I’ll never forget this day…August 25, 2011, around 3 in the afternoon…my phone rang. So many emotions going through my head…scared to answer but anxious to know…I said hello. It was one of the nurses. She asked how I was and then she gave me the best news of my life…I WAS PREGNANT!! My dream, this miracle, my miracle, had come true. At 44, against so many odds, I was going to have a baby and become a Mama!  And as you saw from the beginning, my little angel was born on April 30th. I was blessed with the greatest gift from God…and I am forever grateful. 

i have to say, one of the greatest parts of my job is watching new mamas completely smitten with their babies.  karen kept telling cooper that he is the love of her life, and her smile and eyes showed how true it is.so this is her happy little family!  karen, cooper, and cooper’s fur siblings, charlie & ms. sunshine america.  congratulations karen on a dream come true.i know this last one of him is focused in a weird place but when i saw it i couldn’t help but wonder if this is similar to his view of the world right now.  when our new wonders are fresh and just learning everything around them, trying to put a face to the voice they have heard for months, working their little eyes and mouths and lungs with such effort… it’s just a magical time.  grateful i get to record the fleeting moments for mama’s to remember later.thank you karen, for your sacrifices and service in the military.  i’d like to join a lot of women in welcoming you to your first mother’s day, and the start of your happily ever after.  

 xo {B}

“Bridgette, that was delicious!  I must have your recipe,” said no one ever.

scratch the recipe part.  anyway, since that book is probably never gonna happen i thought i’d share some of our recent DIY adventures here.  the girls begged for new beds so i took to the internet for inspiration.  as usual, ana-white.com did not disappoint!  we followed her plans for the “easiest hanging daybed” which is a little too optimistic a name if you ask me  i loved this gorgeous execution of it best, by the bumper crop.  a few trips to lowe’s later, we had this pile of commitment.

and just a tip, if you are gonna DIY, let the lady of the house make the runs to the hardware store- alone.  i got eager VIP white glove service with a smile.  They hand picked the best boards for me, cut them to my specs, helped me choose the proper hardware and a happy customer volunteered himself  to load them into the car for me.

if they assume I am helpless who am I to argue??

back home, i found a few more eager helpers!

in my research of those who have attempted the floating beds, hanging them was one of the biggest problems.  these are very heavy, and while we opted for 1x4s instead of 2x4s for the decking planks to save us some weight, it was still too heavy and awkward to hold level for any amount of time.  and it took a good amount of time to get all seven 5-inch lag screws ratcheted into the wall studs.  so, we used this resourceful method to support the whole thing and took our time making sure we did quality secure work on the beds that might precariously dangle our beloved children 5 feet off the ground each night.  after we hung the ropes and apprehensively removed the supports, each of us tested it out one by one.  lots of adrenaline  was in the air for sure.  anxiety from us and extreme excitement and satisfaction from them!once i trusted that they would hold up, my nerves gave way to that same excitement, and maybe a twinge of jealousy these beds are soooo adorable.  they remind me of camp bunks……which led us to finish the room with a glamping theme {girly glamorous camping}our girls’ middle names, Soleil & Solana, both mean sunshine so i had a little fun with that on their chalkboard wall.  those paintings are a tradition we have.  each year on their birthday they get a blank canvas to paint with their new age #.we had a MALM dresser from IKEA that was begging for a facelift.  before ↑ and after ↓our awesome generous friends gave us this dresser.  it needed a slight repair which i did with wood glue and clamps via this tutorial from emily at merrypad {apparently it’s a common issue}.  then i measured the drawers and headed off to staples copy & print department for a fancy ole $3.19 engineer’s print.  i trimmed it at the shop and applied it with spray adhesive at home.   they make no claims to the prints being photo quality- and while it’s just black and white on lightweight paper, you can see from the close up that it’s not too shabby at all!finally, since they would be sleeping further apart than they ever have {until now they had separate beds, yet each morning i would find them spooned together in one} they insisted on making tin can phones so they can tell secrets without yelling across the room.if that isn’t the cutest display of sisterhood, i don’t know what is.  almost makes it worth the extreme exhaustion and soreness that resulted from our staying up til 2am and spending an entire weekend on this hot pink room

*special thanks to my handsome husband who never shuts down my extreme ideas, from moss wall guest rooms to a roofing tin accent wall in our master bedroom.  his sweat and pure brawn got these awesome beds off my pinterest board and onto our walls.  AND we worked together the whole weekend without a single bad word slipping or tear shedding.*

“we’ve come a long way baby!!” 

{UPDATE}

my tutorial for the dresser makeover is featured on ikeahackers!

do you forgive me jill?  it takes me almost as long to blog as it takes you to return texts!  :)  see what i did there, shifting the guilt to you?  i can’t imagine that you have your hands full or anything…

presenting the giles 5.  count em, five.  boys.  ”five boys?!” {i’m guessing that’s the raised eyebrow rhetorical question jill hears, oh every.day.of.her.life}if you are wondering how to get 5 boys to sit still for pictures, the answer is:  you don’t.  :)  but if you really want to try these things are helpful

a} one island they can’t escape from

b} one very hilarious mama

c} one dramatic dance to a sir mix a lot song that will remain unnamed.  is there more than one sir mix a lot song??

am i the only one impressed by the variety in this gang?  they have a blonde, a straight haired, a curly…  for having one boy after another, they aren’t lacking in uniqueness.  how fun.and this is baby Davis Giles.  i like to think she named him after me.  technically she didn’t know i existed until after he was born… but even if she had, there’s a chance that even considering all my flaws she may not have crossed that off her list and still named him Davis because it’s such a great name.  that’s pretty much the same thing.   handsome brood of young men you have there jill.  thanks for sharing them, and for your expertise.  i’ve put you at the top of my list to call in case of boy emergencies around here.   it’s all new to me, but i have a hunch that anything Bronx can cook up to raise my blood pressure will be old hat to you.  looking forward to our next session, and seeing how much my namesake has grown

gina lost her own mama before she was a grown woman.  she has two very handsome boys, and now this beautiful little girl that she prayed so hard for.  i can only imagine that as she wished and hoped and prayed for a baby girl and her own sweet mother-daughter moments, her dreams may have looked something like this… a field, warm morning sun and the sweetest game of dress up that has ever come to beshe was so kind as to indulge my Anthropologie obsession just as my own Brooklynne says, when swindling her way into a large chocolate bar or an extra hour before bed, “No one can resist the puppy dog eyes.”  seems ayla has found her own spellbinding look  very puss-in-boots my dear!happy 2nd birthday sweet ayla J.  and many more…

“i want to be the kind of mom you are”

it came out of nowhere and

i’m quite confident that i’ve never received a higher compliment.

of course i have to push back and tell you that i was letting my kids have cereal for dinner as i received that text.  but then maybe that illustrates her point?  i’m not sure what kind of mom heather thinks i am, but i can tell you what i think.  i’m quite imperfect, and light years from the organized mother of the year type.  not what i would consider a role model, which by the way feels like a lot of pressure and undeserved admiration.  but it did make me stop and think.  the things that impress me most when i watch heather with hadley, are the things that i do purposefully strive to be as a mom.

i try to let my girls get messy and enjoy the smiles that come from eating half a pack of peeps in a white dress before a proper lunch.

i try to do lots of fun new things and make memories and take lots of pictures so that they and i have a hope of actually remembering them in spite of our pathetic short and long term memories.

i try to teach them to give love, and just as importantly, to receive love.

i try to be sarcastic with them because frankly, a child with a sense of humor is just so much cooler than a child without.

i try to remind them that there’s nothing they can ever do to make me stop loving them.

and, i try to remind myself not to sweat the small stuff, and that it’s all teeny tiny stuff.

{{both of those last two i learned as a child from my own amazing mama by the way}}

heather is the taller of the two gorgeous blondes you see below, and apparently, one of my biggest fans.  i hope she knows that the feeling is mutual.

at her age, a first time mom could easily fall prey to the judgment of other mamas, or worse, join them.  how dare someone choose luvs over pampers or let a child that walks have a binky?but heather seems to realize already that her energy is better spent trying to steal kisses from the amazing independent woman she is molding.and instead of wishing Hadley would hurry up and hit the next milestone on a baby tracker calendar, Heather seems to actually grasp the reality that people always warn you of {even when long teething nights make hard it believe}.  they grow up so fast!  you will blink and she will be driving to the prom.we set our priorities and values and have bold confidence that we are doing the best we know how by our babies.  and then we respect that everyone else is doing the exact same thing, even when it looks different.Heather, i just want to thank you for encouraging me, and tell you

i’m so proud of you.  i want to be the kind of mama you are.

you are an amazing mother and i hope we continue to have each other to lean on as we grow these little new and improved 2.0 versions of ourselves.
and by the way, if you are a mama reading this, you should know,

you are doing it right. and you are doing a darn fine job of it

even {maybe especially} if it looks different than us.

his mama said she would love some props and theme, so we settled on a very gentlemanly UP.  we were inspired by the Carl character, both young and elderly versions.  the weather was so perfect for the start of february in ohio, decent temperature and cool fog that burned off right when we wanted a different feel.  ben of course was the most perfect part, and we all had a blast hanging out and celebrating his quick first year. 

mallary & kurt, thank you for choosing me again.  it’s such a joy to watch my {BD} babies grow and document the changes.  he is so handsome and absolutely charming, not that i need to convince the two of you.  happy birthday sweet ben!

enough google and pinterest.  i loaded up the car with every color of the rainbow i could collect from a mad dash around the house and picked up my baby girl while memaw stole the other two away for ice cream.  brook what do you want to do for your photoshoot?

“how ’bout a kite?  mama can i please get a kite?”

a) i’m an idiot. she’s a genius

b) she gets what she wants when she calls me mama. and she knows this

turned out we pretty much burned up all our daylight and unseasonably gorgeous weather that january day, running thru target and pushing past sleds and snow shovels to find a kite.  {“a kite??  i’m not sure we have those out yet, but you could try G16″} 

as we left the store the sky turned grey and the wind went crazy.  we decided to have a “kite date today and photoshoot tmrw”.  we ran and froze and laughed and felt pretty much like kite professionals {is there such a thing?}.  it was probably our first date alone since bubba changed her from little sister to big sister 6 months ago.  she was genuinely filled with joy and gratitude that i was playing with her and had spent $8 on the most incredible kite in the world.  it was priceless. 

as we walked back to the car out of breath i said “wow, turned out to be perfect wind for a kite bitty”

and she says “i know right?!” {which is my favorite of all things she says these days,except what followed…} ”perfect wind, perfect kite, perfect date, perfect mama”.    the next day came with some surprising warmth and sunshine againmy funny girl insisted that since her feet could fit in my heels she should wear them, just like she believes that all my short homecoming and cocktail dresses are made to be ball gowns just her size she kinda has the biggest most expressive eyes ever.  they are gorgeous and sure to get her in and out of a lot of trouble.she made a masterpiece and signed it in “check” {self taught cursive, just like you use to sign your checks}and then she wrote me this note.  “thank you for what bitty?”“for doin’ my pitchurs!”  wow… this session was like pulling teeth.  what a difference a year makesshe painted her own toes,admired her handiwork,and negotiated a little craft services from the prop department

my sweet tooth, rainbow sunshine girl.

“Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.” -James M Barrie

indeed.  happy 8th birthday Solana.   {XOXO mama}

anyway…on to documenting and celebrating briella soleil, our first sunshine girl.

as you can see, she’s 3 parts legs-for-days

and 2 parts blue eyes.

she is laugh attacks at the dinner table, biting her sleepy grouchy tongue all morning before school and begging to hold her brother first when she gets home.

her aspiration in life is to be an artist, or an art teacher.  she’s been begging to splatter paint all over her bedroom walls.  the boring practical adult that’s apparently snuck up inside me cringed, but the 9 year old in myself remembered really really wanting to do the same thing at that age.  i decided that a trash the flower girl dress session was in order  

every year on their birthdays they get a canvas to paint with their age.  she decided to go at that while the air was warm and the sun was bright, creating yet another priceless masterpiece to spruce up her unsplattered hot pink bedroom walls.really not a girly girl anyway, this part was pure bliss for her.  the only downside would be the shower she would have to take in the end.  the child loathes showers.brown berry.  she came out darker than all of us and continues to be no matter the season.  she tans 3 shades walking from the house to the car.  it’s daddy’s native american blood.  she looks like me, and brian says she acts like me {at the most frustrating times, when i’m lamenting about her pre-tween hormones}, but don’t be fooled, she is allllll daddy’s girl.

but i try   i woo her away with mommy daughter dates, she’s brave and tries sushi with me when no one else will, and she massaged me to sleep almost every night during my pregnancy!  she’s a center-part low ponytail basketball playing girl most days, but she has a drive and sense of adventure that i can always count on when i want a sidekick to do something crazy with.  i’m immensely proud of her being a quiet leader among her peers and a protective responsible big sister when no one is looking. 

mama loves you ella, ella, a-a.  just as much as daddy does, and even as much as you love him  

happy 9th birthday