happy easter + a throw back

so easter came & went & we did all the obligatory easter-y things & it was all pretty awesome.  we got back from our vacation at about one in the morning the night before easter but luckily this little bunny was on top of things & had gotten the boys' baskets all fixed up before we left so we were good to go right off the bat easter morn.

it's so fun to be on this side of holidays.  the side where you pick out the toys & treats & plan all the little activities for your kids to enjoy the magic of the day.  it's so fun to relive the memories you had as a kid by creating new traditions for your own family & continuing on old ones.  i placed the baskets in our house & made a little trail of m&m filled easter eggs that led to the baskets for them to follow.  parker made it his job to find the eggs, open them up & then give the candy to elliot for whatever reason.  elliot had no problem with this system... it definitely seemed to work to his advantage.

these guys are so easy to please.  they got a couple activity books, some cool paint w/ water pads by melissa & doug (coolest thing EVER), pez dispensers and new toothbrushes.  they each got chocolate eggs & a handful of other candy & they were good to go.  actually, they were ecstatic.  there is nothing more fun than putting a smile on these guys' faces & watching them enjoy a special little treat.

we skyped with grandparents & had a delicious easter dinner & spent time together as a family.  and i got the one thing i wanted out of the day (besides a wonderful spiritually fulfilling holiday spent with my family, of course): a picture of my boys all dressed up in their sunday best.  mission accomplished.

now, not to destroy the illusion that these guys are perfectly obliging or anything but it should be said that the ties only stayed on about five minutes past this picture before they both grabbed at their necks as though they were choking from buttoned up collar syndrome.  their hair definitely got messed up & shirts were untucked in a matter of minutes as well.  but for these pictures?  they look good.

and for good measure, here are pictures from last year's easter.  crazy what a difference a year makes, right?  elliot's gone a little less the way of chris farley & all of a sudden looks like a mini ryan gosling, amiright??

love these two goobers.

oh!  and parker turns four this weekend.  WUT.

happy Easter, happy Spring!

it's starting to get real springy up in here, people.  we've had a little bout of awesome weather in the pacific northwest & got to celebrate easter with some sun & some bare feet in the grass & bubbles & a walk down to the park.

spring just might be my favorite season of all time.  well, maybe tied with fall & summer... and winter has its perks too.  but i do love spring.  it's when you get that first glimpse of some sun & are reminded just how awesome it feels to be warm in short sleeves & no socks & to have your windows open with a breeze going through your house & the sound of bird chirps & lawn mowers filling up your house.  love it.

we had a pretty good easter.  it was the first year parker got a legit easter basket (i know, easter bunny fail) and he was old enough to really enjoy it.  there was a trail of candy-filled eggs leading him from his room through the house & to his basket.  he had a blast following the eggs & was so excited to see the things in his basket (squeezy pouches, coloring book, chocolate bunny, bubble-blowing gun, stuffed bunny & stickers).  we went to church, ate some delicious food, played out on the lawn in the sun in bare feet & relaxed.

i also realized that i have pretty much zero pictures of elliot & i taken with my big camera.  actually, i just really have avoided being in front of my big camera for the last seven months because of that whole post-baby-awkward stage where you just don't really feel or look like yourself.  so i figured with my boys all dressed up, my hair curled & heels on, what better time to hand the camera over to sam & have him snap a few.

i'm glad i did.  now i have a couple pics of me with my boys & i'll get to remember easter 2013 forever.  now if only i coulda gotten sam in the picture somehow...

also?  please notice parker in the first picture.  we couldn't get him to come stand by me for the life of us... he just wanted to stand there & "take pictures" with a toy cell phone.  i guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree... ha!

christmas catch up!

oh my poor little blog!  is anyone still out there?

in case you haven't noticed, i took a bloggy breather.  christmas with my little family was spent just the four of us at home & takin it easy & just being together.  it was perfect!

and oh man, now 2012 is over?  what the heck.  the fact that it's 2013 hasn't hit yet... that usually takes a while.  i'd love to sit & write out a reflective 2012 post, you know, all the highlights & wonderful things that happened in the last year?  but i dont have it in me at the moment, mostly because i'm sitting here typing this while watching LOTR return of the king.  or, "geeking out" as sam likes to call it.  ha!  i am a sucker for some lord of the rings.  i've been watching the movies while i stay up late editing & it's like i'm seeing them for the first time all over again because it's been so long.  i'm getting all excited to go see the hobbit one of these days. anyone seen it?  can't wait!

but seriously, i'm sure you'll all forgive me if i don't take a trip down memory lane at the moment... i suppose most the highlights are here in the blog anyway, right?  but i will give a shout out to the biggest event of the year, little elliot oliver's birth.  basically the best part of 2012 in my book.  that little boy has made my whole year.

2012 was good to us.  p-ray turned two, i had my big 3-0 & elliot made his big debut.  and sam & i just celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary last weekend!  we celebrated by going out on our first date in seven months & stuffing our faces at ruth's chris steakhouse & eating the best meal of my life.    it's the stuff dreams are made of.

i have a feeling 2013 is gonna be a good one.  i'm gonna spend the year not being pregnant & we have some pretty exciting family goals.  i hope to continue to grow my business & take it to the next level.  good things friends, good things.

anywho, i hope everyone had a good holiday & got some rest & are ready to make 2013 a good one. i really do hope to find some more time to blog & get back into a regular posting routine.  i love this little corner of the internet of mine!

and in closing, a few scenes from our christmas morning.  freaking love my boys.

santa baby! and other christmasings.

our christmas check list is coming along.  with christmas less than a week away, time is ticking!  a couple highlights in our last week's festivities?  seeing santa & decorating cookies to deliver to our local firemen.

i've really been talking santa up this year.  not so much in the whole "he knows if you're naughty or nice" way but more just like, hey parker, this guy is nice & brings you presents, he says "ho, ho, ho!" and has a sleigh with reindeer... that much parker gets.

so i hoped with his new love for santa, sitting for pictures might go better than last year's... classic crying santa fail.  and you know what?  he did great.  despite the fact that he told me beforehand he was going to cry & ask to go home... and about ten minutes before we got to the mall he told me we were all done with santa pictures.  oh, & that "we need to go to target first." yes, he was pulling out all the best excuses.

anywho, once he saw snowmen & christmas trees he got excited... but then at the sight of santa?  he freaked his freak.  i thought elliot would be flying solo in the santa pics this year & then one of santa's elves pulled out a rocking horse!  and parker was in.

he wasn't quite happy to be there but he was putting his best brave face on & i love it.

and you saw elliot's bow tie + cardigan number, right?  because let me tell you what, my baby can rock a bow tie.

and cookie decorating with friends?  pretty awesome.  thanks for hosting linds!

maybe next year, elliot.  maybe next year.

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.




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