Nostalgia: Liam's first birthday

This just in: I will be the proud mama of a two-year-old in just a week and a half. How did this happen? As I'm planning his Curious George birthday party, I can't help but think back to this time last year. I just realized I never posted photos of his western first birthday party, so here's a look back:

Photos courtesy of Callie Combs Photography


Our menu included haystacks, hay bales (Rice Krispie treat bites), coop bites (chicken nuggets), wild hogs (pigs in a blanket), peanuts, and s'mores cupcakes, all served in either cast iron skillets, wooden crates or aluminum pans. 

At our "watering hole," we had water, lemonade and sweet tea, served in mason jars with brown and white striped straws.

For party favors, we sent guests home with bags of homemade trail mix.

All signs were made out of cardboard, and I used burlap, rope and raffia to make the other decorations.

We had a professional photographer take photos of each family with props: cowboy hats, mustaches, bandanas and sheriff badges.

A game of horseshoes was set up in the back yard.


This year will be VERY low-key (that's what happens when you've just had a baby), but I can only hope it's as fun as last year's party was!

Happy two months, Riley!

At almost three months, I’m finally getting a chance to post Riley’s two-month photos. It’s crazy to see how much he’s grown already!

This month has been tumultuous. On Riley’s eight-week birthday, he ended up in the hospital with an unknown virus. Because of his age, the doctors had to rule out serious infections like meningitis, so he had a full work-up done, including a spinal tap. (I didn’t watch that; there are some things you just can’t un-see, and I’d already seen plenty.) He was in the hospital for four days on IV antibiotics until they concluded it was just a virus. Thankfully it wasn’t serious, but regardless, it was heartbreaking to sit by helplessly watching my baby boy get poked and prodded over every inch of his body. Glad that’s over! I can’t imagine going through something like this without the inner peace that comes from knowing Jesus. Having comfort from the Holy Spirit and the confidence that Jesus is our healer is the only thing that kept me from falling apart. He gave me the strength to endure sleepless nights, the patience for endless interruptions, the grace to show flexibility, and the trust needed to let go of a situation I couldn’t control. If you would like to know this type of peace, send me a message and I'd be happy to share it with you.

I have to say, Kelley and I are so blessed beyond belief to have the friends and family we do. My in-laws and dear friends helped take care of Liam and even cooked and cleaned our house for us. And I had a precious couple from our church keep me company in the hospital, too. God has for sure placed some special people in our lives, and we are so thankful!

Riley recovered quickly and is back to his happy, chill self. He is cooing and laughing a lot these days, and he loves watching his big brother. Liam has plenty of kisses and hugs to give, and he loves pushing Riley in his swing or dangling a toy in front of him during tummy time. I know these two will be the best of friends.

We’ve been getting more sleep these days. Riley started sleeping through the night consistently at six weeks old! He typically sleeps from his last feeding about 10:30 until I get him up to eat between 7:15-7:30. We’ve been following the Babywise method, which is really just a common-sense way of teaching a baby how to sleep and helping them get in a good routine. You can get the book here. He eats every 2.5 hours during the day still, and at his two-month checkup he was 11 lbs, 8.5 oz., 23 in. long. He's growing so fast!