Category: Parenthood

This week London turns two! We are going to celebrate with a tiny little party at our house with our family and a few close friends. Last year we celebrated big with a Laduree themed party for her first birthday. We love going big for first birthdays; some of you might remember back to Grey’s cardboard castle party!

I’ve hesitated in sharing these photos before now because of a few hurtful comments that were sent to us on Instagram about her party. A year later, I simply just don’t care what people say or think. So I’m sharing this celebration as it was a special day for our family and brought us so much joy- both in creating the details and the time we spent with those that mean the most to us.

We hand painted the little Laduree stand and filled it with desserts that were also hand made from felt. Our friend Andrew at the Olympic Fairmont Hotel opened up a small gathering space for us to use. Another friend, Brittany, created the invitation, napkins and that balloon arch. And yet another friend, Morgan, baked and decorated all of the incredible cakes, macarons and small sweet bites! All of it was beautifully captured by another dear friend, Kristen. I know some people will think we are crazy and this party was too over the top. Thats fine… everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But this party was a labor of love, created by friends, to be enjoyed by friends and it still brings me so much joy. I have no regrets, wouldn’t change a thing and would do it all over again!

These images are in no way insinuating that every parent should throw parties like this for their kids. Remember… this is what we do for a living. I’ve spent my entire adult life planning celebrations for other people, so of course I want to put effort and energy into the celebrations for my own children. And… most importantly… it brings us joy to be able to do it.

So with that disclaimer, I hope you enjoy this peek into London’s party! 

13/40

The other day we asked Grey what he would think if we added a baby to the family. He looked at us so confused and said… “We already have one!” Then he pointed to London and said “She’s over there!”Nevertheless, here we are… adding another baby to the family. We couldn’t be more excited to share that we are expecting our third baby early this spring!  Time is flying by and Jamie is already five and a half months pregnant! Like with our other two kids, we aren’t going to find out the gender until the baby is born, although our parental intuition (which was correct with the other two kids) leads us to believe that it might possibly be a girl. I think it’s safe to say there is a fifty percent chance our guess is accurate! To be honest, we are a bit more curious about what this baby is going to look like… I mean… what are the chances we’ll have another blonde hair blue eyed surprise like our Londy-girl? Genetics are crazy, but those were some deep recessive genes that surfaced last time!

Wether it’s a girl or boy, and blue eyed or brown, one thing that is for certain is that we already love this little one and can’t wait to meet whoever this person is that will be joining our family. Needless to say… we are going to have our hands full!

Thanks for joining us on this journey and following along!

Photos: Kristen Marie Parker

Today I turn thirty-nine. THIRTY-NINE! How did this happen? As I approached my last year in my thirties I found myself reflecting, re-centering, goal setting and dreaming for the future. I had planned to call this post ‘Forty Before Forty’ and share a list of things that I want to accomplish before my next birthday… things that are both big and small, some easy and some risky, things that are meaningful and some that are just for fun. But as I was writing this post, I decided to hit the pause button on my ambitions today.

You see, as I worked from upstairs in our home, there was a lot going on downstairs. I could hear the excitement in my son’s voice and his squeal of delight as he was working hard to decorate the house for my birthday. I could smell the cake that my wife was baking for me. I could feel the vibration from the pounding on the floors as my daughter jumped her way around the house. These sounds and smells reminded me of what a beautiful life I’d already been given, and of all the good and joy that surrounds me. I couldn’t help but just stop, be still and take it all in.

Don’t get me wrong… I still have my list of ‘Forty Before Forty’ and I want this last year in my thirties to be intentional, focused and disciplined… but today I added to the top of my list to live each day with joy and gratitude no matter what the day may bring.

Thirty-nine… let’s do this! We’re coming for you Forty!

These photos were taken by Katie Delorme this summer in my in-laws backyard while we shot our new online course with the team from Once Wed and If I Made! Huge thanks to Jamie and my mother in law Gail for making all of the pies, and to Cozbi for all of her creative assistance while we did this scene for the online course!

And while I chose not share my ‘Forty before Forty’ list today, I will say that one of my goals is to post 40 blog posts in the next year. Putting it out there so I can stay on track and be held accountable to it! So here is 1/40. Hope you guys follow along this year to see how this unfolds!