It's been nearly three years since my last post. I haven't even reread what it was that I last posted. I'm afraid it might make me cringe. I feel that way a lot when I look back at things I've written and shared in the past. I wasn't very consistent then, but I'm sure now that I have added another baby and a puppy to the mix, I'll be much better at keeping up with blogging with all this extra free time I've got.



So here we go. I'll be sharing our day to day shenanigans here, virtually bridging the gap between our current home in Texas and you guys. Our days are mostly boring, spent at home playing with the same toys and watching the same tv shows as we do every day, but with a witty toddler and a quirky baby, sometimes funny things happen. And sometimes I take pictures of them with the camera Matt bought me for our first anniversary present back when we had absolutely no money to afford such a luxury.

Summer is ending (apparently) since we're now into the 5th day of September. Everyone is talking about their pumpkin spice lattes and decorating for the fall, which I love, but I have I hunch that we'll be sporting our summer clothes off and on throughout the fall and winter like we did last year, but hey.



A couple weeks ago, the girls and I finally made it to a pool. I was really responsible and lathered them in the safest sunscreen I could find, and sent them off to splash, play, and "swim"; and, of course, completely forgot to put some on my own sunburn-prone skin. The girls had a blast. We all did, actually. It felt SO good to get in the pool and just play. I had just received my new swimsuit in the mail so I was eager to put it on and play with my girls. Our friends joined us soon after we had gotten there and we spent about 2 1/2 hours in the pool. Millie got a beautiful tan, and I was burnt to a crisp, but didn't realize it until we got home that evening. We went back the next day, this time I opted to not get in the pool and stayed covered up in a long sleeve shirt. It was so hot, but so worth it to see the girls laughing and splashing and getting more comfortable in the water. Matt can't wait to teach the girls how to swim. He spent so many summers teaching and coaching other people's kids how to swim, it'll be so fun to see him teach our own kids!



I've been trying to get better about using the "big" camera more often than the camera on my phone, so I remembered to grab it on our way out the door. I'm always so glad when I remember to snap a few pictures with it. I hope to get a few of these pictures printed and framed in our house. I think the last time I had pictures printed was to display at our wedding 5 years ago, so it's time we start adding some personal touches around the house.

N I N E

sometimes i feel like i need to pinch myself.
i can't believe this is my life. it is so so good.

our little girl has been up to quite a bit lately.

she has mastered crawling,
she can pull herself up to stand,
and she can stand unassisted for a few seconds at a time.
miss independent over here!
my favorite new trick, by far, is her little clap.
there are few things that will make my heart flutter with pride, happiness and love like hearing her chubby little hands pat, pat, pat. and then we say "yaaay!" and she squeals and makes her scrunchy-nose smile.

parenthood is the best. it's challenging, at times, and i can only imagine how many more challenges we'll face as she grows, but this. is. the. best.

E I G H T

[this post has been written since the beginning of the month, but i haven't gotten around to posting it until now. whoops!] 

she's eight months old.

yikes.

she loves to dance, which consists of nodding her head, rocking on her booty, and wiggling her arms any time she hears music.

she is so very close to crawling. it'll probably happen in the next couple days.. or hours. [update: millie learned how to crawl on october 12!]

she has recently discovered her tongue. if you show her yours, she'll show you hers.

she is a self-feeding pro.
(with both finger foods and the spoon)

she loves other babies.

she loves her papa. almost nothing will maker her give a smile and a furious wave faster than seeing her papa walk through the door. (although she'd still rather not be held by him, he's one of her favorite people to play with).

my little and i.

it's not often that i'm able to get in front of the camera so i am cherishing these photos that my good friend took of us while we were home. matt had already gone home so he wasn't able to make an appearance in these photos, but he sure was missed!

 if you live in the central valley and want to document your family or your littles, i highly recommend samantha gillis photography.

i can't express how much i've enjoyed having sam capture sweet, priceless moments like these.

S E V E N.

i think this every month.


how are we already here?

so, seven months.

millie:

- fake laughs. first fake coughing, now fake laughs. i can't get over her little sense of humor.

- will kiss on demand most of the time, and gives the best surprise kisses.

- loves to play peek-a-boo. this isn't a new thing. she has loved it from the first time we started playing it with her when she was only weeks old. but now she plays with me. she'll grab anything that will work: a book, a shirt, a towel, blanket; and hold it in front of her face with both of her chubby arms extended as high up as they'll go and pull it down with the goofiest grin on her face.\

- is quirky. when she's nursing on her right side she plays with her left foot. when she's on her left, she plays with her right ear. never the other way around.

- adores animals. especially fish and dogs. i take her to the pet store regularly to encourage her passion.

- still loves mickey mouse clubhouse, but she's starting to really enjoy a handful of other disney cartoons. i think i get almost as excited as she does when we find one of her shows on in the morning.

i love you more every day, sweet girl. 

hello, let's recap.

phew! what a month august has been.

we started the month out with a sweet visit from my in-laws. it was nice to have the two of them here without an agenda. we had the chance to just enjoy each other's company, which was nice, especially for Millie to get to know her grandparents a little bit better.

on the sixth matt and i celebrated our second anniversary. marriage has been such a blessing, a workout and a trial at times, but it has been such a gift to be able to spend these years with my best friend.

love you forever, you hunk, you.

moving forward!

goodbyes are hard, aren't they? we just weren't ready so the night before matt's parents were planning to leave, millie and i made the spontaneous decision to hitch a ride with them back to california for a week or two. while we were getting ready to head out, matt decided he wanted to come too even though his visit would have to be significantly shorter than ours. flights were arranged and we were off!

we had a blast. rather than tell you what we did, i'll show you. (mostly we just bummed around and enjoyed our families, and i neglected to take pictures of everything i should have.)

 

obligatory walk through temple square/city creek mall.

anniversary dinner at tucano's. 

brunch in park city.

i had to beg for this one. what is it with teenage boys and pictures?

this one required no begging. boys.

bravo farms with the fam.

S I X.

HALF A YEAR!?

well, this has flown by.

millie's favorite things:

- holding any toy or object (the best toys aren't toys at all, amiright?) to her ear. (how does she know? i swear i hardly talk on the phone.)
- slapping her thigh when something is especially amusing.
- mama. she has severe separation anxiety lately.
- raspberries. the blown kind.
- splashing in the bath. (have i mentioned how much this girl loves the bath/water?! fish.)
- fake coughing. (which is pretty much the cutest thing ever.)

thank you for the best 6 months of my life, kiddo. you're the best thing i've ever done.

(photos courtesy of the talented samantha gillis photography)