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