A Wedding.

Today I am going to share Cynthia's wedding with you. This happened almost ONE year ago. September 1st was the big day for Cynthia and Joe and it's so hard to believe it's almost been a year. 
When Cynthia told me that Joe had proposed of course I said "OMG" and "FINALLY!" I was so thrilled and couldn't wait for all the planning to begin. It was only a matter of time until Joe proposed. There was lots of texting and emailing going on between Cynthia and I in the months leading up to the wedding. Cynthia planned and worked so hard on everything. And of course it all turned out PERFECT!

The wedding was at a winery just outside of Sacramento called Scribner Bend. The venue made for some great pictures. Such a beautiful place for a wedding. 

Ok so let's get to the FUN. Everyone loves to see wedding pictures so here we go.

 Beckett was such a good baby the morning of the wedding. He just hung out with all the girls while we were getting ready. A good friend of Cynth and Joe's strapped on the Ergo and took him for a long walk and of course he managed to pass out. Then the rest of the time Auntie or Grandma had him:)

 This is the guest book I made for them. I hope it hasn't fallen apart yet. It is handmade so it will eventually need some repairs.

 I believe all the pictures below ere taken by Cynthia and Joe's friend Ben Carter. He did an amazing job.

This is totally Cynthia.

 Family pictures were taken before the rehearsal. 

So there you have it folks. My BFF's wedding. One of the happiest days of my life. Makes me so happy to see that my dear friend of 20 years {has it really been that long?!} has found the man of her dreams. And of course Joe is pretty lucky to have found her:)
Love you guys....XOXO

Baby Shower and A New Baby.

Of course like most of my post these days this one is a little late. 
Most of you probably already know who Cynthia is {the BFF}, well at the end of February her Mom hosted her baby shower. We {her mom, sis, a friend from college, and myself} all put our ideas together and threw her a fabulous shower. Her mom really went all out with the cute little table runners she made to match the color scheme to the violinist she hired to play as guest were arriving, this was really a nice touch. There were all sorts of yummy food and sweets for everyone. My favorite would have to be the stuffed mushrooms {which I am gonna have to get the recipe for because of course I already forgot it} and the cucumber little sandwiches Kristin made. We made the little tissue pom poms to hang {who doesn't love those?!} and Vicky found out that she could use see thru thread to sew together the cute little vellum circles to go with the pom poms { I think I am stealing this idea for Bentley's birthday party} Everything was perfect.

I made some yarn wrapped letters of the baby's name,which is now in the nursery:) And one of my new favorite decorations are the little flag pennants made from fabric. Super easy and so cute!

Her mom loves to quilt and sew. SO of course she went all out again making 3 different quilts and a ton of bibs and burb cloths.

Last Thursday morning, April 18th {a few days early} baby Beckett decided it was time to make an appearance.

Beckett William 8lb 8oz and 21 inches long.

I am so thrilled for Cynthia and Joe.Cynthia has wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember and she finally is. This little dude has the best mommy. She is going to be a great mom and both her and Joe will be great parents. I am so looking forward to those chats with her about mommyhood, the ups and downs, and everything in between. I can't wait to hear her stories about screaming crying babies and crazy toddlers running wild. I will finally be the listener for once, she has been listening to me for over 5 years now:)  

Congratulations Cynthia & Joe...I love you both and couldn't be happier for you! XOXO

To: Cynthia-The Joys of Pregnancy and Labor.

This post is dedicated to my dearest friend.....Cynthia. 

There are just some things your mom isn't going to tell you about pregnancy, labor, and life after you give birth. That's why you have girlfriends that won't sugar coat things and make it all sound peachy. I did not mind being pregnant and had no major problems. I did miss feeling them move around inside but did not miss all the uncomfortableness that comes along with it.  But by the end of the pregnancy when your huge and fat and so uncomfortable your so ready for it to be over with. 

Some of things written in this post might be a little TMI....just a warning that I will be writing about boobs, nipples, and vaginas.

In the beginning there might be a little morning sickness or a lot. I had just a little for about the first 14 weeks or so. You will be tired and your boobs will start to hurt and get super sore. Oh and don't forget the frequent urination that never goes away and the lovely discharge.

Then you will start to feel good get some energy back and think "Oh this isn't so bad" then about 30 weeks or so all the "cool" stuff starts to happen.............................

• Your boobs may or may not have started to leak at this point.
• Braxton Hicks contractions may have started and sometimes they can be quite uncomfortable. Lots of water will help with these. 
• Of course as I already mentioned......the yucky whitish discharge, sometimes will cause you to have to wear a pantyliner:) This started in the beginning for me....just what you wanted to know...right?!
• Back pain may have settled in. With Easton and Bentley I had terrible back pain....NO BUENO!!!
• The pubic bone/pelvis pain. This hurts so bad!!! I could barely get out of bed. And then sometimes you could hear it popping. This started to happen in the last 6 weeks or so and it was only with Bentley. 
• Feeling major pressure in your area down there. Sometimes it felt like he was just going to pop out or something. It hurts to get out of bed and even walk. Not a good feeling at all. Very strange. I did not have that feeling with the first two.
• Swelling of the hands and feet. This happened early on for me with Cameron. I was not about to go without my wedding ring, so I had it sized a one whole size bigger and it was still tight. Now after 3 kiddos its practically falling off so I need to get it sized smaller again, Ryan reminds me almost daily I will not be getting a new one if I lose it:)

Now here are some great things about labor.......

• Sometimes you lose the "mucus plug", you will know when this happens. It's disgusting! With Cameron I lost it right at the same time contractions started. But it's different for everyone. With Cameron it was a ton of junk down there but Easton not so much. I have also read and heard that you can lose it over time as well. But when you do start losing it that probably means labor is near:)
• It HURTS! I believe I have a pretty high tolerance for pain. With Cameron it wasn't that bad. I got an epidural but then that slowed things down a bit {as Cynthia knows because she was there}. Well we all know with Easton there was no time for any drugs and it hurt like HELL. The burning sensation is the worst and the contractions are no joke.
• Labor can take FOREVER! Make sure to bring some snacks for Joe and maybe the Ipad:) and a pillow from home might be nice. 
• Pushing out a baby is like one of the hardest things I have ever had to do! It's different for everyone. I pushed for a little over 3 hours with Cameron and I never thought it was going to end. My back was killing me towards the end and I seriously thought I would never get him out. 
• You may or may not poop while pushing.....it happens.
• You may need an epsoimoy to get him out and if so Joe will want to turn his head {or at least that's what our doctor told Ryan} and if so your recovery time will take a little longer and you will be a little more sore in that area.....OH JOY!
• If you have an epidural it will take a while for it to wear off. You won't be able to stand up and walk for a bit but at least you really won't feel the doctor pushing out the lovely placenta:)
• Beware when they move you to the bathroom to go pee....this is not a pretty site. Lots and lots of junk coming out down there. With all three boys the bleeding lasted about 3 weeks or so.
• The nurses will give you a little squirt bottle thingy to clean down there after every time you go to the bathroom and then they give some spray stuff to spray down there to help with the burning. This will be your best friend especially if you have stitches.

One of the best pieces of advice I got while pregnant with Cameron was from one of the baseball players Mom that Ryan coached....she said to me when I was about 34 weeks pregnant or so to start rubbing my nipples with sponge {or something} to get them ready. At first I thought she was crazy but after 3 kids I can tell you this is not crazy. The nipples get so very sore, especially in the beginning. I can remember with Easton they were starting to get red and cracking when I was still in the hospital...probably because he was a giant and ate all day long:) 

And since we are talking about breasts....they will hurt like hell once your milk comes in. They will hard as rock and like 3 times the normal size. Nurse often and massage them:)

Cynthia is now 33 weeks pregnant {I think}t. I cannot believe she will be having a baby in 2 months! FINALLY!!! 

I cannot wait for her to go into labor and finally experience labor and child birth. Finally after 5 years of talking about it since Cameron was born she will get to experience it herself. She was the only one at the hospital when Easton was born and she was just outside the room and she said it sounded like my arm was being chopped off....YES i was screaming! It hurt so freaking bad. 

Last weekend was her baby shower and everything turned out wonderful. Her mom, sis, myself and a college friend all helped and put our ideas together. Her mom really went all out for everything. It was prefect. 

So tell me ladies what was the best and worst thing about pregnancy and/or labor? We all know the end result is well worth it and by far the best thing ever or why else would we do it again and again:)

Please excuse any typos.....The kids are starting to wake up and I just need to post this or it will never happen. It was one of my many half written posts. 

Happy Birthday Cynthia.

I can remember the very first birthday party I went to for Cynthia. We were in 7th grade and we went on a scavenger hunt around the neighborhood........and since then I have been to pretty much every party, except one which i think was her 16th birthday because we were in a "fight", our first and only fight.

Cynthia and I have been through a lot together over the years. And we have only had that one fight {that I remember}. She was there by my side when I got married, she was the one to host my bridal shower and 2 boy baby showers,  she was there when Cameron and Easton were born and she has been to all of their birthday parties.

 

She was always the oldest in our group of friends. She was the one to get her driver's license first. A blue rusty beat up VW slug bug { I looked and looked for this one picture but couldn't find it}. We used to sneak it out before she got her license. We did some naughty things while in high school but who didn't?! We used to pile so many people in that little blue beat up bug. We drove every where in that thing. To our soccer games, to baseball and football games. In town and out of town.

 

After high school she went away to college for a year then came back and then went away again and then I went away and she was still away and then I came back and then she came back for a while and then she went away once again and then came back for a little bit and then she met a boy {love you Joe}.........and that was the end of her coming back. She has been gone ever since and I don't think she's coming back {maybe a little closer one day}. She is now planning her wedding....YAY!!! Which means I now get to plan HER bridal shower.
We still talk almost every day. She is always there when I need advice or there just to listen while i vent away. We have been besties for more than half our lives now and I cannot imagine my life without her in it. I am so lucky to have a her as my friend.

So a few weeks ago she tells me she's pregnant......Yes, can you believe it?! FINALLY!!!!
So all within a year she gets engaged, is going to have a baby, and get married! Craziness!!!! Their sweet little baby BOY {yes she is having a freaking boy, can't anyone make a girl?!} is due mid-April. I couldn't be happier for her and Joe. Cynthia has wanted to have babies for as long as I could remember. She is going to be such a good mama:)

Okay so now on to the picture. This was her 18th birthday. It was just us girls having a sleep over at her house. I guess we were just bored or something. We got this wild idea to do our hair all funky and crazy. So we did that for awhile and then for whatever reason we decided to drive around town and we ended up at Quick Stop. This was seriously one of the funniest memories ever. Someone had a cigar i think they bought at QuickStop and we were all posing with the cigar and acting like jackasses with our hair all a hot mess. I looked and looked for the rest of the pictures we took while out on our little joy ride but couldn't find them. I guess this is one of those things where you had to be there. It was seriously soooo funny!!!!

Happy Birthday Cynthia!!!!! I hope you have a wonderful day and all your birthday wishes come true. And may this next year be your happiest!!!! Love you....XOXO.

 Cynthia with Easton.

Easton's baby shower:)