a b*day party for babygirl

my little babygirl is growing so fast.
how could it almost have been a year already?

oh suri, i remember carrying you in my arms
all bundled up in your hospital blanket.
you were so soft, wrinkly and warm.
i couldn't get enough nuzzling time with you.
*really deep sigh*

though suri officially turns 1 this saturday,
we had her birthday party this past weekend.
as you can imagine, dozens of photos were taken.
here are a handful...

not a fan of her smash cake

getting tired...using a book to prop up her head. LOL!

some mustaches on her party blowers, of course.

homemade strawberry popsicles

25 at 32

it's my birthday today.
yup.
woo-hoo!!!
i'm officially 32 years old.
honestly, i don't feel old or young.
might be the perfect age for me.

i've decided to make a list of goals for my big 3-2.
initially i was attempting to make 32 of them...
but, turns out that's a lot of darn goals.
so, i only came up with 25 in no particular order:

  1. Stop biting nails.
  2. Publish something.
  3. Take an all-girls vacation.
  4. Finish my wedding scrapbook.
  5. Finish Suri's 1st year scrapbook.
  6. Teach a class.
  7. Have a date with hubby once a week.
  8. Open an Etsy shop.
  9. Hang out with girlfriends at least twice a month.
  10. Exercise at least 3 times a week., including 1 class.
  11. Find a babysitter.
  12. Participate in an ATC swap.
  13. Eat less red meat.
  14. Take self-portrait photos.
  15. Redecorate.
  16. Figure out a functional closet system.
  17. Leave graphic design.
  18. Fine-tune blog.
  19. Create a library for Suri.
  20. Stretch and do breathing exercises daily.
  21. Eat organically ... and locally.
  22. Start a Tumblr and Flicker account.
  23. Learn how to use Twitter.
  24. Strengthen my relationship with God.
  25. Give up soda.


none of these goals seem too unreasonable to accomplish.
i kept them pretty specific and left out the ones
i consider to be a "given",
like continuing to improve in mommyhood, etc.

yup, there are some doozies on there.
check out #17.
whoa.
w h o a .

any of these sound intriguing for yourself?
i'd love to have a support buddy.
hit me up. :)

lata, loves,
m

peek-a-boo, i see you

somebody wanted to play peek-a-boo
at dinner last night.

that's a sturdy tote!

i got this "summer tote" on clearance at target for $6.
(ya got me again, target, how do you do it every time?)
it's pretty cute ... made of canvas and zips up.

i think it's for picnics and whatnot,
but i'll probably put my craft supplies in there.

it looked like it was the perfect size for suri.
so, just for fun...

pretty sturdy, right?
hehee.

happy weekend!

mMmm...watermelon

suri has never tasted a drop of juice.
yes, it's true.
my hubby is really against giving her any sugars,
so she doesn't get "addicted".
i think it's fine in moderation,
especially if it's from a natural source, like fruit.
and while the cat's away....

the baby mouse gets watermelon.
hehee.

$1 and ten minutes

hi loves,

my time is ticking down for suri's bday
and i made this ribbon in a snap.

i was inspired by paige evans' birthday badges
for this diy project/makeover.

i purchased the award ribbon from dollar tree for $1.
i created the artwork on my computer.
(but, you could easily just cut out the circle
from patterned scrapbook paper and stamp your title.)
if your circle looks jaggedy from being hand-cut,
lightly sand the edges.

next, hotglue all the ribbons in.
(i added some hot pink netting too.)
then, add a doily on the back.
i cut a space for the pin
and used my taperunner to attach it.

something fun to add to the day. :)

happy thursday!
xo
minna

can't get enough

this past weekend, our friends welcomed
a new baby boy into the world.
i hope to be smothering him with kisses very soon!

his name is maxwell (so cute!)
which could not be more fitting for a bowtie-wearing baby.
i think you know where i'm going with this...

you may remember these baby bowties from this post. 
but, i've decided to revisit this tutorial
and give you some better photos.
here goes...

 1.) Start with a fabric piece that is 5.5w x 2.5h. (Thicker fabric is better.) Fold lengthwise to meet in the middle and hot glue - should be about 1"h or so now:

  
2.) Fold in sides also to meet in middle that way. Should be about 2.25" - 2.5"w or so. This is the back of the bowtie:

3.) Cut another piece of fabric that is 1" x 2" for the middle of the bowtie. (Btw, you'll cut most the 2" off.) Fold lengthwise to meet in the middle and hotglue. It should be now a little more than 0.25":

4.) Hot glue one end to the back of the bow and bring it around to the front. Make it really tight and "scrunched"-looking. Hot glue on the back and cut off the excess fabric:

 

5.) Hot glue the bow to the onesie, just under the collar "lip". (Keep your hand behind the fabric and press, so the hot glue doesn't bleed through that first layer of fabric.)

There you have it.
Supereasy.
Supercute.

i like it after all

i finally took suri swimming for the first time!
she is craaaazaaaay for bathtime,
so i was certain she would be a natural waterbaby.
or a 'pool rat', as my sister calls it.

when we first arrived, it was lifeguard "break" time,
so my babygirl got her tan on.
(look at those rolls!)

when we finally got in the water,
i think the cold was a MAJOR shock for her.
she cried and screamed like we were trying to torture her.

that lasted for about 5 minutes, until she got used to it.
then, she LOVED it.

 

she splished.

she splashed.

i even took her to the deeper end,

and held her, while she kicked her chubba legs.

she's a total natural. :)

she's sweet and cool

suri's 1st birthday is at the end of this month.
no doubt it will be sizzling hot,
so i decided to make her party theme
sweet and cool.

i made her invitations to look like popicles.
they say:

she's sweet 
and cool
and so much fun.
come join the party
suri's turning one.

first, i created the invitation in a 2.75w x 4h size.
(i used a adobe illustrator, but this could easily
be done in photoshop as well.)

nothing too fancy in setting it up.
i simply made each letter a different color
for 'suri's turning one'.
the font i used is 'prissyfratboy'
and can be found here for free.
i used it in all CAPS.

i took them to my local printer and printed 50 of them.
i asked them to trim them down to 2.75w x 4h for me.
this all cost me about $5.
(the printing was much better than from my own printer.)

i bought zots and wooden popsicle sticks from michaels.

for the back of the popsicle,
i bought scrapbooking paper in a pink stripe
and used my paper trimmers to cut them into 2.75w x 4h size.

i rounded all the corners of the invitations and the backing.


i laid my pink stripe backing facedown
(the other size was polka dot)
and used my glue runner along all the edges of the paper
and used a zot on each side of the popsicle stick,
placing it a little more that halfway up.

after affixing the invitation on the front,
i used my scalloped circle punch to
take a "bite" out of the corner.

if you have questions or want my illustrator file,
hit me up via email at minnaks at gmail dot com.
:)
lata, dolls!

 

it ain't easy being cheesy

one of my favorite things about being a mom
is getting to be silly with suri.
i actually don't remember my parents ever
being silly/playful with us as kids.
ever.

suri is a born character.
it cracks me up all the time with her mannerisms
and animated faces.
i always think 'where does she get this stuff?'
she is a c l o w n .
a cheesy, happy clown.

she loves wearing my fake glasses.
(i got lasik. these are no-prescription, style glasses.)

they don't stay very well on her little, baby nose.

i slicked her hair with some water for a more nerdy look. hehee

 cheeeeeeeese