A Tea Party Fit for a Princess

Everly turned one last Thursday and we were surrounded by dear friends and family as we celebrated the first year of her precious little life. Her birthday weekend was filled with laughter, happy tears, and special memories that I will never forget. I know that she will not remember all of the fun that we had so I am going to do my best to document all of the shenanigans on this blog.

We kicked off the birthday festivities by taking Everly to her first tea party at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills.

A little fancy for a one year old you say? Well if you ask my girlfriend, Tammy (aka sissy), one is never to young to start experiencing afternoon tea. When we found out that Tammy was going to be able to fly out for the birthday party celebration, she asked me if she could start a tea party tradition with Miss Everly. Of course I was supportive of this idea! Any opportunity to get dressed up, sip tea, and eat delicious treats with two of my favorite people in the world is not something I would ever pass up!

I must say I was a little nervous about taking Everly to a fancy, schmancy hotel because one year olds tend to be unpredictable at times. However, I must applaud my little lady's behavior because she made it through two hours of tea and socializing without any meltdowns. In fact, she was delightful the entire time. She ate fresh strawberries, nibbled on egg salad sandwiches and scones, and sipped her ice cold milk all the while flirting with the waiter and any bystanders who would give her attention. To say she was a hit is an understatement.

The staff members at the hotel and the tea room were so kind and accommodating too. Two different hotel staff members gave Everly a stuffed teddy bear and the waiter even brought her a special birthday dessert after he found out it was her birthday.

I was shocked that a 5 star hotel with such high end clients would be so warm and welcoming to someone with a one year old.  I highly recommend this hotel and their tea room to anyone looking for a unique and special location to celebrate. I am already trying to find another excuse to go back and visit.

Catching up on the News

I cannot believe my last blog post was over a month ago!  I have no idea where the time has gone, but in one week Miss Everly will turn one. I can still remember driving to the hospital and being in labor like it was yesterday. I will never forget the feeling that I had when I saw her for the first time and when I held her in my arms. I never really understood what people meant when they said that the love a parent feels for a child is unlike any other until I saw Everly for the first time. My love for her is almost indescribable. It is overwhelming and sometimes it actually hurts. There are times when my heart feels like it is swelling inside my chest. It just feels full and warm. I hate to be all "Jerry McGuire" here, but she really does complete me.

This morning I was watching a news story about Jessica Simpson and her struggle with weight loss after the birth of her baby girl a few months ago and out of nowhere tears started streaming down my face. I remember feeling EXACTLY how she feels about the post-baby weight and struggling to find my new identify as a mom, wife, and individual. Thankfully, almost a year into motherhood, I finally feel like I am finding a balance between all 3 of these roles. I am also proud to report that I weigh less now than when I got pregnant! All those early, long, and hard mornings at Stroller Strides have really paid off!

One thing I know for sure is that the last year has been a whirlwind of change, excitement, stress, tears, anxiety, hope, joy, and overwhelming love all rolled into one incredible adventure. And guess what??? I wouldn't change any of it for the world. As a matter of fact, I know that Everly has taken me to a new place in my journey here on Earth. I said a few months back that I thought she was going to be my greatest teacher in this life, and as I write this post today I have never been more certain of anything. She makes me want to be a better mother, wife, friend, daughter, and person. I have spent the last year examining and analyzing every decision and choice I have made to try and "figure it all out". What I have learned is that you are never going to get it right all the time. It is actually ok to make mistakes and it is impossible to be everything to everyone all the time. I have realized that as long as the love I have for myself, my husband, my child (and Bama too of course) are nurtured, honored, and respected we can get through anything.

Bring it on year #2!

On a side note: since this blog has been my "online" baby book for Everly I am making it a goal to try and post more pictures and short entries on a regular basis so she will have something to look back on when she is older. Since the title of this post was "Catching Up on the News" I thought it would be appropriate to post this picture of Everly and her Daddy perusing the Sunday ads in the newspaper.

This baby girl of ours loves to read! The photos below were taken at Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago. She could look at books for hours!!! :)

Where Did My Baby Go?

Over the last few weeks Everly has started transforming from a baby into a toddler. I look at her every single day and wonder what happened to that little baby who was totally and 100% dependent upon Danny and I for everything just a few short months ago? Miss Everly is blossoming into a little lady right before our very eyes. She can crawl now at lightning speeds, cruise around the room holding on to the wall, couch, or any other stable object at a full sprint, and she has a special knack for finding the one thing in the room that I don't want her to touch. She also understands simple commands and is trying her best to talk. She uses Ma-Ma and Na-Ma (Bama) consistently in context, while Da-Da has multiple meanings. If you ask her where "Chick-Chick" is she will stop what she is doing and start searching for him (Chick-Chick is her favorite stuffed animal. She is holding him in the picture below.).

Her personality is also in full swing. She is proving to be quite the cracker jack. She dances on command, laughs hysterically at her own farts, claps when she is proud of herself, whistles when she is really busy, and squeals with delight when you play chase or peek-a-boo with her. Her sweet giggle is contagious and her mischievous and stubborn ways are certainly going to keep us on our toes for years to come (of course I wouldn't want or expect anything else from our kid because, after all, look who made her!).

She is still eating everything in sight and is slowly moving past the puree food stage into finger foods. Her absolute favorite foods are pancakes, carrots, Puffs, and bananas. So far we haven't discovered any food allergies yet (fingers crossed), which is a huge concern for both Danny and I since he is allergic to everything.

Another milestone that Everly recently achieved was learning to drink out of a straw. We have been working on this for a few months and the other morning at breakfast I caught her watching me carefully as I drank my Diet Coke from a straw. I decided to order a water for her and let her try it. She instantly grabbed the cup and started drinking out the straw. All of a sudden it just clicked for her! It is fascinating how quickly she absorbs new information and skills.

Sometimes I stop and try to remember what life was like before Everly and I honestly can't remember much. I feel like she has been with us forever, yet time feels like it is passing at record speed. I am in the beginning stages of planning her first birthday party and it is mind-boggling that she will be turning a year old in 6 weeks! It really is true what everyone says about how fast it all goes by. Everly has taught me so much in the last year. My heart swells with gratitude, love, and pride for this amazing little person who has taught me what it truly means to live and love!

She Whistles While She Works!

I know it has way been too long since I posted an update on the blog, but we have been busy bees this summer. I am enjoying some time off of work and trying to soak up every second of my freedom before the fall semester begins. Everly is growing like a weed and her personality is blossoming as well. She is such a little cracker jack (is anyone really surprised...look who her parents are after all !).

One of her latest (and funniest) new tricks is whistling. She thinks this is hilarious (so do we of course!). Seriously, though?!!? I have never heard a baby whistle before, so naturally, Danny and I were perplexed when we realized what she was doing. We have been trying our best to capture her whistling in action over the past couple of weeks, but every time she notices that we have the camera she stops.

We managed to take the video clip below before she noticed that the camera was filming her special new talent (she even turned toward the wall so we couldn't see her face). The video doesn't truly showcase her true whistling talent, but the end of the video is priceless because she knows that she is being a rascal and she lets out the best laugh ever! Man, I love this baby so much! It just keeps getting better. :)

You Spin Me Round, Round, Baby...

Danny and I recently decided to make a bucket list for LA because there are so many cool places to visit in our backyard.  This past weekend we took Everly to Griffith Park and crossed one of the places off of our list. Who knew LA had such a fabulous, open space kids to roam and explore? Not I!

After driving through the park we finally decided on the perfect picnic spot overlooking the Merry-Go Round. Everly was instantly mesmerized by all the green grass. I always forget that we live in an urban jungle so grass is a relatively foreign concept to her. She was a little skeptical of it at first but quickly warmed up to the soft, squishy texture of the earth below her feet.



Of course all of the loud music booming from the band organ inside the carousel caught her attention immediately. After we ate our lunch we made our way over to the carousel and bought some tickets for her very first ride. As soon as we put Everly on the horse she grabbed the pole and held on like she had been riding horses for years. She sat back and let the wind whip through her hair while she soaked in every second of the ride. Danny and I watched in awe as we experienced another amazing first with our baby girl.

Side note: Supposedly the carousel here served as an inspiration for no other than Walt Disney himself. So in all reality we probably will not know the true impact this experience has had on sweet Everly until much later in her life. Let me be the first to say that when she creates something amazing in the future I am going to connect it back to this experience. Haha! :)

Beach Bums

We took our first beach trip as a family a few weeks ago and it was nothing short of magical! I grew up vacationing on the white sandy beaches in the panhandle of Florida, so naturally I insisted that Everly's first introduction to the beach should happen there. Now I know what some people are probably thinking, "Geez, Jenn, you live in Southern California and you have a beach that is literally 15 minutes from  your house." True, but the beaches in SoCal do not hold a candle to the beaches in Gulf Shores, Destin, and Panama City. The beaches on the panhandle have soft, white, powdery sand. The water in the ocean is crystal clear and WARM! The condos sit right on the beach so you can walk out of your front door and be on the beach in seconds. Everything about the beach experience there is glorious and I cannot think of a better way to spend 7 days (other than traveling to other countries outside of the U.S., but that will have to wait a few more years)!

 

The first few moments on the beach almost crushed my soul because Everly's first reaction to this new experience was not so positive. She was freaked out by the ocean, the sand, the heat, the sunscreen, and all of the people. I thought, oh hell, what are we going to do for the next 7 days? Staying in the condo was definitely not an option because that place was a death trap with all of the tile floors, glass objects, and sharp corners. Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful space for adults, but was an accident waiting to happen for little people who are just learning to pull up and stand.

Luckily, it didn't take her long to warm up to this new environment. Within a half hour she was mesmerized by the waves crashing in the ocean, the gritty texture of the wet sand, and the powder-like softness of the dry sand. The best part of the entire trip was experiencing everything through her eyes. The first afternoon at the beach I sat on the sand where the water was washing up on the shore with Everly sprawled out across my lap on her stomach rubbing the sand between her fingers and watching the waves wash ashore. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head as she dug in the sand, rubbed it between her fingers, and then looked up at me with pure joy and excitement on her face as she processed this new discovery.

Other firsts on this trip for Miss Everly included eating a french fry (thanks Aunt Shay), an airbrushed t-shirt (one of my favorite souvenirs growing up), drinking water out of a straw, and riding in a car without Mommy or Daddy (this was a big one!). My precious cousin, Claire, and her darling fiance, Dakota (they got engaged while we were at the beach...congrats, you two!!!), went to the beach with us and gave Danny and I some much needed adult time while we were there. Claire and Everly have had a special bond since she was born so I was beyond excited that she could be a part of this trip. Claire and her sister Katelyn are like the little sisters I never had. Katelyn was born when I was 14 and Claire was born when I was 17. They were a huge part of my life when I was a teenager and in college and as we have gotten older our relationship has only grown deeper and stronger. It is really cool to watch Claire interact and bond with Everly in much the same way I did with her and her sister when they were babies. AND...to make this part of the story even sweeter, Katelyn is expecting a baby boy in early October, so now Everly will have a cousin to grow up with and get into all kinds of shenanigans in the coming years. I definitely see many more beach trips with Claire, Katelyn, and their families in our future!

Some of our closest friends were also able to make this first beach trip with us and this made the whole experience that much sweeter!  After this trip I have determined that going to the beach with friends and family is going to be a yearly event for us. The ocean is my elixir! Sitting under an umbrella, surrounded by the people who mean the world to me, with a cold drink in my hand, feeling the sand between my toes, and watching the waves roll in is the best therapy that money can buy. Cheers, Destin! It's been real. We will see you next year...same time...same place. :)

Mother's Day from a New Perspective

Becoming a mom has touched me in places that I didn't even know existed until Everly arrived. I never knew a love this deep until I met her. In addition to feeling a love so strong that it makes my heart ache, motherhood has also made me more compassionate, humble, patient, emotional, and cautious. Now when I interact with other people I am often struck by the parallel that they too have a parent that most likely feels the same unconditional love that I have for Everly. I sob when I see a news story or watch a TV show that covers a topic related to a child or parent going through hard times. I am no longer instantly irritated by noisy children in a restaurant or store. Instead, I look to the parents to see how they are coping or handling the situation. I try my best not to judge other parents and their choices because I have learned that parenting truly is the toughest job on the planet.

Since our children do not come with a user's manual we are forced to rely on our instincts and our own core values and morals when it comes to making decisions about raising our children. I know I don't always get it right and some days are certainly better than others, but I try to do my very best each day to give Everly the stability, consistency, and love that she needs to thrive and develop. There are days when I feel an incredible amount of guilt about working, trying to balance my own needs, and wondering if I am getting anything right, but when I stop and look at the smile on her face, hear the joy in her giggles, and see the glimmer in her eyes all of my uncertainty disappears.

Last weekend I celebrated my first official Mother's Day and I cannot even begin to describe how special this day was for me. By most accounts we didn't really do anything out of the ordinary for Mother's Day, but it just felt good to have my little family together. We spent the entire morning being lazy (I actually slept until 11:00 a.m. - yahoo!) and then went out for a late lunch at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles. Everly also surprised me with the most beautiful pink roses I have ever seen. According to Danny, Everly rode her pink horse, "Rody", to the store and traded her milk for the flowers. What a little rascal! ;)



Everly's MiMi was also in town for a visit so that only added more joy to the day. It is obvious that Everly and my mom already have such a special connection so having her here with us made the day complete. My own relationship with my mother has evolved so much in the last 8 months and I couldn't have been happier that she was here to celebrate with us. Now I can honestly look at her and say, "I get it! I finally understand how much you love me. All of the sacrifices, happiness, and pride you have for me finally makes sense."

The journey through parenthood is tough, exhausting, uncertain, and even scary at times, but it is also the most rewarding experience I have ever had. I am constantly reminding myself that my response to life's twists and turns will have a direct impact on how she responds to adversity and challenges in her own life some day. I try to make sure that her best interests are at the center of every decision I make and it is already clear that she will be my greatest teacher in this life. Holding the title of "Everly's Mom" is most certainly the accomplishment I am most proud of today and always.