Baby OMG!

OMG!  It's more than just my exclamation of excitement...those three letters are this tiny diva's initials. Meet Lil' Miss Olivia Marie Gonzalez...  

Olivia Marie Gonzalez
Born to Rachael and Mike Gonzalez on
May 5, 2015
8 lbs., 5 oz. and 20" long

Gonzalez, Family of 4
Photo Credit: Rosy Posie Photography

Miss Olivia is nine days old today...I'm a little delayed on getting her blog post done, but that has just given me more time to get some precious pictures of the little princess!

#BabyOMG #CincodeMayoBaby

Six Days Old

My BFF Rachael gave birth to this sweet baby girl on Cinco de Mayo. Momma and baby are both doing well and settling in at home with Daddy and big brother, Max. Speaking of big brother, Max...Rosy Posie Photography captured some priceless images of Max meeting his baby sister...

Photos by Rosy Posie Photography

How sweet is it that my adorable godson brought a yellow rose for his sister???

Welcome to the world, Olivia Marie! You are so very loved! Your family means the world to me, and I am so looking forward to watching you grow into a little girl and eventually a young woman! I will always be here for you, day or night, no matter what you may need! I truly adore you!

Congratulations, Gonzalez Family!

{Three} Cheers for Friday!

Happy Friday! A few {three} highlights from the goings-on in my little world...

One: Donovan Max Miller

One of my oldest, dearest friends {see some pics from her wedding here} gave birth to this sweet baby boy on Tuesday, April 28. He made his debut exactly two weeks early, and he and his momma are doing well. I am in love with his name, which happens to be his momma's maiden name.  Welcome to the world, Donovan...I can't wait to meet you!

Donovan Max Miller
Born to Lindsay and Brandon Miller on
April 28, 2015 at 7:26 AM
6 lbs., 7 oz. and 18.5" long

Perfect little family of three!

Although we live 1,585 miles apart, it's pretty special to me that Lindsay and I were able to go through part of our pregnancies together. Not only have Lindsay and I been lifelong friends, but our younger brothers are friends and our moms are BFFs. I guess that's the true definition of family friends! Lindsay and I have always made it a point to stay in touch and get together when we're both back home in Kansas for a weekend or holiday.  I have no doubt that having little midgets so close in age will only strengthen our friendship...it's nice to have someone going through the same thing at the same time!

Congratulations, Miller Family!

I'm so very happy for you and can't wait to see all of you {hopefully} this fall! 

Two: Max Reads {or memorizes}

Speaking of babies...for Easter I gave lil' midget Max a book about getting a baby sister, and he's been reading it with his parents every night since then. Rachael {Max's momma} is scheduled for a c-section next Tuesday, so hopefully he's ready for his baby sister to arrive. I think he's really starting to understand and accept the idea that there's going to be a baby soon...but based on this little video, I'm not sure he's willing to share any of his books with her!

"Max say, 'No no books...Babies, no no books!'"

Love that little midget so much...and can't wait for his baby sister to arrive next week!

Three:  Happy May Day!

I love love love the idea of May baskets. Since I was too lazy to put any together this year {on top of the fact that May totally snuck up on me!}, a virtual May basket will have to suffice...

via

Have a fabulous weekend!

Today I'm participating in a few fabulous Friday link-ups: 

"Oh, Hey Friday!" {hosted by The Farmer's Wife and September FARM} 
"5 on Friday" {hosted by A.Liz Adventures, North Carolina Charm, The Good Life, and Hello! Happiness}
"Friday Favorites" {hosted by Momfessionals} 

Thanks so much to all of these ladies for hosting fun Friday link-ups!

Bakin' Cookies

No, no, no...not me! I didn't bake cookies. My precious godson, Max, spent the snow day baking cookies with his parents. This video is too flippin' cute not to share!

I'm pretty sure that particular batch of cookies was reserved for Max only. There may or may not have been further footage showing him taste-testing {i.e. licking} the batter while he was rolling it out and patting it. Great memories from "Dallas Icepocalpyse 2015!"

The Vault

I don't like secrets/surprises. Wait, let me rephrase that...I don't like when someone knows something that I don't know, but I kind of LOVE knowing something that no one else knows. Hypocrite much? I'm guessing it's part of that whole Type-A, control-freak personality thing I've got going on. 

Anyway, now that it has officially been announced by the owners of the secret, I can share with you a little story about my awesome secret-keeping skills.

You know my adorable godson, Max, right? His birthday is where this whole story begins...

When I arrived to deliver his birthday cupcake, the lil' midget was already wearing a bib. I didn't think much of it until Rachael told me to take off his bib. I kind of questioned her about why we'd take off the bib now when we'd just be putting it right back on for him to eat his cupcake. I say kind of questioned because it didn't really go very far...after she she said, "Just do it! NOW!" I decided it would just be easier to do what she asked.  And then it hit me. His t-shirt. I was so excited that I nearly tackled the birthday boy after I read, "I'm going to be the best BIG BROTHER ever!" 

This is the best pic of the the "BIG BROTHER" shirt I could get.
Lil' Man was {beyond} ready for his birthday cupcake!

You think this is the big secret I've been keeping? Ohhh...it's only PART of it! 

Rachael wanted to use their Christmas cards to announce the pregnancy AND to reveal the gender of Baby Gonzalez 2.0. She and Mike both wanted to capture their surprised reactions to the gender of the baby in their annual Christmas photos, which meant neither of them could know beforehand. 

Soooo...guess who was the only person to know if Baby Gonzalez 2.0 is a boy or girl for two whole weeks?  ME! ME! ME! {Ok, Ok...so maybe I told Ryan and my mom...I was just SO excited I had to tell someone!}

I think it was about 3 minutes after the nurse called to tell me the gender when Rachael decided she might not want to wait two more weeks to find out if she'd be shopping for pink or blue. I'm pretty sure she tried multiple times to trick me into telling her, but I was A VAULT! I just kept telling her they were going to have a YELLOW BABY {the first  gender-neutral color that came to mind!}.

I ordered these cute confetti poppers from this Etsy shop...

and delivered the poppers to their house about an hour before their photo session. I left strict instructions to call me AS SOON AS they found out if it was pink or blue confetti inside. And then I waited. And waited. For what seemed like HOURS. Finally Rachael called me, and I could tell in her voice just how ecstatic she was to be having a BABY GIRL!

So...there it is...my fabulous secret-keeper story. I'm so honored that Mike and Rachael trusted me with this IMPORTANT news...thank you for letting me be a part of this incredibly exciting time in your lives. You are A-MAZing parents to Max, and I can't wait to see you with your daughter! I truly adore your family and am so grateful to have each of you in my life!

Congratulations Gonzalez Family!

I can't wait to meet Olivia Marie!

Birthday Weekend Recap

It was a weekend full of birthday celebrations. Thus, a photo dump to recap the F.U.N...

Special delivery of delicious cake balls to my office on Friday. My family spoils me rotten by sending a cake to work every year for my birthday. My co-workers LOVE my birthday! 

I've been looking for Skinnygirl Prosecco for months. Ryan found it {or had it shipped from New York} for my birthday! Nice work, husband!

Saturday afternoon was Lil' Midget Max's Bubble Guppy birthday party.

I even got in the bounce house...

On Saturday night, Ryan and I went to dinner at the restaurant where we first met. 

A cupcake for breakfast {from Max's party} and a few presents on Sunday morning...

A fabulous weekend spent celebrating another year of life. Here's to making this next year the best one yet!

Weekending

Last week I blogged about it being Max's 2nd birthday...so today I'll share a few pics from his mini birthday celebration {his birthday party is next weekend, so be prepared for even more pics!}. Let me tell you, blue frosting is a GREAT.IDEA for a two-year-old...if you're not his mom! Bahahaha!

Our friend Jenny came to visit for the weekend, and we were so busy having F.U.N. that I forgot to take pics! I did manage to capture a few moments...

Introducing Jenny to DryBar

A fun-filled weekend that flew by in the blink of an eye {which is equivalent to how much sleep I feel like I got!}.

Thank you to Biana {B Loves Boston} and Meghan {Champagne & Suburbs} for  hosting the "Weekending" link-up!

Max Turns Two!

Lil' Midget Max, my perfect godson, turns TWO today! This little guy means more to me than words can express, and I can't wait to celebrate with him! We have established a tradition {doing it twice makes it a full-blown tradition, right?} that I will get him a birthday cake {cupcake for now} on his exact birthday. I'm sure he'll have big, fancy cakes for his birthday parties, but Aunt Kansas is fully responsible for the birthday cake on the actual day!

In the spirit of "Five on Friday," here are five of my favorite moments with the little midget over the past two years:

One: September 5, 2012

September 5, 2012: Maximino Martin Gonzalez is born

Two: July 21, 2013

July 21, 2013: Max's Baptism

Three: September 5, 2013

September 5, 2013: Max Turns ONE!

Four: Coming to see me in my wedding dress

Lil Man couldn't come to the wedding, so he got all dressed up and brought me flowers at my final dress fitting!

Five: First Sleepover

Kickin' it on the couch with Ry Ry...watching a little golf on TV

I can't just stop there...so here are a few more of my favorite pics from Max's first two years of life:

Cheerin' on my beloved Jayhawks during March Madness!

How ornery {and grown up!!} does he look?!!?

Here's to your birthday, lil' man. You've brought so much fun and happiness into my life for the past two years, and I look forward to all the memories that we'll make in the years to come. I love you so much and am so grateful to be a part of your life. Thank you for letting me be your "Aunt Kansas."

Happy Birthday, Max!

Today I'm linking up with "Oh, Hey Friday!" {hosted by The Farmer's Wife and September Farm} and "High Five for Friday" {hosted by Lauren Elizabeth}. Thanks, ladies, for hosting! 

 

Recently...

A little look back at what we've recently been up to...

One: Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen

Way back last week, we {Darcy, Ryan and I} went to see Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen play an acoustic show at the House of Blues. I had forgotten how good these guys are. Both of them sound just as good live {without a band} as they do on a recorded track. It was a great show. They had the stage set up like a cozy little living room...and even had Pure Country {VHS version!} playing on the TV. Excuse the grainy/blurry pics...had to use my iPhone {in the dark, from the balcony} because oops! I left my camera at home on the charger.

Two: Sleepover!

Little Midget Max {my godson} stayed with us on Saturday night.

Lil Midget Max ruling the roost!

We worked hard on vocabulary words. He's really doing well with "Jayhawk!" We only tried "Rock Chalk" a couple of times...and when the result sounded a lot like a very bad word {as in the one that rhymes with duck}, we opted to delay practicing that phrase until the next sleepover!

Three: Yardwork

After we had checked out at Home Depot last weekend, we walked by some pretty little blooming flowers that I decided we just HAD.TO.HAVE for the empty space on our back patio that was just filled with dirt {ugly!}. Back through the checkout line we go {the husband even thought to get me some gardening gloves...pure brilliance on his part or else he probably would have had to do it all himself!}. The end result? Pretty flowers and a nice little sunburn....

Four: Shopping!
I've spent a significant amount of time {online} shopping...sorting through all the fabulous fall stuff included in the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. Check out yesterday's post {here} to see a list of my favorite items included in the sale!

Five: Blog Love

• Seven Answers After Five Years by Amber at Mr. Thomas and Me. Amber opens up about her dad's battle with Alzheimer's. This post really impacted me, as my granddad is experiencing the early stages of dementia. 

There are two new Friday link-ups that I'm participating in today: "Oh, Hey Friday!" {hosted by The Farmer's Wife and September Farm} and "Friday Favorites" {hosted by All the Joys}. Thanks, ladies, for hosting!

 

Happy Friday!