1 year update & Texas Trip!

 

 

Age: 1 year old

Stats: 18lbs 5 oz (11th percentile) 29 1/2 inches (65th percentile)

 

 

Clothes: I have her in a lot of 12-18 month clothing especially since she got so many adorable new outfits from her birthday! She can still fit into 6-12 month clothing especially with shorts, she has a tiny waist :)

 

 

Favorite Activity: Sitting poolside! Take the girl out of her pool and she cries! Which is fine by me. Finally its nice outside and Collins wants nothing more than to be outside, in her pool, on walks, or taking wagon rides! She also loves brushing her little teefers!

 

 

Favorite Words: Momma still :) however she did say apple a good dozen times. Nonna taught her that one!

 

 

Least Favorite Activities: Walking! Collins hates when we try to make her walk or even stand up for that matter. She's a lazy ass. I cant put it any other way. But that's ok she will walk when she wants and we are ok with her independent attitude!

 

 

Mom's Favorite Moment: When I was taking a shower one morning she came over to our glass shower door and wouldn't leave until I came out all the while pressing her little face against the glass making faces at me :)

 

 

Dad's Favorite Moment: Graduating swim class! My little girl is going to be an Olympic swimmer if I have any say.

 

 

Other Milestones: Eating everything in sight! Whatever we eat now she eats and then some. I cannot keep enough food around for this little girl has appetite! Just like her father :)

 

 

 

Collins and I also had a girls trip this past month! We went to visit my good friend Becca and her family (she does all my birthday cards, holiday cards and designs this blog!) She has two of the most adorable kids, Jax & Jory who loved playing with Collins. It was like I had two little babysitters with me at all times :) We had a blast and seriously wish we were still there. Becca, Trav, and the kids were the best hosts too taking us all over Austin for Mexican food :) ha, picnics, the aquarium, shopping (our fav) and just spending some quality time all together! It was nice to just relax every day and enjoy the company. I know Collins was in heaven with the kids everyday. She usually gets cranky around 7pm for bedtime however in Texas she wasn't in bed sometimes until 10pm and was ok with it! Becca and I even got out one night to go see a late movie together! Collins was once again a pro on the plane there and back. Playing, eating, sleeping, eating, playing!

 

So, where to next!?

 

 

 



 

 

Collins' 1st Fiesta!

My sweet baby is 1 year old! I could sit here and cry writing about Collins and this past year, however instead ill tell you all about her amazing FIESTA we had! Amazing is an understatement. It couldn't have gone any better, and Collins had a ball! Just about everyone we invited came and I believe know had a good time too :)

My nacho bar went off without a hitch and within the first couple hours was just about gone! (I'll blame the taco truck for being an hour late on that). However we didn't let that spoil the party. I had fresh guacamole, salsa, jalapeños, sour cream, black olives, refried beans, ground beef, nacho cheese, lettuce, and shredded cheese on top of the nacho bar table. Along with a Margarita bar, a variety of Mexican beers, and of course some "Collins' 1st Fiesta" water bottles :).

At the last minute I decided that a bounce castle was necessary for the 30 kids that would be attending the party, and thank god we did because without it, we would have had a bunch of kids bored out of their minds. We also had a piñata for them full of goodies!

To say Collins did the best thing she could ever do when we gave her the smash cake would be an understatement. Without using her hands she literally went face first and continued this for about 15 minutes eating the cake. Give the girl sugar for the first time and she's a pro!

We had an amazing time with all our close family and friends. I want to thank each and every one of you who made the long trip from Florida or just came from down the street. I couldn't ask for better friends or family to be in Collins' life!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's in Collins Easter Basket?! & Fiesta

Collins' first Easter is in 1 week and if I told you that I started scoping out her basket and items to go inside months ago would you be surprised? Holidays are always fun but now that we have Collins it makes it that much more enjoyable. Does she need a bracelet no but its Easter why not!

I had my eye on this basket since Collins was born so as soon as I was given a coupon I scooped it up! The only difference is I choose a brown basket and her name is in purple :)

www.potterybarnkids.com

Filling up her basket wasn't hard at all. I knew a cute pair of Easter PJ's needed to be in there along with a few Easter books. Some of our favorites are, "Guess how much I love you," "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," and of course "The Velveteen Rabbit." I also included these practical impractical goodies for my little miss. Cannot wait to see her get excited about everything. Or just get excited to take everything out of the basket and then on to something else :)

Snap bibs, Starbucks Sippy, Leather Bracelet

I love me some Mexican food, and with Collins birthday so close to Cinco de Mayo I put two and two together and even before she was born I said to Marty we have to have her first birthday theme Fiesta! So here we are knee deep in party planning for Collins 1st fiesta!! We are having it as close as May 5th as possible so please pray for warm weather here, actually just pray its not snowing! With the help of etsy, and pinterest I have been planning this fiesta for months. Slowly but surely we have everything in place. Taco Truck is set to come for a few hours, my nacho bar will be in business, and as soon as the Margarita bar is in place it will be party time. And what is a party without a bounce house for the kids! Pictures to come: smash cake, piñata, and donkey rides for everyone...kidding...maybe?! You'll have to wait and see!

Here are some of my inspirations to hold you over until then!

Fiesta like there's no Manana!!

Collins 11 months

 

Age: 11 months

Stats: Still haven't gone to the doctor, but we will in 2 weeks when she officially turns 1...o.m.g. We did however weigh her the other day and it said she weighed 18lbs 3oz :)

 

 

Clothes: She made quite the jump lately, wearing 12-18 month clothing in most Carters, Target brand, and some Gap. Of course she still sports 6-12 month clothes as well and even some smaller size cardigans, and dresses as shirts!! Clever :)

 

 

Favorite Activity: Scooting! This child has found an easier way to get around the house that doesn't entail keeping her head down or missing anything. She scoots on her butt and uses one arm to push so she can move all around the floors. I don't know how many times I have heard, you should attach a Swiffer to her butt!

Favorite Words: Still Mom :) however we are pretty sure she is closer than ever to saying dada.

 

 

Least Favorite Activities: She's sometimes too busy for her bottles now. Pushes them away when we try and feed her. Now that she's mobile she doesn't have time for anything else other than chasing the dogs!

 

 

Mom's Favorite Moment: We started her in swimming class and not only did she go under for the first time without crying but she also kicks her little legs ninety miles a minute when she's on her belly.

 

 

Dad's Favorite Moment: All the scooting she does! You definitely cannot keep your eyes off of her she goes so fast.

Other Milestones: Ugh my baby will be a toddler. In two short weeks. Neither her nor I want to talk about it...

 

 

 

We have a busy month coming up. Collins 1st Easter, 1st Birthday, her party, and a girls trip out to Texas to visit friends! We are very excited for the upcoming events, but its leaving mom a little stressed out!

 

We also have the March for Dimes walk coming up on April 27th. Those of you who follow me on instagram or twitter already saw our page and some have already donated so a huge THANKYOU! This year we are walking for both Sloane and Knox and my good friend Susan and her family have dedicated their team to both of my babies. Collins Marty and I will be joining them this year in the walk, so we can't wait to honor both of them in such an amazing way. If you are interested in helping us get to our goal please visit the below website for our March of Dimes Page :)

 

March of Dimes



Knox Thomas 2 months

Knox was born 2 months ago. It has been a very long 2 months. After the first month we let off a balloon for his 1 month birthday. As we did with Sloane, however I wanted to do something different, something special just for Knox. After a friend sent me an article that hit so close to home, literally taking me back to January 12th I took one of their ideas and made it our own. Scotland Bansley Riles' Story like I said took me back to that moment Knox was born. It was as if Marty or myself had written this sweet letter. You will see at the end that they sang to Scotty with their children. Each month, Marty, Collins, and I will sing to Knox on each one of his monthly birthdays. Something special for the five of us to do together :) 

Happy 2 months Knox Thomas. I hope your big sister Sloane is taking care of you up in heaven. Mommy, Daddy, and Collins miss you more than ever and each night before putting your sister to sleep we read a book (I'll Love you Forever) to you and your sisters. We love you! Xoxo  

Collins 10 month update

 

Age: 10 months

Stats: We wont be going to the doctor until her 1st birthday but I'm just guessing she's around 18 pounds or so

 

 

Clothes: I'm going to use this a way to vent about Carters. Someone tell me why my 10 month old who usually wears 6-12 month clothing barely fits into 18 month pajamas from Carters? Wait let me rephrase that, why is the arms on the 18 month pajamas super tight but the waist band is ginormous. Kids clothes SMH

 

 

Favorite Activities: She has mastered spinning around on the floor in order to get to what she wants. Dancing! The kid loves to dance. If you follow me on instagram user name:(aashley_mitchell) then you have seen her video. Put on some music and she's a dancing machine.

Favorite Words: Still MOM!!!!!!! :)

Least Favorite Activities: When mom tries getting the boogies out! I cannot stand a messy, booger filled nose kid, so at any chance I get I am picking that little nosey and Collins hates me for it.

 

 

Mom's Favorite Moment: Just two nights ago Collins was having a hard time going to bed for the night. So I went up just to rock her which we haven't done since she was teeny tiny. She usually squirms all over the place, except this time she snuggled up to me and fell asleep. I thought to myself, if you want to snuggle all night long ill sleep in this chair. Definitely melted my heart.

 

 

Dad's Favorite Moment: The first time I told Collins to clap and yelled, Yah!! And without hesitation she started clapping her hands. And hasn't stopped :)

Other Milestones: Not sure if this is considered a milestone but Collins got her first Ashes for Ash Wednesday :) She is also clapping non stop, dancing, spinning, talking, screaming, and slowly pulling herself up. I think this little girl is going to walk before she crawls!

 

 

Eat, Sleep, Play. Play. All. Day. That is what Collins' day consists of. Where has my baby gone?! Everyday she does something new and it just makes me realize how fast time goes. Babies don't keep.

 

 



Hope

While writing this post I had Marty help me for I wanted us both to be open and honest with both old and new followers who have been praying for us and thinking about us daily. 

Hope. It's what gets a lot of us through day to day. It's what many of us have either had for ourselves or someone very close to them. Hope is what I struggle with after loosing Knox. 

When Sloane passed away it was hope that got me off the couch. It was hope that gave me the strength to get out of bed. It was hope that we would get pregnant again and feel like I as a mother had a purpose. That Hope came to us in Collins, and then surprisingly Knox! Our family was going to be complete after one hell of a year. Our family of five including Sloane, The Mitchells! After Knox passed away Marty and I did a lot of soul searching. What did we want our new life to now look like. Not what your average early thirties, new baby, successful family looks like. 

We cannot be pregnant again. I cannot carry another child. Bottom line, too risky, no guarantee and mentally and not to mention physically I cannot do it. I remember after Sloane died and we were given that "Hope" I told Marty I cannot go through loosing this baby. Luckily Collins was born, unfortunately what we didn't know is that not even 2 years later I'd have to go through loosing a second child. So not only is there the grief of loosing Knox but also the grief of never carrying a child again.

Going through what we have, we learned along the way that we have to be open to options. Options that women with a traditional history of child birth don't have to think about. However its those options that gave us Collins. So now faced with a new hurdle we again have to look into new options, and once again these options are a little less common. 

So as mentioned, we aren't comfortable trying to carry another child. After two pre-term losses, and a unchanged cervix, it's just not feasible to try again. However my eggs are great, and Marty's little swimmers are clearly adequate and those two have no problem getting together to make magic. The problem comes with the "carry" portion of that process. That being said, our new option is to have someone else do the carrying. People refer to this as gestational surrogacy.

Although uncommon, this option is, at present, the best one we have to grow our family. Regardless of the hurdles this option brings, we are both passionate and committed to growing our family.

The biggest challenge this process presents is finding that person who will sacrifice 9 months of their life for us. Many people wait years hoping and praying for this special person to come into their lives. For everyone involved, it's a life changing event, one that hopefully ends with a gift that words simply cannot describe. So that is our new hope, a hope that may seem crazy to many, but maybe crazy is just what we need to grow this family.

Happy Valentine's Day ❤️

A little late however with Valentine's Day being my favorite holiday especially now that we have Collins I just needed to share some of my favorite pictures from the day :)