Imperfect Perfection

Our Lil' Cuppiecake turned 1!!

We had a wonderful celebration at my mom's house with close friends and family.  We have been calling Brooklyn Cupcake/Cuppie Cake for almost her whole life, so it made sense that we would have a cupcake themed birthday party for her.

I had so much fun planning this with my mom, sister and of course AJ.  I haven't had time to craft much since B was born, so this party was a perfect excuse to get back to it.  I made her highchair tutu, the cupcake liner garland, her birthday updates chalkboard, all cakes and cupcakes (with scratch icing) and her monthly photo banner.  I was going to make her tutu but, because I had never attempted a tutu, I went ahead and ordered one from Etsy shop Sunday Boutique, to make sure it was nice and full. It turned out great.  However, after making the tutu for her high chair, I realized I could have easily attempted it.  The onsie was made by ABCDedsigns & Monogramming.
 




B was starting to suffer from allergies (cause we live in awesome Florida!) so she wasn't feeling her best, but I was surprised how good she was for the party.  Watching her interact with so many people was awesome.  I think she had a really good time.  She loved when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her and clapped for them at the end.





She didn't get as crazy with her smash cake as I would have thought, since it was her first time having sugar.  But, it was still so much fun to watch:)



She got so many awesome presents, that will last her forever.  Thank you to everyone that came out to share her special day:)

I had to do the obligatory pumpkin patch photos of Brooklyn, I just couldn't resist:) We did a fall outfit and then went back the next week and took some of her in her Halloween costume.

 I am trying to get more practice with my Nikon D3200.  Any suggestions would be great!  Enjoy!

You always hear about people that are living a life that is only a fairy tale in your world.  Such as, the people that sell everything and move to an island, travel the world, etc.  Well, I feel like I just joined their ranks...ok, maybe just on a small scale.  I recently quit my full time job, so that I could work part-time and not have to put Brooklyn in daycare. 

This was a very hard decision for me for several reasons:
1).  It isn't just me that had to make the decision, my husband has a huge say
2.)  My salary was pretty sweet (at least for our standard of living)
3.)  I liked my job and especially my boss
4.)  It is super scary to leave a job in this economy

While I was pregnant, I did the whole research the daycares, visit them (this didn't go well, as, I left in tears after each one)  even registering and paying a months tuition in advance.  However, once I had Brooklyn, I quickly realized I really didn't want to put her in daycare (although, if you ask my mom, she would say that I have always been uncomfortable with the idea of putting my future children in daycare) and started looking for ways to avoid it.  I had many talks with AJ about how I felt that I was just collecting a paycheck, not loving what I was doing and I felt like this was an opportunity in life to make a change (however scary it may be). 

Looking at the math/budget, I realized I could work part-time and not have to put her in daycare, with the help of family members watching Brooklyn twice a week. 

Now, the hard part, I had to find a job that would allow this.  Luckily, I have some pretty great friends.  Let's call them "A"  well "A" has been talking about opening a catering business of her own for a while now and always said she would love to have me with her when she does.  I seriously feel like the stars aligned, because 3 weeks before I had to return to work (from maternity leave), it happened!  She said the company was opening and she wanted me!

So, once the paper work went through, I quit my job!  Let me tell you about this....I get to work about 30 hours a week, 2 miles from the house, and I get to bring Brooklyn on days she is not with family, there is mimosa Fridays, and I can pick up catering shifts if I want extra money:)   Of course, I am taking a pay cut, but, once you take into account the almost $1000.00 a month daycare bill...it isn't too far of a stretch to make ends meet:) 

I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to spend more time with my daughter that sometimes I feel like maybe this isn't as good as it seems.  But, I have to keep my head up and remember to enjoy the ride and also, that I can always rejoin the workforce (since I left on such good terms with my coworkers) if needed. 

Ahhhhh!  It is all so scary, even though it is a planned pregnancy, the life change is unknown and scary.  AJ and I were very excited to welcome our little girl to our family on March 2, 2015 (on her due date)!  I always tell people that if AJ could have had babies with me five years ago, he would have, so I am very happy he is getting this experience. 

 Welcome to the world Brooklyn Nichole Copeland - March 2, 2015 - 7lbs - 20 inches long :) 

The name:  we named Brooklyn's middle name after my older sister, who passed away from Leukemia in 2006.  Her name was Ashley Nichole Skidmore.  After we knew her middle name, AJ came up with Brookyn, it is a mix of my middle name (Brooke), my mom's middle name (Lynn) and my little sister's nick name (Lin/Linny). 


On March 1st, (one day before my due date) I woke up feeling like I had a urinary tract infection and overall wasn't feeling very well.  I called my mom (crying) about not feeling well and of course, being over the whole pregnancy thing.  She came over and brought us lunch around 1 pm.  I let her know I was having Braxton Hicks (which I had been having since week 35) all morning.  Around 1 pm, she was like "ummm we need to time this, because I think you may be in labor."  Low and behold, they were 10 minutes apart and then 9 and then 5 and then 3...time to go to the hospital.  But, before we went (when my contractions were about 5 minutes apart, I decided I had to paint my nails pink.  SO here I am, in labor, sitting on a yoga ball, painting my nails!!! 

We arrived at the hospital at 6:30pm and got admitted and hooked up very fast.  By this time, the contractions were in full swing, I mean 1 minute apart and PAINFUL!  My mom and sister and step father arrived shortly after that, to witness the worst part of labor.  I was throwing up with every contractions and probably wasn't very nice (but, I don't really remember).  All I was doing was focusing on the pain and of course I forgot my breathing, so the nurse is like "just relax when they hit"...um...ok, if feels like my entire torso is in a meat grinder and that is her advice! Although, of course she was right, it is just hard to believe in that minute.  So around 9:30pm, I asked for my epidural and got it about an hour later when we moved in the birthing suite. 

After that...it was easy peasy, seriously, I slept better than all my family in the room!  My water had not broken at this point, so they waited all through the night to see if it would break on its own, which it never did. So, first thing in the morning (around 6:20am) my doctor came in and was like, "ok, it is time, I am going to break your water and you are going to start pushing."  The pushing was the most exhausting thing I have ever done.  I pushed for about and hour and a half and then she was there :)  Since the had meconium, she had to be "resuscitated"  so they threw her on my chest for about 2 seconds, rushed AJ through cutting the cord and then the neonatologist started to clear her lungs.  Watching this process was so hard, I mean they were literally beating my brand new baby so hard!  But, this is what had to be done and she was ok.  Once I finally heard her first breath, I was able to relax a bit. 

After that, they took my epidural out and an hour later I was walking to the bathroom (with some assistance).  I have to say, that out of the pregnancy, labor and the recovery, the labor was the easiest, least painful part, in my opinion.