A Princess Party for my girl!

 

My sweet Hannah Renee turned TWO earlier this month. Although most of my friends consider me a "girly" person, I don't like glitter and I don't like character-themed parties. I'm a vintage-fabric, handmade party kind of girl. Somewhere along the line, however, I decided that I'm a GIRL Mama. I needed to fully embrace the Princess themed, purple glitter and gemmed tiara kind of party for my super girly girl. You know what? I had a great time and I actually LOVE how it turned out! Not to mention that my sweet Hannah seemed to fully enjoy every minute of her special day!

 

Sofia the First... Bri and I have read this book fifty-bizzilion times. I have to admit, it's pretty cute book and show on Disney Jr. We think Hannah looks just like the little Princess, who is as sweet as can be--just like our girl! I bought the crowns at Target in the party aisle. The book was from Target too. I bought the adorable star wands at Shop Sweet LuLu.

The cupcakes were made by a dear friend from our church. She did a wonderful job! I ordered the custom topper printables HERE. I already had the cake plates and I just used glitter scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby to make them pop!

I punched out lots and lots of circles from scrapbook paper and sewed them together with heavy-duty thread. We love our new Pottery Barn chandielier and I loved that the confetti garland brought attention to it!

The paper medalions weren't as easy as I thought they'd be. Lots of glitter everywhere and we ended up stapling some, while using hot-glue on others. It all came together though... thanks Casey!

 

I'm super excited to show you the Poufs above the drink bar! My friend Monica worked her crafty magic on those and I absolutely LOVE how they turned out! They're just tissue paper and twine and I strung them up with heavy-duty thread, and used a bit more confetti garland too.

 

 

The Mason Jars I always have on hand, and my Mama ripped strips of purple fabric I had laying around. I bought the stripey straws at Shop Sweet Lulu.

 

 

Our little princess! Hannah's big present from her Daddy and I was a customized chair from Pottery Barn Kids. We really wanted her to have a special place to sit to watch her favorite Disney movies... especially since baby sister was getting a whole lot of attention around her Birthday.

 

 

We are so incredibly in LOVE with this child. She brings so much joy into our days. She's sweet and kind, and loves to cuddle and give kisses!

 

She's growing up so fast! She speaks in full sentences and hilariously refers to Mama and Daddy as Brian and Candace sometimes. She spends her days "cooking" and loving on her baby dolls... my little Mama. She's so good to Livi, always kissing her and bringing her a binky. We are SO blessed to be given the gift of raising this precious girl!

Insta-Friday {Night}

Another late Insta-Friday post for this Mama. It has been a rough few weeks y'all. The words "We are drowning" have been uttered. More on that HERE. Through it all though, I've been so comforted to remember that God's mercies are new EVERY morning. We are so incredibly blessed by family and friends who have rallied around us during these hard days. They have listened, encouraged, held a screaming baby, and just showed up to do whatever was needed. I will never forget their kindness. I'm slowly learning that it doesn't mean I'm a failure as a Mama to ask for help. It means I'm human and can only take so much.

Once again, I'm also thankful for IG and the glimpse into the sweet moments and joy that is present in our lives everyday. We are so very blessed... and I love the way I can look back on these moments and see that so clearly.

Family... nothing like it!

 

So proud of my Hubby for leading our congregation in worship!

 

Cuddling her burp cloth after nursing.

 

Mama got her hair done! Liv survived a day at the salon.

 

Hannah's favorite part of everyday. Crazy fruit-lover.

 

My sweet girls... a glimpse into the years of sister-love.

 

A mid week pick-me-up at Chick-fil-A. Ice cream always helps!

 

A happy moment with my girl.

 

Our little chunker finally wore herself out.

 

Happy Friday y'all!

 

A Blog Redesign {and our newest family pictures!}

 

Like the new look? I am so excited to show y'all the new blog design! I've been working with the VERY talented Danielle Burkleo to redesign the blog and I LOVE how it turned out! She was wonderful to work with ... even through this sleep deprived, hormonal Mama's pickiness! Danielle is one of the hosts of Hope Spoken 2013, an amazing women's conference that you should definitely check out.

I also want to thank Freeland Photography for our amazing photo shoot! They did all of Hannah's baby pictures and we were so happy with their work. Tiffany came out to our house to take pictures of us, and was so patient, even though Olivia screamed through most of the session. If you are local, we highly recommend them!

For the Mama who cried...

Sometimes I fear writing all that our daily lives involve here on the blog. I'm not sure if it's fear of judgment, that I would seem like I'm complaining, or whether it's just harder to be real than to share a recent DIY party I threw, or cute pictures of my kids. More importantly, I really want to look back at these posts and see where God has brought me... out of miry pits and into periods of abundant blessing, like He has done so many times before. So I'll try harder, even when it hurts to admit how hard things really are at the moment.

Our sweet Livi... Her round little face and milky breath, as precious and squishy as she is, is VERY fussy. Some might use the word colicky. If she isn't nursing or sleeping, she's crying...often screaming... for hours. 

We believe that a lot of it has to do with a  lip-tie that we recently discovered. It's tissue that connects her upper lip to her gum, between where her first two teeth will be. She can't flair her top lip out properly and takes in a lot of air when she nurses. The poor thing then cries and cries until she can work out the air, one way or another. 

So now, this Mama is not only sleep deprived, and dealing with the pain that her poor latch leaves me with (as well as the Mastitis I battled 2 weeks ago), but I'm anxious, and my nerves are shot. Now we're faced with surgery to get her lip fixed, possibly a four hour drive away. 

I went to the Breastfeeding support group I attend yesterday morning, with Livi already upset. She'd gained another 9oz in 7days... Our little chunker. I watched as all the mamas easily calmed their babies by nursing them, all while my baby fussed and then screamed when I tried to feed her. SO VERY FRUSTRATING. The tears started welling up then. I looked over to see another Mama, who had burst into tears. Her baby was so tiny, and she was obviously having a rough time. I watched as other ladies close to her rallied around, giving words of encouragement. That's what I want this space to be... Real and honest and reassuring to Mamas who don't have it all figured out yet, and maybe never will. 

So if you think about it, please pray for this Mama. For daily strength through the hours of a crying baby, and for balancing life with two littles. There is so much joy in my life right now and such sweet moments, but there is also hard stuff, and I can't pretend that part doesn't exist. 

The first four weeks {Photo Project}

Our sweet Livi. Her first four weeks...

She's only happy when Mama's nursing her or she's curled up asleep on Daddy's chest. She's our good little eater, and gaining squishy rolls by the day.

I could just eat her up when she's snoring quietly while Bri and I watch TV at night. Her soft pixie hair smells like lavender from her bath and Hannah kisses it often.

She holds her own binky in, quite furiously when she wants it! I just want to soak in these sweet newborn moments... The late night cuddles and sleepy sighs. Hannah asking to "Holdie" her and Livi curling up to her big sister.

We are so blessed by her addition, and can't wait to see more of her personality and watch her grow! 

See Hannah's photo project HERE. 

Insta-Friday {Night}

So it turns out that having a 4 week old and a 2 year old makes posting my weekly recaps a little later than usual. I'm just glad that it's Friday night and I'm sitting on my deck watching Hannah play with her Papa in the water. Livi is curled up with Gramma inside and Bri's watching the Royals play baseball. Life is slow at this moment and I'm breathing it all in.

Here's a peek into our lives, via Instagram...

Taking the girls for a walk in their new stroller.

My girls.

 

A trip to the ER due to a lovely case of Mastitis. Boo.

 

This girl LOVES Monsters Inc. Auntie Naenae took her on a

special birthday date to Build-a-bear and she got some new friends!

 

Decorations all ready for our girl's 2nd Birthday!

 

The party was wonderful!

Such a sweet day with our little princess!

 

Cheesin' it up at her favorite place on her Birthday...

Chick-fil-A, of course!

 

Sweet Livi. 

 

4th of July... family and ice cream and crashing early.

 

 

Have a wonderful weekend y'all!