Krewpalooza Week

Today officially kicks off my babies 1st birthday week! Call us crazy but in the Collins world we celebrate birthdays for weeks, even the whole month! My sisters birthday was yesterday so now that that is over we can all fully focus on Krewpalooza! I have so much in the works for his birthday party on Saturday! I am planning on over 30 people being there. I feel so much love already! Krew got blessed with a seriously cool set of Grandparents, my mom and dad have gone all out in order to help celebrate his birthday and we couldn't be more thankful! I am going to highlight him all week on my blog. Mostly pictures, not really any talking because who wants to hear read me anyways?

This was me 1 year ago today (tonight actually) seriously I remember being so swollen. I had only cleaned my house a dozen times. Alas, my hair was at least curled!

This was our last night out to dinner just the 2 of  us. Which is actually a rare occasion nowadays!

This was our last holiday as a family of 2! The 4th of July. Look at my tinsy bump, I remember it starting to show up!

If we had only known then what we know now. Krew runs the damn show! I can't wait to share more about his birthday week as this week continues. Since when am I a mom and a mom to a 1 year old at that!?

xoxo

Pumpkin Patch 2013

I LOVE starting our own family traditions! This year has been so much fun now that Krew is older and more aware of the things that are going on around him! A few weeks ago we took him to the pumpkin patch with some good friends and then went to Olive Garden for dinner! It was such a fun night, we will most definitely be doing it again next year! (maybe even with baby #2 in belly) Anyways, I will let my pictures do the talking. The other little boy pictured is one of my best friends boys, they are only a month apart! It's been so fun watching them grow up and learn together! (hi, jen!)

I love my little family and am feeling very blessed this time of year!!

xoxo

In awe

It's been a week almost since I blogged last. I can't think of a better thing to come back and blog about then my baby boys 1 year pictures! I am only going to post a couple, the others I cherish forever. I cannot believe my baby Krew will be 1 in 1 week! I am so amazingly blessed. Words cannot ever describe how much being a mother has completed my life. Every time I look at him I tell myself how lucky I am. Without further due:

If  you are in Utah I cannot rave about FotoFly enough. These pictures take my breath away and I instantly shed a tear when I saw them!

xoxo

Fresh

Guys,
I have been practicing the "milkmaid" braids for so long now. I saw them on Khloe Kardashian on an episode of KUWTK and have been determined to wear it ever since!

BUT this post isn't centered around my hair like the rest of my world. See this amazing necklace I am wearing? I have been on the lookout for something to wear in my family pictures at the end of the month and I found it! Cents of Style has been so kind to allow me to share this with my readers and instagram followers! You will love the colors the necklace comes in, it's so fun and easy to style with anything, you can wear it shorter or longer for a different look. It is such high quality and really well put together. I am picking up a few more for Christmas gifts as well!

Visit My Cents of Style to get your Blaire necklace. Discounted for my readers and followers from $39.95 to $12.95 and worth every penny. To get your discount be sure and enter code BLAIREBARRAS at checkout!

Dig Deep

I feel like my posts sometimes can be real depressing. I don't mean them to be that way, I am just trying to be upfront and honest with the struggles in my day to day life. I am not perfect, nor do I think I am. I hate the persona that goes around the social media world of people thinking acting like their life is perfect. It's not. It's far from. So today I am going to dig deep and count my so many blessings instead of focusing on my trials.

Yesterday I dropped my baby off with his new nanny. He loves to play with the kids there, me leaving isn't easy. I don't do the typical drop him off and sneak out the back door like a ninja thing, I set him down, tell him I have to go to work, and me, dad, or Grandma will be there to pick him up. And I leave. Sometimes he cries, sometimes he is too distracted. Those days when he cries, pulls on my heart strings. It is so hard for me not to run back in and save him. I know what I am going is the right thing, it just takes a few minutes for me to dig deep and realize this.

Last night as I was rocking my baby to sleep, I had an epiphany. My baby will be 1 in less than 1 month from now. I am going to try and rock that lil' sucker to sleep as much as I can. As I rocked him I talked softly to him. I told him how much I loved him, how spoiled I felt that God chose me to mother him teach him, and be by his side. I also promised him I would always be by his side. I will always be his best friend. He slowly started drifting. As I told him he was my greatest blessing he looked up at me and gave me a little smirk. Y'all God works in mysterious ways. I needed that, it's almost as though the smirk meant he knew. He knew and understood what I was saying and he felt so comfortable with me in knowing I will always keep my promises.

Despite, my crazy work schedule, being my a wife, best friend, sister, event planner, and all the other things that come along with working 40 plus hours in the office and than going home and putting in 40 plus more I am so fucking blessed.

I need to step back and breath more. Take it all in. It is hard for me to wrap my head around how lucky I am. I have the most supporting husband, parents, sister, and friends a girl could ever ask for. And that folks at the end of the day is all that matters.

So again,
I am digging deep this next month before my baby turns 1 and realizing how blessed I truly am.

xox

11 months!!

Height & Weight: I am guessing he has past the 20 pd mark. I am unsure on height.

Health: He just recovered from a sinus infection thanks to antibiotics, which he hated. Over the weekend he also had his 1st major goose egg/shiner. R was walking through a door way with Krew on his shoulders and missed gaged the amount of room Krew would have and poor guy bonked his head and eye. I thought it was going to be worse than it really was. He cried for .10 seconds and the next morning it was a little red. Thank god. It could have been so much worse. He is also cutting his 1st top tooth!

Sleep: This kid is a champ at night he goes down between 8:30-9:30 and sleeps until 6:30 or so. On the weekends he will snuggle back in bed with us until 8 or 9. He religiously takes his 1 hour morning nap but sometimes fights his afternoon ones. We need to be really careful about them. If he doesn't get them he is a beast!

Diet: I cannot even believe I am about to type this right now, Krew only has 1 7 oz bottle of formula in the mornings and it's only because we have a $36 can of formula we don't want to waste. He is drinking whole milk like a champ. Usually 2 bottles a day 1 in the afternoon and 1 before bed. I am really trying to limit his milk. I know he needs a certain amount every day I am just so against kids with milk in their sippy cup and their disposal all day. He also snacks like crazy. He will eat anything.

Clothes: He is in 9-12 month clothes. We just bought him some outfits for his birthday that should last him through this winter! Brr...

Baby Gear Love: He LOVES to stand up on the couches, he LOVES walks in his stroller, and balls. He is so curious lately. Anything he can get into he does! Such a boy!

Crying: He is starting to have separation anxiety. He cries whenever I leave the room. He is also more hesitate with people he doesn't see a lot or really know.

Likes: This kid loves his Grandma and Papa. I am so lucky to have my parents be such an influence in Krews life. He also loves Gus our pug, he LOVES to snack on anything. He is such a happy sweet baby!!

He also started at a new nanny last week. We lover had and she is so good with the kids. I cannot believe I have 1 more month of having an infant. Seriously. I also read that the average parent with a 1 yr old has lost 2 months of sleep on average. I totally believe it.

Dear Krew,

Hi, it's mama. I need you to know that my love for you is so deep, so down in my heart that it makes it ache. I can't imagine my life without you little guy. You are my whole heart, soul, and reason for living. This age has been my very favorite. You do this cute thing when you get really excited, you squint your whole face together and show off your bottom teeth. It kills me. You are so funny. So cute, precious little thing. I wish I could bottle up the moments we have together and relive them from time to time. People keep telling me that you are only going to get more fun as you age. Until you hit about 16. You will always be my baby boy. Please know in your heart that your mom, dad, and Grandparents have the most unconditional love for you. Never ever forget your self worth and please always treat people the way you want to be treated. With that, don't ever ever back down for something you believe in. If you think it is right mama will always stand by you. Grandma always took this approach with me and still to this day she sticks right by my side. I am always here for you little buddy. Through thick and thin you can count on me. I love you to the moon and back a million times.

xoxo

mama

OOTD ::baby version::

You don't see a lot of baby boys dressed to the hilt. Or in fact a lot of baby boy OOTDs.

So here you go:

For real though. He looks like such a little hipster dude. Minus the big shiner he has on his forehead/eye from the weekend. He is such a gem. For all my i.g friends wondering about his outfit.. You can thank me later.

Beanie: H&M
Hoodie: Baby Gap
Leggings: Baby Gap
Shoes: Toms. Nordstrom

xox