Oliver's 3rd PAW-ty!

We did it again...a birthday party for my puppy! Before you make fun of me...we just invited a bunch of his "friends" to the dog park for a puppy playdate...and it was awesome!

Of course, an invite had to be made!

All the humans!

Hey Lily and Daddy!

A very dirty birthday boy! He needs a birthday bath time now!

Hey Jax!

Hey Abbey and Eleanor!

Hey Rocky!

Having fun at the Dog Park!

Always at the Mommy's feet...what a Momma's Boy!

Our "doggie treat" bags for Ollie's friends!

Thanks to everyone that came out to celebrate Oliver's 3rd Birthday!

He is such a special part of our family and we just got a kick out of watching them all play today!

Happy 3rd Birthday Ollie!

Mommy Lessons {at 8 months}

Just a few things I've learned so far...

---This is the greatest pacifier in the entire world. Period. {Green Sprouts}

---Making baby food is actually pretty easy and incredibly fun! Watching wholesome and colorful fruits and veggies transform into a puree and then seeing Lily enjoy good, natural food is pretty amazing.

---When another mother gives you awful advice or criticizes how you are raising your child, just smile and nod. It's not worth arguing or disagreeing...trust me...just smile and nod.

---Very few people actually care about the color, consistency, smell or even the shapes of my baby's bowel movements. Especially my non-parent friends...weird, right?

---All the times I complained before about being tired or needing more sleep...HA! It's amazing how well your body can perform on little to no sleep when you have a beautiful baby smile at you! It's like downing a couple Red Bulls...she smiles and I have the energy to keep going!

---Christmas with a child is just the greatest!

---There is no parenting debate more intense than the breastfeeding vs. formula feeding frenzy. My goodness! People are not scared to tell you right to your face EXACTLY how they feel. It is just bananas! There is no in between. I've been told outright that I'm a bad mother if I stop breastfeeding before Lily is one and then next conversation I'm being told how disgusting it is that I'm still doing it. Avoid this conversation like the plague!

---You can never take enough pictures or videos to satisfy a grandmother that lives 3 hours away.

---When all else fails, just go with your gut! No book, website or other parent can tell you the right way to love and care for your child. Now, of course there are guidelines, but I've learned to calm down a bit and just go with what feels right.

---It's not a good idea to make a bet on the baby's gender when going in to the 20-whatever week ultrasound. Especially, if betting that child's first Halloween costume...

---And lastly...never, ever, ever, ever ever say "I'll never do that with my baby!". Because chances are, you'll not only do it but you will depend on it and absolutely LOVE it! Trust me!

Day 2: The Entry Way

To start the journey of our home organization, we begin with the entry way.

  

According to The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking, we should actually be sorting our coat closet...however, recent renovations turned our entry way coat closet into a kitchen pantry...so there goes that!

Anyway, here is what our entry way currently looks like:

I took this photo while standing right outside our front door. Hey Ollie!

This is the first impression of our home and I have to say...."eh".

This is our front door and all of our mess directly beside it.

And lastly, a direct on of our front door.

As you can see, we have quite a lot of work to do! So far, our plans include:

-decluttering the space (including some of the coats, bags, decor and "junk")

-painting the door and trim

-adding some fun word decor to greet our guests

-adding a fun rug to the space

-and a couple of surprises!

Do you have any suggestions to organize our entry way?

Please share!

Here we go 2012!

Well howdy 2012! Boy, did you sneak up on me!

Now that the craziness of the Fall has come and gone, I'm finally able to sit down at a computer for more than just a few seconds...now, a few minutes!

To welcome 2012, I only set a few goals for myself and my family:

1. Get healthy and back in shape! Thanks to an awesome jogging stroller from Santa, this might not be so difficult! Diet is a dirty word to me so instead of heading down the path purely for weight loss, I've decided to just get healthy, make better decisions and exercise more. Shouldn't be too painful, right!

2. Continue to breastfeed little Lily until her first birthday. I know how controversial the breastfeeding vs. formula debate can be, but this seems to be working for us.  As hard as it is sometimes, I do enjoy the bonding and I have a fabulous husband that supports me! Lily is going to be 8 months next week (WOW!), so only 4 more months to go!

3. More "date" nights! Chris and I are so in love with our little one and leaving her is never easy...but we haven't gone out just the two of us in such a long time! So, our goal is to have "date" nights once a month! Calling all babysitters!

4. Promote the heck out of Bliss Events by Rachel! Bliss Events by Rachel is my boutique special events firm in South Louisiana specializing in blissfully wonderful weddings and social soirees! Follow my blog and "like" me on Facebook! =)

5. Create an organized and "Pinterst" perfect home! I've decided to follow The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking's 31 Days to an Organized Home. But I'm going to give it a little "twist". I not only want to get organized...I want to get "pinterest" perfect! What is "pinterest" perfect? Glad you asked! I love getting inspiration from Pinterest for projects, meals, events and home decor. I want to put my creativity to the test and create a space that inspires others...and makes everyone in the Henry family just generally happy! I'm not silly enough to think this will only take 31 days....clearly it will take a lot longer than that...but it will be my guide!

And, of course, my goal is to blog more than just once a season! Hope you all had a fabulous start to 2012!