Milk and Cookies

I MUSTACHE you a question!  

Would you like MILK with your COOKIES?

Watching a birthday slip past without a celebration is almost unforgivable!  And of course, the traditions of the 1^st birthday party run deep, so we had to make sure to mark this very special day with lots of fanfare and memories.  Finn will only be this age once.  We had a very memorable Milk and Cookies birthday party to mark the occasion.  It was a blast to put together, and even more fun to participate in.  So, sit back, and enjoy the pictures of our fabulous party!

Finn Ricker - Age ONE!

First off, let me share with you some of the party planning.  Britt and I both spent a lot of time on Pinterest and Etsy trying to find just the right details.  I even had Finn’s onesie special made just for the occasion!  I had the idea for the necktie, #1, and mustache, but I had to call upon a crafter I had ordered from before to make it happen.  Heather at Beach Bowtique made this one for me, and I am THRILLED at the way it turned out!  I got his leggings online at Etsy as well from Posh Pipsqueak.  The invitations (pictured above) were from Paper Clever, the milk bottle labels and table tent signs were from Baby Buns Designs, and the photo prop lips and mustaches as well as the high chair bunting banner were from The Party Penguin.  The party favor milk carton template is from Anders Ruff and while I am so happy with the way they turned out – THAT was a tedious process!  WHEW!  My mom deserves a SHOUT OUT for doing all the cutting.  I did all the folding and stuffing…  Britt was in charge of the milk bottles and straws, which he got from Jilly Bean Kids.  We just got a TJ Maxx in our town a few weeks ago, and we found the glass milk containers there.  And the cookies and cakes were from Food Pyramid! 

While we waited for the all the guests to finish arriving, we milled about and took TONS of fun photos using the lips and mustaches!  I think the older folks at the party thought I was nuts running around with these, but the kids and families all got a big kick out of it!  I know my kids had a BLAST with it!  (You will notice a lot of folks wearing their Finn’s Fans shirts from It’s a Preemie Thing at the party – that’s because we had our March of Dimes March for Babies earlier that day – where those shirts won a prize for best T-shirt design!)

Birthday Boy!

Emma

Jake

Lara

Mommy & Daddy (aka Betsey and Britt)

The Weavers

The Rickers

Silly Nana's!

After we were sure everyone was there, it was time to dig in to the milk and cookies!  We had candy, too.  Our favorite cookies – the fall leaves – were from Katy’s Pantry in Enid, and Finn’s grandparents brought them over with them for the day!  They are SO GOOD!  If you are ever in Enid, you HAVE to check them out!

Then, on to opening the presents.  Finn didn’t get into this activity too much.  He loved the cards that had pop-outs or played music, and his favorite thing to do was pull the brightly colored tissue paper out of the bags.  He got lots of great stuff – including diapers!  I have yet to have to buy a package of diapers for his entire life!  YAY!  From his dad and I, he got this GREAT little rocking chair from Toddle Rock.  Jake got a blue one for his 1^st birthday, so we had to carry on that tradition as well!

After all the present were opened and sufficiently ooh’d and ahh’d over, it was TIME.  Time to let the baby destroy his Smash Cake!  The cake was WAY MORE blue and orange that I thought it would be (I had wanted white icing with a little blue and orange – that got lost in the translation somewhere…), so Finn was stripped down to his diaper, set center stage, and commenced playing in his cake.  Very little actually made it to his mouth – he just started self-feeding a couple of weeks ago – be he sure had fun with the icing!

Afterwards, it was definitely bath time!  We hosed him down in the kitchen sink, put the bare minimum of clothing back on him, and let him rest for the remainder of the party.  It was a WONDERUFL event!  We are so thankful for all of our family and friends who came out to help make the day so special!  We ton TONS of pictures, and I can’t wait to show these to Finn some day when he will understand them better!

We had the party at my Sister-in-Love's house - the same place we had the gender reveal party last August.  A dear friend was at both events, and she still had a picture on her pohone from last year.  We made this little gem from that picture and one she took on saturday.  It's amazing to see how far we have come! (click on image to see it bigger)

Oh – the other thing we did on Saturday?  Finn’s one year portraits!  (Nothing like cramming it all in to a 10 hour day for a baby!)  Here are the sneak peeks of the AWESOME pumpkin patch themed photos taken by KassandraRitter.  SO PLEASED with the way they turned out!

So, here we are on the other side of a CRAZY year.  It has been quite a journey, and we are so blessed to have so many caring and loving people to share it with.  We are grateful for every meal, hour spent with the kids, plan assisted with, moment spent babysitting, piece of advice, helping hand and ESPECIALLY the prayers that have been shared with us over the past year.  It is simply astounding to think about all of the lives Sweet Baby Finn has touched in his short time here on this Earth.  We are so blessed to be chosen by God to be his parents, his sisters and his brother.  He is the final piece in the Six Dream Weavers puzzle, and he fits perfectly!

First Birthday Letter

Dean Finn,

Well, my sweet boy.  We made it to a year.  I look back and at times I wasn’t sure we would ever get here in one piece.  But we did!  ALL of us!  It has truly taken a very strong family and the support of a village to get to his point.  I am so blessed to be your Mommy, and to be a part of this family.  I have no idea why God put this path before me, but I can honestly say I am so much a better person for it.  And your path is just starting!  I was just thinking this week about HOW MANY lives you have touched, and you haven’t even spoken your first word or walked your first step.  You are shining the light of Jesus, and you don’t even know you are doing it!

Happy FIRST Birthday, Little Man!  You are SUCH a complete joy to be around!  You smile so easily, and you charm everyone you encounter.  Your eyes are so expressive, and your numerous facial expressions keep us all guessing as to what is going on in that perfectly round head of yours!  You are sporting some pretty blonde hair right now!  There’s not a lot of it, but it is a color and texture I didn’t expect!  You have 5 teeth, and I keep thinking that sixth one will break through any day!  2 on bottom and 3 on top – the middle two and the one next to it on the left.  You bit your own arm about a week ago, and the mark left on your forearm was definitely yours – there were 5 little indentations!  You can crawl like greased lightning, and you pull up to stand CONSTANTLY.  You like to climb over people who are playing on the floor with you, and your favorite toys are the blue hand clapper noise maker you acquired at Alpha Delta Pi Bid Day back in August, a toy cell phone that has a mirror on it – although I think the orange webbing that attached it to a ring is really your favorite part – and the blue triangle shaped chewy tube.  Oh, and Stella.  You love pulling her ears, yanking her tail, and sticking your hands in her mouth.  And lucky for you, she is so gentle and just lets you!  

You are eating more and more table food every day!  You really like chicken, and cheese and BREAD!  My kind of kid!  You never did take to pureed baby food.  I have a nice stash to pass down to the next baby in line…  You have been waking up in the middle of the night more these past couple of weeks.  I remember reading where that happens around 9-10 months, so  guess you are there.  Daddy and I sure would appreciate you getting back into sleeping all night, though.  Some nights, you just need a cuddle and a back pat, others, you need food and a play date! LOL!  Silly Monkey!  Our biggest obstacle right now is your SEVERE separation anxiety and stranger danger!  WOW!  You have QUITE a set of lungs on you (which we are very happy about)!  Church is a complete scream-fest for you, and we learned last weekend at Daddy’s High School reunion, you don’t do well with the Weaver grandparents, either.  So, for right now, you don’t like for anyone to care for you except Mommy, Daddy, Nana and (occasionally) Grandpa.  You sure are lucky to have them so close!  So are Daddy and I or we would never get a free minute!

Finn, you are just too cute for words.  And have such a laid back, precious temperament.  You are perfectly content to sit and play with your toys without outside intervention, and you are easily fascinated by anything with lights.  If you are crying, you have a pretty significant physical need that is not being met – even if it’s just a hug!  We are so proud of the wonderful little boy you are becoming.  You have come SO FAR!  And you just keep amazing us with your discoveries and your sweet disposition.  You are getting pretty close to standing alone – I’ve even seen you let go a few times.  Daddy and I have a bet going about whether or not you will be walking by Christmas!  Daddy says yes – by Thanksgiving even – but I am on the more conservative side and say it will be after the first of the New Year.  Either way, we know we are in for a chase when it happens!  You love to be all over the place making mayhem!  The dog bowl for water and Nana’s potted plants don’t stand a chance against you!

Daddy and I have worked really hard to plan a fun “Milk & Cookies” 1^st birthday party for you.  We have some special gifts for you, too.  We can’t wait to share this celebration with you, and to let you dig into your first birthday cake.  Your brother Jake and your sisters Emma and Lara are so delighted to have you for a little brother!  They always want to show you off, and they even argue about who gets to play with you next.  You are such a lucky little guy to be surrounded by such marvelous people that care so much for you.  But, I think your Dad and I are the luckiest parents on Earth!  We love you more than you can every possibly understand, and we are just so proud of you and how far you have come.  We are blessed to be on this journey with you, and we can’t wait to see what God has in store for such a special baby!

Happy 1^st Birthday, Finn.

I love you,

Momma

It's the Final Countdown!

Finn - 1 month old

We cannot believe that Finn is turning ONE this Friday!! What a year it's been!!

This weekend is the March of Dimes - March for Babies Stillwater walk. We are so grateful for what this organization has done for us personally, and for what they do for every tiny baby and their families!  The mission of March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.  Our family believes passionately in this mission!

We've set a Finn's Fans team goal of $1500 and we are getting so, so close. We need to close out the walk donations by Wednesday evening - so the final push is on! We are $300 short as a team right now .... are there 15 individuals out there who would like to donate $20 each? Maybe 10 individuals who would donate $30 each? 4 individuals who would like to donate $75 each? There is a link at the bottom of this post to donate securely with your credit card online. Rather use a check or cash?  Comment, call, tweet, text, facebook, etc.,  and one of us can get in touch with you!

Are you local?  Can you Spare a Dime?  There is a small purple bucket in my office (325E Willard) where you can drop your dimes (or other spare change) to help Finn’s Fans meet our fundraising goals – and see pictures of Finn throughout the last year.

Why are we raising this money and walking? We are walking to give hope to the more than half a million babies born too soon each year. The money you donate supports programs in our communities that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten our babies. These walks have taken place since 1970 and have raised an incredible $2 billion to benefit all babies.

Click HERE and PLEASE help us help these TINY babies!!

 Come join us Saturday at Noon at Boomer Lake, to see our Finn's Fans team 
in our PURPLE "It's a Preemie Thing" shirts, too!

Big Wheel Turning

Whew!  What a week!

Here are the family member highlights:

Emma – started Volleyball practice; found a club she wants to join that is FULL of creativity; started math tutoring

Lara – tried out for a role in the Nutcracker Dream, and got a demi-solo!!!  Plus another group dance in the production; started math tutoring

Jake – survived being in the parent pick up line - he was convinced he would get left at school!

Finn – weighed in at 16 pounds 11 ounces, and entered a contest (more on that soon…)

Me – worked 14 hours one day and 9 hours the next setting up for (and then SHOPPING) the Adorable Affordables consignment sale!  (The sale is still going on!  Go check it out today and tomorrow!)

Hubby – held it all together while I was off doing my thing, and worked a 9 hour day at the sale as well!

Family – participated in the Chick-fil-a Stillwater fundraiser for our March of Dimes March for Babies walk!

It has been a crazy hectic week – but they all seem to be lately!  I am so proud of my girls!  They are truly shocking me with their talent, level of determination, and willingness to branch out on their own and try new things!  Lara literally made me leave her audition – she wanted to do it all on her own!  And Emma has made great strides in volleyball, and is planning on playing at the college level!  They are growing up TOO FAST!

My latest endeavor is to win Finn some “1 year” pictures.  But not in October when he will celebrate his first chronological birthday, but in January when he SHOULD be one!  So, I got wind of a fun Facebook contest, and decided I wanted to try our hand at it.  Touch of Wonder does AMAZING work, and I love the props over at Shutterfly, so helping them get some likes and showing off one of my favorite Finn Pics is all I have to do to win.  But, I need help.  That’s where you, Finn’s Fans and my readers, come in to play!  This is a 3-click process, and here’s how it goes (all the links are hot links so you can click directly from this post!)

1. Go "like" Shutterfly PropShop

2. Go "like" Touch of WonderPhotography

3. Find the Ultimate Dream-Baby Contest album and "like" this picture of Finn (&tiny Finn) :) 

This weekend we are still chasing the wind with kids activities!  If you need a car wash, come to Richmond Elementary tomorrow morning between 9 and 11 and the Rocketeers will fix you up!  It is a fundraiser for the 4^th & 5^th grade choir.  Emma has first 2 volleyball games of this fall season, Lara has Nutcracker rehearsal, and I have sorority obligations!  This big wheel just keeps on turning!  And we love it that way!