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.

 

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!

Year 1 of Dayton poster  |  one banner

All About Dayton chalkboard poster  |  balloons in the living room

Month to month photos of Dayton!

Happy Birthday book  |  smack cake

waiting for his guests

Dayton and his friends - Walker, Dayton, and Livi

Dayton's smash cake!

Happy Birthday sweet baby Dayton. We love you!!

Play Date

This is the last week before I go back to school and I am trying to pack in as much as I can! But seriously... I've had so much fun spending time with family, friends, and little man these last 4 months and I'm trying to say my "goodbyes" before I head back to reality. One group of friends that I had to get one more play date in with is our church friends. Love these ladies. They are my lifeline!!

taking a nap with Livi

All of the kiddos! 11 sweet little ones! with 7 mamas

Dayton and his girlfriend Olivia

Dayton is a ladies man...Livi and Mags

These Moments

"These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive.
These are the moments I'll remember all my life."

(Sara Evans)

 

Thanks to my hubby who snapped this picture on a Saturday morning. I know it's blurry, but I think it makes it that much more sweet.

Memory Lane [V. 1] - #gymrats

Every now and then a memory that I hold near and dear pops into my brain. One of those memories came to mind this week and I thought, "Why not write about it?" This little blog is all about documenting our lives and putting memories down on "paper," so why not take a trip down memory lane every now and then? That's what these little posts will be about...memories that I/we want to remember. On that note, here's the memory that made it's way to the forefront of my brain this week.

#gymrats ~ the nickname and phrase that 2 of my friends and I used on almost a daily basis. Beth, Hamilton, and I all worked together at ENSA. Beth and I taught first grade and Hamilton was our school's math coach. Beth and I taught all day together and then headed to the gym for our nightly workout. It worked out great - Beth and I didn't take each others crap and we kicked each others butts every night. One summer, Hamilton started working out with us. And that's how we became the #gymrats - because we were in the gym together 6 days a week for about 2 hours a day. That summer, when we weren't at the gym we were at the pool. The life! Even when school started, we all worked out together after work.

Some of my favorite things about hanging out with these 2?

• Spin class - Hamilton and I sang and "danced" on our bikes and embarrassed Beth. We loved us some spin class! 
• #sexylegsSaturday - leg day was always Saturday and we killed legs every Saturday. Those days were some of the best workouts I have ever had.
• "We don't eat carbs after 3 pm." - best phrase to ever come out of Hamilton's mouth. Ha!
• The lunch room - since we all worked together, we ate together. We all ate clean and were pretty strict about our nutrition. Working with 2 other people who eat as strict as you makes a whole world of difference. 
• Cheat meal nights - there was never a dull moment with these two!
• The red couch - Beth has red couches and it was pretty common for us to meet at her place and sit, talk, and laugh for hours on end. The couches became their own meeting place.

I love these two. It was pretty hard for me to leave two best friends that we just like me. I'll never find 2 people like them again! We had it made. Here's to us - #gymrats.