When I had Rowan, I had this mentality that I could do it all. I didn’t need help because I was super mom. Whatever the situation, I could handle it by myself. Dear new Moms or ladies nearing this stage of life. THIS.IS.A.LIE! Looking back now I think, why did I do that to myself? Why have we made it so that Mom’s need to feel like they have it all together, all the time?? That we shouldn’t ever need to ask for help. Why??? Why do we feel like this? Why is help seen as such a negative thing nowadays? I know I felt like if I asked for help I was somehow not as good of a mom as other women? Ladies! This just isn’t true. You know what is soooooo freeing? Breaking from this cycle. I was at an Ergo Baby event over the summer and the swag bags were in these awesome tote bags from Savage Seeds that had screen printed on the front “It takes a village”. I started carrying it around as my purse these past few months and the more I noticed the saying, the more those words have struck a cord with me. It takes a village. It.takes.a.village. Let’s say it one more time… IT TAKES A VILLAGE!!
Raising kids is no joke. It’s beautifully hard in the best kind of way but we don’t have to feel like we have it all figured out. I’ve been realizing more and more this year just how grateful I am for “my village”. The women that pour into me, that do life with me, that encourage, that love, that speak the sometimes hard truths, that are the extra ears, eyes, hands helping, watching and loving over my children. This is what it’s all about. Close, dear friends that are there to be your village through the thick and the thin. Who see you in your best motherhood moments and the worst. Who have your back and are there to help in any situation. I am beyond grateful for the ladies (and their kids and husbands) I call my friends. I see our kids playing together as we share tears and laughter and joys over motherhood and it just warms my heart.
I promise this all has to do with Orion’s birthday party! You see, the first birthday party is really much more for the parents then the baby in my opinion. I see it as a celebration of your village. The people that surrounded you in the first year of that littles ones life. Whether it’s your 1st, 3rd or 5th the first year is all kinds of tough. So we invited all our dearest of friends and we partied to celebrate our friendships and our sweet little Orion a few weekends ago. It meant so much to have everyone there, they all have made such an important impact on our lives. We couldn’t do this without them. Thank you dear friends, you know who you are. XOXOXOXO
I went with a woodland theme for the party since we call Orion “Boo Boo Bear”, but also because Orion is a hunter in Greek mythology. We kept it as simple as we could so we could spend more time hanging out. We had it at a local park, ordered pizzas, played games, sang happy birthday and even had a sweet “after party” at a friends house. It was a great, great day!
^^an epic game of sharks and minnows
Just wanted to say I love following your blog! I have never commented before but wanted to now. Your kids are adorable! My sweet baby girl Sonny turned 1 on the 26th of October, so I have been following along with you on your journey! Happy Birthday Orion! It sure does fly by fast…. 🙂
That has to be the cutest cake/birthday theme ever! The cake looks so delish and your fam is adorable! I love how real your photos are not stylized and it shows you truly living! It’s truly the reason why I keep coming back to your blog and instagram- it’s so real when it seems like so many bloggers have turned the business route and forsaken when I first started following them.
Also, I stumbled upon this macaroon matching game set and I thought your girls would love it for their homeschooling and it seems like such a fun Christmas present! https://shop.magnoliamarket.com/collections/books-paper/products/macaron-matching-games
Yes! It’s taken me four kids to realize how BAD I am at asking for help and accepting help even when it’s freely offered (I was just admitting that to a friend today and she was YES, you’re terrible at taking help! Hahaha.) Anyway, I think the hard thing for me is I’m an Army wife and not used to having any family around and having to do most things myself. Lately I’ve seen God literally sending people to me to help me, but I’m weirdly awkward about it! Sigh.I totally hear you though, it’s really a blessing when you get to the place where you can just let go and let people help. (My friend today was like LET ME HELP YOU, hahaha!) So, you and I are both getting better at it, woohoo! P.S. Your party decor is amazing. Those mushroom cupcakes, ah!:-)