five on friday (12/4)

ONE. I finished up my first-ever set of quiet book pages this week, loosely based on this one. They weren’t anything fancy and definitely didn’t turn out perfect, but I certainly learned a few things along the way. And miniature felt food is pretty adorable.

TWO. Mia had Kaya over for a little princess tea party last week. Katherine sent me this photo below. Two adorable girls, dressed up as princesses, sipping from their tin cups… Be careful looking at this, it might just make your heart explode from a cuteness overload.

THREE. Kaelyn had an unexpected trip to the doctor last week for what I thought would be her first stitches/skin glue, and for the craziest reason… she had a piece of hair wrapped around her toe, and when I took it off (not realizing how deeply it had cut her), it looked like it had gone through half the width of her tiny toe! The doctor ended up leaving it open so that we could clean it (instead of gluing it shut and worrying about infection), and prescribed us a strong antibiotic ointment. I feel like this photo doesn’t even show how deep the cut truly was.

So really, check your baby’s toes/diaper area for hair tourniquets. I’m just glad we seemed to find it pretty quickly and it’s healed up nicely.

FOUR. With the rain and colder temperatures lately, we’ve been staying inside more and getting a whole lot of preschool work done. Kaelyn loves to be included, so I sit her up at the table with Kaya and give her any extra worksheets to color. She loves it!

FIVE. We finally busted out our hardcore winter gear this week. The weather is suddenly feeling more like it should for December! One of my goals this winter is to get my kids outside and playing, even when it is on the colder side… so I got them some awesome-heavy-duty-warm coats (and you know, if you’re buying new coats, you might as well make them match 🙂 )._MG_0156

Barring extreme wind/snow/ice, I think we’re set to still have some fun on the playground this winter! 🙂

Happy weekend! 🙂

Linking up here!

five on friday: the snowed-in edition

Happy Friday! It hardly even feels like the weekend, since we’ve been snowed in and/or avoiding frigid temperatures all week long. We’ve been relaxing, doing fun crafts and activities, and just taking it easy in general.

A few highlights from our week:

ONE. The one day we left the house this week (before the negative temperatures hit), we somehow found ourselves in the Valentine’s clearance aisle at the grocery store. Kaya scooped up this little purple bear, hugged him to her chest, and never let go for the rest of our shopping trip. She just beamed while cuddling him, and my heart was melting into one giant puddle (cleanup on aisle 4)!

Normally, I don’t just buy her anything she falls in love with (because let’s face it, she loves any animal, real or plastic or stuffed), but this time, I let her take him home. Her week has been made by that little clearance bear who she decided, all on her own, to name “Panda”. I love this girl and her tender heart.
_MG_6504 TWO. Kaelyn doesn’t need any new toys because she’s more than happy to just play with every plastic measuring cup and kitchen utensil that I own (thanks to Kaya). Really, she was thrilled over these cups!_MG_6497THREE. This is the current weather as I’m typing this. YIKES!_20150219_212702 FOUR. It may be cold and miserable, but the snow is beautiful. Michael took this photo, and I don’t think it could be any more perfect!Processed with VSCOcam with s1 presetFIVE. Since it’s too cold for little hands to make snowmen outside, we made some playdough ones! Cyclops snowmen are in style, apparently (and all of them are named “Olaf”, of course)! The second one from the right is a puppy!_MG_6513Happy weekend! Here’s to 5 to 8 more inches of snow tomorrow!

Linking up with Natasha, April, Christina, and Darci today!

valentine’s and getting snowed in

It’s Monday afternoon, and Michael is already home from work because outside currently looks like this: (and even more snow has fallen since I snapped this picture… we’re due for 8 to 14 inches)!Processed with VSCOcam with a5 preset

Which means that I went running looking like a ninja this morning… but this getup was SO warm!Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset

Luckily, today was the day we rotate our toys (something we started just before Christmas), so even if we’re stuck inside for a few days, it’s safe to say that our wildest family member will be well-entertained._MG_6467

How was your Valentine’s Day weekend? We surprised Michael with these delicious homemade peanut butter cups:
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Of course, I had help in the kitchen from these little goobers._MG_6430

_MG_6427We ordered Chinese on Saturday night, which we haven’t done in forever! It was so, so good, and I think Kaya ate more sweet and sour chicken than I did!

Processed with VSCOcam with p2 presetBetween Friday and Sunday morning, all three of us girls ended up with goose eggs on our foreheads. I ran into a door, Kaelyn had a toy dropped on her by her sister (poor baby :(), and Kaya jumped off our bed. At least we all match! (Also, I love when they both want to snuggle with me at the same time!)Processed with VSCOcam with s1 presetHope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

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five on friday: pigtails, a sleepless night, and a polar vortex

Happy Friday! I haven’t linked up for Five on Friday since October… so I’m excited to jump back into it today!

ONE. Kaya’s hair seems like it’s grown SO much over the past few months, so this week, I decided to try and see if I could actually do something with it. I wasn’t disappointed to find that she now has enough hair to make two adorable, tiny pigtails! We video chatted with Daddy to show him right away. Having her hair pulled back makes her look so much older!_MG_6043 We also tried out a side ponytail (and what you can’t see very well in this picture are her fuschia corduroy pants… helloooo ’80’s fashion)!Processed with VSCOcam with a10 preset TWO. This little lady seemed to forget what sleep was on Wednesday night. I stayed up too late working on getting my photos backed up, and not 15 minutes after I crawled into bed. She was awake and wouldn’t stop crying until around 6:30 am when I finally brought her into our bed.Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset At least she woke up happy!Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset THREE. I never knew what a polar vortex was until last year, and now it seems like a phenomena destined to repeat itself every winter! We were hit with one this week, so I enjoyed cuddling up inside with my babies. It’s so easy for me to get cabin fever during this winter weather, though.Screenshot_2015-01-07-21-05-14~01 FOUR. I’ve been going through “old” photos to get them backed up/print albums, and this series of my brother from last Christmas had me laughing. I call it “just keep taking pictures until he finally smiles”! He and Kaitlyn came over for dessert and games on Monday night, and we had a good time.karlcollage2013FIVE. My birthday is in just under five weeks… and I just keep dreaming up all these different cakes I could have. Right now, a cookie dough cake is ranking high on the list!

Tara Irwin’s pin on Pinterest.

Linking up with Natasha, April, Christina, and Darci today!

first snow

There’s something extra special about the first snow of the season._MG_5397

The air is quiet, and the world is still. Every creature watches the earth become transformed by soft, white powder. The tranquility is accompanied by the eager anticipation of building snowmen, sledding, and knowing that Christmas is fast approaching._MG_5395I love seeing her amazement at every small wonder of life.Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

snow much fun

The snow started falling on my birthday. Michael had already surprised me by taking the rest of the day off after our ultrasound, and he said we could do anything I’d like. Kaya was looking pretty sleepy, so we decided that we’d go out for dinner later, after she’d had a nap.

The snowflakes started coming down in a hurry, and it was immediately obvious that we wouldn’t be going out that evening after all.

We woke up on Thursday morning to about 14.5 inches of a winter wonderland. By the time it stopped snowing later that day, we had accumulated about 21 inches. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much snow all at once in my entire life!
_MG_1298 Someone was obviously pretty excited!_MG_1306 Jax loved leaping and bounding through the soft piles._MG_1320He even developed a sort of “bunny hop” for getting around:

_MG_1325The neighbor kids were outside too, and they let us borrow their sled for a couple trips down the slope. Kaya looks terrified, but after they’d get to the bottom, she was always eager to do it again!
_MG_1334Being out there with my sweetheart, my precious baby girl, and my crazy dog filled my heart with gratitude. My family is amazing, and I’m so grateful to share every day with them.

five on friday: snow days and teething

Happy Friday!

ONE. Our furnace went out this week. Again! It has been working overtime with these insanely frigid temperatures, so I’m not too surprised (although it does seem like something is always breaking around here). Our maintenance guy came first thing in the morning, and we were warm again before too long.

We did have a surprise 3 inches of snow the night before though, so this pretty much sums up our Wednesday:

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TWO. Kaya has been teething (times four) this week. Teething rings actually come in handy now, since she finally knows how to use them. Is this not the saddest face you ever did see? She breaks my heart!_MG_1214 THREE. When I walked into our bedroom and saw this, I cracked up. Apparently, Jax must look bored, so Kaya brought him a bunch of toys and snacks (and my wallet, just in case he wanted to do some online shopping, you know…)! He just kept sleeping._MG_1210FOUR. I love the crazy faces she makes when she “reads” to us. She’s been climbing up into her rocking chair lately, and seeing her sit there with a book just melts my heart._MG_1201

FIVE. I know this song is kind of old news… but I’ve listened to it probably five times a day every day this week. I’ve been doing Google surveys for a few weeks, which gives you money to use on apps or music. I’m finally getting so close to getting this album! 🙂

Happy weekend!
Linking up with Natasha, April, Christina, and Darci today!

five on friday: ice, ice cream, baby

ONE. Obviously, our most exciting part of the week was announcing our pregnancy! We got a whole lot of love, both in real life and on social media. I’m feeling so blessed and excited to be able to share this special time with everyone.

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TWO. I feel like I’ve been talking about the weather a lot on here lately, so forgive me… but how can I not, when I have a sheet of ice on the INSIDE of my sliding glass door? It’s become a game for me to keep opening the weather app to see if I can capture a screenshot with the lowest temperature (clearly, there must not be much to do here in the winter in the mountains…)

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THREE. This is actually from last week… but it’s just too adorable to not post. We had a date to Dairy Queen, and after a few bites of sweet sugary goodness, Kaya performed the craziest little dance.

I love our family date nights.IMG_20140113_192833

FOUR. The weather may be dismal, but on the bright side, we’ve enjoyed cuddling up with blankets and Jax! Sometimes, he rests his head gently over my tummy, right where the baby is. I love it. I could not have asked for a sweeter dog.IMG_20140122_114245 FIVE. I’m also in love with this picture Michael quickly took of us on Monday. I’m trying really hard to get into pictures, because I know that one day our kids will look back and want to see them. These are precious moments 🙂_MG_1085

Happy weekend! 🙂

Linking up with Natasha, April, Christina, and Darci today!

snow baby

We had our first real snowfall on Tuesday. By the sound of the weather reports, we were supposed to have a mini-blizzard, but only ended up getting around two inches.

Luckily, two inches is the perfect amount for a sweet 16-month-old girl to play in._MG_1089

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Her snowsuit was just puffy enough to make it impossible for her to get up if she fell down._MG_1105

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Love her little lip._MG_1110

In all honesty, she hardly even noticed the snow. She was more excited to just be free to walk around outside!_MG_1115

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She might be too little for snowman-making and hot chocolate, but we still had a fun afternoon. I’m so grateful I get to spend these little moments with her.

life seasons

(written January 15th)

Right after the holidays ended, I’ll admit, I was a little bummed. We were having sub-zero temperatures, and there were no more family gatherings, holiday baking, or planned festivities to look forward to.

These dog days of winter can drag on forever. I’ve already had pangs of longing for summer.

This morning, I noticed the frost glistening on the grass. The whole world was sparkling as if it were covered in tiny diamonds.

It was a small reminder to me: winter can be dreary, but the beauty is there. We just need to look (even if looking means being up before the crack of dawn).maketodaybeautifulphotoshopprintable

The more time I spend on this earth, the more I’ve come to realize that this is true for life, too. We can choose to focus on the negative (whether it be temperatures or life circumstances), or we can find those sparkling gems in the darkness.

I’m filled with overwhelming gratitude for the gems in my life.

That first smile from Kaya in the morning.
Feeling Michael kiss my forehead after I’ve already fallen asleep.
Watching Kaya light up when she hears one of her favorite songs, eats her favorite snack, or gets her Kitty back after he’s been through the wash.
Afternoons spent with friends.
Praying for something so small that it seems like it shouldn’t matter to God, but having Him answer anyway.
A warm, cuddly puppy.

And a million other blessings. I could go on all day long.

I love the season we’re in right now.