Love Simply Kate

Back to school traditions have not come super easily to me, and to be honest, I was still thinking of new things to do each year (including this year). But I think this year I finally got it down to exactly what we want to do each and every time school starts. I am hoping to establish these traditions to do with all my kids as they start each school year, and it’s been fun experimenting to see what we love to do, and what we feel isn’t something we would do again. Something I have done with Dylan since starting Kindergarten is our “Back-to-School Date night.” This is a special date where Dylan gets to choose where we go eat and who gets to come along. We talk about what he hopes to accomplish in the school year ahead, whether he’s excited or nervous to start school, and all the things to look forward too when school starts. This date usually either happens the night before school starts, or the night of the first day. This year the night-of didn’t wo...

Ready to know what we are having?!?! Your guess is as good as ours!  That’s right! Brett and I don’t even know lol. Not even the doctor or ultrasound tech knows. It’s a secret to everyone on planet Earth besides this little baby growing in my tummy. We are waiting to find out what it is until delivery day! We are so excited that we have been able to make it this long without wanting to give into the mystery of what this baby is. I’ve answered some of the most common questions I’ve had from family and the few friends who knew we wouldn’t be finding out below: WHAT MADE US DECIDE TO WAIT? In the beginning we were pretty set on finding out what it was, because we have found out with both our babies in the past…then as the weeks went by and the date to find out came closer and closer (around 16 weeks) out of the blue I said to Brett (thinking he wouldn’t go for it): “What do you think about waiting to find out the gender until it...

Nursing is not something I was sure I would always do. I would see other women nurse before I had kids and never have a giant desire to do it. I didn’t think I would want to sacrifice my body and give up certain foods or medicines just to feed my baby. I thought bottles would be my go-to and nursing never was really in my plan. Then I had a baby, and just like it always does, everything changed. Right when Dylan came into the world every little thing I thought I knew or wanted for him shifted in my mind. Everything I needed to do for him became clear, and my desire to breastfeed turned on. I was only able to breastfeed him for 3 months before my milk disappeared completely (you can read more about my experience with that in this post ) and it devastated me. It shocked me how much I loved it. The bonding time was incredible and I just loved that it was our time together; something only I could do for him. It was amazing. So having it go away so suddenly and not being able to have a...