Mother's Day 2016

Being a momma to these two boys has been one of the best things in my life and it was such a celebration to be with all three of my boys on Mother's Day this year, celebrating the joy of our family. 

We started early with a day trip to the Denver Zoo on Thursday afternoon. The weather was supposed to be crummy on actual Mother's Day so we decided to go early when the forecast was better. And boy was that a good decision. The weather was perfect, 80* with a touch of cloudy to keep the sun slightly at bay, and since it was during the week there was basically no one there. We laughed that Mark wanted to hold all the animals, got to see the baby gorilla without having to fight a hundred people at the glass, enjoyed a few beers (daddy) and a twist ice cream cone (momma & Mark) and toted around our super chill three-week old who only fussed the tiniest bit when it was time to eat. We left the zoo and headed to a near-by park so I could nurse the baby and Mark could run on a playground before getting in the car and heading home a bit sun kissed and absolutely exhausted but oh so happy.

On actual Mother's Day we spent the morning at home enjoying a venti Starbucks picked up by the two biggest boys before I even got out of bed. J and the boys gifted me my coordinating ring with Patrick's birthstone to go with my wedding set and Mark's sapphire band. After Mark's nap we decided to hit the aquarium for the afternoon. The weather was a bit crummy like we anticipated and even though there were tons of people who had the same idea as we did, it was still a great afternoon. Mark loved running up to the glass to see the fish, called all the sharks "daddy" from one of his favorite songs and wanted to go in all the tanks with open tops. And just like we expected, our Patrick went along for the ride without a fuss proving he's just meant to be in our family!

While this year I didn't get out to the spa, still smelt like old milk and had to calm many a toddler tantrum it was the perfect celebration. Motherhood to two-under-two isn't easy or glamorous but this is exactly where I'm meant to be right now and I couldn't dream of anything else. Mother's day was technically for me but it was because of my boys and that's what truly matters. 

To Mark, my first born and the one who made me a momma. To Patrick, my baby and the one who grew my heart double the size. I'm forever grateful to have you as my sons, to get to hear the word momma from your tiny lips, to know what it's like to be willing to give everything for someone else. I'm a lucky lady getting to be your momma and I cherish it every single day.

Goodbye 2014!

It's been one heck of a year! 

Thanks for all the memories, 2014. The good, the bad, the life changing. 

It's been a year I'll never forget. 

Bring it on 2015!

2nd Anniversary

Another year in the books as Mr and Mrs and what a year it's been! 

We celebrated by getting dressed up, leaving the babe at home with Gram and his auntie and spending some time together as husband and wife. The weather was freezing, single digits and snowing, and we were so thankful it was a milder day two years before for our actual wedding. We drove to downtown Littleton and stopped at the Tavern for a drink at the bar. We chatted about the last year, about college football, about how we're both so thankful to be off the dating scene, about people we know and how lucky we feel. Then we headed to The Melting Pot to stuff ourselves silly with all the cheese, lobster tails, fancy cocktails and chocolate we could fit in our bellies. We shared our dinner entries, eves-dropped on the high school kids next to us, smiled and laughed and enjoyed our glass of champagne courtesy of our awesome server. 

It was the first time we had left Mark for his normal bedtime and while I missed him like crazy since he's always been a great baby whenever we take him out, it was so nice to valet the car and not have to lug the carseat with us, to not replace his paci a gazillion times, to enjoy dinner without having to bounce while eating one handed. And while we're always going to be parents now and he came up in our conversations throughout the night, spending some time as adults together was exactly what we needed. And what better reason to get out than for such a joyous occasion. 

J, 
You are my rock, my best friend, my greatest support and the best daddy to our sweet son. I am so thankful I get to do life with you, walk side by side with you and share in all the adventures with you. You have helped me become my best self and I hope you know how much I love you. Thank you for creating an amazing life for us, for taking care of me and for always being the best man I know. Here's to year two and everything amazing it brought with it.

Christmas 2014

The holidays this year we're magical. I never believed it when people said Christmas when you're a kid is topped by Christmas when you have a kid but it's so, so true. Even when your child is only 3 months old and prefers staring at the lamp than opening his 20 gifts! 

We started out the festivities by visiting Santa (and spending an absurd amount on an 8x10) where Mark told the big man in red that he wanted golf clubs and diamonds. Smart boy we have right there. He could care less who holds him which is such a blessing so we were able to capture his blank stare in all it's glory. 

We spent Christmas Eve visiting J's dad's house so they could spoil the babe and ended the evening at my mom's like we always do. Can you even stand that little sweater romper? Who says girls are the fun ones to dress up! My sister has been working on a quilt for Mark ever since we announced my pregnancy and it was such an amazing, thoughtful gift we'll have forever.  

J and I started the tradition of opening gifts from each other in the quiet of our own home on Christmas Eve so this year, after we put Mark to bed, we poured ourselves a drink and enjoyed a moment just the two of us. J gifted me a gorgeous sapphire ring to add to my wedding set to symbolize our little babe and I was again blown away by his thoughtfulness. I picked a good man, that's for sure. We spent a while reflecting on the year and boy has it been a good one! Especially since we decided on Christmas Eve last year that we wanted a family and our sweet little man turned 3 months old on Christmas Day. 

Like last year, we hosted Christmas for J's mom's side of the family (and my family too) and it went off without a hitch. We got to relax in our own home which is awesome with a new baby, had tons of yummy food including pork from the smoker and really enjoyed ourselves. Family is so important to both of us and it's such a blessing to have everyone together under one roof making new and continuing old traditions. It was yet again another fabulous holiday season in the books and I'm a bit in denial that it's over already! Until next year...

Baby H: Baby Shower

It's taken me a while to get this post up about my fabulous baby shower on the 20th because the end of summer seems to be busier than ever but regardless, it was by far one of the best days of the summer. We had a great afternoon chatting about our little bundle of joy, attempting to stay cool in the 95+ degree heat and celebrating our little boy with so many of my favorite ladies all in one place. 

The shower was hosted by the future grandmas and one of the sweet ladies who threw my bridal shower two years ago. We ate delicious Mexican food (at my request, because it seems like the baby is always in the mood for that) and snacked on a candy buffet and cupcakes after lunch. I didn't want things to be too over the top with themes and games and the hostesses did not disappoint. There was plenty of blue decor with touches of yellow and orange in the balloons and the flowers.

The guests signed their names on a calendar to guess the babe's birthday and who ever gets it right will get a sweet surprise in the mail come September (or potentially October but hopefully not). We played a "Price is Right" game where guests had to guess the price of 6 normal baby items like a pack of diapers and a tube of butt paste and the closest to the actual total won a little prize. Everyone filled out little cards with their dreams and wishes for the little man and for us as parents and I can't wait to read what they wrote over the next few weeks.

The best part of the whole day was spending time with everyone who was there and feeling everyone's love for our son. Our little boy's grandmas and other family members, my favorite med school ladies, long-time family friends on both sides of the family, the wives I've grown close to from J's group of guys and my best friend all the way from California even made the trip out. Everyone was so generous to spend not only time with me before I become a momma but also gifted us some seriously awesome items for when he arrives. The nursery is completely ready now, his drawers are filled with adorable mini-clothes, hats and shoes, I have my dream Vera Bradley diaper bag packed and ready for the hospital, and we are all set for cleaning up all the messes this little boy is guaranteed to make.

I couldn't have asked for a better day! I left feeling so blessed, so loved and so ready for his arrival now (and also a bit exhausted too if we're being honest). Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who made the shower as perfect as it was. Now we're just under two months until I can introduce this little boy to everyone who spoils him and loves him already!

Baby H: Gender Reveal

This Mother's Day was without a doubt the most special in my life so far. Not only does it mark being halfway through this pregnancy and being that much closer to being a mom myself but it also served as the perfect time to celebrate with our families about whether the baby in my belly is a boy or a girl.

After our doctors appointment last week we took the beloved sealed envelop with the gender of our babe to Whole Foods for them to make us a reveal cake. I had our ultrasound tech fill out two cards (just incase our cake ended up with orange frosting inside) and it was so tempting all weekend to peak at the results. Thankfully J and I both spent the majority of Sunday with each of our mom's that served as a good distraction.

We invited everyone over for a lasagna dinner and made sure to support both team pink and team blue. After dinner was finished we anxiously took the solid white cake out of it's box, ready to slice in! My sister was able to join in the celebration via FaceTime since she's away for college which might explain some of the goofy comments ("lean me against a cup"). And now without further adieu and some minor cake cutting complications... 

Baby H is a... BOY!

Just to clarify, Whole Foods bakes exclusively with all natural products including dyes which is why our "blue" frosting seems significantly purple and explains J's confusion at first when we finally got the cake cut. I knew boy immediately based solely on the fact that the frosting wasn't pink but I'm very glad we had that extra envelop to open just to verify. 

I still can't believe we finally know that come September, we'll be holding our son, our baby boy! Ever since getting pregnant I've thought there was blue in my belly and it just goes to show you that mother's intuition does mean something after all! J is of course thrilled and can't help but think golf and baseball, watching football this fall with the babe and all things sports already.

Baby H, the excitement we've had for the last 20 weeks is nothing compared to how your dad and I feel now, to know more about who you are and know how fantastic our life is going to be with you in it in a few short months. Sweet, sweet boy, we cannot wait to meet you and introduce the world to our son! xoxo Your Momma

Baby H: Gender Reveal Planning

For some unknown reason I've always been intrigued by the idea of keeping our future babies' genders a mystery until their birthdays. There's just something about the surprise that is inthralling, in fact there aren't that many moments in life anymore where you can be 100% surprised in my opinion. So when we found out we were expecting my mind immediately thought we wouldn't find out.

However, J was always on the other side of the fence about the issue, wanting to know if this little babe in my belly will be his son or daughter as soon as possible. After many conversations about it, reading other people's opinions who've done it both ways and spending some time thinking myself, I finally caved. I should add that while J always wanted to know he was absolutely supportive of me and told me it was ultimately my decision, I was the one doing the work so I would be the one with the last call. What a great husband I have!

Well now we are a little less than a month from finding out the big pink or blue and I'm starting the planning process on how to spill the beans. Our anatomy ultrasound was originally scheduled for our 20-week appointment and I tentatively looked at the calendar to see if it fell somewhere near a celebration of sorts that could call for a party. Unfortunately it didn't at first but I realized quickly that if I moved the appointment up a week it would fall the Friday before Mother's Day! What a perfect day to find out the gender of our sweet babe.

I quickly called my OB, rescheduled my appointment and hopped on PicMonkey to make an impromptu invite for the festivities. We knew we wanted to share the news with our families in a special way and what better way to share it with the future Grandma's than Mother's Day.

J and I are still deciding if we'll find out just the two of us the day of my appointment or if we'll wait and be surprised with everyone else but regardless, the day is quickly approaching to knowing a bit more about who this little one is going to be. The party is going to be small, just our immediate families, and will be dinner and most likely a dessert used to spill the beans. I don't want to go overboard with gender-reveal themes but have been scouring Pinterest for ways to announce pink or blue. Most likely it'll involve a cake that J and I cut into that's a certain color on the inside but nothing's been decided for sure yet.

I still have a hunch of what the gender is that's been consistent since the beginning but recently, mostly within the time frame of deciding we were going to find out, I've wavered to the other side a couple times. I'm not sure if that's due to actually thinking the opposite way or just imagining our life with either option more often. I also purchased a maternity maxi dress on sale from Old Navy this week that I'm planning on incorporating into my outfit for the day. I want to represent both sides so I'll be paring this coral/pink maxi with lots of blue accessories. And the Grandma's have already said they're coming over decked out in the color that they think the babe is.

GenderRevealOutfit by jaymeeryn featuring a blue jean jacket

As much as I was originally not wanting to know, the fact that we're officially finding out now has me pretty excited. I can't wait to not only peak in at our little one at that appointment but also celebrate that weekend knowing if the babe is a sweet little girl or a bouncing playful boy. And don't worry, I'll be sure to reveal my hunch once we know one way or another. 

1st Year Anniversary

Some how it's already been a year and what a year it's been!

A year since I married the man of my dreams. 

A year since we said "I do" and promised ourselves to each other forever. 

A year in which I've grown to love J even more. 

A year where we've struggled, triumphed, cried, laughed and grown together. 

We celebrated with a mountain get-away, the perfect escape from the post-holiday stress, constant to-do list and approaching new semester. It was like a do-over mini-honeymoon since I was so sick a year ago. 

We napped and watched movies. 

We ordered bottles of wine with dinner. 

We soaked in the hot tub and ate new wedding cake. 

We sipped champagne cozied up on the couch in a warm condo.

We played in the snow and raced down a snow hill. 

We fell even more in love. 

It was the perfect 1st anniversary celebration, nothing fancy but filled to the brim with love.

I still can't believe this is what we were up to on December 29, 2012.

Dear J, 

People always told me that I would love you more and more and I never thought it was possible. How could I possibly love you more than I did at our perfect wedding? And then the last year went by and I realized how wrong I was. I found a new love for you, a love that warms my soul, a love that I hold in my heart, a love that comforts me every second of every day. Thank you for making me your wife and sharing in this life with me. Here’s to a fabulous first year of marriage, a bright future on the horizon and so many more memories to make.

Bachelorette & Dancing Filled Weekend

This past weekend I joined a dozen other ladies to celebrate in a bachelorette weekend for my great friend Jenna. It seems so long ago that her and I first met when we had just started dating our husbands (or husbands-to-be) and now her wedding weekend is upon us!

We spent the weekend sipping adult beverages, hanging out by the pool, making new friends and enjoying two fantastic suites in a hotel downtown. We stuffed ourselves at dinner, danced the night away at a country bar and were thankful Jenna didn't make us wear tu-tus like the other bridal party we saw! It was such a fun weekend even if we were all feeling it the next morning. All these ladies are so awesome and now I cannot wait for the festivities to continue.

Happy bachelorette Jenna, thank you for letting me be a part of your celebration and big day!

The Birthday Boy

Today is J's birthday. 

Hip hip hooray!

The love that I have for this man is difficult to put into words.

He is my best friend, my husband, my goofball and my soul mate. He's helped me become exactly the person I'm supposed to be, shown me what true love is all about and is definitely the reason I'll eventually have laugh-lines. 

Dear Hubs, I can't wait to celebrate your birthday with you today and feel so incredibly blessed I get to share in these moments with you. We've been through our share of birthdays together already and I know there are endless more in store for us. I hope you have a fabulous day and know how much you mean to me. Love always, Your Woof ;-)

Valentines Day 2013

Source: sarahdawndesigns.blogspot.com via Ryann on Pinterest

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Sure some people may say that Valentines is a commercialized holiday which sure, I can see that point.

Commercials about buy your wife this diamond and she'll love you forever.

Feeling the need to spend excess amounts of money on chocolates and roses. 

But I like to think of Valentines as a day to specifically focus on the one you love. 

Sure, we should all be loving our husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, each and every day. And yeah, we'd like to be able to celebrate with romance and undivided attention all year long. But this is life and let's be honest, that rarely happens. We're busy and tired and working and saving our money etc etc etc. Four course meal that take hours to prepare or special, fancy gifts just aren't happening every day. 

Valentine's Day gives us a specific reason, a specific focus, to show those we love how much they really mean to us. And that's exactly what today will be for J and I. This year marks our first Valentines Day as Husband and Wife, something that we'll never experience again and I hope that tonight he knows how much I love him, how blessed I am to have him as my husband and how excited I am to go through life with him knowing I have him by my side.

Our evening will consist of cooking a dinner together that we wouldn't normally take the time to while enjoying each others company and maybe even some snuggling on the couch while dinner's in the oven. There will be:

+ Delicious Sausage Wonton appetizers
+ Ribs with veggies and side salad
+ A few glasses of wine
+ And these bad boy cookies.

Source

I hope everyone has a good Valentines Day filled with love from those you care about most! And of course, I hope there's a little pink and red thrown in there too ;-)

Birthday Celebration Recap

I was a horrible blogger this weekend and didn't write out my posts for this week so that means that instead of another Wedding Recap post I'm here with a mini peak into my birthday celebration from last week.

Birthdays are always so much fun for me. I love my own birthday obviously but I also love other people's birthdays too. It's a day exclusively for that one person and it's the perfect day to do something over the top, extra special, full of love. And that is exactly what my birthday was for me.

I am extremely blessed to have such an awesome husband who really helps celebrate my birthday especially when we have no family around. He knows how to make my day feel special and I am thankful for him. And even better, I can't wait until next year where I'll have a birthday in Colorado, near my family, for the first time in 6 years! My mom made sure to tell me she'll be baking me a cake!

But anyways, this years birthday celebration consisted of:

[+] Chocolate Oreo Cupcakes from my coworkers

[+] A day when I left work a little early

[+] My first ever flower delivery. Yes, ever! My husband is so sweet!

[+]  A mini shopping trip with birthday money to Target complete with a new Essie polish and polka-dot cardigan.

[+] New Athleta workout gear and some Starubucks Bucks from my momma. She knows me so well.

[+] Gucci Guilty perfume from my Hubs!

[+] A delicious Taco Tuesday dinner out complete with a strawberry margarita.

[+] Girl scout cookies and snuggling on the couch with my main man and our pup.

It was the perfect day, and perfect week really and I am so thankful to be starting off this 24th year of life with so many things to look forward to in the coming months and year. Although it already feels weird that my next birthday is 25! How am I getting close to that?  

Happy 24!

Today is my 24th Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me!

Source: vonmaur.com via Von Maur on Pinterest

While I contemplated taking the day off from work, here I sit at my desk ready to start another day in the lab. J would have had to work anyways so it didn't make sense for me to stay home alone all day.

But I am definitely excited for the day still, even if it means having to work. 

For My Birthday:

[+] I arrived at my desk to find a dozen Oreo cupcakes from my co-workers. 

[+] I might use my birthday as an excuse to leave early and treat myself to a Target run.

[+] J and I have plans of Taco Tuesday and Margaritas for the evening

[+] A quite night with my husband is exactly the type of evening I love.

See Ya Later, San Diego

For the last 6 years I've called San Diego my home. I've lived here, gone to school here, made many friends here, grew my relationship with J here and basically became an adult here. The experiences I've gained while living 1000+ miles from my family and the place where I grew up are some that have made me into the person I am today and I will forever be grateful for them.

But this time is coming to a close. We have been hoping to move back to Colorado for many years to be closer to our amazing friends and wonderful family. And well, that dream has finally come true. And while I am ecstatic that we can now move home there is still a part of me that will be sad to leave the "home" I've had for so long.

We aren't sure exactly when this move will happen because a lot of it is dependent on things we can't control (ie new job, housing market, etc etc) but we know that it will be sometime before the end of June. So we've created our "See Ya Later, San Diego" List of things we need to do before the move. Things that we either can't do in CO (hello Ocean!), things that are exclusive to San Diego (greasy, authentic Mexican food) or things that mean a lot to us because of the memories we have from living here. Yes, most of them involve food. Oops. And I'm sure there will be additions to the list as the time goes on.

I'm going to try and document these things as we cross them off our list. But don't worry, I wont bore you with tons of pictures of my In-n-Out cheeseburgers because I'm sure those will be many. Also, if you live in/near San Diego and think we're missing something, tell me and we'll add it on!

Tying the Knot: Crossing Things Off The List

This past week J and I were back home in Colorado to take care of some wedding related items and to spend some quality time with our family and friends. I am so happy with how the trip went because we were able to cross off everything from our list that we wanted to get done! Wedding planning is in full swing and I feel so accomplished getting so many things taken care of already.

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+ I finalized my decision about where/who I want doing our flowers for the big day. Since it's going to be the winter I knew almost immediately that I didn't want to go overboard with florals for our wedding. For one thing, the price of flowers is so crazy and it just isn't my taste to have them everywhere. We're sticking to just personal flowers (bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages) with a few individual buds for some of the tables. Here's some inspiration for you...

Source: google.com via Jayme on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Jayme on Pinterest

+ I had my first alterations appointment and it went swimmingly! It needed to be taken in about a half inch on both sides, I chose to have cups put in the top and it needed a bustle like all dresses do but these things are all normal. And the best part was that it needed no hemming! Apparently dresses are made the right length for someone who is 5'10" which I am definitely not. When I ordered the dress my amazing consultant suggested that if I wanted to save some money (was she joking?) that we could order the dress to come to from the designer 4 inches shorter. We had to pay for it but the cost was much, much less than what putting in a hem would cost so I said yes. 

+ My wedding shoes have been picked thanks to the above appointment. The dress needed to be approximately 6 or 7 inches shorter when we ordered it originally. So the 4" chopped off from the designer plus a 2 or 3 inch heal and I was set. I had bought two pairs of shoes to try on with my dress and was so, so happy when I stepped into the first pair and the length of the dress was absolutely perfect! It couldn't have worked out better! Now I get to wear them around the house for the next 5 months to make them comfy.

+ There were a pair of earrings at the bridal boutique that I tried on with my dress and really liked. But I did not like the price tag. (Shocking, right?) Well my mom and I headed to one of our favorite places in town and found a pair almost exactly the same for less than 10% of the price of the first pair. Score!

+ The pre-consultation with a new hairstylist is complete and I know they'll do an awesome job. I have been getting my hair cut from the same lady (out of her house) since high school so I knew I needed to try a new salon for the big day. I was in desperate need of a trim so I booked myself an appointment/pre wedding consultation based on a suggestion from a friend. I am so happy with the job she did on my hair cut and we chatted the whole time about my perfect wedding look. 

+ J and I picked out the attire of the gentlemen for the wedding and I am so excited to see J all dressed up. I think we came up with a fabulous look for his groomsmen that fits perfectly with my bridesmaids and the winter setting and I absolutely love what J is going to be wearing. I do feel a little special that I get to know what he'll be wearing and he has absolutely no clue about my look!

+ I also had my bridal shower and feel so blessed to have so many kind, sweet ladies there to celebrate with me. This was one of the main reasons we went home when we did so the festivities deserves it's own post that will come soon but here's a sneak peak.

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+ This happened before we went on vacation back home but J and I went and picked out our weddings bands. It's a bit early for them but we both have known for quite some time what we wanted for our rings so we figured let's just get it taken care of! Now that we have them though, all I can think about is wanting to wear mine. Don't tell J but I've slipped it on my finger a few times already ;-)

+ I have also finished our guest book! I'm guest blogging for Syndal while she's on her honeymoon and shared all the details about it there so you should click on over and check it out. I personally love it... but I may or may not be biased!

So tell me, what have you crossed off your To-Do list lately?