7 Months!

One more month older for our sweetie pie! Last Friday Deacon had to have surgery to repair a birth defect. Thankfully everything went very well and since it was out patient surgery, he was able to come home the same day. He is healing nicely and is almost always smiling. We love our little love bug so much! 

Animal Books 2 Year Olds Love

We read a lot of books are our house. There are piles upon piles and stacks upon stacks. It's just so much of who we are as a family and we are hoping to raise readers too. I get a lot of books at garage sales and thrift stores, but I always pick up a few at the library too. Books get rotated in and out, and one minute you're in and the next minute you're out. It's  tough to be a book in our house. Everett, our resident two year old  has a few favorites he wants to hear over and over... and over! All these books are quick reads with fun illustrations and lots of animals! 
What are your favorite animal books? We are always looking for more to read! 

Moose Tracks by Karma Wilson

Bear and Bunny Grow Tomatoes by Bruce Koscielniak

Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood

I am a Bunny by Ole Risom, Richard Scarry

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Mouse by Audrey Wood

But Not the Hippopotamos by Sandra Boynton

Spot's Birthday Party by Eric Hill

Ducks in Muck by Lori Haskins

4th of July Frolics

We had busy days leading up to the Fourth. Baby shower, cousin park outings, visits from former co-workers with baby in tow, BBQ with my besties from high school and a hotel stay with the Vlachs on the 4th. 

Photo Credit: Elward Photography
Everett and Teddy, cousins on the move

Piya, Kelly & Everett
Photo credit: vlach photography
Who forgets their camera when the boys have their first hotel outing and pool experience? this girl.  

Overall the boys did great sleeping in the hotel room with us, but they had the most fun in the pool. Deacon was in his element and Everett was brave jumping off the side of the pool. One of my biggest fears are my kids being afraid of the water. We are mermaids... mer-MAN, mer-MAN!

Happiest Baby on the Block
P.S. shortly after this pic was taken, he had a huge diaper blow out. It was so bad, I had to cut the onesie off of him.
No big deal.

July Love

You go to my head with a smile that makes my temperature rise, 

like a summer with a thousand Julys... 

Our morning...

Hands down, July is my favorite month of the year. It just reeks of magical summer awesomeness. Sunshine, water, lazy days, ice cream, picnics, barefeet, BBQ, s'mores, late nights, cold drinks, hot heat. LOVE. 

We made our bucket list of summer things we want to do. My husband is done with summer school and has the next two months off. The boys are at a fun ages where they can go places and be pretty cool about it. 

But mostly we just plan to chill in the kiddie pool, eat Popsicles on the deck, take walks, go to the park, sleep in (yeah right) and enjoy some memorable family time. We have our soundtrack for summer queued up and we are ready to rock. 
I love it. 

Over the weekend I made some really yummy food while my in-laws were here. One thing was good for you, one thing was not. But you take the good and you take the bad, you take them both and there you have TFOL.

The Pioneer Woman's Cowboy Quiche

Pioneer Woman

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad from The Skinny Taste

Skinny Taste

The quiche I will probably only make for special occasions like when my in-laws are here. But the Quinoa... oh sister, I could eat that everyday!!! Leave the Feta cheese out and you got yourself one slammin' vegan masterpiece! 

I saw World War Z & Superman. 
Hunks. Beefcakes. Hubba Hubba. 
And those were just the zombies.

Sisterland Book Review

I had an opportunity to read an advance copy of Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld through NetGalley. I had read Sittenfeld's other book, Prep a few years ago and I was really looking forward to her newest novel. 

Sisterland is a story about twin sisters, Kate & Violet who grow up and discover they have "senses" about future events. Kate tries to ignore these senses but Violet fully tries to embrace them. 
Kate follows a traditional path of marriage and family while Violet lives on the fringe of society. Everything changes when one day Violet goes on the news to warn people about an impending earthquake that will take place in the future. While Violet doesn't know when this will happen, it's Kate who gets the confirmation on the date, much to her chagrin.
This book is one of my new favorite books. It definitely keeps you on edge, wondering when the earthquake will happen. The whole book you are waiting to see the outcome of this huge event. But really this book is more than the earthquake, it's about the dynamics of siblings and their families. You get a glimpse into two lives who are drastically different but the love and sometimes hate that follows these sisters their whole lives. 
The only thing I did not like about this book was the way the ending played out. It took a turn that I didn't see coming and it just seemed uncharacteristic and a little ridiculous the way it ended. But overall, it's a great read and it will keep you guessing. 

Wedding Memories...

I thought it would be fun to share my wedding day now that it has almost been 3 years. Tim and I got married on August 8, 2010 after being engaged almost 3 months. After we got engaged we were ready to get married. So no stopping us! I have always wanted an outdoor summer wedding, so we picked a date in August and we were off. I decided to keep costs down by DIYing almost the whole wedding. I made my own invitations, programs, treat bags for the candy buffet  decorations and even the handkerchief my husband wore in his pocket. 

Location (church/outdoors/destination): 

I knew I wanted an outdoor wedding, so I started looking at venues that were outdoors in beautiful locations. I wanted a very country\shabby chic\vintage feel, so when I found Gale Woods Farms, it was a done deal.  The ceremony was held outside overlooking a beautiful lake and the reception was held in the big barn. 

Colors: 

My colors were Fuchsia, Gray & Yellow. The men wore gray suits with fuchsia ties and gray Converse Allstar shoes! My bridesmaids wore fuchsia dresses and silver shoes. And my shoes were hot pink awesomeness! And of course all the flowers were pinks\yellows and some gray filler. 

Flower for the wedding

Flower for the reception

Bridal Party:

 My three dearest friends were in my wedding party. They were from all different parts of my life and I wanted each to have a title. My Matron of Honor was my friend Rachel, who I had met 15 years earlier when we were working in New Hampshire. My Maid of Honor was my friend Shannon who I had known since the 4th grade. And my Cousin of Honor was my dear cousin Kelly, who I have known since I was 9 months old. Kelly's husband Kyle also officiated our wedding since he is a Reverend\Chaplain and also a great friend! win win! 

My husband had two collage buddies and his brother as his best man. And 2 other pals from college as the ushers. My brother Buddy walked down the ring. 

I had two other girlfriends of mine do the readings. My friend Liz read, The Prayer of St. Francis and my friend Ellen read I carry your heart. 

And the musicians were the choir teacher and orchestra teacher from the school my husband and I both worked at. 

First Dance Song: 

We danced to Make you Feel my Love by Adele. It was hot and I barely remember dancing. 

Honeymoon: 

We waited 5 months and decided to go to Hawaii in December, when we could really enjoy a warm climate honeymoon since we live in Minnesota and we are always looking to get away from cold! The honeymoon was awesome, but I was 21 weeks pregnant, so it was a very low key time. We sat by the pool and read, ate a lot and did a lot of snorkeling. It was perfection! 

What would you do different? 

I wouldn't do anything differently, except the weather! It turned out to be really HOT!!! It was the hottest day in August in 100 years!! Someone even passed out and I wanted to pass out too. I had a hard time enjoying myself because I was so overheated. I just felt yucky. But everyone said it was one of the best weddings they've been to, so that makes me happy. 

DIY programs\fans. They came in very handy! It was blazing hot outside! 

Converse All Stars for the dudes

Me and my brother Buddy

The ceremony site. The flowers were purchased the day before at the Farmer's Market.

My amazing husband! 

Photo Booth guest book

Stylin in our kicks! 

6 Months!

 Deacon Elliott is half a year old! It's hard to believe that 6 months ago I was on hospital bed rest awaiting his arrival. He has been nothing but pure joy. Always smiling, talking, and loving life. He is slowly catching up on all the cool things 6 months olds do. And I am have "DUH" moments when I worry that he should be hitting a milestone and he isn't even close. Because had he been born on his due date (January 28th) he would only be 4 months old right now. DUH!  So he is just where he should be and we love him so much! Next month he has to have surgery to fix a birth defect. It's a simple procedure and he can go home the same day. But I do worry about my little guy having to go under and being away from me. He has been through a lot with being in the NICU and has proved to be a fighter, so I trust he will be just fine. He'll probably wake up smiling, as he does every time he gets up. He rocks! Love!