meet the newest Pettijohn

Our happy story kinda, sorta starts with a sad one - before I introduce the newest member of our family I must first tell that we are down one kitty. Our Big.

JR and I adopted two brother kitties, 4 years ago, Beanie and Big. They've been our 'babies' long before babies were really a thought. Beanie is the slower of the two, and the one most drawn to me - while Big was JR's kitty, the feisty and more intelligent cat. Well, a couple of months ago they moved outside to be outdoor kitties after not taking to the new house well and leaving us 'gifts' - really disgusting, heinous gifts around the house. Nope. The transition didn't go too bad, until one morning Big was gone, and since then has not returned :(

Beanie is still meandering out there, but has been very lonely without his orange counterpart. He left us with a kitty void, and since Big was really the only kitty Beanie will tolerate we felt that maybe it was dog time at the Pettijohn House. Dog. With a baby on the way. Arewecrazyorwhat?

After long searching for the perfect dog to fit into our family - we think we've found the one. We were actually picky this time, with breeders and such, considering we have to have a dog that a) likes kids b) can live outside c) big but not enormous...we're lab lovers so that of course helped narrow our search. We saw a few different pups, and to say that the one we got was 'meant to be' is the dang truth. I'm talking, the one we picked up the week before had a SEIZURE two miles down the road after paying for him. A seizure. We were freaked out of our ever dang minds.

Nothing will replace Big, but we have found someone with a cute face that has helped Beanie come back to life a bit - and given us just one more 'baby' to raise :)

Meet Bradford.

He comes from a long line of hunting dogs {thus, he'll likely get thrown into some wintery animal hunts, eeeek, if my husband and pa-in-law have any say} and upon checking him out we knew he was the pup for us. We were so pleased with the breeders, and feel confident we made the right choice! Since the weather has been so nice, we've been getting Bradford used to Hudson and Hudson used to Bradford. They've butt heads a few times, but overall it's a lot of fun to spend our days outside now with our Bradford pup!! He is only crated at night, and not once has cried - much less whimpered at nighttime. We're feeding him three times a day, and he goes 'potty' in the grass, away from where we play. Score. So far, so GOOD!

The only problem is, when we are outside, we can't keep Hudson out of this:

He loves, loves Bradford's crate. In and out, in and out! It's hilarious when they both end up in there together.

We keep saying he's our 'Marley', and the only dog our babies will ever know. So as we approach meeting our Baby Belle, we are spending our days outside with Bradford getting ready for what's to come :) That does include Sooner Football ----------------that alone, will get it's own post{s}.

Before I get into football, I'll sparkle your day with what sparkles mine - this face.

p.s.

...since I started the draft of Hudson's birthday weeks ago, once published it has done so a few posts down - so, if interested it's down there somewhere :)

Happy Thursday'ing to you!

plain awesome

what I would look like if my cartoon self came to life. plain awesome.

assistant

I need a blogging assistant - much like a ghost writer...someone that could take my daily thoughts and then type them out via blogger along with pictures, etc.

As we approach meeting our Belle Monroe, in only 5 weeks time, I'm finding time to blog - scarce. Laundry, groceries, LIFE, you know...the usual.

There is an entire post dedicated to Hudson's first birthday party, yet I can't sit still long enough to finish it! {I had so much fun with his party, I already have in mind birthday party #2 - ohmystars} This frustrates me, thus my seeking of a blog ghost writer.

I'm 34 weeks all-kinds-of-pregnant today, and I'm sure I owe you a nice, fat belly picture but until I can muster up the energy/attention span to really finish a post in one sitting, I'll leave you with a family picture of the three of us. A rarity, as it's usually momma behind the camera. JR for once, doesn't look like a single dad :) Happy Tuesday, wherever you pretty self may be!

the ONE YEAR bash

Initially, when I began thinking of Hudson's first birthday celebration, finger foods came to mind. Just a small gathering, casual, nothing that would require a lot of prep - considering I'd be 8 months pregnant at the time.

That quickly faded as my inability to not spoil my firstborn consumed me and I immediately became swarmed with ideas of colors, custom cakes, balloons, patterns for tablecloths, etc...

I'm not a big 'theme' momma, and knowing that Hudson will one day come to me wanting a sports/movie/whoknowswhat kinda theme I put together a celebration centered completely around the colors of the invitations I ordered from Tiny Prints:

We started preparing about three days in advance, buying groceries and finalizing all of the decorations. The day of, was a whirlwind of no less than 3 people in the kitchen, JR outside working on the yard, and two of the biggest helpers {my bests, Ashley & Lauren} of the day helping put together my dream party for our one year old angel baby.

Our Boo Bear, didn't quite know what to think as his guests started arriving...but the balloons all over the house were a huge hit with my one year old wonder.

We had tons of food set out - dips, fruit, chips, empanadas, sandwiches, pigs-in-a-blanket...you name a party food and we served it! A very big thank you to our momma's too, who helped prepare and set-up the three food tables. This was about the extent of my time in the kitchen...

Between the mom's and Aunt Lu, they had the kitchen covered. Wam-Bam.

I was on party patrol, making sure every detail was just right for my Bear.

It took me about two months worth of prep time, and I truly enjoyed the whole thing from start to finish. I found the most amazing cake bakery in town, Amy Cakes of Norman, and had them design a cake too, around the invites. Some of the best cake I've ever indulged in - thank you to Amy and Co. for the yummy treats! I found most all of the decorations at Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby - found some fabric I liked at WM and had tablecloths made for the food tables, and some helium filled ballons! voila!

We had no idea how Bear would react to the gifts, but he sat and opened each and every gift - sans meltdown :) He was so enthralled with the activity and the audience he had.

Of course once gifts were opened, it was cake time! I had been waiting all day for cake time, surprise surprise.

On everyone's way out, they were gifted with some party treats to go! I found these cute containers at Wal-Mart that we had filled with caramel and cheddar popcorn! I still have bags of it...

After months of planning, the party came together even better than I could have imagined it! We had our dearest of family and friends there to help us celebrate our baby boy's first year of life - and what a joy it was to have those closest to us, there.