Baby J is ONE!

One week ago today my little lady baby turned one. She is one year old. How the fork did that happen?!? My sister also turned 29 (again) so October 18^th is a doubly special day. Is doubly even a word? It is today.

Sidenote: there is a dilemma to your kid and sister having the same birthday… Facebook. I updated my status with the prerequisite cheesy mama love post and made a mental note to write a second post later that day with all the cheesy love for my sister but then I got busy with work, rushed to get home to decorate the cake, made dinner, smothered baby J with love, did bedtime, cleaned up, passed out early… so basically life happened and I forgot. Not an excuse and I feel bad. I promise to make it up to her next year. On her third 29^th birthday.

For the big ONE birthday we obviously had to celebrate so we planned a party on the weekend with family and friends, and I also insisted on doing a smash cake. My friend and amazing photographer Kelly did me a favour and suggested we do it in the morning and not during the party. So smart. She also did me another huge favour and made the trip to our house TWICE (30+ minutes each way) to take the photos and then to attend the party.

It was an amazing party. I didn’t do all the decorating I wanted or make all the nibblies I had planned but it didn’t matter. Our house was filled with family and friends and I think everyone had a pretty great time, especially baby J who was loved on by everyone. I can’t wait to tell her about it one day.

The smash cake was the most stressful part for me. I ordered the onesie and the tutu, bought a little crown headband in Palm Springs back in February that of course I lost, had grand plans to make and decorate the cake thanks to Pinterest and sent my brother-in-law to wait for the party store to open because I forgot about balloons the night before. I baked the cake and chickened out on the decorating but thankfully my sister stepped up and it turned out beautifully. And then Kelly arrived to take pictures and when I saw them I literally caught my breath. I am in love with them.

As you can tell baby J hated having the cake all over her and wouldn’t even taste it. Not an icing fan.

That last one, that is my favourite picture of her ever and I want it on all of the things. And a massively huge more-than-words-can-actually-say THANK YOU to Kelly for one of the best gifts we could have ever dreamed of during baby J's first year of life. 

Happy Birthday little Lady, we love you to the moon and back.

Proof I'm Still Alive

So this is what it feels like to try and blog after months... I have no clue how to even start this post. But I guess I just did. I don.'the know why I stopped blogging although looking back it's obvious that I had nothing interesting to talk about except baby J's monthly stats. I guess I became one of those moms whose life became all about her kid. And it's hard for it not to when you're with your child 24/7 for a year... 

But last week that all changed. How you ask? Well...

1.       I went back to work. My maternity leave is officially over and I am back at work four days a week. I never thought I would come back less than full time but by the time she was 4 months old I was already dreaming of part-time hours. My ideal would be three days a but I need 32 hours a week to keep our benefits... because my hubby owns his own business it would be very expensive to get them. So four days it is and I'm grateful for even that. 

2.       Baby J started going to daycare four days a week. I alternate between this being easy and being super hard. It feels great when I drop her off and her teachers look genuinely happy to cuddle with her when we arrive, they hug and kiss on her like crazy. And the best part is that baby J smiles back. This is also one of the hardest parts - aren't those smiles supposed to be saved for me? 

3.       Daddy started doing daycare pickup and is on baby J duty until I get home (anywhere from 1 to 2 hours). Daddy got off really easy while mommy was at home on maternity leave so it's a big adjustment for him and it's going to take some practice but he needs to take on more responsibility. We're working on it. 

4.       We caught our first cold from daycare. And it kicked mommy's ass. Baby J got a cough and runny nose, and I got a fever, lost my voice, green phlegm, horrible cough... We're now on the mend although I'm told baby will have a runny nose until she starts kindergarten. Awesome. 

5.       And the biggest event of them all? My baby isn't a baby anymore. Baby J had her first birthday last week. We did all of the things: a smash cake, a party with family and friends on the weekend, and a little family party on her actual birthday. But that special occasion deserves its own post!

So that's life right now. Riveting isn't it?

I have missed this space and as of right now plan to spend a bit more time here (where else am I going to capture all our memories, a baby book? Haven't even written her name in it!) but no promises.