A Beautiful Birth

Originally this post was published in April 2015.

It is so crazy to me that we now have two children (and under TWO!). Labor and delivery is such a beautiful process to me and its a process I spend my entire pregnancy picturing and thinking about and preparing for. So here is our second baby's birth story!

The evening of February 7, 2015.

The morning of February 8, 2015 (her due date), I woke up at 5:30 a.m. with some cramping. The cramping started to get pretty intense and timeable, so I decided I should get out of bed. For the previous two weeks we had be staying with my parents in Topeka to be closer to my hospital and Kinnley would already be with my mom, so we were downstairs in my sister's room. I went to the bathroom and had a bowel movement and the cramping was continuing at 6 minutes apart. Around 6:00 a.m. I woke Zach up and told him we should head to the hospital. My contractions were getting more and more intense and closer together. I went upstairs and got my mom, so she could come downstairs with Kinnley. Zach decided that while my contractions were about 5 and half minutes apart that he should install the baby's car seat, ha! We finally headed toward the hospital, about 20 minutes away. My contractions were still very manageable and I was able to breath through them. When we went to get off the turnpike, the attendant was across the lane talking to another turnpike attendant. They were laughing and finished their conversation before she came over to take our ticket and money! It was very frustrating to Zach, but all I could do was laugh. It's all part of our special girl's birth story.

We got parked and in to the hospital and when I got checked in they decided to admit me (obviously). I had to sign some paper and I ended up putting the date on the signature line and signing on the date line, all while I was swaying back and forth through a contraction. We met our first nurse who was the absolute sweetest. I got changed and laid down in the bed. When they checked my dilation I was at 7 cm, my water had yet to break. My doctor arrived very shortly after I did. He came in and sat and talked with us while I was still breathing through contractions. I would just close my eyes and breath through them and then go back to talking with Zach and my doctor. They were both very impressed that I was still joking between contractions. Dr. Johanning informed me that another doctor would be in to observe the birth since he was still new at this hospital. He joked that he had actually attended more births than the doctor who would be in to observe him. My water still hadn't broken and I was about to 8 cm dilated. We talked about waiting for it to break or letting my doctor break it. While we were talking I said "I don't think we have to break it." Dr. Johanning replied, "That's fine, its your call." and I said, "No, I mean it just broke!" HA! So that started to speed things up. I had to turn over on to my side for about 15 minutes to get the baby to turn. I had to do the same thing during Kinnley's birth and that is when my contractions started to get really painful. The same was true for this birth. It worked very quickly to help my labor along. I started to feel like I needed to push so I informed my doctor and the nurse. He asked me to try to breath through those contractions and not push while he gowned up. I was able to breath through the first one but by the second one I was pushing. There is something about those contractions that just take over your body and you can't control the pushing. Ten minutes of pushing and our baby girl arrived. Anniston Mae was born February 8, 2015 at 9:48 a.m. weighing 8 lbs and 11 oz and 20 inches long. My mom was able to run up to the room and make it in right before Anniston was born, so she was able to attend both births! Kinnley and my step dad and my sister were waiting down stairs and came up not long after she was born. While my doctor was cleaning me up and I was enjoying some skin to skin with Anniston, I told the attending doctor about how he was saying he was more experienced than she was. The whole room burst out laughing. It was really the atmosphere of the whole birth experience, light and fun and laughing and calm and I couldn't have imagined it more perfectly. When Anniston came out, the first thing every one said was "WOW! She's big!" and we expected her to be since Kinnley weighed 9 lbs 11 oz. Needless to say, we were surprised when she weighed in a whole pound less! One of my favorite parts of the day was Zach coming over to me while the nurses had her on the warming bed and telling me that Anniston has the cutest dimples!

We are still so in love with her and her dimples and big sister couldn't be more thrilled. We knew it would be one of two ways, that she would either have nothing to do with her or she would be in her face and over-loving. Kinnley is definitely a lover, she is always giving hugs and kisses and loving on her little sister. I cannot wait to watch their relationship grow!

Easter

June 1st and getting the Easter post up. Finally.

Here it goes ladies and gents. I spent from right after Christmas until the weekend before Easter thinking up grand ideas of what we should put in our children's Easter baskets. I ordered swim suits on sale from Carter's right before Christmas and got candy the weekend before, everything else in between. Looking back, I obviously wouldn't suggest ordering clothes that far in advance. Last weekend we took our toddler's swimsuit back to Carter's and order a size bigger that should be here in a couple days. The baby's suit should fit just fine though!

Kinnley's Easter Basket (Age: 20 months)

So above is Kinnley's basket, or more appropriately bag. Kinnley's Mimi (my mom) hand painted bags for each of the girls (they also have hand painted trick-or-treat bags!). In the bag we put her swim suit from Carter's, sunglasses, color bath drops, a large set of crayons, a Frozen themed set with small markers and coloring pages, the I Wish You More book, and a dry erase marker board with markers. I got some things keeping in mind that we would be going on a road trip in early June and thought they would be great car activities. We tried to stay away from candy since we knew she would be receiving some from grandparents and inside eggs. 

Anniston's Easter Basket (Age: 2 months)

Above is Anniston's Easter bag! She also got a swim suit and sunglasses, along with a wubbabub, a Baltic amber necklace and two books, Duck & Goose Colors! and The Little Bunny in Kansas. Hers was obviously a little more difficult because of her age but great Easter ideas!

We had so much fun letting Kinnley participate in egg hunts this year! We took her to one in a neighboring community and also put one on for just her at our house!

Whenever I give books that have a theme related to when they were given, I liked to write a little note with a date inside. My mom did this when I was little and I enjoy reading the inscriptions. I don't usually write in board books, just the books with actual paper pages. Some books will have one inscription written to both girls, so they will have to fight over them when they want to have them for their own children :) 

Christmas 2014

Almost there folks. Over the next few days I am going to finish up the "Catch Up" series so that we can move on to the up to date stuff! Plus, the longer it takes me to finish catching up, the more behind I get! So let's dig in, Christmas 2014.

At Christmas time, Kinnley was 16 months old! It's hard to look over to my right and see my 20 month old little lady. She has grown so much in these short four months. ANYWAY.

Christmas time with a toddler is so much fun. So here are some ideas of what we gave our 16 month old for Christmas this year!

Stocking stuffers:

• Musical instruments, we gave Kinnley a harmonica. We have a bin that we keep various musical instruments in to explore with. So far she has a tamborine, maracas, a harmonica, and a little piano. 
• Anything artsy, we gave Color Wonder markers and washable Crayola crayons. Another thing we planned for was organization. I've found little containers at the Dollar Store and in the Dollar Spot at Target. We use them to keep all of our markers, Color Wonder Markers, crayons, and chalk separate. 
• Tooth brush and tooth paste. Even as adults, my parents still put these in my stocking :) 
• Christmas themed socks. These were another Target Dollar Spot find. 
• Toddler forks. I love gifts that are actually super useful in every day life. She has had toddler forks and spoons before Christmas, but we had been meaning to buy more forks. Instant, fabulous stocking stuffer. We love the Gerber brand forks and spoons.
• Sven plush animal. I actually found this little guy at Hobby Lobby, plus I was able to use a 40% off coupon for him. My little Frozen lover still carries him around.

Christmas gifts:

• Octolight Night Light. We are obsessed with subscription boxes and I religiously follow mom groups on Facebook. I am part of a Citrus Lane Mommies group and when Citrus Lane started to put Octolights in boxes, people were going NUTS. Anyhow, in November, Barnes and Noble put a bunch of their Octolights in the bargain bins at their stores (another tip I got from other moms on the group). We grabbed ours for over 50% off. I think Barnes and Noble is seriously overlooked when it comes to their children's toys sections. They have great brands like Melissa and Doug and Green Toys and Habe to name a few!
• Boon Bath Toys. We gave the stacking boats, but Boon is another great brand to check out! (We also found them through Citrus Lane!)
• Clothes. This is another one of those that is a DUH! thing. Children grow at light speed, therefore they are forever needing clothes. We checked out Old Navy a few weeks before Christmas. We ended up getting Kinnley 4 shirts, 2 pajama sets, a full outfit for Christmas day, and some odds and ends for baby sister for about $70!
• Disney Books. I love gifting books, even if they are a little advanced for my kiddo. They can sit on the shelf until she is ready but its another gift she can open Christmas morning! We found these huge Disney books that have multiple different stories in each book at Walmart after Black Friday. They were about $10 a piece. Walmart is a great place to check out the day or so after Black Friday!
• Finger Paint and Paint Paper. We love the Melissa and Doug Finger Paint Paper and Crayola's finger paint set. We bought both off of Amazon. 
• Play Doh and accessories. We bought a 24 pack of Play Doh off of Amazon along with the Melissa and Doug Model and Mould set. My little lady will go on periods of time when she is obsessed with Play Doh and will sit in her high chair for a couple hours playing with it! She asks me to help her mold things like hearts and spheres. Its such a great learning tool! Plus, if you follow me on Pinterest, you probably saw that awhile back I pinned a blog post for printable Play Doh mats! They are the cutest! I printed ours off a couple weeks ago and laminated them! 
• Bristle Blocks. I read on a blog post about Bristle Blocks being a great "frustration free" block for toddlers. They fit together basically any which way! While I was looking at gift ideas for Kinnley this year, I was looking for items that would be fun for her to play with and would keep her busy while I would be busy with little sister a few months after. So far these blocks have been a hit! 
• Olivia Helps with Christmas board book. This is another self explanatory gift. 
• Trampoline. This was her BIG gift :) She really enjoys it! We ordered it off of Amazon for about $80 if I remember right! I don't have a picture of her on it unfortunately, but its for indoor use only and has a net and handle bar all the way around it for protection.

Me, my sister Taylor, and my sister Jordan in our Christmas Eve Pajamas.

Another thing I wanted to plan for was the fact that kids always want to open gifts before Christmas. Kinnley isn't quite there yet, but even I get a little anxious for gift giving! So a couple weeks before Christmas we gave her the Little People Nativity Set. She loved playing with all the little animals and setting up the scene and it was a great way for us to talk to her about the birth of baby Jesus and the meaning of Christmas. She also got to unwrap a book on Christmas Eve, we found The Night Before Christmas in a board book version. 

So, its a month (ish) before Christmas and EVERYONE is asking you what they should get your little one for Christmas. You are looking around your house and you are thinking "I've got a stash of presents for my kid in the closet and she already has WAY TOO MANY toys and now all of her grandparents are calling asking what THEY should get her?!" Solution? Experience gifts. We gave my parents the idea of getting Kinnley a Discovery Center annual pass. Its a great little place for kids of all ages and if you are a pass holder you get to be part of special events! Most larger cities have places like it. Zoo passes are another great idea. We gave my grandparents the idea of getting her a Bluum box subscription, its still material items, but they show up in a box at a later date and there are usually other things besides toys in them. Even if you don't have places for experiences near you or close enough to have an annual pass, you can still do one time experiences. 

There you have it! Now looking back at Christmas my little lady was very blessed and we were MORE blessed to be able to spend it with our entire family!

Our last Christmas as a family of three!

Gender Reveal with Paint!

Another post in our series about getting back on track! 

When I got pregnant, I immediately started to think about revealing the gender in a fun way. I wish I was the type to not know the gender until their birth day, but I am just not that patient. I do, however, find great pleasure in finding out the gender and making others wait to find out ;). Obviously, I got my inspiration from Pinterest. I saw a picture where they included their first born and the mom painted the child's hand and the child pressed their hand against her white shirt and left the appropriate colored hand print. I loved how it was a series of photos and the first few were black and white, and the very last was in color, at last revealing the gender to others. 

I immediately started to be concerned, after I had already booked the photo session and bought the appropriate materials and purchased 4 three picture photo frames, that maybe Kinnley was too young (13 months) to be able to put a hand print on my shirt. I told my weary mind that it would all work out, stop worrying, and just let things be. And they did! I was right about her not wanting to flatten her hand out for a hand print. BUT, we handed her the paint brush loaded with the appropriate colored paint and let her paint the color onto my shirt. The photos turned out great, Kinnley did an awesome job (and looked cute while doing it :) ), and we got our reveal photos!

After we got them printed we decided on three of the shots, two black and white and one color, to use in the frames to give to family members. When we presented them, we had the last photo covered. Every one loved them :) 

Please check out Andee Rettele Photography! She is great!

So now that its official on my blog, I can start using SHE instead of "Baby #2" :) !!!

The other big secret we choose to keep is the name! We did the same with Kinnley. Friends and family learn the name on the big day :) just another fun thing we like to do!

This little lady was due on February 8, 2015 and arrived on February 8, 2015 at 9:48 a.m.! My girls like to be on time, both were born on their due dates!

Her birth story is only a few more "catch up" posts away! But next up will be our Christmas post with what we got Kinnley and a few traditions and of course pictures!

Kinnley's Lady Bug First Birthday!

Alright, so let's just go back in time and reminisce!

I had so much fun planning Kinnley's first birthday party! I actually started buying and prepping in February 2014 for her party in August! When you settle on a theme that early it makes planning fairly easy and laid back. Since I had settled on a theme, I started with (of course) Pinterest. Secret boards are my friends.

With my pregnancy in full swing and not feeling my best, I was so thankful to have some great help from my mom (and my sisters!).

"Oh Happy Day" banner and mantle decor.

We hosted the party out at my parents' house. We just don't have the room currently to throw parties. Both the K and the 1 are from Hobby Lobby that I painted black. I sent Zach out for the flowers the morning of the party (thanks babe :) ). I got the cutest little bedazzled red clothes pins on sale at Hobby Lobby after Valentine's Day for 70% off (see what I mean about settling on a theme early?). We used the clothes pins to hang photos of Kinnley from her first year!

Kinnley with her smash cake!

Kinnley's smash cake was just a simple box cake with white buttercream frosting, courtesy of her Mimi. Plus the cutest little lady bug sugar cookie for decoration! My mom, Kinnley's Mimi, also made the paper decor toppers that say 'Kinnley' and '1'. It was decided that we should do the smash cake outside. Best. Decision, Ever. Her cake was served on the famous "It's your special day" plate. As kids, we were always served special meals on this plate. Like first days of school, birthdays, so on and so forth :) .

Birthday cupcakes with decorative toppers.

Once again a big thanks to Kinnley's Mimi! She made the cupcake toppers with her Cricut. I actually did contribute a little, by making these from-scratch red velvet cupcakes! Everything else served at the party was fairly simple. A simple red punch, a veggie tray, a meat and cheese tray, and of course the sugar cookies!

Here you can see that the cookies were packaged to go! Also, the cupcake stands from Pick Your Plum.

Another purchase I made way before the party was these cute little cupcake stands from Pick Your Plum! They always have the cutest things and for super cheap! The side that is showing is just plain gray, but if they are flipped it's chevron! (I'm thinking I'll be able to use them again for Baby #2's First Birthday!) You can also kind of see the lady bug cookies in this photo! My mom made them and then packaged them all separately so they would be easy to take to go! Perfect for keeping fresh and also sending multiples home with party go-ers so you aren't stuck with 37 sugar cookies :)

The party was a huge success and I cannot wait for her next party. For those of you wondering, YES I have already chosen a theme and created a secret Pinterest board...duh!

Missing In Action

Ah. So here I am.
My last post was the end of July!?! I'm awful.

This is just an "I'm back" post. Hopefully now we can get back to business. At the end of July I was planning a first birthday party and not feeling my best with pregnancy #2. Thankfully, I was able to share our big beach reveal before I took my hiatus from the interwebs.

I'll work my way in chronological order, catching you up in my life. I'll start with Kinnley's birthday party, show you pictures from our gender reveal, throw in some random posts, share the birth story of baby #2(and include some never before seen birth photos!)  and catch up to Easter and show you what the Easter Bunny put in our Easter Baskets!! Not to mention the obvious cloth diaper and breast feeding and co sleeping and baby wearing posts 😉

Then! Once we are all caught up, I'll start sharing our next big adventure! Disney vacation planning! Plus, Kinnley's second birthday is coming up before we know it and then it will be time to start planning another first birthday party!

Can't wait to share it all!