A TWO-tti Frutti Birthday Party

 

SHHHH! This is so overdue, and super late, but I still have to document it so I can reminisce down the road! 😉 I’m way behind on my blogging and so much is going on these days – so I’ll try to catch up soon! For now, enjoy this post about Collins’ birthday party we had a couple months back!

 

I don’t think I will admit how long I’ve been planning this party.

Ok, you twisted my arm, I started thinking about it last summer. (What?!) Now, to be fair, it started out as daydreaming and admiring all the adorable party themes that pinterest shoves in your face. Just kidding I totally willingly look this stuff up. But then I found THE theme for Collins’ 2nd Birthday. And it just couldn’t get any more cute.

A TWO-tti Fruitti Birthday for my newly aged TWO year old!

Hold on. A deliciously adorable party theme and a play on words? Yep! So to the party planning boards I went.

And I went there as quickly as I could because on top of my eagerness and love of all things party planning, I was gonna have another baby before this shindig. And who knows how much I would be able to accomplish with a newborn AND a toddler. Just kidding, I know. Not much.

As I admired so many adorable ideas I could try out for this party, I decided to expand my theme a bit – just to give it a little twist. In addition to all the fruitiness that was going to happen I threw in flamingos and cactuses (Cacti? Sorry y’all) as well. I had this vision of melding all 3 of these things together and imagined one ridiculously cute party for a two year old. So I went with it.

So, you know what’s first, the invitations. You can purchase this one in our Etsy Shop soon! This is the first invite I have done with a design on both the front and back. It creates a little more hassle for printing, but I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out. And on a square card?! Adorbs.

Then welcome welcome WELCOME to the fruity princess’ birthday party (there really aren’t any princesses except for Collins, I’m not trying to confuse you 😉 )! Instead of hosting this one in our home – I have a newborn people, you don’t need to come to my house – we rented a inflatable moon bounce facility, Jumpy Jump Land! Ha! Definitely the perfect place for toddlers to wreak havoc and run off all of the sugar they consume. The entry of the building has a large open space so I placed the gift and favor table as soon as you come in.

I of course broke out my Cricut and used that to make some of the decor. This “THANKS” one was the first. It was looking kind of plain after I cut the letters out, so I added the glitter pineapples and that spiced it up just the right amount. 🙂 I ordered the paper pineapples as a set online and found the stuffed flamingo and cactus at Hobby Lobby. My handy dandy chalkboard spouted facts all about two-year-old Collins, and greeted everyone as they arrived.

I tried to be simple with my décor in some areas since this was a rental and I didn’t have much set up time – dressing it up just enough to let it feel like it got some attention. For the favors we just bought a bulk size box of fruit snacks and I used some decorative duct tape to attach the “thank you berry much for coming!” labels.

One main reason for my cactus obsession for this party was the fact that I wanted to serve up a taco bar. I didn’t want to go full-out fiesta though so this tropical/Mexicana/fruity theme emerged 😉 Tacos sounded like a cheap and easy solution to feeding everyone a good dinner. I didn’t snap a pic of the setup (sorry!) so here is the fam/friends enjoying it 🙂

You can spy the tissue garland I hung from the bottom of the counter – it was one of my favorite pieces!

So now you’re like, “Ok, I thought this was a fruit party? Where is the fruit?” – don’t worry we had plenty of tutti fruitti goodness. Including mixed fruit cups, pineapple bites, and watermelon slices! Oh the fruity drinks of course!

Admittedly, I did not get to set up everything like I had planned (in my mind). There wasn’t as much table space as I was expecting and we had to work hard (and fast) to make everything fit. It still turned out great, and we received lots of compliments on how great of a party venue this was, but having an endless amount of time to decorate at your own house is really nice. But, I’m sure most people don’t get as detailed as I do when it comes to decorating at these party rental places 😜.

And then we had our cake and ate cookies too. I placed a cluster of fruit balloons on the edge of the table, and hung a small swag with flamingos and pineapples from the front. I was hoping to be up against a wall to hang some additional garlands and create a backdrop, but we ended up setting up right in front of the gifts. It was still an adorable setup for her to blow out her candles though, and I was glad I had gone to the trouble of hauling her little play table to the venue.

And then the treats! Well they were just the sweetest – looking and tasting! 😉

I made both the pineapple leaf and “Collins” cake topper with my cricut..LOVE them! I bought the mini sparkle “2” candle from Walmart.

The cookies were made by a local friend and are seriously the best I’ve ever had. I ordered the cardboard fruit baskets online – a perfect resting place for them!

Instead of ordering a large cake, I decided to do cupcakes – much easier to hand out! I also didn’t want one design, I wanted to bring all the different aspects of the party together so we had the pineapple cake, green cupcakes that formed the cactus shape, and I added some details to the pink cupcakes to make them look like flamingos (black gel icing and white candy melts). Not perfect, but it got the point across! 🙂

Lastly, we set up a couple tables were people could sit, eat, and chat while all the kiddos played. We had some hot pink tablecloths and I mixed and matched the table decor.

Everyone had a great time! We loved watching Collins run around and have the time of her life! Now here are some of my favorite photos from the party:

So yeah, this post may have been twice as long as last year’s birthday party post. Happy birthday to my first little girl, Collins Lorraine! I love you more than anything and hope you had an amazing day!

Thanks for reading! Until next time!

Lots of Love, Katie

 

 

Collins Turns Two – The Terrible & The Terrific

I can’t believe you are two years old. It can’t have been that long since I first saw you. Held you. Since my life was turned inside out by this beautiful little girl.

Oh how you have challenged me this past year. Between turning one and two you changed and grew drastically, much like the year before. And all entirely too fast. You have a definite personality – you are funny, ornery, surprising, curious, silly, and a tad bit weird. You make me laugh on a daily basis and also make me want to pull my hair out. You are a roller coaster ride, but I promise you – I never want to get off!

Toddler Collins is very independent and somewhat sassy. And then you climb up on the couch next to me and wrap your arms around my neck. Or you give your new little sister the sweetest kiss and any wrong you did 10 minutes ago doesn’t matter any more. Plus, it’s hard to hold a grudge against a person who doesn’t remember doing the bad thing – and is only 2.5 feet of cuteness.

Some new accomplishments you have at age 2 include the following:

• Sleeping in your own bed all night long (we have rough nights of getting you to fall asleep though – for some reason you try to convince us to sleep on the hard floor next to your bed every night).
• Dominating the iPhone – I don’t even know how to access some of the things you do on my phone. Albeit, you don’t actually know what you are doing 100% of the time, but watching you navigate and peruse YouTube is pretty entertaining.
• All sorts of new words – some favorites are “naughty,” “cracker,” “Oakley,” and “Breckie” (“Breckie” = Breckin – that’s my favorite). We haven’t formed real sentences yet (UPDATE: You said “where are you” this week and love asking it in reference to Breckin), although sometimes you make a string a noises – I’m sure that’s toddler talk for something, I just don’t know what. 😉 You’re vocabulary is in the hundreds I’m sure. And you can sign a good amount of words as well! You’ve taught ME sign language!
• Opening doors and unlocking gates. (not a good one)
• Climbing on chairs, stools, tables, and counters – you truly believe in invincibility. Sorry kid, it isn’t so. We have been lucky enough to avoid any ER trips because of that belief so far though.
• Running really fast. This is a terrifying development sometimes – we are working on teaching you not to run off when told to stay next to Mommy and Daddy. This is more of a listening issue than a speed issue, but your quick little feet make it pretty difficult to catch you sometimes. Maybe you’ll be a runner like your mama!
• Potty training is still in motion. You go frequently on the “big girl potty,” but you don’t always tell us when you have to go. You are getting better though and I imagine you’ll be fully trained by the end of this summer. You love the word “potty” and you love going potty because you get candy. 😉
• Singing lots of songs! You love reading, singing, and dancing – hearing you sing to yourself is probably the sweetest thing you do right now. 🙂 Favorite songs include, ABC’s, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and The Wheels on the Bus. You know songs/nursery rhymes that I never even learned!

I know I’m like a song on repeat, but your Daddy and I really can’t believe how fast time has flown. I barely remember “life before Collins,” and our lives are so full because of you. We have enjoyed watching you grow this past year and we can’t wait to see the little girl you turn into this next year. I’m truly trying to hold on to these years. Days. Moments. This time where you are little and aren’t yet in school, where you change on such a regular basis and learn new things every day. We are so proud to be your parents!(And not just because you know how to enjoy a smash cake session to its fullest) 😉

We love you more than anything Collins Lorraine! Happy 2ND Birthday! And this year – Happy Easter too! We hope you like your new ride!

 

 

Widler, Party of Four

Our family is now one teeny, tiny person bigger.

 

Breckin Grace Widler came into the world at 10:03 AM on February 9, 2017.

9 pounds. 13 ounces. 21 inches long.

I had good intentions of posting about our newest little girl closer to her arrival, but it just didn’t happen. I’m already off of maternity leave and back to work! But, for your enjoyment – or more likely, my desire to document our family life – I’ve got the scoop on little Breckin.

LABOR WITH BRECKIN

Collins was stubborn. She was 6 days late and came on her own almost exactly 1 hour after our scheduled inducement would have taken place. Breckin was only stubborn by the fact that she was relatively humongous. Didn’t you read the third line of this blog – 9 LBS 13 OZ people. Almost 10 pounds of baby – yeesh. Large for a newborn, but she is still teeny tiny. A perfect little thing that is fragile in every way. And I mean that. It takes laser supervision to make sure Collins doesn’t hurt her on a daily basis. Whether it’s on accident or with purpose changes from moment to moment, but I’ve still had to keep quite the watchful eye on them both. But, Collins is learning to be gentle. Slowly, but surely.

 

I started having contractions with Breckin around 3:30 AM the morning she was born. I’ll do the math real quick for you to spell out that I was only in labor for about 6 hours. It was SO fast! Anywho, my contractions began and were about 20 minutes apart. Then 10. Then 17. Then 12. Then 7. As they consistently started getting closer together I of course was rather uncomfortable and spent a lot of time whining in pain and walking to and from the bathroom, and back to bed. Finally, they were 5 minutes apart for about 3 rounds in a row and I woke Codee up and told him it was time to go to the hospital. Bless his heart he was willing to jump in the car without brushing his teeth, but I knew (felt?) we had enough time for that. Collins woke up right before we left of course – which made leaving much harder. I think she knew something big was about to happen. But I gave her my last “only child hugs” and lots of kisses and finally climbed into the car. FYI riding in a car during labor is about the worst part of the entire charade.

Everything went MUCH smoother this time at the hospital, compared to my experience with Collins. Yes, my baby was larger – that made the pushing part harder – but everything else was much easier. My epidural went well and worked properly. I dilated much quicker, and on my own. And everything after birth was easier and less hectic as well. No hemorrhaging, no threat of an emergency C-Section, no catheters, no uncontrollable bleeding, no forceps. I actually got to relax and take a bath! That was heaven.

 

 

The most stressful thing I dealt with after her arrival was choosing a name! Ha. Nope, we hadn’t decided on a name prior to coming to the hospital. We had a couple ideas (or rather I did, because Codee really was zero help in this department), but I was really tired of worrying about it my entire pregnancy. Finally, we landed on Breckin. Her middle name comes from one of my younger sisters -who will be her Godmother. And is also what Codee wanted to use as Collins’ middle name, so I gave it to him this time 😉

 

GOING HOME WITH BRECKIN

With Collins I was so ready to get out of the hospital. We spent 3 long days there and I was ready to be at home relaxing with my new baby. With Breckin, I was glad to be coming home, but I knew it really meant more work. Two babies to care for now!

 

Of course I have Codee to help me, and it has worked great so far when he is able to distract Collins while I care for Breckin. We are all just separate moving parts (especially Collins whose part runs about 10 times faster than ours) and getting us all in sync is a daily challenge!

COLLINS AND BRECKIN

Collins was a little mortified when she visited and met Breckin at the hospital for the first time, but since then she has shown zero jealousy which I am totally surprised by! She has always been a mama’s girl so I was expecting her to be very clingy with me and upset whenever I had to care for Breckin over her, but she has been great in regards to that. It’s teaching her to be gentle that we have struggled with so far. She likes to poke and pull and point out every body part on Breckin. We’re working on that – ha. She is getting better and loves holding and kissing her. She gives Breckin toys – only her own of course 😉 – and is USUALLY helpful if I ask her to get something for me or hand me an item (diaper, wipe, burpcloth, blanket, etc). She is a very good big sister!

 

I already love watching them interact and grow together. And having a little baby in the house again, although exhausting, is amazing. Codee and I are so blessed to have two healthy, beautiful girls.

Thanks for reading!

I’ll try not to stay away so long next time!

Lots of Love,

Katie

A Room to Grow In

New baby girl is here! Leading up to her birth we were definitely behind the curve in making space for this new little chick, as I had been going through phases of nesting – freaking about time to get everything done, procrastinating, being super productive, and around again. And we were unbelievably busy this entire fall/winter between our big vacation abroad and all of the holidays and family events – not to mention work and Codee’s schooling! As things were finally beginning to calm down and come together we finished the new room!! And just in time to greet Breckin Grace…

So, the first decision that I had to make was if the girls were going to get separate rooms or not. I decided “no” for a couple of reasons.

1. We have 3 bedrooms upstairs and one in the basement. The basement bedroom is currently designated to Codee’s workout equipment, and the other spare room on the main floor is currently a guest room/my craft room. I really like having a guest room and I don’t have another great place to put all of my crafting supplies so nixing that room didn’t seem plausible.

2. Although Collins has had her own room for the past nearly two years, she hasn’t actually slept in it. We’ve been co-sleeping with her and as we are just now beginning to transition her into her own space, I felt giving her an updated “Big Girl Room” was the way to encourage her to sleep on her own. With all that being said, I predict Breckin will co-sleep with us for some period of time as well, so even though all of their things will be in the same room, it will primarily function as “Collins’ Room.”

3. Even though babies have a lot of stuff and our bedrooms are small, having the girls share a room seems a lot more reasonable than designating two entire rooms to diapers, toys, and little girl clothes.

4. I wanted each child to feel like they had a unique space that was theirs. Not changing any of the rooms would mean Collins finally sleeping in her nursery, but Breckin not actually having a space we created just for her. Giving Collins a new room, and sticking Breckin in the existing nursery (no change in décor) felt like she was already receiving  a hand-me-down from Collins. She wouldn’t get that special space I created just for her arrival like I had done for Collins. So, creating a shared room that was new to both of them seemed the fairest and most economical way to go. You know, because they will obviously catch on to what’s going on and be upset in some way if it’s not fair 😉

After deciding that they would share a room I had to figure out which room that was going to be. I landed on switching the rooms that had formerly functioned as guest room and Collins’ nursery. I thought the guest room was configured better for two beds and it already had a coral accent wall, which went with the theme I wanted to create in this new space. On the flip side, I wanted to make the guest room more neutral when I got around to redecorating it, so moving it to the nursery, which had all grey walls, worked great as well.

I kept the coral accent wall like I said, but changed up the other walls by switching from a tan to a cream to brighten the space a bit.

Deciding on a new bed for Collins was a task as well. I didn’t want to buy a tiny toddler bed she would only use for a year or two. But I didn’t have room to incorporate a twin sized bed AND a crib. So I stuck with the toddler sized mattress and had Codee build a simple bed frame for her that was much cheaper than purchasing a new bed set.

We still need to add a railing, but I love that Collins can climb in and out of it by herself. It turned out so cute!

I put Codee to work some more with lots of different shelves/wall décor.

Some floating shelves for toys and knick knacks…

And we replaced the wire shelving in the closet with new wood shelves – so pretty!

Lastly, we tried our hands at building house-shaped shelves. I was going back and forth on painting these white like the floating shelves, but deciding on keeping them the natural wood grain and painting the interior a mint blue color – aren’t they ADORABLE?

One extra special piece of the room is the “mural” I had a friend paint for me on the closet wall. I absolutely LOVE how it turned out! Shout out to Ashley – thank you!

And the finishing touches are always the best part. Lots of little accessories, new bedding and pillows, an area rug.

I hope Collins and Breckin love this room as much as I do!

Thanks for Reading! Until next time!

Lots of Love,

Katie

Mercantile Day Trip

Two weekends ago we went up to Nebraska (in an ice storm), so that Codee could get one more hunting trip in before the season ends (and the baby comes). His family owns farmland up there with a house that everyone shares care taking over – so we stayed at the farm and had a relaxing weekend away from home. You know – away from chores, and nesting, and organizing, and ok I really just thought about all I needed to get done before baby all weekend. But it was still as relaxing of a weekend as it could be. 😉

Roadtrippin…

I had never been up to the farm before or on a hunting trip with Codee, so it was interesting to see how the process unfolded – and what it is he actually does on his weekend getaways away from Collins and I. Not much 😉

 

We also got to stop and visit Codee’s Grandma on the way home which is always great 🙂 Codee made her a Nebraska logo shelf for Christmas and was able to hang it for her when we stopped on our way home! So sweet 🙂

Any who, I thought it was only fair that I get a little getaway/girl fun as well (no hubby or Collins to care for) before baby girl #2 arrives – just kidding, “fair” doesn’t exist in Mom World, but I did have the opportunity to take a day trip somewhere, sans responsibilities. So this past weekend I grabbed one of my besties, Shelby, and we road tripped down to Pawhuska, OK to see what all the hubbub was about at The Pioneer Woman’s Mercantile.

Neither of us watch the cooking show, but I’ve always admired her cookware – and after some rave reviews from a friend (*cough* Alex), I decided a journey down to the store and restaurant would be a fun little experience.

Just as a general rule of thumb, anything historic really draws me in. Other than just being a structure, buildings with meaning and history tell such rich stories. And I love when those stories shine through. The Mercantile began in 1910 and was called Osage Mercantile – a place for trading goods and browsing, and the building is just what I would have imagined it to be back then. What a fun idea to respect the past history of the county and continue to use the space as a retail establishment! I love me a good fixer upper! 😉

Of course the interior displays were all darling and I wanted to take everything home. From the cookware, to the home decor, to the display shelves that everything was organized in – the attention to detail was amazing! Actually instead of taking it home I could have just moved in.

 

Some cutesy merchandise they had on display…

Instead of waiting in the 3 HOUR line for the restaurant, which I’m sure is amazing, we used the “grab and go” line to eat at the deli (which still took about 45 minutes to get through). Other than sandwiches they had hot options as well! I had lasagna and mashed potatoes, and Shelby had Dr. Pepper pulled pork and mac & cheese – all delicious! And of course sweet tea to drink 😉

Can’t forget dessert! I chose apple cobbler – soooo good!

Here are some additional photos of the deli – more food options, and the interior decor. I think my favorite is the National Biscuit mural! That brick!!

 

After all that, we trekked upstairs to the bakery and candy store. At that point we needed more sweets…

The design up here was even better than downstairs (and much less crowded), loved it!

And we saw Ree…..nbd.

Last, but not least, I spent way too much shopping. And as moms tend to do, they spend more on their kids than theirselves…I purchased a wooden toaster play set and apron for Collins, and some adorable tin plates I plan on displaying on the wall in our kitchen – oh and brought some cinnamon rolls home! Hahaha.

Collins was weary about putting the apron on, but it is SO cute. She really likes her toaster set as well. Love this little girl!

Shelby and I had planned on getting together to catch up just over lunch in Wichita or at my house, but there is seriously never enough time and our visits always get cut short – I can’t believe we ever slept when we were roommates, we can talk forever! Having several hours just to gab in the car and then getting a little food (OK, a lot of food) and retail therapy in was just what we needed! Thanks for the great Saturday Shelbs!

Thanks for reading!

Our Irish Adventure

Wowee wow! What a blast we had on our first family vacation! We got to see and do so many amazing things, it really is hard to summarize our trip! But I will try to share some highlights for you all. I’ve waited WAY too long in sharing our adventure with you, but we did actually go 😉 Although now it seems like a lifetime ago, we will always cherish the memories we made while on this trip.

DAY 1

We left midday on a Friday to head to Chicago where we would board our international flight. Collins slept pretty much the entirety of the 2 hour flight, making her first plane ride uneventful, which = perfect for the parents! 😉 Nap time hit simultaneously with takeoff and she slept across our laps in the tiny little plane.

Chillin’ between Daddy’s legs before passing out

Waiting for our first plane ride!

Collins on her first plane!

We had a 4 hour layover before our long haul flight to Dublin, so we took Collins to the children’s play area in the O’Hare airport to blow off some energy. She loved this place!

We boarded our plane just before 7 PM (after arguing with the gate attendants about our seats to ensure we got a bassinet for Collins to sleep in), and I knew if we could distract her on this flight for about 2 hours, we could then get her to lay down for bed and hopefully the rest of the flight would be smooth sailing (flying?). That is exactly what happened! She was very good while awake on the plane. She did try to make a run down the aisle a couple of times, but really it didn’t take long at all until I changed her, put her in her pajamas, and gave her some Benadryl to help her sleep. The worst part of the flight was that I wasn’t feeling well at all (headaches and nausea). So it made distracting her a bit harder than normal. Once I slept and woke up for the morning I felt much better. Collins slept until we landed in Dublin! About 5.5 hours! 🙂 Mom and Dad got about 4 hours.

DAY 2

We have arrived in Dublin! Back home it is 2 AM and here it is 8 AM. We stay up until 10 PM Ireland time on our 4 hours of sleep. Whew! But we got to see several things in Dublin while we were walking zombies! 😉 St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church, and Trinity College. As well as enjoying a tasty lunch at one of Hannah’s favorite cafes – The Queen of Tarts. I had a divine quiche and everyone else enjoyed some sandwiches along with our spongecake we ordered for dessert! (FYI – I did a terrible job documenting our food during this trip – we ate everything so fast, but it all looked as amazing as it tasted!)

DAY 3

We intended to wake up early enough for church since this was now Sunday, but all of us overslept. Even Hannah and Kyle who are usually early risers! We headed straight for Malahide Castle instead.

After arriving at the castle, both of the babes were sleeping, and since Hannah and Kyle had visited before, they let Codee and I go on the tour by ourselves to see the inside of the castle (no photos allowed). Afterwards we ate lunch at AVOCA Café which is on the castle grounds. It was delicious!

Then we enjoyed a walk through the castle gardens. The gardens were gorgeous and had several old greenhouses – it sprinkled on and off on us, but overall the weather was great! We did get rather wet trekking back to the train station though. It was supposed to stop raining at 4pm… 😉

I wonder how old that massive tree is – yes that’s us in the wee distance, posing for scale.

We went out for dinner together where the babies were really tired and ready for bed. The men took them home after our meal, and Hannah and I ran to the store to stock up with snacks for our next couple of days on the road!

Day 4

No sleeping in today, we had to go pick up the rental car by 8 AM! Codee managed to drive through central Dublin to reach Hannah & Kyle’s home and load everything up for our road trip. I was only tense the entire ride there. 😉 As I felt like I was sitting on the drivers side I kept slamming on my imaginary breaks as we drove through town. Codee eventually got used to the car, but some of the traffic laws still remain a mystery to us…

First stop on our road trip was Glendalough. A centuries old monastery and tower reside here in the Wicklow National Forrest. After exploring the grounds we had a picnic nearby and then continued on our merry way.

We made a quick stop in Cobh to visit a church I wanted to see. It was practically on the water! We loved the charm of this little seaside town and wished we had more time to explore, but we needed to find dinner and head towards our lodging for the night before it got too dark.

We grabbed a quick bite in a pub (enjoying my first dish of fish and chips abroad!) in Cork and slowly but surely found our way to our first Airbnb. It was about 20 minutes outside of Cork in a very remote location. It was absolutely darling! And perfect for the 5 of us as we explored Cork County.

DAY 5

We packed the car, the food, and the babies for the day and headed to Blarney! Hannah had never visited and enjoyed the castle and grounds just as much as we did! The castle had a lot of rich history that we learned about via plaques along the walk throughout the castle/grounds. We stood in line to go to the top of the castle and kiss the blarney stone as well – I’ve got the “gift of gab” now! Hannah and Codee both had babies strapped to them so they weren’t able to lay down to kiss the stone – guess they will have to go back! 😉

We spent the rest of the day in Cork City, where we went to Trinity Church, St. Finbarr’s Cathedral, and found a lovely park for the kids to play at before checking out Daly’s Bridge (Shaky Bridge) and heading home for the evening.

I love love love this photo of Collins & Augustine. These precious babes were so good the entire trip! And played great together 🙂 Collins looks so little in this picture compared to now!! [Taken at our Airbnb in Cork]

DAY 6

This morning was hectic as we sped to the train station to put Hannah and Augustine on a train back to Dublin. After that, Codee, Collins, and I continued our way down the eastern coast and along the Wild Atlantic Way. These next two days were probably my favorite in Ireland. We spent quite a bit of time in the car, but got to see SO much along the way. And all of it was breathtaking and gorgeous. Our first stop was at Charles Fort. We arrived before they even opened and ending up having the entire fort to ourselves as we toured and explored the old military grounds.

Some photos along the Wild Atlantic Way…(Click to enlarge! The scenery along our drive was the best we saw in all of Ireland!)

I’ve shared this on my instagram as well, but this really is my favorite photo we took abroad. Love this man! We didn’t stop very much between our planned visited landmarks, but as we got closer to the coast along our drive, we had to pull over and capture the memory!

We eventually made it to the most southern tip of Ireland – Mizen Head. This was our favorite landmark we visited in Ireland. It was BEAUTIFUL, so breathtaking, and had a fun little museum in the lighthouse at the end of the trail. We took a hike down to the lighthouse, crossing a massive bridge along the way that had an incredible view down into the Atlantic Ocean. We even saw some seals swimming down below! You couldn’t take a bad picture here, and the weather was perfect!

We were headed to Killarney for the night which is in Killarney National Forrest. We got to follow along the Wild Atlantic Way on our drive there, so again, the sites were beautiful. At this point in the day it was nearing the dinner hour and as it was my BIRTHDAY (woohoo!) we wanted to reach our hotel before it got dark so that we could find a nice place to eat and celebrate. In our time crunch we did cut out a couple little sites on our way to Killarney, but Charles Fort and Mizen Head were so amazing I didn’t even care. Dinner was lovely and we enjoyed gelato afterwards (Below – Collins is enjoying her free cone, we were going to share ours with her but the lady at the counter insisted on giving her her own 😉 ). It was a great birthday, I will never forget turning 24 in Ireland!

DAY 7

We woke up to a full breakfast at our little B & B. Codee ordered the full Irish breakfast, and I enjoyed a tasty omelet. With lots of croissants and jam of course! We also reignited our love of hot tea (something we’ve enjoyed in the past) on this trip. Sipping it nearly every morning and in the afternoon as well!

After breakfast we packed the car to head onwards and enjoy our full day of sightseeing. We took a walk (Codee would say a long trek), through the National Forrest to see the Gap of Dunloe before leaving Killarney. We absolutely loved Killarney’s charm – I would definitely return to enjoy it some more!

There was a cottage store outside of the National Park – Collins taking in the bar scene there

 

After the Gap of Dunloe we drove towards the Cliffs of Moher. Even in the freezing rain we had a good time taking in the view of the massive cliffs and eerie looking waters. We ventured in and out of the visitors center several times to view the cliffs so that we wouldn’t drag Collins in the cold, wet wind for an unreasonable amount of time. We guessed that the weather was wet and windy in this part of the country on pretty much a daily basis, being on the coast – so the rain in no way put a damper on our day. Made us feel like we were really in Ireland! Although I did have to give in and where a Nebraska hat…bleh. 😉

The last part of the day we backtracked a bit to reach Bunratty and enjoy an authentic Castle Banquet, complete with musical entertainment and of course plenty to eat! I didn’t get a photo of all of our dishes, but the meal consisted of vegetable soup, ribs, chicken and vegetables, and an absolutely amazing fruit-filled cheesecake. This was one of the quirky tourist attractions that we took part in, but it really was a great evening! The staff were all very helpful with Collins throughout the meal which made the night even more enjoyable.

DAY 8

Our last day in Ireland. We stayed near Galway after our evening banquet in Bunratty, putting us about an hour away from our ferry ride that would take us out to Aran Islands. I was really looking forward to this little day trip, but it ended up being our most miserable day! I swear to you we laughed more on this day because of all the struggles we encountered though. It was laughably horrible. Which helped with the suckiness of it.

So we get off of the ferry and go rent bikes. I am thinking “oh we are gonna have such fun just riding bikes around this cute little island.” I wanted to see the seal colony, the island fort, and the cliff diving site. Well, a couple of things made that harder than I had planned. 1. The map we were given was terrible. It did not show all the roads and we had no idea where we were going. 2. Once we made about 3 zig-zaggy laps around the (entire) town and finally figured out which road to take to the seal colony, our legs were already tired. I swear to you we rode for miles and miles up hill BOTH ways. We got lost. It rained on us. There were no seals. The fort was the highest point of the island so we didn’t have to time tour it – a supposedly 30 minunte bike ride took us 2.5 hours. And we were never able to find the cliff diving site for the lack of signage on this tiny, deserted (like really, we saw about 3 people on this entire trek) island. We kept surprisingly light-hearted attitudes about the whole situation though. It really was so bad it was laughable. So that’s about all we did on the island. Bike and laugh and wonder why everything was uphill.

We were exhausted, soaked through with rain, and very sore by the time we made it back to the mainland. After changing into dry clothes we drove back to Dublin that night to stay at Hannah and Kyle’s home again. We were glad to be going to England the next day with them!

Ireland was absolutely amazing and even better than I thought it would be. I am so happy we got the opportunity to explore this country as a little family and enjoy some real quality time together. Spending time with Hannah, Kyle, & Augustine really was there cherry on top though 🙂

Leading up to our trip I was most looking forward to escaping our busy everyday life and just being able to enjoy time together. Now, following the vacation, I realize again how great and needed that time together was. No, we didn’t have to spend thousands to travel somewhere and spend time with each other, but being away – from work, school, family – really was exactly what we needed. As I dream about all that free time, beautiful scenery, and extended conversations we shared, it helps me get through our day-to-day crazy schedule and look forward to the next chance we get to make special memories as a family.

Well, that was IRELAND! I’ll share about ENGLAND soon! 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Lots of Love,

Katie

We Love You A “Hole” Lot

So that baby #2 didn’t go completely unnoticed (just kidding, in no way is this girl being overlooked – but really, we had about 4 parties for Collins), we decided to throw a baby “sprinkle” to celebrate her nearing arrival with family and friends.

What better theme for a baby SPRINKLE than donuts?! We didn’t think there was one. So, on December 31st we threw a brunch for everyone that featured donuts and all sorts of other tasty breakfast treats. Is it just me or is breakfast food like the best ever? I. Love. Breakfast. And planning this party was so much fun!

I designed this invite for the event – up for purchase in our Etsy Shop soon!

Since this was just a sprinkle, and not a full blown shower, we didn’t request gifts, but we were accepting diapers (always a necessity!) and gift cards for any miscellaneous items we needed to purchase before baby arrived.

Of course, people just love buying baby stuff so we got way more than we needed, but we are always thankful for all the love and support everyone shares!

All of the food was of course, delicious. It was evident that everyone had a great time!

M E N U

• DONUTS!
• Fresh Fruit
• Breakfast Casserole
• Biscuits & Gravy
• Ham & Cheese Sliders
• Muffins & Cinnamon Rolls
• Quiche
• Milk, Juice, Coffee, & Water

I made a few garlands for the party, but other than balloons, festive tableware, and cute signage, the food really was the center of the party! We still had all of our Christmas decorations up as well.

We didn’t intend to play any “shower” games, we just wanted to share in our excitement of our second baby girl and get the chance to socialize with friends and family.

Lastly, we sent home donut themed cookies as favors for coming. Thank you to my cousin Cierra for making the cookies! They were soooo good!

Thanks for “sprinkling” us with love everyone! Me and Baby Girl – 34 weeks, 4 days!

Collins – 18 Months

You are starting to shine in your second year of life.

At about 13.5 months old you began officially walking – gone are the tentative three steps, fall down, two steps, fall down – you are everywhere child. In the kitchen getting into cabinets, in the office filing through the books, in the mudroom playing in the dog bowls (your favorite activity and my least favorite), or in the living room rifling through the DVD shelves – you never put them back by the way. You love to get into anything and everything. I have yet to child proof the cabinet doors, they seem like more of a hassle for me to deal with than a preventative measure for you – you’ll find something else if it isn’t all the Tupperware and at least it keeps you occupied while I cook. I don’t mind cleaning up after you day in and day out though, because I like that you can find things to keep yourself entertained. Learning to play by yourself is really important – especially for my sanity ;).

At around the same time you started walking you were permanently weaned and by 14.5 months you were officially done with formula. It was actually harder to get you to quit the bottle than nursing! I thought I would be more upset about our bond ending, but having you fall asleep in my arms, all by yourself, is pretty rewarding as well. Such a big girl, but still my baby girl.

You have such a personality. It catches everyone’s attention. You are still referred to as a “sweetheart,” but you’re ornery and stubborn as can be as well (no idea where you get that from). It’s rather entertaining most of the time. That sly grin is just too cute and even when you do wrong, if you flash that smile it makes me laugh and laugh. At “school” I’d say you’d win “Most Popular.” I think everyone else is just as stupefied by your cuteness as we (your doting parents) are. Every morning when I drop you off there is a scurry of little footsteps as all the kiddos come to give you hugs and kisses and tell you how adorable you look. Maybe they do that to all the babies though….;) Miss Tammie and Miss Lisa dote on you as well – something about you is just hard to get over. It doesn’t matter how often you are around someone, they never tire of you, your smile, or your demeanor. You’ve started to obviously try to be funny and it just gets everyone rolling. Maybe it is because you are so little, but whatever it is, the fact that you deliberately try to make people laugh is heartwarming. By the way, you have a fake laugh in addition to your real laugh right now. Sometimes you just start booming laughter just to get others riled up and it’s freaking hilarious. You know you are good at making others smile and that makes me smile.

You’ve really grown your appetite since turning the Big One – finishing nearly every meal I put in front of you. Some of your favorite foods are cherry tomatoes, blueberries, bananas, corn-on-the-cob, cheese, and spaghetti. Of course you love your sweets too! And I can’t believe how much milk you guzzle down in a day, close to 48 oz at times!

Your daddy and I have big plans for you to become an avid snowboarder in the (near) future, but I already know your heart lies in the summer. You were so fun and active and playful this summer – I don’t think I enjoyed anything more than letting you play outdoors, at the park, in the water, or at the zoo. You were simply LIVING. And loving every second of it.

I am starting to realize that this year’s holidays are going to be vastly different than last years, as you are so active, aware, and curious about everything. While last 4th of July you were a whopping 2.5 months old and spent the day being passed from person to person – this year you were exhausting! Running around, stuffing your face, picking up anything you shouldn’t (trash, sticks, dirt, firecrakers, others’ drinks/food), playing with the puppies, and riding the battery-powered cars – I was one worn out mommy. But I did enjoy the fact that you enjoyed yourself. I never realized how tiring social events are with children though! Next stop – Halloween! With “please” and “thank you” as some regular words you spout – trick or treating is sure to be a blast! And so cute!

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We’ve hit 17 months and you made it through your first family vacation – and like a champ no less! Overall, you were amazing on the plane rides (all 6 of them!). The most challenging part of vacationing with you at this stage was not letting you walk around as much as you wanted. There were days it was hard to keep you strapped in the stroller or in the baby carrier or in the carseat. We did a lot of travelling and seeing and doing, and that just didn’t allow for much wandering time for you. When we did let you walk on your own, you would take your sweet time, step in as many puddles and pick up as many leaves/trash/undesirables as you could, and of course say “hi” to everyone we passed. We noticed many people staring and smiling at you, so much so they would nearly walk straight into us (daddy found this annoying lol). We know you may not remember this vacation, but we are hoping there are bits and pieces that stick in your mind. I assume I will hear complaints from you later in your life asking why we couldn’t have taken you when you were older so that you could remember and enjoy it all fully. Sorry, you will have to fund your own European adventure one day. I won’t have a problem telling you how much fun you had though! 😉

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Recently, I glanced in the rearview mirror of the car and caught your eye. I gave you my cheesiest smile and you returned with your own. Sometimes I can just look at you and I swear you know what I am thinking. I love that I can physically feel the love and bond we share – and that I can visually see that you feel it too. It is something amazing. After that exchange of cheesy smiles I recalled when you were much smaller, just a few months old, and how a smile from mom may have been comforting, but you didn’t yet have the ability to return one to me willfully. I thought about how I used to coo at you from the front seat and the sound of my voice would soothe you – how just hearing me speak could comfort anything wrong in your life (now the tantrums have begun and mom can’t always solve the problems as easily). I had been a little sad lately that you were growing so fast, but at that moment I realized, although I loved every minute of you being an infant – I have to say that the age you are now is so much more satisfying for me, as you constantly give me love in return. Arms wrapped around my neck in a hug. Attacking me with open-mouthed, slobbery kisses (UPDATE: you pucker up now! And with the “Mwah!” sound accenting your perfect little kisses). Clinging to my leg as I clean the dishes. Pressing your forehead to mine, the way we both say “I love you” without saying anything at all. All of these things are perks of you growing up. I think I can accept that.

Just the other night your dad told me he thinks about what his favorite stage of your life has been with you so far. We were reading the book “If I Could Keep You Little,” and he said “every time I think I like her best how she is, she changes, and I enjoy her even more.” We laughed about how nice the immobile stage was, but I reminded him that you hadn’t yet formed your personality at that point and he conceded, you’re pretty great at every stage.

A year and half old and you have such a hold on my heart. I can’t imagine the spell you’ll have cast on a boy later down the road (WAY later). Even at 1 and a 1/2 you’ve got dozens of grown men who gawk at you, thinking you’re the cutest darn thing. With daddy and his friends, Grandpa, Papa, and several uncles – your adolescent and young adult life is sure to be interesting. Good luck. 😉

Here’s to you my Collins Lorraine! Another six months and you will be my big two year old! *tears!* Your daddy and I love you more than words can describe!

 

 

 

Ready For Takeoff

If you’re my friend on Facebook, you’ve seen me spouting the news (bragging?) we are going to Ireland and England this fall!

I. Am. So. Excited.

Just because I can’t stop thinking about this lovely adventure we are going to go on, (not only because I am excited but also because I am a PLANNER. Like to the death of me.) I thought it would be fun to do a series on our trip. I’m sure these posts will be a lot more thrilling once I am writing ABOUT the trip – but I thought I’d give an inside scoop into how I am planning this crazy adventure as well. As this is our first vacation with Collins I am being extra thorough, making sure I have all of the bases covered and have everything figured out. After this International excursion any future trips will be a piece of cake! (Right? 😉 )

I will start by saying this vacation is definitely for me. Although I am sure somewhere deep down in Codee’s heart he is excited to explore the world with Collins and I, he hates planes (as someone who is 6’4″ they provide a lot of extra discomfort), hates spending a lot of money (vacationing ain’t cheap!), and really dislikes that I am using all of his days of vacation for 2016. Ha. But, it obviously doesn’t bother me enough to forget about the trip. Or bother him enough to tell me “no.” So off we will go! Don’t worry honey we will go snowboarding next year! 😉 Plus, Codee just NEEDS a vacation. We both do. We need a break from every day, stressful, busy life and I can’t wait to get two full weeks away from all that. Hallelujah.

W H Y  I R E L A N D

This whole idea started when my best friend moved to Ireland so that her husband could attend Med School in Dublin. Hannah is the most adventurous, kind-hearted, and upbeat person I know. This opportunity just screamed “HANNAH” all over it – I can easily picture her making friends with people on the subway (do they have subways there Hannah?) or exploring the city and countryside, having the time of her life.  I am so happy that they are able to live abroad together – what an exciting start they have had to their marriage!

On top of that they just added a new little baby boy to the mix and when we visit it will be my first time meeting him. Oh how I can’t wait to squeeze him! He is 6 months younger than Collins – I’m sure they will have great fun together! 🙂

I stole some of their personal insta pics as proof of their absolute Irish adorable-ness.

W H Y  E N G L A N D

Traveling abroad is not cheap! Nearly half of the cost of our trip is spent on flights just to get us there and back! Also, it takes a significant amount of time to get over there, so if you have the opportunity, and the time – cram in as much sight-seeing as you can! We are spending a week in Ireland and a week in England. There were of course many other countries I could have chosen in addition to Ireland, but England was high up on my bucket list and it is particularly easy (quick), and cheap, to get there from Ireland. Plus, they speak English – this is Codee’s first time abroad, in addition to all the travel I didn’t think he would enjoy the added confusion (sometimes stress and frustration) of having to communicate with others that speak another language. This is a smoother transition. One that will hopefully allow me to drag him over there again within the next 10 (maybe, please, 5?) years. Haha. Plus, who doesn’t want to explore the English countryside?!

O U R  R O U T E

So when you have two entire countries to explore, how do you figure out where to go?! And what to see?! I’ll be honest, it wasn’t easy. I took to pinterest, travel websites/blogs, and talking with Hannah (luckily she and Kyle have seen nearly every county in Ireland!) to decide what our trip itinerary would consist of. And here is how I broke it down:

1. Figure out what you want to see.
2. Find a centerpoint or a midpoint between sites to use as a base for lodging.
3. Map out where you will begin your journey and end it, then create a path that touches all the sites between the starting and ending locations.
4. Pace yourself! I am definitely an over planner, just out of habit, but I do realize the value in just going with the flow. And not overloading yourself with a checklist of to do items. You are on vacation! Enjoy what you do get to see and if you miss out on something due to lack of time, hopefully it was time well spent in another destination.

This is our route for Ireland – it pinpoints some cities we will tour and explore as well as some specific locations we will visit that were between our “stopping points.” If you have a week in Ireland I think this gives you a pretty great route and view of a lot of major sites and attractions. We will spend 2 days in Dublin, 2 in Cork, 1 in Killarney, and 1 in Galway.

And our route for England. Again, if you have a week in England, I am hoping this route will give us a little bit of everything the UK has to offer. Big city London, history rich York and Bath, the coastline of Canterbury and Dover, and the small hillside towns like Bibury and Windsor. Originally, I tried to squeeze Liverpool in there as well, but it is so far away from everything else, I couldn’t justify adding it into our short week there. So, I went with York over Liverpool – I don’t think I’ll regret that decision. CAN’T. WAIT! We will have 2 days in York, 3 in London (including day trip to Canterbury/Dover), 1 in Oxford, and 1 in Bath.

 

When we first began planning, we weren’t quite sure how much time we would get with Hannah and her family, as we had to work around Kyle’s school schedule as well. Turns out they will be joining us on half of our trip! Which I am just so, SO excited about. Traveling the world with your best friend? What could be better?! As I think about all the things we get to see and do on this trip, I nearly  pin down what I think will be my favorite part, just to think of another item or place on our itinerary and get gitty about that. I guess I’ll have to weigh in after our trip and let you know! Here are some images of the things we will get to see!

I, of course, will have a million and one photos to share once we are back State side (yeah, I can say that because I’m a world traveler and everything.. ;)). I’ll try my best to make them look as glorious as the professionals who took these 😉 #drool

P R E P A R A T I O N

Other than figuring out the itinerary, navigating what to bring on a two-week trip abroad was one of the biggest tasks I had to tackle. I have been abroad by myself for that long, but traveling with a baby? Well, heck I don’t know how to do that! So again, I read. And researched. And asked friends and family. The most concerning part of packing for me, was trying to ensure as best I could that Collins would be entertained during the flight. But you can only carry so much on a plane. Which is okay because you only want to lug around so much!

d i s t r a c t i o n s,  d i s t r a c t i o n s,  d i s t r a c t i o n s

Toys have never been super distracting to Collins – food is way more enticing to her – but I decided to buy a few new, small things that she had never seen before to try and keep her occupied during the flight.

I invested in some kid sized headphones so that she could play games or watch short shows on our iPad/iPhones (thinking more on the subject she is a lot more distracted by the screen and what it displays, over the sounds it makes – I honestly don’t see her using these a ton on this trip, but being a new “thing” it will offer some distraction, and she will use them in the future I’m sure).

We also got window clings (I see this being a favorite), wiki sticks, and several activity books (Crayola Color Wonder Markers so they only draw on the special paper, stickers, and triangular shaped crayons so the don’t constantly roll off of the seat tray – they are not immune to toddlers tossing them on the ground though sadly). And lastly, she has been playing with our Easter egg stash a lot lately so I’ll throw some of those in the bag with little treasures inside for her to play with. All of these items were less than $5 each!

t h e  [p e r f e c t]  d i a p e r  b a g

Other than the everyday essentials (diapers, wipes, cream, binkies, and sippy cup), I’m including some emergency items like a thermometer, Tylenol, ibuprofen, Benadryl, band-aids, and wet wipes. Then the rest of the bag is devoted to snacks. One perk of having a baby on a plane is that you are allowed to bring food! Our flight times on the way there fall in the lunch and dinner zones, so if we don’t eat during our layover I’ll have some sandwiches packed for us to eat on the plane. I tried to think of easy finger foods to pack that would last a couple days (not just during our flight) and that were essentially mess free.

(Not all shown) Cheese sticks, cheese-its, food pouches, animal cookies, raisins, m&m’s, mini oreos, apple slices, and lollipops (good for take off/landing since it gives her something to suck on – not so good for keeping fingers in a non-sticky state).

t h e  s t u f f  t o  g e t  y o u  t h r o u g h

We aren’t bringing a stroller with us as Hannah and I will share the one she has while we are there, but I did invest in a nice baby carrier that would be comfortable for either Codee or I to wear. Collins is literally everywhere, and so fast right now. We will have to keep her strapped to us, held by the hand, or buckled in a stroller the entire time. Sorry baby girl, you have to stay by Mommy and Daddy!

We are however, bringing our own carseat so that we don’t have to rent one with our car rental (plus, the airline carries these for free!), so I bought a caddy that attaches to the carseat so it could act as a stroller while we are in the airport. Having her strapped in, and wheeling her around with our luggage will surely be much easier than carrying her, our bags, and a carseat! Even if we have to carry her through the airport, we can throw one of our suitcases in the carseat and wheel both at the same time.

All in all, no matter how prepared I try to make us, I know unexpected things will happen. Or other items may have ended up being helpful or needed. I think we’ve got a good start though, and hopefully this post will help some of you traveling mama’s! If nothing else, it will give you the travel bug. Which isn’t fun, unless you can actually cure it by traveling. So yeah, sorry about that. 😉

Can’t wait to share our adventures with you when we return! I’m sure I’ll have some stories to share at that point which I’m ready to laugh at, if at the time they were not so funny…live and learn!

Thanks for reading! Until next time!

Lots of Love, Katie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Big Announcement

 

“I wonder…I think…yep…wow…ok, here we go again!”

That was pretty much the thought process that led up to and proceeded the confirmation that, yes, we are having another baby. 😀 !!!! There was a slightly longer pause after the “wow,” but we are completely overjoyed by the news of our second child.

If you see me on a regular basis you’ve probably noticed my belly and thought I looked a little more full around my middle (I look particularly plump in the above photo…I swear Collins cannot yet rest on top of my belly – angles people). As I’ve been keeping this secret for several weeks, I of course was paranoid about people looking at me with questionable expressions. I concluded that if they just thought I was getting fat, then they would feel really bad when they found out I was pregnant ;).  On the other hand if you never see me – you will soon, because I’ll be so huge you can’t miss me.

I keep staring at my very pregnant looking self in that photo. I posted this one as some salvaging proof of my not-as-bulging-belly as the previous shot. See? Normal. Ok I feel better now.

As I found out weeks ago, that’s when I wrote a majority of this post, and it has sat in waiting until our big reveal. I am so glad I wrote down my immediate thoughts and feelings though because as I read through this post, I don’t remember all the specifics. It’s nice to know I preserved the memory of this event almost immediately after we found out. 🙂

THE BACKGROUND STORY

The night before I found out for sure about this little peanut, I had a feeling. I wasn’t quite late, but I just felt like – “nope I don’t think it’s coming this month.” That night I went to bed and had a dream that I was pregnant – and possible spoiler alert – it was a boy (since then I’ve had multiple other dreams where it was a girl, so who knows). The next morning  I told Codee I thought I might be pregnant. He wasn’t too convinced (are men ever convinced until the baby is actually here? ;)), but ironically enough I had my yearly well woman’s exam scheduled for that morning so we just decided I’d take a test at the doctor’s and find out for sure. “Have a good day at work honey, I’ll let you know in a couple hours…eek!” That was a slightly nervous “eek!” by the way 😉

I arrived at the doctor’s office and I was getting more nervous by the minute. They asked if I had any concerns when I went into the exam room and I told them I thought I might be pregnant. Pee in a cup, go change into a gown….3 minutes later a knock on the door…”It’s positive :)” Ok, I couldn’t stop smiling. Just like when I found out about Collins. All of my anxiety went away and I just knew it was all going to be ok and that this was the best thing.

Oh, and on top of all that, the day we found out just happened to be our second anniversary as well! Haha….ok God, that one seemed just a little bit too played out 😉 Anyways, I claimed our second child was Codee’s gift for our second anniversary and that was that. We are having another baby!

Baby #2 was planned, but the estimated arrival was not. Haha…we were always planning on having more children, but we were still undecided on when that was going to happen. God chose for us 🙂 And I think it will be perfect 🙂 He or She is due at the beginning of February – what a dreadful month, lol sorry baby – so He/She will be just shy of two years younger than Collins. Our baby girl who is now a big sister. Yeesh, I can’t believe it!

THE BIG QUESTION

Now the big question is, what’s it gonna be?

I really want to try and wait until the baby is here to reveal the gender. Like I find out when the baby comes out, and you all find out when I post and say “He’s/She’s here!” Codee isn’t keen on that idea though, so we will see how it goes. We have all the essentials (although some may be a little girly), so I think it is a plausible situation, not knowing what we are having. I’ve always said/thought that I would find out the first child (just to ease my excitement and to plan for the showers), and then have the rest be surprises – we will see if I can follow through. If Codee can’t hold off then I fear I will have to know too, I couldn’t stand him knowing (and let’s face it he would spill the beans) and me not knowing. He would be rather annoying about it I’m sure, lol. UPDATE: Codee is very insistent on finding out. I see my failure of having a surprise gender ending quickly.

The idea of having a little boy is exciting because Codee will get his son, whom by the way is the ONLY chance of carrying on the “Widler” name as Codee has no brothers or boy cousins. No pressure little bean! 😉 And they can do all the “boy stuff” they want to. Collins keeps up just fine though 😉 On the flip side I love the idea of Collins having a little sister so close to her. I’m sure she would love that (you know, one day…haha). Not to mention we have a PLETHORA of girl clothing. No new wardrobe needed. Either way they will be great little playmates, and if I am honest I really don’t care what the gender is this go around. No matter what, it will be a very loved little human. 🙂

THE UNCERTAINTIES

At this point I still can’t imagine loving another little person as much as my Collins Lorraine. It’s kind of odd for me to have these feelings because I am from a family with eight children. You would think I would have more of an understanding of how my heart will expand and love both of them equally, but it still really is a foreign idea to me right now. (How is that even possible?!) Also, it’s not like I’m the first person to have a second (third, fourth, fifth, etc.) child – people are growing their families everyday, and I think it is pretty common that they find room in their hearts to love all of their children 😉 So, my “worry” is more of a confused heart/mind at the moment. It’s just a concept I can’t quite grasp yet.

I’m not at all concerned about loving this child (I love him/her right now), but I am worried about the change in relationship Collins and I are about to experience. I am just praying so hard we have a smooth transition and she turns into a proud, amazing big sister.

I mean, look at that mama’s girl. She has my heart that’s for sure.

A lot of other things come to mind with this life change too. Adjusting to life with one child was a huge change, and now we are going to have two? And there will be two of them and two of us and it’s time to learn man-t0-man defense really well. More diapers to change, bottles to make, humans to keep happy, mouths to feed, laundry to do, dishes to clean, colleges to fund, whew. It’s a lot to swallow.

But, even though the reality of having two children is going to be more work and stress on our everyday lives, I am truly not concerned about those day to day issues. As long as my family continues to be happy and our relationships with each other stay close-knit and healthy, I will be fine. Everything else will be fine. Right now I will focus on getting this baby here in a timely manner, in a healthy state, and the rest will work itself out!

Note: Now accepting prayers for a smooth pregnancy (I’m a third of the way there! Woohoo!), a safe delivery, and a quick recovery – much appreciated! 🙂

Well, that is about all I can take for one post! Lots of news, excitement, and changes coming soon!

Caption: “yaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy”

Thanks for reading! Until next time!

Lots of Love, Katie

P.S. HUGE shout out to the once again amazing (and I mean that, Collins was rotten during this session, and you can’t even tell!) Jackie Wild from JWild Photography for going the extra mile to make this session happen for us. She truly is the best around and we are grateful for her kindness, not to mention all the memories she has preserved for us. Check her out for your next session!