another year

We Survived Christmas 2017!

January 2, 2018 by Rachel 9 Comments

Confession: I was at a near-anxiety attack the whole week before Christmas. And I’m not exaggerating.

I kept having visions (nightmares?) of Christmas 2016 throughout all of last week. It was awful.

For those who don’t know, we battled the dreaded stomach bug for most of December 2016. It hit all four of us, twice, on Christmas Eve, and landed poor Ari in the hospital just two days after Christmas.

So when people around us were dropping like flies, I was in a ~~lightweight~~ hardcore panic. I just kept thinking, “Please, PUH-LEASE don’t end up like last year.”

I am happy to report that we did not get sick at Christmas. [HOORAY, heard far and wide, y’all!]. I mean, both of the kids had bronchitis, and Chad had a sinus infection/double-ear infection — but it wasn’t the stomach bug! So… yay!

But I also took zero — that’s right, ZERO — photos from Christmas. And guys, it was perfection. I’m not sorry. Chad took video of the kids opening their presents, but I was too involved in watching the kids to even notice really.

And the week thereafter came and went without fanfare. And our New Year’s Eve was just as low-key.

With that said, I have to say, Peace Out, 2017! It was a heck of a ride!

I got my cycling certification.
We got the stomach bug 2+ times.
I started feeling like myself again.
And then we decided to have another baby.

Like I said, it’s been quite a year. So here goes nothing — the final goodbye to 2017 with my One Second Everyday video!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfkPAJJQYPM]

If nothing else, I hope you found closure this holiday season. And I wish you a happy and prosperous 2018!

Happy Birthday Baby Ari //

October 16, 2017 by Rachel 20 Comments

It’s hard to believe that this day has arrived — my first baby, Ari, is no longer a baby in any sense of the term.

Today he turns 5.

I’m so sad and so happy. He’s turning into such a wonderful little boy. But it’s certainly bittersweet to say goodbye to the baby years of Ari…

He’s always been a great kid; but watching him learn and grow over the last couple of years (especially) has been incredible.

He’s sensitive. He’s happy. He’s so very silly, but also so very caring. He’s a loving brother.

And he’s the world’s best snuggler.

It’s crazy to think we’ve officially outgrown the official age of ‘preschooler,’ even though he’ll remain in preschool for the remainder of this school year.

So, my sweet boy, I will spend the rest of today re-reading your birth story, looking at photos from the hospital, and basking in your overall grown-up-ness.

Happy birthday #BabyAri.

PS. For those of you that LOVE birth stories (like me!) you can catch Ari’s birth story here and here!

Thanks to Justine Johnson Photography for these amazing photos.

Dear Ari // Happy Birthday

October 16, 2016 by Rachel 19 Comments

Dear Ari,

I’m not going to say something cliché about the years flying by; because, honestly, as quickly as they do, the days sure are long, dude.

I have to say this though — Going from being a self-proclaimed “never-going-to-have-kids” chick, to finding out I was pregnant with you? That rocked my world. Your daddy and I were lucky enough to have had a lot of really fun times travelling the globe before you came along.

Speaking of me and your daddy, do you know just how much it makes me smile to hear you call me a princess when you look at pictures from our wedding? That doesn’t get old. Keep saying it.

I feel like you’ve grown up so much over the last year. Heck, maybe it’s because now I’m with you 24/7 that I feel that way! I knew being a mom was going to be hard, but I didn’t know just how hard. And then I knew being a working mom would be hard, but I didn’t anticipate just how hard. And even then, I completely, totally, underestimated just how hard it would be to be at home with you (and at work with you) 24/7.

But you never cease to amaze me.

Your heart is huge. Bigger than anyone else, I think it’s safe to say.

And you’re sensitive, which makes me happy and also breaks my heart (because I know that it means you will feel so much more deeply).

You’re also totally a boy. The guns, the Legos, the superheroes… all of it. It’s utter boy nonsense and I love it.

And who knew you would be such a great big brother?! I mean, as much of a big brother as you can be to an infant. You have been so gentle and understanding of this new little human in our lives. But, most recently, you’ve also begun to show a great deal of interest in her. You celebrate her milestones like a mini adult — right beside us!

“Look at her, Mommy! Her did it!”

Those (grammatically incorrect) words are some of which I will never tire.

I love and adore that you sing your ABCs wrong. I, too, think the alphabet should be “A B C G E F G. H I J J L N N O P. Q R X. T U V. W X. Y AND Z.” Because, YES.

I want to ask you to please, always stay little. But instead, I will ask you this…

Please always stay kind. Please always be polite. Please always treat people with respect. Please continue to be you. There is truly no one else in the world like you.

You are the Peanut Butter to my Cupcake.

Happy birthday, Ari Davis. Thank you for making me a mommy 4 years ago. ♥ ♥

Happy Birthday //

May 19, 2016 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Last week my husband celebrated a birthday. Not a ‘milestone,’ but a birthday, nonetheless. And I? I had a blog post half written (which I later discarded, because it was nonsense made of half-written sentences) and a toddler that just wouldn’t cooperate.

But we ended up recovering the whole situation. We had really awesome-ish birthday.

Because, even though I had this big day planned for my husband, nothing went as planned. For one, he had to work. Boo hiss. So by the time he got home from work, he was exhausted. But Ari and I had a couple of things up our sleeve(s)!

First we got the best takeout ever. Sure, we would have loved to have gone out to dinner. But? Toddler + baby + tired parents = takeout. And, although we had planned to make him a cake, we ended up buying him an incredibly decadent chocolate cake! And it was perfection!

So, no, we didn’t have the birthday celebration I hoped to have had for him, we did have a fun family birthday night (which ended promptly at 7:30! Ha!).

And now? A letter to my love:

I can’t believe what we started was (nearly) 8 years ago.

I can’t believe how much has changed.

But mostly? I can’t believe that what we started.

A life together. A beautiful, tragic, wonderful, exhausting life.

From the moment we started talking, I knew you were the one.

From our first date, I knew I loved you.

Love at first “conversation” is a thing.

I’ve been in love with you from day one.

Sure, things aren’t always easy. But I wouldn’t trade you for the world.

So happiest of (belated) birthdays to you!

PS. Our children are adorable.

Happy New Year

January 2, 2016 by Rachel 2 Comments

We rang in 2016 very quietly in our house. It consisted of Moosh falling asleep at 8:15 and Chad + I watching a movie, and subsequently falling asleep on the couch, by 11.

When we woke up the next morning it finally really hit me that 2015 is behind us. If I’m being honest, 2015 was a really rough year for us. It was more stressful than I’d like for it to be and I was a lot more sick than I would have preferred. But 2016 — here you are! The year we [finally] meet Baby Girl and our family grows from 3 to 4!

I can’t think of a better way to kick off a new year. In the meantime, I’ll be nesting, nesting, nesting, and sleeping as much as I can. I hope you’re all having a lovely holiday weekend. Catch you on the flipside, friends! xo

farewell 2015

December 31, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Looking back on my photos from 2015 (because, let’s face it — that’s the easiest + quickest way to glance back), it’s clear that my year was comprised of the following:

Moosh playing. At parks, at Cafe O’Play, at home, etc. We definitely had no shortage of playing in 2015!
Cooking. Me cooking, specifically. Which had previously been unheard of! So no wonder I documented it. Oh, much, much more cooking to come in 2016!
Spending time with family. Moosh, Chad, my parents, my sister, Chad’s family, my aunts… It’s been a wild ride, surrounded by those I love! ♥

And so I’ll leave you with this:

[youtube=https://youtu.be/AcjpT80clYc]Happy New Year, friends. Let’s send 2015 out with a bang — or in our case, bed at 10PM and PJs before 5PM! Ha! xo