A Christmas Tradition: Texas Trash

As long as I can remember, my family has made Texas Trash for us to snack on at every Christmas gathering. It's a Gibson family tradition, and one that I want to continue with my own family. Every time I eat it, I'm taken back to Christmases spent with my grandparents and extended family sitting around a Wahoo board. I can just hear the sound of the dice being slung across the room when it didn't roll the number my mom wanted it to. But no one sat down to play Wahoo without a bowl of Texas Trash next to their 10 lucky dice!

Ingredients
1/2 cup of butter, melted
2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce
2 cups chex cereal
2 cups cheerios
2 cups of pretzel sticks
1 cup of mixed nuts
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine the butter and worcestershire sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Add in the cereals, pretzels and nuts and mix well so that the sauce mixes in. Sprinkle the salt and garlic powder on top. Bake in oven for 30 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Baby Steps

Any day now. Could be today after his nap. Or next week when he turns 13 months. But the camera is always within arm's reach because any day now Connor could be walking!

And when he does, this little man is going to be so busy. I can't wait!

He's ready to take off walking!

ONE Little Monster's Birthday!

He's a year old and there's nothing I can do about it! I can't stop time and I can't go back and relive all of our sweet "firsts" of this past year. I just have to live in the moment and soak up every day with our ONE year old! So, I have to stop being in denial that my baby is ONE!

I wanted his birthday party to be a celebration of him! I chose the monster theme to carry out the theme from his nursery, and then I could close the door on the monsters. I felt like going from the nursery to the first birthday party carried us full circle for the year. It just made sense. 

So, every great party starts with a great invitation. I chose this invite. I loved the saying and the bright happy colors. And who doesn't love chevron? I used these four colors - red, yellow, blue & green - as a basis for the entire party. I also had coloring sheets printed that matched the invite, thank you cards, stickers for the favor boxes & centerpieces and even the print on his birthday shirt! See, I like a good theme carried through an event!

The invitations.

This was an original design (which I now see all over Pinterest). I wanted a visual way for guests to look back on our year. The younger pictures of him are at the top, working up to the older pictures toward the base of the "1". This was stuck onto the downstairs closet door. In between the living room and dining room, so it was a stopping point between rooms. I wanted to make sure there were reflections of Connor in each party space.

Centerpiece on the table. Bright colored toys for little ones to play with and gum balls for the adults to enjoy. 

With a monster themed nursery, we also collected lots of monster clothes his first year. I put them on a clothesline to display at the party. It was meaningful because these were little outfits he wore and we could reflect on fun memories of him wearing them. It's all about the details!

Festive balloons showed guests that the party was here! The giraffe bike was his gift from us, and it looked fun on the porch.

I made a wreath! So proud of myself. It's a balloon wreath with some spiraled pipe cleaners coming out of it. FUN!

Favor boxes in the party colors with the chevron monster stickers on them. Everyone took home a monster squeaky toy.  The sign on the table says "Thank you from our little monster" This was a bistro table I had at the front door so guests couldn't miss their favors.

We had lots of kids at the party and we knew they wouldn't all fit in the house. So we set up bubbles, balls, kazoos and sidewalk chalk outside for them to enjoy!

His high chair corner all set up for the smash cake and singing! I wanted to make sure that the area would look good in a picture, so the "Happy Birthday" banner is just above the high chair.

His up to date baby book, monthly photos and monster birth announcement.

Photos from his one year photo shoot.

Ya'll, even his onesie is in the party theme!

Happy first birthday to our little monster. We love you more than we could ever have imagined. You are our world! 

He's ONE!

Warning: Prepare for a Connor overload as I recap his birthday celebration(s)!.

I still cannot believe that our baby is a year old. The fastest year of my life, hands down. A few weeks before the big day, we had his one year photo shoot. My favorite part was the smash cake - he went to town on the cake. At one point, he even propped his foot up on the cake stand and continued eating. He LOVED the cake!

On his actual birthday, we had a small celebration at school with mini cupcakes (he devoured two) and balloons. (Side note - I am pretty sure balloons are his new favorite thing. He loves to say "boon" and hit the balloon over and over!). It was really sweet. His teacher Mogee (pictured below) decorated the classroom and had happy birthday music playing when we came in that morning. Cue the first round of tears.

On his birthday evening I had to work (BOO) so when I got home, he was asleep. I went and picked him up and snuggled him at his actual birth time - 9:43 PM and just cried and prayed over him. I rejoiced for the perfect miracle that he is. I thanked God for his sweet life. I prayed that He would grow to know Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior and seek to have a close relationship with Him. It was a sweet tradition that I plan to repeat as long as I can, though realizing one day I won't be able to physically hold him!

That weekend we had his official birthday party, which after months of planning, was a huge success. I'll post much more on that later!

Connor's First Halloween

Connor dressed as a puppy dog for his first Halloween! We had a fun time celebrating with him, and he didn't seem to mind his costume too much. It was nearly impossible to draw a nose and freckles on him - of course! He doesn't stay still for much of anything these days!

The day before Halloween we joined our sweet Sunday School friends to trick-or-treat in a nearby neighborhood. Connor and Kate (his future bride) enjoyed riding around in the wagon while the bigger kids actually got to trick-or-treat! J took Connor up to one house so we can say he has officially trick-or-treated!

Connor and Kate!

So precious!

On Halloween day, he went to school wearing his cute new shirt from his Nana! He has so much fun playing at school!

He still loves clapping!

He's "talking" to me!

After school, we hurried home to get in costume! Grammy and PawPaw came over to see our cute little puppy dog. He had fun playing throw and catch with his grandparents!

So happy!

Looking at his PawPaw!

Love my boy!

This was Connor's last first holiday....sniff, sniff.
Happy Halloween to all!
Brittney

My thoughts on the big ONE

I can't believe that in seven days, my baby will be turning a year old. Wasn't this photo just taken yesterday?

Connor Gibson Ford
November 4, 2012
10 lbs. 3 oz. (yes, you read that correctly)
21 3/4 inches long

For some reason, I'm a mix of emotions about this birthday. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled he will be one, and I can't even imagine the fun in store for us over the next twelve months. He will start walking, saying more words (hopefully momma is in that mix...throw me a bone here, Connor), and explore toddlerhood. He will continue to grow into the little guy that God created him to be.

But turning into a toddler means he's no longer my cuddly, newborn smelling baby. No more little coo's or fists curling up as he sneezes and then makes that adorable little ahh sound. Gone are the hours of tummy time, the days where he was obsessed with his feet and putting them in his mouth, and his excitement about naked baby time (where he would stand at the mirror in the bathroom before his bath and bang on the mirror and laugh and squeal at himself).

When he was 2-4 months old, he was happiest in the morning, and we called it happy time. We would lay him on our red ottoman and play and play with him. We would pull out all the stops to get a smile or a laugh! We also had fun on the ottoman when J would get home from work! He loves coming home to his happy boy. And now at 11 months, his happy boy waits for him at the back door and bangs on the door and squeals and laughs when he sees daddy pull in!

Writing this now, I guess I'm not entirely sad this year is over. There was that day when he was 5 weeks old that I nursed him ELEVEN times in one day. Yes, eleven.  And I don't really miss the 9 weeks of waking up in the middle of the night to feed him. I sure don't miss that pump...or the sound of it! I don't miss the absolute head to toe diaper blowouts this little man used to make. I don't even know how he was capable of messes that big! I don't miss toting that super heavy infant carrier everywhere. Or the spit up - yech! Or the teething...oh, wait, we are still going through that. His sixth tooth finally broke through this weekend!

So, here I am. A mom of an almost one year old. Sometimes I want to pinch myself because I still can't believe he is here with us and that he is our gift from God. He's growing up, and he is proof that life passes us by far too quickly. Have I stopped to really enjoy every moment with him? I don't want to forget anything, and I'm afraid that the mark of one year means that I'll start forgetting. I have a bad memory as it is, and with the lack of sleep in the last year that can't be a good mix.

Most of all, I am thankful for Connor. I am grateful that God knows our hearts so intricately and made him so perfectly for us. On a daily basis, Connor's life reminds me of our Father's grace, mercy, trust and provision for our lives. Each night before I go to bed, I go into his room and cover him up and rub his back and pray for him. Every night is a different prayer, depending on our day and what's going on in our lives. I pray that he will desire a close relationship with Christ. I pray that he will be a good friend to others. I pray that he will love his family. I pray that he will pursue God's calling for his life. And like our pastor said at his baptism, I pray all God's blessings on him all the days of his life.

Proverbs 22:6 is never far from my heart.
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Being a mommy has challenged me to be a better Christian. I guess you could say that even at eleven months old, Connor is making me a better person, and praise God for that.

Thank you God for the absolute honor of being Connor's mommy. Help me to cherish every moment of every day so that when I look back on these sweet years, my heart swells up with beautiful memories.

Now someone get me a Kleenex.
Brittney

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

Raise your hand if you took your kiddo to a pumpkin patch for pictures on Sunday? With the beautiful weather we had, it was absolutely the perfect time to take our 11 month old to his visit first pumpkin patch. We went to the one at our church, which makes the visit all the more special.

He did great, and enjoyed pulling up and cruising around the pumpkins. He loved hitting the pumpkins in his typical "bam-bam" fashion. He's just so precious!

Happy boy!

He is so funny!

So sweet!

Tried to get a mommy/son pic, but only one of us smiled. But, look how good he's doing a standing up on his own!

Taking a break. 

And just for reference...we took our maternity pics in this same pumpkin patch last year. I was 35 weeks pregnant here. I think Connor was already 7.5 pounds. Whoa.

Happy fall to ya'll!
B

Homemade Toys

Connor loves to play! He plays with the toys we've bought him, he loves his touch & feel books and he can't get enough balls to roll around and throw (in fact he's just learned to roll the ball with someone - thanks for the lesson Grammy!!). But, what has amazed me is how he will turn anything into a toy. The door stopper - he loves! The baby gate - an absolute hit! The dog bowls, cabinet doors, stairs, mirrors....he just loves to play, climb, cruise and push. I'm amazed at his creativity!

We've created a few homemade toys around the house, and he loves them. Feel free to steal these ideas for your little one, too!

Suck the air out of a water bottle. Connor loves the sound the bottle makes when he squeezes it!

Insert a pacifier into a small Rubbermaid container. Homemade shaker. This idea is from my brilliant MIL.

Mardi Gras beads into an empty egg carton. Another great shaker, and another great idea from my MIL. 

This isn't homemade (obviously) but I had to share. This is the ball that finally convinced Connor to start crawling at 7-8 months. He would chase it all around the room. I purchased it on a sort of whim from Target.

Just wanted to share a little fun from our corner of the world. We are having a blast with our 11 month old!

B

Connor's First Tailgate Party

Disclaimer: I did not attend LSU - I am a graduate of HBU. But, I did marry LSU. For more details, please visit www.fordfamilytailgating.com. Enough said.

Many weekends in the fall, J and I can be found in the armpit of Louisiana - Baton Rouge. We are third generation season ticket holders to LSU football games. We are huge Tiger fans in our family, and couldn't wait to introduce Connor to the fun traditions of Ford Family Tailgating.

FFT began in the 90's as a true tailgate. One cooler, some food, and around 12 people tailgating out of a van while the kids tossed a football in the parking lot. That simple idea has since morphed into a 60+ person party complete with games, TV, a sound system, trailer, signage, a full four-course menu, t-shirts, a cookbook, a twitter account (follow us @fordfamtailgate), a strong presence on Facebook, and a website. It's quite the production, put on by J's parents, family and friends. But, I can't stand to imagine Connor growing up without tailgating. I guess it's because that's how I "grew up" into the Ford family.


This past weekend we took Connor to his first tailgate party before the Auburn game. J was so excited to get our little munchkin out there he could hardly stand it. It was really sweet, actually. I love watching how proud J is to show off Connor.

Connor's laugh is my most favorite sound! J was dipping him down in front of the fan and back up again - Connor thought that was the greatest!

And this is what he spent most of the day doing...crawling all over the porch, and attempting to crawl down the steps! His knees were some kind of dirty!

This is Connor's gameday face....he will do it on command. It's absolutely hysterical!

He loved pulling up on Pops' toolbox and pulling the handle up and down. 

This is Andrew. He's the son of Jeremy's lifelong friend (literally, they've been friends since birth). Andrew is seven and he LOVES Connor and hardly let him out of his sight at the tailgate party! They're making the gameface...but really Connor is making the "I didn't take a long enough nap and I'm cranky face."

Our friends brought their puppy dog to the party, and it loved giving Connor kisses. Connor tried following the puppy all over the place! Excuse me, I just need a moment to bask in all of Connor's adorable-ness in this picture. GAH! I canNOT get enough of him!

Sweet boys! How cute is Connor's lil tailgate chair?

Well this is embarrassing...how did my adorable front porch decoration end up in here?

Geaux Tigers!
B

P is for PARTY!

I love my job. I've been working at a private school in Houston for seven years and I've done everything from fundraising to public relations to coaching to event planning and more. We all wear a lot of hats working at a school, and it makes the job all the more fun. You just never know what to expect day to day, and for that I am thankful. I don't do well with monotony boredom.

The past few years, I've worn the hat of event planner at the school. Or as my colleague likes to call me, the party planner.

At the end of the school year, we typically have a last day cookout for teachers and let me tell you it's blazin' hot! Not hair blowing in the breeze, cheeks glowing hot....but armpit sweat, frizzy hair hot - you get the picture. It's an outdoor cookout on a rocky playground where we eat burgers that sweaty men are grilling. Umm...I'll pass.

So, this year I approached my amazing boss (but, seriously, he is amazing; and he doesn't even read this) with a new idea. Let's have an indoor, end of school catered party! We'll have fun music, delicious food and give away gift cards. I was so honored that he trusted little old me to run with my crazy idea!

The theme was "School's Out for Summer" and my sweet friend Lauren helped me pull this off!

As the faculty and staff entered, fun songs were playing like "Beat this Summer" (Brad Paisley), "Summertime" (Kenny Chesney...of course), "Long Hot Summer" (Keith Urban) and "Surfin' USA" (one of several Beach Boys songs on the play list) and more. I believe that music can really add to an event! They went through the buffet line and filled their plates with food from Zoe's Kitchen. Happy food = happy people!

Here's an overview of the party! We did bright blues and yellows to brighten up the otherwise drab party space. 

Each place setting had an iced sugar cookie that looked like a beach ball. 

We had 150 personalized beach balls scattered all over the floor! Fun takeaway!

The stage was especially fun to decorate. Yellow striped umbrellas, beach pails with gift cards, blue Adirondack chairs and monogrammed beach towels.

The party turned out to be a success, and a really fun way to send our teachers off for the summer! 

For back to school, we did a bingo party, which was super fun. Maybe I'll post on that one, too. 

The next party I'm planning is the biggest one....Connor's first birthday. Lord, help me! I need to get off Pinterest and get it together!

Until next time...

B