my baby turned three.

i know, i know.  bella's no longer my baby.  she's growing up, and emmy is our "baby" now.  but still.  i can't help but think of her as the teeny tiny crazy-haired little one we brought home from the hospital, now three years ago.  she will always be that sweet little snuggle bug to me.  the one i used to sit in our recliner with and hold all day long.  memorizing her face, watching her sleep on my chest.  the one who raised her arm in the air while she nursed, and kicked her feet endlessly.  she will always be the one who changed my life, who made me a mama.

she will always be my baby.

this year was fun, sweet, challenging and really hard all at the same time.  it's true what they say: the two's can definitely be terrible.  this year we dealt with crazy tantrums, major mood swings and a super strong will.  we also watched our little girl grow in so many ways before our very eyes.  she knows every letter of the alphabet and has developed very strong opinions about what she wears each day.  she's memorized several scripture verses, mastered peeing on the potty (still working on the other), and has grown by leaps and bounds in the veggie-eating department.  with all the things she has learned this year, and all the ways she has grown, her sweet, tender and thankful heart will always be what we are most proud of.

this weekend was unofficially deemed "bella's birthday weekend", which was really a benefit of having her big day fall on a sunday.  she has been talking about her birthday since--oh--january.  no joke.  and has been telling me on an almost-daily-basis that she wants a princess party with a sleeping beauty cake.  oh.  and lots of pink.

saturday night we went to our favorite park.  we go there several times a week during the summer.  we met auntie gret, uncle brian, jude and lucy, and one of my best friends, mandi and her family as well.  we got the kids mcdonalds and spread out a couple of quilts for the them to have a picnic as they played.  it was a bit of a chilly night, but the fresh air and time outside with friends was good for the soul.  we stopped for ice cream on the way home (hot fudge sundaes are becoming one of our birthday traditions with the girls!).

bella woke up excited this morning.  when we told her "happy birthday!" she replied "happy birthday to you!"  she requested cinnamon rolls for breakfast, which we birthday-ified with a pink candle.

we had a small family party complete with lots of princesses and pink just as bella had asked for.  i made her a sleeping beauty cake, which was my first attempt at piping and decorating a cake and i was a bit nervous about it.  the day before, i was googling images of sleeping beauty cakes and bella was looking over my shoulder.  she was pointing to several photos of professional ones using fondant and the whole nine yards, while turning her nose up at the more amateur-decorated cakes.  clearly, she was not aware of her mama's cake decorating limitations.  but she loved her all-things-pink-and-princess birthday party, which i'm fairly certain will be our theme for the next five years.

we had a great party, which ended with ordering pizza for dinner and watching "lady and the tramp".  bella's birthday weekend ended with calls from texas to hear birthday greetings from nonnie and papa and aunt jessica, uncle james, wyatt and josie!  she is a well loved little girl, for sure.

to my girly girl who's always wanting to wear "fancy dresses", to my sticky sweet little muffin, to my spirited girl who i love with all my heart: happy birthday.  daddy&i have been so very blessed for three years to have you in our lives and we pray for a hundred more.  god gave us one of our most precious gifts when he gave us you.

we love you, bella grace!
mama&daddy

the good old days.

i've been a bit emotional lately.  my girls are growing up, and wayyyyy too fast.  a couple of weeks ago we celebrated emmy's first birthday, and in just two days my first baby will be three.  three years old.  i still can't believe it.

by nature, i tend to get stressed out when life is a bit chaotic.  and let's be honest: there isn't much about being a mama to two very active, strong willed children that isn't chaotic.  there are plenty of days i dissolve into tears, lash out in impatience, or have to apologize to my girls for getting frustrated with them.  thankfully i am always learning.  god is teaching me to rely more and more on him for a change of heart in those times of stress.

and he's teaching me to savor.  i'm a sentimental person, so i've always striven to not take precious moments--or any moments--for granted.  having babies has taken this to a whole new level.  i want to remember everything.  every detail about this season of our lives.  i constantly hear older parents say to treasure this time.  it certainly has its challenges to be sure, but there is nothing like these days.  these days that are filled with hearing the girls giggle as they play together.  watching them dance and spin and bob up and down.  having them curl up in my lap and rest their heads on my chest.  seeing them learn and experience the world with such wide-eyed wonder.  there is truly nothing that can compare to these days.

i've been trying to capture our day to day moments to remember more of our life as it is right now.  tea parties with daddy.  picnic lunches on the living room floor.  swinging at the park, jumping on our bed, snuggles on the couch.  it's finding joy in these "ordinary" things that make these days so precious.  simple blessings that seem so grand.

as nick&i watched the last episode of one of our favorite television shows (the office) last night, we memorized a quote said by one of the characters in his farewell.  he said "i wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them."  upon hearing that statement, we squeezed hands and looked at each other.  it struck such a chord with us.  these are the good old days.  and we want to fully live in them, stress, chaos, exhaustion and all.  there's always gifts in each moment, we just need to learn how to find them.

sweet sleeping girl

wild hair

warm chocolate chip cookies

backyard play

tea parties with daddy

little girl giggles

ticklish toes

sleepovers with meme

a picnic with "friends"

pigtails

a hideout for sisters

the good old days are now.  don't let them pass too quickly.  treasure the moments.  look for the gifts.  take time to laugh, dance, cuddle and give thanks.  slow down, and savor.

mom's day.

this weekend, and every day, i am thankful for the women in my life.  the legacy of my grandmother, the care and nurture of my mother and the two little girls i am so very blessed with.

i'm so very thankful for all of the other mama's in my life that encourage me every single day.  parenting is the hardest thing i have ever done and i'm so thankful to have a crowd of women i respect and admire (and just love being around!) doing it with me.  for all the playdates, long phone calls sharing stories and exchanging encouragement, trips to the park, mornings when we get our kiddos together and it takes us twenty minutes to finish telling each other a single sentence...i am so grateful and blessed to have the friends and fellow-mamas i have.

especially my own sister.

a bit planned on our part, we were pregnant together with both of our babies.  jude and bella are four months apart, and lucy and emmy are only four weeks apart.  pretty awesome, if you ask me.  we've gotten through the sleepy newborn stages together, and now battling the sometimes-nasty-toddler stage.  we cry with each other, we laugh with each other, we escape and leave the kids with our husbands and go shopping with each other ;)  she is fiesty and thoughtful.  loving and encouraging and just all-around-awesome.  i'm so very grateful for having my sister and best friend walk this path of motherhood beside me.  can't think of a greater blessing or joy!

to my aunt, who is one of the most thoughtful women i know.  seriously.  an awesome aunt, and a wonderful friend.  our girls (and us) are so blessed by her every day.  and as i anticipate (and fear!) my girls growing up and leaving me, maybe moving across the country, i watch her, with her own daughter far away, and know god will help me just as he is helping her.

to my sister-in-law, jessica.  who is authentic and genuine.  i can call her on a good day and tell her all about the cute things my kids do.  or i can call her on a more difficult one and know she will laugh with me, commiserate with me and reassure me with a thousand stories of things my husband did when he was little.  and, just as with my own sister, i can always count on her to be a straight shooter, which i love.

to my mother-in-law, who is an answer to my prayers from long ago.  i always asked god for a good relationship with my inlaws... that we would genuinely get along and enjoy being together, as so often is not the case for inlaw relationships.  i'm so thankful that god gave me nick... and his parents!  my mother-in-law is one of the sweetest women i know.  full of grace and light.  she listens, encourages and loves so well and i am so blessed to have her in my life, and incredibly grateful for the legacy she is building into our girls.  they love their nonnie!!

to my own mom: thank you.  thank you for raising me and gret the way that you did.  thank you for instilling in us how to be ladies, how to have confidence in who god created us to be, and how to respect ourselves.  thank you for caring for us when we were sick, for teaching us how to cook, for passing onto us your gift of hospitality and thoughtfulness of others.  thank you for reading to me psalm 139 and teaching me that i am precious and valuable because i was made by a loving creator.  thank you for passing on to us a love of making our houses a home.  thank you for loving my girls.  most of all, thank you for showing us that we can be strong in the midst of life's stormiest times.  i have seen you miss your own mom, and handle it with grace.  and i have been there as you grasped your husband's (and high school sweetheart's) hand for the last time.  i have watched you do things you never imagined you could: say goodbye to your husband, your very best friend.  make a new home for yourself (and it is BEAUTIFUL).  drive to boston and back--behind the steering wheel.  and now, care for your aging in-laws.  i'm amazed by you, mom.  you have handled this dark season of your life with strength, dignity and grace.  i know dad would be equally amazed.  if you could peek into heaven right now, i'm pretty sure he'd give you a fist pump, with a huge grin and a "boom, baby!"  i love you so much, mom.  forever blessed by you being my mom.

mother's day was all all weekend celebration this year (unintentionally) but worked out awesomely (thanks, nick!).  i had a girls night planned friday night with some of my good friends.  we ate mexican food, drank margaritas and chatted and laughed until past eleven o'clock.  it was fantastic.  saturday i had a hair appointment scheduled.  it was a rainy day, and i got to just sit in the salon chair with a hot cup of tea and get my hair cut and styled for me.  felt like such a luxury.  saturday night, my mom spent the night.  we made calzones and watched roger's and hammerstein's rendition of "cinderella", which was such a staple of my childhood.  love sharing those movies with my girls!  sunday morning nick let me sleep in, and i was awakened by him and the girls with a homemade card and giftcard to the gap.  just perfect.  we ate coffee cake baked by my mom and lazed around.  sunday night we got together at my sister's and it was a bit nuts.  the kids were tired, cranky and wild... which made us tired, cranky and wild ;)  bedtime was a welcomed event that night.  such a great weekend, special day and some very precious memories.

cooking breakfast with meme

sweet gifts!

my cup runneth over.

love you to the moon and back (and back, and back).

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to my girls:

i love you when you are messy from a day's worth of play.  when the knees of your pants are black with dirt.  when crumbs and smears of peanut butter are found on your cheeks.  i love you when you are clean and freshly bathed.  when your skin glows from the bath.  when your sweetly scented hair tickles my nose.

i love you when you are sassy and strong willed.  when you want what you want, when you want it.  when you cry and throw fits on the floor.  i love you when you are sweet and your kind, tender hearts show.  when you blow kisses, or comfort a friend.  when you say "i love you".

i love you when you are angelic.  when others tell me how sweet, polite and kind you are.  when you say your pleases and thank yous and make me "proud".  i love you when you have tantrums so loud that i flee public places in a hurry.  when i ignore the stares of others.  when i need to bite my lip to stay patient; and when i lose it from frustration.

i love you when you sweetly pray for the needs of others, and when you quarrel and fight.

i love you when you listen well, and when you don't.

i love you when you eat broccoli at dinner, and when you want cookies all day long.

i love you when you run (or crawl) freely through the grass, and when you sit quietly in rest.

i love you when i first hear your footsteps running down the hall, or morning greetings shrieked from your crib, and when you settle against my chest at dusk in restful quiet.

i love you every minute of every day.  even when i'm angry.  even when i'm impatient.  even when i fail as your mother.  for my love for you is not based on your performance, or how well you listen, or how your behavior makes me look like a good mom to others.  i love you for who you are with every fiber of my being; every single bit of you.  right where you are.  and that will never, ever, ever change.

ever.

i love you to the moon and back (and back again),
mama

multitude monday.

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645.  park days with my girls and sister, niece and nephew.  which is pretty much every day now that it's warm.
646.  girlfriends.  new and old.  such a treasure, friendship is.
647.  worship.
648.  a good cry.  sometimes it's just good for the soul.
649.  our backyard.  especially when it's filled with friends and kids laughing and playing.
650.  s'mores.
651.  my yellow ranunculus.  so cheerful.
652.  summer and it's almost-nightly-baths to wash away a day's worth of outside play.
653.  dinner with nick out on our deck after the kids are in bed.  with frank sinatra in the background.  the best.
654.  summer picnics.
655.  the sight of my girls with freshly washed hair, cuddled in their pj's on the couch while it's still bright outside.
656.  warm chocolate chips, all melty.  with an ice cold glass of milk.
657.  saturday morning breakfasts.
658.  words.  from old hymns, worship lyrics, scripture.  they bring hope and breath life into my heart.

"you are my sunshine" party.

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i have been wanting to do a "you are my sunshine" themed birthday party for a while  now.  when i first thought of the theme, i thought it was so original.  i hadn't seen any other parties like it.  but i decided it would be a perfect theme for emmy's first birthday party, and over this past year it has become a super popular!  ahhhh well.  there's only so much originality when it comes to themes for kids birthday parties.

i sing "you are my sunshine" to my girls a lot and one of my favorite prints by katie daisy i have hanging in our bright kitchen.  little did i know that when i decided a year ago (i know, i'm such a nerd) on this party theme for my little emmy faith how *perfectly* it would fit her personality, and also her role in our family.  if you're a friend of mine, or if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know that i lost my father when i was about 4 months pregnant with my sweet ems.  god's timing of bringing her into my life at such a dark, dark season is such a reminder to me of his faithfulness to produce beauty even in the rain.  she has been my calm during this stormy season of life.  not only was her arrival in our family so timely, but her little personality just exudes sunshine.  she always has us laughing, and she is such a happy little girl.  as cheesy as it sounds, she truly our sunshine.  i love seeing god in the details of life; even in party themes ;)  this one was just perfect for emmy.

i was starting to feel guilty because in the weeks leading up to bella's first birthday party, i was a busy little bee making everything and spending hours crafting to create a beautiful party.  the weeks leading up to emmy's were filled with painting our kitchen, finishing some other home projects and doing yard work.  needless to say, i didn't even begin her party decorations until two nights before her party.  poor second child.  but i have to say, i think this party was my favorite.  so bright and so cheery; just like our emmy.

table:

- a white eyelet tablecloth under a yellow floral vintage one i bought on ebay for twelve bucks

- i used my favorite print as the centerpiece, along with a yellow ranunculus plant in my favorite little ikea planters.

food:

- cheese crackers in mason jars

- lemon squares

- banana cream pie

- pink lemonade cake

- cupcakes

i made a doily bunting out of paper doilies i got at the dollar store, layered with some pennants i cut out of pretty scrapbook paper.  i hung them on yellow and blue baker's twine i bought on etsy.

i made the white tissue poms and fastened them to the ceiling with pushpins, and used a yellow punching ball from the dollar store for the "sun".  i cut raindrops out of scrapbook paper and glued them to white thread dangling from the tissue pom "clouds".

timeline photos of each month of her first year.  this bunting hung over each doorway in our living room.

dollar store mini bubbles that i wrapped with yellow and blue baker's twine.

i put them in this pink basket filled with vintage hankies and doilies and the kids went to town (mostly spilling them) since it was such a beautiful day outside!

an old shutter i fastened my favorite photos of emmy's first year to using mini clothespins.

drink station with lemonade and water and a cute "you are my sunshine" sign i purchased from groopdealz.com.

lemon squares on antique platters.

centerpiece; i used this print as the inspiration for the color scheme for the party.  love all the bright, vibrant colors!

cupcakes in yellow and white striped paper cups topped with frosting and aqua colored "pearls".

homemade banana cream pie topped with bunting; two kabob skewers i tied baker's twine to and threaded the paper pennants.

close up of the table.

pink lemonade cake.

ranunculus.

me and my girl. 

(i know; i dressed to match the party scheme.  told you i was a nerd.)

family shot.

the birthday girl!

loving her first cupcake :)

it was a beautiful day; gorgeous weather, lots of family and friends, and a special time celebrating our sweet emmy faith!  couldn't have asked for a better party for our little sunshine.  ended the day with such full hearts, feeling very blessed that our girls are loved so well both near and far!  holding onto all of these moments and savoring each of them before they are gone and she is grown all too quickly.

we love you, sweet emmy faith!

this post was linked to these *lovely* blogs:

liz marie
shaken together
shabby nest
diana rambles
five days...5 ways
sun scholars
one artsy mama
a night owl
six sisters stuff
tatertots and jello