Its a Hero

birthday

Remy Bea // Three

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One day I’ll be the mom that is on top of everything. This is not that time, friends. Hence, a belated birthday recap for my middle child — the one who keeps me on my toes — Remy Bea.

Remy Bea turned 3 on January 23rd. I’m in disbelief. Absolute disbelief.

It seemed like just yesterday that she came bursting into our world — faster than expected and with a full head of hair!

Since that day, she’s been full of spunk and sass. Her first year of life made me literally question whether or not I could survive my battle of postpartum depression and anxiety. It was really, really awful and I was not in a good place.

But soon after her first birthday, we settled into a routine that was — dare I say it — enjoyable! Her spunk and sass went from “threatening” to hilarious. She was an absolute joy!

Thank goodness, right?? Well, that joy of a child made me so brave in my pursuits of motherhood that I decided to have a third. And at some point between getting pregnant with baby number three and her arrival, Remy Bea turned into a full-fledged terrible two-year-old.

Over the last year, we’ve been learning a lot about one another. I know that she is incredibly strong-willed — which I keep reminding myself will suit her well through her adolescent and early adult years.

 

She is smart and brave and funnier than most other people I’ve met. She will light up a room with her smile and tell you exactly what is on her mind. She will steal your snacks and convince you to share your food with her. She will sing you her favorite songs and encourage you to ‘try your best.’

And I love every part of her — every painful, every stubborn, and every wonderful part of her.

Happy (belated) third birthday, Remy Bea. I love you a bushel and a peck. ♥

Celebrating SIX at CLE Social

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I can hardly believe it, y’all. But my first baby — my little #BabyAri — my little “Moosh!” — is six years old tomorrow. SIX!

I’m in disbelief that six years have flown by this quickly. Our little man has kept us on our toes from the moment he was born. And yet, somehow, he’s always been incredibly level-headed.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that my baby boy has blossomed into a pretty cool little dude. He loves pretty much everything — school, his friends, his family, video games, YouTube, LEGOs, blind bags, and being wild and crazy.

But when Chad took Ari to CLE Social, a local old-school arcade in Hudson, he had an absolute blast. And I just knew that this was the spot that we would have his 6th birthday party. I mean, it’s seriously 1000% ARI.

CLE Social is an arcade that features 30 classic arcade games, like Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and two pinball machines. The coolest part of the arcade is that the only two games that accept quarters are the pinball machines. The rest? Free with the cost of admission.

They regularly host private birthday parties and private group parties, so they were totally able to accommodate my request for a small gathering of Ari’s friends and family.

We supplied the pizza, beverages, cake (Minecraft, of course), and decorations, and CLE Social provided the fun! But the kids weren’t the only ones who had fun. In fact, I think the adults had more fun than the kids!

Ari was honestly so excited and happy that friends and family came out to celebrate HIM. He is still grateful (and has thanked me daily) for a great party. And that’s just it — this kid has so much love and charm. He truly is a grateful child. He feels love by telling people how much he appreciates them.

So on this eve of his 6th birthday, I am grateful for him. I’m grateful for his kind heart. I’m grateful for his silly soul. And I’m grateful that he was the one to make me Mama. I will always love you, my little Baby Ari. ♥

 

 

 

Disclosure: Our party was complimentary from CLE Social, but all opinions herein are my own.

Happy Birthday Baby Ari //

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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.

xo

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.

Plan The Perfect Birthday Party // Minions !

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When I planned Ari’s third birthday party, I scoured the web for inspiration. He was dead set on having a Minions party. Admittedly, Minions isn’t my favorite movie. But who’s to argue with a (nearly) three year old?? Not I, friends!

In my quest for party inspiration, Ari rewatched Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2, and Minions about a hundred times each (only a slight exaggeration). Turns out? There are a lot of different food-related Minions options!

Here are some examples from the first movie, Despicable Me:

  • Cotton Candy (from the amusement park scene)
  • Giant lollipops (as ‘unicorn horns’)
  • Cheetos (the caterpillar that never turned into a butterfly
  • Cookies (cookie robots!)
  • Lemonade (anti-gravity serum)

And even more food-spiration from Despicable Me 2:

  • Chips + Salsa (El Macho inspired)
  • Bananas (or banana runts)
  • Jelly (jelly sandwiches)
  • Cupcakes (from Bake My Day cupcake shop in the movie)

Throw in just a couple of crafts/games for kids, inspired by the movies, of course:

  • Make macaroni rockets by gluing elbow macaroni onto paper!
  • Use squirt guns as “freeze rays” during free play.
  • Use popsicle sticks, yellow + blue washable markers, and googly-eyes to make little minion ‘puppets.’

And don’t forget about posting the “Party Rules”!

Seriously, the party was such a hit! And I have to say, the endless food options made this party SO easy to throw together at the last minute! Of course, the last tidbit of party-planning wisdom I’ll share is this: Relax and have fun. Sure, we remember the details; but our children just remember the fun.

PS. The Minions have totally grown on me a bit… 😛 Just don’t tell anyone.

 

 

 

Be sure to follow me on Twitter + Instagram to keep up with all of our happenings! 

Remy Bea’s Winter ONEderland //

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Monday my last baby had her first birthday. I know! I still can’t believe it! Well, over the weekend we celebrated little Miss Bea turning the big O-N-E with a small party. (Note: It was really hard for me to throw a small party. We just don’t know how to do “small” parties in my family! But I feel like I showed a decent amount of restraint this time around.)

Her party theme was loosely based on a “Winter ONEderland” theme. But mostly? I just wanted pink and gold. Whatevs to everything else.

Her pink smash cake was completely dairy-free and made by Moi! But the other cake was made by Mimi!

I think we pulled it off alright. Eh, in the end, I tried. And everyone seemed to have a good time. That’s what matters most! Right?

Oh! And I had this poster made for her party, and I *swear* I took a photo of it hanging up; but I cannot find that photo anywhere!

PS. What is it with kids wanting to be RIGHT IN the pictures!? My kid has been guilty in the past, too. And, in this case, it was cousins! RIGHT in my camera shot every dang time! Ha!

All in all, it was an absolutely perfect afternoon. I honestly wasn’t stressed — which is a first for me and birthday parties! If I could have, I would have invited every single person I’ve had in my life for this last year. No joke. I will forever be grateful to my village (and that includes every person — even random strangers — who have done anything kind or helpful for me in this last year).

And thank you, too, for being a part of our journey — for supporting us from afar; for offering advice; and for just sending love and positive vibes our way. We made it!! Cheers to this next year! xo

♥ ♥

Fall Weekends, Travels, + Birthdays //

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We took a little trip to Columbus to see my sister over last weekend (like, a week ago…). Chad had not yet our new nephew, Brennen, and my sister had some stuff coming up which made me want to visit her even more! So Saturday morning we packed up the car (way more than we needed for a two-day trip!) and started our 2.5 hour trip!

I’m SO happy that my children decided to rest on the trip down so that by the time we arrived we were rested up and ready to play! In fact, our first order of business was to head to a local trampoline park to celebrate Ari’s birthday!

It was my sister, Shauna’s, idea. I was like “ehh, he may not like it.”

Guys. I was wrong. So, so, wrong.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyiyZEx6lXc]

Dude took off like a bat outta hell! I couldn’t believe that my kid was being ballsy! Whaaaat?! Where was my shy boy!? Apparently when you turn four, you aren’t afraid of anything anymore.

Happy fourth birthday to the one who made me “mommy!” You are perfect in every way?

A photo posted by Rachel (@itsahero) on

At the jump park he was convinced — absolutely convinced! — that he wanted to go into the “hurricane machine”. We let him watch another kid in the machine, and, even then, he still wanted a shot at it. I was wearing Remy, so I sent Chad in with him. And it was hilarious.

And, of course, he hated every second of it. He tried. Ohhhh, gosh, did he try to like it!

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Post-jumping, we headed to lunch at Hale’s Ales + Kitchen for some gastropub fare and beers! Oh, and then to The Daily Growler for some CBC Bodhi! When we got home we all relaxed and played and fed the babes before doing a little (extra!) celebrating of Ari’s birthday, with the help of cupcakes and presents!

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He was so excited about the sprinkle cupcake — as well as the gifts, which consisted of a Star Wars Playdoh playset and the board game, Sneaky Snacky Squirrel. We ate cake, the adults sipped on tasty craft beers, and we played toddler board games (which, of course, he insisted on winning…), before all going to bed ridiculously early.

We spent Sunday morning lounging around, feeding, eating, and just general relaxing before Shauna and I headed out on a big Costco trip! Haaaa! How basic (and mom!) do we sound!?

Eventually, we had to head home to Akron. It was such a nice visit, but — gosh — I was totally looking forward to sleeping in my own bed! Granted, Remy slept okay-ish during our trip, which was a first! Yay for small victories!

I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend time with my sister (and her new family) and my little family! It was perfectly relaxing (even if it took me a week plus to blog about it!). ♥