Our Family at TWO

This fall my little family met up with our good friend Sara {of Sara Jayne Photography} to take some photos to document our life with a two-year-old. Let's just say the shoot was less than ideal thanks to a certain toddler who was just.not.having.it. Despite the lack of cooperation from Kenley, Sara was able to capture some amazing photos of our family that I will cherish always. This is such a fun and special age and I am so happy we have these pictures to remember this time.  

Kenley's 2nd Birthday!

On November 15th my Kenley turned TWO! She had the honor of being a flower girl in my girlfriend's wedding ON her birthday, so we celebrated with a party the weekend before. BUT, we also had a wedding that weekend. I wanted to be sure to do something special for my little two-year-old despite our super busy fall but knew I would not have the time to put together something for her on my own. And so, I enlisted the help of The Little Gym and omigosh I am so happy I did. 

The Little Gym has a wonderful party package that includes EVERYTHING from invites to decor, but you guys know me well enough to know that I couldn't possibly hand over ALL the details of my baby's party to someone else. I found this ADORABLE panda themed party decor on Party Pail and knew I just HAD to have it for Kenley's party. Party Pail has a TON of super adorable party supplies for an incredible price and they make it super easy to coordinate your party decor by theme or color. I ordered cups, dessert plates, napkins, silverware, a table cover, goodie bags, bubbles & little panda blowers from Party Pail and was so happy with all of it! 

I was so in love with the panda decor, I just had to have matching invites...which is where my buddy Erin comes in. This girl is so amazing. I literally just sent her the wording I wanted and a link to the decor on Party Pail and she put together the most perfect invitation for Kenley.

I did, also, end up bringing some snacks and a special cake but other than that....The Little Gym did it all. We invited Kenley's 12 best friends and the super sweet and patient teachers we had did a great job of leading the kiddos in some fun! I told them I had pretty low expectations since our guest list's ages ranged from 2 months to 7 years, but that didn't slow them down a bit. The kids sang songs, had fun with a parachute, played basketball and {the highlight for Kenley} popped bubbles! It was the perfect mix of fun and chaos and I could have watched my baby and her friends play all day long.

Our cute little teachers tried their hardest to orchestrate a "team picture", bless their hearts, and this is the best we could do....

While it's far from perfect, we were almost able to get all 13 kids in attendance in this photo {baby Aleah is covered up by Big Sister Josie}...yes it's total chaos, but I love it so much!

After and hour of fun in the gym it was time for snacks & cake! I kept it simple with some healthy post-play snacks for the kiddos along with a delicious red velvet cake compliments of Target.

This party was so much fun and the most perfect way to celebrate our little girl. She is so lucky to have such awesome friends at such a young age and I am so excited to watch all these sweet kiddos grow over the years. And, a major thank you to Erin, Party Pail and The Little Gym for allowing me throw a party Kenley deserves without driving myself completely crazy over all the details {we'll save that for the 3rd b-day}.

'Twas two years ago...

...that I woke up from a crappy night's sleep with contractions that I was in denial about being actual contractions because at 40 weeks + 6 days I didn't believe the baby would ever come out.

...that I watched Mean Girls, Clueless and Sleepless in Seattle to distract myself from the fact that the contractions were in fact real and were coming faster and stronger all day long.

...that I ate a Spinach Omelet Jalapeno Cheddar Bagel with Bacon, because that's what you eat when you're in labor.

...that contractions actually got to 1 minute long, every 5 minutes for and hour and therefore Jason called the doctor's office and I heard him saying "Whose birthday? My birthday?"....still cracks me up.

...that I put on mascara before leaving for the hospital which is hilarious to me now because every fiber of mascara was cried or sweated off over the course of the following 9 hours.

...that I was on my hands and knees in the back seat of my car while stuck in rush hour traffic on the way to the hospital but still managed to take a selfie {I really did put on mascara, I swear}.

...that Jason and I somehow managed to go in the wrong door and ended up in some back hallway of the hospital that was nowhere near where we needed to be and therefore took like 6 contractions {one of which was in an elevator with a cop} to make it to labor & delivery.

...that I asked the nurse to "check me like a cow" because the thought of being on my back for even two seconds was more than I could bear.

...that I realized and accepted that my plans for a natural childbirth was just more than I could handle and asked pleaded for an epidural.

...that our nurse accidentally, by a combination of words that Jason and I can't for the life of us remember, called our unborn baby a bitch. She was mortified, apologized at least 100 times and we could not stop laughing. 

...that I hung out with my mom and husband in a hospital room watching season 8 of Friends covered in warm blankets until it was time to, ya know, push out a kid. 

...that our nurse said "OK, you're ready to go", we responded with "OK, so like how much longer? An hour?" and she answered with "No. Right now. It's time to have your baby."

and tomorrow morning at 1:07am my Kenley will be two years old. TWO. 

Hold me.

Our Little Family

Each year, when the calendar flips to November, I get a bit nostalgic. Jason and I have unintentionally reached each milestone in our relationship {except for getting engaged} in November.... 

first date Nov. 10th {7 years ago}

picked out Bailey Nov. 11 {6 years ago}

moved in together Nov. 29 {6 years ago}

got married Nov. 5 {3 years ago}

had our first baby Nov. 15 {2 years ago}

With all of these anniversaries on the horizon, I can't help but think of our relationship and how proud I am of the little family that we have built. I have known Jason my entire life {our dads have been best friends since 8th grade} and though I dreamed of being his wife when I was little, I never could have imagined or dreamed up that we would have the life that we now have. 

Kenley is our pride and joy, the apple of our eyes and our entire world. I am so proud of the parents we have become, am so excited to watch her grow and am very much looking forward to the time when we add another babe to the mix. Our relationship has definitely changed and grown over the past 7 years and while our responsibilities and priorities continue to shift, one thing absolutely stays the same - we have so much stinkin' fun together. 

To my JJ, happy November my love. Let's celebrate our awesome life all month long!