Where did the last 11.5 months go?

Holy Moly! It is crazy to even begin to think that we almost have a 1 year old! Everly is growing so fast and changing so much everyday. It is crazy to think that this time last year we had our bags packed, and at this point, we were still patiently awaiting her arrival (the patients left after her due date). Now fast forward to today and we are planning her first party! Invites have been sent out, Mommy and Daddy got their present for her today, and the planning is coming along super smoothly.

When we found out we were pregnant we both fantasized about what our child would be like. Little did we both know that the child God chose for us was way better than anything we could have thought up. She is the perfect mix between Brian and I. She is very social, outgoing, and extroverted like me, yet she looks like her Daddy, she has his smarts, and she appears to have his engineering mind, because she is always wanting to know how things work. She is very observant.

She is talking so much now. It is hard to actually make a list of all the words she can say because everyday it seems to change. She also has a language all of her own. She say many words in this language but we have no idea what they mean yet, but when she says them you can tell she knows what she is saying. Here is a list that I can think of off the top of my head:

Dada
Mom-ma
Mimi
Papaw
Callen (caca)
Dog
No
yeah
whats that
cool
wow
whoa
bottle (baba)
baby
clock
moo

As you can tell her vocabulary is growing very quickly. She started waving recently and it is probably the cutest thing ever. As soon as she hears the word bye or bye bye she starts waving and blowing kisses. Her other new thing is that she wants to play peek-a-boo all the time, so if something can go over her face she will put it there to try and play with anyone around. She is precious.

Here are the last few months growth photos. (Sorry for not getting them up sooner)

Recently we had her 1st Birthday photos taken and it was so much fun. She got to have cake for the first time and all I can say is her First Birthday party is going to be great because she would have bathed in that cake if we let her. She had her toes dug in, and both hands, and she kept trying to pick up the cake so she could get her face in it. The good news is although she was on a MAJOR sugar high we got some great photos. Here are a few of my favorite, but I don't want to show them all until after her party.

Growing Like a Weed

This little beauty is growing so quickly! It's a joy to see her change everyday and we are so thankful to share in watching her grow with all our family and friends. She has such a fun personality and I love to see it flourish! She thinks she is a big girl and that she can do everything on her own. I'm so blessed to spend my days with her. 

Shabby Chic Bridal Shower

Not only is my little sister about to be married, but she has trusted me to be her MOH! I'm so excited for this role on her big day but also excited to get to be a part of planning all her showers and bachelorette festivities! 

My co MOH (my baby sister) and the bridesmaids and I all got together and through an awesome Shabby Chic inspired bridal shower! 

In the past we have always done all our showers, with one exception, at the bank in the training room, but for this shower we held it at the Thorntown Library. It was very nice and it is free for rent to library cardholders. 

We had a big dessert bar, and I even made the cake! I am not a cake maker by any means but I have made a few cakes and they have all turned out pretty good. 

Because my sister LOVES chocolate, we had a chocolate fountain and even a chocolate tower for everyone to enjoy! 

The shower went great and we all enjoyed getting to celebrate the soon to be Mrs Hiland!! 13 more days! 

Bachelorette Bash/Beer Olympics

I have the privilege of being the MOH for my sister Chelseas big day! I can't believe that in just 13 days she will be Mrs Hiland! It seems like such a long time coming, since they have been together for the last 11 years. 

I'm so thankful I get to stand up with her along with my baby sister Michaela. All of us bridesmaids came together and through a very sweet shower and bachelorette bash honoring Chelsea! 

My sister has such special friends who all get to celebrate in her wedding festivities.

Our first of 3 events was the Bachelorette Bash which was a night out on the town. We started out the night at the hotel, which my sisters friends had gotten to earlier to decorate. It looked perfect! They did not go lightly on the "penis" attire.

We left there to go to Hard Rock Cafe where we enjoyed dinner and drinks. Then back to the hotel for games, gifts and photo booth! 

The following day was Beer Olympics at Chelsea and Aaron's house. We had a volleyball tourney, Big Brother inspired relay game, "fundies" race, egg toss, and many drinking games, which made up the beer Olympics.

We had a score board and for each event teams were drawn and then the winning teams were awarded a certain number of points to determine the winners of the beer Olympics!  

The event was complete with trophies that I made from beer cans and alcohol bottles. 

Needless to say the winners were SUPER excited to have won their titles! (Some feeling very patriotic as well) 

I think it's safe to say the Bachelorette weekend was a HUGE success!! 

Being an Aunt

I thought being a mom was going to be the most amazing thing in the world, and trust me it truly is, the being an aunt is almost just as special. 

On Thursday, April 21, 2016 my baby sister delivered a beautiful healthy baby boy Callen Michael. I was so blessed to be able to be there during the labor process and wait patiently in the waiting room while she pushed. 

My little sister was so strong, Callen arrived three weeks early and while she was having contractions five minutes apart she kept telling herself "this is not real I cannot be in labor yet,"but she was, and as soon as I saw her I knew she was. I knew she was just scared, which everyone would be. Once we got to the hospital at 11 PM they checked her and told her that she was 4 cm and 80% effaced and that she was going to be having a baby. My mom and my other sister Chelsea we're so excited! So we stayed and pulled an all night or. It was my first night away from Everly so I missed her so much, but I knew she was at home perfectly sleeping with her daddy. 

As Michaela's contractions begin to get closer and stronger Chelsea who was her birthing coach did an amazing job. The love us three girls have for each other is one that is beyond words. It is so much more than just sisterly love. We are best friends. And that goes for my mom as well, she's our best friend too. We banded together like a family that we are and help my baby sister bring this beautiful little boy into the world. 

At 12:21PM on April 21 Callen was born! He was 8 pounds and 21 inches long and tons of black hair. He's so perfect! It was a memorable occasion for everyone The moment I got to hold him was so special. I wasn't aunt! And Brian wasn't Uncle! For the first time!! And we could not have been more excited. 

The moment that I got to hold him was beyond special! He was perfect he was everything I had dreamed up and I was so proud of my baby sister for all that she has done, not only just the last nine months of having a very hard high-risk pregnancy but for delivering this little boy like a champ! #BeastMode 😉

Wine Wait is OVER!

While in Europe prior to being pregnant we went to this amazing little Italian place in Switzerland owned by an Italian couple. It was our anniversary dinner and it was so memorable. While at this dinner I had the best "bottle" of wine in my life. 

   

Disclaimer: it was a LONG meal, I'm talking hours, and this wine was only 5% alcohol.

It was a moscato di'asti! It was from Italy and it was the most expensive wine I had ever had (mind you I don't normally order a whole bottle at a restraunt, so expensive to me is not like others) it was over $40 for the bottle but once I had two glasses I decided price wise I should drink the whole bottle, plus we were on vacation and it was our anniversary, plus is was 5% alcohol.

Fast forward a month and we are back in the US. We were attending a concert in my friends field. (No joke, a concert in the middle of a cornfield, like you see in country music videos.) Brian found me a moscato di'asti for the night and I was on cloud nine! It was so good. 

Since I was the DD to drive my family home from the concert for the night, while we were at the pre-game party I was able to enjoy the whole bottle again. It was not exactly the same but it was close, and it was hitting the spot. Brian drove us all to the concert and I didn't drink anymore. (Told you this in so my Grandma knows I was good 😊) After the concert all the "drunkies" decided we needed Taco Bell, so off to taco "hell" I drove. I ended up getting a taco, then after getting home and eating we all went to bed.

The next morning around 6 AM I woke up and could have sworn I was hung over! I was puking, felt super nauseous, had a headache, and it was terrible. After sleeping on the bathroom floor until 9, I decided it had to have been taco "hell", since I didn't drink enough to ever even get a buzz let alone be hung over today. All morning I felt terrible.......the next morning same thing.....this leading to me realizing I may be pregnant and should take a test. And indeed....+PREGNANT!!!! 

Yes this was super exciting since we had JUST started "trying", but it was bittersweet because it meant that the amazing wine I just discovered would not be able to be enjoyed again for close to a year. 

Today, an entire 11 months and one day later, after working up my milk stash, I had my first "glass" of the moscato di'asti. (Did I mention it taste like Sprite!!) Another disclaimer: I didn't drink this whole "glass" because enjoying a glass of wine with a newborn is different too, plus I think my eyes were bigger than my tummy because it had been so long. But I did enjoy it in between being a mommy. It was worth the wait and since it's so low in alcohol content I was able to avoid pumping and dumping!!! 

Back to "work" after having a baby

When I began my Mary Kay business my whole goal was to be able to be a work from home mom, make money, and not miss any of my kids moments. The goal of working from home actually happened prior to even trying to have kids, so once we were pregnant, I was fortunate enough to be pregnant and working from home as well.

This was such a blessing and I wish every women could stay home while pregnant especially in the first and third trimester. For me those were the hardest. The first I was so incredibly sick I lost 20 lbs, and had to be on nausea meds until 18 weeks, and the third I was miserable, and large and not getting any sleep because I had to pee every two seconds.

So after baby girl arrived I was able to work a little by delivering products to customers when it fit into my schedule. So I was still making money. I decided to take 6 weeks off from having any appointments so I could focus on learning to be a mom. This time period was great but I was missing my Mary Kay time. Here is baby girl on our first delivery after she was born: 

After 6 weeks I was chomping at the bit to get back into a routine with working out, Mary Kay, and still being a great Mom. I knew it would be a transition, but I was ready for it. 

I held my first weekly meeting and all was great! There was a great turn out, and Everly has some time with Daddy, which turned out to be funny because she had he first blow out!! 

So now I'm learning to work while she naps, wherever that may be, and get into a routine. 

So thankful for the amazing opportunity Mary Kay Ash has created so I can do this "work" thing while still being at home with my baby girl. Feeling very blessed.