Things I've Learned in One Year

On July 10, my son turned one and I realized how different my life has become since his birth; in good ways and in bad ways.

Here are a few things I have learned along the way:

1. Don't buy expensive clothes, they will just get stained or ruined in some way. Formula can stain a white shirt yellow, and veggies that have been spit out of a baby's mouth can land on your clothing. 
2. Poop is great. You want a baby that poops. A baby that does not poop is a VERY unhappy baby. 
3. A boy baby can pee at any minute, even if they just peed two seconds ago. 
4. Everything ends up in your child's mouth. This includes paper, toys, phones, remote controls, shoes, etc. 
5. Do not leave small items around the house. See #4. 
6. Do not get too drunk at a wedding or a party. A hangover with a screaming, tired baby is worse than any hangover you had in college. 
7. Don't wear bras that don't completely fit. Your son will pull your shirt down in public and instead of everyone seeing your bra, they will see your boob. 
8. Don't decorate your living room with fancy items because they won't match your Graco swing or your Baby Einstein Jumperoo.
9. You can never just run into a store again. Everything takes at least a half an hour. 
10. You may forget to eat because you will focus on making sure your baby is fed.
11. Little kid songs are very catchy. Everyday, there will be a new one stuck in your head.
12. Nothing is yours anymore. Everything belongs to your child. 
13. Take A LOT of pictures. You will end up showing them to everyone you know. 
14. Enjoy every minute. You will turn around and your kid will be a year old already.

So, I have learned plenty so far, but I am still learning, every single day.

Mommies and daddies, what did you learn during your first year as a parent? 

Mickey Mouse First Birthday Party

Table Decor

On July 13, 2013, we hosted Jackson's first birthday party in my in-laws' backyard and it was a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. First, I did some research online to see what I wanted the invitation to look like and I found a pocket invite on Etsy that I thought I could recreate. I was right!

Mickey Invitation

I cut black Mickey ears out of card stock and the red pockets out of card stock and the white invitation circle out of a higher pound printer paper. I was even able to download the Disney Waltograph font for free from an online font site. The only issue I had was with the buttons. I had to visit a few Michaels locations before I was able to get enough buttons to create all of the invitations. Some invitations had to have white buttons because I couldn't wait for Michaels to get them back in stock. I got the envelopes from Michaels and they were easy to find. Our return address stamp has a Mickey face on it already, so that fit in with the theme too.

We rented a tent, tables, chairs, a bounce house, a dunk tank and two port-a-potties, one for ladies and one for gentlemen. The tent reservation came with a snow cone machine, so that was a bonus. I bought black, yellow and red table cloths at the dollar store and my mom was able to find Mickey Mouse decorations at Party City and another local party store.

Food Tables

We also bought red Solo cups, black cutlery and I found red and white plates at Sam's Club for the food. For the cupcakes, I purchased Wilton Mickey Mouse cupcake stands from A.C. Moore. I bought two, but at different times so I could use a coupon for each of them.

For the centerpieces, I put pictures from Jax's first year in small picture frames and placed one or two on each table. Some family members ended up taking the frames home because they wanted photos of Jax for themselves. I also created Mickey centerpiece bags for each table. I cut large black Mickey heads and red pockets out of card stock, then glued them to red craft paper bags. Then I cut out #1's and glued them to each side of the bag. We hid balloon weights in them and tied balloons to the handles of each bag, and hid those too.

Table Centerpiece

Fortunately, my friend Catherine had a Mickey Mouse party for her son too and had an extra high chair sign that she gave to me for Jax. I thought it was adorable and it was a nice addition to the decor.

High Chair Garland

To sing "Happy Birthday," I made a large Devil's Food cupcake just for Jackson. I bought black fondant from Michael's and rolled it out to cut Mickey ears. After the cupcake was frosted, I placed Mickey scrapbook paper around it to create the cupcake liner and used toothpicks to stick the ears on. After we sang and blew out the candle, Jax put his hands in the cake and got it all over himself and Uncle Frankie. He loved it.

Mickey Smash Cake

Everyone else was able to eat the Mickey cupcakes that my mother and I made for dessert. We made the cupcakes from boxed mixes and used red and white polka dot liners. For the Mickey ears, we used mini Oreos that can be bought in the cookie aisle of the grocery store. The cupcakes were very cute and everyone enjoyed them.

Mickey Cupcakes

At the end of the night, when all of the food had been eaten and the bugs were ready to come back out, we said goodbye to Jackson's guests and everyone had a great time. We went back to my parents' house and opened up Jackson's abundance of gifts. He is one lucky kid and we are all so lucky to have him. Happy Birthday to our little meeska, mooska, mouseketeer!

Mickey Ears Straight from Walt Disney World