wordless{ish} wednesday: thankful.

well, ya knew it was coming.  a thankful post.  i would be totally lame & ungrateful if i didn't touch on some of the amazing things in my life, so here it is.

i am so in love with this time of year.  and i don't know what it is but for some reason this year's holiday season feels particularly special.  maybe it's because parker is actually more aware of christmas tree lights & santa & i'm super anxious to watch his reaction christmas morning now that he actually gets excited over new toys.  and now he actually dances with me in the living room when i blast christmas music rather than sit in his bouncer watching me like a crazy person {i know right?  why would he look at me like that?} like he did last year.  to get to show these things to a little guy for the first{ish} time is pretty exciting.

and?  i'm just happy.  i'm in a good place.  i don't want anyone to think my life is perfect, that i don't have things i wish were different or that my life is all rainbows & puppies because it's not.  i just don't choose to regularly dwell on the bad things.  because i have too much to be thankful for.  i have an amazing husband who loves our little boy more than words can describe.  i have a healthy, happy little boy who surprises me every day with how much i feel love for him.  i never knew i would feel physical pit-in-the-bottom-of-my-stomach love for this little guy.  and that nearly every day, i would stop & have to choke back tears because of how amazing he is.  seriously, that happens.  i'm totally nerdy that way.

and lastly, i am grateful for all the things i've figured out about myself in this last year.  turns out i like crafts, i can sew {new development this year} & photography has become my main creative outlet.  capturing the emotions of kids & couples & families & then making it into a piece of art for them to have forever is exhilarating to me.  for reals.  i always feel this crazy "high" coming home from a shoot when i know i've gotten some good shots & totally brought my a-game.  it makes me happy.

so there it is.

we are heading out of town for the holiday so i'm not sure when i'll be posting over the weekend.  i'm not really sure when week in iphotos will be up either... i'm not gonna stress about it.  i'm gonna wear stretchy pants, eat lots of turkey & shop at crowded stores.  i'm gonna attempt to have my family's picture taken, watch parker play with babies & visit with friends & family.  i might return ten pounds heavier than when we left but that's ok... it's what new year's resolutions are for.  and who wants to look skinny in family pictures, anyways?

i hope you all have a great holiday spending time with the ones you love.  be grateful for everything you have, even if at times it doesn't feel like much.  you can always find something to be grateful for.

{linking up with wordless wednesday at and then she {snapped},  baby baby lemon, the paper mama, & a little king & i}

our v-day {in pictures}

our valentine's night went pretty much as planned.  it involved pizza, root beer, & chocolate chip cookies.  i made sam a card, he brought home flowers, we ate by candlelight, & we played with p-ray til he got tired.

and maybe i ate four pieces of veggie pizza & six cookies. 

it was a pretty perfect night.


you could make it a pretty perfect day by voting for us! two clicks is all it takes.

valentine's {love.}

p-ray & i made a little card to give to sam this morning to show a little v-day love.  i kinda love it... a lot.  making homemade cards is part of our tradition.  yup, we have traditions that go along with this silly little made up holiday.

in keeping with tradition, we'll also get take out pizza, drink some sparkling cider, watch a movie, eat some chocolates, maybe pop some popcorn.  it's how we do valentine's.

mind showing a little v-day love today by voting for us? we'll be your valentine!

{merry christmas.}

some shots from christmas morning.  we didn't go crazy with presents this year, just a few fun things & a few needed things.  sam's parents are here & it's been great doing the family thing.  we've been eating tons of junk, watching basketball, watching movies, putting together puzzles & of course, playing with this little guy. 

i hope the holiday finds you in good spirits & in good company!  merry christmas.


we would {love} a vote for christmas. it could be my merry christmas present.

weekday recap - {in iPhone pics} w.6

parker & i made it to stroller strides this week.  once.  go us!  he gets all zipped up in his bear suit to stay nice & cozy.  also?  if you want a kid to sleep for hours, this is the magical suit for that.  when he naps in this suit he sleeps for hours.  every. single. time.

we met up with some other moms for a playdate & perused the mall.  dear lindsey: when i said you should get that hair clip because it will go with anything... i was serious.  it totally pairs with your baby sling perfectly.  right?

i worked half a day on wednesday, & had to battle crazy last minute mall shopper traffic to pick parker up from the sitter.  sam got home not much after us to commence our long holiday weekend full of celebrations.  kinda wish i could go back to this day & live it all again.  it's been that fun.

we spent the day cleaning, folding laundry, & getting the house ready for sam's parents to arrive.  nothing like a squeaky clean house to start off a holiday weekend.

for sam & i, christmas eve was all about starting & finishing our christmas shopping... nothing like a little holiday procrastination.  christmas eve for parker was spent in new pajamas, playing with nana & papa, & counting down 'til santa came. 

hope you all had a great week counting down til christmas!  merry christmas friends!

did you take your "week in camera phone" pictures? 
there's only one rule to linking up... your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone.  that's it! you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog too.  the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=64413" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

our tree

in christmases past, i've been all about keepin' it classy with the white lights/red bows/silver bulbs christmas tree decor.  apparently having a kid has changed me.  we went crazy with all sorts of lights & fun ornaments this year.

some of the ornaments we've had for a while, some are new.  here's the rundown of the ones with some meaning behind 'em:

• snowman: i painted this little guy last week.  i'm crafty. • wsu football snowman: gift from co-worker last year • star: sam & i got this tree topper the first year we were married • felt "p": gift for parker from jill & corbin.  p-ray loves it!  • wsu cougar snowglobe: gift from sam's mom, go cougs. • giraffe: parker's pick for 2010.  he loves him some giraffes. • painted polka-dot ornament: i painted this last week too. it's pretty awesome. • glass thingy: gift from my aerobics instructor!  i drop & do ten every time i look at it.  • bulb w/ picture: gift from heather.  that's p-ray's picture in there. cute, right? i know. heather's the bomb.  • fox: my pick 2010, because why not? • baby shoe: gift for parker from the mother-in-law • "faith" star: got it as a hand out at church last week.  gotta remember the reason for the season.

i love all our mish mashed ornaments & i am super excited to add to our hodge podge tree every year.
mostly because of this little guy.

he's so cute.  and helpful.  ok, mostly just cute.




we {love} your votes.  every single one of 'em.

christmas {with} the blog babies

top:

{claire, kingston, logan, bennett, josselyn, parker}

bottom:

{rauri, henry, corbin, ryan, stella, wyatt}

have i ever mentioned how many amazing girls i've met through blogging?  i've formed so many real friendships & have gotten to know so many other moms that have now become some of my closest friends.  seriously.  i love my bloggy friends.

so this year, a few of us decided to do a little gift swapping.  ya know, in the spirit of christmas & all.  we drew names & paired up the babies for some gift giving & getting.

parker was lucky enough to be drawn by rauri!  if you aren't familiar with rauri's mom's blog then i'm not sure you've ever been on the internet.  seriously.  everyone {loves} chelsey, the paper mama, right?

anywho, chelsey & rauri knew that parker has a thing for sock monkeys... his face lights up every time he sees his sock monkey & he's been known to roll around & play with his sock monkey for... well, minutes.  that's basically hours in baby time though, right? 

so rauri's grandma knitted this hat, just for parker!  look at how much he loves it.  words don't describe.

{click to enlarge.  no really, it's totally worth it}

and as if that wasn't enough, she also included this super cute shirt for him too.  complete with a little sock monkey patch that she knitted on the butt.  what's cuter than little sock monkeys on babies butts?  not much.

the gifting didn't stop there.  chelsey is also uh-mazing with photoshop & sent p-ray this picture of him exploring his wild side.

at least he thought of me when he was getting all tatted up. 

oh chelsey & rauri, parker loves his gifts!  thank you so so so much for giving parker such amazing & thoughtful presents.  you guys are the best!

parker got to pick out a gift for corbin... check that out here.

and to see what all the other babies in the swap got, check out all the links below:



and to vote for us it just takes two clicks on the little banner above.  ain't no thang.

thankful thursday

{sorry such horrible quality.  taken by my phone,  in the dark}

today i am thankful for: {in absolutely no particular order}

family.  my best friend.  the kind of father sam is to parker.  their friendship.  our friendship.   moms.  dads.  sisters. sister-in-laws.  brother-in-laws.  grandparents.  baby-sitters.  date nights.  girlfriends.  crafts.  writing.  creating.  taking pictures.  making them pretty.  being able to go cool new places.  the sunshine.  the rain.  clouds.  clear skies.  hugs.  kisses.  flip flops. laughter. good tv & movies. peanut butter & jelly. good in-laws.  good food. iPhones. my religion. oreos. running, cycling, a good work out. funny youtube videos. animals.  turkey dinner.  a car that runs.  singing in the car.  baby gibberish.  baby squeals.  a warm place to live.  a cozy bed. good health.  safe travels in really crappy conditions.  good jobs.  living in a great country.  freedoms.  good talks.  new clothes.  ice cream. chocolate.  parker's giggles.  technology.  blogging.  hair.  music.  hearing.  skype.  eyesight.  gorgeous scenery.  sunsets.  sunrises.  amazing parents.  electricity.  aunts.  uncles.  memories.  blankets.  snow.  hot chocolate.  puffy coats.  warm boots.  sleeping in.  nursing.  modern medicine.   jokes.  vacations.  holidays.  snowflakes.  sports.  a husband that loves sports.  legos.  crafts.  inspiration.  service. 

happy thanksgiving.

what is one thing you're thankful for today?  

oh yeah, & i am SO thankful for you votes. but hopefully you knew that.

cider mills, skunks, & steppin' out.

i am loving this time of year.  so many fun & festive things to do & lugging p-ray around to do them all just makes it better.  he's such a cool kid & just goes with the flow.

on saturday we went with sam's family to the cedar creek grist mill in woodland, wa.  once a year they press eight-thousand pounds of apples into fresh apple cider with the help of volunteers & good ol' fashioned man-power.  we waited in line for over an hour & a half in freezing, wet weather to get our hands on some of this stuff.  check out that line {top left photo}.  that picture was taken from where we were standing in line, so you get an idea of how many people are into this stuff.

once we got our gallon of cider i had to chug it from the jug.  waiting in line for that long really made me start craving apple cider.  and yeah, it was pretty tasty.  it was like a bunch of apples melted & had a delicious explosive party in my mouth.

that night our church held its annual halloween party & p-ray made his skunk costume debut.  big hit.  i had a ton of people ask me if i made his costume which made me feel a bit lame to say no over & over.  i'm just not at that level of domestication yet.  maybe some day.  {probably not}

on sunday i got to wear some new {to me} threads i picked up while thrifting in portland on friday while sam fished.  we're gonna call this pic our weekly "steppin' out" shot, mmm k? 

parker

button up shirt - baby gap

long sleeved shirt - old navy

khakis - old navy

shoes - target

amy

skirt - thrifted

shirt - american eagle

sweater - thrifted

purse - kenneth cole - thrifted! holla! i {love} this purse.  it's in such good condition!

to see more mamas showing off their style, check out harper's happenings by hitting the badge above.  if you're feeling even more daring, go ahead & link up with your own steppin' out post.  it's fun. and everyone's doin it.

and then there was halloween day.  we didn't do too much on halloween besides nap, hand out candy, make cookies, & watch a couple spooky flicks.  i did however insist that parker wear his costume one more time to make the day legit.  i'm glad i did because it may be one of the cutest things i've ever seen & i can't get enough of him in that little skunk get-up.  can ya blame me?

to see what parker looked like as a result of this crazy weekend, go down one post or click here.  he finally couldn't keep his eyes open any longer & fell asleep on sam's lap without warning.  so if your kid passes out while sitting up & still wearing his costume, you can chalk it up to a successful halloween, right?  i would say so.

we are still in the top twenty-five baby blogs because of clickers like you.  so keep clicking!  please, & thank you.

let's get seasonal

today we're hanging out with family down in portland, so i thought i'd just quickly post a recap of the one festive thing we've done so far this year.  you see, i haven't really shown off too many festive pictures yet because well, we haven't done much of anything festive.  p-ray hasn't even been to the pumpkin patch this year... yeah, mommy fail.  oops.

thank goodness for good friends who call you up & say "hey, come carve pumpkins with us!" and when i'm all like, "we don't have pumpkins yet..." they're all like "that's ok, we have some for you"  and then i'm all like, "ok... are you sure?" and then they're all like, "yeah & by the way, we have egg nog & pumpkin pie too."  and i'm all like, "sold.  we're on our way."  end scene.  that's pretty much how it went down. 

so thank you heather for not letting me completely fail as a mother this year, & taking the only picture of my kid thus far with a pumpkin.  you rock. {all pictures in this post were taken by heather.  except for the one with her in it.  that was courtesy of isaiah.  thanks guys.}

don't you worry though.  today is scheduled to be a fun filled day of festive festivities involving cider mills, petting zoos, costumes, candy handing-out-ing, candy eating, & more picture taking than you can shake a stick at.  and believe you me, i can shake a stick at a lot of picture... taking.

i will redeem myself as a mother today.  oh yes, i will.



care to spare a couple clicks?  pretty sure that'd make you the coolest person in my book.  ever.  evvveerrrr.