Mothers & Fathers Day 2013

We hosted Mother's Day Brunch and my birthday at our new house.  We were barely moved in but we had lots of room for everyone to hang out.

We (my family) cooked a huge brunch and it was SO good!  We were super full but still had to make room for some birthday cake that afternoon.

Kinley loved everyone singing to me! :)

She's also becoming a pro at blowing out the candles.

She loved my card that sang a song.

We had lots of fun celebrating all of the wonderful mommies in my family.  I seriously feel SO lucky to be surrounded by such awesome role models. I don't know how my mom kept it together with 4 kids, I can barely handle 2!

And she helps me SO much, I don't know what I would do without her.  I hate to admit it because I feel like a slacker but she helps clean my house, shows me how to get stains out of clothes & catches up my laundry (yes I'm 29 & still need help with this, ha), helps me through my freak out sessions, and is the best grandma ever to my girls!  

My mother-in-law totally rocks, too!  We went to Scott's parents house that evening for dinner and I desperately wanted a family picture!  This, my friends, is real life:

I'm lookin' like a hot mess, no smile from Kinley, Laiken's ticked off, and Scott's pretty content.  HA!  Oh well, I don't expect much from pictures anymore, as long as everyone is in them.  

While I'm on the subject of awesome parents - my sis-in-laws (and BIL's) provide so much guidance for me that they probably don't even realize.  They've been through it all pretty recently so I remember many of the stories they've told and the advice they've given.  I think my nieces and nephews turned out pretty awesome so why I wouldn't I look up to them!?  And they're about as sweet and funny as they come!

While I'm feeling all lovey towards the mama's in the family, I might as well recap father's day, too!  We hung out at our pool for most of the day with my family to celebrate my dad.  I've always been a daddy's a girl and that hasn't changed a bit.  My mom claims that he carried me everywhere until I was 2 and I still remember him carrying me to bed from the couch when my feet were dragging the floor! haha, can we say spoiled?!  I love watching my girls fall in love with their grandpa, too!

We went to IBYC that night with Scott's fam and got some family pictures by the lake that turned out much better than my mother's day ones.

These girls already have him wrapped around their fingers!

Some of the girls hanging out with Laiken.

Scott's dad is also just about as sweet as they come.  I have always felt like I was part of their family since day one, 14 years ago.  He has the kindest heart and doesn't meet a stranger.

These girls are so lucky to have 2 awesome sets of grandparents!

And this guy - almost 14 years together and I love him more every day, well most days. ;)  He works so hard for us and would do anything for his girls.  He has a heart of gold and I'm sure nearly anyone he's ever met would agree.  We are SO lucky to have him as our hubby/daddy!

Even though you don't need special holidays to celebrate amazing mommies and daddies, it's still fun to take some time out to let them know how much they mean to you and how special they are!

My 1st Mother's Day

My only request for Mother's Day was for Scott to get up early with Kinley and entertain her while I slept in a little. It's sad when 8:30am is considered sleeping in but it felt great!

I woke up to Scott & Kinley standing over me with what looked like a box of wheat thins, ha! (I am seriously blind without my glasses!) Finally I realized that they had a little mommy's day present for me - a woozie (wine coozie) and a new "mom" tervis tumbler. They really know the way to my heart! :)

 

We got ready and had brunch at Scott's parents house and had a few more hours to visit with family from out of town. We had great food and great company, what more could I ask for!

We swung by my parents house a little later to wish my mom a happy mother's day, too. After that, I did a little cleaning and planted my butt on the couch for the evening!

It's crazy how much more thankful I've become for our moms.  This new job of being a mommy is demanding, exhausting, overwhelming, exciting, scary, but most of all, so incredibly rewarding.  It's hard to imagine loving anything else as much as you love your child/children.

My mom has helped me SO much in the past 8 months that I can't even begin to thank her enough.  The first few months were a rough transition and she was there every step of the way. 

She would be over in 8 minutes the second she heard me in tears on the phone because I was exhausted and Kinley wouldn't stop crying. 

She was there to reassure me that I was doing it right even when I felt like I was doing it all wrong. 

She was at my side through every awful, painful nursing issue that I had - if that doesn't bring you close, I don't know what will! ; )

She always had the right words, even if I didn't want to hear them at the time.

She set the best example of how to be a kind, loving, generous, selfless, hard working mom.  I still don't think I'll ever ben able to live up to her.

I feel so lucky to have such wonderful moms to look up to in my family (including my aunts, cousins, & in-laws!)

I hope everyone had an amazing mothers day, I know I did!