Birthday Boy

Another belated birthday post.  This one goes to Adam, husband and father extraordinaire!   We celebrated his 32nd birthday with lots of cake, family, and some close friends.

We had Chinese cake with our family on his actual birthday.  The lime-green cake wasn't a hit, but I loved it!

On his birthday weekend, we had an intimate dinner at a new Spanish-influenced tapas place called Racion.  We fell in love with this restaurant on an impromptu date night a few weeks earlier and knew it would be perfect for our small gathering.

Dinner was followed by ice cream cake at our place.  Our stomachs were definitely exhausted from all the celebrating!

Belated Birthday Pictures: The Cake Smash

I had never heard of a cake smash until I was a very grown adult.  Okay, it was like three years ago.  As a kid, it just wasn't part of our culture to smash a cake.  My mother would have said, "What a waste of a perfectly good cake!"  Well, she more likely would have said, "It's too messy!  Let's just eat fruit!"

But I love the idea of a baby being able to just dig their hands into a cake and get messy.  They are so tactile that it seems like the.best.birthday.event.ever. for a one year old.  That being said, I try to avoid feeding Ella processed sugar.  Plus, she just doesn't have a sweet tooth (total father's daughter thing going on here).  So I brilliantly decided I would bake her a small cake that was low in sugar so she could smash and eat and have a grand ol' time.  Well, I ended up getting a cake mix from Whole Foods that allowed you to add your own sugar and was gluten-free (not that Ella is allergic to gluten, but it just sounds healthier, doesn't it?).  Remember now, that I was in my early stages of pregnancy and definitely feeling the symptoms so I was exhausted by the time I had to bake this cake.  Let's just say it didn't turn out as planned.  The thing was super dense.  Like, I-could-throw-it-at-a-pug-and-knock-him-out kind of dense.  But I frosted it anyway and hoped no one would notice.

Ella noticed.  We all noticed.  There was no smash.  The poor girl couldn't break through it.  She just swirled the frosting around a lot.  I had to take a knife and break it up for her, only to realize the inside was uncooked.  Total first smash cake fail.  But she had fun nonetheless and managed to get frosting everywhere.  It was a learning experience for all of us.  For the next kid?  Totally using angel food cake.

Testing out the cake.

"Um, Mom, it's rock solid!"

"Can I get some help?"

"Much better!  There's cake inside!  And I don't like it!" 

"But my toes do!"

"Here, Dad, you like Mom's cooking!"

Belated Birthday Pictures: Le Fete

Here are pictures from Ella's Secret Garden birthday party.  I chose the theme because one of our favorite things to together (and with the Grandmas) is to visit botanical gardens.  Ella really enjoys watching birds and looking at flowers.  So the theme seemed appropriate.  Since having Ella, we haven't really thrown an all out party like we used to, so I was really excited to go all out on this one.  Then I found out I was pregnant the week of her party and my energy was zapped.  Fortunately, I planned ahead somewhat and had most of the preparations done.  We ended up simplifying a lot of things, but I think Ella enjoyed the event nonetheless.

This way to Ella's party!

I LOVE these moss letters I found on Etsy.  I embellished them with some butterflies to give it a whimsical touch.

We catered from Lemonade, that specializes in light, fresh faire.  Perfect for a summer party.

I scored this wire terrarium at HomeGoods for super cheap.  It housed some spring flowers and served as table decor!

I saw these fabric napkins on clearance at BHDLN, and I fell in love.  You can always use fabric napkins in cute, girly prints.  Always.

Ice cold lemon water, sweet tea, and raspberry lemonade kept things refreshing.

As did lavender soda (gotta have herbs at a garden-themed party!) and some Fat Tire beer.

Found these flower-themed alphabet cards on The Land of Nod, and couldn't resist using them for a first birthday party.  I love when ideas come together!

Some birdhouses I found at HomeGoods, and some paper fans to help beat the heat.

Handmade paper party hats for guests to wear.  I made these with help from Donna and Ashley.  Clearly this was done before I found out I was pregnant and and lost all my energy.

Little lunch boxes for the smaller guests.

Don't let the pout fool you.  Ella was a party animal!

Wearing her hat for all of 15 seconds.  I'm saving it for her 15th birthday and making her wear it all day long so she can better appreciate her mom's handiwork.

Picnic-ing.

Blessed with so many gifts.

We saved her cake for her actual birthday (the day after the party).  So we celebrated with mini cupcakes from Dots instead!

Fascinated by her 1 candle.

It was a sparkler candle and I realized it maybe wasn't the most appropriate one to use.  Ha!

First time having a cupcake.  First time having a baked good.  First time having so much sugar in general.

She just liked posing with it.

And she didn't really want to eat it.  Just maybe throw it around a little.

We nibble on these 1-year-old legs on a regular basis.  

Belated Birthday Pictures

I am finally getting around going through all the beautiful pictures my sister-in-law, Kathie, took of Ella for her first birthday.  Sometimes I still can't believe we have a little daughter and that she's really here.  Crazy, since we now have another little one on the way, and we are bound to feel the same way about have two children.  Time has blessed us so much, and it was so great to celebrate Ella's big milestone.  Here are a few more of our favorite pictures from the shoot we did at the Huntington Library.  (I'll post more pictures in following posts.)

weaned

Where has the time gone?  Days blur into weeks as I battle the persistent nausea and fatigue that this first trimester is dealing me.  Thankfully (hopefully), the symptoms are subsiding a bit and I'm seeing the light at the end of this prenatal-induced hangover.

The most notable development around here this week has been the complete weaning of Ella.  I've successfully managed to put her down without nursing for the past three nights (quite the feat, since Ella loves her ni-ni).  I'm happy and relieved that the transition has been pretty smooth (and free of meltdowns and tears).  We switched to a different bedtime routine (kind of on accident as I was feeling exhausted by the evening and Adam simply took over bath duties all by himself), and she's been pretty cooperative falling asleep with some rocking, singing, and looking at stars from her ladybug nightlight. I thought going to sleep without that final feeding would cause her to wake in the middle of the night or super early in the morning, but she's been maintaining her 11 hours of sleep each night.  We are thrilled and relieved that slowly, but surely, she will no longer depend on me to put her down each night.

That being said, I'm a bit sad that my little baby has grown out of this stage in her life.  Breastfeeding was so challenging in the beginning, yet it was so rewarding to see the benefits and know that I was providing the very best for my little baby.  And while I was by no means the type of mom that stared longingly at my child while she nursed, it felt really good to know I was able to sustain her through her first year of life.  So it's a little bittersweet for me, but hey, if I miss it all that much, I get to start again in 39 weeks.  Ha!

summer days

I confess I've been slacking on taking pictures lately because of the nausea and fatigue.  Sometimes I just want to melt into the couch and never move again.  But here are a few pictures of Ella around here.  I still try to get her out of the house daily, but the effort is definitely more taxing on my energy levels.  Thankfully, she hasn't noticed too much and just thinks that Mommy likes to nap with her a lot.

Ella got a legitimate kick board and loves "boogie boarding" around the pool with Dad.

Her first carousel ride.

Still getting used to that toothy grin.  

She loves snuggling up to Remy.

Ella's starting to role play a little more with her baby doll.  Though here, she looks like she's wrestling with her.

a sequel

I know it's been a while since the last post.  Since celebrating Ella's first birthday, I've been hit with waves of exhaustion, nausea and emotional ups and downs that have prevented me from really wanted to post.  Yes, yes, these are all very common symptoms of...

... BEING PREGNANT.

The week before Ella's birthday, I found out that I'm pregnant with our second child.  This came as a complete shock.  I think I'm still in shock (and I'm 9 1/2 weeks into this pregnancy).  Adam and I had discussed thinking about having another baby after Ella turned one.  We wanted our kids (at least the first two) to be relatively close in age.  But the idea of being pregnant again, after finally getting my body back (kinda, sorta), made me cringe.  I didn't think I was physically ready to go through the nausea and the aches and the worries of growing another human being inside me.  I was just looking forward to weaning Ella and having a little (selfish) freedom.  That, and I really, REALLY like my sleep.  I know, totally selfish.  But Ella is down to one nursing session a day, consistently sleeping 10-12 hours a night, and growing beautifully into this little toddler-person that I really appreciate and love.  We're all in a really nice routine and feel firmly planted in this whole parenting thing.  And then, whoosh, we get knocked off our feet.   I still feel like I'm processing through it all.  I know I'm still in the first trimester, and miscarriage is so real to us, but I can't but feel overwhelmed for the future.  Not that I don't embrace this baby (I mean, how blessed are we to conceive so easily), but when I really start thinking about the future, I get just a little panicked.

While it's standard to wait until after the first trimester to share the news, I feel like I can't really keep it to myself at this point.  We've told all our close friends and family, because they would be our support system either way.  And besides, this pregnancy has challenged me so much more than my first pregnancy and the one with Ella did.  I feel emotionally wrecked.  I know it's 95% hormones and 5% it being unplanned, but I've been pretty blue.  I'm not usually a sad person.  I can deal with the constant nausea and fatigue, knowing that there will come a time when it subsides.  But the intense emotions I feel are new to me.  With Ella, I was filled with so much hopeful anticipation.  With this baby, I just get sad that I can't give 100% to Ella or to the baby.

I do sometimes get little waves of excitement thinking about Ella having a little brother or sister to play with.  And my heart grows thinking about how much more love there is to give to another child, especially when I see Ella and the joy she brings to our lives.  So there is beauty and celebration in all of this.  I just have to dig a little deeper to find it.

This is all just a reminder that we have so little control over our lives.  We can plan and try to find "the right" time for things, but really, we are just here for the ride.  I am grateful for this child.  I am grateful that Adam and I can add to our family.  I see how much Ella has changed our lives, and I am grateful that this child will do the same.  I am also humbled, because yet again I am reminded that being a mom isn't about my selfish needs for sleep and perky boobs.  It's providing for my children whether it's making sure Ella learns to feed herself or eating healthy meals throughout the day to nourish this growing baby inside me.    

So with all that being said, here we go with Pregnancy: The Sequel.  And here is our little blob at 8 weeks: