Rowan: 13 months

Wow, how is this girl already 13 months?!?!? I have been a little bit of a hot mess since she turned one. I loved the baby stage and I must admit, I am nervous for the toddler stage! I hear its so not easy! I kinda went back and forth about posting these monthly updates. However, I am going ahead with it! I know I will love loook backing on these posts. I have done it with her baby ones and it's so neat! I am doing the format just a little different though...



Age:13 months, 11.5 months adjusted

Weight and clothing size: 
Rowan still weighs about 24 pounds. She still has her delicious rolls Pretty much ONLY wears 2t, and size 4 diapers! Still tiniest feet in the land! She is also SO short! It cracks me up! She is a chubby short person!!

Eating:
Rowan is a great eater! She eats mostly everything but doesn't like when her food is too dry. Her favorites are eggs, waffles, all fruits, veggies and cheese. She is drinking milk and water regularly out of cups. She also has gotten the hang of drinking out of a straw!

Rowan can:
-Crawl much quicker and is more confident in pulling herself up. No signs of walking yet. However, I have a peace about it and still learning NOT TO COMPARE. She is also still within the realm of normal, though some people still think its crazy she isn't running ,LOL. I don't think people realize but the norm for walking can range from 9 months up to 18 months! Every baby is different and God has made her uniquely her!

-Her fine motor skills are quite impressive and she's a great problem solver. For example, she had 2 toys in her hand, but wanted another toy. She bent forward and picked it up with her mouth, LOL! She's crazy!
  I know I am her mom, but I had to take an early intervention quiz about her progress. I obviously answered honestly and she still scored off the charts for fine motor! So proud of my little!

-She points to EVERYTHING and always says "dis?" or "Dat" while pointing. 

-She is getting good at recognizing objects and can tell you "where the cow is" and other objects. It a little bit blows my mind. 

-Rowan has always been saying mama, dada, dis, dat and der. She's still continuing to make long blends and sounds, and has full blown gibberish conversations with us and herself (LOL). I think we are going to have a chatty cathy on our hands! 

-learning more Spanish and seeming to respond!

Rowan loves:
- BOOKS. This makes my heart soar! She will pull out her books, and start "reading" them. What's crazy though is she will gibber jabber her way through each page and point. It is the darn cutest thing! She will also joyfully scream if she gets to a page she likes!

-dogs. She has been noticing more than usual and gets so excited. I wonder if we should get a dog, lol.

-Metal. I know that's weird, but any object made of metal she is immediately drawn to it and wants to bite it. What a crazy head!

Rowan doesn't like: 
 -When things are over. For example, She will scream and throw a fit if we stop her baby Einstein show. Or we pick her up from playing so we can feed her. Good grief! 

-Weird textures. If her food is super dry or has a funny texture, she will gag herself or make a crazy face. 

Sleeping schedule:
So far the same! A good morning nap and another in the afternoon. Sis likes her sleep and makes her a lot more agreeable if she's rested. Nights are still about 7:30-6. I am hoping over the summer she'll adjust her schedule and sleep in a little bit. HA yeah right!

 New happenings this month:
Honestly nothing too terribly new or different. Looking forward to when I am off in the summer, because we have 3 trips planned! 
-We tried Rowan in the nursery! She was fine for 10 minutes and then screamed the rest. Shannon got her midway and held her so I could enjoy the service. The following week she only cried for a little bit but then calmed down. Fingers crossed this keeps happening!

-We had a GLORIOUS play date with my BFF and her babies. This was a huge deal because they live in Texas and we don't get to see them often!
 

My Rowan dump:

Favorite Fridays: Oxygen Bonding Base Coat

I sure haven't done a Favorite Friday in forever! I think my last one was when I was pregnant! YIKES!!!

Well, I will try to keep this short and sweet. There's a product out there that is instantly my new favorite, Julep's oxygen bonding base coat!


Photo courtesty of julep.com

I'm a member of the Julep Maven Box. There are lots of beauty boxes around, but by far this is my favorite. For $19 I get a box with 2-3 full size Julep polishes plus a FULL size beauty product. Julep polishes retail for $14 for JUST one at Sephora, Ulta, etc so this is a GREAT deal. Anyway, I got the oxygen smoothing base coat with my box. I felt dismissive of it, because I haven't had any luck with any top or base coat. I have tried most name brands (Essie, OPI) to regular brands (Sally Hansen, etc) and nothing helps my polish from chipping after a day, sometimes it chips within the day! I decided to use it and boy, I am SO happy I got it. It dries extremely quickly, and creates a nice matte finish to your nails. However, the ICING on the cake is that after day 6 (did my nails on Sunday), my nails STILL HAVE NOT completely chipped off! I have the tiniest chip on one nail, but the fact that I have about 99% of my  nail polish on is truly incredible!! Here are my nails:

After day 6....not that bad!!!

 

Guys, can't rave ENOUGH about this product. It costs about $18 at your local Sephora. It may feel like a bit of sting, but if it keeps your mani on for a week, it's well worth it. I am so happy! Go ahead and get yours.

 

Happy Friday!

Mother's Day 2015

I hope all my pretty mamas had a wonderful Mother's Day! I know this is almost a week late, but hey, better than never!

Ah...what a difference a year makes....

 

 

The picture on the left shows an overwhelmed mama dealing with MAJOR baby blues and a tiny preemie baby. That mama was feeling so nervous and unsure of herself. This year's picture shows a mama who is much more confident, rested and feeling a little more sure of herself. I'm also blown away on how different "my tiny NICU" baby looks!

Mother's Day was super nice and mostly RELAXING which was so needed.

Our morning started us off with going to church. We tried Rowan in nursery for the very first time. She did great for 10 minutes then threw the BIGGEST drama queen fit in the world. Daddy entertained her in the hall while I sat through service. Oh Rowan!

After, we came home, Rowan went down for a nap, and I put on jammies and got back into bed! I caught up on some Nashville and took a quick snooze! SO HEAVENLY! When us girls woke up, I got my mother's day present, which was a pair of heels I was dying to have plus some gorgeous flowers! I'm not the kind of high maintenance gal who needs diamonds, etc (sorry if this offends you LOL) but I love getting gifts like shoes!!!

We then piled into the car and headed over to my sister's where the husbands cooked a DELICIOUS brunch with mimosas! We stuffed ourselves silly, took some more naps (YES!) and hung out! We spoiled my gorgeous mama with some well deserved gifts!  It was perfect! We ended up staying for dinner and my sister made this awesome bubble up pizza casserole. After, she and I went on a 3 mile walk and caught up on Scandal. Overall a perfect mother's day! I felt very loved and spoiled. I still can't believe I get to be the mama of my gorgeous girl! I hope the rest of y'all had a great Mother's day!

Behind the lens

I have been so excited to share this post!
This post is dedicated to our fabulous photographer, Jamie Cardoza! She is the owner of Jamie Cardoza photography and she is simply amazing!

Jamie has photographed Rowan from 3 months of age till now. I discovered Jamie through facebook as she had photographed a wedding of someone we knew. I was instantly drawn to her style of photography and how crisp her pictures looked.

I contacted Jamie and I explained how I wanted to do 3-6-9-12 month pictures. When we first met her, she was extremely friendly and put us at ease. I was nervous how Rowan would do. ROwan was a bit of a grump that first shoot, but Jamie was beyond patient with us. At her 6 months shoot, Rowan threw the BIGGEST fit I had ever seen her do. It was so awful! Seeing how she probably wouldn't recover, Jamie offered for us to reshoot later that week for no extra fees. That spoke volumes to me, as most photogs wouldn't do that.

When Rowan's 12 month shoot rolled around, I couldn't believe it was our last one! Once again Jamie worked her magic and got some spectacular shots. When our picture gallery came in, she included a note that brought tears to my eyes! She has felt like family!

Jamie spends tons of time with her clients and is easy to work with. She is also affordable and her talent speaks for herself. If you ever chose to go with her, you won't be disappointed! To book a session, email her at: jcardoza14@yahoo.com

Here is some of the work she did for Rowan, starting at 3 months. This is super crazy how much she has changed!!!:

3 months:

6 months:

9 months:

12 months

Dear weary mama

My blogger pal Gentel (blogger of leopardandgrace.com) had a beautiful idea of penning a letter to herself a year to the day she delivered. I loved the idea, because it gives you a chance to reflect on such an insane, beautiful moment. I have talked to death about Rowan's early birth, labor story and NICU. However, I have never talked about right after. It has been an intense, crazy and wild year. Being a little older and a little wiser, I wish I could go back and tell myself it was going to be okay. I am being honest, the first two or so months were beyond brutal for me. I HUGELY struggled with the baby blues, and honestly wondered if I had some postpartum depression. I didn't feel that magical movie bond with Rowan immediately, and that completely destroyed me.  I never talked too much to anyone about it (besides family) because quite frankly I was embarrassed and ashamed. To be honest, I am nervous posting this because I don't want to get judged. However, there needs to be conversations and support about these very sensitive topics. While I think we have come a long way with being open, I think a lot of mamas are too nervous and ashamed to admit it's not like the movies. I don't think I am alone with how I felt. Here, I am reflecting back and writing a letter to myself that I wish I would have known then. While the newborn season and those emotions were so difficult, I long for those precious newborn days back. Don't get me wrong, Rowan is FUN, but she is changing and growing too fast.

Dear  me,

The date is 5/6/14. You are finally home from NICU, congrats! It has been 2  long days since you have been released.  NICU was an intense experience for you. Right now, you are still reeling over the loss of what you envisioned the end of your pregnancy would be like. You are still stunned about the month you had, and how you finished your pregnancy hooked to a hospital bed. Instead of having skin to skin, your baby was whisked away to NICU. All of it is hurting you, because this isn't what you wanted. I know how angry you are. I see you quietly sobbing at the kitchen sink, washing bottles. You don't understand these intense feelings, and why you can't just feel normal. You know you are supposed to feel utter elation (or at least that what its like in the movies) but instead, you feel overwhelmed and sad. I know you are worried you might have postpartum depression. In the mix of all this, you feel shame and embarrassment. You don't get why you feel this way. Sweet mama, those are the sucky hormones that are making you crazy are those good ol' baby blues that you have read about. Add no sleep and its a disaster. It WILL get better, I promise you. If this brings you hope, your baby will sleep through the night. With the help of your sister, you will get a routine down, you will feel like a human again. I see you looking down at the former shell of a pregnancy belly, and feeling an ache that can't be replaced. You were one of those crazy gals who LOVED being pregnant, so you feel like something was stolen from you.  Right now, you are trying to pump breasts that have practically nothing, be sane for the people who come by and try to be the perfect mama to this beautiful baby born too soon. Please cut yourself some slack and give yourself grace. This is no time to be perfect. Right now, your heart is aching because you don't feel the magical bond that "every mom gets" the second their child is born. I know how much this is ripping your heart out. You have been so excited the minute you knew you were pregnant, and have been dreaming of this beautiful child for months. While you would throw yourself in front of a train for Rowan, you don't feel like she's your best friend. If anything, she seems like a big ol' grump that seems mad all the time.  Mama, please know this normal. You will learn later there are a quite a lot of mamas who have felt this way, most would never dare to admit it.  You are NOT alone. If this is any consolation to you, this girl WILL become your best friend. I know she is just grumpy newborn, but soon she will blossom. She will become the happy, chubby baby you were dreaming of. She will captivate your heart, and you will constantly be on the verge of happy tears simply because she is so precious and perfect to you. It will get better. Precious mama, my advice would be to savor this time. I know you think I am crazy, but trust me. This time goes by too fast. She will grow, become crazy active and a no longer want to curl up under your chin. This IS a hard season.  NO doubt about it. However, babies don't keep, and savor that sweet precious newborn smell. Know that it WILL get easier.



Love,
Me one year later, 5/6/15

Rowan's First Birthday Party

Well surprise, surprise!



Blogging Rowan's birthday party 2 weeks later! I am amazed at mommy bloggers who post everyday!

Rowan's birthday party at first felt like I was planning my wedding all over again. I believe the planning process started at Christmas. I  actually looked at venues, had my secret pinterest boards. I planned out projects, doled out duties to people, etc. I planned different outfits she would change to (which she did), etc. etc. Does it have to be this crazy? Absolutely not. However, being the person I am, I knew this wouldn't be a small affair. Yes, I do know she won't remember this party. I will though, LOL.

In my head, I wanted a decorated, from top to bottom party in my home. However, my home is more on the cozier side  (aka small) , and having up to 50+ people wouldn't work. My ideas of an over the top decorated party came to a crashing halt. I decided to rent out a park space. We specifically rented out a space at Derr Okamoto park in Elk Grove, which is a GORGEOUS new playground and water park nestled amongst some beautiful homes. My heart broke, because decorating for a park party is a whole lot harder. I knew I couldn't decorate how I wanted thanks to being in different elements. It had to be done a little simpler.

Rowan's party was a lot of work, but so much fun. We ended up having 40+ dear family and friends to celebrate our beautiful miracle baby. Really at the end of the day, that's all that matters. Rowan thankfully was very cheerful and happy to have all the attention. We laughed, stuffed ourselves silly, and enjoyed honoring the birthday girl! It was truly a wonderful day. One CRAZY thing though...Rowan HATED HATED HATED the cake smash. Honestly, I was pretty bummed. If you know my child at all, she LOVES food so much. I pictured in my head the traditional smearing of the cake all over, her gleefully enjoying it. Welp, just goes to show you, you can't plan it perfectly! Initially, it started to go well. However, she was getting tired, and realized she couldn't get rid of the frosting off of her fingers. After that, she straight up lost her mind! We got the funniest (but kinda sad) pictures of her screaming. It's kinda funny now:

Here's the breakdown of her party...

Rowan's birthday theme:

 Under the Sea

 She loves the sea animals in the show Baby Einstein, so it seemed appropriate! Pinterest has a huge SLEW of cutesy pins for it.

Decorations:

 Park birthdays can be a bit trickier to decorate. Some park areas are super easy, some aren't. Our section had a super high overhang where I couldn't necessarily hang things. So, we did table cloths on tables, topped with mason jars filled with sand, sea shells, and "1" and "sea shell" decorations in it. On top of each table was a framed picture of Rowan in different stages of her infancy. Not overly fancy, but adorable and sweet!

Next, I borrowed a pop up from my friend Eva. I made jelly fish from paper bowls (simply paint and poke holes on the top) and stapled crinkled streamers on them. I hung a total of 6 around the whole thing and it had an cute effect!

For her cake table, I bought "ONE" letters from hobby lobby. I put modge podge on the letters, and covered them with gold glitter. Once I shook off the excess, I hair sprayed the letters. Presto! At target, I bought this cute banner kit for $4! I also bought these gold stickers  and made the following banner, "I am one"

Her cake table ended up looking like this. This was also before we put out her cake and before more presents came

I posted a chalkboard, and on each side had a fun poster. The first side had Rowan's monthly pictures. I am SO happy I did this. It was super worth it and makes me cry to see how much she has changed. I bought a chalkboard looking poster board from the dollar tree and I was done!

On the other side, I bought a fantastic chalkboard poster from the lovely and talented shop Emma Joy Designs . The poster was only $14! It was perfect and I loved it!!

Food:

I am so disappointed I didn't get good food pictures at all. In the midst of party craziness, I didn't get any pictures of the food! Since it was at a park, we decided to have hot dogs as our main dish. For sides, I went with a sea theme. Despite the lack of pictures, these are some picture pins from other blogs I copied exactly for her party. Super cute and precious!

Cake:

I asked my sister, who is the queen of cake pops, to make cake pops for the party. She is extremely talented and didn't disappoint! They were beautiful!

Just perfect!

Now for the cake smash, I had the original intentions of making a rosette cake, that claimed to be easy.

In talking to one of my talented baker friends, who gave me great tips, I attempted to make it at 10 pm the night before her party. If you know me at all, I am not overly talented in the baking department and ruin the easiest of recipes. Needless to say, it was a little nuts and didn't quite turn out LOL...

My friend, who was so sweet, lovingly dubbed it as monster hair. Perfect for a Monster's Inc. type of monster! I ended up using it for her photo shoot. However, that presented me with a cake problem on her actual party day. At 7 am, on the morning of her party, I frantically ran into my nearest Raley's and explained my plight. They were amazing, and took a small square cake and redecorated it for $5. Why didn't I do this in the first place? At this point, I didn't need it to be fancy, I needed something semi presentable! Thank you Raley's!

Rowan's clothes:

Trying to figure out her outfit was like picking a wedding dress, LOL! She ended up wearing two outfits. When she first arrived, she wore her glitter "ONE" onesie with a scrappy tutu. The ONE decal came from the talented Jamie Van Nuys Designs for only $7. I had a onesie already lying around, so this was cheap! Now for her scrappy tutu! I came up with the idea after seeing this precious pin:

Making a scrappy skirt actually wasn't too hard. I bought a ton of super cute fabric on sale at Joann's. I plan on doing a tutorial on this, I promise. Anyway, her skirt came out perfect and looked like this:

After her cake smash fail, she changed into this precious first birthday pillowcase dress that belonged to her cousin Abby. I am so sad I don't know where it originally came from, but it was from an Etsy shop and my sister bought it 6 years ago. However, if I didn't have that precious dress, I more than likely would have picked this cutie from Carolina Kidz Clothing. Anyway, I loved the pillowcase dress she wore, because it was roomy, comfortable and lightweight, as it got pretty hot later. She even wore it during her photoshoot!

And for her final touch, her birthday crown! We got this gem from Think Pink Bows, for a steal for $6.95. I love this shop, and we have tons of head wraps and top knots from them. Their prices are amazing!

Us at brunch on her actual birthday, 4/19/15...that face LOL

If you stayed with me so far, thank you!
Overall, I was very happy with how her party turned out. I just truly can't believe she is 1!

Complete list of vendors/shops used:

Onesie decal: Jamie VanNuys Designs

Birthday crown: Think Pink Bows

Cake: Raley's

Venue: Derr Okamoto Park

All About Me chalkboard: Emma Joy Designs

Cake Pops: Connie Finney

Here are some of my favorite party pics!

Ruffle booty!

With her Uncle Kevin

I love my muggles!

My wiggly girl

Before she lost her mind

So far so good...

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!

Loving on her paci during gifts

My beautiful miracle baby!

My Potter tribe

Apparently, cake pops aren't offensive to her..

Happy cake pop covered girl