

No time to be photographed…#allcupcakeallthetime

This is my favorite picture of the day!

     Davis got the sweetest gifts, and is already loving playing with them.  He’s almost overwhelmed trying to choose a toy…the fake hotdogs are at the top of his list though!  He got such a good balance of inside and outside, learning and “just for fun” toys.  I always love to see people love on my baby, and we ares so thankful for every little thing and every hug and kiss and visit and love!

     I still don’t feel quite old enough or grown up enough to have a one-year-old, but there’s clearly no going back now!  Davis is so much fun to be around, and even though I feel like we celebrate him every day, I loved this chance to “officially” celebrate and show him off to everyone.  He was so sweet and good and funny!  We have our one year check up later this week, and then I’ll be back with his 12 month update and all his stats!

21 in 21

     Yesterday was my day off, and as per usual I spent it running errands and creeping through the blogosphere.  Imagine my delight when I see that Erin over at Living in Yellow (…also Living in My Sidebar---->) is hosting this little gem of a link up.  I love making lists – I think I have two in my purse right now plus my 101 in 1001, but this one is a little more specific, and I love that.  She’s made a list of 26 things to accomplish this year and challenged us to make a list for ourselves.  Don’t mind if I do.  Some of these are going to overlap with my 101 in 1001, but here we go anyway.

 

21 in 21

1.  Plan my entire wedding.  I get married almost two months after my birthday, so I think we (my mother, sister, and I) can definitely do this.

2.  Get a teaching job.

3.  Do some serious financial planning – graduation, job, marriage, finding a place to live…I’ll need some plans.

4.  Graduate from college.

5.  Start (finish?) sewing a quilt.

6.  Get to 500 followers.  That’s a scary big number for me.

7.  Start prayer journaling.  I have been so convicted about my prayer life lately, and I really want to keep track of what the Lord is doing in my life right now.

8.  Learn to French braid.

9.  Bake a pie (a real one like apple, peach, blueberry, cherry, etc.).

10.  Have engagement pictures made.

11.  Sew something from a pattern (a real one).

12.  Do something charitable at Christmastime…probably an Operation Christmas Child shoe box – I love those.

13.  Sing in the church choir.

14.  Buy colored pants (preferably red).

15.  Buy a wedding band for Keith.

16.  Accessorize – jewelry, scarves, etc.

17.  Go on a day trip with Keith.

18.  Build a professional wardrobe.

19.  Take good beach pictures.

20.  Read 15 books (that I haven’t read before).  I love to read, but I never make time for it when I’m at school.

21.  Buy a dresser and/or desk and/or bed (frame) for my future home…so it’s not totally empty.

Totally unrelated to the post (as always), but how cute!

Weekend Snippets

     I am so sorry that I have been MIA (from posting and comments) for the past few days.  If you notice that I’m creeping on your older posts, you’ll have to forgive me…it’s been a busy few days.  Thursday was my birthday – 21, and yesterday Keith and I went to his fraternity social (the last one I’ll attend as a student)!  As my way of apologizing, I’m going to overload you with pictures…and very little text.

Before birthday dinner – Keith’s first sushi experience!

I know it’s blurry, but I had to share this one – Della (who is two) will eat a whole order of edamame…the right way, popping the beans out of the pod like a big girl!

…it was not Della’s birthday…but of course she gets a candle!

I loooooved my dress, and to make the navy blue more springy, I did my nails and toes pink!

Just in case you wondered, I had very little to do with my hair.  A friend of mine curled it with her straightener (which I cannot do), and then I smashed it up on the side of my head and put a ton of bobby pins in it.

     That’s all I have for now…I’ll post my second sponsor feature tomorrow.  Also, if you are looking for a free sponsor spot shoot me an email (see About or Advertise).  I cannot believe that April is almost over! I am finished with my last semester of classes on Tuesday, and then it’s summer – wow.  Get ready for a whirlwind of posting – I already have two little crafties to share!

 Allyson

Birthday Feast

     I know I’m a few days late on this post, but I’ve been so busy working on my guest post and 101 in 1001!  Now that I’ve got those taken care of, I thought I would get back to some “regular” posting and share with you about my dad’s birthday dinner.  Before I get too deep into this post, let me go ahead and warn you – the pictures in this post are possibly some of the most unattractive food photos ever…please don’t let that distract you from the deliciousness available to you in the recipes!
     My dad’s birthday was last weekend, so my sister and I both came home to cook dinner.  Usually we go out to eat, but we decided that it might be more fun to cook this year.  It was my sister’s idea to cook, and she came up with an incredible menu – Italian meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, and green beans with mushrooms.  None of these were hard to make, and it wasn’t a fussy meal at all.  Any (or all) of it could be done on any old weeknight.

Please forgive the less than attractive photo.

Italian Meatloaf

You will need:
2 lbs. ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. ketchup
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  In a large bowl mix first four ingredients. Add tomatoes and cheese and season (to be honest we didn’t have all of that stuff so we used oregano, basil, a bit more garlic salt, and a dash of Essence of Emeril).
3.  Form into a loaf in a 13x9 casserole dish (we usually don’t use a meatloaf pan so that we can get it out of the grease quicker).  Cover loosely with foil.
4.  Bake in preheated oven for about an hour (or until internal temperature is 160 degrees).

Again…not so pretty.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

You will need:
8 medium red potatoes, quartered (we used more)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
1/2 c. fat free milk, warmed
1/2 tsp. salt (we used more)
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese (we used way more)

1.  Place potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan, cover with water.  Bring to a boil; cook until potatoes are very tender.  Drain well.
2.  Add the butter, milk, and salt; mash.  Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Ok…this one isn’t quite so bad!

Green Beans and Mushrooms

You will need:
1 16oz. bag of frozen green beans (we used whole beans, but it would work fine with cut)
1 can of mushrooms (fresh works fine too – however much you want)

1.  Heat a skillet on the stove (with a tiny bit of olive oil if you like).
2.  Pour in green beans and cook until heated through but still crunchy.
3.  About halfway through cooking, toss in the mushrooms.

    
     Y’all, this was all so good.  I was sad that I had to go back to school the next day because I so would have eaten this again!  Like I said, this clearly doesn’t have to be done together, and they’re simple enough to do whenever.
     I’m glad that we decided to try something different this year, and even more glad that it worked out so well.  Cooking something delish always makes me want to cook something else!  Once I figure that out, I’ll let you know!
     Happy March!  I’m on spring break this week, but I can’t wait for real spring.  I love everything about spring – Easter, crafts, clothes – and I can’t wait to share all of it with you!
Allyson

A Little Late

know...I've been a bad blogger. Almost a month away! What was I thinking?
I was thinking that I had nothing to say and nothing precious to show you...
All of that aside, I have more new things to show you now! I finally got my sewing machine. It was a birthday present, and I'm loving it! This little darling is going to move me onward and upward in my craftastic journey!
Soon (I mean it this time) I will have more to share. I've been working on some bloomers, but they still need some tweaking... I fully intend to share them with you, but I absolutely do not want you to see the hot mess I'm working with now. I promise they'll be precious...just not now.
I know you're waiting on pins and needles. I am too!