Rewind: Kevin's Thirsty Thirty Beer Bash!

Waaay back in July, I threw Kevin a 30th birthday party. It was a beer tasting party and ended up being so fun!

I initially got the idea from my friend Katie, when she posted a few years ago about how her sister threw her brother-in-law a party like this and I thought it was the greatest thing ever!

Since Preslie was born just a few months prior, I tried to plan ahead as much as I could. I would've normally designed the invites myself, but I just didn't have the time or energy to do it. So I enlisted the help of my Blogger/Twitter friend Ashley from Great Grabbie Designs.



I did design the beer tasting cards based on this invite. I don't think I have an electronic copy of it, but you can email me if you'd like it.

Luckily, we had a few beer mirrors that Kevin had collected that we used throughout the house. My dad had some old beer steins that worked well as decor, too. I bought out all of the wheat stalks from Hobby Lobby. I was able to find real-looking hops from save-on-crafts.com as well as some old-looking metal vases.

I got the idea of beer printables off Pinterest (here's my board I pinned ideas to for this party).
I wanted Kevin's cake to be kind of special so I ordered it from Karen's Bakery in Folsom and it turned out awesome! Karen's Bakery has been my go-to place now for all my cakes. His cake was shaped like a beer cap and it was one of is favorite beers: Lagunitas.

I had Kevin choose all the beer that they ended up tasting because I know nothing about beer. We got it all at Total Wine and More.

And I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking...



And we can't leave out a picture of our little one who was so good that day (and so little!)!



And then there were four...

As most of you may already know (thanks to our Facebook and Instagram announcements) we are expecting Baby Pino 2.0 in October!



We were initially very shocked and surprised when we found out on February 7th, when I was 3 weeks and 5 days along.

I'd like to write down the journey the past couple months to make sure it's all well-documented:

We naively thought that since it took a while to get pregnant with Preslie, that it would also take a while again to get pregnant with a second baby. So we weren't necessarily doing anything to prevent a pregnancy, but at the same time we weren't actively hoping for one right away.

I stopped producing milk in October and began having cycles in December and January. Since they weren't really regular cycles I didn't think much of it and never imagined they were still regular enough to get pregnant.

Fast-forward to the week of February 7th and I just felt "off." I had been doing Weight Watchers for about a month at that point and my weight was just up and down, and that week I couldn't lose any weight for anything. I was so bloated and just didn't feel right. I kept mentioning to Kevin that it'd be crazy if I was pregnant - but I didn't really think it to be true.

Thursday, February 7th I bought a pregnancy test at Target on my lunch break, got to work, peed on the stick and five minutes later took a look at it at my desk and laughed "HA!" out loud and then kind of had a mini-freak out moment to myself. My heart was pounding so hard and I started sweating a lot.

I then called Kevin at work, then my mom and dad, texted my BFF and then all the worries started to set in: Preslie is still a baby herself; will we be able to handle two "babies" under two; both in diapers? Can we afford two kids in daycare? We're going to have to get more baby furniture and completely switch around rooms in our house. Oh, and then eventually get a bigger car. What if there is something wrong with this baby or the pregnancy goes bad? Can we handle that? All normal worries - I know.

And I know everything will work out fine. Just initial worries. So after all that I sat down and started to plan my maternity leave and figure out money we need to set aside to pay for benefits while I'm out of work. I felt much better after doing that. Ha!

I am currently 8 weeks and 4 days along now. We had my first ultrasound on Monday (when I was 8 weeks 1 day) and everything looked perfectly fine and normal and we saw his/her little heart beating away. We are really hoping for a boy this time around, but of course will feel lucky just to have a healthy baby no matter what sex it is.

I have yet to tell my boss and manager that I'm pregnant. They're both men and don't really notice so I think I'll hold out a bit longer. I'm kind of apprehensive to tell them for some reason.

So far this pregnancy has been quite different than my pregnancy with Preslie.
~I am hungry ALL THE DAMN TIME! With P I never wanted to eat.
~I feel much more nauseous this time around, but I honestly think I'm just as nauseous as the last pregnancy. It just feels more so because I'm actually in the thick of it. Luckily, I have yet to throw up so I'm not complaining too much.
~I don't feel as tired this time around but I think that's because I don't have an option to be tired with an almost-one-year-old crawling everywhere.
~I've gained weight sooner than I did with P - that probably has a lot to do with my never-ending hunger.
~My boobs haven't been sore at all. I think that may be thanks to having just stopped producing milk not too long ago.
~I started showing at seven weeks; meaning wearing my maternity pants and people noticing the bump at work. I didn't really start showing with P until about 14 weeks, I think.
~My cravings have been geared more toward red meat and salty stuff. With my last pregnancy I wanted a lot of sweet and sour things.
~I am not a fan of grilled chicken this go-around. GAG!

I'll start my pregnancy posts at week 10 and I've decided I'm only going to do them every four weeks. I'm just being realistic here and know I'm not going to be able to keep up with weekly updates. I can hardly keep up with Preslie's monthly updates for crying out loud! I'm still going to take weekly belly pics, but only post every four weeks.

Thank you everyone for all your kind words and encouragement. It really means so much to us. We are super excited for this next adventure in our lives!!!



Preslie Kay at Eleven Months

 

Preslie turned 11 months old on Sunday, March 2nd.

I didn’t do as great of a job keeping track of her milestones and taking pictures this month because it’s been a rather busy month for us. But nonetheless, Girlfriend has been so much fun!

Measurements

No idea. She has her one year appointment next month so I’ll know then. But I think she’s slowed down on the growing front this past month.

Appearance

~Her hair continues to grow and get longer and thicker. It now parts to the right on it’s own. Before, I’d part her hair on the left but it doesn’t want to go that way anymore. It’s a challenge getting her to keep the bow in her hair.

~Just two bottom teeth, green eyes and her sweet, little dimple.

Sizes

~Size 12 month clothes and 18 month pants.

~Preslie is finally in size 2 shoes!

Personality

~She keeps us on our toes. She’s generally a very happy, easy-going baby. But when she gets mad, it is not fun.

~Right now we’re working on not hitting. Yes, she hits and she only hits me for some reason. It’s lovely.

~She has the impatience of her Mama and the frustration of her Papa.

~If someone around her is laughing, she’ll also start laughing. She has no clue what she’s laughing at, but because everyone else is doing it she joins in.

~Preslie is extremely independent.

Likes

~Books

~Bugging the dogs when they’re trying to eat

~The vacuum

~She loves to cruise around in her walker in our big, mostly empty front room. She spends a lot of time in there just talking to herself.

~Wrestling with Papa

Dislikes

~Getting changed

~Having her hair brushed or done

~Getting out of the bathtub

~Being told “no”

Eating

~Preslie pretty much eats what we eat now and it’s made things much easier. I no longer have to pack her breakfast and lunch for Miss Kara’s house since Miss Kara will feed her what she feeds the other toddlers. I think Preslie likes that too because she always wants what the other person has.

~I’ve dropped her afternoon bottle, so she’s down to two bottles a day: one in the morning and one right before bed. She takes a sippy cup of water throughout the day.

~I did a horrible job of keeping track of new foods she’s tried this month, but she has loved everything we’ve given her.

~We think she’s allergic to corn. We tried it one night at dinner and the next day was not so great on the tummy front for Sweet P. So we’ll steer clear from the corn for the time being.

Sleeping

~Still a great sleeper. Sleeps 7pm-7am and takes a morning nap and afternoon nap each day. At this point we just take her lead on when she’s tired during the day and we’re not as strict on the time of her naps as we used to be.

~Preslie loves to sleep on her tummy like her Mama.

~She sucks her thumb pretty much the whole time she sleeps.

New Experiences

~She is a fast crawler!

~Sweet P went from pulling up to her knees to pulling up to standing within only a few days. Now she wants to pull up on ALL THE THINGS ALL THE TIME!

~She waves “bye” and signs for “milk” and “all done.”

~She has a barnyard toy that plays the “Old McDonald” song and when the part of “Ee-I ee-I oh” comes on she says “Yi Yi Yo!” It’s pretty cute. That is her favorite song right now.

~She had a horrible cold this month and the runny nose was non-stop. So nasty. But all she wanted to do was snuggle and I loved that.

~Preslie will point to your eyes and nose when you ask her where they are.

~Speaking of nose…she went through a small phase of sticking her finger in her nose.

~Another fun thing Preslie has learned is how to gag herself. If she cries and gets herself really upset she’ll gag, and she has also gagged by sticking her finger down her throat. Luckily, I think this was short-lived, but time will tell. It was fun times.

~She “talks” a lot. She’s so adamant about what she says I only wish we knew what was going through her mind.

~She holds her play cell phone up to her ear when we say “Hello?!”

~She has discovered the Tupperware cabinet in the kitchen.

~We’ve transitioned her to the big car seat! (Tear from Mama )

~She celebrated her first Valentine’s Day!

~Preslie had a girls weekend when Grammy came in town for a visit! We did a lot of shopping and went to a Mexican restaurant!

~She attended her Great Grandpa Telfer’s memorial service and was so well behaved.

~She had a blast at her cousin Carter’s first birthday party!

We only have a few more weeks left of our baby before she is a one-year-old and we are trying to soak up all her baby-ness as much as we can!

Preslie Kay at Ten Months

 

^The crossed feet kill me!!!

Preslie turned 10 months old on Sunday, February 2nd.

Measurements

Girlfriend has some long legs. I don’t know her length but I need to measure her to find out. I’m also unsure on her weight. I’m going to guess probably 20-22 pounds?

^Long-Legs-McGee!

Appearance

~Lots of hair. She refuses to keep headbands in her hair so I’ve stored most away now. Bows are hit or miss, too. I can put little clips in her hair in a tiny ponytail on the top of her head that sticks straight up. It looks so funny!

~Still just two bottom teeth. She’s working on some more teefers but I haven’t seen any pop through yet.

Sizes

~All 12 month clothes. She can wear 12 month pants, but 18 month pants fit her a lot better in length and around the belly. I’ve started buying some 18 month bubbles for the summer since it gets HOT here.

~Still size 1 in shoes! It’s getting a little frustrating that her feet haven’t grown much. Ha! She has a ton of bigger shoes that have just been sitting in her closet. Oh well, they’ll get worn eventually.

~Size 3 diapers during the day, and size 4 diapers at night. We’ll probably move up to size 4 diapers during the day within the next month or two.

~She has almost outgrown her infant car seat. Her feet hang off the edge and it is getting heavy to carry her in it. We’re planning on moving her up to the bigger car seat this next month.

Personality

Oh…where do I begin? She has a big personality and very specific likes and dislikes.

~She’s been really good this month. Much better than last month. A lot less whining.

~You really have to work to get a laugh out of her. One thing that is sure to make her giggle is if you let her put one of her toys in your mouth. She thinks it’s the funniest thing ever.

~She gets MAD if you don’t read a book fast enough. She is D-O-N-E if the pages aren’t turned quickly. Geesh!

~She squeals so much when her Papa comes home from work! The joy on her face is priceless!

Likes

~Books, books and more books. Which I definitely love. I hope she always has an obsession with books. We have a basket of books on the bottom shelf of her bookshelf in her room that she can pull out whenever she wants. She will play with her books in her room for a good 45 minutes! She especially likes flip-books and knows exactly where each part of the page flips.

~She seems to have an affinity with my slippers for some reason. If they’re not on my feet and lying on the ground, she goes straight for them.

~Her Bunny Lovey. I’m going to need to find another one like it in case this one gets lost.

~Preslie is obsessed with the chandelier in her room. She points to it and will smile and laugh at it. It’s weird -- and kind of creepy.

~When she gets really excited or likes something, she’ll raise her arms above her head, or she’ll flap them at her sides. So much excitement for a little person!

Dislikes

~Still hates getting changed or dressed.

~Completely despises having her face or nose wiped.

~Does not like to be told “no.” Lord help us.

~Not being able to eat or drink what you’re eating or drinking.

Eating

~Still three, 6 ounce bottles a day. I’m thinking of taking her afternoon bottle out and replacing it with a sippy cup. She’s never too interested in it and I think it might make the transition to no more bottles a little easier down the road.

~She cannot get enough Mac and Cheese. I have to make her stop eating it because she’ll just eat an entire adult bowl of it!

~Some new things she’s tried this month are the goldfish crackers, waffles and fish.

~So far there is nothing that Sweet P has tried that she hasn’t liked.

Sleeping

~Still a great sleeper. Goes down at 7pm, up at 7am and two naps during the day at 9am and 12:30pm, that range from an hour to two hours. We are so so grateful that she is a good sleeper.

~Sucks her thumb when she sleeps and when she’s tired.

^Melt my heart!

New Experiences

~She started crawling this month! It literally took only one week for it to finally click for her. On a Monday she started army crawling, the next day she crawl regularly for a couple “steps” and then fall to her belly and army crawl and from there she’s been crawling ever since. When she crawls she’ll stick her right leg out to the side sometimes to get ready to sit from her crawl position. It’s funny.

~Preslie shakes her head side-to-side. She doesn’t yet know it means “no” but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

~She recognizes songs and will clap when ones she knows come on or we sing them to her.

~She points to things and says “dat.”

~We say “light” and she will point to a light in the room and we can say “dog” and she’ll point to Kahlua or Stella. It’s amazing how her little mind works!

~She can sign for “more” on purpose now! It’s pretty much what she does the entire time she eats because we can’t get the food in her mouth fast enough for her. HA! I love seeing her tiny little hands signing! She’s almost got “all done” down and we’re close to “milk” and “eat.”

~Since Girlfriend sits up in her crib and pulls up to her knees, we’ve lowered her crib. I’m only 5’2” so it’ll be a challenge for me to reach over that railing when we have to lower it again!

~Preslie helped celebrate her Grampy’s birthday on January 13th!

~We had a play date with Preslie’s Godmother and the twins! Preslie also swung in a park swing for the first time and LOVED it!

~She experienced her first Super Bowl which was extremely anti-climatic. *yawn*

~We went to Donner Lake for a little three-day vacation and had so much fun with family!

 

I’m finding myself looking at our daughter in amazement that she does something new every day and is turning into such a little human being, and shedding all the baby-ness. Her Papa and I always say how awesome she is and I hope Preslie always knows she is awesome and LOVED.

Touching base, checking in, what have you...

My, oh my. It has been far too long since I've purposefully blogged. I thought I'd give a little update so when I do decide to convert this into our little family book I can see what's been going on.

~Preslie is as cute and feisty as can be and makes Kevin and me smile all. the. time. She is such a joy.

~Work is moving right along. I still miss my maternity leave so much though. When I'm home I wish I was working and when I'm working I wish I was home. I wish I could find a good balance.

~Speaking of balance, I'm slowly learning to balance the whole wife, mom, friend thing. Some nights I leave the bottles for the next morning and instead choose to spend time with my husband. Other times I put my cell phone down until after P goes to bed so I can instead focus my time on her. Some things have to give in order to fit the important things in. However, I always seem to find other things to do besides laundry. ;) Ha!

~My Grandfather passed away last month. I wasn't really close with my Grandpa and he had suffered from Alzheimer's for the past 17 years, so I don't really know how to feel about it all. It's been a weird mix of emotions for me.

~I have such a long list of things I still need to blog about: Kevin's 30th birthday in July, Thanksgiving, Christmas and events in between. Maybe now that I'm putting that out here I'll get around to doing it. Probably not.

~My brother is graduating from college this month! It has been a long road of college for him (and my parents) and we're all so proud and relieved that this will finally be done and he can move on to bigger and better things! Go Jay Jay!!!

~I want to get a used treadmill. I need some exercise and it's not working out to go after work. I want to be able to roll out of bed, go in the (freezing) garage, put my headphones on and start running!

~I am so lucky God chose to give me Kevin as my husband. He is the best. He works so hard for our family at a job that is less than rewarding, he is almost always in a good mood, he is SOOO patient with me (I can be a smidge difficult at times) and he is always so helpful with things around the house and the baby. I just love him.

And because a post wouldn't be a post without my baby girl...

The end.