Best Birthday Gifts for a 1-Year-Old

1. Baby Lit Don Quixote // 2. VTech Chomp and Count Dino // 3. Alphablock // 4. Nike Sneaks // 5. Radio Flyer Fold 2 Go Trike // 6. Babiator Sunglasses // 7. Mega Blocks First Wagon // 8. Kidoozie Water Table // 9. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site //

Last month my son Everett turned 1 year old. We had so much fun throwing his first smashing party (pirate-style!) and of course, indulging in some present buying. I still tease that we bought him a house for his birthday, although it's not too far off from the truth. But Everett was gifted some really amazing toys and books, and I wanted to share a few of them in case you have a birthday party for a 1-year-old in your future!

1. Baby Lit Don Quixote
I'm just gonna go ahead and say that HANDS DOWN, this is his favorite item. Like ever. He has never been attached to a stuffed animal, a "lovey" or any other object, but for some reason, he loves this Baby Lit Don Quixote book. Who would have thought?!  We read it to him probably 10 times a day and I've been sending it with him when he goes to mothers morning out as if its his blankie. I don't know what to think, but I swear it's teaching him how to say "Hola". Seriously. He says it!

2. VTech Chomp and Count Dino
This VTech Chomp and Count Dino is probably as fun for me as it is for him. The music is not annoying (which is saying a lot for a kiddo toy) and it's truly a fun, interactive toy! We feed the dino different foods and he sings about them. I love it.

3. Alphablock
This is another book that is getting a lot of airtime in our world. The Alphablock is big, beautiful, and fun to read because it's not really reading at all. It's a book that goes through the letter of the alphabet in a quaint picture format. A really great gift!

4. Nike Sneaks
My sister got Everett a pair of kicks that look so similar to these, and he has suddenly become a big boy in them! He is walking (more like stomping) in these adorable, chunky athletic shoes and I feel like he is about to conquer the world in them. Plus, I think he likes looking like his daddy in big boy shoes. So stinkin' cute, guys. Seriously.

5. Radio Flyer Fold 2 Go Trike
We haven't really quite mastered the technique it takes to get him riding on this Radio Flyer Fold 2 Go Trike quite yet, but I feel like it's coming in the next few months. But it's such a timeless, fun gift; I am excited to see him scoot around on this baby trike!

6. Babiator Sunglasses
Okay, these little Babiator Sunglasses are the jam. Everett doesn't keep them on his face for too long (he likes to pull them off and chew on them), but they are TO DIE FOR cute. They're perfectly designed for babies, too, because he has bent them every which way and they refuse to break. So fun! And it feels good to know that these will actually protect his baby blues in the sun :)

7. Mega Blocks First Wagon
Haha okay my little boy has turned into a WORKER with this Mega Blocks First Wagon. He drags it all over our new house, from room to room, picking up random household items and piling them in his wagon. I think he feels like he's being useful while we unpack. It's hilarious. And actually, pretty counterproductive, since he keeps moving things around and I can't find them in this new space. Ah!

8. Kidoozie Water Table
Okay, so we didn't actually get a water table like this one, but we played with them at several other friends' birthday parties this summer, and oh! What an amazing invention! With summer beginning to wrap up, I think I will hold off on snagging one of these for him until next year, but truly, he is at the perfect age for it now. It's such a fun toy for, especially for the outdoors.

9. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
Going along with the theme of my baby transitioning into a little boy (literally, right before my eyes), my little sneaker-wearing, wagon-dragging babe has loved the book Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site. It's such a sweet story and introduces all the cool construction trucks that boys grow up to love. It's a good one.

Any fun gifts for 1-year-olds that I haven't experienced yet? I would love to hear about them!

Acai Berry Breakfast Bowl

Your breakfast is about to become very on-trend. Because everyone in the world is talking about smoothie bowls and I for one don't like to be left out of breakfast popularity. Those are the best kind of trends, amiright? So here you go, folks. The simplest, most ridiculously easy smoothie bowl recipe there ever was.

I first had one of these a few years back at Kale Me Crazy. And the entire time I was wolfing it down, I kept thinking, I have to remember everything that is in this so I CAN MAKE IT AGAIN. And ever since then, we've been making them at our house. It's kind of like a twist on the traditional breakfast parfait. You just swap out the yogurt for an almond milk/acai mixture. And let your mouth go numb with the yum. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

- 1 Sambazon Acai Berry Frozen Pouch - you should be able to find these in the frozen fruit section of your grocery store.

- 1 cup Almond Milk

- 1/2 cup Blueberries

- 1/2 cup Banana, sliced

- 1/2 cup granola

- 1/4 cup shredded Coconut, unsweetened

- Honey, drizzled

- a dash of Cinnamon

Method:

1. Place the pouch of acai in a cold glass of water for a few minutes to thaw. This will allow it to slide out of the pouch easily.

2. Once a little bit thaw, open the pouch of acai and pour into your high-powered blender. I am a sucker for my Vitamix, but any blender will work for this recipe. It's okay if the acai is still very frozen.

3. Add in the almond milk, and blend on high for 20 second, or until completely combined. The mixture should have the consistency of a smoothie. And it should be a grayish-purple shade that will make you want to paint your walls with it, nay, bathe in it. But you won't. Because you will want to eat it more.

4. Pour half the contents into a bowl, and cover half to use at another time. Like tomorrow. And voila, your first layer is complete! Now it's time to dress it up.

5. Add a layer of granola, then berries, then coconut. Top with a dash of cinnamon and drizzle with honey - the more the better in my opinion. And that's it! Your trendy, delectable acai berry bowl is ready for consumption! Enjoy, my friends!

On Transition.

Everett's Babiators, a birthday gift from his buddy Evie.

Oh, this week. It's been a week. Can I go ahead and say TGIF even though it's so early on Friday morning?

These pictures make me laugh, which is what you have to do when you have a long week of moving and unpacking and your baby throwing your dirty laundry around the new house so that when people come over THEY CAN SEE IT. So much awesomeness happening here. So much.

This move has been the most mammoth of them all. I mean, of all the moves I've ever made. And I've moved across this entire country, from Georgia to California (4X!!!), from Atlanta to Boston, From New York back to the Georgia burbs (with a few extra moves in between.) But of all these transitions, this little 20-minute trek from one town to another? It's been epic. Annoyingly so.

Because now we have a baby.

Babies make moving HARD.

He doesn't like moving. My kid. Now I see why people don't move when they have children. It's just easier to stay put. For real.

But we have moved! And although I feel like we will probably continue to move in over the next several weeks, we are actually living in this space, occupying and making messes and unstuffing boxes and making piles that we don't know what to do with. You could call it a disaster zone. You could call it unsafe for children. You could call it a lot of things. I like to call it the stuff I avoid while I wander from room to room, munching on fruit snacks. Or the stuff I call my mom to come over and help me with. Because I am overwhelmed with where to begin. So many rooms! So much STUFF! And seriously guys, I got rid of SO MUCH before we moved. I don't know how, but people just tend to accumulate stuff whilst living. I am one of those! But I am also such a firm believer in tossing things. Just getting rid of crap feels so good! It's worth it.

This is a bit of a ramble because I have nothing to offer you this week except a mushy, soggy, exhausted brain full of Pinterest decor ideas and prayers that my son will survive preschool without terrorizing all the teachers. So far, he has terrorized all the teachers. Another element that is wearing me down, truthfully.

In the mean time, I am actually super excited about the spaces in my home and how things are coming together. We have new floors and a fresh new stairway being installed (we are currently in a bit of a construction zone until that project is completed next week), and I am unpacking and beginning to style the different rooms which is excellent fun. Next week I will start breaking out the chalk paint and going to town on some furniture that I was so generously gifted! It's all happening up in here. Being an adult never felt so, well, adult. It's ironic that I'm finding a lot of this process fun. It's also ironic when I think back to those pre-baby days when Stevie and I would NEVER work on house projects and just go out to dinner on the weekends and play in the city on Saturdays. And like, go to museums. What?! Oh my. How things have changed. Now my Google searches are all lowes.com-related and my Saturdays involve disinfecting something. Can I just say, life is sooooo glamorous. I am living proof. Now excuse me while I go clean my stove and eat a dollop of Nutella. And book a babysitter because clearly, I need to get OUT of this house this weekend.

Happy Friday to you, cuties! XOX.

Moving Weekend.

This weekend we moved!

We are so, so happy in our cozy abode. We've only slept here a total of two nights, but it already feels like home. Our home. OUR GREEN HOME. By green, I mean the color, not the eco-conscious. I keep looking out in the yard and seeing MY TREES and MY GRASS and the little baby playset in the yard. EVERETT'S PLAYSET. Gosh I guess this is what suburbia and domesticity and the American dream feel like, all rolled into one. I never ever thought I would want these things, like a house with a fence. I actually used to tease Stevie and tell him that he got lucky with me, because I was thrilled to live in tiny city apartments forever, but oh, now I'm the girl with the house and the fence. And how I am loving this fresh new season of life. It's just sweet and wonderful.

I knew this house was The One when I went into the backyard. There are at least ten birdhouses tucked in the trees! Back in January, I vowed to birdwatch as part of my New Year's Resolutions, so walking through this yard and seeing all these rustic wooden birdhouses was A SIGN. I love watching birds. And now I have homes for them! Guys, I'm not a cat lady. So bird watching is okay. I think you can only be into one of them, otherwise that's crossing into some testy territory...

Though, I will admit. It's been challenging through out moments of this process. Because what an absolute CRAZY few weeks its been!

Every day, starting last Monday, I've been taking Everett to "preschool", which is actually a Mother's Morning Out program. Because of his first-day-of-school behavior (incessant, top-of-the-lungs screaming for a seriously extended period of time), the administration thought it would be a good idea if I helped "immerse" him by going every day with him until he feels comfortable. He won't normally go every day, but the hope is that my presence there will help him feel safer around his teachers and the environment, so we have been there every week day. Together. I am back in preschool. And proud to say that my coloring skills haven't rusted even a bit. After spending just a little bit of time in the classroom, I am convinced that those preschool workers are goddesses. I am exhausted and I'm only there a fraction of the time they are. Goddesses, all of them.

On top of this big transition for my son, we have been in the process of packing and slowly moving over loads of stuff to the new house. Last week I started driving a car load of boxes over each day, unloading them, unpacking and working on the house. Starting loads of laundry, running the dishwasher and unpacking my beloved long-lost teacups. And I have been doing all of this with Everett, usually in the Ergo. IT'S EXHAUSTING. That kid is so heavy. I actually feel old and decrepit. I have got to get to the gym more and improve my lack of physical strength because goodness, I am feeling it.

This past weekend was the big kahuna; the final move with all the legit, grown up furniture. We were SO LUCKY AND BLESSED to have our family come over and help. I am so outrageously proud that I inherited so many amazing, muscled brothers and cousins. They took care of our stuff as if it were their own and stayed with us until the last large item was moved. Thank you guys SO MUCH! I didn't give you enough donut holes, I'm sure of it.

Now here's for the TRULY AMAZING PART. We had a family friend who is in the process of downsizing from their home. They were generous enough to give us their ENTIRE HOUSE OF FURNITURE. When I say entire, I'm not embellishing. They gave us a dining room set, bedroom sets, lamps, pictures, mirrors, tables, chairs, THE WORKS. We are still flabbergasted and a little bit overwhelmed by the sheer generosity and kindness of this family, who wouldn't let me pay them for any of it. They simply "wanted to bless us" and they wouldn't let us do anything more for them. Thank you Mr. Gary and Mrs. Angela! You've made our house already feel like a home!

We are living in the house now, but mostly downstairs. We have new carpet getting installed upstairs next week, so we are keeping the furniture up there to a minimum. Our bed in on the floor and not much else. It will be fun to fully move in, but for now, I am just focused on the downstairs. Between that and keeping up with Everett's school situation, I'm feeling like the days are endlessly full. But it's all wonderful stuff, so I am tired, but really happy!

Now we are onto rearranging, decorating, and purchasing for the house! Everything from rakes to bathroom towels, rugs to extension cords. Houses are expensive! And the project list is getting loooooong with each passing day. Don't worry friends, I will be including some in-depth home tours as the rooms get put together.

Thanks for your prayers and well-wishes. It means so much!

If you like moving stories, there's the time I moved right before our Euro Trip, and the time I was so hugely pregnant that I didn't lift a finger. Good times, all of them.

Moving Weekend!

Today! We move! Huzzah!!!

Prayers please, friends. We are starting the day off exhausted and it's going to be a long one. Happy weekend to you!

XOXO