Star Wars + Ballerinas -- Ryder turns FIVE -- Blake turns THREE

We had so much fun throwing the first joint birthday party for the kids in our new backyard. I can see us having lots of parties back here with our friends and family. :)

This year Ryder chose a Star Wars theme. His table is so cool! I love it so much. This kid loves to celebrate and is always so happy. (Insert ugly mom cry) Blake really wanted a ballerina party and that was such a blast to create. I'll soak in alllll the girly things!

There are a lot of photos posted in this blog, but there are so many wonderful and adorable details from their individual tables! I worked with Mandy from One Fine Party once again to create the coolest custom birthday party themes for the kiddies. Mandy also has loads of other fun ideas on her Etsy site. Her ideas make your party planning so easy and cute! I highly recommend working with her. She is lovely and I've always been so, so impressed with her work. She's a gem!

From Mandy at One Fine Party:

Party favor boxes, treat toppers (Oreos), sucker stickers, cupcake toppers, cake topper, birthday banner.

Amazon:

White table cloth, black and white stripe runner, black garland, cupcake stand.

Cake and cupcakes from Target bakery.

Ryder's custom birthday tee is from Etsy!

From Mandy at One Fine Party:

Birthday banner, custom straws, cupcake toppers, cake topper, treat toppers (frosted animal crackers), stickers on party favor tins, stickers on suckers, "tiny dancer" garland.

Amazon:

Suckers, clear paint can tins for party favors, sparkle table cloth and Blakely's dress.

Blakes birthday hat is from Etsy!

Someone got her fingers in the cake before we could even take a pic! Haha. Stinker!

We also had a bouncy castle that was a blasty for the kids! I never got in (boo for wearing a dress haha) but the company made this super easy for us. We never even saw them. It was set up and taken down without bothering us at all.

Photos by Jenna Sparks

Thank you to Mandy from One Fine Party for all your creative genius and helping me put this party together for my kiddies!

All About Pregnancy #2

How did you find out you were pregnant?
My husband and I were ready and looking forward to getting pregnant with baby #2. I have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and was told by my doctor a long time ago to always plan on it being very difficult to get pregnant. When we got pregnant with Ryder I was taking ovulation tests daily so I knew when it was prime time. We were very, very lucky and got pregnant within two months! My doctor was shocked and told me not to expect this when trying for baby number two. So when we decided we were ready to go for it, we knew we just needed to relax and take it month by month. Surprisingly, we got pregnant right away! Once again, so lucky and so grateful for this blessing!

I wasn’t expecting to get pregnant so quickly and wasn’t taking pregnancy tests because we weren’t really calculating and I wasn’t taking ovulation tests daily yet. One day I was rocking Ryder before nap-time and the rocking chair made me queasy. I thought , “What?! Maybe I should take a test? Ugh, but I’m gonna get my hopes up and it’s gonna be negative.” But I took one anyway. I kinda of forgot about it. I was busy doing my “mom chores” during nap-time when I remembered I had taken it and looked over to see “1-2 weeks pregnant”! I was in SHOCK! My heart started racing. Of course I took another test to make sure. I was overwhelmed with emotion and so excited!

How did you tell Tooth you were pregnant?
I waited to tell Tooth because I wanted to surprise him. I knew he wouldn’t be expecting it because we hadn’t been “trying” like last time. It was the day before Thanksgiving and we went on a date night out to get sushi and to a movie. I had wrapped up the positive pregnancy test and put it in a mini stocking as an early Christmas gift for him.

While we were waiting for our sushi I told him I had an early Christmas gift for him. He wasn’t expecting it and guessed that it was an ornament. LOL (We have a tradition of getting one new ornament a year for our family Christmas tree with the kids.) When he opened it, it took a minute for him to register what it was. His jaw dropped and he was silent! I just laughed and he said “NO WAY!!!! Seriously?!” ☺

I knew he would be surprised but his reaction was priceless and I wish I had videoed it! We spent the rest of the night talking about how blessed we were by our babies and I sipped on water and ate California rolls while he had a cocktail and sashimi. LOL  Ahhh … the joys of pregnancy. We were both in shock but also so excited. We had a great night celebrating and day dreaming of whether or not it was a boy or girl. I’ll never forget the look on his face!

Best part of pregnancy?
Feeling/seeing her move is one of my favorite things! Watching my bump get bigger is fun because you can SEE her move and kick in there. Pregnancy is so strange because it’s such a roller coaster of ups and downs. I was just telling my hubby yesterday that I really want to soak up these last few days because as miserable as it can be, I know I’ll miss it when it’s over. I remember missing feeling Ryder move around in my belly after he was born. It’s the strangest thing… being so connected to your baby before you’ve even met. It’s amazing. And impossible to explain!

Worst Part of pregnancy?
Ugh, where to begin? LOL Nausea, headaches, back aches, trouble sleeping, peeing every 10 minutes, bending over – well, really just moving at all. HA! I have had really bad leg spasms with both pregnancies. At the end of the day my legs go crazy kicking all over the place! I have been overheating a lot this summer. Ryder is all dude and the poor kid just wants to play outside, but the heat gets me every time. Carrying Ryder while also carrying around a massive bump has been challenging. I can’t wait to hold Ryder close again! He gets frustrated that my belly is in the way when I rock him to sleep. I have also been sick a lot this pregnancy. When I was pregnant with Ryder I think I got one minor cold. NBD. This time I had flu and/or cold 5 times!!! So difficult. Especially when a toddler is involved. Those weeks were really rough!!!

Have your pregnancies been different?
YES! So different. Which is what led me to believe it was a girl – but I tried not to get my hopes up because I know some people who have had very different pregnancies and they have same sex children. I had a very smooth pregnancy with Ryder. I felt pregnant and not 100% myself, but overall, the pregnancy was pretty easy until the last 6 weeks – which were pretty miserable. This pregnancy was harder. I felt nausea all the time. I also felt SOOOO TIRED. Like, I can’t move because I’m so tired. The overwhelming exhaustion has been killer this time. I kept thinking I would have more energy later on … but it never happened. The nausea got better, but the exhaustion was intense and still is.

I’ve just been more uncomfortable in general this pregnancy but all the other stuff is kind of similar (headaches, back aches, leg spasms, etc) it’s just MUCH harder to be pregnant while also taking care of a toddler who is still so little and doesn’t understand what pregnancy is. Strangely, this pregnancy has been easiest in my third trimester. I obviously have a lot of physical pains and challenges, but I’ve had a little more energy and haven’t been overly miserable like I was the last 6 weeks with Ryder! I have days where I just want it to END! But overall, the third trimester hasn’t been too shabby this time. And… I’ve been much more emotional this pregnancy for whatever reason?

Cravings?
My cravings have been all over the place. In the beginning, I felt so sick! I ate a lot of bagels and breads. It was the only thing that didn’t make me sick! I still crave my mini bagels and split one with Ryder almost every morning ☺

There was a phase where all I wanted was chips and salsa. Then it switched to being obsessed with Cadbury eggs! I had one a day for over a month. OMG… Yikes! LOL I have craved comfort food the entire pregnancy. Mac and cheese, pizza, etc. I normally love fruit but couldn’t eat it at the beginning of the pregnancy, which was so strange! But I love it again. I have also craved ice cream, which is unusual for me. I’m usually a slurpee, sour straw, laffy taffy kind of gal ;)

How did you find out the gender?
We did a gender reveal for both pregnancies (check out my Gender Reveal blog post!) and I’m so glad we did. Both were amazing moments and memories and I’m so glad we captured it!

Here are a couple pictures from our maternity photo shoot we did when I was 30 weeks pregnant. I love these pictures and I am getting SO EXCITED to meet this baby girl! :) We love her so much already!!

Photos by Newell Jones Photography

         

Fears of Having Two

Becoming a new mom changes everything. You have no idea what you’re in for. It just happens. When I had Ryder I was amazed at how much I loved him... Instantly! It’s a love that I cannot explain. But I also had no idea that I would ever struggle as much as I did with anxiety after Ryder was born. It was pretty bad for about 5 months. There are so many pressures to being a new mom. So many fears. I was so worried every decision I made wasn’t going to be PERFECT. I had a lot to learn as a new mom! We were trying to figure out what our family of four meant and that was a struggle for all of us. Trying to find a balance with our new baby was difficult.

And now I’m having a daughter at the end of July. So, I will have a toddler AND a newborn to love and care for and worry about! I want this to be a good experience for Ryder, so I’ve been reading up on how to make this a smooth transition (well, as smooth as possible!).

I read on a parenting site that it’s a good idea to let your oldest (toddler) come visit in the hospital. Let him visit, get hugs, chat, etc., before even seeing or holding the baby. The author suggested that you put the newborn in the nursery at hospital right before your toddler comes to visit. This way, the focus is on the toddler. Once you chat and get some time alone with the toddler, then the dad and the toddler go together to the nursery to get the new baby. Let the toddler see the baby and help push the baby’s bassinet to the room. If the toddler walks into a room where the mom or dad is already holding the infant, it makes the toddler feel overwhelmed and concerned like, “why is that baby in my mommy’s arms?! She’s mine!” It makes sense that it could be scary and confusing for a toddler. LOL

We are planning to do this. We’ll let Ryder sit on the bed with me and he can hold the baby before he even sees Tim and me snuggled up with our new baby girl. The author said this gives the toddler an idea of how to be helpful, ownership in their new sibling and a sense of, “I’m ok. I’m not replaced.” I’m sure there is no way around having some feelings about not being the center of the universe. I know it won’t always be smooth and perfect. We’ll have to take one day at a time. And I would SO love any advice you have about how to help create a close bond between your babies from the beginning?

I’m sad I won’t get as much alone time with Ryder and I’m also sad I won’t get anywhere NEAR as much alone time with our baby girl as I did with Ryder. Duh. The thought of not being able to just lay on the couch in pj’s snuggling her all day (like I was able to do with Ryder for the first month or so) sometimes breaks my heart. I’m hoping I can learn to balance how to squeeze in a LOT of snuggles with both my babies.

I am wondering how I am going to feel the second time around. I do feel better about the fact that I’ll have more confidence. I think I’ll worry a little less. You have to, right?! I am concerned about being able to balance Ryder and a newborn. I know it will take a while for him to adjust. He doesn’t get what’s going on and BAM his world will be rocked. I want him to always feel loved and cared for. I still want to have the energy and time to play with him. And I’ve gotta say, I’m so worried that I won’t!

Nursing the baby is one area where I’m just wondering how I’ll have time to do that and take care of Ryder. Newborns eat around the clock and I really want to breast feed again. It was a great experience with Ryder (once I got the hang of it!) and I’m so glad I was able to nurse him. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to feed almost 24-7 while also taking care of a demanding toddler? Anyone out there have any tips?! I don’t know why, but this is my biggest fear!

 This kid is such a goofball and gets so upset the second the fun is over. He loves rough housing and being thrown across the room onto the bed or couch. He's getting harder and harder for me to carry these days... Let alone wrestle with! How am I going to explain to my barely 2-year-old that Mommy can't play rough after my c-section?!

Baby girl is coming, and SOON! I’m hoping to make the transition (for everyone!) as smooth as possible. I’d love your advice on what worked for your growing families! As nervous as I am about the changes ahead... We can't wait to meet this little girl!! 4 more weeks! Eek! :)