9.27.2014

Anna's 2nd Birthday Party

Chances are when you plan a birthday party at a park that has only one shelter that is first come, first serve you won't be the first one there. That's exactly what happened when we pulled in to the parking lot of the park and the shelter was filled with people celebrating another birthday. I may or may not have cursed under my breath. Thankfully, after profusely apologizing for interrupting their party, we were good to begin setting up and they left within minutes of our party starting. Phew! Way too close!

I'm not big on characters. They're fun and all but it's just not me. However, when your daughter is absolutely obsessed with Elmo and there are billions of pins on Pinterest on how to throw an Elmo birthday party, you go with it. As I was searching for party ideas I noticed how many two year olds have Elmo parties. What is it with Elmo? Is it because he's red? Is it his cute (yet annoying) voice? Is it Mr. Noodles? Please, dear God, let it not be Mr. Noodles because I can only take so much of that guy. Whatever it is, it made it super simple to throw the perfect Elmo birthday party for our sweet little Anna.

Enjoy scrolling through our special day celebrating a big two year old! Sorry I'm not sorry for the amount of pictures.

Elmo veggie tray. How cute are these? Tomatoes, olives, carrots, and ranch dressing.

Elmo fruit tray with strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges, and cream cheese dip. Yum!!!

And Travis' cousin, Angel did it again! These Elmo cupcakes are ohhh so cute and were just as delicious! She is the best!




Pin the nose on Elmo!




Anna's turn! She knew exactly where Elmo's nose goes :)


Time for CUPCAKES!!!

Waiting so patiently. 

I love that little face.

Since it was my birthday too we added another candle so we could blow our candles out together ;) 


Finally!!!

There's no getting between a girl and her cupcake!


Another Pinterest idea: her tshirt. Super easy to make and I love how it turned out!

I still can't believe she's 2!
I also got the party favors idea from Pinterest too. When you have 18 kids coming to the party you have to DIY!


Goldfish, crayons, and coloring aren't just Elmo's favorite, Anna loves them all too! 
Anna has a ton of great friends and family! 

I'm so happy with how Anna's party turned out. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. We're so thankful to our friends and family who came to help celebrate our sweet Anna turning two. It made the day even more special. It's still so hard to believe our tiny baby has become a big girl and will very soon become a big sister! I love this little family of mine and I know my heart will continue to grow bigger and bigger as the years roll by. 


9.24.2014

It's Getting Real, Folks

Is it ok to say I'm not really ready for baby boy to come? Yes, I want to meet our little man. Yes, I want to hold him in my arms and feel relief from all the aches and pain. Yes, I want to see Anna's joy when she gets to finally meet her baby brother. But mentally, emotionally, I'm just not ready. We have everything we really need. Diapers & wipes, check. Carseat, check. Bassinet, check. Blankets and clothes, check. Mama's milk, check when he makes his appearance. And while my body is definitely ready to feel back to normal again (I know it'll take a few weeks after he comes), I don't know if I'm ready for the sleepless nights, the wondering of why he's crying, the fear of Anna stepping on him or poking his eyes out, or the anxiety and realness that goes along with transitioning from one child to two. My concern when I was pregnant with Anna was all "Oh no, I don't have the nursery done yet." Psh, this time around, all he gets is a bassinet beside Mama. The nursery is the farthest from my mind now that I know what having a newborn is like. Plus with Anna and Juice Drop sharing a room he won't be in with her for a while so we'll keep it decorated for Anna for the time being. I'm officially seeing my midwife once a week now, I'll be tested for Group Beta Strep next week, baby showers are this weekend, soccer has started and the air is starting to cool. All of this means we are that much closer and inside I am freaking out. If you have any tips on how not to go crazy in the last few weeks and/or advice on transitioning from one to two I'd gladly welcome it ;)

Now let's get to a baby bump!



How far along? 35 Weeks and 3 Days

How big is baby? the size of a coconut and his testes have probably fully descended (not something I wrote during Anna's pregnancy lol)

Total weight gain: 36 pounds--officially more than what I gained with Anna and I still have 4 1/2 weeks left until due date! eek!

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, leggings, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: just awful. Most nights I find myself on the couch. It's much softer than our bed and I feel better knowing I'm not waking Travis up from my tossing and turning.

Best moment this week: Anna and my birthday celebration over the weekend! Stay tuned for a post later this week :)

Miss Anything? feeling comfortable

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: just the usual braxton hicks, nothing crazy this week.

Symptoms: major heartburn--it comes on even before I've eaten--I've had to resort to Zantac because Tums just aren't cutting it, braxton hicks, peeing all the time, out of breath, rib and back pain, and my favorite: baby kicks!

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: my two baby showers this Sunday and Monday! We are so blessed to have so many friends and family who are excited about Juice Drop.  

9.17.2014

A Visit from MiMi and a 34 Week Bump

MiMi (Travis' mom) came to visit this past weekend! Which is a big deal around these parts. Ever since Anna spent two weeks (one week just by herself) with MiMi this summer they've been two peas in a pod. They are just too cute together. While MiMi's visit was short we still had a great time celebrating all three of our birthdays, experiencing Monkey Joe's for the first time, and Anna finally getting to see the movie Frozen for the first time even though she already sings "Let it Go!" 24/7. We were definitely sad to see her go but we know the second we tell her I'm going into labor she'll be making that 7 hour trip yet again.

MiMi came bearing gifts including this 2 foot Elmo! Anna was in love.

She also brought Anna her first set of Legos (Duplos).
Anna (or should I say Daddy) couldn't wait to start building!

We had our first experience at Monkey Joe's.
Anna was in bouncy house heaven!
She's got the "get me to the next slide NOW!" look.
"Grandma makes me smile" She sure does, Anna!

Yay for 34 weeks! Huzzah for 6 weeks until the due date! Praise the Lord the back and rib pain and heartburn are almost done! And Hallelujah, at the end we get a precious baby boy to snuggle!


How far along? 34 Weeks and 3 Days

How big is baby? the size of a butternut squash and is recognizing and reacting to familiar songs. I wouldn't be surprised if he came out singing "Let it Go!" or "The Wheels on the Bus" based on how often they are sung by a little voice around here.

Total weight gain: 32 pounds

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: some nights I have the best sleep and only wake up to pee, other nights it's almost like the night will never end, I'm wide awake, and usually find myself on the couch--Travis doesn't seem to mind.

Best moment this week: the whole weekend was just the best!

Miss Anything? as my friends sipped some wine Monday night I've got to say I was a little jealous. 

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk  

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: just the usual braxton hicks, nothing crazy this week.

Symptoms: major heartburn--it comes on even before I've eaten, braxton hicks, peeing all the time, out of breath, rib and back pain, and my favorite: baby kicks!

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: Anna and my birthday this weekend! Plus Anna's birthday party on Sunday--it's an Elmo birthday party so stay tuned for pictures!!!   

9.11.2014

And I'm Back!

Did ya miss me?! Sorry I've been MIA for the past two weeks. I really don't have a great excuse so I'm just not going to even try to justify myself. I will say that I'm feeling the love. I had a friend ask where my bump updates have been so it means at least one person out there cares, right?

We've (or really I should say Travis) had a pretty eventful past few weeks. Travis celebrated his 30th birthday (which he's been dreading for I feel like years!) and to commemorate such a big number we flew him out to California to go hiking and camping with his brother in Yosemite National Park. I mean, that's a big deal! At least for us (ahem, me). I've always been one to want to tag along on his little excursions but this time (and maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm getting closer to the due date) I let him freely go, no jealousy whatsoever. I'm so happy he was able to do this. He came home saying it was one of the best experiences of his life! And knowing that greatly blesses me as his wife. I'm thrilled to know it'll be a birthday he'll never forget!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While Anna and I stayed at home we didn't just twiddle our thumbs all week. I wouldn't have let that happen. Before Travis left I made sure everyday was filled with some activity, either with just the two of us or with friends. I helped celebrate a friend's birthday, we went to the pool with friends a few times, we drove to Greenville to meet a sweet baby boy who's only two weeks old and spent the night with good friends, we enjoyed playdates and I went to a huge consignment sale and stocked up on Anna's fall and winter attire (we've been blessed with friends who've handed down plenty of clothes for baby boy to last us through the spring but I won't deny seeing all those baby boy clothes at the sale was oh so tempting!).

Celebrating our sweet friend, Heather's birthday!
Love these ladies to pieces!

Spent some time soaking up end of summer rays at the pool with a few of Anna's favorite people.
We love these ladies too!

Anna practicing being a big sister with sweet baby Baylis Rue.
Such a special afternoon with dear friends.

I don't feel like writing two separate posts for the past two bumpdates (that would just be silly and time consuming) so I'm just going to update you in one post.   



How far along? 33 Weeks and 5 Days (I'm so bad, technically I'm closer to 34 weeks than 33!)

How big is baby? the size of a durian. (I had no idea what a durian was when I was pregnant with Anna but Travis finally got to see one when he visited Southeast Asia last year. He said it's as every bit as stinky as people claim it to be but apparently everyone over there loves it! He didn't even want to try it because the stench was that bad!) Juice Drop is keeping his eyes open while he's awake and his bones are hardening.  

Total weight gain: 32 pounds. I gained 33 pounds with Anna so I'm pretty sure I'll exceed that weight gain. Unless by some miracle I only gain one more pound in the next 6 1/2 weeks. 

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: getting up every 2-3 hours to pee. Hmm, sounds a lot like foreshadowing. 

Best moment this week: spending our last free weekend just the three of us before birthday parties, soccer games, baby showers, and baby boy come!

Miss Anything? sitting in a comfortable position without immediate braxton hicks and rib pain

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk  

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: just the usual braxton hicks, nothing crazy this week.

Symptoms: major heartburn--it comes on even before I've eaten, braxton hicks, peeing all the time, out of breath, rib and back pain, and my favorite: baby kicks!

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: Mimi (Travis' mom) coming to visit this weekend! Anna is stoked!