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. 

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!   

A Very Good Birthday

I'm sure you could tell by my last post that Anna and I had a pretty amazing birthday. To top it off we received a wonderful gift from my mother-in-law and grandma-in-law. An item I've been wanting for a long time but deep down knew I'd never go out and buy for myself. I'd find every excuse to avoid buying it: it's too expensive, we could put the money toward something else, where will I store it? really, who needs one? So when Travis started talking about bikes a few weeks before our birthday I thought maybe he had something up his sleeve. I still didn't really believe I was actually going to get one but his intention was well received. Then, one hour before the party, while I'm scrambling to put up decorations and try to get myself ready, Travis' mom enters our living room with a bright and shiny yellow bike! She exclaimed, "I figured you could use a pick-me-up right now!" And she was right. It definitely lifted my spirits! On top of that Anna was given a little seat that could be hooked to the back of my bike so we could ride together. I could hardly wait to try it out!

A few days after our birthday we finally were able to really work on getting the seat connected. Travis and I had trouble doing it ourselves, and just before I was about to take it into a bike shop some of the boys in our neighborhood came over with all their tools and put it together in no time! I feel so blessed to live around some of the most generous and handy people! I mean, come on, take it to a bike shop and pay to have it fixed up or let kids who repair their bikes all the time work on it? Plus it was a great time for Travis and the guys to work on something together!

Once it was fixed we strapped Anna's helmet on and strapped her into her seat and off we went! It was a wonderful first ride. The kids around us were chasing us trying to catch up. I even had kids ask if they could get a ride or if they could ride my bike with Anna in it. I assured them Anna and I will be the only ones using our bike.

It's hard to tell since I can't see Anna but I'm pretty sure she enjoys our rides. I know I do and based on the sounds she makes and her playfully pulling at my shirt, I think she does too!

Anna's First Birthday Party

When I first started planning Anna's first Birthday party rain never even crossed my mind. It wouldn't rain, it just couldn't. We were inviting well over 50 people plus the kids in the neighborhood so moving the party into our tiny apartment just wasn't a possibility. The party was planned for our front yard and rain was just not an option. Well, as soon as I was able to I checked the weather. Ten days out and there was a 40% chance of rain. And the chance increased as the big day drew closer with 70% chance of rain the day of. The back-up plan? Two tents borrowed from the office and my Dad's tent he brought from Ohio attached to our front and back doors. Well it worked, we moved 50 plus people into our home, and while it was packed we were thankful that the downpour held off until after the party because guests were able to stand under the tents and even under the trees without getting soaked.

With all that to say, the party was AMAZING! Anna did awesome, she looked adorable, we were so thankful our family and friends were there to help celebrate, and she destroyed her cake (not by eating it but by playing with it!). Speaking of cake, Travis' cousin, Angel made Anna's cake, my cake (because it was my birthday too!), and the cupcakes, and let me just say Angel is brilliant! Her cakes are absolutely beautiful and delicious, to die for! She made our reveal cake too and when planning for Anna's birthday she suggested making another ombre style cake. I thought it would be perfect, and I continued the ombre theme into the rest of the decorations and even into Anna's outfit!

I'm going to stop typing now because I know why you're really here--to see the pictures, so without further ado, I give you Anna's First Birthday Party:

Pink tutu and a pop of gold for this little Lady! Mama had to match little Lady so I went with a white dress, gold flats, and gold and pink jewelry.

Here's my attempt at moving my decorations indoors:

Besides digging into the cake, Anna's favorite part was the watermelon. I swear she had like 5 slices!

Anna loves her Great Grammy! And Great Grammy loves her little Anna!

Look at these cakes! Amazing and oh so cute!! ...  :)

Happy Birthday dear Anna!!

Honestly, she was not a fan of the taste. She tried a few bites but spit most of it out. When she realized it was more fun to squish in her fingers she went at it!

By the time I took this picture some of the chalk was starting to wear off. And you read that right, Anna likes Mumford and Sons. Yep, it's the only music that'll calm her down in a car ride. Those guys are heaven sent.

The one and only good shot we got as a family. The rain and trying to host and enjoy the party was too much to ask for to stop and take more than one decent photo. 

Happy 1st Birthday, sweet Anna Jubilee! You are loved more than you'll ever know!

Decorations and Anna's outfit: DIY

Cakes: Angel Maxwell 

Some of the photos: my sister, Stefanie

False Alarm

Imagine the night before Christmas and the feelings you felt as a child: excitement (ohh, presents!!), anxiousness (have I really been a good girl/boy?), eagerness to get the cookies and milk set out, and as you lay in bed sugarplums aren't really dancing in your head because you can't sleep with your heart pounding!

Now imagine waking up Christmas morning to find that Santa never came, no presents are under the tree, and someone tells you Christmas won't be coming this year, you'll have to wait another 365 days!

Haha, very funny, but seriously, what happened to Christmas? That's how Travis and I felt this morning...

It all started last evening around 5 pm. We were headed out to celebrate my birthday a week early. My birthday isn't until this Friday, the 21st (mark that on your calendars :) Our hope is that Juice Drop will be here before my birthday so we thought we should go ahead and celebrate. We went to the mall first to walk around, you know, trying to naturally induce labor. Well, it actually worked! As we were walking I began to notice I was having contractions every 20 minutes or so. We had forgotten the mall closes at 6 on Sundays so as we were rushed out by the mall employees, we continued counting contractions and they seemed to be pretty regular and averaging 15-20 minutes apart. Since we knew it wasn't really anything to write home about just yet we decided to stick with the plan of eating out so we headed over to Mama Ricotta's for an amazing Italian meal (if you know anything about me, you know that I LOVE Italian even though I don't have an ounce of Italian in me). Throughout the meal the contractions continued. Our entire dinner revolved around this baby and ohmygosh is this really happening? We could have a baby by tomorrow!!! After we finished we walked around the river walk to see if the contractions would go away; I had read that if they were false contractions then they'd go away if you walked. Sure enough, they kept on coming, some contractions 8-10 minutes apart! Ohmygosh this really IS happening! We're about to meet our baby girl! We rushed home so we could straighten the house a bit and pack our bags. After we realized we probably wouldn't be heading to the hospital that night, we took our time getting ready, continued counting contractions while I sat on an exercise ball, and called our family to prepare them for what was to come. Around 9:30 pm, my contractions got down between 7-10 minutes for an hour! As I finally laid down for bed around 10:30 I couldn't contain my excitement, I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as if my heart jumped into my head, and I knew I needed Travis to pray for me. As Travis prayed I felt a peace rush over me, I felt God more present than ever and Him telling me that He will be there in the delivery room just as real as Travis and my OB and nurses will be. I imagined holding my baby girl for the first time and experiencing a love like no other. I felt so much peace and I thought I'd have an amazing night of sleep. Well, I was wrong. I couldn't fall asleep because I realized the contractions were dying down. They weren't as strong and weren't coming as frequently. I would stay awake just so I could feel the next one come. I went in and out of sleep throughout the night and when I woke this morning my heart was deflated knowing that I was not in real labor. I was so upset, discouraged, frustrated, disappointed, and hopeless like labor will never come and I'll just be pregnant forever (can that really happen?!) Christmas was taken away from us and now this rainy day is calling me back to bed. Yes, it's noon; yes, I should go get groceries for the week; yes, I should go about my day like usual. But when you have it in your mind that today you're supposed to be in the hospital having a baby it's kind of hard to get motivated.

Don't worry about us, we'll get out of this funk in a few hours. Pity party will be over, I'll continue my day like usual and go get groceries remembering that God is in control:

"But if we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently" Romans 8:25. Thank you, Lord, for always knowing what's best for us and being in control of all things! You are the creator, I am not, and am so thankful for the beautiful gift you have blessed us with! Our baby girl must be happy as a clam in there because she's still moving like crazy this morning. Our anticipation of meeting her is almost more than we can take! Christmas morning will come soon, I know it will!

There is more than one reason why I'm dancing a jig today

1. Salted Caramel Frappucinnos. I love the fall and not just because the month that brings a cooler breeze and beautiful colors is the same as my birthday but because I love the smells, tastes, and feelings that come along with it. Like candy corn, pumpkin candles (the only pumpkin I like), apple cider and pies, crispy, crunchy leaves under my feet, sweatshirts and jeans (see #2), Ohio State football, live soccer games, and this:

2. I'm in jeans! And you can bet I'm wearing these maternity jeans proud. Pretty much like Michael Scott from The Office enjoys a good pair of jeans.  Shorts and dresses are wonderful but nothing says fall like a comfy pair of jeans that have been sitting on your closet shelf all summer just waiting for you to slip your legs into them. Plus shaving your legs isn't a must anymore when jeans are involved :) This video is exactly how I feel:

3. Even though my birthday isn't until Friday (yes, 2 days after Juice Drop's due date), we're celebrating today! One reason is because we're really hoping Juice Drop will be here before my birthday (or maybe come on my birthday, which would be the best gift in the whole wide world!) and then we'd totally forget about my birthday because we're so wrapped up in her--which wouldn't be too terrible.

4. Juice Drop's due date is in 3 days! 3 days, people! Where has the time gone?? And yet, these last few weeks have felt like an eternity. Oh please, oh please, baby girl, don't make us wait too much longer after your due date to grace us with your presence. We wait with great anticipation the moment we meet face to face and gaze into your beautiful eyes and marvel at the wonderful works God has created in you!

So if you happen to see me today I may or may not be dancing a jig in my jeans holding a salted caramel frappucinno while Travis sings happy birthday to me and taking a stroll in the mall after my celebration dinner (because it's raining--I've gots to get my walking in for the day) hoping to naturally induce labor. Phew, busy, yet productive day, eh?! You kind of want to do a jig too, right? :)