ELEVEN months Old.

Blake Denver - ELEVEN Months

• He is now over  22 lbs....although eating is not that interesting to him...he is diffidently a marathon eater...he gets it done, it just takes FOREVER.
• He got his first tooth! We weren't sure if/when this would happen for him ;)
• He is wearing size 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.
• He has many new tricks like: waving "hi," clapping your hands and giving high-fives.
• He is officially sleeping through the night more often than not..."YEAH!" says mom. Proud of my "big" boy.
• He got to watch aunt Kinsey graduate from college...although he slept through most of it in dad's arms.
• He celebrated dad's 26th birthday, mom's first mother's day and mom and dad's 5th wedding anniversary this last month.
• His favorite toys this month: ANYTHING he can get his hands on...bath-time is his favorite time though...he gets excited when he even hears the water running.
• His NEW foods tried this month: kiwi, Ritz crackers, cottage cheese, beef, avocado(didn't like it) and pickles...which he loved...whose kid is this? ;)
• He had a friend, Ella, spend two whole days with us. They sure enjoyed playing with each other and "talking" back and forth.
• He shakes his head "no" when getting tickled or snuck up on.
• He has learned how to go from sitting to crawling...still doing army crawling...he just thinks it is funny when dad puts him up on his knees.
• He LOVES his two cats, Calli and Hobbes...he gets really excited, and is working on "gently" petting them when they let him get close enough.
• He spent his first 'all-day' time with Grandpa and Grandma Nolz so mom and dad could celebrate their anniversary...he had so much fun with them.
• He went on his first vacation to Sisters, Oregon with just mom and dad...it was such an awesome and relaxing trip for everyone.

Our little family :)

Blake in a Box #2

Kitchen Themed Wedding Shower

 Celebrating my sister's upcoming wedding has to have been one of the highlights of the last month. Amazing that in less than 100 days now my sweet sister will be getting married to such an awesome man. It has been a blessing getting to watch their relationship grow, and see how perfect they truly are for one another.

To start off the celebration, my mom and I threw her a wedding shower with close friends and family. I've always wanted to do a themed shower, so this time we did a kitchen themed wedding shower; which was so much fun to put together.

The invitation for the shower.

Some of the fun things that we planned for the shower was that each guest brought a recipe that they love to share with the bride-to-be. After reading through them, it was clear that she got some tasty dishes to make. My favorite 'game,' was the one where I got to ask the groom, Gary, questions about Kinsey and their future life together. Loved that he said they would have "1,000 kids," when I asked him how many they would have...needless to say, Kinsey didn't come up with that same number. My favorite response of the groom was when I asked him to complete the sentence, "I knew I loved Kinsey when...," and he said, "I realized that no other girl could ever make me as happy as she does."

Guest Book I made on Shutterfly.com

My mom and I had a lot of fun putting together the decor for the shower. Here are some of the specific decorations of our vintage/kitchen theme:

The part that I was most excited about though, was getting to share my heart behind the shower with Kinsey and our guests. She is such an amazing woman, and I am so thankful that I get to call her my sister. I shared pictures of us growing up through the years...knowing that so soon she will be making new memories with a new important person in her life. The verse that I think defines my sister is,

"She is clothed in STRENGTH and DIGNITY 

and she laughs without fear of the future."

Proverbs 31:25

Her strength is a moral and mental power, but I have seen it in the courage she has had to face big trials in her life, and not to give in. Her dignity is respectable and she is worthy to be celebrated...she is my hero if you haven't noticed that yet. When she faces trials, she does with a "pure joy," one unexplained other than giving thanks to God that He has a plan. Part of His plan is her future husband, Gary. He has walked through trials with her, and never once wavered in his love of her...it has been a blessing to my sister heart to see how much Gary loves and takes care of my baby sister. Thankful that God "knows the plans," for their life, and that He brought the two of them together (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

Beautiful bride to be. :)

After we all shed some happy tears, it was time for the opening of the presents...WOW she was so showers that's for sure! So many great kitchen tools, appliances and decor. I can't wait to see it in their new place. So thankful for the friends and family that are surrounding my sister. 

What a fun day to celebrate such a wonderful person; my best friend, and sister.

Decorate an Apron: We had the guests help create a unique apron for Kinsey.