Moments That Matter

The other night I was referring back to old blog posts and remembered why I started a blog in the first place.  Blogging is the perfect way to record moments that you want to keep close, especially for someone like myself who is not a journal writer and has a ridiculously bad memory. I can access memories and relive the moment with the simple touch of a button.  So why haven't I written an entry in nearly 6 months you ask?  Good question.  I ask myself the same.  In fact, I have a terrible amount of guilt about it all.  I was partially committed to blogging after I had Rylan and am so glad that I was.  Since Colby's birth I've only posted a measly 1 time.  Pretty lousy.  So here I am, recommitting myself to blogging.  Here's to remembering the moments that matter.

Our Newest Addition

We have been pretty busy to say the least, hence no journal entries for the past 4+ months. Allow me to turn back the clock to December 22nd, 2011. This was the day that our second son was scheduled to enter into the world. My original due date was December 24, so we induced just to ensure that our son did not have to share his birthday with the most famous person known to mankind, Jesus:) Matt and I arrived at North Central Baptist for the hospital's first induction of the day. I've never felt so much anticipation and excitement at 5am before. The nurses tended to me quickly. Within 30 minutes the induction process had started, at 8am my OB broke my water, and at 12:29 pm Colby Ray was here! I couldn't believe how fast and smooth the entire process went. I think inducing might be the way to go from now on! It could not have been a better experience. Our baby boy weighed 8 lbs and 21 inches (the exact same birth measurements as his mama). Colby looks a lot like his older brother but has some more of dad's features, including his hands, feet, and nose. Below is a picture of Rylan at 2 days old and Colby at 7 days old. What do you think? Look like brothers? I didn't realize how similar they looked until I saw these two side by side.

So far Colby has been a pretty easy, mellow baby. He really only fusses when he is gassy, but feedings, diaper changes, bath time, and awake time are a breeze. Colby has also been a really good night sleeper so far, which makes for a VERY happy mom! Rylan had his days and nights so flipped that it made me crazy, frustrated, and sleep deprived. So I'm crossing my fingers that Colby continues to keep his days and nights straight and let me have my precious sleep. I am so blessed to have two healthy, beautiful sons. Matt and I still can't believe that we are a family of four now. We have many fun adventures in store for us!

The weigh in

Our first family photo

Rylan checking out his new baby brother

Colby at just a few days old

Rylan's ride home from the hospital

Little Man Party

Today my very sweet girlfriends threw me an amazing shower. The theme was "Little Man" with bowties, mustaches, "cigars", and blue, white, and red lanterns dangling from ceilings and windows. My friend Molly is freakishly talented at party throwing. Not a single detail goes unnoticed. My words can't do her justice. Let the pics do the talking:

Carrot cupcakes adorned with felt bow ties

The popcorn bags are stamped "Ready to Pop"

Amy's melt in your mouth bow tie rolls. Yummy!

Mason jars painted blue and drilled for striped carnival straws. Such a fun way to enjoy your beverage.

36 weeks and 5 days Prego

My fabulous friends. Molly (just to my left) is the host and creative genius behind most of the decor. Should I mention that she just had a baby 4 weeks ago and still insisted on doing a shower for me! Ah-mazing!

Even Rylan had fun posing with his manly mustache

Catching Up

I have some major catching up to do on my posts, so here it goes. Let me start with Halloween. I went through a phase where I thought Halloween was a totally lame excuse for adults to dress up in inappropriate, scantily clad clothing that would be considered completely unacceptable on any other of the 364 days out of the year, act like fools, and become gluttonous candy eaters. But now that I have a child I have fallen in love with Halloween all over again. This year we celebrated three different times with a preschool Halloween party, Ward Trunk or Treat, and a party on Halloween night. On Halloween we invited a few families over for pizza and salad and then we all headed out into the neighborhood for trick or treating. This was my first time going around in our neighborhood and I was pleasantly surprised at the crowds that walked our streets. It was like straight out of a movie, perfect weather and tons of kids of all ages. This was by far the best Halloween ever. The entire month of October Rylan would talk about the "scaries" (ghosts, skeletons, goblins, etc.) in stores and sprawled across people's lawns. His favorite was turning off the lights, closing the doors with you inside the room with him, and saying "HooHaaHaa" in a deep scary voice. Rylan was secretly terrified but loved playing the part of a scary monster whenever he had the chance. Of course he loved all the candy too. I just love how excited Rylan gets at this age.

November brought some fun and exciting events also, including my birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas shopping. I somehow managed to lengthen my birthday over the course of several days by going out to yummy brunch, lunch, and dinner with family and friends. Seriously I ate 4 different birthday meals at my favorite places around town (Adalante, Magnolia Pancake Haus, Pacific Moon, and Salt Grass). I felt totally spoiled and loved! All I want is to be surrounded by family and friends on my birthday and I got exactly that. A little bit of anthropologie money, spin shoes, and a fossil watch helped too:)! Thanks everyone!

For Thanksgiving Ty and Michelle came into town for a week. It was really nice to have them stay with us again and watch Taylor and Rylan interact together. They are at such fun ages and they play so nicely. I think the age gap helps because Taylor could care less if Rylan doesn't feel like sharing his toys. Thanksgiving dinner was the usual Sunday dinner crowd plus Ty and Michelle. All the food was so yummy! We followed up the night with some Black Friday shopping. I hit up Home Depot for my annual $.99 poinsettas (they make great gifts) and then headed out to Anthropologie for their first ever Black Friday sale. All sale items were an additional 50% off. And even though my current figure doesn't make me want to shop for normal clothes, I could not pass up such great deals. I came back with 4 skirts, a sweater, and a shirt and am hopeful that these purchases will fit post baby because I really want to wear them.

Matt and I have also been juggling a series of house projects, a syndrome known as "nesting" that apparently both wife and husband can go through together:) The projects are definitely worthy of their own post so that is yet to come. We're just hoping we can finish it all up before the baby arrives.

Hot Pink Smoothie!

Six years ago my mom faced some health challenges that initiated her interest and later newly found passion for health and nutrition. Through her I've learned a lot and I'm grateful that she has educated me with the knowledge she has gained. This past weekend I had the chance to attend a free seminar given by Green Smoothie Girl with a few of my close girlfriends. She, like my mom, made lifestyle changes after experiencing health issues firsthand. Green Smoothie Girl shared some really interesting stories and studies that prove the importance of incorporating whole/raw foods into your everyday diet. Let me tell you that I have been converted! I am a believer! Maybe I'm just gullible, but it just makes sense. Of course raw, natural foods that come from the earth are going to be healthier than processed, cooked foods. Live enzymes are proven to help the body prevent/fight diseases and maintain the perfect balance that the body needs to live a long, healthy, and disease free life! Total epiphany! PS- did you know that raw kale removes 7 times its weight in toxins from the body??? Way cool! So I came home and unloaded everything that I learned at this seminar onto my husband. He rolled his eyes and had fun playing devil's advocate for a bit, but generally agreed that it makes sense. With a husband who's slightly on board, or at least supportive of me doing it, I have decided to feed my family at least 1 whole/raw food meal per day. The great thing about this is that 1) they are easiest and tastiest in the form of a smoothie. Perfect for a toddler to eat too! and 2) I already have an amazing Vitamix blender (thanks to my mom) that can blend just about anything and 3) I have some friends who are just as excited as I am about this. So let the fun begin! Here is Green Smoothie Girl's Hot Pink Smoothie that's entirely raw and absolutely delicious that I'd like to share:

1 cup 100% coconut water

1/2 cup ice

1 carrot

1/2 beet

1/4 cup chopped dates

1/4 cup raw cashews

1 cup of frozen strawberries

1/2 tsp vanilla

Welcome Fall

Fall is finally here! We started off the season with a little vacation to the East Coast to visit Matt's brother's family in Maryland, and the Spicers and my best friend Jill in Philadelphia. Matt has been extremely busy with work lately (which I am indeed grateful for) so some family time was much needed. It was great to see Rylan explore new things and places with friends and cousins. Matt and I realized that for the next several years vacations will be geared towards the kiddos entertainment more than our own, but that's okay. I love seeing Rylan have fun. We did have an adult night out at the comedy club. Overall it was a fun trip and a great way to introduce the Fall season.

Rylan and Ava at the Boston Aquarium

The kids loved this cool hardwood slide. They ride down on a potato sack. How fun is that!

Hay ride, apple picking, and eating amazing apple cider doughnuts! Now it feels like Fall.

This was by far the best and biggest kids museum I've ever been too. We could have been there all day.

Jill lives in this really cute town just 20 minutes outside Philadelphia called Conchohocken. They had their fall festival when we were there. Rylan loved the bouncy house and the fire trucks.

Valley Forge. Jill was a little more excited about this one then the rest of us, but I will admit that it was beautiful.

Rylan's birthday was the day after we got back. We didn't do much this year since we just had returned from a kid-filled vacation. He did indulge in a cupcake for breakfast (which he would have every morning if it were up to him) and Grandma Jorgensen and Uncle Austin took him to Chuck E Cheese for a few hours. Happy Birthday to my big two year old!

Bump Watch

I love being pregnant. With that said, round two has been quite a different experience than the first. As you can see by the belly picts below I'm tracking about two weeks larger with baby #2. I've come to the conclusion that my age is to blame. If two years since my last pregnancy can make me feel this much more tired, sick, and big/heavy then I can't imagine how I'm going to fare when I'm on baby #3 (or if I'm still sane and willing #4). Believe me when I say that my pregnancies are still easy in comparison to what they could be. I have no reason to complain. And my intention really isn't to complain but to rather point out the mere fact that pregnancy is proving to get harder, or shall I just say more cumbersome, the older I get. So I'm thinking that the best strategy is to: 1) pop out these babies as quickly as I can and 2) embrace and love pregnancy as much as I did the first time around. Because let's face it. Pregnancy is a miracle and all I can really ask for is a healthy baby in the end. So here's to loving pregnancy, the good, the bad, and the fat!

26 years old and 26 weeks pregnant with baby #1

28 years old and 24 weeks pregnant with baby #2