12.31.2015

Christmas 2015

First things first! Thank you all for your kind comments, emails, facebook messages, etc. about our announcement!! They were so sweet & I really appreciate them! 

Christmas this year was everything I had hoped it would be. There's just no way to describe the sheer happiness we felt watching Camden opening his presents and spend time with all our families. He was so spoiled and loved every single minute of it-I will never forget how he looked at all the presents under the tree Christmas morning and how he literally dove into the pile, ha ha. It was so memorable and one we will never ever forget! It was also so wonderful to be able to share the news about the new baby over the holiday, too!

However, what's Christmas without a few bumps in the road? Those bumps I'm speaking of? Sick baby (fever the day before Christmas Eve)...sump pump in our basement stopped working (oh yes-water in our basement Christmas Eve morning)...and Rocky with an eye problem on Christmas Day! I promise, I can't make this up.

Luckily, all of the above ended up resolving themselves pretty quickly: fever broke (and stayed down = happy baby), trip to Home Depot to purchase a new sump pump, and Rocky's eye getting better later in the day. We definitely can't say it wasn't uneventful! Never a dull moment, right?!

Anyway, I could probably ramble all day, but here's some snaps from Camden's first Christmas with all our families...is it horrible to say I'm already looking forward to next year?! (and absolutely crazy to think we will have a 5 month old to celebrate with as well! :))

Christmas eve wouldn't be complete with our annual cinnamon rolls!
Billy's brother got him his first Benz ;) he is obsessed with this car!
 all the cousins on my stepmoms side

reading in his new chair...
best capture ever :)
playing peekaboo with the gift bags


I figure I'll spare everyone out there and leave out our family Christmas morning pajama photo...no one really needs to see my crazy early morning hair and no makeup except these eyes! And that's a wrap, you were good to us Christmas 2015!

Hope everyone has a fun, safe, and happy New Years Eve!! I promise I'll be back to blogging regularly next week-I've got some fun posts lined up! :)

12.28.2015

We're Due With Baby #2



It's true! We're due with Baby #2!

We have not stopped smiling since finding out the news. Ever since we were pregnant with Camden, we talked about wanting kids close in age and since we will probably try for a third down the road, we knew that we aren't getting any younger! We are so super excited to have another baby to love on and thankful to be able to give Camden a sibling and watch them grow up together! We think he will be such a great big brother! We already have a date set to find out the gender, which will be the first week of February! Camden and the new baby will be almost 18 months apart and my due date is July 26th.

This pregnancy has been completely different than with Camden, which I honestly kind of expected. I had it far too good with him! No morning sickness at all and with this pregnancy I have been really nauseous off and on...sometimes all day, but mainly in the evenings. I've only thrown up once so it definitely could be worse! And as of the past few days, I've actually been feeling much better...knock on wood. It seemed like my morning sickness peaked weeks 7-9, I was constantly dry heaving and once Camden was in bed I was fast asleep on the couch. Some days I feel like I have had to pretty much force myself to work out and other days I feel great, but when I'm done I always feel so much better!

We found out we were expecting on November 19th, right before Thanksgiving! Billy wanted to take the test with me this time (I made him wait a little last time so I could get a cute gift and such) so it was really sweet finding out together, and telling Cam he was going to be a big brother! The fact that we found out on the 19th is crazy in itself because my water broke with Cam on 1-9 and the room I gave birth to him in ended in 19. It's also my husbands hockey number. Feels like it's meant to be!

My very first symptoms were craving chocolate like crazy (that I assumed was my period coming), exhaustion, sore boobs, and the craziest vivid dreams! If you've been pregnant before, you know what I mean about pregnancy dreams...they are so wild and that first week I had so many that I just knew that I was pregnant. Rocky also followed me around like crazy and always wanted to be in my lap!

I think the biggest difference I'm feeling this time around (so far) is just having more confidence in my parenting. Going from 0-1 totally rocked our world and in the beginning when Cam was a newborn, I stressed about so many little things and questioned myself all the time. This time both of us feel much more relaxed, confident, and comforted in the fact that we know what to expect! That's not to say we think going from 1-2 will be a breeze (hello-two under two!), but we do think the transition will be easier than 0-1 (for us, anyway.)  
 
Thank you so, so much for all of your congratulations! I really appreciate all the support and thoughtful comments from you guys.

And what would a photoshoot be without a few funny outtakes? I think he's pretty excited for his new role!

12.23.2015

Merry Christmas!


How is it that tomorrow is already Christmas Eve?!

We finished wrapping up all our gifts and got all our errands done the other night (yahoo!) so I think it's safe to say we're ready! I'm just so giddy to see Camden on Christmas morning and spend the rest of the holiday as a family. Honestly, I would be perfectly happy even if I myself didn't get a single present because I'm so excited for Cam to open his and I just want him happy + healthy!

Unfortunately, he's had a little bit of a cold + cough the past few days so we've been trying to get him to rest a lot so that hopefully he starts feeling a little better soon (fingers crossed!)  

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and I hope that you have the best Christmas ever with your families! I will be home with Camden a lot next week, but plan to be back to blogging too! xo

 

12.21.2015

CURRENTLY...


It's finally here...the week of Christmas! Who's ready?! Things are a little crazy in our world (I'm sure the same goes for many of you!) trying to wrap things up and make what feels like one million trips to the grocery store, but I'm so ready for it to be Christmas morning! Here's what's going on lately:

Eating...far too many cookies. These Texas Kisses +  our annual cookie exchange that we had last weekend are KILLING me! So hard to say no! The treadmill has been rough on me lately and that's putting it nicely...

 

Planning...Instead of exchanging gifts this year, Billy and I decided to book a vacation for us instead. BEST IDEA EVER. More info on this soon! Also, Cam's first birthday party, but you guys already knew that.


 Looking forward to...Camden's first Christmas (obviously!) We had our first celebration yesterday with my Mom's side of the family and of course, he was having a ball opening his gifts. It was so fun to see him so excited! He was literally going nuts ripping off the paper, ha. We will be celebrating with my parents tomorrow night at our house, and then heading to Cleveland for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! Next year when Cam is older we do plan to stay home, but this year we decided we would still go and we're really looking forward to spending time with Billy's family.


 Laughing...two words: Miss Universe. Holy crap-who saw what happened?!


Loving...our first "official" Santa picture! 

I never realized how excited I would get about taking my kid to see Santa...this picture is definitely hanging on our fridge right now, haha. 

(2) that Billy did all our wrapping this year! I am quite possibly the worst wrapper ever.

(3) my days at home with Cam. I've always enjoyed them, but this stage he's in right now and his "routine" is so much fun and just flows so easily. And taking him places is always a treat because he gets so happy over the smallest things and loves smiling at people/making friends as we walk by. 

(we went to the mall last week to go shopping but I forgot our stroller so I rented this "mall racer" (lol)..let's just say he was having a blast in it. People were cracking up at him! Nevermind the fact that I felt so dumb pushing this thing-whatever makes him happy, right?)

Recommending...this highlight and contour make up palette. I'm just learning how to contour, but I really like this one because it makes it easy to learn and has great reviews. I love NYX products!
 

Tonight will be spent preparing lasagna for our celebration tomorrow and getting the house ready! Who's in the same boat?!

Let's hope these next few days go quickly! 

12.16.2015

First Birthday Party Prep


Of course I'm going crazy over here planning Camden's first birthday party!

Did you expect any less? 

My baby only turns 1 once! His party is a little over 3 weeks away, so with Christmas next week I wanted to make sure I got a good start on things. Without spoiling all the details completely, this picture gives a little sneak peek into the theme. Any ideas on what it could be?! I'm so excited! I literally searched, and searched, and searched, for months on Pinterest for a theme I liked and that (most importantly) fit Camden's personality. The invites are going out tomorrow and the menu has pretty much been planned, so now it's just getting all the little details ready!

I can't wait to share more, but just forgive me if I'm a little MIA here and there over the next couple weeks. Luckily, it's all fun stuff taking up my time. :)

Also, this is completely unrelated to his birthday party, but have you seen the baby ornaments with their hospital hat, wristband, etc. inside all over Pinterest? It was too cute of an idea to pass up and took me less than 5 minutes to put together.

I bought a clear ornament from the Dollar Store and put his hat, wristband, and birth announcement from our local newspaper inside. I LOVE how it turned out!

(after I took this picture I added a cute white bow around the top to make it a little more fancy!)

If you have a little one, this is such a special (and easy) way to incorporate the day they were born.

Happy hump day, you guys!

12.14.2015

Holiday Gift Guide, For Her: Under $50

Holiday Gift Guide, Gifts under $50

1. Fleece Lounge Pants: Can't go wrong with these cute, cozy pants! (love the jogger style and fairisle pattern too) 

2. Foldover Clutch: What girl wouldn't love this? Only $39! 

3. Ceramic Mug: To make those early mornings a little brighter! 

4. Sonix 'Brunch' Phone Case: My last 3 cases are Sonix - they have the cutest ones that actually last, but I think this one wins overall! Love it. 

5. Urban Decay Naked Basics: Favorite eyeshadow palette! I use this nearly everyday.  

6. Workin' For The Weekend Notebook: A cute notebook for her desk.

7. Noir Travel Body Mist: This is my favorite scent to travel with - it smells really good yet isn't overwhelming and I love that it's plastic so I don't have to worry about it breaking!

8. Sequin Pillow: Sadly this is now sold out - boo! But this one is similar and just as cute. 

9. Moccasin Slippers: Just bought these in red recently for a little prezzie to myself...they are only $9 so I didn't feel too bad about it. So comfy!  

10. Selfie Stick: I think this might be the cutest selfie stick I've seen. It's kind of convincing me that I might need one? ha. 

11. Tassel Earring: Really love these! Would go with so much and a great way to dress up an outfit.

12. Monogram Jewelry Box: For the jewelry/monogram lover...a great place to store favorite pieces.

13. Plaid Scarf: Cute colors and currently on sale. 

14. BareMinerals Tiny Treasures Lipgloss Set: My favorite lipglosses and all of them in this set are pretty shades that would get lots of use!

15. Alex and Ani Bangle: A pretty bangle to add to her collection...love Alex and Ani!  

16. Monogrammed Acrylic Letter Sorter: Hear me out...this might seem lame to gift to someone, but it's chic and helps you stay organized so it's a win in my book.  

I would normally say here which one of these gifts is my favorite, BUT I'm really loving all of them. It happens. Which one is your favorite?! Only 11 days left until Christmas people! It's crunch time if you haven't finished your shopping yet (and if you have-maybe it's time to treat yourself to a little somethin' somethin'? :)) 
 

12.11.2015

CJK: 11 Months Old


I have been kinda dreading publishing this post because it just means that the next monthly update will be when Cam is turning ONE! I'm not sad about him turning one at all, just more so about how insanely fast this year has gone. However, if things continue to get better and better with him like they have been this past year then I know this next year is going to be so amazing too!

Camden's personality is coming out more and more by the day. He is so funny, goofy, enthusiastic when playing, loving, and curious. I know I say it a lot but he is almost always either laughing or smiling! He is very sweet and affectionate...he loves to give big hugs to everyone. I swear he is the best hugger. This month he started to understand what the word no means and is not a fan of hearing it! He continues to sleep like a champ (7-7), will eat anything we put in front of him, and loves to sit on our laps to read books. He has already taken a few steps and is dangerously close to walking on his own. I can't believe it!

MILESTONES/MOMENTS TO NOTE:
-has taken TWO steps!!
-waves "bye!" 
-can sign "more", but is really selective about when he does it  
-dances when music is playing (bounces up and down and waves his arms-so cute)
-says: mama, dada, buh bye, baba (bottle) and ball
-still has six teeth but it seems like he's working on more that haven't popped in yet
-has recently started giving kisses to animals in books! sometimes he will kiss an animal on almost every page, haha. it's really sweet!
-had his first Thanksgiving 
-favorite foods right now: pancakes and waffles, yogurt, mac and cheesecheerios, peas, pasta

LIKES:
-crawling around the entire house nonstop

-animals 
-tupperware, he is obsessed with this big bowl we have-he puts it on his head and crawls around the house like that laughing at himself. hilarious.
-reading books
-saying "mama mama mama" over and over again until I feed him more food
-to be tickled
-to put both his hands up in the air
-his elephant rocker and rocking chair
-to cuddle on the couch with mommy watching Mickey

DISLIKES:
-having his face/nose wiped
-bibs
-keeping his socks on when in the car (pulls them off the second I start driving and plays with his feet)

favorite pictures:

favorite videos: