Mia's 1st birthday party {pt2}

Our birthday diva :)

I forgot to take more pictures of the decor :( and yes, there was more food than this!

I can't believe the one picture I have of the 3 of us at Mia's party is the one of Eric being a total stinker!! I must have accidentally deleted the good one, UGH!!

Hello? :)

Mia's dress c/o Jaclyn (Jaclynu@matildajaneclothing.com) of Matilda Jane Clothing

Banner c/o Simply Scissors

Mia's birthday party was SO fun! We just kept it close (immediate family) and simple. My stress level was already through the roof over the fact that my baby was turning one (time went too fast!) so I wanted her party to be light and fun! And I think I totally achieved that!

We had tons of good food and everything I made turned out perfect (phew!) We served potato soup, rolls, fruits, veggies, cheese log and crackers, cookies, peppermint bark, cupcakes, etc. There was no shortage of junk ;) Simply Scissors made an "I am 1" banner (side note: When I pulled out the banner I totally thought she mixed up the letters of Mia's name on accident. Eric is the one that pointed out that it actually made sense... ha ha! If her name had been anything other than Mia.... proof that my brain was NOT functioning with the idea of Mia turning one!) heart garland and cake toppers! I forgot to take more pictures at Mia's party but you can see how darling they are from Mia's cake smash shoot (cutest cake smash EVER)! I made tissue poms (way more time consuming than I expected, but they are cute!) and that was it for decor. Simple but cute :) 

After lunch and cupcakes (and an outfit change because there was chocolate cake everywhere) Mia opened presents! She was a little better at ripping open each package :) She got a little overwhelmed with gifts at one point and just wanted to play with her toys and show them off to everyone! But we made it through the gifts and Mia loved playing with her new toys and everyone that came! She STILL loves all of her birthday gifts, everyone was spot on with picking her presents :)

We are so grateful to our families for helping us celebrate this special birthday. Mia is so loved!! My one regret is that I didn't take more pictures (and better pictures) of everyone that came. I was totally overwhelmed... I mean.... I didn't even get a good picture of Eric, me and Mia (UGH!) ha ha! Other than that? Mia's birthday celebration was a total success!  

Mia's 1st birthday {pt 1}

My baby turned one on December 20, 2013!! I still can't believe it's true! I had big plans in store for my birthday girl.... and none of them worked out. Her actual birthday was a total doosey. It wasn't glamorous or pinterest-worthy or anything to brag about. Just keepin' it real, folks! But Mia didn't know any better, so it's okay :)
I set up a little play date at the indoor pool with all of my mommy friends while Eric worked that day. A bunch of us had babies within weeks/months of each other so it's always a good time to get the babies together! I was the first one to the pool at 1pm (which is when they used to open) when they tell me it doesn't open until 3pm. THREE PM! Ugh! I definitely learned my lesson and I will always double check times, ha ha! So we went back home and a couple friends stopped by and Mia loved seeing them and her little friends! I was going to take her at 3 (because she loves to swim) but she fell asleep so of course, nap time won!
I was super bummed that the pool didn't work out, so Eric and I decided we would take Mia to Frozen when he got home from work! Well, Eric got held up at work and didn't leave until dinner time :( I was so bummed (even though Mia totally didn't know better, or care!) that nothing was working out so I had Eric pick up dinner from a local BBQ place to eat my feelings away (ha ha)! Best decision ever! We have never seen Mia chow down on food as quickly as she did that night. She shoved it in so quickly and the whole time she was saying, "Mmmmm, ummmm, MMMMMM" as she chewed, ha ha! Best birthday dinner ever!

My poor, little wreck of a baby. I didn't even get her dressed or comb her hair all day because I was going to get her dolled up after swimming. I'm tellin' ya, nothing glamorous about her big day!

Then we let Mia open 2 presents after dinner (so she could have some fun without being completely overwhelmed with all the gifts she would get the next day at her party) and once again, best decision ever! Mia totally didn't understand the unwrapping process (she thought the gift bag was a purse and she tried carrying it around instead of opening it, ha!) so it was fun to see her surprise when she found out there was a surprise under the wrap!

 

We gave her this doll and as you can see, she loves it :) She still loves on her baby every day (and this was Eric's pick for Mia. Daddy knows best!) and it's so sweet to see her nurturing side come out at such a young age!

We let Mia stay up a little past her bedtime and just played! She was in heaven. So I think her day turned out pretty awesome in that little head of hers :) But don't worry, the next day was definitely the best day of celebrating Mia's first year of life!

so what? I'm selfish.

New year. Clean slate. Fresh start.

While those words excite many, it's obvious that I was pretty content for my world to stay in 2013.

But to be honest? I developed many flaws last year. I made mistakes! I wasn't my best me.

Eric and I sat down together and made goals this year as a couple. Goals that will better our marriage... that will make us fall deeper in love than ever. At least that's the plan ;)

I have silly little personal goals that will actually help me reach my ultimate goal. (ie: go to the dentist twice a year. Fo real!)

But I'm keeping my main goal very simple this year. Simple in words. But not simple in every other aspect of this goal.

I will become a better me!

Who am I? I am Courtney, and my favorite role is a wife and a mom. I am a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend, a hairstylist, a confidant for many, an example to all that know me, and many that don't; I am a child of God. The list can go on! 

My goal for 2014 is to work on myself physically (I feel like I am "there" as far as my fitness goals go, but working out is an important key to keeping myself happy in other aspects of my life), mentally and spiritually. When I am my best self, everyone benefits! I want to be better for everyone else, and most importantly, I want to be the best for Eric and Mia! 

It may sound selfish to say that my #1 goal for 2014 is all about me, but really, it's all for everyone else in my life! So wish me luck!! I hope my hard work pays off because you all deserve better than my best!

Oh and this will be my motto for the year. "Letting go" is something I struggle greatly with. So how perfect is this to better myself? Be good to me 2014, as I do my best to stick to this motto and my goals!

I saw this floating around on Pinterest so I don't know exactly who to give credit to.

P.S. My last wish goal of 2014 is to plan a freakin' vacation for January 2015 so that I have something get me past these dumb new year's bluuuuuues! Please tell me I'm not the only one that struggles?!

insta life

Last {cutest} fall-ish picture of 2013!

First Christmas photo of 2013 :)

The many faces of bath time.

Mia's 1st birthday party called for total diva attire :) Can't wait to recap her birthday!

Mia still doesn't like Santa... even when it's grandpa Santa :)

In honor of Mia's birthday month, I posted pictures of her first hours and days of life for #throwbackthursday. I love this picture of Mia's brand new toesies that Eric snapped!

I took Mia in for her 1 year check up and we ended up in the same room that we were in the very first time we saw Mia as a tiny speck from the ultrasound when I was 5 1/2 weeks pregnant. N O S T A L G I A ! Mia weighs 18.3 pounds and is 28.3 inches tall!

I have a confession. I can't stop posing pictures/videos of Mia! Each month I think I'm going to post more pictures of... other stuff? But it never happens. I can't NOT show her off :)

To keep up with our one year old, find me at courtbrink!

our last night of 2013

New Years Eve was so fun compared to last year! I don't even think I blogged about it last year because it went a little something like this.... We went to bed around 9 and I was feeling super depressed because everyone I knew was out partying just waiting to have their babies (you'll see, my friends and I were all pregnant within weeks-months of each other) and no one understood the struggles, pain and insane hormone changes I was going through, yet. I wanted to badly to be super mom and be able to enjoy new years.... with a week and a half old baby? Those dang hormones, I tell ya! Anyway, Mia woke up around 11:30 to eat so Eric poured us some sparkling cider and he rang in the new year with a sobbing wife who was apologizing for the lamest night ever! Once again, those hormones!! Of course we were ecstatic to have our new baby, and Eric was so sweet by telling me there was no where he'd rather be than with the 2 girls he loves most in life :)
But this year we were able to hangout with all of our friends and sweet babies!

Mia was so excited to play with friends... she's practically hyperventilating in this picture!

Baaaaaabies!

...And then I forgot about my camera, oops! Mia was in heaven with friends and toys galore to play with! We stuffed our faces all night and played an intense (ha ha) game of Battle of the Sexes (my, how New Years Eve plans change when littles are involved)! We all called it a night at 10pm because none of the babies were going to sleep! Mia usually goes down around 7:30 but she was still goin' strong at 10! She didn't even cry once... proof of how excited she was.

Eric and I put Mia to bed and started watching Chuck on netflix. That show is so addicting! A couple minutes before midnight we rushed to pour the sparkling cider... but it took us 5 minutes to get the stupid lid off... missed the countdown... kissed at 12:04... then Mia woke up! I guess she likes ringing in the new year with her parents :) We fed her, put her back to bed, and stayed up til 1:30 watching Chuck! I haven't stayed up that late since before I got pregnant! Wild night, I tell ya :)

I loved spending the night with my little family. I'm having a hard time letting go of 2013, but I'm excited for the changes I want to make in 2014. I'm hoping and praying for an even better year :)

At least I got a picture for Instagram because this is the only picture I have of the 3 of us on the last night of 2013!