There comes a time in every long-term relationship where you look at your partner and think, “you’re the one I’m going to marry.” In mine and Michael’s case, we had been thinking this for years.  He surprised me with a Christmas proposal in 2014, which was completely brilliant and I had no idea it was going to happen (which is totally obvious by the sweatpants and cat shirt I was wearing in the video, which you can watch here). And for the past couple years, we’ve pretty much been living the married life, minus the actual marriage part.

Until last weekend. 

On October 01, 2016, I married the love of my life. A couple weeks beforehand, we looked at each other and just decided to get it over with already. I mean, after nearly six years together, it was time! The ceremony was very small, just family and a couple of our closest friends, and it was at a public park on a little gazebo on the lake. And it was perfect.

Hadley Rae was so excited to be all dressed up! She’s at that stage where she’s a princess half the time. And the other half she’s Pikachu. There is no in between. She and River got to walk with her Grandpa Bob (Michael’s Dad) and G (my mom) down the aisle…

Michael walked with his beautiful momma of course. He looked so incredibly handsome! We always envisioned having a navy and light pink color scheme at our wedding, and I think he nailed it!

Here comes the bride! My dad and his girlfriend, Joy, were i[ visiting for a week from Kansas City and I actually told them two days before his flight up here about our wedding plans. Like I said, it was pretty spontaneous! 😉

You may recognize my good friend Josh officiating us! I had learned earlier this year that he was ordained and he had offered to marry us when the time came so of course I had to give him a call! His speech was short and sweet, yet meaningful and heartfelt. Couldn’t imagine having anyone else up there with us!

I don’t think this picture really needs a caption, bug ugh, they just melt my heart!! Taken right before Michael recited his vows. I cried pretty much the entire time, not gonna lie. But it was so amazing standing up there with our loved ones reciting our vows to each other. I even caught Michael wiping away a tear as I read mine! 

All was calm and perfect… and then I started noticing a slight breeze coming from across the lake. And as we neared the end of the ceremony, it turned into a full on wind storm! Complete with ginormous rain drops!

Right after our kiss… Notice the eyeliner on Michael’s nose. 🙂

I guess that’s the one thing you should always remember about having your wedding outside in the state of Washington: ALWAYS be prepared for a crazy rain storm! Weather aside, though, it was the best wedding I could have ever asked for. 

Afterward, it was back to our place for the reception! 

I seriously can’t thank Josh enough for doing this for us. It was honestly the cherry on top of our perfect little “flash wedding” (as my mom calls it). 

A huge shoutout to my parents, for throwing me an awesome after party! My mom decorated everything all rustic-y and cute, and my dad and Joy provided all the food, including some outstanding sloppy joes! As far as parents go, I’m pretty sure I scored the jackpot. ♥

And of course, I couldn’t have gotten married without my Kiwis (Clarice)! Hadley used to not be able to pronounce her name, so she called her Kiwis. She of course was my maid of honor and I’m so happy she got to stand by my side through one the most memorable moments of my life. 

I love what our life has become. We have two amazing, beautiful little girls, support from our awesome families, a wonderful home, our fur babies, and each other. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Michael, you are the one I want to be with, always and forever. You have been by my side through so much and have given me the gift of a family. Don’t ever change, because I fell in love with you as you are, and look forward to spending the rest of my life with the amazing man you have become. 

The best part about wedding cake, besides eating it? 

Shoving it in each others’ faces! ♥

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Time, we’ve talked about this. Stop allowing my babies to grow up so fast! Not only is sweet River Blue 3 months old already, but summertime is also quickly coming to an end. So what better way to do Riv’s pictures than in a super cute strawberry dress? Oh, and some super cool shades. (Gotta love Target!) 

In all seriousness, though, this is going way too fast. Riv has become so incredibly expressive, chatty, and alert. Her new favorite thing is watching TV. She first discovered  it when we were visiting my mom a couple weeks ago and will now watch it in small intervals. Her favorite thing to watch? Baseball with Daddy!

Something that hasn’t changed in the slightest, however…

Her happiness! This girl is constantly smiling, cooing, and giggling! (At least for the other 23 hours of the day when she’s not eating.) She loves it when daddy pokes her and tickles her neck rolls. 

She’s also started grabbing at and “talking” to her toys that hang on her bouncy seat. It’s amazing how someone can be so intrigued by a plastic ball with colorful beads in it! 

Something not so fun is that she got her first cold a few days ago. Everyone in the house had it first and now she’s the last one getting over it. Poor little girl! But nothing a little sleep can’t fix. 🙂

Or a lot! This baby was out for the majority of our annual Leavenworth trip this past weekend! Thank goodness for baby carriers! She did awesome for her first long car trip, though. Slept all the way there and all the way back.

And because we were having a little photo shoot, of course Hadley had to join in, too! With her super cool shades, no less. Goober! That’s another thing that hasn’t changed; River still absolutely adores her big sissy! (And I don’t think that’s about to change anytime soon.) 

Ugh. You better believe that I’m cherishing each and every moment of this. Although it’s racing by, the next few months are some of my favorites. There’s just something about babies discovering how to use their bodies and voices, it’s fascinating!

But for now, I’m just going to enjoy my sweet little girl and all her baby-ness while I can. And as I’m typing this, I’ve just realized something; she’s not a newborn anymore! At 3 months old, she’s officially entered the infant stage. 

So bring it on! Although I don’t always agree with time and the affects it has on my sweet baby girls, there’s nothing better than having the privilege of watching them grow and develop into the people they are going to be. 

Happy 3 months, River Blue! 

♥♥♥

See River at 2 months!

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Every now and then, I like to put on some good music, cuddle up on the couch with some ice cream, and just go through old pictures. I have about a zillion and a half of them on my laptop (which may explain why it runs so slow nowadays), and all of them bring back terrific memories.

So, because I love looking back so much, I thought it would be fun to share some throwback pics with you guys and let you see a little bit of my past. I know it’s not Thursday, so we’ll call it a Flashback Friday. 🙂

To start, here’s a photo of me cooking dinner in mine and Michael’s first apartment together! I seriously miss those days. Not that I don’t love what my life has become since then, but there will just always be a special place in my heart for that tiny apartment and all our adventures that happened in it. 

Liiiiiiiiike getting our Rebel! Look how teeny he was! Funny story, I asked Michael if we could go *look* at these super adorable puppies down near Bonney Lake and then five hours later, we were dog owners. Lucy was not thrilled in the least, haha. 

And shortly after we found out…

we were having a baby! Here’s Hadley’s little corner of our bedroom (minus the crib). I thought I was so clever using that clothing rack to store her clothes. Luckily we ended up moving into a bigger place shortly before she was born.

Hellooooo! This was taken at The Olympic Game Farm on the peninsula, where you literally drive through and feed bread to a bunch of animals. The zebras were my fav! There are also these adorable bears that will wave at you in exchange for bread. Too cute!

Holy hair! This is from last summer, back when I had hair and could fit into high waisted shorts. I still have them tucked away somewhere in my closet; one day they will fit again!

And here’s a little Hadley for ya. I remember this day; I was taking pictures for my first ever blog post and she was being just too darn cute, I just had to snap a couple pics!

Here’s one that I kinda giggled at when I came across it. Just me, Hadley, and a giant tree! Taken at the Money Creek campground. 

From the same trip, the loves of my life sitting by the river. At the time, I had no idea I would soon have a River all my own. 😉

This one is just cool to me. I was up super early in the morning clipping coupons (must’ve been a Sunday!), when I decided to step outside and get some fresh air. I noticed the tiniest little snail making its way across the railing and had to capture it. 

No joke, it was probably the size of my pinky nail, shell and all. 

And finally, I have this picture of me and Michael at the top of Mt. Pilchuck. I honestly didn’t think we’d get very good pics because it was so cloudy, but they turned out awesome! 

We had decided to take the back way down, and discovered this neat little lookout point, right near a little reservoir of fresh water. Too cool! I really hope to get back up there soon. Pilchuck is definitely one of my favorite hikes in Washington!

Nostalgia really is a bitter sweet thing. Sometimes I long to go back and revisit some of the great times I’ve had, and others I’m just grateful that I experienced them at all. Photos are the best way we can preserve our memories and keep them with us forever.

The only thing I have to worry about now is if something happened to my laptop. *knock on wood* I think it’s time to back up some files… 😉

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Being a momma has been the best experience I could have ever asked for in life. Every day is a new adventure; for real, though, I never know what’s gonna happen next. 

For the past few months, Hadley has been pretty much everyone but herself. Some days she’s Daniel Tiger, others she’s Catboy (from PJ Masks) and some days she’s someone different every hour. I don’t know if this is the case for all two year olds, but it sure is for mine!

Now, in no way does it upset me that my child is using her imagination. That’s something I strongly encourage. But there is a small part of me, deep down inside, that gets a little sad when I accidentally call her by name and get a not so nice “I’M NOT HADLEY!”.  

After quickly correcting myself, all is right in the world again and life goes on. I guess the part that gets to me is just the fact that my baby is growing up and has gained the ability to think for herself and make her own decisions. 

Where I used to pick out her outfits and dress her, she now can grab her own clothes and do it herself. Where I used to plan out her meals and feed her with a spoon, she now tells me specifically what she wants and feeds herself. She even tells me how she wants her sandwiches cut, for Pete’s sake!

When she’s being someone else, normally that means I’m an accompanying character as well. If she’s Daniel Tiger, then of course I’m Katerina Kittycat. If she’s Nemo, I’m Dory. And (my favorite) if she’s Judy Hopps, I’m Nick Wilde. (If you haven’t seen Zootopia, you must.)

But sometimes, every few days (or sometimes even a a whole week goes by), I’ll call “Daniel?” or the name of whoever she may be, and I’ll get the most heartwarming response. 

She’ll come up to me, point to herself and say, “I’m Hadley! I’m Hadley and you’re Mommy!”

This may not seem like a big deal. But to me, it’s almost like she’s giving me a little reminder. It’s like she’s saying, “I’m Hadley. I’m still your little girl. And wherever I go and whoever I decide to be in life, you’ll always be my mom.” 

And sure enough, she’ll run off again, off to become some other character, some other hero; whatever her imagination brings her to be. But I know, deep down, she’ll always be my Hadley.

♥♥♥

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It has been so hot lately. And we all know what constitues as “hot” to us Washingtonians. So lemme rephrase my original statement; it has been absolutely agonizing lately. 

Hitting 90 doesn’t happen very often around here, so when it does, half of us don’t even know what to do with ourselves besides stay inside where its safe and the other half of us get burnt to a crisp trying to get out and do something fun.

Luckily, I was able to get out with the girls the other day before it got too extremely hot. Thank goodness for baby sunscreen!

This is our little kiddie pool, a.k.a. our little piece of Heaven! I prefer small pools like this for a variety of reasons: 1. It’s easy to set and take down 2. It’s not terribly deep so you don’t have to worry as much (I still do though, who am I kidding) and 3. It’s great for sitting back with an ice cold drink and relaxing for a bit!

Even River enjoyed herself! I didn’t actually put her into the pool with us since her sister is known to be a little rambunctious, but I kept dripping the water onto her little legs and she loved it! Plus, just had to find a reason to put her into her adorable little swimsuit! 

Hadley has so much fun in the water. She reminds me of myself when I was little; any excuse to get wet! I don’t think she’ll ever get tired of sliding down into the pool (and I may have gone down a few times as well). 

In the evenings, after it’s cooled down a little bit  a lot, we also enjoy taking family walks around the neighborhood. It feels so good to be getting out and active again after being pregnant and lazy for so long. 

And I can’t believe it’s that time of year again! It’s time for…

SEAHAWKS FOOTBALL! Now let me clarify something. Before I met Michael, I never watched football. I didn’t even know how it was played! Now, it has become a family event that we watch every single week! I know it’s only preseason, but I’m just glad our boys are back!

Daddy and his girls. I love that the gals are gonna grow up watching sports. I was never really interested, but now that I’m older I love to watch! (Still warming up to the Mariners, but we’ll see 😉 ). 

Love my little Sea Gals! The expressions on their faces say it all. I love seeing their personalities come out. Hadley’s has been developed for quite some time, and she reminds me so much of her daddy it’s crazy! River is just now starting to smile and laugh, but she definitely knows how tell us when she wants something. Strong-willed, these girls! 

River absolutely adores her big sissy. She watches her and always smiles when she comes up to her. I’ll never know what it’s like to be an older sibling, but I know Hadley is going to do an amazing job. I always remember looking up to my brother and wanting to be just like him. I know Hadley will set a good example and help River become the person she’s going to be. 

Stay cool out there and GO HAWKS!

♥♥♥

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