Oh Hey, Friday!

I missed a week.  Oops :)  Here's my next Oh Hey, Friday check in.

{My Five}

{One} The wedding went great.  Kai did awesome.  It was beautiful and another sister is married.

From Left to Right: Me, John, holding Kai, brother-in-law Ethan, sister Hannah, brother Caleb, my mom, my dad, sister Caitlin, sister Erin and brother-in-law Ryan.

{Two} One of our cousins decided to make their trip to the wedding their summer vacation with their young kids and we got to spend an evening with them and Erin and Ryan.  It was a lot of fun.  They came over and we shared pizza and lots of good conversation.  I wish they didn't leave six hours away.  Kai enjoyed playing with their kids Reese and Asher.  I need more mom friends.

{Three} My sweet baby turned one!  Holy buckets!  Where did the time go?  Here's a letter I wrote to our new one year old...  We learned he LOVES cake!

{Four} I made his cupcakes and frosting from scratch and they were wonderful!  I would highly recommend the recipe.  I found it on Pinterest, click here to check it out. I had to double the recipe to accommodate all t our guests but I ended up with 30 cupcakes even though it said it would make 24 and doubling the frosting was crazy, WAY TOO MUCH!  All things considered they were delicious!  I love to bake. 

{Five}  Today we had his one year appointment.  Three shots and a finger prick to take blood.  Big boy was a champ even though I was trying not to tear up.  It's awful to watch him endure pain.  Thankfully he still loves his milkies and he calmed down quickly.

Until next week!

{One Year}

Dear sweet Kai,

Guess what?  You turned one!  Can you believe it?  I'm not really sure I can!  I can remember in detail the events of the Friday and Saturday of your birthday.  I remember when I went into labor, remember telling your daddy I thought I might be in labor, remember having contractions while we walked around the lake, remember my water breaking, driving to the hospital... and so much more :)  I thought maybe I'd lost some of the details, but nope.  Boy was it all worth it!  Baby Shoop Shoop you were so worth it, all of it!  I can't believe you've grown up so fast!

We had a wonderful time celebrating you on your birthday.  You got some of your favorite foods, you got cake (Friday and Saturday) and you were blessed by so many gifts.  You were hugged and held by lots of people who love you.  We took lots of pictures to commemorate your big day.  You are so loved!  We felt so blessed by all the people there who wanted to celebrate your special day and we hope their are many more wonderful birthdays to come.

Sweet boy I want you to know that I love you and lots of incredible events happened this past year, your first year.  I am so proud of you!  I could stare at your while you're learning.  You learned to breastfeed after a rough start, you've learned to crawl, sit up and roll over, you've learned to eat table foods, you've learned to say mama and dada and da (for your Comet).  You are taking steps and you laugh when others are laughing and yell at others when they're not paying attention to you.  Right now you do a funny thing where you crawl around in circles and make silly noises.  You wiggle and scream while getting your diaper changed and you would rather be naked than dressed.  You love playing outside in water or sand.  You love going for walks in your stroller.  You love dogs. I don't want to forget anything about you. Sometimes I snuggle you extra time if you fall asleep in my arms because I know I won't get this time back.  Please stop growing so quick!

You are a lucky boy because you have the greatest daddy around!  I don't want you to ever forget that no matter how old you get.  He has be growing and learning just as fast as you are.  He loves you with a fierce love.  He is excited to come home and see you and you two love to laugh together.  Daddy said he is excited for hockey season so you two can watch together.  I'm sure when you're able to walk you'll have your first pair of skates :) 

I'm sure this next year will be full of fun and laughter and love.  Never forget that daddy and I love you so much!  Comet loves you too!  Keep learning and growing and smiling.  Love you baby boy!

Momma

Oh Hey, Friday!

Third Friday in a row and this one will be easy :)

I'm still linking up with September Farm and The Farmer's Wife.  Check them out, they're fabulous!



My Five {Wedding Edition}

{One} My sister and her high school sweetheart are getting married tomorrow!  I'm so excited for them as it's been a long time coming. Yay to Auntie Hannah and Uncle Ethan!  We wish you both many years of happiness, laughter and love.

{Two} Our dresses are long and chiffon (similar to this dress or this is the dress I'm just not sure).  They are light, light pink with some pleating on the bodice. I feel like I look pregnant in it, but they're pretty so we should be a pretty rocking bridal party.  The guys are just wearing black pants and black vests and ties.  I think Ethan might be wearing a suit coat as well.  I'll be Instagramming all weekend.

Bridesmaids Caitie, Erin, Emmy, Sarah and Bride Hannah.

{Three} My mom is a florist at heart and is putting together all the flowers as I type.  She has done it before for our sister Erin's wedding and for mine and also for some friends.  She has had great luck ordering flowers in bulk from Sam's Club until this time.  Everything was supposed to come on Wednesday, but she only received about half.  After about 45 minutes of me calling around to FedEx and Sam's Club I found out there was basically nothing they could do to help us.  Surprise, surprise.  The carnations were delayed because of a shipping error in Tennessee and the hydrangeas were stuck in customs in Florida.  I know I was very polite on the phone, but after thinking about it I was a little upset they weren't more helpful.  It's one thing to get a shipment wrong when there's no time crunch.  Thankfully the delayed flowers came yesterday, albeit not all the correct ones, but enough for my momma to finish everything she needed to make.  (Sigh of relief...) My flowers were one of my favorites parts of our wedding, so they'll be gorgeous I'm sure.  Next week is going to have to turn into a picture follow-up :)

{Four} Kai is not walking on his own yet so it's been decided that he'll walk down the aisle with myself and the groomsman I'm paired with.  As long as he's not cranky it should go pretty smoothly I think.  The rehearsal tonight should be fun.  Kai has a mind of his own.

{Five} After tomorrow more than half of my siblings including myself will be married.  We're all growing up.  Crazy and awesome and bittersweet and hard and fabulous all at the same time.

Thanks for reading!  I post a lot more frequently on Instagram if you'd like to follow me there: emhammar :) Have a wonderful weekend!

Oh Hey, Friday!

It's another Friday and I honestly almost forgot to post.  Here I am though, so here it goes :)

My Five

{One} Kai took his first steps two days ago and a few more yesterday and today!  I'm one proud momma!  He has one week to be prepared to walk down the aisle at Auntie Hannah and Uncle Ethan's wedding though.  Can't say I believe that's going to happen.  He's going to be darn cute in his little suit though!

{Two} Last weekend we went to Ikea and there was a tent/tunnel that Kai fell in love with!  He was crawling back and forth and even pushed an older kid out of his way so he could get though (we'll have to work on that!) After that I thought it would be a stellar birthday gift.  I remembered seeing one at TJMaxx, so off I went to purchase it.  It's this model.  Feels a little flimsy, but we don't plan on going camping with it, so it's great for us.  I also couldn't wait until his birthday so it's in our living room right now and Kai is loving it and the dog has been sleeping in it.  It's fabulous!

{Three} I've been working on being a better wife.  Sometimes I get wrapped up in being Kai's mom that I forget that being John's wife is equally if not more important.  My relationship with Jesus comes first, then John then Kai.  I just feel like I've been slacking in loving John well, so I'm working on a list of tangible things to do.  I am planning to keep that list in a place I see it so I can hold myself accountable.  Maybe I'll share some of them if I have some free time :)

{Four} I made these muffins and used this acorn squash recipe this week.  Of course I added chocolate chips into the muffins.  Both recipes were winners. Oh how I'm longing for fall.

{Five} I'm in the market for a wrap baby carrier and/or a ring sling type carrier.  I'm not sure if I should make one or if I should just support another momma on Etsy or go cheap and buy a used one on eBay.  I'm at a loss.  I've done a lot of research and still can't decide.  Any suggestions would be awesome!

Two weeks in a row, here's to hoping I post next week as well :)  Until then, have a wonderful week!

Oh Hey, Friday!

I'm a little saddened by the fact that I haven't blogged in SO long, but I'm chalking it up to life and soaking up every ounce I can of my baby boy and our little family.  Some of the blogs I regularly read do a post called "Five Things Friday" and I'm going to try and stick with that.  Here goes nothing!

My Five :)

1. Last week we took a family vacation to St. Thomas, in the Virgin Islands.  John and I have been there three times before so we felt comfortable bringing Kai.  He did incredible besides crazy terrible sleep (but what's new there).  He loved the sand and the ocean and snuggling with mom and dad for literally every nap.  Best part, watching him take it all in.  He learned and grew so much!  He would sit on the beach and watch the waves roll in, digging his feet into the sand.  When he got courageous he would crawl back and forth into the waves and back out into the sand.  He ate his fair share of sand and salt water and peed all over me while nursing on the beach the only time I forgot a swim diaper.  It was also wondering to water Kai interact with John.  He is enamored with his daddy!  I could tell he loved having uninterrupted time with him.  Family vacations are the best!  To see our vacation photos click here!  (They're worth it just to see the water, the perfect shade of turquoise!)

Magen's Bay Beach, St. Thomas

2. I can't believe we're approaching Kai's first birthday.  It's bittersweet for me!  My little baby is gone and in has come a fiery and giggly toddler.  I was attempting to make some invites before starting this post, so we'll see how those turn out.  I can't wait for his party :)

3. Three is a big shout out to my incredible husband.  He had a big project at work (which came to a good point before vacation) so we've had him around a bit more often.  Kai loves it, I love it and the Comet loves it.  I couldn't be more thankful that he is such a hard worker and so motivated.  Sometimes I'm not a very uplifting to him so I'm making it a point to try harder.  John deserves the best from me as he strives to give me his best.  Plus he's the world's best daddy!

4.  Confession:  I've been feeling like motherhood can get lonely, but at the same time sometimes I feel I need time to myself.  Maybe it's because my adult interaction is a lot of times limited to John or because Kai is still little and needs so much attention and care.  It could also be that I'm not very good at looking out for myself.  I basically get whatever time is left after Kai, John, Comet, the house, my family... so there is no time left.  I should probably be working on that.

5. Lastly, since it's August 1st, I'm going to strive to smile more, laugh more and give more hugs.

Thanks for reading!  I'll be back next Friday (hopefully!)

Linking up with Amy @ The Farmer's Wife and Karli @ September Farm today for Oh Hey, Friday!