baby Archives | Page 2 of 24

our favorite fall activity in dallas with kids

October 23, 2018

favorite fall activity in dallas pumpkins

|brothers|

Yesterday we took the boys to the Dallas Arboretum to visit Pumpkin Village. It was named one of America’s best pumpkin festivals and we can see why with 90,000 pumpkins in the village! We first started going to Pumpkin Village when William was nine months old. Can you believe how tiny he was there?! That year was really fun – seeing the excitement on his face. Last year, we took a just one-month old Henry and William to visit. William ran all over and Henry slept pretty much the whole time we were there!

This year has been my favorite year yet! Both boys are at such fun ages. William is just a loud and crazy, running wild – 2.5 year old and Henry is busy following him around everywhere. We raced and ran all over the Pumpkin Village and they did their fair share of climbing pumpkins, running through the hay bales and going over the bridge too many times to count! We all had the best time and you can believe we had two tired boys when we got back home.

The Dallas Arboretum makes the perfect spot for a fall outing. You can bring in food and drinks and the grounds are beautiful. There are so many fun activities around Pumpkin Village and there are no extra charges once you pay your entry fee.

PS: How adorable are the boys’ pumpkin outfits?! Love showing off those cute little baby thighs 😉 Cecil and Lou makes the sweetest outfits and they are a Texas based company, too!

favorite fall activity in dallas pumpkin varieties

|so many pumpkins!|

favorite fall activity in dallas sitting ona pumpkin

|the perfect pumpkin perch|

|always following big brother|

|sweet henry|

favorite fall activity in dallas pumpkin houses

|running in and out of the pumpkin houses|

favorite fall activity in dallas white pumpkins

|love this color combination|

favorite fall activity in dallas climbing pumpkins

|adventuring together|

favorite fall activity in dallas hay bale maze

|henry loved playing in the hay|

favorite fall activity in dallas racing through hay bale maze

|running through the hay bale mazes was so much fun|

favorite fall activity in dallas waiting for face painting

|waiting patiently to have his face painted|

favorite fall activity in dallas face painting pumpkin village

|unusually still for the face painting|

favorite fall activity in dallas face painting at pumpkin village

|so happy with his batman face painting|

Shop Pumpkin Outfits:

pumpkin diaper set // rain boots // navy shoes

Cheers,

Stia, Jean and Katherine

henry’s ice cream birthday party

October 1, 2018

// happy birthday henry! //

We can not believe our little Henry is one year old! We had so much fun planning his first birthday and preparing for the big celebration. So much of our extended family was able to be with us, including two great-grandmothers! Our closest friends and their kids came and celebrated Henry with us, too. It was an absolute blast and Henry loved it all!

At the beginning of summer I found some darling ice cream decor and ice cream shaped sidewalk chalk at Target’s Dollar Spot and that was the beginning of our theme; an ice cream party! I’d say it was a huge success and the most important part was that the birthday boy had fun! He loved trying all the ice cream and running around with his little friends!

// singing happy birthday to henry! //

brothers eating ice cream at picnic table

// it’s safe to say the coffman brothers like their sprinkles ice cream and cupcake sundaes! //

// the perfect little sprinkles layer cake for the birthday boy! //

// the birthday boy! //

Invitations

When I started to plan Henry’s Ice Cream party, I didn’t realize that everything I would find would be aimed towards girls. I contacted Lucy from Love Lucy Designs and she created the most perfect ice cream invitation for a little boy! This was the original ice cream invitation and below is the one Lucy created for Henry – so sweet!

// the cutest ice cream invitation for henry’s party //

// we gave ice cream cone sidewalk chalk for party favors //

Venue

When we originally started to plan Henry’s party, we thought for sure we would be in our new house in the backyard. Well, you guys know that we are still not in our house, so we had to come up with a Plan B. We decided that we would have Henry’s ice cream party at my parents’ house in their backyard – perfect for an ice cream party right?! It rained so hard all day the day of Henry’s party, so we moved to a Plan C! Ice cream and cupcake sundaes outside underneath the patio with Henry eating his birthday cake inside. It turned out to be perfect, even with all the changes of plans! If you’re brave enough, an ice cream party would be equally as cute at your neighborhood park, etc – just make sure to come up with a Plan B in case of rain!

// float balloon bar created the most amazing balloon ice cream cone and waterfall! //

ice cream and cupcake bar at birthday party

// the ice cream and cupcake sundae set-up! //

mom, gig and aunt and baby's birthday party

// celebrating our big one year old! //

Food/Drinks

We contacted Sprinkles Cupcakes to see if they did ice cream catering, and it turns out that they do, bringing the most adorable ice cream cart filled with so many flavors of ice cream. They also brought mini cupcakes in five different flavors, mini cones and also giant waffle cones – so that everyone would could make mini ice cream and cupcake sundaes! It was just so perfect for our ice cream party. Sprinkles has also just started making layer cakes and they provided one for Henry’s smash cake. Y’all it was so cute and so yummy- the best smash cake ever!

(Note: We had napkins and ice cream cups custom made, but Sprinkles provides branded cups, napkins, spoons, etc – all within the catering price).

It couldn’t just be sweets for everyone, so we also served mini corn dogs, and Kettle Brand Chips provided mini bags of chips for our guests. So in between servings of ice cream and cupcakes, everyone enjoyed the corn dogs and the fun flavors of chips.

We had water for the kids and served beer and wine for the adults!

// the sprinkles ice cream and cupcakes were a huge hit //

// custom made ice cream cups //

// our guests snacked on kettle chips and mini corn dogs in addition to the ice cream and cupcake sundaes! //

// found the ceramic ice cream cones at target dollar spot //

Decor

To start things off on the right note, Float Balloon Bar created a giant ballon ice cream cone and balloon waterfall. It was amazing and so much fun! They also brought two giant balloons with tassels that said “Happy 1st Birthday Henry!” and “ONE”. The balloons made it all so fun and festive and Float Balloon Bar delivered and set up everything for us. It couldn’t have been better!

// henry was very serious about eating his birthday cake! //

// sharing some of his cake with Gigi //

// the whole family celebrating henry’s first birthday! //

Outfits

As usual, when I pick a theme, I just go with it! A to Z Monogramming does all the boys custom monogramming and she can do just about anything! I sent her the Love Lucy invitation and she created the sweetest little ice cream monogram for the boys!

The three of us girls opted for dresses – even though it was raining! We didn’t come up with a plan B for ourselves ;).

// william may have eaten all the sprinkle cupcakes //

// happy birthday to our precious henry! we love you! //

on stia: pink maxi dress // metallic slide sandals

on jeans: navy sweater dress // gold t-strap sandals

on kat: black maxi dress // mule loafers

Cheers,

Stia, Jean and Katherine

Photography: Megan Weaver

one year with henry

September 13, 2018

// happy birthday Henry! he was just two days old here //

Happy First Birthday Henry! On Saturday, our precious baby turned one! I am still in shock that he can be a year old – time flies even faster with your second baby. His little personality is just getting bigger and bigger by the day and he seems to get sweeter and sweeter, too. He has changed so much in one year – he is still as sweet as can be but he has a lot of sass too! He and William are just so darling playing together and it melts my heart how Henry gets so excited to see William each morning. And likewise, too.

The year didn’t come with it’s lack of hard times though. I have never felt more sleep deprived and I started thinking that Henry may never sleep through the night. But, he eventually did around 11 months old!

Henry – it’s hard to picture our family before you were here. You are the perfect addition and such an easy going baby. Your momma loves you more than you know – Happy Birthday Henry!

Here is a look back at the past year with Henry and his one year update!

// moments after henry was born //

// henry’s newborn photos //

WEIGHT/HEIGHT

Henry is 90% for height and 40% for weight.

SLEEPING

Henry is officially sleeping through the entire night. I never dreamt it would take so long, but one night he woke up at 7:30 after going down at 7:30 pm the night before. I was in shock! Since he started sleeping through the night, I decided to drop the sleep suit to avoid anymore transitions and he didn’t even skip a beat. I am so happy to be able to sleep for a full night since last September when Henry was born!

// dedicating henry at church in october //

// henry’s sip and see in november //

// getting in the christmas spirit //

PERSONALITY

Oh my goodness, this little boy has so much personality! He is the happiest little baby. It’s rare to find him with out his “baba” and he is usually attached to my hip! I think he may end up being my “wild” baby. He is all over everywhere, finds himself in the most peculiar places and stands up to his brother daily. My favorite thing he does is hand me a toy or a book and then he crawls into my lap and snuggles as he plays with it!

Henry is obsessed with his brother and wants to be right next to him all day. He also wants everything that William is eating, drinking or playing with. That’s probably been the most challenging part of parenting two boys at this age!

He is starting to talk and repeat everything! He says momma, dada, baba, gigi, bye bye, night night, uh oh and more words each day. He waves, blows kisses, says mmm when he eats yummy food and he gives this biggest, sweetest kisses, too. He prefers to be upright and moving, but he still hasn’t started walking yet! He takes the occasional step, but I think he will be full on walking in the next few weeks!

SCHEDULE

Now that Henry is sleeping through the night, he wakes up a little earlier – usually 7:30 am. I nurse him before William gets up and then we all go downstairs for breakfast. He typically takes a cat nap around 10:30 while we are running errands and then he eats lunch around 12:30. I try to aim to get both boys in bed for a long nap around 2 pm. They usually sleep until 4:30/5 and then we aim for dinner around 6/6:30 and bed by 7:30 or 8!

// they are the sweetest brothers //

// ready for vacay //

// 6 months old! //

NURSING/EATING

In the last three months, Henry went from nursing all the time to just a few times a day. Most days he nurses five times and he is eating solids for breakfast, lunch and dinner. And a snack here and there! This has been a huge change from before. He is obsessed with solids now (when just a few months ago he could care less). He truly eats more at meals then William! I’m not sure exactly when I’ll start to wean Henry. I think I’ll start to nurse him in the morning before his afternoon nap and before bed and drop the other two feedings, but we’ll see!

TRAVEL

We took our big trip to Europe in July and Henry did so good with the time change, both going there and on the way home. He learned to take stroller naps like a champion! I was somewhat hesitant about the time change, but I think babies are more flexible then we think they are. We also took the boys to Chicago for a long weekend and then spent the rest of the summer at home!

// summer baby – and I already miss that gap between his two teeth! //

// spending time in del mar this summer //

// such a trooper on our europe trip this summer – he took so many stroller naps! //

MILESTONES

He has eight teeth – the top four and bottom four!
He is standing by himself
He has taken a step here and there on his own – he should be walking in no time!
Sleeping through the night (finally!)
Transitioned from sleep suit to just pajamas
Eating solids three times a day and two snacks
He says momma, dada, baba, gigi, bye bye, night night, uh oh, thank you, please and that
He points at everything and is so interactive!
Gives kisses
This was a huge few months for Henry!

MUST-HAVE BABY ITEMS

Now that he has transitioned out of sleep suit, he wears pajamas every night. Loving these ducks, this pair of striped short pajamas and he wears this blue pair all the time!
We go back and forth from the Zoli Cup and the Miracle 360. He just hasn’t gotten the hang of sippy cups yet!
Now that Henry’s eating all the time, we love these colorful plates and the boys do too! Henry also got this placemat/plate and I love how it stays in place!
The MINU stroller has been the best stroller for us during this season. I can get it in and out of my car while still holding Henry – it’s amazing and I recommend it for everyone!
Henry has loved his blankie since we first gave it to him. It goes with us everywhere and as soon as Henry sees it he collapses on it. So sweet.
I just ordered these shoes for Henry and they are so sweet. He hands them to me every morning and wants to wear them!

// sleep stalking will never get old! //

// he loves to fight going to sleep //

// loves the water //

// we love you henry! //