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birthday

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.

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.

Filed Under: #MomLife, another year, Ari Davis, birthday, children, family, mommyhood, parenthood, pictures Tagged With: #MomLife, ari davis, being a mom, birthday, celebration, children, family, mommyhood, motherhood, parenthood, pictures

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.

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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.

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But you never cease to amaze me.

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

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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).

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

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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!

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“Look at her, Mommy! Her did it!”

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

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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.

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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.

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You are the Peanut Butter to my Cupcake.

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

 

 

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Filed Under: another year, Ari Davis, birthday, children, family, life, mommyhood, Moosh, parenthood, pictures, Uncategorized Tagged With: ari davis, being a mom, birthday, celebration, children, family, life, mommyhood, Moosh, motherhood, oh baby, parenthood, pictures

Ari’s Birthday Parties // a look back

October 11, 2016 by Rachel 5 Comments

I try not to be one of these “pinterest moms;” I try not to perpetuate the idea that everything must be ‘worthy’ of sharing. I mean, I think I do a pretty good job of keeping the balance and showing people that I’m real, but sometimes I like to pinterest the crap outta things! Ha!

But I have to admit… I ahhhhdore throwing theme birthday parties!! Now, mind you, I did not throw myself a wedding and reception; nor did I have a bachelorette party; nor have I ever had a big blowout of a(n adult) birthday party. So yeah. I’ve been known to go a tad bit overboard with Ari’s birthday parties — and I can guarantee I will do so with Remy, too.

#SorryNotSorry

And all this “My baby will be 4!” talk has sent me down Memory Lane in a big, big, way!

I may not make supper every night (or even twice a week!), but, damn!, I can throw a birthday party.

I may leave my clean laundry piled up in the living room for a week, but, damn!, I can throw a birthday party.

I may cry in the middle of the day, and sometimes beg my husband to bring me home wine, but, damn!, I can throw a birthday party!

Okay, okay… you get the idea.

Ari’s first birthday was THE bomb dot com. He was in love with Yo Gabba Gabba, so a YGG birthday party it was!

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My little man!

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To be honest, that first birthday was more about us surviving Ari’s first year — and keeping him alive — than anything else.

I was still so overwhelmed by the first years’ festivities that I didn’t do jack squat for his second birthday. Well, I did. But it was a mish-mash of nonsense!

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So we just ordered a birthday cake from West Side Bakery and chowed down. No big thang.

But his third birthday? I was back at it! My excuse was that it was my ‘last’ birthday with just one kid! Ha! The excuses we find…

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And Minions was his drug of choice. And, ohhhh, were there options!

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And this year will be no different. I’m still in the planning phase (even though I’m less than two weeks from party day!), but we ha have a theme and we have invites — Pokémon Go! No, we’ve never played PG. But Ari hears about it on Kids YouTube. So here we are…

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🙂

Oh! And it’s a gymnastics party (again)! All the kiddos LOVED it last year.

Filed Under: #MomLife, Ari Davis, birthday, children, family, life, life with a toddler, mommyhood, Moosh, parenthood, party, pictures, toddler boys Tagged With: #MomLife, ari davis, babies, birthday, celebration, children, family, life, life with a toddler, mommyhood, Moosh, motherhood, parenthood, party, pictures

Bye, Felicia!

October 4, 2016 by Rachel 1 Comment

Today is my last day as a 31 year old. And this is what I have to say: GOOD, FREAKIN’, RIDDANCE!

I was determined — DETERMINED — to have an awesome year. I was knee-deep in hyperemesis with Remy and certain — just certain — that things were about to turn around.

Newsflash: It didn’t. 

The sickness continued. And then, a couple of short months after I turned 31, I lost my job of 10 years. And then Remy was born (which was, certainly, a highlight)! And pretty much the rest of my 31st year has been exhausting.

In fact, I shall declare that the year of “thirty-one” was the year of exhaustion and depression.

Ehhhh, ya win some, ya lose some!

So here we go.

On this Tuesday, I’m going to rock my last day of 31 and then say “Peace out, bitch,” come midnight. Things ARE GOING to get better, friends! They MUST!

xo

Filed Under: birthday, life Tagged With: birthday, life

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!).

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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!

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PS. Our children are adorable.

xo

Filed Under: #MomLife, another year, Ari Davis, babies, baby girl, birthday, children, domesticity, family, holidays, life, marriage, parenthood, pictures Tagged With: #MomLife, babies, birthday, children, domesticity, family, holidays, life, marriage, parenthood, pictures

Ari’s 3rd Birthday //

November 3, 2015 by Rachel Leave a Comment

Well, it’s only been TWO WEEKS since Ari’s birthday. To say I’m slacking would be an understatement. Although can you really blame me? I’ve been bouncing from doctor appointment to doctor appointment, dragging a toddler along, and throwing up along the way (sometimes quite literally). So yeah. There have been “delays,” one would say. But better late than never, right? Right. (Just roll with me, friends.)

Friday the 16th  //  The Actual Birthday

His actual birthday was on Friday and I wanted to make it kind of special. Well we got a tad bit of a late start (thanks to both myself and Ari sleeping in way later than we should’ve — hooray!). But we ended up at Café O’Play… eventually. It was CRAZYTOWN in there. Turns out Ari’s birthday is also a teacher administration day or something, so all of the local schools were closed for the day. And, hence, the Café was insane busy.

After a little while of playing, we decided to head to out to finish a couple of party errands. While Moosh took a short nap, I decorated a teeny bit for our little family birthday celebration. I had leftover decorations from last year so I just decided to throw those up and wing it! I was tired of looking at Minion party stuff for his big she-bang anywho! 🙂

When Chad got home from work, I quickly snuck out to go get Moosh a cupcake (neither Chad nor myself are big cake people, so I just didn’t see the point in getting or making an actual cake).

Ari’s one birthday request for dinner was Chick-Fil-A (or, as he pronounces it, “Chick-Fay!”). So we headed to Chick-Fay for a quick dinner. And, quick it was! One thing I never realized before having a child, is how quickly a person can consume an entire meal. Seriously. It’s a bit scary.

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Post-Chick-Fay we came home to open birthday gifts and sing happy birthday! He was so excited to get his new bicycle (which is a Radio Flyer Balance Bike), a Lego set, a light saber, and his new sleeping bag (which, admittedly, he’s been sleeping in since that night. Seriously. He refuses to sleep in his bed.). Birthday success!

Saturday the 17th  //

Mimi and Poppy (my mom and dad) drove up from Kentucky to spend the weekend with us for Ari’s party. After they arrived, we decided to grab some lunch (aka – satisfy my craving for soup) before going Trunk or Treating at the YMCA!

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Last year, Ari seemed to catch on(ish) to Trick or Treating, but this year, as a “big boy,” as he so refers to himself, I figured he would go nuts for it.

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I was right. He now knows what candy is. So the idea of dressing up in a costume and getting free candy was more than appealing to him. He had a fabulous time. And, although I had no idea, the Y was apparently doing an open house… so the gymnastics area was completely open for the kids to run and play!

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It was pretty much the perfect way to spend a (very chilly) Saturday.

Sunday the 18th  //

The big day had arrived! Luckily, I had planned ahead enough to not be stressed for the day of the party. My mom and I ran out Sunday morning, sans Ari, to get a couple of last-minute items (like to pick up his balloons) and all of us were ready to leave the house an hour before the party was set to start (!!!!!). Guys. This is a miracle in itself.

We had planned the party to be a — big surprise — Minions/Gymnastics Party at the YMCA. Yep. This kid LOVES taking his gymnastics classes. And what better way to get a bunch of kids to have fun, right!?

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So I may have gone a tad bit overboard with the Minion-themed food… Cookie Robots. Minion Munch. El Machos Salsa. Unicorn Horns. Unicorn Fur. Ha.

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Caterpillars (aka – Cheetos). Anti-gravity Serum. My Mom’s Bad*** Minion Cake.

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The party was, by all accounts, a complete success! The kids were fed, the adults snacked + mingled, and then it was time to play

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The adults may have gotten into gymnastics a tad bit, too. Gymnastics play time started with the “rules,” which were quickly thrown out the window. And all of the adults and kids went nuts! Ha.

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Monday the 19th  // 

Yeah, yeah. The weekend (and his birthday shenanigans) were technically over. But that Monday he had his 3 year well-baby checkup. As expected, he barely gained any weight and height. Ha. At his 2 year visit I’m pretty sure he weighed in at 25 pounds. At this 3 year visit?? Twenty-six pounds. 2-6. Yep. Well, he’s still in the second percentile for weight. Ha! Oh, and he’s 35″. Which is a miracle (and probably gained 2-inches from his shoes).

Aaaand then we all crashed from exhaustion and I got sick for days… 🙂

I know that after Ari’s very Yo Gabba Gabba first birthday bash I promised I wouldn’t do another over-the-top birthday; but something about having a last hurrah for our ‘only child’ was appealing to me. I’m sure next year I’ll be back to business-as-usual throwing things together haphazardly. 🙂

Filed Under: Akron, another year, Ari Davis, birthday, busy mom, children, cleveland, crafty, creative, fall, family, friends, fun, life, life with a toddler, mommyhood, Moosh, Ohio, parenthood, party, pictures, pinterest, pregnancy Tagged With: akron, another year, ari davis, being a mom, birthday, busy mom, celebration, children, cleveland, crafty, creative, fall/autumn, family, friends, fun, life, life with a toddler, mommyhood, Moosh, motherhood, ohio, parenthood, party, pictures, pinterest, pregnancy

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