Kimberly Van Der Beek's Blog: I'm Now a Mom of Two!

Olivia breaks in Joshua’s hat prior to his arrival — Courtesy Van Der Beek Family

We’re thrilled to welcome our newest blogger, Kimberly Van Der Beek!

Born and raised in Washington, she married actor James Van Der Beek in August 2010 and is mother to their two children — daughter Olivia, 18 months, and son Joshua, 2 weeks (you’re hearing his name here first!).

A proponent of healthy living, Kimberly, 30, advocates consciousness for the Earth and serves as co-chair of Baby Buggy‘s Los Angeles committee.

Husband James’s new sitcom, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23, is now available on Hulu and will premiere April 11 on ABC.

You can find her on Facebook and @KimberlilyVDB on Twitter.

Hi! I’m Kimberly Van Der Beek and I’ll be blogging for PEOPLE over the next several months.

As I write on this rainy afternoon by the fire, I have a two-week-old baby boy in a basket at my feet and an 18-month-old girl watching more Peppa Pig than I normally find appropriate.

Allow me to take this first blog as an opportunity to acquaint you with myself…

I grew up in the small town of Seabeck, Wash. After high school I packed my bags and headed to Washington State University, where I received a degree in Communication and minored in Sociology. From there, I headed down to Los Angeles and life was never the same.

It was in L.A. where the world became small. I was introduced to new thought processes, cultures and ways of life. The people I read about in entertainment, business and politics turned into acquaintances, friends and sometimes business partners.

Business was challenging and fun. I dabbled in nutrition, publicity, eco-home building and most recently strategic advising. I traveled the world for the first time. From festivals in France, to working with the sheikhs in Abu Dhabi, and traveling to Israel with former heads of state, life seemed but a dream. But this dream proved to be unfulfilling on many levels.

Don’t get me wrong — these experiences I carry close to my heart. Exposure to different ways of life has colored me into the woman I am today. But it did not teach me about true and utter happiness. I’m talking about the kind of happiness that comes when you fall in love and have children.

During the summer of ’09, I went to Israel with my Kabbalah teacher and some of his students. It was there that I met my future husband, James. A year later, we returned to Israel to marry and soon after welcomed our first child, our daughter Olivia, into the world. And earlier this month, we had the pleasure of welcoming our son Joshua (you’ve heard his name here first!) into the family.

This new life has brought about new joys. It’s hard to top hearing your baby’s heartbeat for the first time, finally holding them in your arms and nursing them, or trying to cook while they’re hanging from your legs.

But let’s be real! That’s not all there is to raising kids. For every moment spent lovingly gazing into your child’s bright eyes, there’s the time you spent burping them at 3 a.m … and 4 a.m. … and 5 a.m. Sitting down to watch a movie turns into an exercise of patience as you find yourself pressing pause every 10 minutes to change a diaper, make a bottle and soothe a crying child.

It’s easy to find happiness when your child is laughing. But when you can find it after a day of colic, teething and no time to shave your legs, that’s when you know you’re in for an enjoyable journey of love and appreciation.

In the endless lessons that life continues to offer, I want to share a few that my world has provided me. I’ll be writing about things like eliminating clutter and chaos in life, learning to enjoy truly meaningful moments and getting back to the roots of life, nutritionally, spiritually and functionally.

In turn, I hope to learn from all of you. In this journey, please share with me your thoughts, lessons and tips. Leave a comment below, or you can find me on Twitter (I’m @KimberlilyVDB) and at Facebook.com/kimberlyvdb.

— Kimberly Van Der Beek