SOCIAL MEDIA

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Baker's First Birthday || Photo Every Hour

6 am
Cam wanted me to wake Bae up early so he could see her find her gift before he went to school 💕

7 am

8 am
Conley is already obsessed with the pink ball pit.
😂 I knew it.

9 am
Grocery pickups at Walmart + Sams...
they are troopers!

10 am
On the way to Hobby Lobby-pit stop for cake pops & coffee🤗
I asked Con to take a "selfie" of him & Baker!

11 am
Hobby Lobby shopping spree-
picking up all the last minute party supplies!
I gave them their cake pops (Con inhaled his so he could wear his mask) & Baker held hers like a rare diamond, smacking her lips, staring at it, & barely taking a nibble before it met it's fate in the parking lot😜

12 pm
Home, back in her pj's & time for lunch!
(I've had to start just splitting my turkey meatballs +rice with her-she'll have what you're having)

1 pm
That's mascara down my face.
And this is Bae pitching a fit because I won't let her hold the scissors I was using to make her peach garland.😬. Things were going well.


2 pm
Baby Shark dance party with Con to make it all better in her world.


3 pm
Picked Cam up from school & it's officially fall break!🎃

4 pm
Quick stop by the flower truck & Pratts for fresh center pieces & greenery for cupcakes & cake!
  One of the cutest, BEST places in Knox...
 smells AMAZING over here🌻

5 pm
Bakie is kinda obsessed with flowers~🤗
She helped me put them in the vases


6 pm
They like the ball pit more than she does...
and totally dumped the entire tent all over the living room floor


7 pm
Waiting for daddy to get home😇

8 pm
Bubble bath, dinner, & cupcake taste testing😋

9 pm
What?  You want ME to go to bed because you're getting ready for MY party???
I don't think so.

10 pm
She's finally down & we are up cleaning, crafting, & making 28 pancakes!
Can you call that a date night?


I can't believe my baby baby is ONE!  On to the next adventures...💕


Monday, November 11, 2019

Conley's Four!

A little FYI:  
I am going to be sporadic in my posts over the next few days.  
I've neglected writing so much lately.  All I do is nurse, work, clean, repeat!
I can't complain, I love this season of my life, but I will add, this is too special of a time in my life to drop the ball now.  Not to mention, blogging has always been so therapeutic for me since becoming a mom.  I miss it when I'm not able to & truly believe it is something to make time for.
So, forgive me for being all over the place-I'm going to try & play catch up this week😬

Today, I am going to post about Conley's Fourth Birthday.
My second babe is now a FOUR year old! 
He has been my baby for basically four years, & though we had a few days of figuring it out,
I think he has done a phenomenal job transitioning into a big brother!
(And he, along with each of my kids, will ALWAYS be my baby).

Conley is the most loving, strong-willed, determined, life loving, independent (for everything but self help skills that he can convince me to do-guilty🙋🏻‍♀️) four year old I know.  He keeps us laughing & on our feet.  I don't know what we would do without him!  He means so much to our little family!
---
Favorites: Speaking in his own language (Me: No, you can't have the phone, Conley: I hate my seatbelt, it is so BORING!  Me: Conley, clean up your mess...Conley:  I'm too scared!), he loves cats, Cat Boy from PJ Masks because he is a cat and blue (his favorite color which has now morphed in to "Blue purple"), and picking the opposite of anything Cam says.  But then again, he loves to talk, so after Cam tells something interesting, he will say," Hey!  Guess what? " And say the exact thing Cam said like it happened to him😂. My favorite.

You can find him: Jumping on the couch, sky diving at dangerous heights from household furniture,
eating macaroni & cheese, begging for gummy vitamins (since banning him from his beloved gummies after a dental visit), refusing to eat meat, "petting Baker," taunting Cam, begging for phones, screaming at the top of his lungs, and most recently-dabbing.  Thanks big bro.

According to Conley:
What is your name?  "Conley."
How old are you?  (Holds up hands with four fingers) "I cannot tell you."
What is your favorite thing to do? "ummm, play on the phone."
What do you want to be when you grow up? "astronaut."
What is your favorite food? "macaroni"
Who do you like to spend time with? "Cam." "Like, everyone Mom."
What do you do really well? "ummm, play on the phone."

Have I mentioned that I loathe phones???😫

What makes you laugh? "pooting."
What is the best time of day? "play on the playground."
What are you afraid of? "ummm, of ghosts."
Who is your best friend? "ummmm, everyone."
What do you like to do with your family? "ummmm. hangout."
What do you love to learn about? "ummm, school. so that's easy.  so easy.  the easiest thing ever."
Where do you like to go? "I like to go to space."
What is your favorite book? "my favorite book is Pokemon."
If you had one wish what would it be? "uh, ultra gun, like just watch me now."
Who are you going to marry? "No one.  I don't want to marry anyone, Mom.  Don't say that!"

Until the New Years Interview...😆
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THE PARTY
I quit throwing huge parties after Conley's first birthday (it just became too much, & we couldn't possibly go to all the birthday we would love to go to).  Now, it's just family/neighbors that will travel to Knoxville.  When I asked Con what kind of party he wanted, he really never could pin point the birthday party he wanted, so I kind of helped him.
He loves The Nightmare before Christmas, we had a ton of Halloween decor that would "go with the flow," & Jack the Skellington just seemed like the perfect way to celebrate Con turning the big F-O-U-R.  So, Jack the Skellington it was!

He really doesn't care about a birthday theme right now (when mama's get to have fun🙃).
All he cared about was getting a humongous Stitch & a Batman toy.
Everyone delivered & he KEEPS telling me, "Mom, I loved my birfday."
We have the best family & friends ever.
You know how with time, many memories seem to fade?  Well, I hope his sweet little voice never fades.  I want to bottle it up & keep it with me always.  Corny-maybe, but I die over it.  And it's kept him alive on several occasions.

Here are a few pics from his special day!
This is our home, in it's natural state.
I should have taken more pictures!  But if you've ever been/thrown a kids bday party (especially your own, that is typically the bottom of the totem pole in things you get to do! 😬)

Sources:
Cake (by me-I took a class last summer, made a cake for our Bebe & never braved it again.  We couldn't find a Jack cake so I attempted.  I'd like to keep experimenting!)
Balloons: Amazon (don't fool with a balloon garland...that is why we have so many balloons on the floor).
Jack Balloon (Publix)

For their gift from their dad & I, we like to give them something that is attached to an experience or a fun day out (Build A Bear/Toys R us (may it RIP)/Smart Books & Toys-you get the picture!) and Con picked Build a Bear this year.  He started out wanting Pikachu, but decided on Chase when we got there.  He has basically slept with him & his ginormous Stitch every night since.  He LOVES stuffed animals❤️

We got Halloween donuts & chocolate milk (another banned item from the grand ole dentist) for breakfast & then went to the mall.  He was so excited!  Also, can't forget to mention this was also Bakers FIRST ever outing :). And first trip to a mall.  She was an angel, naturally!  Then we basically didn't go anywhere else until this past week😂
Here are some pictures from that special outing...
He drug him all the way out of the mall with that leash and
...it was, yes, the cutest thing you've ever seen.
If you're still reading, I owe you a big thanks for enduring the outpouring of my mom heart🤪
Happy Monday, I'm crossing my fingers for a snowy Tuesday!
Saturday, May 18, 2019

Gender Party-Baby #3: It's a GIRL!

We can officially nix "it" & start saying she!
Something we have never done in this house hold before😜
Last weekend, after keeping the secret for FOUR whole days.
Phone calls, bribery, trickery...we survived it!
We took Cam with us to see the baby on the ultrasound & be there to learn the gender.  I was skeptical, but when he asked, I just couldn't deny him that moment.  And I think it was one of the best decisions ever.  He wanted a little sister & he knew I would love to have a little girl, too.

The moment when the sonographer said "it's a girl" Cam and Cade both looked over at me with the biggest smiles.  Cam's face was beaming.
I don't think I'll ever forget that moment with the two of them.
Full circle moment...Cam pushed that red monster truck around on hands and knees in Dr. B's office my entire pregnancy with Conley, before that those same toys sat there when I was pregnant with HIM.  And now, here he is in kindergarten as we visit with our sweet baby #3
And you know what???  That little stinker kept our secret the entire time.

All for my Mamaw to pull the first gender canon before anyone else was ready😂
Cade had it ALL planned perfectly.  He had bought a blue cannon for Cam to "accidentally set off" to throw everyone off.  Well, Cam ran in and attempted to set it off...& everyone stopped him.  We moved on to the porch where Cade had the selfie stick ready, we had been to every Hobby Lobby in East Tennessee collecting allllllll the pink confetti cannons, and the time had come to finally pass out the cannons in anticipation of running to the dock to capture all the pink exploding behind us with all the shocked faces.  He had the perfect moment planned.  This is our last baby and we wanted it to be special (especially with a girl).  He was bummed, I can't say I really was.
We are having a LITTLE GIRL!!
There is not much that can bring me down right now🤗

Photo Dump!...
of course this is the only decent picture I could snap!
Tacos + rice+ Melon Ball Punch
I still have prickles in my foot from traveling with that cactus...

AND THE BIG - UNPLANNED MOMENT😬
PINK!!!!
***ignore terrible chipped toe nails-look at the PINK!
Kind of sad we didn't get a family picture, but a quick selfie (Cade changed out of his "planned picture outfit" bahaha) will do.

Thankfully I had taken this picture Saturday morning so I had something sweet to share💜
Can you tell I'm excited? 😁💕
Sunday, March 31, 2019

Cam's 6th Birthday

Last Wednesday evening, we broke the news to Cam that the last part of his spring break would be spent at the beach.  Not just the last part of spring break, but his 6th birthday!  
How is this little guy SIX???

If you can figure it out, please let me know.
The grandparents & aunts left with the boys Thursday morning & Cade and I left after work.  Cade ended up having to work later than expected.   I used the time to run allllll the birthday errands + do all the birthday things + drop the pups off with their sitter for the weekend.

Side note:
Cam decided last minute he wanted a golden ninja party, so that required some creativity.

By the time we left, it was about 7:30 pm.
We hit traffic head on.  Until the sun went down, I worked on building Cam's cake topper, a golden ninja dragon kit deal.  Cade continuously taunted of how I'd lose all the pieces, & homegirl didn't lose one piece.  I put it away as soon as the sun went down & finished the next morning!
Once we got out of the traffic, we turned up the 2k hits & floored it.
 We literally made it through all the 2002-2010 Spotify playlists, yall.
Arguing all the way over the ones we wanted to listen to in true married peeps fashion.
I have an awesome playlist now thanks to that labor of love.
Cade started struggling about 3 hours away (I had drank a coffee for the first time in 3 months-so I was feeling good!).  Though I offered to drive numerous times, Cade is stubborn like that.
At our last gas stop, he downed a 5 hour energy + Red Bull, while I resorted to boiled peanuts😂 
We rolled in about 3:30 am.
Conley & Cam were in our room at like 6 Friday morning.  
YOLO!

Somehow, I got a gust of adrenaline & did not feel tired.
We lounged around the room for the morning, & Cam's table of presents were haunting him.
I'd say by 9:30 am he had opened everything.

First, he asked for a fish aquarium from us.  How random is that?
For weeks, maybe months, he told us he wanted fish.
Then, very recently he brought a fundraiser home from school that promised if you sold 45,323,424 items you would win a Nintendo (*Contendo Switch) *Cam & Con terminology.  He was "determined" to "win" it & it's so hard to explain these fundraisers AND claw machine prizes to him.🙄
Thank you evil people for making parenting even harder than it is!
Saying no is an option though, & I'm not against that.  I will say we exercise it regularly-but it is a lot easier when you have an explanation.
SO, I suggested that it may be better to ask for it for his birthday.
Well, though not as cool as "winning" it, that's just what he did.
And just like that...there went our tax money.  Lol.

Before we braved the chilly 60-70 weather for the beach & pool, we went to eat a quick lunch & popped into a touristy shark stop.  As we drove around the city, it was crazy to me to see all the damage from the hurricane that happened this past October.  So much devastation & destruction!  Not just to the buildings, but even to the pool & hot tub we usually go to.  They were still closed down d/t the sand caked in the bottom.  We had to travel a good distance for warm water!
But that didn't stop most of our crew.  They hopped in the ocean AND the cold pools.
While I trailed behind in several layers, sweatpants, and a huge sweatshirt.


Conley was in love with the sand & throwing it everywhere, while Cam was in love with trying his darn best to use his goggles in an inch of water.  I wish I could have captured their faces the entire time they swam in the pool.  I was afraid, like the past two summers, we'd have to start all over again with getting them in the water, but they popped right in.  You couldn't wipe the smile off Con's face😁
Much to my husbands excitement, it was an all you can eat crab leg buffet for supper.
We had to drag him out in time to throw Cam a mini party.

\

Call it old age or pregnancy, I just can't hang these days past 9 pm.  Cade can't either so I guess it's old age, but I'll call it the life of hard working parents🤷🏻‍♀️. What began as attempt to put Conley to sleep led to me waking up at 3 am in what I wore to dinner.
#momprobs

Saturday we went out for breakfast, my favorite time to go out for a meal 😉
Then, Cam conned all family into contributing to items for his Nintendo (*Contendo Switch) during a quick stop at Best Buy.  That six year old is set for life now.

For the next day out in the sun, I actually joined everyone & put on a bathing suit as it crept into the 70's quicker that day, & we ALL got in the heated pool & hot tub.  It wasn't terrible, and  I totally did it for the birthday boy & his baby brother side kick.  Why do days in the sun go by so quickly?  Before we knew it, it was time for dinner!  We were super excited for Captain Anderson's, my favorite PCB restaurant.

I haven't been able to eat much, but what I did eat, it was great!  And Cade even surprised me with some key lime pie to go.  Then it was off to Cam's request for bowling.  Turns out, it was a 45 minute wait to bowl, so they gladly opted to waste money at the arcades.  Perfect end to a perfect day.


Gosh, I'm getting rusty at all this storytelling!  Sorry for all the rambling with really no points...
While this mini vacay was fast & we did A LOT of driving, but I'd like to think we won't remember that, just all the fun together celebrating Cam's sixth birthday!
Cant wait to go back this summer!
Hope you all had a great weekend
XO