a special specialist

yesterday, eden was able to get an last minute appointment that someone else cancelled with a doctor who specializes in allergies and asthma. (allergist/asthmologist/pulmonologist?!)

a quick summary? what a blessing!!

we were encouraged about the care e has received from the peds. we also had lots of conversation about the timeline of events, types of treatments we've tried, what worked, what didn't, why not, other possibilities and even a pretty good overview of why certain treatments work and some don't.

even though they were pretty sure her problems haven't stemmed from allergies, they tested her anyway for all the common allergies:

tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, barley, dairy, dog, cat, mold, dust, corn, eggs, fish, shellfish... and... i think that's it...

all tests were NEGATIVE!! (i was especially glad she's not allergic to dogs.) eden enjoyed her first peanut butter sandwich today for snack!! yum... she loved it! i got the rare privilege to find out what (if anything) my daughter is allergic to without having a scary incident in a restaurant or on vacation... or anywhere other than a doctors office!

...i digress.

the doctor suggested trying a stronger controller med and a more frequent dose, and a granular medicine we mix in her lunch... we go back two weeks for a follow up.

so far, things seem to be going REALLY well... granted, we're on day two, but she coughs about once a day and it doesn't seem to get the best of her. and her nose hasn't had to be wiped the first time today... that's a first in a MONTH!!

there were lots of other little details, but i won't bore you with all of them... bottom line, i feel like we're finally making some REAL progress, i love the doctor, eden is sweet as ever... we'll keep you posted (even though you're probably getting as tired of this as we are!)

top rated toys

attention new parents...

you're not gonna want to miss this!

seasoned parents have known this for years...

eden has hundreds of dollars worth of the top rated toys for early development

and THIS one is her favorite one of all!!

an old puffs container with 5 pennies in it and the lid has been taped shut.

HOURS of entertainment and musical development.

this along with the box of wipes, the trash can lid, a cardboard paper towel tube and the toilet.

if you're interested here's the more official list...

e.i.a.

"eden in action!"

y'all have been so patient with the lack of updates--then i bombard you with doctors visits and nebulizer bits...

so, i thought i'd post more fun stuff about eden!

these are a few pictures of eden over the last couple of days

climbing on the sofa (one of her favorite things to do!)

 

sitting on daddy's head... another favorite pastime.

reading her poke-a-dot monkey book

 i love her face in this next one... she was "reading" it to me :)

here's a little video of her reading her favorite book to mama

and these next few pictures... 

eden and i were just being silly in the floor--giggling, tickling, climbing, laughing, rolling around

and i stuck my socks on her hand (which she thought was hilarious)

and this is where i can find her should i forget to close the bathroom door completely:

(notice the WET tp stuck to her hand--well, at least she's figured out that tp goes IN the toilet!!)

and these last two are from lee's cell phone

(he kept her two days this week while i worked extra long work days!!)

this one, she's headed to the doctor for our follow up visit

 and this one, she was listening to music with lee while sporting her grateful dead shirt

well... that's about it!

and in case you're wondering, yes, she was sick when i took ALL of these photos...

now you guys can understand why i have a hard time discerning when she's ACTUALLY sick!

relief for wheezy e

...i'll keep this quick for today because i'm ready for bed. yeah, that and i feel bad for not updating this week.

we went back to the doctor today for what i was expecting to be a quick follow up appointment... even though i had a few (what i thought were) minor concerns. she's really doing BETTER.

after a long visit full of nebulizer treatments, nebulizer complaints from mama (i seriously hate that thing... and the one we got is a dud.), disappointing pulse-ox levels when eden didn't seem to be having a hard time breathing, and some concern about e's coughing while she's sleeping (as in, IN her sleep*)... we've got a better different diagnosis. the doctor spent lots of time with us today explaining a new plan of action and a different treatment and things to look for...

the diagnosis? baby asthma. (yeah, there's probably a fancy word for it...) the type of asthma that she's been tagged with is something that she could outgrow in 6 months--or when she's 3... if not, i'm guessing they'd diagnose her with childhood asthma (or whatever the next developmental stage)... either way, its still something she's likely to grow out of at some point.

*she coughed in her sleep for 2-3 hours last night... i tried to wake her up for some honey in her milk and a neb treatment... she was conked out... but would wake up here and there and would cough when her sweet, sleeping self looked so deceptively peaceful and angelic. eden sleeping... lee sleeping... hannah staring at the baby monitor and googling "home remedies for coughing toddler"

i'm somewhat relieved... the terrible cough is finally being addressed. the cough that has lurked around for way too long.

a diagnosis... yes, that brings relief to a certain extent too, now doesn't it?

is it the RIGHT diagnosis... the jury is still out.

i will say this: she coughed this morning during her nap... went to dr.... took 2nd nap with NO coughs... had bedtime treatments (with inhaler--no nebulizer...wooo hoooo!!)... went to bed and i've not heard her cough the first time.

i'm excited at the possibility for some relief for eden... but still cautiously optimistic... this whole respiratory issue seems to ebb and flow just like her sweet breaths it affects. great one day, pitiful the next... i know eden is in good hands--her doctors are so sweet and call to check up on her--so informative and reassuring... not to mention her sweet daddy who runs to get things for us (tissue, bottle, book, juice, whatever!) when i'm snuggled up with e... and her bulldog of a mama who won't stop until this mess is FIXED.

signs of spring and summer

what could possibly be cuter than a chubby legged baby in hot pink shorts?

a chubby legged baby in hot pink shorts wearing her first pair of (pink) rainbows!

duh!

hope you're enjoying your weekend as much as we are enjoying ours!

better way late than never.

eden has entered her 2nd year of life the very similarly to the way she entered her first... not the way we had planned. and heck, it even included the hospital.

let's take a step back and do the normal milestone post. weight. head circumference. height. favorite things... you know the drill.

height: 29.5" (50-75%)

weight: 21.5 (50-75%)

head:45.75cm (75%)

...that big gourd is housing a very busy BRAIN! my goodness she is learning stuff left and right... whether i (or anyone else, for that matter) taught her!

words: mama, dada, dog, book, duck, hey, bye.. and she signs milk and "all done!"... and like i said on the 11 month post--when she wants to say what you're saying, she gets very focused on your lips--i'm trying to make more of and effort to repeat things and really e-nun-cee-ate them. the desire to grow her vocabulary is definitely there. she also loves talking in her own language when she's playing with her dolls, talking to nershi, or other kids.

she points and gurgles and has several varieties of waves--whatever she's in the mood for, i suppose. blowing kisses is her thing! seriously, she knows she ALWAYS gets a reaction when she blows kisses... and if she's doing it and you're not responding enough, she takes it up a notch and sings while she does it (turning in to the indian call...you know the one i'm talking about.) she LOVES climbing (i know i said that in a previous post today, but this is the milestone post. get over it.)--she's become quite the daredevil--she loves being tossed on the bed into the pillows, being flung around, scaling sofa cushions, hanging upside down, tossed up in the air... anything like that. and as far as the climbing goes--i'm ready for e to walk--once she conquers that--we'll be living at the park this summer!! can't wait!

we're eating 3 meals a day now... with snacks in between. generally yogurt and cheerios for breakfast... yogurt/fruit for lunch and veggies and some of whatever we're having for dinner. we're totally off formula--but i'm thinking of investing in a dairy cow. i'll admit, we did a little backsliding this month with the bottle--but thanks to my loving, encouraging blog readers--i'm not sweatting it. she'll get rid of her bottle when she's ready.** she's great with her sippy cup--juice, milk and water out of that--so, no concerns there.

**i'm of the opinion thats when it needs to be done anyway... after all, that's when you move to solids, potty train, adjust sleeping arrangements, and any other important milestone... WHEN THEY'RE READY. she's just not there yet and i'm ok with that!

she's still attached to her blanket--but only when she's tired or not feeling well... she loves to be wherever i'm at, and sometimes has just a touch of separation fussies--but 98% of the time will go to ANYONE... even a stranger. its so funny to me how social she is--the girl can work a crowd (no, not just a family crowd)... during her ages and stages quiz--she's always off the charts on the social stuff and right about where she should be for her motor skills. some of the other boys we hang out with don't seem to be talking as much as eden, but i seem to be observing their motor skills thinking "i should work on that with e". for example... eden isn't putting blocks or things IN a box/container... she's not throwing things either (the doctor advised me to enjoy her "not throwing things" while it lasts. its coming.) ...but honestly, i think girls are just programmed for the social stuff and boys tend to be better early on at the motor skills... but hey, it gives me something to work on with her! i bought her first box of crayons and we're looking forward to exploring with those soon!

size 4 diapers (well, we're finishing up the 3's but my next box of diapers are 4's). and still 12-18 month clothes (wow! she got lots of really cute clothes for her birthday!)

and people... this should come as no surprise... she STILL only has TWO TEETH. omg. i asked the doctor "what the heck" during her well baby check and she said "well, we like for them to have two by the time they're 12 months." ....well, super doc--we've had these since THANKSGIVING. oh well... as all women are, clearly eden is doing things on her own time. i don't know why i'm so surprised.

the tantrums seem to have temporarily subsided... only because i've put a halt on the weaning (illness induced.) and what type of mother wouldn't give her sick baby everything she wanted?! tantrums aren't necessary in such euphoria... or is it utopia... eh, you pick... but i feel like they'll be back around in the next few weeks.

i'm sure i'm leaving out so much stuff--ahh, more favorites: puzzles (sorta...she's getting the idea--again, we're working on the motor skills), books, the stroller is back in action--e and i have squeezed in a few walks before daylight savings time started again... but she and lee have put some miles on it... they went for almost an hour yesterday and she just loves riding in it... she kicks her legs and sips on her juice... such a happy baby! wooo wee... bath time has been taken to a whole 'nother level... she typically bathes in the big tub every night... with bubbles (berry scented--leftover from the party)... she crawls around and splashes and loves laughing at allllll the ducks (again, leftover from the party) "riding the waves" she makes...

OH! and how could i forget... MUSIC!! this girl has got some moves!!!! she loves standing next to lee's record player and dancing... and she dances whenever we sing songs--whether she's strapped in her car seat, or sitting in the middle of the floor, or sitting in her high chair... she loves dancing... and she loves to watch lee play his guitar... the two of them often make drums out of non-drum items in the house... shakers/maraccas... a paper towel tube (that can be a horn, microphone or a drumstick)

she is a PURE JOY to be around... so stinkin' fun. sometimes lately i find myself wondering if she'll still be a mama's girl when she's older and want to do fun stuff with me... will she be a daddy's girl and enjoy music and dancing with lee... or will she be a great mixture of both of us and enjoy all of our favorite activities...

being a parent is seriously so much more fun that i could have ever imagined--more challenging, more rewarding, more love, more stress, more learning, and more humbling.

and i must say--i'm pretty proud of myself and lee--we've survived our first year of parenting!! yay!! :-D

wheezy e update

woo hoo! she's not so wheezy anymore... in fact, she's not wheezy at all!

we're backing down her breathing treatments to every 6-8 hours tomorrow. her cough is still there, but its not NEARLY as bad as it has been... and she's not acting like her ear is bothering her either. no more motrin... just steriods (at dinner), antibiotics (with breakfast), and albuterol nebulizer treatments.

we skipped miss kristin's today just in case she is still a tiny bit contagious--which worked out well since lee was off work today anyway... i don't think she's been contagious for a several days, but she has 2 kids and several others that stay--i would hate to know i had passed this off on another baby!

but wow--when i got home from work today i noticed she is back to her normal high-octane self--her usually BUSY self.... into everything, can't turn your eye for a single second, head down turbo crawl laughing when she sees you chasing after her... you get the idea!

and who knew she was still learning so much while she's been so sick... she's now added CLIMBING to the mix... scaling the sofa cushions, pillows, anything piled up in the floor... its her mountain to conquer!

her appetite has been back for several days now and she's learning to tolerate her breathing treatments pretty well...

now, y'all know i'm not much of a summer girl--but it seems nice to see the sun and to get rid of these GERMS! ugh!

thanks for your continued prayers... we're certainly on the mend. let's pray for no more setbacks!

heads up!

...i posted several things tonite... be sure you scroll all the way down to the goldilocks post... i'd hate for you to miss something! :-D

my turn

Becky tagged me in a 20 questions thing..... oh ok! i'll do it!!!

Rule #1: The tagged person must write their answers on their blog and replace any question they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

Rule #2: Tag 4 people to do this quiz. The tag-ee must state who tagged them.

1. If you have pets, do you see them as merely animals or are they members of your family?

nershi was my first born... however, now that i really DO have a "first born", he and eden are just different types of special to me...

2. If you could have a dream come true, what would it be?

3. What would you do with a billion dollars?

pay off my mortgage... make some renovations to the house we live in now... finish planning for e's college... save the rest...continue working (but take a few more vacations) and probably have another baby. that's it.

...hey, maybe THAT would be a fun blog post in itself...

4. What helps to pull you out of a bad mood?

sushi... and walking... and sitting on my porch swing.

5. What is your bedtime routine?

i LIKE to be in bed around 9:30... but sometimes i get sucked in to blogs/facebook and end up there around 11... and i've been known to go to bed around 7:30 (right after i lay e down) after i've gone to bed too late several nights in a row.

6. What activities did you do in High School? If you could go back, would you do the same stuff or something different?

volleyball... student council... national honor society... beta club... spanish honor society... lab tech... i can't remember the rest--i was busy!! as for what i would do differently--i probably wouldn't have quit volleyball my senior year, but it was seriously infringing on my social schedule... some boy from rocky mount who later became my husband. gosh.

7. What kind of books do you read?

i don't. but... i'm REALLY trying to get better about that... i'm finding things that interest me... and i'm trying to stop being so addicted to my laptop* and do more stuff like that. enrichment.

*my laptop battery is slowly losing its "chargability" and the battery is dwindling away to nothing... so, perhaps this problem will take care of itself shortly.

8. How do you see yourself in 10 years?

wow... i'll be 35... and i'll have an 11 year old daughter! ...that's almost a middle schooler... so, probably committing myself to an insane asylum. :-P

9. What’s your fear?

this sounds really ridiculous--but my biggest fear is getting a paper cut in my eye. that's it. see, i told you! ridiculous.

10. Would you give up all junk food for the rest of your life for the opportunity to see outer space?

hmm... i'm a real veggie lover... i could probably do that. but, then again, we all have our vices, don't we?

11. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

go pee. then go scoop up my cute bed head blonde haired, blue eyed baby. then snuggle with her in the brown recliner with a bottle and try to catch 20 more winks.

12. If you could change one thing about your significant other, what would it be?

hmm... this is tough... because to change any one thing about him, would make him someone else... but since its a silly questionnaire: i wish he had a job where he didn't have to work on nights and/or weekends.

13. If you could pick a new name for yourself, what would it be?

i like my name... i wish people didn't get it wrong so often. spelling/saying/not remembering it correctly.

14. If you had to choose between six months of sun or six months of rain, what would you choose?

i'm gonna have to go with the unpopular answer of "rain" here... i realize that i'm wired a little differently than 99% of the population... i really like inclimate weather--its always different! because sun is always sunny... and hot. and sweaty. rain can be lots of different things... sprinkling, misty, downpour, thunderstorm, snow, ice, sleet... all depending on the other conditions.

15. If you could only eat one thing for the next 6 months, what would it be?

asian food... its sort of generic--but i never get tired of chinese, japanese, sushi, thai, mongolian food... never ever.

16. What is the thing you enjoy about blogging the most?

hmm... i like blogging about eden... duh... but i also enjoy blogging about challenging topics (but only when i feel like i can adequately express myself.)

17. Do you prefer salty or sweet foods?

i'm gonna have to say salty--there's a few sweets that i really do enjoy--but i'm a chips/dip sorta gal...

18. What items are in your purse right now?

wallet, keys, phone, shades, a book for eden, cold meds, and a box of crayons that i just bought for eden! :) (i'm sure that will have its own post later.)

19. One week, anywhere in the world, all expenses paid – where do you go?

barcelona. i love it there... and i miss it.

20. What do you watch on television that you know you shouldn’t?

i'm OBSESSED with sister wives... lee and i have (sometimes jokingly) talked about what that sort of lifestyle would be like...

tag:

rebekah

courtney

analee

ashley

my little leprechaun

thought i'd post a picture of my un-pinchable baby decked out in green

...whoops, that was last year. ;)

this year she doesn't stay wrapped up in a blanket...

she's much too busy reading her book.

10 little monkeys jumping on the bed

(and each of the monkey's bellies are a bubble wrap type of button she pushes)

and you bet your pot-o-gold she pushes

every.single.one.

the book counts down from 10 to 1 as each monkey falls off the bed

it is her favorite book and she always pulls that one out first from her collection

goldilocks

e's hair is filling in at an insane rate...

from one week to the next, its crazy how much hair she's getting!!

and she's got these gorgeous little curls in the back...

and to say "i'm obsessed" would be an understatement

[this next picture is hard to see...you may need to click to enlarge]

so cute!! its probably big enough to do a little sprig at the top, but i like it how it lays so naturally! its so feminine and dainty...

what am i going to do with curls?!?! i've spent my entire life with hair that found a faster way from "a" to "b"...straighter than straight.*

*although, my hair has aquired some curl since childbirth...maybe one day, i'm going to let it air dry naturally and see what it REALLY looks like! ...and i MIGHT blog about it--you know, depending on the results.

wheezy e in the er

yesterday was mom's first day keeping sweet eden since she's become the artist formally known as wheezy e.

she was alarmed at her HORRIBLE wheeze. and the more i thought about it, e wasn't progressing the way the doctors thought she would on saturday.

you see, by monday, she was supposed to be eazin' on her wheezin' and needing her nebulizer every 6-8 hours... buuuut we were still using it every 2 1/2 to 3 hours...

so, tally ho! back to the doctors... with a sleeping bag and getting a pizza delivered there for dinner. (ok, not really)... we did three treatments (and a dose of steriods) and her sweet little heart was still just-a-racin'... pulse in the 150-160 range... and her respiration rate was really high (60s?). they called the kid's er at wakemed and they were waiting for us! SUPPOSIVELY we would get a more intensive treatment there and obviously, constant monitoring.

side note: eden came home from the nicu on 3.13.10 and was in the er on 3.14.11... odd.

we walked in and the nurse was ready for eden before we could get signed in--triage for some stats then straight to a room! hallelujah! they took a chest xray and tested her for rsv... and had 3 MORE albuterol neb. treatments... whew! my girl was bouncin' off the walls--hello, steriods! (yes, 6 albuterol treatments if you're counting.)

she tested negative for pneumonia and negative for rsv... great, right! yes, but that meant that all the treatment we'd been doing at home was all the treatment that they were doing for her at the hospital... and that was all the treatment they COULD do for her... the virus will have to just run its course.

between her pulse and her resp. rate--one or the other was constantly out of balance... they kept watching her and noting that she was "on the fence--admit her, or send her home"

they ultimately left it up to me & lee... we opted to go home... they weren't doing anything that we couldn't do for her in the comfort of our own home--not even counting the fact that i didn't have to confine her to a hospital room or chain her up to the monitors. ugh.

she slept a little late this morning and woke up a new girl! she's hopefully on the right track. we've only had one little setback... during our saturday visit, the doctor told us to discontinue her antibiotic treatments since they were no good-e had a virus--not an infection. well, i should've slapped her and told her i knew what i was doing listened to my "mom gut"...because she now has an ear infection.

eh, that's neither here nor there--i can whoop up on an ear infection... but the wheezing has still got this mama stumped. i'm trying.

she mostly hates the mask, but we have some good, productive moments with it...

i'm hoping this is my last "wheezy e" update--i'm sure y'all are gettin' tired of hearin' readin' it... i know i'm getting tired of her being sick.

oh, and while e was at the pediatrician, i lapsed on my zicam/sudafed/advil/afrin regimen... aaaaaaand i'm sick. just a cold. i'll make it.

...well, folks! until next time...

wheeezy e update

sick, but still smiling...

today went pretty well... she had a coughing spell about 2 hours after i put her to bed--so, i did another treatment and she stayed down until 4:30am... not too shabby. did another breathing treatment then lee got up with her around 6 (i think?)... she played, ate a great breakfast, drank several bottles and went down for a 3 hour nap around 9:30 (so did mama!)

she's still wheezing--but not all the time, and she's not coughing as much. she CERTAINLY isn't acting like its hard to breathe... so, i purposefully didn't take a shower (because i knew if i did, i'd want to go outside or run errands on this GORGEOUS day)... and we played around the house ALL DAY! her pace... whatever she wanted to do. we snuggled, watched cartoons, played with blocks, read every single book at least once... and had chocolate ice cream for lunch!

and WOW... she's had a gallon of milk today! seriously. the wet diapers have been heavier than my 21 pound baby. and i'm REALLY thankful.

today the "nebulizer schedule" suggested every 6 hours (if she could make it that long), but i still did every 4 hours... i'd rather do it more frequently during the day and it last her during the night... sounds like nursing, huh!? hopefully we can shoot for every 6 hours tomorrow... we'll see.

the nebulizer* itself is getting a little easier to do--if eden is tired, she will all but fall asleep while its running... white noise with meds that help her breathe? who wouldn't fall asleep! however, she will generally still fight it if she's not sleepy... then forget what she's fighting against... chill... then fight all over again. ugh.

*the nebulizer...some of you asked what that is... its a box (bigger than a digital camera) that pumps air through a tube and a special valve... the special valve is in a compartment that you pour the medicine in--the valve turns the meds into a fog... its pumped in a mask that we hold over her face while we put eden in a headlock calmly distract her while keeping her hands down so she won't pull the mask off.

i've managed to aquire a whopping headache since i began typing this post... so, that's all the update that i have.

home alone tonite... i'm thankful for lee's job... but his company has managed to squander one of his only nights that he normally gets to be home to ask him (and others) to rearrange the store... after they close. according to him, he may not be home until after midnight. perfect. i'm not going to continue talking about this because it simply makes my headache worse. goodnight.

hit the high spots

i don't have much time to post (gotta hit the sack and cling to the hour i'm about to lose. ugh)... so, i'm just gonna give you a nutshell version of portions of my week. mostly eden related content.

eden went for her well-baby check (alas!) on wednesday... it will have its own post sometime soon.

we started working on weaning off of the bottle (she did super with the transition to whole milk). my dear daughter has always taken her bottle as comfort (no, i didn't break the rule of not putting it in the crib--this was an idea she developed entirely on her own).

result of commencing the weaning process? tantrums. super.

after waking up this morning sounding like a crinkling paper bag breathing in and out with terrible coughing spells and acting like it was hard to breathe--we went to the doctor. eden was diagnosed with bronchiolitis --if you read the causes/risk factors, she was destined to get it at some point. results from flu in babies that were born prematurely. bullseye. it was a long appointment that i'm thankful didn't result in a hospital trip. she's now the proud owner of a nebulizer. and the doctors have FINALLY taken her persistent cough more seriously. her appointment was at 9:30 and we (nana came too!) were quickly escorted to a room... we finally left around 1... i think i got my co-pay's worth today. whew.

...but bless her little heart--she was still smiling and blowing the nurses/doctors kisses... of course, that was after she was stubborn as a mule and summonsed another nurse to "hold her down" while she nebulized... is that a word? hmph. it is now. i still can't for the life of me figured out where she got all these stubborn genes from? any ideas?

we stopped trying to bottle wean today... the poor girl needed something to cling to. and she had more bottles than ever--but, by gosh golly--SHE'S HYDRATED! but hallelujah, we're done with formula. what does that feel like? well, like i just gave myself a raise.

that's really all i'm interesting in updating the entire world about... i'll give the full 12 month eden run down sometime realllly soon--maybe tomorrow...

ahhh, just think... last year this time, we spent a sleepless night in the pediatric ward of the hospital for our "room-in" before we brought eden home and "sprang forward" our clocks. note to self: never bring home a newborn baby and move your clock forward an hour simultaneously. unless you're a glutton for punishment.

take a look back at this time last year :)

bath buddy

eden had a friend tonite in the tub...

she looked a lot like eden.

the after party

what do you do with a couple dozen rubber ducks

after a bubble bath birthday party?

you throw 'em in the tub!!

with her 2937423 other bath toys...

she looks so growny to me in this next picture...

that perfectly poised, pink-lipped, dimpled smerk...

translation? mischief.

i'm helplessly head over heels in love

i just wish she would stay this size forever.

splish, splash

today was eden's birthday bash!!!

it was just as i'd imagined for her first birthday party...

fun, lots of people and LOW STRESS.

we had a bubble bath theme (what's stressful about that?!**)

since its her FAVORITE!

...and always has been!

**other than "out of the box thinker" me decided to pick a theme that i had nothing to work with...no cookie cutter, pre-packaged ideas... we're workin' from scratch here.

she got lots of fun toys, books, and clothes

including her first pair of rainbows!

here's a few of my favorite pictures from today

(courtesy of my gracious cousin who took pictures for me today! she's the best!)

eden and one of her (3) great-grandaddies (my paternal grandfather) blowing kisses

e with one of her (2) great grannies...

my dad, cousin emily, e, and granny

the cake!!!! it was perfect and delish! (with cupcakes to boot!)

i wasn't sure that eden would like the messy cake idea...

...but i was wrong. very very wrong.

she ate it off the table... then smeared it all over everything else. :)

squeals of excitement to celebrate her first cupcake!

e with my dad

YUM!

both of the great-grannies! we are so blessed to have them!!!

and eden thought our cornhole game was HILARIOUS!!

everytime the bean bag hit the board she erupted with her notoriously contagious laughter...

one of the highlights of the party!

eden with her "aunt" rebekah

and sweet great granny tarboro made eden a bird house!!

we can't wait to put it with her white bench by the tree!!

eden with kiekie!

love this pic of my sweet girl!

and we were even able to get a few family shots at the end of the party...

this one is my favorite!

please click to enlarge the picture below and check out eden's face... bahahah

and here's a few shots of some of the party details i was most proud of

the favors!!!

they were (mostly) bubble themed baskets!

a rubber ducky with a party hat (my personal favorite.)

play doh

bath sponge

bubble gum

bubble bath

bubbles

bath "capsules" (that turn into sponges in the tub)

sunglasses (what? you don't wear your shades in the tub? you're missin' out.)

and sidewalk chalk!

and my other thrifty creation... the centerpieces!

a goldfish bowl with styrofoam balls and plastic christmas ornaments (hello, clearance!)

with rubber duckies inside

and balloons coming out of the top (not pictured)

i really didn't spend a fortune on the party (not like some do...)

but i was so pleased how it turned out!!

i budgeted to "concentrate my spending" on the favors and the cake!

everything else i was pretty thrifty and was able to shop around and wait for clearance

(since i thought of the idea and started planning around christmas! haha)

...and outside of the favors and the cake, the most expensive thing was the balloons--

79 cents/each to blow up at food lion. no biggie!

one particular clearance JEWEL was the plates... they were actually for a baby shower

(the "stuff" that went with it had turtles and fish and something else on it...

but the plates just had ducks!)

these were $1/pack.

[fist pumping]

and they were PERFECT.

my mom made her signature ham rolls, we had granny's signature chex mix

goldfish, chips, and cake with ice cream!

i even bought a bubble machine

(instead of borrowing--since i'm sure we'll be using that in the future!)

and WOW... that thing put out some bubbles!!!

thanks to the wind, i even managed to find a few bubbles floating around in the house!

(making several turns from outside in the driveway, through garage, through laundry room, through kitchen/dining area, into living room!!! hahaha)

i will post all pictures to our shutterfly account tomorrow...

for now? i'm going to check my eyelids for cracks.