fried chicken, bike rides, and a dog who thinks he’s a baby

Lately…

We’ve enjoyed date nights as a family of three. We used some of Michael’s birthday money to go out to eat one night (hello chocolate oreo milkshake)! Kaya enjoyed her usual favorite thing- graham crackers (but we do let her have a few bites of our dessert).
PhotoGrid_1378001974957 Michael acquired a bike trailer from one of his co-workers last week, so we just had to try it out! We biked to our institute class, and then to a Hokie soccer game! Kaya really seemed to enjoy it (if only because she could laugh at how goofy her mama looks on a bike…)IMG_20130906_202509 We’ve had play dates and a church chili cook-off (I brought the cornbread).090913photogrid1A certain someone has been a little feverish and taking extra long naps (I’m blaming the new molar…)IMG_20130909_154737 And someone else only wishes he could be a human baby and steals Kaya’s things any chance he gets.IMG_20130909_154323

friday favorites

Judging by how many pictures I took this week… we’ve been having a lot of fun!

This first photo describes our Sunday perfectly: Michael was exhausted, I couldn’t stop smiling and Kaya was being crazy and climbing all over us! On Monday, we had Lauren and Rory over for games and these chocolate dipped s’mores. Kaya fell asleep at breakfast on Tuesday (despite Taylor Swift playing in the background), and she sure loves cuddling with her orange kitty lately.
photgrid108162013 Kaya loves playing in the dog’s new crate/ We had a playdate with Mia, Aaliyah, Liam and James on Thursday!/ Kaya loves seeing Daddy at the end of the workday!photgrid208162013 _MG_8866She tried bananas this week and LOVED them (but maybe loved making a mess even more). I love this sleepy, happy grin.
_MG_8853 Someone else was a sleepyhead too, and slept in our bed all morning on Wednesday._MG_8871

The weather has been so perfect (although strangely cool for summer) that we’ve been trying to take advantage of it as much as we can, so we’ve gone for a couple of walks and spent time on the playground. I love playing as a family 🙂08162013collage3 _MG_8903 08162013collage208162013collage1 Static hair after Daddy took her down the slide!_MG_8940 _MG_8928 _MG_8942Happy weekend! 🙂

friday favorites

It’s Friday, but since we came home in the middle of the week, it feels more like Tuesday (and because Michael has meetings this weekend, tomorrow will probably feel like any other weekday, too. But that’s okay). Mostly we have just been enjoying being at home again (I’m not sure coming home has ever felt this good, but I don’t know why it’s so invigorating this time). We’re back to the laundry, the dishes, the cooking, and a million other messes, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

We’re back to peanut butter sandwiches…IMG_20130809_081602… and puppy cuddles at the end of a long day.IMG_20130808_005416 Our carpet is back to (almost) new because I finally steam cleaned it yesterday! I didn’t even think it was that disgusting until I saw what it looked like after I finished!IMG_20130808_103953And now we’re off to play with friends! Happy Friday everyone!

home sweet home

We’re finally home from our trip out to Utah! The wedding was beautiful, we went some fun places, and made some great family memories. Hopefully I’ll be recapping everything and sharing my photos in the next few days, but here’s a little sneak peek (our first photo in front of the temple as a family of three)!_MG_7674

We took a redeye flight back to Virginia at 1 am on Tuesday morning, and then visited with my parents for the rest of the day before driving home. We finally drove into town around 11:30 pm. Our internal clocks still seem to be on Utah time (which is strange because after my last trip out west, I had no trouble at all adjusting either way).

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on the last plane home!

A certain four-legged someone didn’t do so well without us home… Thankfully, Ben and Brittany (who were puppy-sitting) are probably two of the most patient people ever and went above and beyond to help us take care of Jax. We ended up boarding him at the vet (after he chewed through his crate and a few other things…), and I was so excited to go pick him up this afternoon. He is definitely happy to be home._MG_8811Kaya is also loving being back in her own space and playing with her own toys. This is the first time that we’ve come back from a trip where I can definitely say that she knows this is our home and is happy to be here. It’s so fun to watch her enjoy everything she loves again.

insta-jam #12 (june 2013)

I just like to keep everyone in suspense waiting for my instagram photos, since we are halfway through the month again before I’m posting the ones from last month!

Sleeping; more sleeping (but doesn’t she look like a giant?); Jax; sleeping with his head under the couch (weirdo…)07162013instajam1“Helping” me clip coupons; how many sleeping pictures do I have?; see previous; practicing his tricks.
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Food!; she’s so obsessed with my hairbrush; smiling sleeping dog; he follows me wherever I go and then falls asleep.07162013instajam3 He’s always all over my exercise mat (or under me when I’m trying to do push-ups!); I made cookie bars, muffins, and pulled pork all on the same day when my in-laws came to town!07162013instajam4These two are always right next to me (and I love it); MORE sleeping (but she is precious, isn’t she?); chewing on an Easter egg; taco night!
07162013instajam5Ta-da!

friday favorites

With warmer temperatures and less rain, we spent a whole lot more time outside this week (and inside, we finally turned on the air conditioning)!

We met up with friends on both Tuesday and Thursday to play outside. There’s nothing like breaking a sweat, playing on the swings, and sitting on a blanket under a tree, then washing it all down with a gulp of cold water.

IMG_20130711_181252Kaya LOVED watching the ducks at the pond and even laughed at them. Who knew ducks could be so funny? She was so worn out that she fell asleep on the walk home.
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Michael and I also took Kaya to the pool one evening after work. I love going as a family and swimming together. Our princess definitely loves the water!

I went out shopping to see if I could find a dress suitable for Kevin’s wedding without having to order it online… but didn’t have any luck. I did, however, find a bunch of other awesome things- a dress, a blouse, two tees, and two sweaters- for $22 total! I also found a Scrabble game for 95 cents. I love getting great deals.

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 Kaya really mastered using her sippy cup (mostly) on her own this week.

_MG_7201 Seriously? It doesn’t get more precious than this!_MG_7220

And just when I think my heart is about to explode from loving her so much, she instantly becomes more adorable and forces me to fall even further in love._MG_7312

I won’t tell you that this cute face is hiding a diaper explosion…_MG_7314_MG_7294 I love all the adorable faces she makes (and how much she loves this squishy ball from the dollar store… which I later saw in the dog section at Target)!_MG_7349squishballbaby1Jax has had more than his fair share of cuddles this week (and may or may not have rolled himself right off the bed and onto the floor)!_MG_7230 Happy weekend, everyone! Here’s to a relaxing one 🙂_MG_7258

the weekend according to my phone

By Friday afternoon, the weather was finally nice enough to spend some time at the pool! It feels like we’ve just had nonstop rain around here this summer, so we were eager to take advantage of the sunshine! (as was my glorious farmer’s tan…)
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I helped Kaya practice “floating” on her back and tummy. She seemed to have a good time, and didn’t even cry when I got her face wet! Michael came straight to the pool after work to join us! You can definitely tell someone loves her daddy 🙂swimfriday2013

Jax did his usual thing this weekend (which is just laying around)… at least he’s fancy and crossed his paws!jax07062013

Kaya tried oatmeal and wasn’t too thrilled with it. Somehow she was still smiling though! (yes, that’s oatmeal on her nose…)IMG_20130706_135427

On Sunday night, we watched Hercules (it was the first time I’d seen it!), ate dessert and went to bed early. We’re old boring married people.
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4th of july 2013

Our Independence Day started out pretty relaxed- we slept in until about 8:30, which felt amazing! I went on a 4.5-mile run with Jax and then got to spend the rest of the day with my two favorite goofballs._MG_7093_MG_7100 My mom bought Kaya this adorable shirt a few weeks ago, but she didn’t have any matching shorts (apparently this kid only owns shorts that are pink, purple, or plaid…)! So, I sewed a pair of white ones for her super fast. I should have made them longer because they kept bunching up… but all her shorts seem to do that anyway._MG_7072I love this little stinker (which apparently means that I can never decide which pictures to post. They’re all too cute)!
kaya07042013At dinnertime, we had a cookout with some of our best friends (but we were still missing a few who were out of town). We enjoyed hot dogs, green beans, grapes, and these chocolate chip cookies.
_MG_7128-2 - Copy You can’t really tell from this picture, but Kaya loves Brittany. They’ve been buddies since Kaya was tiny._MG_7118_MG_7122

Jax even looked festive (I sewed him this bandanna about 5 minutes before our barbecue)!
_MG_7113Don’t be fooled by this photo… the puppies were only calm together for about thirty seconds.
_MG_7124 After dinner, we headed off to the town’s fireworks. We showed Kaya what sparklers can do. She was mesmerized and kept looking for more all night!_MG_7147 She wasn’t afraid of the fireworks (I was a little concerned they’d be too loud for her). As usual, it was a great show._MG_7167_MG_7169 _MG_7165 _MG_7166 _MG_7180 fireworks2013I’m so grateful to live in a country where we can make our own choices and express our opinions. Happy Independence Day everyone!

our week in photos

There isn’t too much to say about this week, so I’m just going to dump my photos here and let them do the talking (for the most part, anyway)!
_MG_6918 _MG_6915 _MG_6930 _MG_6947 She pulled a piece of string out of my blanket… and played with it for probably 10 minutes. Who needs real toys when you’ve got string?_MG_6871 _MG_6867 Those teeth!_MG_6957 She is a yogurt-eating machine (okay, so she doesn’t eat ALL this yogurt in one sitting, but I did buy the whole container for her). This week, she tried and loved blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry-banana._MG_6960 _MG_6966 We don’t play in the kitchen here. We play ON the kitchen._MG_6975 _MG_6938Happy weekend everyone!

down on the river

This weekend, my in-laws came up to our neck of the woods to go camping, which meant lots of food, fun, and family time! They camped down at the river, so that gave us a chance to cookout, enjoy the sun, and go tubing.

_MG_6794 _MG_6793 _MG_6813Dad and Jeff kept teasing Michael for being so slow to get ready and actually get in the water…_MG_6818…so he tried pretty hard to catch up._MG_6819 _MG_6820 Lelia tried to get Jax to go swimming (“tried” being the key word)!_MG_6779 But as you can see from the look on his face, he was not so thrilled._MG_6777The puppies still had their share of fun outside the water, though. I think they wrestled all afternoon! (And yes, that’s Fallon doing a somersault!)
_MG_6782 _MG_6823 We filled up on hotdogs, burgers, homemade mac n’ cheese, and strawberry salad! (And of course there were s’mores for dessert!)_MG_6846

Kaya had lots of grandparent cuddles…_MG_6791_MG_6803 _MG_6811Seriously… how precious is my princess?
_MG_6839-2There is nothing I love more than spending time with my family.
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