disney on ice.

last weekend we went to see disney on ice! chris won tickets at work & we were able to take some friends with us & enjoy the show from a private suite! it was sweeeeet ;). i didn't really know what to expect going in, but we are always up for experiencing new things, especially if free entry is involved ha. the show was so great. it's so crazy how your brain remembers words to songs you haven't heard in a decade & it made us want to go home & watch all of the movies! my favorite part was how it opened up the doors to new information for me to share with chris (didn't know there was any after ten years, surprise!). i got to tell him how obsessed with jasmine i was when aladdin came out & how i had every barbie of her that there was because naturally, i needed every outfit she came with. i shared with him how one year, i was belle for halloween & i got to wear the gold dress with a hoop under it, but how i was sad because it snowed and i had to wear my coat over my costume, lame. & the pocahontas days, which i am SO proud of. i think my mom braided my hair every day, i wore pocahontas shirts & had a meeko stuffed animal that i brought to school & put under my desk... i was obviously so cool. it was fun to reminisce & also give him a preview of what he is in for if we have little girls one day.

it was seriously fun. my 5 year old on the inside heart could hardly stand it. i teared up with overexcitement when mickey & minnie came out the first time and felt like such an idiot & soooo pregnant haha, but it just reminded me of what a kid i am at heart & that's something i love about myself. if you get the chance to go to disney on ice, do it, you're in for a treat :)


**i usually don't do this, but iphone photos wouldn't suffice, these images are not my own, found via google**

hey there mister, when did you become a teenager?

HOW IS THIS MY CHILD?!
i am the mother of a one year old??!
he is getting so big, but is still so little at the same time.
at 13.5 months he is basically running, and everywhere... that cute little run is accompanied by an even more adorable one arm swingin' by his side (melt me). he loves to sweep, play with anything slightly resembling a ball (this includes cuties + apples), play hide + seek/chase, be outside, watch bubble guppies, snuggle + eat everything in sight... or at least give it a try. he is SO sweet + i'm still caught off guard by the amount of love i have for him + how it just continues to grow. 

this particular posture fast forwards me 15 years when he's tired from a day at school + whatever activity he's involved in + i come home to him passed out on the couch, tv still on, snacks on the coffee table... 
i don't' know, something like that.
it definitely looks a lot like the boy i dated around that age ;)
we are so lucky. we have a son + that is such a huge responsibility + privilege.

abel, i love you forever + a million years more. i hope you always have the sweet + curious nature you have today. i hope you always smile at people when you walk by, just like you do now. i hope you always give me hugs + kisses, even when you're grown + i especially hope that you always remember that your family is a good home base + we will be here for you in every way, every day of your life even when you have a family of your own. you are the bright spot in each day. i love you, mama

the almost family photo...


the picture above is our new 'family photo'... mostly because all of the others looked like the one below... i actually kind of love it though, it has the essence of abel, but chris + i are the focus which is usually not the case in most pictures from the past year.

abel was mr. grumpfish (i suspected it was his teeth + when i met his GIANT molar the next day, i fully understood why... ouch) and no amount of playing, tickling, or laughing was going to change his mind. he wanted to be left alone to explore + so after a few valiant efforts we just went with that. lucky us, chris + i got a few pictures like the old days, just the two of us. i'm so happy we did. it's really important to me to have photos around our home of our kids of course, but it's equally important to me to have photos of us as a couple. i want our kids to grow up seeing the love between husband + wife. their parents. i want them to know how much we love each other + how important our marriage + relationship is outside of them. it can be a hard balance. i've struggled + also learned (still learning) a lot about balance since we added a baby to our mix. it's easy to get caught up in your kids, especially if you are the one home with them 24/7, but one of the things i remember most from our marriage prep was to prioritize your spouse always... once your kids are grown + have their own lives, it'll be just the two of you again + you'll be happy that you nurtured that relationship through it all. i am NOT perfect at this. i have an extreme personality. the air in the car is either 90 or 60. the music is either loud or off completely. i have a tendency to get over excited + throw myself into things 100% and not have balance at all. maybe one day after a lot of practice, i'll be better at this... i don't know, but for now, i'm thankful that chris can be open + honest with me + tell me if he feels an imbalance. because i want to be the best mother, yes, but i also want to be the best wife equally as much. anyways, unplanned ramblings :) point being. we didn't get your traditional 'perfect family photo', but it's the perfect one for us right now + i love it.

why we 'lick the spoon' + you should too...


you know you've done it at least once + if you're being honest, probably a lot more than that. growing up, we loved when my mom would bake! we got more excited about getting the mixing beaters, the spoon, or best... the BOWL, than we did about what she was actually baking! some might call it bad parenting, ya know... with the raw eggs + all of the other silly worries that have polluted 'the new generation', but i think it builds character... 
okay not really, but it definitely makes for fun memories + traditions to carry on to your own families! i intend to let all of our kids 'fight' over the beaters, only to find out that the 'loser' gets the spoon, which has waaay more anyway + that they'll all get to share the bowl in the end.
that's my two cents... ya know, since you asked ;)
 so, i let abel lick the frosting spoon. if it's the worst thing i do this year... i think we'll all be okay!
happy weekend!


to love another...


they say it happens as naturally as the first time, but it's still hard to imagine having any more love in my heart than i already have at this exact moment. we love abel more than i ever dreamed we were capable of, our hearts revolve mostly around him + every little thing he does. so you mean to tell me that adding another little to our clan wouldn't take away from the love we have for him, we'd just get MORE???!! i believe people when they say it, but it's still too crazy to wrap my head around + i feel like it's probably one of those things that you just don't get until you actually do it + your like, 'oh, i get it now.'

in case you missed our announcement yesterday... we decided to go ahead + find out for ourselves...
bump number 2 is scheduled to arrive on september 4th-ish!

we are overjoyed + beyond excited. already wondering what gender this little will be (no, we don't have a preference). name gaming. planning + praying, and spending as much time together as a family of 3 before 'we three' becomes 4. abel is going to be the best big brother ever, he's already getting so much practice with his cousin + it's just his nature to share + be sweet, so here's hoping that continues :)

we are full of joy over here. thank you jesus.

over the weekend.


the picture above is one of my new favorites. i don't know if it's the men in my life + how cute they are together, the gorgeous view from our home, or the perfect yellow slug bug in the background... probably all of it combined. the past weekend was such a great one. i couldn't tell you what exactly was so great about it, but just that it was one for the books. i even remember one particular time looking at chris + telling him how good our life is + him smiling back like he agreed. i love how sometimes it's in the non-eventful times, no holidays or celebrations, just the regular old saturdays when everyone is home + together that feel most special. this weekend was one of those. the weather was warmer for a change + we got outside as much as we could. abel cried real tears every time we had to come inside, he ADORES adventuring in the warm sun... so that is exactly what we plan to do every sun day for the rest of our lives. 

^^^what a cutie, i love him

i love you abel.

our hearts are bursting with joy over abel these days, more than the regular day i mean (didn't know it was possible). he just keeps getting cuter + sweeter + more snuggly, chattier, silly + all of the other good stuff. he fills my heart to the brim + over, and chris + i keep finding ourselves just looking at him + then at each other, having no words but knowing exactly how the other is feeling. i've never met a side of abel i didn't like + having him as my son is a gift + honor i take very seriously + feel indescribably blessed by. lucky me, warm + fuzzy feelings all the days of my life. i love you abel.

quilt perfection + baby perfection for that matter, but this is about the quilt... mostly

i don't think i really have to sell this one, it's pretty clear from one glance that this quilt is 100% gorgeous. it's true vintage, made by my great grandmother, and it's really lucky that it didn't make it back in my bag to colorado (well my aunt is lucky, i would take dang good care of that thing + it would have happy days all the rest of it's days) anyway though, i just love it so much + even more so, the tiny guy all snuggled up in it... he's the best. 

round + rollie

anything round or that rolls is 'ba' (ball) to abel. it is darling as pie + i could squeeze him too tightly most days. i LOVE that his favorite thing to play with is a ball, and chris is over the moon about the fact that he kicks them too, because, of course, he believes his sports destiny is soccer. it really doesn't matter to me at all what sport he would play or that he play one at all, but it is pretty darn cute that he's into it for now + i feel like it's just a glimpse of what the next year will be like as he grows + learns more about how to play with a person + not just on his own. i'll say it again, like i probably said yesterday + a few minutes ago... i love you abel... to the moon, back + around the block a couple of times. oh, and your jeans are kill-ing. me.

truck beds.

while we were visiting texas recently, it was brought to my attention that abel was made for truck beds. i mean, loves 'em. so naturally, i came home + let chris know that it was imperative that we get a truck so that we could fulfill abel's every need (maybe mine too). so you know, we will see how that goes. but honestly, does this face not scream... i belong in the bed of a truck this summer?! 

texas forever, or atleast for the weekend...

hey there + happy march! so we went to texas. happy day. firstly, i love texas... i was born there + if you've read THIS than you probably already know that i still like to claim that + pretend i'm moving back one day. second, it was SO nice to just get away for a minute. not worry about a stinkin' thing + enjoy 75 degree weather in february. i mean, dresses + sandals for days. all fun + games + i was pretty much shopping real estate until the wild turkey charge, profanity slingin', running for mine + my child's life incident once upon a monday night. you really had to be there, but i will just tell you that i don't think i'm built for snakes or ticks or wild turkeys for that matter. so in colorado we will probably stay... dreams crushed, but i'll survive... i mean, colorado is not a rough place to live ;)
anyhow, we road tripped down (abel's first). he was a champion + i was proud. we had a great visit + i only wished chris could have come + for it to have been longer. below are some snippets from our trip, the first being a pitstop about 10 hours in + abel was all sorts of joyful to find a playground to stretch his little legs at, we were pretty happy about it too!

+ + + 
... and we made it. hello Waco. we were warmly welcomed by my mom's sister at about 10 pm. you guys... my aunt's house. if we are talking in pinterest terms, i'd pin the heck out of it, right onto my nesting board. right there next to all of the other swoon worthy homes that i've been ogling + that would be that. it has a gorgeous view of Lake Waco + is mostly all of my house dreams wrapped into one. paint everything a crispy coat of white + throw pops of bright colors throughout... when can i move in permanently? we had such a great visit with her + SO many of our family members! i wish we saw them more often!

+ + +
While we were visiting, we attended my cousin's wife's (i'm not sure exactly what that makes her to me... cousin? cousin in law? all that comes to my mind is adorable) baby shower. It was at the happiest little spot in Waco called 'The Mix' + she (as in my cousin's wife) was stunning. There were mini cupcakes + mama to be wore polka dots... i mean, do i really need to say more than that? I'm so glad we were able to make it, especially because i almost always miss out on Texas family events + so i felt like a real winner this time around. i wiiiiiish i would have gotten some real bloggerific photos of every detail, but Abel walks  runs now, and ALWAYS, so you know... 
We also spent the day shopping for the stores (since this was a 'business trip' and all) Texas has some great antiquey shops... Junque in the Trunk probably being my favorite of them all. CUTE stuff + perfect photo opp paint choices on their building if you ask me, so obviously we snapped a few.

+ + + 
and below you'll see the best little road tripper ever, fighting sleep (of course) + a sign that makes this heart happy