Four

One minute, I'm cradling you in my arms, the next you are climbing trees and twirling in your princess dresses. They say that it goes by so quickly, and I'm inclined to agree. It really does!

I'm so proud of the sweet young lady you are becoming. You have such a passion for learning and being with other people. My social butterfly.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank our Lord that I get to be your mommy.

Things to remember: She loves wearing ballet shoes & jelly sandals. Her favorite foods are cheese pizza, peanut butter sandwiches, Nutella sandwiches, and fruit. She really love popsicles and getting "Ice Cream Corns" (yes she says corns instead of cones...I don't want to correct her, it's too cute!). She is obsessed with Unicorns right now! She is still very much a mommy & daddy's girl, Ella is her BFF, and loves to be with her grandparents and cousins. She is such a little mommy, and has such a tender and sensitive heart.

Happy birthday, sweet girl! I love you.

A Mother's Heart

I love watching her grow up. She is full of creativity, and her imagination amazes me.

Actually, I think the whole of motherhood amazes me.

Our hearts get turned inside out on a daily basis as we watch our children grow.

We see those tender moments, we see them make choices: both good and bad. We see their happy moments and sad.

We watch them become the person God created them to be...and I think it may be one of the sweetest gifts of all.

A Peppa Pig Party!

I knew that I wanted to plan a Peppa Pig party for Evie. She LOVES Peppa Pig! It's her favorite cartoon, and she loves wearing her yellow rainboots (just like Peppa), and often repeats quotes from the cartoons. So I bought the girls matching Peppa Pig outfits, ordered a Peppa Pig Cake, Oh, and I bought Peppa Pig Bathing Suits. When she wore her bathing suit for outside water time, she cried and cried and cried when it was time to take it off. ;)

When I showed Evie her cake, she sat in that chair for a good 20 minutes. When guests started to arrive we asked if she wanted to go play with her friends...and she started BAWLING. To the point she hid under the table and kept crying. I finally got her calmed down enough to realize she didn't want to leave her cake. HA! I reminded her about opening gifts and THEN she would get to eat some of that cake. That worked. ;)

I even found little favors that matched our theme, and made homemade sprinkle cookies (with extra sprinkles....recipe coming soon!). I just wish I had leftover cake. It was lemon cake with buttercream frosting. Delicious!

For the cake toppers, I just purchased a Peppa Pig set, and added the Happy Birthday Banner (from Target). A perfect cake for our three year old!

Just me and my girl! She's a mess. But, goodness does she bring us joy. <3

And then she was THREE!

We celebrated Evie's 3rd birthday! I am in denial. She should still be my teeny tiny baby. But, she has grown into the sweetest little firecracker. She loves her momma and daddy, her grandparents, her sissy, and going shopping. She also loves her yellow rain boots and jumping in muddy puddles (thanks to Peppa Pig!). Her favorite thing to eat right now is french fries, cake pops and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She loves to learn and her favorite color changes daily. We love her so much.

 I'll share pictures from her party soon!

Readers Are Leaders

So, what do toddlers do when momma is working on the computer? They check out books at our own personal schoolroom library.

I asked her if I could take her picture...and this was her pose of choice. HAHAHA. My kids don't have a single drop of personality. At all.

Her shirt says, "Super Independent". It was a gift from her grandma. And it's very true. She's our very own wildfire, and we love her so much.

And Just Like That She's Two

Our baby girl turned two! I can't believe it. She has changed so much over the last month, I keep pinching myself. I mean, she should still be swaddled up in my arms, right? Instead, she's a hyper toddler with a growing vocabulary, and in full blown potty training mode.

We had a wonderful celebration with our parents, and siblings. Her gif this year, was a little playhouse with a pink roof. I'll share some pictures, soon. Happiest of birthday's to my darling girl. You are so, so loved. 

Sweet Evelynn

Caption for above photo: "When a toddler plays hide & seek". Haha! ;)

On learning to count: "On, Two, Dee, Twooooo!"

On asking questions: "What are you doing?" "What is this?" What is that?"

On making commands: "Wait a minute!" "No!" "Yes!"

Newest words: "Mmmm" (when you want milk) "Wah wah" (water)

You give the sweetest butterfly kisses & eskimoe kisses.

You are wearing size 4 diapers, and your clothes range from 18 months to 2t. You love music, dancing, and your favorite time of day is when Daddy gets home. You love it when I play on the floor with you be it blocks or puzzles. You've started watching a lot more education videos, and you seem to soak up what you learn. You also want to be one of the big kids. Independent should have been your middle name. I love you, sweet girl.

Rainy Days

We are under the gun for five days of rain. I'm busy piling books to be read, movies to watch, and new recipes to try. And maybe a new game or two for Evie. I think Ella will be content to just snuggle the rainy days away. 

Dear Evie

Dear Evie: I love watching you play. And capturing those wild curls with my camera. I brought my wedding dress out for you to play dress up. You had your own ideas...you ran and jumped on the poofs of the dress for hours. Followed by tons of shrieks and squeals. I'm amazed baby sis slept through all that, but she did. I hope you always love the little things in life. You are so very loved, and cherished.

Love,
Momma

Linking up: Little Things

A little Valentine

She's my mini photographer in the making! I just snapped these pictures in her room on Friday afternoon. I handed her the mini brownie camera and told her to take pictures of me. She smiled, and said "Camera"?? She knew exactly what I was talking about. It cracked me up.

We celebrated Valentine's Day with chocolates, naps, and dinner with my family. It was lovely! Hope you all enjoyed lots of goodies on the day we set aside to celebrate love. ;)

Tot School: The Color Red

This week, Evie got to attend her first Valentine party. She didn't have a clue it was a party, but she certainly enjoyed playing with the kids. ;) The next day, I thought it would be fun to have a "red day" and work on some tot school together.

I've noticed she so curious, and eager to learn these days. Many times I find her pulling board books off the shelf, and studying the pictures. Her main sentence these days are, "What is this?" or "What is that?". I realize she is still so young, but I think a few minutes of "structured" learning wouldn't hurt. I dare say she enjoyed it due to the melt down afterwards (it was nap time). ;)

So for our first round of tot school we learned about the color red. We put on a red dress, ate a red apple, built a tower with red blocks, colored with red crayons, made red crafts, and used red water colors. Then throughout the day, I would point out other red items. It was fun! I'm ready to figure out another fun "color" day at home.

Hello December

The tree is up...with ornaments on only half the tree. A little toddler I know likes to take them off. We switched to plastic ornaments. ;) I wanted to add a few new designs around the house, but needed to do so on a budget. The last few weeks I scored several items that I wanted for a fraction of the price (thank you thrift stores!!). We have had so much fun watching "Christmas" through the eyes of Evie. She gets so excited when she sees Christmas lights. She dances to Christmas music, and we've kept the Little People Nativity out for her to play with. I realize she is still so very young to understand the remarkable beauty of the season, but I believe we are planting seeds.

Today, we made gingerbread men. Well, when I say "we" I mean mostly me, but I let Evie help stir, and to hold the kitchen spoons. It was a good lesson in patience for myself. Ha! But, I cherish these every day moments with her. 

Besides the year we were engaged (in December), I think this year is turning out to be the most memorable yet. I love this season of life with a little one. And to think next year there will be two little munchkins. 

DIY Mini Christmas Photo Shoot

My friend Kristina and I brainstormed our own Christmas mini photo shoot. She made the Christmas banner, and I pulled together the decor. The crates were my mom's, and they worked perfectly. I found the cutest little Christmas lollypops, which of course the kids loved and it kept them happy for pictures. We had a blast taking pictures of our kiddos, and the best part is that we saved a ton of money by doing it ourselves!

While my background is photography, I would be the first to admit that it has taken a much needed back seat as I adjust to being a mother. The last few weeks however, I've had a blast wearing my photographer hat for a few friends & family members. Just the way I like it.

I love this next photo, because it really depicts her personality!

Home Tour: Evelynn's Baby Bird Room

When we started planning Evelynn's room (our first born), we both wanted it to be both a peaceful and beautiful place. We chose the traditional color of pink with white & green accents. It was so much fun planning all the details, and watching it come together. Both of our moms helped with painting, re-doing furniture, and helping us pick out several pieces. Josh put together the crib, and hung the chandelier. The lighting was the most important aspect to him!

We spent a lot of time in flea markets trying to find the perfect dresser. We stumbled on an antique dreser that needed a lot of TLC. My mom painted it with white chalk paint, and we replaced the middle handle with a beautiful parisian knob we found at Hobby Lobby. The nursery theme was baby birds, so I was excited to find fabric via Coursel! His mom found those tiny baby birds for me to use, and they were the perfect addition. The lamp was my favorite find from Target! I stumbled on it one day, and it was $30. I decided to wait and see if I could find something simliar for a better price. A few days later I was at Target again when I saw that it was on sale, so I snagged it up for $20! Talk about an elated feeling. I also found the mirror at a flea market for a steal. It was an oak color, so Josh painted it using the same chalk paint that my mom used on the dresser. It turned out perfectly.

On the day we found out we were expecting Evie, we had a date night. I picked out this build a bear, and named him Mr. Snuggles. She sleeps with him every night, and he has been very loved by our now hyper toddler. <3

Everything came together perfectly, and it's still our favorite room in the house. Yet, in just a few short months we will slowly be changing out a few things for Evie's new "big girl" room. So, I needed to document all it's sweet little beauty for my future mama heart.

Details:

Crib: Wal-Mart (Charlotte Crib by Fisher Price)
Large E Monogram: Gift
Sheets & Quilt Fabric: Carousel Designs
Crib Skirt: Target
Rocking Chair: Gift
Ruffled Curtains: Target
Glass Lamp: Target
Sheer Fabric: Hobby Lobby

Linking Up: I Choose Joy | Tuesday Talk | Create It | The Scoop | Sunday's At Home

Toddler Approved Finger Paint

We've had a rainy/drizzly couple of days, so I knew we needed a fun activity for this morning. I spent over an hour scouring different homemade recipes. I wanted to use ingredients that we already had, plus I wanted a toddler safe formula. Also, I didn't have food coloring so I used jello. I found one that used potato flakes of all things! Here's the recipe for anyone that's curious:

• Instant Potato Flakes
• Jello 
• Warm Water

Just mix equal parts potato flakes & jello (the more jello the darker the color), and add water slowly. Mix until you get the desired consistency. I left it pretty thick so it would be a little more fun to play with for Evie. :) The texture is very different from traditional finger paint which made for a great sensory play time, too. 

Needless to say, she LOVED it. Messy, but fun!

Sharing: Whip It Up Wednesday | Titus 2sDay | One Project

Autumn Days

Last week we loaded up and headed out to our first pumpkin patch visit of the season. Evie loved it!! The patch we visited offers play areas, and a petting zoo. She really loves animals, so I think that was probably her favorite part. She was excited to see all the pumpkins, and kept saying "Ohhhhhh". Well, we let her pick out a small pumpkin to take home, so I handed it to her for a picture. At first she holds it looking at me for the picture, then all the sudden she chunks it like a baseball! That got us tickled, because we seriously didn't even think about how she would react to holding one. Ha!

Evelynn's 1st Birthday

We had so much fun planning Evie's first birthday! I knew I wanted a minnie mouse theme, but also wanted it to have a vintage feel. Josh created classic Minnie Mouse invitations that turned out so adorable. We decided to keep the birthday party just with our families, it just seemed easier that way. I made funfettie cookies, and pink lemonade punch. We also had tons of finger food for the adults, but I kept all that in the kitchen so the birthday table would be cute.

I also printed off Evie's month by month pictures (1 month through 11 months), and placed the instagram prints underneath the tablecloth. It added a fun touch, with a lot of sentimental value to this mama!! ;)

My mom made the cupcakes, and they were amazing! They were dark chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing. The mini oreos made perfect little ears! ;)

We definately wanted to have a smash cake sesssion! Let me just say she LOVED the icing. I thought it was hilarious that she threw up her hands kind of like "VICTORY". Haha.

I just love every single detail, and planning her special first birthday. Can't wait for next year (or maybe I can...) <3

A Thankful Post

Today, I am thankful for so many things. Little things.

Baby toes (so kissable!).
A last minute ice cream date with my main man.
Little every day reminders that He cares for all things.
Momentos of the sweetest first year with our daughter.
Finding a few minutes here & there to read.
Sermons that make you ponder & think.
New crock pot meals that the hubby enjoys.

What are you thankful for today?

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!

I've looked forward to dressing Evie in this adorable Sailor outfit. I grew up in a deeply patriotic home, so holiday like Memorial Day were important. I'm beyond thankful for the many men & women who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we could enjoy our freedoms.

May we never forget the cost.

Precious Time

I think the most important lesson that I have learned (well...continually learning) is that time is precious. Something to be protected, and coveted. So many days, I choose things that are not worth my time. Things that take away from what matters most: my faith, and my family.

I'm trying to focus on things that are more important. It's just not always easy. I constantly feel pressured, and pulled by silly things.

Today, I held Evie just a bit longer than usual. I cuddled her without scrolling my phone. I played on the couch. Time well invested.