SITTIN' ON A RAINBOW (SOL'S FIRST BIRTHDAY)

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I've got the world on a string; I'm sitting on a rainbow.

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Good ol' Frank...
(aka Ol' Blue Eyes)

Have you ever had a day where your heart was so full of love, and your soul so full of joy, that they were no longer able to be contained in your physical body, and your heart and soul literally floated up above you and spent the entire day bouncing against the ceiling like some love/joy-filled helium balloon, and you almost felt like you were up there bobbing along on the ceiling, all full of love and joy, watching the scene unfold from above?

Well, that was me this past Saturday.

I can't even begin to describe the complete and utter bliss I felt this weekend -- although the psychedelic experience I described above comes pretty close to what I felt.

My life with Sol is positively delectable.  Raising Sol comes naturally; it's not scary at all.  I love our new apartment.  And I love my job.  Sol and I spend most of our time with good friends.  We are so blessed.

And to boot, this weekend I saw the physical manifestation of just how many people love my daughter.  She had the most amazing first birthday party, celebrated with all of our nearest and dearest (complete with a surprise visit from some friends, who drove in all the way from St. Louis!!).  None of us could possibly have left that party doubting whether Sol is loved.  She is most definitely loved, and loved well.

Three cheers for a beautiful life.

Pictured here with Uncle Rafiki...
and you can see why we call him that :)

Our invitation -- sent out wrapped in pink tulle [of course], in keeping with the 2/2 theme :)

Designed by yours truly :)

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Of course, a smash cake for the Sol Child.

She was INTO IT.

Cake plate: homemade.  Candle holder for base, embossed plate for "plate,"
glued together and spray-painted yellow.  Badabing, badaboom.

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Since her birthday is 2/2, naturally I had to incorporate tutus somehow into the theme of the party.  

So I made her this fabulous rainbow tutu.

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And with the many tulle remnants, I was able to make these adorable (and super easy) streamers by tying bits of tulle onto satin ribbons.

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I spent far too much time baking rainbow colored treats... 

but they made the occasion just as colorful as I wanted it to be!

(all cake plates DIY'ed)

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But my prized confection that day: the cake.

It looks so common from the outside...

 

...but inside was all ROYGBIV and whatnot.  Sittin' on a rainbow indeed.

 

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And at a whopping 6 layers tall, the cake fell over [naturally].

And I'm not even the tiniest bit upset about it!!!

Look carefully: in the stainless bowl in this photo,
we have birthday cake ice cream!  Leftover rainbow cake pieces,
crumbled up and mixed in with softened vanilla ice cream.
BOMB.

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The flag bunting was custom-made for the party, courtesy of our friend Jessica at SoVerySplendid.

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Another fabulous item from Jessica at SoVerySplendid: 

a custom-made letter S -- in a sunny yellow, with uber-fun striped fabric to make it pop!

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Also special-ordered for the party: this adorable ruffle-butt diaper cover, 

another SoVerySplendid creation! 

How adorable is this?  

I expect that we'll be featuring this rufflebutt in MANY photos :)

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Sol and her [slightly bigger] twin, E-Machine

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Seriously, we were SO excited for our party goodies from SoVerySplendid...

They fit PERFECTLY with the theme, and we got so many compliments!

Visit her Etsy shop HERE or her FB page HERE :)

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HERE COMES THE SUN (HUM ALONG IF YOU LIKE)

It's been almost a week since my last post. And it's been a whirlwind few days.  All last week was spent in long walks, jalapeno peppers and other spicy foods, five (yes, FIVE) jumping jacks, an encounter with castor oil, and even three frozen Tyson chicken strips (although I'm a devout vegetarian). After trying every trick in the "old wives' manual," it turned out that patience was the key.

It's a girl!  The wait is over :)  My baby was born on a Thursday. I went into the hospital at 10am, started pushing around 8pm, and we met Solaya ("Sol" for short) at 9:05pm.  I was actually lucky enough to be able to reach down as she entered the world and pull her up on my chest with my own two hands, "delivering" her myself.  It was the most wonderful experience in the world.  On February 2, 2012, my world was flipped around when Solaya entered it. 

Many have asked where the name came from.  Sol is Spanish for "sun" and Laya is Sanskrit for "peace of mind." I liked both so much that I squished the two together to create Solaya.  (And because I know you're probably wondering, Solaya is pronounced "so-lie-yah.") Haven has no special connection aside from the fact that it's just a beautiful word with a beautiful meaning: "a place of refuge or rest." And Hammond?  It's a family name.  Since sharing the news of my pregnancy, I've received overwhelming support from my family, and it seemed imperative that I integrate Hammond into Sol's name.

My little Sol is absolutely the best and most beautiful thing that's ever happened to me.  And as passionate as I am for writing, I can't seem to find sufficient words to describe just how amazing this little person is.  As cliche as it sounds, I literally can't imagine my life without my beautiful daughter.

It doesn't matter whether it's 2pm or 2am: every single time I look at her, I remind myself that I chose this.  I chose her.  It hasn't even been a week yet, and Sol is my entire world.  I think of the days where I felt sad and lonely, and it seems totally pointless.  I was worried about this?  For what reason?  No, it's not easy getting two hours of sleep at a time.  And no, it's not easy reversing the orbit of your entire world for a little human.  But she's totally worth it. 

From the very beginning, every single time I went to one of my OB appointments, it rained (even in December/January).  It was always cloudy and rainy, sometimes stormy, and once there was even a tornado while I was at the office.  It almost seemed like a sign: this pregnancy was supposed to be dreary. 
It seems too perfect, then, that my pregnancy ended with the arrival of my sunshine: my little Sol.  My sister Liz said, "All those rainy days, who knew there was sunshine underneath it all!" Yep, here comes the sun.  And my future with her looks spectacularly bright.