I knew today's Blogtember prompt was to share a vlog, so I had planned to take plenty of video from Ella's party for you. When I got to the barn that afternoon, I realized that my video camera didn't have a memory card inside, so I had to use my big girl camera for both video and photographs. It was hard toggling back and forth while trying to monitor the party and keep everyone happy, but I'm super happy with how it turned out. I've been saying for actual years that I was going to start sharing more video here and now that I finally know how to edit and make it all pretty, that might actually happen. How excited are you? No, really... HOW excited?! This was the most atypical birthday party that I've ever thrown and simultaneous the most fun. If you've been reading here for any amount ...
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A Birthday Letter
Dear Ella, In just a few days, you're going to be ten years old. Double digits. That's big time, Ella. How did it even happen? Your daddy and I talk all the time about how life is blazing by without any care for what we think. I swear we were just bringing you home from the hospital a few weeks ago. Your daddy and I prayed for you for so long. I know that other mommies wait longer and pray harder and we certainly didn't have it the worst, but we really wanted to be parents and we thought that day might not ever arrive. We had been waiting for almost eighteen months when I woke up feeling different. Your daddy was out of town, so I didn't tell him right away, but I raced to the doctor's office on my lunch break to confirm. Usually, it would have taken a few days to get the results back, ...
Blogtember | Ella’s Room & DIY Book Nook
It's purely coincidental that today's prompt is to share a room tour and we've been working on updating Ella's bedroom over the summer. The updates have been subtle since we're hoping to move soon and I didn't want to spend money on anything we couldn't use in the new house. The plan was to eliminate the playroom (at the girls' request) and separate them before school started. After a few really promising showings and positive vibes from our real estate agent, we put a halt on the separation, but that was after we had given what would be Ella's room a mini update. We've decided to keep the girls in the same room for now, so they are enjoying a few small updates together, along with a super cute DIY Book Nook! Because I can't resist a little flashback action, here is a room tour I ...
What Ella Read | Part 1
Disclosure: Affiliate links appear in this post. Any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here. A few days ago, Ella asked me if I would help her start a blog. Of course, I think she's adorable and that a blog written by a ten year old girl would be super fun, but I asked some questions about exactly what she wanted to share. I asked her to brainstorm a list of post ideas and promised we would talk about it. For now, she's going to be sharing periodic posts about what she's reading. I've actually had lots of questions about how we read with the girls and what their favorite kinds of books are, so I thought this might be a fun feature to share with you. She'll be participating in a reading challenge ...
Birthday Flashback: Cowgirl Cookout
It's that time again -- we're only two weeks ago from Ella's tenth birthday and I'm sharing a few of my favorite parties from the past. For her sixth birthday, she requested a cowgirl themed cookout and boy did we deliver! Like many previous years, we celebrated at my parents' house, because they have a fabulous backyard where we regularly have a "campfire" in the fall. Ella told us she didn't want to help decorate or see anything ahead of time, so this party started the tradition of a party decor surprise. I always make other arrangements for the girls on party day and we do the entire set up outside of their presence. Seeing them look at everything and get excited in the moments before their guests arrive is one of my favorite things ever! I painted this chalkboard to welcome our ...
Birthday Flashback: A Fancy Nancy Tea Party
We're one week closer to Ella's tenth birthday (WHAT?!) and I'm sharing another of my favorite birthdays ever. As cute as that first one was, it really required very little advanced planning and it was extremely economical. Her second birthday was a backyard barbeque and the only party we've ever throw where Kamin didn't photograph every little detail. It wasn't really until Ella's third birthday that I realized how much I enjoyed party planning and enjoying every little detail of the day. Part of my excitement that year was that I was pregnant with Sophie and no one in the world but us even know. We'd had a rough couple of years, with two early term losses, and getting pregnant wasn't easy. I had either been pregnant, recovering from pregnancy, recovering from a miscarriage or taking ...
Back to School Update
I feel like I was the only mom on the planet who was ready to send her kids back to school, but hear me out! I'm not a stay-at-home-mom, so it isn't like I get to spend huge amounts of time by myself while they're in school or anything -- although if you follow me on Snapchat you'll know that I raced home after first day drop off to watch Breaking Bad in my pajamas. Our schedule has been so upside down during July and the kids were seriously falling apart. Bedtimes have gone awry, I haven't seen a completed chore chart (or a clean load of laundry) in weeks and I don't remember the last time we ate dinner together around the dining room table. We were in desperate need of a family reset and I'm thinking a new school year was just the thing to get us all out of our funk. The girls were so ...
Birthday Flashback: Ella’s First Birthday
A version of this post appeared on the blog several years ago. I thought we would resurrect it in honor of Ella's upcoming tenth birthday. I wasn't yet blogging when we celebrated Ella's first birthday and I thought it might be fun to share the photos with you here! We're creeping up on double-digits (one month from today!) and I thought it might be fun to share a few flashback posts over the next few weeks. I'll be recapping a few of my favorite parties leading up to the big day! Her first birthday invitations read "Our Little Cupcake is Turning One," so we decorated with everything sweet and pink. I started planning this party so far in advance and I couldn't imagine anything better than sweet, pink princesses. Even as an infant, she was a girly girl through and through. We had the ...