Charlotte's First Birthday!

 

I LOVE any excuse for a party! Nothing is better to me than to celebrate with my family, no matter how big or small the occasion.  I know everyone says the stuff doesn't matter-and they would be right.  Who you celebrate with is obviously more important that what you eat, ect.  That being said I love planning the details of a party.  The food, the cake, decorations, favors...oh it's so much fun!  I got on a roll early with Charlotte's party (like, in April...early even for me!)  I settled on kind of a "shabby chic" theme with lots of pink with a little rustic mixed in, and I think it turned out so cute!

 

I wanted some rustic elements to balance out all the pink: burlap, hay bales, and tree branches to the rescue!

 

In order to accommodate our large extended family, we had to use our garage.  But...I didn't want it to feel like a garage.  So we covered it up!  We covered the walls with pale pink party tablecloths.  They didn't photograph well (for some reason you can see through them a little in the pictures-you couldn't in person)but they did a great job of transforming the space.  To do this we strung cloths line between beams and then used binder clips to hang the tablecloths.  To keep them from separating, I taped them together from behind.  For the ceiling, I was inspired by this picture:

 

I knew I could find some branches (our property includes about 20 wooded acres)  and due to my small ahem Christmas obsession, I had plenty of white lights.  This would basically be a free decoration and have a huge impact. It was a little tricky to get them hung and positioned from the rafters, but I was so happy with how they turned out.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any great pictures of them, but here they are in the background:

 

 

We served pulled pork, mac and cheese, baked beans, and crescent dogs for the kiddos on this side.

And Seven Layer Salad and Corn Salad on this side.

We had lemonade, strawberry crush, and cream soda to drink.

With a camp fire going in our fire pit, s'mores were the perfect party favor!  Each bag included the makings for two s'mores.

Because you can't eat your first birthday cake in just any highchair; I found this antique high chair in a local shop and spray painted it pink.

 

 

 

Cake is good!

Presents are exciting-sometimes you have just got to clap your hands!

 

 

It was a wonderful day; so hard to believe that my baby is ONE!  I'm so happy to get to know the little girl she is growing into, but sometimes I want to hold my sweet newborn again!

Apple Pickin'



I have mixed feelings about Fall.  After the hot summer I'm always happy for the cool crisp nights and busting out my boots and scarves.  But...fall precedes the winter.  The winter is cold.  And long.  And this is going to sound a little weird, but when I was pregnant with Mason I had morning sickness throughout my first trimester.  Which happened to be in the fall.  So for many years after the fall scents and even colors were dead to me.  Just a whiff of a pumpkin was enough to gah...

But the memories of that have faded, and cinnamon pumpkin finally smells good again, so I decided we would enjoy this fall!  So we made the Maciejewski Fall Bucket List-all of the fall fun we didn't want to miss out on.  First up-Pick Apples!

 

For years we have heard friends rave about a nearby apple orchard, so the last weekend of September we decided to check it out for ourselves-and it definitely didn't disappoint!

 

The orchard is about an hour away, but since the leaves were in full color we didn't mind. :)  It was a BEAUTIFUL drive!  It was also unseasonably warm-as in 85 degrees!  It was to be our last day in shorts for the year though; the next day I think it was 50. 

All set to get some
yummy apples!

Charlotte supervised.

 

 

 



We took a break to enjoy some delicious apple cider doughnuts.  Oh how we LOVE doughnuts!

 



Our kids love a corn maze.  They were very impressed with this corn-it was seriously tall.

 

As in 10 feet!!!  Corn on steroids!

This was the best family pic that we got; self timer and camera balanced on a hay bale :)
Such a fun day!

 

Ten Year Anniversary and a Getaway!

This year Jeremy and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary.  It feels like we've been married forever, but yet the years have FLOWN by.  I can't even imagine how fast the next ten will seem!  I always say that we agree about all the big issues: politics, religion, parenting style...we just bicker about everything else!  But at the end of the day there is no one I would rather argue over a cookie with!(inside joke :)

 

August 14, 2004

 

It just so happened that our anniversary weekend fell very close to a  out-of-town family wedding.  It was a great opportunity to have a mini getaway and catch up with some of Jeremy's family that we don't normally get to see.  I didn't take many pictures (although we left the boys with my parents, we brought Charlotte with...it's hard to take pictures while keeping a ten month old happy!)  but we had such a fun time!

 

Sweet girl normally has quite the poker face-I had to tickle her belly a little to get a giggle!



Handsome Hubby!



Jeremy's Aunt S was so sweet to hold Charlotte for me during parts of the reception.  Charlotte had JUST figured out how to get her puffies out of her snack cup all by herself.



The three of us with Jeremy's cousin T.

It was a short and fast trip, but I loved being able to have a chance to dress up and have fun with my hubs!

 

 

Throwback Thursday

 

So what were the Maciejewski's up to one year ago this week?  We were enjoying our first month with our baby girl, getting used to being a family of five, and introducing Charlotte to her church family!

 

Because our family is large and our house is not, we decided to have the Baptismal Luncheon at our church's hall.  It was nice to have that time after the baptism to spend with family, and introduce Charlotte to some family members that had not yet had the chance to meet her.  I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I was busy talking!

 

Sleeping beauty :)

Deer in headlights...

Such a special moment!



I remember thinking "I can't believe she's ours!"

Aaannnd...this was the best picture after.  I suppose I should get used to it.  Getting a perfect picture of five just ain't gonna happen!

I spent a lot of time focusing on the details of this day.  Coordinating our outfits (because it's sooo important to blend, but not be matchy-matchy...right?) the food I would serve at the luncheon, table decorations, the perfect cake, ect.  I get carried away...but the most important part of that day (and the only part that really mattered) was the promise that we made in front of our family to do our best to raise Charlotte to know God.  To show what it means to be Christian and to carry that into our daily lives. 

 

I think God has some amazing plans for our little Charlotte...I can't wait to see them in action!



Just because they're sweet...

Pure sweetness!

Summer soccer-we enjoyed some beautiful nights at the field!

Summer swim.  Our school district offers free swim lessons to residents during the summer.  The kids love it!

Goggles...

One of my favorite pictures of Miss C.



 

We definitely keep busy over the summer (These guys do best with some activity everyday.  It's when they start to get stir crazy that we have trouble!) but I love the extra time I get to spend with

them.  I really miss them when they're at school!  One of the many reason summer makes me one happy Momma!



Happy 4th of July! (yes, I realize it's November...)

Fourth of July usually sneaks up on me...in the winter when I'm dreaming of summer and all that we can do I make plans in my head.  Cookouts.  Beach parties.  Oh the possibilities!  Except I choke when it comes to making the real plans so we usually just end up going out for summer before claiming our spot for the fireworks show.  Which is okay!  My kids have fun and we are spending the day together, which is definitely a win in my book. :)

 

This year though, the plans were made for me!  Jeremy's out of town Aunts and Uncles were camping nearby, and the whole family decided to grill out for supper.  We met with them before going to the fireworks and had the best time!  Much of my extended family lives across the country and I don't get to see them as often as I'd like, having Jeremy's huge family around makes me miss mine a little less!

Rockin' the red white and blue!

 

The Gents...




And the Ladies!
 

Silly guy!



Sweet C with Charlotte!



 



Our view at dusk.

 

Fun with sparklers while we waited for the show!

This is how taking Logan's picture nowadays goes...I get either a goofy look, a super cheese, or he won't look at all!

I know it's a little blurry, but I had to throw in this pic of sweet girl watching her first fireworks.  I covered her ears, but she just sat and watched-so sweet!

 

Maybe one year some of my big ideas will work out, but I don't think they would have made this day any sweeter!