My Person

I have a person. Do you have a person? Do you even know what I'm talking about? I find the term bff a little too grade school for me, but I have a great person!

B and her adorable daughter

When we first met, B and I were dancing at a conservatory in Florida. It sounds a lot fancier than it really was. We bonded over missing our home state, parent issues, our love of dance, and random other things that 16 year old girls love. But things happened in our lives and we went years without talking, I thought of her often but was really too stubborn to get off my high horse and try to find her. Luckily, B found me. After a few awkward exchanges and a little prodding from Adam, we were soon like peas and carrots again.

While we really were great friends in high school, our friendship as adults is something I cherish more than words can express. We have bonded over planning our weddings, photography, sushi, and now our baby girls. Did I mention we got married within weeks of each other and then three years later had daughters within three weeks of each other? Both of which were not planned! Told you we were close.

She keeps me grounded, listens to me complain gush about my husband, and helps me stay current. Let me tell you if it wasn't for this woman, I wouldn't know about things like Pioneer Woman, Pinterest, Zulily, etc. You get the point.  Oh and I wouldn't have this little blog. But she does so much more than help me navigate the interwebs, she reminds me that I am a strong woman. She is proud of the woman that she has become and doesn't apologize for who she is. She inspires me to be an even better version of myself. We bond over the "crazysauce that is our families." But more than all that, B is one of the few people that I can and will say anything to. Thanks to technology, aka text messaging, we talk almost everyday. Which is great because there are days that despite living in the same state, it feels like I live on the other side of the world. I really don't know what I would do without her.

It's B's birthday so head over to her blog and wish her a Happy Birthday.

P.S. She has a great blog. Check her out here.

Recentlty

We've been doing a little of this: 

1 & 2) Adding some finishing touches to baby girl's room

3) Pinning Adam at his Airborne School graduation. He now jumps out of perfectly good airplanes as part of his job. Oh my! 4) Adam kissing his girl for the first time in three weeks.

5) Someone might have been watching TV 6) This is Bailey's "I'm a neglected dog" face. Don't let her fool you, she is still quite spoiled.  

Without children...

I was reading this article today. The article is about the current child-free movement. There are airlines, restaurants and hotels all over the world that are declaring kid free areas. As a new parent, my first response was outrage. How dare you discriminate against me because I have a child! But then, I started reading some of the reader comments which made me think rationally instead of defensively.

Here's the thing, not that long ago, I was one of those "please take out your screaming child" people. Now that I have a kid, I'm still a "please take out your screaming child" person. There is a time and a place for  kids. You want to take your kid to the movies then take them to a child/age appropriate movie. You want to go out to dinner - great - but if your kid starts screaming take them outside. I know I only have an almost 6 month old baby, but this is the way I was brought up. We were not allowed to throw tantrums in public. We knew that restaurants, malls and other public places required us to be on our best behavior.

So at what point did well-behaved children become an anomaly instead of the norm?

Support Warren Golf Tournament

On Monday, I had the privilege of being the photographer at the Support Warren Golf Tournament. Warren is a four-year old boy with cerebral palsy. He was born completely healthy with no complications of any sort. When he was 11 months old, Warren suffered a brain hemorrhage resulting in multiple strokes and permanent brain damage. It has been three years since his injury to include three brain surgeries, but the following are some of the challenges he continues to face: no speech, blind, poor muscle control resulting in the inability to sit up or walk, and a feeding tube. Warren has been accepted into a stem cell facility in Mexico. The doctors will take stem cells from Warren's bone marrow and place them in his spine. The hope is that the stem cells will repair the damage from the strokes. 


I cannot begin to say what an honor it was to be part of Monday's tournament. The outpouring of love for Warren and his incredible family was amazing. Warren and his family are truly an inspiration. 


Just a few photographs from the day:

Sweetheart

On Monday while I was taking pictures, Caitlyn was

doing a little of this,

made a new friend,

and (finally) took a nap! 

Seriously could not have asked for her to behave better than she did on Monday. 

Bedtime Read

Every night before she goes to sleep, we read a bedtime book. My favorite is one that her Grandma got her. It's Time to Sleep, My Love, by Nancy Tillman and Eric Metaxas, has beautiful pictures and such sweet words. My favorite part:

You're dreams will be arriving soon.

They'll float to you 

in sleep's balloon. 

They'll be here when I snuff the wick,

you'd better close your eyelids quick.

So you can dream, my love, my love.

So you can dream, my love. 

And as you dream inside your sleep,

the fishes crooning in the deep, and 

all the songbirds up above 

will sleep and dream of you, my love,

of you, the one I love. 

Do you read to your child(ren) before bed? If so, what is your favorite book? 

Aquarium

While at the beach, we visited Ripley's Aquarium. The whole family enjoyed it. If you are ever in the area, check it out. 

A homecoming, a beach trip, and a godfather

The last several weeks have been quite busy. 

1) The Hubs came home! Him and Caitlyn are buddies! 

2 & 3) We went to the beach for the first time with the baby. She didn't hate it! 

4) Caitlyn got to meet her godfather (aka Adam's brother-by-another mother) for the first time. It was love at first sight for both of them. 

Today, I felt...

like a Rockstar. I took pictures at a charity golf tournament while toting around a 5.5 month old. Yes, today I felt like a rockstar. Pics and more info to come.

things i love

baby smiles

Bailey

brothers

This post brought to you by the letter "b."

Summertime

Last week coming home from the beach, we drove through this: 

Can you find the road? Yea, neither could we. 

But about five minutes later, we were driving through this: 

Blue skies and fluffy clouds ahead! I think there is something so beautiful about blue sky peaking through gray, fluffy clouds.  

It's Crazy Around Here

Here are just a few things that have been going on around here:
~ New flowers on the porch
~ Hawaii wall finished (pictures and story to come)
~ Sick baby
~ Picked up a freelance job which is turning into multiple jobs.
~ Celebrated Father's Day with my Dad and my younger brother Tyler. It's a LONG story, but it was our first one all together. Fun day!
~ Getting the house ready for Adam to come home! I can now say that he is on his way HOME! Woohoo! Please keep your fingers crossed for no delays. Last time he flew home it took 48 hours, we aren't trying to duplicate that trip.

AND...

You can now call me Aunt Jess. I would like to introduce Logan. He was two weeks early, but is a big boy (8lb 12oz and 21 3/4" long). He weighed exactly 2lbs more than Caitlyn when she was born. Isn't he adorable? I haven't been able to meet him yet, but I'm already quite smitten.


Things have been BUSY but exciting!