June in July

Well, I think we've already established that I only blog about special occasions and a new baby fits those guidelines! It's mainly for me anyway so I can remember every detail! So here is the story of June...

It started Thursday morning.

I woke up feeling like the Braxton Hicks were a little stronger than normal and hoping they would actually turn into something I took the kids on a walk around the block. Thankfully it was actually a decent morning. It was overcast but still a little hot and humid. Our walk got cut short thanks to Ramsey who decided to grab, with both hands, a prickly pear cactus. He would. Poor guy had his hands full of microscopic stickers and he wasn't happy about! I don't blame him! So we rushed home as fast as an almost 39 week pregnant mama could with three little kids on a bike and plasma cars, which Ramsey would not ride home for obvious reasons so I had to drag his car AND carry him most of the way. If that didn't start labor then I don't know what did! I did my best to wash Ramsey's hands and pick out what I could of the thorns. He wasn't too satisfied though.

We got invited to go to the park by my friend Nicole and I thought that would be a good idea for Ramsey to distract him from his hands and also hoping that the sand would rub the thorns out? Nicole and I were both convinced that today was the day! So as the hours went by I was more and more disappointed and felt no more signs of contractions. Thursday was definitely not the day.

I was really hoping and praying June would come by Saturday so we could be home and settled in time for Hudson to start his first day of Kindergarten on Monday! I really really didn't want to miss his first few days of school. So as Thursday ended my hopes of delivering early were coming to an end. She would have to be born Friday night at the latest for us to be home by Sunday.

So I went to bed Thursday night accepting that I'll have to wait until next Thursday to have this girl which is when I was going to be induced. Because Sunday- Wednesday were off limits! I didn't sleep very well at first. I was just uncomfortable, as always, but was also feeling those Braxton Hicks a little more that night too. By 12AM I started to wake up often from contractions. I didn't know if they were just random ones cause I had had those occasionally the past two weeks or if it was going to be the real thing. So I kept trying to sleep with little luck both out of being uncomfortable and excitement. By 2:30AM I decided I was just going to stay up, eat, and time the contractions. Which were still bearable. They were consistently 6-7 minutes apart and by then I knew this had to be the real deal! Buuut also still questioning it cause my last two labors were only 3 hours long and this seemed to be going a little more slowly. So I wasn't sure when I should wake Curtis or start thinking about calling my mom to watch the kids or having to wake up my friend Nicole who was going to take birth pictures. So I just kept timing the contractions which started to be a little more painful. Curtis woke up at 3AM to use the bathroom and I told him that he'd better just stay up. And we both did a happy dance cause this was it! JK we don't dance but we were really excited! We both showered and shaved and Curtis ironed a nice a button up shirt cause he wanted to be sure to look his best for his new baby girl. :D And I got back into my pajamas. Hah! I called my mom at 3:30 who thankfully answered my second call. We never talked about what would happen if I went into labor in the night! We weren't expecting it! And thankfully she was able to work out her work schedule to be here and watch the kids for us. We left for the hospital at 4. Which I was still questioning, wondering if they would even keep us since who knows how long I was going to be in labor for!? The contractions were only 5-6 minutes apart but definitely getting more painful. When we got to the hospital we tried to go through the main entrance which didn't open and then realized it was still too early and we had to go through the ER which was around the corner from the main entrance. I figured the walking would do some good. :P

We got check into to triage and the nurse checked me and I was disappointed to find out that I was only 3-4cm dilated. The contractions felt more painful than 3-4cm! Since they had no history of how far I was dilated before labor started she gave us 40 minutes to walk around and then see if I progressed any after that. We started our walk around 5 which didn't last long cause the pain really picked up! I had to stop and crouch down to get through the contractions. We went back to our room so I could pee and I tried to tough it out the last 15 minutes until the nurse would come back and check me but I couldn't. I told Curtis to go get her now so she could check me now! She came back, checked me, and hallelujah I was at 6cm! I decided I had better call Nicole by then so she could make it in time to take pictures! Things were still moving pretty fast but not 3 hours fast.

Once we got into the labor and delivery room I started asking for that epidural every 5 minutes. At lease it felt that way. :P The pain was getting to be a little too much OK?! Unfortunately they had to get the IV in first which took 2 nurses and 4 very painful pokes and digging around in my veins to finally get one in. That wasn't fun.Worse pain than the epidural in my honest opinion.

Nicole got to our room after 6 and around 6:30 I got that glorious epidural! Seriously, that's the best invention ever. And so are birth photographers.;) Things slowed down after that and the three of us just hung out. Haha. It was weird just waiting around. My last three labors there wasn't much waiting. I kept texting my anxiously awaiting mom and sisters "nothin yet". The nurses put that stupid peanut ball between my legs to help the progression and then came back and hour later to take it out to slow things down cause my doctor had left. What the? :1 My water broke on its own around 7:45 so I guess it did something. And then we just waited some more. By 8:30 I was dilated to 10cm buuut that's when the nurses tried to slow everything down so my doctor could make it back. June was still high up in there and I felt no need to push yet so it was ok I guess. My epidural actually worked a little too well and I couldn't feel a single thing! It made pushing a little bit hard.

At 9 my doctor was back and it was finally time to get this girl out! I pushed for almost 20 minutes and at 9:19AM that warm, squishy, little June was placed on my chest! My favorite moments EVER! It's just so special and amazing to bring a little life into the world! I'm so full of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for allowing us this heavenly experience and giving us June! Looking at that sweet girl for the first time was just the best!

June Carol

7lbs 6oz

20.5 inches

Born Friday the 21st of July

You just have to stare at them! Memorize every detail of their fresh little bodies. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

June's arrival could not have been more perfect! I was so afraid to go into labor naturally knowing how fast my last two labors went. I thought for sure this time would be even faster than 3 hours and I was worried about not getting an epidural or worse having her on the way to the hospital! Or not being able to find someone to watch the kids in time. So I chose to be induced this time for peace of mind. Obviously I didn't make it another week to be induced and June ended up being my longest labor (9ish hours :P) and my earliest baby (10 days) and thank goodness too because it gave us time to get the kids taken care of and make it to the hospital. AND we were home in time to be there for Hudson!

It's funny, I geared up for this big change of having four kids only to find out how normal it has all been. Its been challenging for sure but you just do it. You just go about your days and it's just a new crazy normal. Not knowing if this was our last baby or not I really tried to soak in all her newborn-ness cause after 4 kids you realize how fast that first month goes by! I tried hard to enjoy as much of it as I could.

June is loved very much by all her siblings! And it was so special to watch them see her for the first time! Nova couldn't wait to hold her. They were all whispering and staring at her just as much as I did. My heart couldn't take it! I feel SO blessed and I love my family so much. And I try to remember those special moments during the hard times cause it all really is worth it.

And then there were 5!

Ramsey Curtis Hofmann

Born on August 13th at 5PM

7 pounds 2 ounces and 19 3/4 in

The past 4 days have been AH-mazing! Can't believe this boy makes us a family of 5 now! I'm going to brag a bit now, continue reading if you can take it...

I was praying hard for an early arrival of this boy. I didn't think I'd be lucky enough for him to come early, considering Hudson was 8 days late and Nova was evicted 2 days before 40 weeks. My friends were having their babies left and right and it was killing me! I was just way too excited to have to wait 40 weeks or more! I didn't want to be induced but I was really considering it if I did make it to 40 weeks. We were SO ready to meet Ramsey!

I had a doctors appointment Thursday morning (the 13th). I was 38 weeks and 6 days pregnant.  My doctor said I was 3-4 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I asked her if she would strip my membranes and she did but had said they were pretty much seprated already naturally. She was confident I wouldn't make it to my Tuesday appointment. But I couldn't believe her! I was dilated to a 3 for 1-2 weeks with both Hudson and Nova, AND stripping my membranes with them never worked. I had little hope!

Went home and went about my afternoon with the kids. I laid Nova down for a nap at 1:30 and me and Hudson sat on the couch watching our shows. And then soon after started the back pain and cramping. I figured it was just from my doctor stripping my membranes but it quickly turned into contractions and 5 minutes apart! Curtis texted me at 2 and said work asked him to stay for overtime but I told I thought I was having real contractions and if they weren't gone in an hour then he'd better come home. I texted him back 30 minutes later and told him he had to leave now! The contractions were already having me crouch over in so much pain! Oh back labor is the devil!! I was kinda sorta planning on going all natural this time cause I felt I handled labor with Nova so well but the back labor quickly changed my mind and I knew I would be getting an epidulal ASAP! I told Curtis he'd better hurry! He works an hour away and I was a bit nervous with how things were progressing! I had text my mom too and asked her to come watch the kids! She was 40 minutes away though! I finished packing my bag and threw stuff into the car. I figured I'd be able to wait for one of them to get here but oh no! I texted my friend Reyna who lives a street over to see if she could take my kids while I drove myself to the hospital! Thankfully she replied right away! I got the kids ready, droped them off real fast and headed to the hospital which, thankfully, was only 5 minutes away this time! I think it was no coincidence that I switched doctors so I could deliver at that hospital! Or else Ramsey would have been born in the car on my way to Banner Desert! Curtis called me while I was on my way to the hopsital and I told him to meet me there! We both got there at about 3:45. It was happening so fast I didn't even have time to process the fact that we were about to have a baby! Just had my eye on that epidural!

Of course we had to sign papers first. My contractions were like 3-5 minutes apart now. Once in triage, which I didn't know was triage I though it was going to be the delivery room cause it had everything but nope! I paniced! I knew they still had to check me and monitor me and ask me questions.  And I was afraid there would be no time for an epidural. I told the nurses that I have fast babies so they rushed! They knew I wanted an epidural ASAP! I was already 6cm dilated when I got checked at about 4 o'clock. Then they moved us to our delivery room before they even finished with triage. The contractions were so painful!!  I'm so happy the nurses were so quick with everything! They kept asking if I was feeling any pressure to push during my contractions, I think they were worried my doctor wouldn't make it! They got me all hooked up to the IV and soon after the anesthesiologist came in. Hallelujah!  OH how I love epidurals! 

After the anesthesiologist left my nurse checked me and I was 8cm 

and it was 4:30 now. The pain slowly faded and I had about 15 minutes to relax and then my doctor showed up. She was going to check me and break my water. She said I was 9cm and told the nurses to get everything ready now! I pushed for maybe 5 minutes and a squishy, warm, dark haired, little boy was placed on my chest. Oh those moments are my favorite! I cry every time! So special and so heavenly! He hardly cried at all and was just so content to be on me. And holy crap I just had a baby in three hours! Again!! I never thought that would happen twice!

I loved this hospital! They made me do skin to skin with him for an hour which we didn't know was a rule cause after 30 minutes Curtis said OK my turn! And the nurse was like no, he's with mama for an hour! Haha. So he was able to nurse right away. Once I got him latched he stayed on for about a half hour! This was a much better start to nursing than my experience with Nova. 

So after an hour and half on me they finally took him and weighed and measured him. Then they made Curtis do skin to skin too! Haha. But I know he secretly liked it. ;)

After we got into the recovery room my mom brought Hudson and Nova. They were so cute with him! Didn't want to hold him though. Just liked looking at all his little features. And Hudson thought it was cool that he would grab his finger. I loved watching them finally get to meet baby Ramsey! Now at home they don't mind him much. Just go about their playing. Although Hudson told me today "I like baby Ramsey. " So sweet! Nova did hold him the night we brought him home. That was cute!

I've been feeling great! A much better recovery from the last two! Thank goodness too since I have two other kids to keep up with still! Breast feeding has been a world of a difference compared to Nova! Ramsey is an awesome nurser! It's still been real painful for me though! I have not had to use any formula and don't plan on it! I've been trying to get him to take a paci cause I need a break sometimes but he definitely prefers to nurse! Thankfully he took his first bottle today! That helped! The kid loves food! Maybe I'll actually have a chunker!? This may be cheesy but I had him on the day I quit nursing Nova a year ago! I thought that was special. :) He's been sleeping really great at night too! 5-6 hours! It would be longer but I wake him after 6. Don't know how I got so lucky! He is just the most patient little guy too. And loves to held of course.  He's so perfect!

He's quite literally the boy of my dreams! If you read my last post about him then you'll know I had a dream of a dark haired little boy we named Ramsey before I was even pregnant with him. Kinda special! And here he is! I really didn't know how I could love another baby boy, since my baby boy was Hudson! But that hasn't been a problem at all! So much love! I'm so thankful for my happy, healthy family of FIVE!

Number 3

Blogging used to be so easy to me. The words would just flow from my mind to my fingers. Now I sit down to type and my mind is blank. I post so much to Instagram and Facebook that I feel like blogging would just be a copycat of what I already posted. So I haven't blogged in year now! It was easy to blog when I had Hudson, for one, I just had one kid, and two, he was pretty interesting with his cleft business so it wasn't just a boring day in the life of a four month old. And then Nova came along and things got busier and blogging got harder. 

I post when big things happen now because there is usually more details and emotion that need to be said that won't fit in a little paragraph on Instagram. So here I am! Although you all know our big news now! I'm pregnant with our third baby! Woohoo! I had to write down how this little being came to be mostly for my own memory but it has also been a very spiritual experience for me so I wanted to share. 

We all know my little crazy Nova has not being an easy child. She is full of life! She is stubborn, demanding, and high maintenance. Although she is the best cuddle bug out there she has been testing my patience for a long time now! I was fully prepared to wait until she was two before I considered having a third baby. I had no desires to be pregnant again for a long time! In July 2014 I decided I needed more happiness in my life. I was struggling with life and raising two little kids. I wasn't happy. So I made a goal with Curtis to attend the temple every other Tuesday. It was one of the few nights Curtis had off work because I had my church calling as an Activity Day Leader. Which was only two times a month but Curtis got every Tuesday off. So Tuesday became Temple Tuesday! And guess what?! We rocked Temple Tuesday! I think we only missed two Tuesday's in about 4 months. 

One night we were short on time so we decided to do Initatories. It was actually the first time I had done them besides my own. During a specific part of the ordinance I had a very strong desire to be pregnant. I longed for it and was excited for it in that moment. My excitement didn't stop after I was done with Initatories and I was excited to tell Curtis my experience! On our way home I told him the impression I got while there. I knew he wouldn't just drop everything and be on board with me for a third baby so I told him to pray about it and that I'd wait. Impatiently though... 

It was like night and day. One minute I had absolutely no desire for a third baby and after the temple I couldn't contain this strong desire to be pregnant right then and there. After a couple weeks of nagging Curtis for a third baby I decided to stop and put my focus elsewhere so I signed up for 2 10K races in November! I had not run consistently since Hudson was two months old and I had 8 weeks to train for six miles! It ment I had to wait until after my races to get pregnant and Curtis was OK with that! He wanted to wait until the beginning of the year to start trying for baby number 3. It felt like decades away though!

There was one night, in the midst of waiting and training, I had a very clear and real dream about Curtis handing me a baby boy with lots of dark hair wrapped in a hospital blanket. We were in a hospital room and we named him Ramsey. I always liked the name Ramsey but never really decided on it for a baby or even really told Curtis about it. So when I told Curtis my dream he agreed to start trying for a baby as soon as my races were over. He also agreed to name our boy Ramsey if it were a boy! I couldn't stop thinking about the dream and how our third baby just might be a boy!

Well low and behold things were aligned perfectly and it was literally days after my last race that I could get pregnant. And two weeks later I got a positive pregnancy test! Although getting pregnant for us has always been easy I still felt like this baby was meant to be here right at this time. I was so excited to be pregnant again! I told Curtis the news by writing "I'm pregnant" at the bottom of a hot chocolate filled mug. And we announced to the world that I was pregnant on Christmas Day! 

I had another dream of me giving birth to a dark haired baby boy and we again named him Ramsey. This was just days before my ultrasound in which we found out we were indeed having a BOY! So Ramsey it is! Coincidence? I think not!

For some reason only Heavenly Father knows, this boy is meant to be in our lives right now! It's times in my life when I, or we, have been struggling that we turn to Lord and get back on track to the things He wants us to do that we are most influenced by the spirit. He just wants to see us try, no matter how little and He'll give us a nudge in the right direction. Where we can find happiness once again. It's in these moments that I realize we are inline with His will. And it's because we are putting forth effort to be! Now if I could always remember that life might be a bit easier, but I am only human. 

Experiences like these testify to me that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. Although I feel totally incompetent for three children I find strength in the fact that this is what Heavenly Father wants for us. He trust us with another one of precious spirits. I know He knows we can do it. And I know he watches me struggle with Hudson and Nova and just waits (sometimes too long) for me to call on him for help. I'm so grateful for my testimony of a Father in Heaven who loves us. And a testimony of a gospel that helps me raise a family. I don't have to be alone in this calling. 

I'm so happy to be pregnant with our third baby! Also scared for three children but more excited! Can't believe we are actually on our third baby! I feel like I JUST had Hudson... This pregnancy has been so different from the last two! My morning sickness lasted only until 12 weeks and wasn't even that bad compared to the last two. I also really haven't been that tired. But oh the aches and pains started weeks ago! I'll be 18 weeks on Friday so that makes him Due August 21st! SO excited! Despite being pregnant ALL summer I am actually really excited for summer! Yes, you heard right! I just bought a maternity swim suit and I plan on spending a lot of our time by the pool... Or splash pad. I have always wanted to go swimming while pregnant. It sounds amazing! The kids start swim lessons on the 31st that I am excited about too! And we have a Mexico trip in June! It's gonna be a fun summer... I ain't gonna let a big oil' belly get in my way and the kids way of a fun summer, that's the plan at least...

The B word.

Ahhh breastfeeding... so special, so bonding, so relaxing, so natural, and so much love!

On most days those would not be my words of choice when speaking about breast feeding. In fact, some of those words I have never used to describe breast feeding! Despite my lack of nice words towards it by some miracle we have made it to a YEAR! A whole freaking year of someone else sucking on my boobs many, many times a day. Beyond pregnancy my body has still not been my own. Twenty one months I have not been away from my baby girl for more than 4 hours. It's exhausting. And we wonder why she is such a mama's girl...

As exhausting as it is I have enjoyed it. I love seeing Nova get so excited when she wants to nurse that she jumps up and down in my lap and even helps pull down my shirt. I love when she looks at me and smiles and when her hand plays with my lips. I love when she pops off with milk dripping down her cheek to see what Hudson is up to and then latching back on and getting down to business again. I love that I am her favorite and I love that I can comfort her in a way no one else can. So breast feeding has been quite a different bonding experience. I do feel more attached to Nova. I feel like I worry about her more when I'm away from her. And it's not that I love Hudson any less it's just the mind set of knowing no one else can give her the nourishment and comfort that she gets from me nursing her. Even though I'm sure she could make it a whole day now with out nursing cause she'll eat anything, I just worry about "what if's". What if she really needs me when I'm gone?! It's totally just me now though now that she is older.

I never felt like breast feeding was my style. It's quite rare in my family. I did not grow up around it by any means. I could not have told you the first thing about breast feeding 21 months ago! And now?! Whoa! Could I write a book about it or what?! Totally. I know all the secrets and remedies now! I would probably be the last person you'd guess who would want to breast feed. I'm very impatient, I like taking the fast route and finding the easy way of things. I'm a no nonsense kind of person. Ahh but me and Nova did it! We make a good team. Except for when she wakes up for the third time in the night and wont go back to sleep unless she is nursed. Except for then. Then I don't want to be on her team. We are working on that still! Yes, for the past 7 months! That's one thing I don't like putting up with is the night nursing! I expect it at 4 or 5 months but one year old?! It's completely a habit. I don't care what those breast feeding advocates say! "Oh, but she just needs comfort and needs that good, nutritious, more fatty, night milk!" No! She can have that milk in the morning! Same milk right? Yes, I've gained some more patience through breast feeding.

I fully support breast feeding. It is a wonderful thing! And I do believe it is the healthiest choice for your baby. I think every mom should have a goal to breast feed. I don't support the nay sayers of formula though. And I don't support pushy breast feeding advocates. Look, if nursing is just not working out for you and your new baby after a few good weeks or months of effort then let it go. Let it go! Turn a way and slam the door! I don't care what they're going to say! But really. By all means, get all the help and support you need in your breast feeding journey because my gosh you will need it! It's nothing short of a team effort. I just think some women push nursing moms too far when trying to help out by putting too much pressure on them to keep going. They act like breast feeing is the only way to go and then the moms feel like huge failures when they just aren't enjoying it and want to quit. And then scare them about formula! They need to know that if they do choose to quit that they wont be judged for it. And they need to know that they will be supported in their decision to quit so they wont feel so much regret over it. You don't need that kind of baggage with a new baby. If you choose to quit it's important to know that you still did your best and that you will still be supported in you decision to bottle or formula feed. Fed is best!

It's just not fair though! I've said many times how dumb it is that breast feeding is so dang hard when it's the natural thing to do! Why?! A new baby is stressful enough but throw breast feeding on top and your a wreck for months! Is the latch correct? Do I have enough milk? Is she GETTING enough milk? Why is she eating every half hour? To use the nipple shield or not? She's still not back to her birth weight four weeks later. Let's clip that tongue tie! Try a chiropractor! Don't eat any dairy heaven for bid! And better cut out all greens too! And chocolate! Oh wait are you still eating enough to supply milk? 4 gallons of water a day right? A paci? Heck ya! Why does it still hurt four months later? Thrush and mastitis? Twice!

I knew breast feeding would be hard. I think it was through friends talking about it on mommy Facebook groups that it actually sparked my interest in it. I asked many questions and did my own research. I bought nursing bras, covers, and pads. I felt prepared and I knew I wanted to make it to a year. And then I had Nova. It's a whole other story when the time actually comes to breast feed. I felt so silly as the nurse showed me what to do. We had latch problems right away. During our hospital stay I asked to see the lactation consultant many times but she only came by three times and I was still so lost. By the next day just the gown touching my nipples would make me cringe! SO much pain! I didn't even know if it was worth it now. But from the moment she had first latched I was somehow emotionally attached to breast feeding. Her first week was rough and I fought with myself many times over quitting. But I just could never bring myself to do it. It was really stressing me out. I wanted to keep going but it was oh so hard and I wanted to quit but then I would feel like a failure. I've put in a lot of sweat and tears over nursing Nova.

Breast feeding has been far from a natural experience for me. And I can't say it's been any easier than bottle feeding. Sure it's been nice to not have to prepare any bottles and then wash them, but all that time saved goes into the hours and hours spent nursing. Nova has nursed twice as much as Hudson ever spent taking a bottle. And the diet change? Sorry I just have no self control there! Call me a child abuser if you must but I wasn't about to cut out all my favorite foods! We'll deal with the tummy aches and rashes. Hey, she's still alive and happy today! I never liked the argument that breast milk is ready when ever and where ever cause I also found out with bottle feeding that formula is also. And formula wins that argument in my opinion cause you can't breast feed in a car! A bottle would have come in handy many, many times in the first few months for Miss I-Hate-My-Car-Seat! And a bottle gives instant satisfaction where many times when Nova was just too hungry to wait for my milk to come in she would cry and cry and cry and not nurse. Poor baby would get so frustrated! I hated it! Bottles win again! And nursing out in public was quite the hassle for me for a long time. Covers ARE hot but I wasn't about to let my boobs be seen by the public! I believe in modesty when breast feeding. I can be more discretely about it now that I have more experience but back then and even now Nova is not a neat eater. She was constantly on and off and on and off when she was younger which had to do with our on going latch issues. If we were to nurse in public with out a cover my nipples would have been shown off many times. The struggle is so real! And another win for bottles for lightening the load of a mother. Others can more easily help out! And Nova could be enjoying sleep-overs and Grammy and Pappy's!

You may be wondering why I didn't just pump and bottle feed also which I did for about 2 months but it was rare. Let me tell you my struggle there... We had latch issues. For months. I feared that using a bottle would make her stop nursing since it was much less work for her. Bottles were our last resort during the hard days. And well, pumping is just a pain in the butt! I salute any mom who can do that full time! It's not worth it to me.

I keep telling myself I had no choice but to keep going after every trial we came up to because she wouldn't take a bottle after 3 months old but of course I had a choice! I just didn't try hard enough to quit because deep down this is what I really wanted to do. I'll hate on breast feeding all day every day but I secretly like it people, OK!? I'm not your average breast feeder! I never chose to breast feed for the health benefits. That was just a bonus. I ain't afraid of no formula! It's heaven sent! And I didn't chose to breast feed because I felt denied that option with Hudson. When I had him I could not have cared less about breast feeding. In fact my prayers over the decision to breast feed him or not were answered quickly with the news of his cleft. I chose to breast feed Nova simply because I wanted to. I made a commitment and I learned to love it somehow!

I'll tell you right now if I would have quit that first week it would have made life a lot easier. But you know what? Then I wouldn't have felt the immense amount of joy and accomplishment when we had reached one whole year of breast feeding. Tell me, have you ever reached a goal of a year? And I'm not just talking about nursing. It was one of the best feelings! Especially since it has been one of the hardest things I have done. We've had many trials all along the way. And I have wanted to quit many times through out the year. So if your willing to stick it out through thick and thin then don't give up!! Now that I have reached my goal of breast feeding for a year I don't know what's next! I don't know when I'll wean her and I'm afraid if I don't pick a date soon I'll end up nursing her until she is 5! I'd like my boobs backs soon thank you very much! And so would Curtis! I'm attached to nursing OK!? There I said it! Plus my Nova girl just loves her "milks" so much it's hard for me to take that away from her!

Having done both bottle and breast exclusively I've come to the conclusion that both of my kids are still equally as awesome, smart, healthy, and happy! And I never would have doubted it!! You can't argue that breast milk isn't the best option for babies because it is! And if formula is the worst thing that my kids have eaten then I'll consider myself very, very lucky! I'll never judge my kids based on how or what they were fed the first year of their life when they have a whole life ahead of them!

And that's my breast feeding thoughts and experience for you in a big nutshell. Take it or leave it.

The Birthday Girl

I was JUST pregnant with her yesterday how can she be one already!? Seriously DON'T BLINK! In my eyes she's still like 5 months old. I'm quickly reminded she's a one year old though when I see her climb all the way to the top of our little slide and throw tantrums when I don't give her what she wants. Drama mama! Oh how fun and different it has been to have a little girl!

We have enjoyed having her in our family! She is a hoot! Just as goofy as the one before her! She is the complete opposite of Hudson. Messy, crazy, no shame, tough, an explorer, and very much a mama's girl! She loves to jump, kick her feet, dance, climb, eat, nurse, bug Hudson, yell, talk, play in the water, wander, snuggle, and play outside. She hates getting her diaper changed. She is very impatient. She has 4 top teeth, 1 bottom, and a second bottom one popping through! She just started actually walking this week! She had to meet her deadline! And she's 18 pounds! According to our scale at home...

Seriously don't let her skinny little self fool you though! She's always ready to go! As crazy as she is she is my best cuddler though! She loves to cuddle before she takes a nap or goes to bed at night. I love it! Hudson never cared to cuddle. She is a very sweet girl too, she gives her stuffed animals loves. I forgot how smart they can be at one year old! She is a quick learner. Although she loves to climb she is very careful and cautious about it too. She will let me know when she is stuck and can't get down.

I had so much fun planning her Pink Lemonade Birthday Party! Pink and yellow have kind of been her theme all along. I love those colors together. So happy and summery! Even her room colors are even pink, yellow, and mint. She had so much fun today! We did it at the splash pad at Espee Park. She loves the water! It was a hoot watching her dig into her cake! I knew she would be quick to do so! She destroyed the WHOLE thing!! And I wouldn't be surprise if it was half she ate. And then she had fun opening her presents! Finally we have girly toys now! Hudson enjoys them all too!

And now for a billion pictures...

 Going

 Going

 Gone!!

And a few from our trip to Mexico!

Happy Birthday baby girl!!