It Starts With Two: The Bishops: April 2015

Monday, April 20, 2015

BishopLately

April 13 - 19, 2015

Top: I sliced my finger with scissors | he loves books | and broccoli

Bottom: baby dedication | playing with cousin Cal | the hubs and his pups

This kid is growing up way too fast! And I adore our photographer, Michelle Stricker, at Stricker Photography. She is amazing and so so good with little ones! It is definitely her specialty! She took Dayton's newborn, six month, and now one year old photos. I absolutely loved how they turned out!

Dayton was a little unsure at first, but as soon as daddy showed up, a little late, he was all smiles. That boy smiles big for his daddy! I love it. Although, it would have been nice if he had smiled for me at the beginning of the photo shoot! Bless. Here are a few of my favorites. I can't believe my little boy is one year old!

Dayton's Dedication

Finally! Dayton was supposed to be dedicated at our church last September, but the morning of the service Dayton had a fever. A high fever. We tried to get it down, but we couldn't. My mama intuition was telling me that something wasn't right, so off to the ER we went. Dayton ended up being admitted into the pediatric unit with the beginning stages of pneumonia. That was a scary weekend. Thankfully, he got the care he needed at the right time and he was much better a few days later.

So, now it was time to try again! Dayton's dedication is probably the most important thing we have done in his life thus far. His dedication was not only for us to dedicate him to our Lord and Savior, but it was also a time for Brad and I to dedicate ourselves to God to bring Dayton up in a Jesus-centered home. The most important thing we can do as parents is to live-out God's grace in our lives and pray that Dayton accepts Jesus as his Savior as well. That is our prayer. That is our purpose as parents. We want to show Jesus' light in our lives so that others come to know Him as well. This was a big day for all three of us!

Our church, Prairie Lakes Community Church, holds a baby Child Dedication service for many parents at 3:30 pm in the chapel of the church. It is an intimate service that allows families to come together and celebrate another precious life. Since we're a "B" name, we were second to go up on stage. We read our "future hope" for Dayton and Brad read the verse that we had picked out for Dayton. It is the verse I have prayed over Dayton since we found out that we were pregnant. Then Pastor Gabe and Ellen (head of the children's ministry) prayed over us, along with everyone in the audience. Our close friends dedicated their daughter that day as well, so it was extra special. We had some family and our close friends attend in support. It was a beautiful day and I am so glad that we were finally able to do it! We love you baby boy.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Happy Birthday Dayton!

My sweet baby boy is one! I can't believe it. Reality check, time is flying by! Everyone told me it would, and they were all right. Every last one of them. My baby isn't a baby anymore. He's walking, doing a little talking, drinking out of sippy cups, and eating toddler meals. He's growing up too fast! But alas, here it is. My baby's first birthday party.

Dayton's first birthday party was a HUGE deal to me. I mean, this is our first kid having his first birthday. We made it through one year and kept him alive! Haha, kidding! But seriously. Dayton has to be the easiest going kid on the planet earth. He made this parenting thing look and feel easy for us. (I'm a little afraid of what baby baby #2 might be like.) So, thank you sweet baby D, you'e made my life so easy as a mama (so far)!

Anyways, like I said, this party was a huge deal to me and I spent countless hours scouring Pinterest and the internet for ideas to make it absolutely perfect. I wanted to remember every single moment of his party. If you know me, you know I love planning parties. I love all the little details! I just wanted his party to be extra special for him and us. I think it turned out pretty well!

We threw Dayton's party on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 pm. This let us get through nap time so we would have a non-cranky kiddo. Here is his invitation. I ordered his invitation from etsy at this shop.

I decided to not have a themed birthday party, other than colors. Let's be honest, when I throw a themed party I want Dayton to remember it. He's turning one, not five. A color theme was a perfect way for me to still have all my cutsie party details, but still be somewhat practical. His colors were orange, blue, white, and grey - just like his room and previous photo sessions.

We were so happy to have family and friends come to Dayton's party. It just shows you how many people love your little one. Thank you to those of you who came to celebrate our main man!