OKAY! I'm finally getting back in the swing of things and I promise I have read all of your kind e-mails and messages. I have been veeeery absent but I promise I have had a good reason.

Well for one, WE GOT MARRIED ... again! You can only imagine how much time I was devoting to plan this wedding from across the country, so unfortunately, the blogging got put on the back burner for a little bit. Our Michigan wedding took place August 22nd and it could not have went more beautifully. We celebrated with some truly wonderful people and it was definitely a day that we will never forget! Here are just a few of the sneak peak pictures we got back!

Our photographer was absolutely amazing and we loved every part of having her there. Her work is outstanding and we highly recommend her! GO CHECK OUT ASP PHOTOGRAPHY NOW!

Another reason I've been kind of MIA, is because my PTA schooling has officially started and has been underway for two weeks now. This is definitely the hardest classes I have taken and the most difficult schedule and routine to settle in to, but I have faith that I can do this! Garrett, my family and friends have already been so amazingly supportive! I don't know what I would do without my kick butt support system.. seriously, how to people live without one?!

On top of my own wedding, I was in two other weddings in a span of 2 months! I had to fly back to Michigan in May for my friend Emaleigh's wedding...

...then I had to then fly back to Michigan in July for my best friend, Katrina's, wedding...

...and THEN we all had to fly all the way back to MI again in August for OUR own wedding...

Our handsome baby boy wheelin' the wagon down on the way to the aisle!

...That was way too much traveling for me (even though I was so honored to be in those wedding's and loved every second of it) I would seriously not mind staying away from airplanes for a long while. 

So, 3 weddings in 3 months, planning my own wedding, and now PTA school. It was so much in such short time, and while I was extremely overwhelmed 90% of the time, this has definitely be a Summer that will live on in me forever.

I'm sorry I went MIA for so long, I promise I will be working on making more time for this as it is what I love to do! Thank you all for being so patient and again thank you SO MUCH for all of the emails, kind words, prayers, and good vibes! :)

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Sweetie Pie Organics // REVIEW

Guess what, guys?! IT'S ANOTHER COLLABORATION! This month I have teamed up with such an amazing company called Sweetie Pie Organics. As you know, I only share my favorite companies with you all, and this company deserves all of the applause they get. 

Let me just start off by saying, if you know my crazy 18 month old Mason, you know that he is a fruit eater and will throw his veggies off of his tray onto the ground. BUT, he LOVES these snacks and it has been one of the only way I can get that boy to eat his vegetables! These snacks come with a FULL serving of vegetables and/or fruits, are 100% organic, and not to mention yummy! (Yes, this momma has tried one.... or five). 

These snacks are made especially for toddlers. The company sent me sample pack of numerous fruits and veggies and I have yet to find one that Mason doesn't like. His favorites are the Carrot Tiny Wafers and a trail mix kind of snack made of dried apples, green peas and pineapple. Mason even picks out the peas and eats them separately! THAT'S CRAZY! 

This brand is NON GMO verified, USDA Organic, NO preservatives, and NO sugar added. They come in the cutest little snack packs and if you have a picky toddler on your hands like I do, this company is a must try. 

Want to try them out? You can purchase them on Amazon or head on over to their website: www.sweetiepieorganics.com I PROMISE you won't regret it. What better way to get your toddler to eat their veggies and fruits than with a snack? My family personally has replaced Mason's favorite puffs with these snacks and I have to say, we are loving the switch. 

Thanks for reading, guys! Has your family tried these tasty treats? Let me know what you think! As usual, subscribe, follow, all of that fun stuff and have a safe and happy Monday! 

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RE-PLAY RECYCLED REVIEW + GIVEAWAY!

Hey, guys! I've teamed up with an amazing company, Re-Play Recycled, this past month and I can't wait to share them and their wonderful products with you! This wonderful brand sent me their Nautical Set and I am IN LOVE! The colors are so vibrant (with no fading), and my 16 month old just loves them. They're really making this self- feeding phase a lot less stressful.

Nautical Set

First off, Re-play is manufactured in none other than our wonderful United States! I have found it to be great is sustainability, safety, durability, AND affordability. Mason has had the same set of stackable plates for over a year and they have yet to have any scratches or chipping. Not to mention, with a crazy toddler who is in the phase of throwing his plate when he is finished, you know the products have to be durable.

As far as sustainability goes, Re-Play is made out of recycled gallon milk jugs which in turn helps reduce greenhouse gases and saves energy! Only one pound of recycled plastic that goes into making these awesome products saves enough energy to charge a smartphone for 31 weeks, power a light bulb for six days, even charge an electric car for six hours! Helping our wonderful Earth home is honestly the number one thing that brought me to this product in the first place.

Did I mention they're stackable?! Hallelujah for space savers!

These products are dishwasher safe (yay!), the cups have the "no spill" valve (lifesaver!), can last through multiple children throughout the years, and are so affordable I honestly don't know how you can pass them up! Divided stackable plate sets of 3 are only $7.99, utensil packs $4.99, set of bowls 5.99 and SO much more. You can purchase Re-Play thru Amazon or even at their own site http://www.shop.re-play.com. You can also find them at Walmart, Whole Foods, Kroger, and various others near you!

I can't begin to explain how thankful I am that this company is part of my every day motherhood routine and I can't wait for Mason to continue to grow up with them.

As a follow up I am having a GIVEAWAY of their beautiful aqua feeding set! This comes with a divided stackable plate, a spill proof cup, as well as a fork and spoon. All of this comes in the matching gorgeous aqua color and it's to die for!

Giveaway details are on my Instagram (@matracamccord) so make sure you head on over and enter! 

**GIVEAWAY ENDS JULY 14TH!**

10 reasons why my dad is my best friend

I have always been a daddy's girl and I always will be. To me this carries a simple explanation as to why, but then I realized some of YOU have probably never had the honor of meeting my dad so I'm going to tell you all about him (with some never before seen pictures!), why he is my best friend, and some of the life lessons he has taught me. Ladies + gentleman, I introduce to you a post all about the wonderfully, all too amazing, Michael Moody:

1. He has ALWAYS been there. First day of Kindergarten, sickness, health, every single basketball + softball game, dance recitals, + cross country meets.  Even during the not so fun times: breakups, the loss of my sister, the loss of my mom, all of my rehab stays and even injuries. 

2. He's always been the leading man in my support system. All those times I switched my major he always encouraged me that if it was going to make me happy for the rest of my life, then I should go for it. He went through all of my sick eating disorder days with me, he was there for my five relapses and most importantly he has been there for my through my beautiful recovery. I wanted to do dance instead of softball, he backed me up. Even when I wanted to move across the country from him for four years, we both cried, but he backed me up. I got pregnant out of wedlock, he backed me up. Moral of this point is that I know I can always count on him. He's never going anywhere and I hope he knows that in return I will always be here for him. 

3. The lessons he has taught me will forever stay with me. Yes, dad, even if I don't listen to you half of the time, I still take everything you say into consideration and hold onto your advice forever. For example: 2nd place is the 1st loser, family is (literally) everything, and to always follow my heart. He taught my how to fish, he is the reason why I am the tomboy that I am, he taught me exactly what respect is and how I should give it as well as receive it. He taught me how to ride a bike, how to swim, how to shoot a basketball, and how to stand up for myself and what I believe in. 

4. He's my inspiration to always be better than I was the day before. He taught me how to be beautiful on the inside and not just on the outside. He gives me parenting advice that I would otherwise be lost without, and he is by far my best + favorite teacher. 

5. He understands that I make mistakes, and I will definitely make more of them, but he will never love me any less. He picks me up from those mistakes + helps me get back on the right track. 

6. I KNOW that if I call him, he will do anything and everything in his power to help me with whatever it is. I need to go to the library real quick for homework? He'll be over in ten minutes to watch Mason for an hour or two. I called just to vent? He'll drop what he's doing, listen to me with a full heart, and give me the best advice that he can give. 

7. He keeps his promises. If he tells me he's going to do something, I know whole heatedly that it will be done. I can count on one hand the amount of people I trust, and my dad taught me exactly what that was, and I can't thank him enough for that. 

8. He set the standards high and taught me what a true gentleman is like. He still to this day opens up my doors for me, even just to get into the car. He loves me the right way, (still) treats me like a princess, and when he told me that he actually LIKED Garrett, I knew that this relationship was going somewhere. (And here we are now, 3  years after we first met, and married!) My dad had big expectations for the man that was going to be in my life forever, because he knew that I deserved nothing less. And because he believed that for me, I believed that for myself.

9. He's never judged me, never held a grudge even when he probably should have, he LOVES my husband just like he is his own, and loves our Mason more than anything in this world. 

10. Most importantly, my dad taught me exactly what it meant and what it looked like to love unconditionally. My heart is so full, and I am so blessed to have been placed on this Earth with him as my dad. I had the best childhood, and now I will continue to have a great life simply because he will still + always be a part of it. A big part of it. 

I love you, dad, and I will forever be your little girl.

Happy Father's Day to all of you daddies out there! I hope your day is filled with as much joy as your heart can handle, and that you spend time with the people who mean the most. We salute you, dads, because without you, our lives wouldn't be nearly as sweet.

Teamwork in Relationships

Teamwork, let's talk about that for a second. I honestly don't know how some relationships survive without it. My husband and I work REALLY hard on the teamwork aspect of our household, and to me, it plays such a huge role in maintaining the sanity + happiness in our lives. I am a full time student (which, if you are in PTA school, you know it takes up a good 98% of your life), and Garrett works full time. YES, we both always seem to be busy, and this is honestly probably one of the most hectic times we have faced together, but we somehow make it work. You want to know how? TEAMWORK. 

Since my Summer classes started Mason goes to daycare 2 days a week while I am away, and the other days he is with me while I try to find time to do my schoolwork online, do laundry, clean, run errands, make dinner, and plan our big second wedding (since we were already technically married in our local church with just a few witnesses). That keeps me pretty busy, if not busier, than I was when I was working a full time job a few months ago. Since we both have things to do almost every second of the day it is no wonder why we rely on teamwork so much and why it has helped us flourish into the kick-butt team that we are today. 

*For instance, I cook dinner + Garrett (sometimes) does the dishes in return. 

*When Mason gets a bath, I bath him + Garrett puts on the pajamas. 

*Garrett dirties the house + I pick up after him. (HAHA, sorry honey, I had to)

*When Mason was little we had a pretty nice system: One night I would feed Mason, + Garrett would do bottles (because being a pumping momma was no joke). The next night, Garrett would feed Mason and I would do bottles and so on and so forth. 

*If one of us loads the dishwasher, the other tries to unload it. 

*When we do have "cleaning days" (rare, but still) I'm in charge of the inside + Garrett takes the outside + the patio's. 

These are just a few samples of the hundreds of ways we implement teamwork into our everyday routines. We LOVE helping each other out because both of us know we don't know how we would do it alone. Most importantly, we do these things because it really embodies who we are as a couple, how we grow our relationship every single day, and how much we both love taking care of Mason TOGETHER. He doesn't need just a mom doing every single thing for him, he needs a father, too. And I am so happy with who we are, + how we have grown because of him. 

How do YOU use teamwork in your relationship?! We are always looking for ways to expand, so please let us hear what you use in your house. How do you get by day-to-day? 

40 things I want to teach my son.

With our up and coming big August wedding getting closer and closer, it's given me a different perspective on quite a few things. Our future and Mason's future being one of them. I always think of the type of parent I want to be, what kind of family dynamic I want Mason to grow up in with Garrett and I, and hopefully somewhere down the road, some siblings of his own.While I'm sure we'll be experimenting with different parenting methods for quite some time, aka our whole life, I have also put a lot of thought into the certain things that I want to make sure Mason knows and learns as he grows up, (aside from the regular schooling and ABC's, obviously):

                                 

1. Have Christianity be your base. Your strong base that you can always lean on and grow to love.
2. MANNERS. We don't teach you to say "please" and "thank you" for fun, it's to benefit you and your future. I promise. 
3. Be active! Play sports, go outside, ride a bike, play tag. We will not let you stay cooped up inside all day playing video games or watching TV, so let your imagination run free and play! 
4. Always respect your parents. 
5. Don't be afraid to stick up for yourself, but never be a bully. 
6. Learn how to cook! Your father is an amazing cook (and your mom) so we can't wait for you to join in on some lessons. 
7. Family first, always. 
8. Be creative and realize that you can do whatever you put your mind to. Nothing is out of reach. You can do whatever you put your mind to and I promise your father and I will be there cheering you on and being your biggest supporters every step of the way. 
9. Showing emotions is not a bad thing.
10. You're going to go through phases, and we want you to always feel comfortable talking to us about anything, big or small, and we promise not to judge. 
11. Were here to help you. We are your best friends, but we will always be your parent first. Always remember that we are not the enemy, no matter how many times you disagree with our decisions or think we are the worst parents in the world for making you be inside by 8:00 on a school night. 
12. Learn financial responsibility. Your father and I both struggled with this for quite some time, and now that we are on the right track, we want you to be, too. Never go in debt if it is not absolutely necessary! 
13. Take pride in your culture, your family values, and morals. Never be ashamed of where you come from. 
14. Realize knowledge is power. 
15. Always choose experiences over materialistic things. 
16. Take your time, and breathe. Don't feel the need to rush through life. ADULT LIFE IS HARD. Stay little, young, and carefree for as long as life will allow. 
17. Take risks. 
18. Stay up late with dad one night watching the basketball game, yell at the TV, eat a tub of ice cream, and know that mom won't punish you unless it becomes a regular routine.  
19. WATER OVER SODA!
20. Just smile at the camera and accept that your mother will never stop taking picture of you or documenting your life moment by moment. It's what I do, because you're too beautiful not to. 
21. Always be punctual. 
22. Be your own person. I know peer pressure is hard, but never live your life to please others. 
23. Learn how to say "sorry" but never apologize for things that aren't your fault. 
24. But at the same time, learn how to be the bigger person. 
25. Chivalry isn't completely dead, and look to your father for examples. 
26. Open doors for women (and your mother!)
27. Never wear a baseball cap at the dinner table or in church. 
28. Believe in Santa & the Easter Bunny, but never forget the real reason for Christmas or Easter.  
29. Read books! 
30. Don't forget that calling a person goes a lot farther than texting. 
31. Keep your old soul attitude and never let it fade. 
32. You'll make mistakes. Embrace them, learn from them, and know we won't hate you for making them. 
33. Keep your glass half full, instead of half empty. 
34. Love unconditionally. 
35. When you receive compliments, take them in. Never reject or deny them. 
36. Also, GIVE compliments! Give more than you receive. 
37. Stand up for what you believe in. 
38. Realize that you're worth, and never let anybody make you feel less than what you are. 
39. Never let anyone make you feel like your emotions are invalid. 
40. Always love yourself. 

You're father and I will love you forever, and we will believe in you and support you always. 

E-mail: dresses.to.messes@gmail.com

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"To the girl in the doctor's office..."

While I was sitting in the doctors office today patiently awaiting the nurse to come poke my finger, I heard a middle school girl look at her friend and say "skinny is the new strong". I kid you not. Those words came out of a beautiful, full of life, so much to look forward to, little girl. I wanted so much to say something, and looking back now I probably should have. Whether she was joking or not, I die a little inside every time I hear or see girls acting upon such monstrosities. After my appointment was over they were gone and all I could think about was what I could have said. Which is what got my mind spewing into this (probably lengthy) blog topic.

Don't get me wrong, recovery is SO BEAUTIFUL. But oh my gosh, it really sucks sometimes. Even though I'm eating like a normal person, I'm not constantly reading nutrition labels, or running to the bathroom after I eat something as little as a cracker, I'm still dealing with all of the side effects as if I still had Anorexia or even when I dabbled in with Bulimia. For instance:

• I'm currently in the process of testing for Celiac. Every time I eat Gluten, I get nauseous. My head pounds to the point of where I have to turn off all the lights. I get lethargic and it's pretty much hard to do anything. My doctor wants me to go two more weeks with no Gluten and see how I feel and after that we'll decide if I just need a Gluten free diet or if he wants to send me to a gastroenterologist. He is 99% sure that this was caused as a life long repercussion from my Eating Disorder. 
• Brittle hair and nails.
• I still have the Lanugo. A lot of people don't know what this is so let me explain. Lanugo is the very fine, peach fuzz type of thing that your body produces when you are severely underweight in it's last and final attempt to bring up your body temperature. Mine came in on the sides of my face and even though it is practically unnoticeable to everyone else, I know it's there and it's so annoying. Most cases go away after you hit your stable steady goal weight. I've been at a healthy weight for a little over a year now and mine is going no where.  
• Orthostatic-Hypotension. Ya know, that thing that makes you get dizzy EVERY SINGLE TIME you stand up or change your body alignment position. I was diagnosed with that when I was 17 and that will last with me for the rest of my life. I've fainted a couple of times in the past, so it's really nothing to take super lightly. 
• ANXIETY. I have NEVER been an anxious person until I started my Eating Disorder. Even after five times in rehab treatment and learning all of the coping skills I could ever imagine, I still get anxious and I still get panic attacks. This has been one of the hardest things for me to deal with thus far, and I would never wish this upon my worst enemy. 
• My body no longer gets hunger cues, which in turn makes it pretty difficult to remind myself to eat sometimes. I'm NOT relapsing, I just always have to remind myself and sometimes even force myself to eat, and that is never fun. 
• Tooth sensitivity. REALLY SUCKS. Early teeth decay could be in my future, and I'm trying everything I can to prevent it. 
• Osteopenia. I have lost so much bone density, it's ridiculous. 

These are just a few of the ones that I could think of off the top of my head. Please believe me when I say there is more. So, to the beautiful girl in the doctors office that claimed being skinny was the new strong and beautiful, you are so much more beautiful at a healthy weight. With a healthy mind and a healthy body, you can conquer the world far more faster than you ever could with an Eating Disorder. I know she'll never see this, but some other girl might. And that would make this whole "crying while I'm blogging thing" worth it. 

My heart aches for all of the girls out there who truly believe these lies that society feeds us, and I just wish there was something out there that I could do to help and make it better. If sharing my story and all of my struggles beyond my story is all that I can do, then so be it. 

I hope people know that I am always here as a peer sponsor, mentor, friend, or even just a listener. 

E-mail: dresses.to.messes@gmail.com

Blog's Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/dressestomesses

Twitter/ IG/ Pinterest name: @MatracaTaylor 

Easter Shenanigans!

Happy (belated) Easter, my lovely readers! First off I just want to throw something out there that I've recently received a few emails/ comments about. Video blogging! Would you guys be willing to watch or are you interested in me doing a video blog every once in a while rather than always doing these typed blogs? I'm sure Garrett and Mason would hop in a few! Let me know because I'm up for anything as long as I can keep writing/ sharing! 

Now to the actual blog! Just a quick update on how my little family celebrated our Easter and all of the fun activities we did as well as everything that went into planning this simple family gathering: 

Coloring/ Dying Eggs: The very first thing we did to kick off this Easter weekend was dye our 24 Easter eggs! Mason even helped for a short time as he was really into the stickers. 

Easter Bunny Visit: What's Easter without sitting on a bunny's lap and eating a carrot?! He did so well and never shed a tear! This was such a different experience than the one we had with Santa. 

Deviled Eggs: Such a (decently) healthy snack that we served at our Easter dinner. We used the same dye as we colored our original eggs with and they still tasted awesome. Just added a little extra fun color and made us realize how much we truly love the Spring time! 

Easter Basket Prep: As soon as the deviled eggs were finished, it was Mason's bed time. He normally goes to bed a little earlier on Saturdays because Sundays we wake up at a decent hour in order to make it to church on time. As soon as the baby hit the hay, the Easter Bunny came and dropped off his basket! Yes, we did include one toy, but the rest included things that he needed such as books, snacks, and new plates. 

Church: Just like every Sunday, church was for sure on our to-do list. It was packed and the nursery was so busy but Mason still had a blast while Garrett and I fully enjoyed the wonderful service. Let us not forget that without Him, we wouldn't even be able to celebrate such a glorious day! Because He has risen, I am alive! AMEN!

Finding the Easter Basket: After church Mason headed straight for his play room as always and that just so happens to be where his basket was hidden! He whipped open the cloth door of his play teepee and went straight for his snacks. That kid's got a mind for food.. 

FOOD!: I have no picture because I was too busy indulging in the awesome feast that we were so blessed to have! We had ham, rolls, a cheese ball with crackers, fruit, fruit salad, potato salad, homemade red skin mashed potatoes, gravy, deviled eggs, and cheesecake. YUM! 

Easter Egg Hunt: After dinner we headed straight outside to our patio for Mason's very first Easter egg hunt! He knew exactly how to pick up the eggs and put them in the basket where they belong. He is so smart and such a quick learner! He found all 18 eggs, too! 

Easter Night: After the rest of the family left we rearranged Mason's nursery and our dining room and then finally was able to sit down with Mason and end our second Easter together. We finished the night with some bible stories and bunny ears. 

We made so many memories this Easter and I can't wait to see the many more memories that we are sure to make together as a family. What are some of your Easter traditions?! Let me know and tell me what you think about the videos that may or may not be coming soon! 

E-mail: dresses.to.messes@gmail.com

Blog's Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/dressestomesses

IG/ Twitter/ Pinterest name: @matracataylor 

Mason Turned ONE!

Well, that time has come. I am now (have been for a few weeks) a mother to a one year old. That's right... 12 months I have been a mom. One whooooole year. And I can't believe it. They warn you that time fly's by, but I mean, it REALLY has flown by. His party turned out PERFECT, but not without a little complication. My poor, sweet Mason spent the night before his birthday party in the Emergency Room with Pneumonia and a fever of 103. Luckily, we were able to go home after a five hour stay with antibiotics in his system, a Z-pack subscription, and super sleepy eyes. The doctor told us as long as he didn't have a fever  the next day, he was able to go to his party. Low and behold, he woke up with a body temp. of 99 the next morning and we were on our way with the birthday boy in hand. Here are some pictures, links and lists to ALL the Etsy shops that I was so lucky to participate with and buy from, and all of the fun things and memories that took place. Happy reading!

The very first DIY project that we took on for this birthday was the invitations. I feel like the invitations really set the mood for the whole party so I knew exactly how I wanted them. I made the ears and the circles with a Cricut (by the way, one of the coolest inventions ever!), typed up the info and pasted it onto the main body circle, then glued on the yellow buttons! Now, so have you know, yellow buttons (in bulk) are extremely hard to find so I totally lucked out when I found some good quality and reasonably priced packages of yellow buttons from the Etsy shop House of Blair. One other little complication that I ran into: the invites didn't fit normal size envelopes, or any store bought sized envelopes for that matter. Which then lead me to the shop CutCardStock. They shipped me my 6.5X6.5 inch square envelopes within four days and they fit perfectly. 

The black portion slid down into the red and fit great. I just pushed it up to show the details for a guest. 

One of the first purchases we made for this party was our Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears! I ordered these off of the Etsy shop FavorsAndCrafts. They have so many other cute things in their shop it was so hard to only get the ears! They fit all of our multi-sized heads perfectly and were SO comfy. We wore them for almost 6 hours and never once realized they were there. Mason didn't even care (and he's the picky one!) He didn't try to take them off and he was the cutest little mouse. 

Next, I knew we wanted to give away a unique party favor so we started brainstorming. I had exactly 60 glass bottles left over from my baby shower so I figured we'd start there. After much deliberation I decided we'd fill up the bottles with Red, Yellow, and Black M&M's and top it off with some chocolate chips. My dad helped us out big time with this by going to the official M&M store in Las Vegas and getting us the 13 pounds of M&M's that we needed to fill all the bottles. Next was to figure out how to put the finishing touch on them. After searching Etsy for personalized labels, I came across the adorable shop Snuggly Monkey. For a super cheap price I was able to order 80 labels that fit the bottles perfectly and I was able to pick out the text. 

After some of the bigger portions were out of the way I focused on Garrett and mine's outfits. (What's a party if the parents don't match the theme and play along, right?!) SO being the bargain shopper that I am, I waited for two simple V-neck shirts at Target to go on sale and bought them instantly. On those white shirts, from the oh-so-wonderful shop Owl Little Family. I bought two iron on decals that say "Mom of the Birthday Boy" (for my shirt) and "Dad of the Birthday Boy" (for Garrett's shirt). They turned out awesome and we received so many compliments. They really matched well with our Mickey and Minnie ears. She goes above and beyond contact her at: owllittlefamily@gmail.com 

Now this we didn't buy. My super artistic husband did this ALL ON HIS OWN. I literally gave him a picture and bought the wood, and he ran with it. No stencil, all free hand, and it couldn't have turned out better. It was such a hit at the party and everybody loved getting their own Mickey picture! 

Since we had all our outfits in order, it was time to shop around for Mason. It took us at least a solid week to go back and forth between two outfits that we liked, but we finally settled on a winner. We ended up ordering his birthday boy shift from SWDdesigns and fell absolutely in love with it. It's GREAT quality, all handmade, and arrived in time (which is always a plus). He was comfy all day and it added so much cuteness to the whole party theme. We bundled the shirt with his Mickey ears and khaki shorts because it was a lovely 80 degrees for his poolside February birthday. (Yay, AZ!)

Another DIY project that I took on was making his One Year board. Now, as most of you know I have been notorious for the "chalkboard" through every week of pregnancy of every month of Mason's life, so this was a must-do project for me. (Check out all of our chalkboard progress by clicking HERE and then clicking HERE!) 

The very last thing we purchased off of Etsy was his big birthday present. We recently turned our spare bedroom into Mason's very own play room and this Teepee really brings the room to life! We ordered from the shop Play TeePee and have never been more pleased with a gift. This shop can do just about any color you want, and has the choice between a smaller and a larger size. She worked so well with us to make it a custom order and we received it in less 7 business days! The teepee itself is super sturdy, plenty of room, sides that can open and close with a simple tie and the fabric is fabulous. This picture doesn't really do it justice but for now it will have to do:

The DIY projects are not over my friends! The next thing tackled was high High-Chair banner. I (with my darling husband's help) made this by hand for less than 20$ from our local Hobby Lobby! Don't forget to use your 40% off printable Hobby Lobby Coupon! Or just pull it up on your phone and show the cashier! All it took was some yards of fabric, a piece of burlap, and a string for tying and BOOM! a super cute decoration that is now hanging up in his play room as we speak. :) 

I know, I know- this is the longest post of my life. I wanted to make sure all of our beautiful shops got the credit they deserved and I've had so many inbox questions about this or that so I figured I'd just answer them all (plus some) in one giant blog post. Thanks for reading this lengthy post, I'll finish up with some pictures! All of the food (other than the sheet cake and smash cake) was made by the lovely Dianna Fielding. I showed her my ideas, we wrote them down, and she brought it all to life! Not only does it all look cute, it tasted amazing! 

Desert Table

Food Cards I printed off from Pinterest. Check out my page for more fun ideas! www.pinterest.com/MatracaTaylor

Handmade confetti from a darling Mickey cutout straight from Hobby Lobby!

Pluto's Pretzels (thanks Pinterest free printable!)

Pete's Popcorn, complete with Mickey popcorn buckets

Rice Krispie Treats that were almost too cute to eat! 

Minnie's Sweets and Daisy's Vegetable Garden 

Donald's Cheese and Quackers

Goofy's Grapes

Minnie Cupcakes

Again, thank you for being such loyal followers with the best comments and feedback in the world. 

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