Theron Drake's First Year in Video

Hi guys! It's finals week at school and I'm finding myself with some extra time to blog.  School's just about out for summer and I'm ready to spend it with that rambunctious little guy of ours.

[But first, my heart is heavy for all of those affected by the tornado in Oklahoma.  I don't have any words or thoughts but I'm continuing to pray for peace and comfort.  I've donated to the Red Cross through text messaging as I sure many of you have done as well.  I wish there was more I could do.]

In our neck of the woods we are preparing to *maybe* move! I don't know if I shared that info with you all previously but things are moving in that direction.  We hit a snag last night at our potential new home's inspection and are kind of 'waiting in the wings' until we find out if the sellers are willing to repair some major issues.  We could possibly be homeless this summer. Thankfully, we have numerous family members that would take us Theron in!

Which brings me back to the reason for this post. I shared Theron's one year old party decor awhile ago but I forgot to post the video David worked tirelessly to create.  It is so special to us and I thought I'd share it with Theron's blog aunties to enjoy as well.



Today our little guy is 13 months old and is cruising around everywhere.  His personality is sunny and radiant and he makes us laugh every day.  I am really happy to be his momma, words I never knew if I'd actually say and mean.   I think most of you all know how hard it was for me when Theron was a baby. For that reason, I am truly thankful for the dark days so that the bright days can be cherished that much more.

For those mommas with high-maintenance screaming babies,  please know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that you are NOT alone.  Ask for help and hang in there. You are doing the best job possible and if you are reading this and need a shoulder to cry on or a person to vent to, please drop me an email.  I can empathize with your feelings of helplessness, despair, and sadness, and I would love to be there for you. ♥

xoxo

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Goodbye, Niko Harper.

This was never a post I wanted to write.  It's never a post anyone wants to write.

I know that.

We decided, very suddenly, to put our our sweet Niko Harper to sleep yesterday.  

Niko's always been a high maintenance pup with all sorts of conditions but in the past few weeks we knew something was seriously awry.  He went from weighing over nine pounds to barely 7 and a half pounds.  This happened so quick.  Right before our eyes.

We knew something was really wrong when he started having trouble walking, barking, and eating.  We took him to the vet where she discovered his lungs were full of fluid.  She thought she could medicate him to  "fix" the problem but as he got worse she did tests on the fluid and found out it was cancerous.

On Monday it was obvious as Niko got even worse and wouldn't eat or move that it was time.

I have only seen David that heartbroken one time in my life and that was when our best friend died in a car accident.  He was absolutely beside himself Monday night and Tuesday morning.

As he put it, "Niko was a bad dog. But he was OUR bad dog." He was David's first pet, and Niko was our first dog together.  We picked him out {he was the feisty little runt of the litter}, brought him home, dressed him up {against Niko's wishes}, forced him on walks, and put up with his crazy antics.  Niko was a momma's boy and a finicky little guy but I loved him with every inch of my heart.

He almost got me kicked out of my first apartment {I wasn't supposed to have a dog-whoops!}, he cost us nearly $3,000 in the first couple of months with his digestive issues, he begged incessantly, and humped everyone's leg all.the.time.  He was a hoot and an annoying little sucker, but again, he was ours.  We are missing our energetic pup before the cancer took his spirit from us.  What I wouldn't do to have him begging at my feet, barking during Theron's naps, whining to go outside a thousand times, or licking my feet even when I told him to stop over and over again just one more time.

When we brought our adopted puppy, Scout, into the picture I thought they'd never be friends.  But as time went on they formed their own special relationship and my heart aches that I can't explain to her where her buddy went.

Most of all I am saddened that Theron will never remember Niko but that didn't stop me from snapping some pics so I can someday show him his puppy brother.  Theron loves petting and hugging the dogs and it is seriously the cutest.   Niko and Scout both put up with his less than gentle love pats and as any dog owner can attest to, that's why dogs are the best.  The loves us unconditionally and without reason. They would do anything for us and no matter what, are our best friends.

My two favorite boys, in my new favorite shot.  I am forever grateful I captured this moment.

Tonight and for the rest of my life I will miss my best friend and constant companion.  He loved me on my worst days and never left my side during my darkest hours.

When Theron screamed during the first 6 months of his life Niko would sit by my feet and follow me from room to room to make sure I was ok.  I wasn't ok and I would apologize to Niko everyday for being so sad.  He loved us so much.  I only hope he knew we loved him the same.

Love you forever, sneaky Nik.

xoxo

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Theron's First Birthday Party - The Food and Decor

We held Theron's first birthday party at my in-laws last weekend and we think he had a pretty good time.  Those almost-toddlers always keep you guessing!  He loved pushing his John Deere lawnmower around the whole house the entire time.  I think he couldn't have cared less who was there or how it was decorated.  Hahaha!  That kid is smart and I could take a lesson from him!

We went with a 'rain+cloud' feel [notice I didn't say theme].  I made a lot of the stuff on my own and some of it came from Etsy or Target, too.  I couldn't have completed any of it without the inspiration Pinterest provides.  Gosh, I love how that site makes it possible to share and use the genius of other nice people's creativity!

I wish I would've taken more family photos and decoration photos but as you know, if you've ever thrown a party,  things get all wonky really fast and people come and go quickly as well.

The pics I did get are sweet and will hopefully give you a little peak at our day.  So let's get to it!

The heart print was a free printable I found here.  And I made the two prints [in the middle] on PowerPoint based on some others I had seen around.

We got the Happy Birthday banner via a Brickyard Buffalo sale.

I sewed rainbow colored cardstock into this mobile-like garland using this tutorial.  I found some large blow up punch balls at Michael's and scattered them all over the floor for Therbear to kick.

I bought a vintage sheet from this Etsy seller for the dining tablecloth and I made some cloud centerpieces from foam that I freehanded & cut out.  I covered some large food canisters [that my father-in-law got from some family friends who own a restaurant] and wrapped them with kraft paper and gross grain ribbon.

I bought some water bottle printables from this Etsy seller and scored the stripey straws at Target.  

I made the food & drink labels on PowerPoint and then printed them out on cardstock and used washi tape to snaz them up a bit.

My favorite spot in the party was the food table!  I took total inspiration from this image.  I sewed some blue fabric together and made the clouds out of quilt batting via this tutorial. 

I have loved these tassel garlands for so long and finally found the perfect event to use one.  I thought about DIYing one but bought one instead via this Etsy seller.  Totally worth it.

One of David's coworkers made some deeelicious red velvet cake pops and I made some rainbow favors for the guests to take home from this idea. 

We decorated the front of the home with some mylar banners and some pinwheels.  The morning of the party when I was picking up the balloons I spotted the "1" and had to have it! It was the perfect door decoration!

The birthday boy had a sweet gold dipped vintage highchair to sit in and enjoyed his very first cupcake while there, too!

And, since this post seemed never-ending, I'll leave you with just one pic of our sweet one year old! I'll share the people pics later!

Thanks for stopping by, everybody!

xoxo

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DIY Paint Party: Toddler Table Update

Hey guys! I was asked to participate in a MyColor inspired by Pantone Paint Party this week! Along with four other fun DIY bloggers, I will be showing you what I did with some paint they sent me.

 

Earlier this week I showed you Mr. Theron Drake's playroom.  In it, was a table I painted a couple months ago with some chalkboard paint.

The table was formerly mine but I wanted to update it for my sweet boy.  

When MyColor inspired by Pantone contacted me I intended on painting the dresser in the room but, with listing our house and potential house showings, that just didn't pan out.  However, I did decide to update the little table legs with some paint.  [I guess now think I gotta dip all of my furniture's legs--haha]

I started by taping off the legs of the table and painted three coats for complete coverage. The paint has a built in primer so I was thankful to save some time--especially since I tackled this during nap-time!

I didn't measure the tape height at all, but rather followed the detailing of the spindled legs and used that as a guide.

Once I was done with the yellow I removed the tape and retaped a little bit higher for the white color blocking.

The whole project took me about an hour and a half and I had it back in the playroom in no time, even before TherBear woke up from his nap!

My project was extremely simple--not as inspirational as my co-party participants--but I hope it can inspire somebody to make even the smallest of changes for a big impact!

The MyColor inspired by Pantone Paint Party has been going on all week and ends tomorrow. Make sure to stop by these blogs to see what they created.

April 8: Nicole from Sketch 42
April 9: Angela from The Painted House
April 10: Courtney from Courtney Out Loud
April 12: Claire from High Gloss Blue

--Also, you can win some paint by leaving a reply in the comments section about how you would use MyColor by Pantone in your own project!

---For an additional chance to win a sample you can tweet and Instagram your project ideas to @MyColorPaints using #Passiton.

----You can ALSO like their facebook page for the whole schedule of paint party affairs and additional chances to win.

Now go comment! This paint is fab and the samples are HUGE!

xoxo

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