Harper Monaé | a whole lotta firsts

over this past week, it has been BIG for our harper girl.

as a baby, of course there are lots of firsts happening on a regular basis, but into toddlerhood the firsts start to happen a little less frequently.

this last week however, we loaded this girl UP with first time experiences.

and it was so fun to watch her light up each time.

>>ONE<<

first sleepover at our house with her little bff, aubrey!

cuteness o v e r l o a d!!
these girls had the best time ever making pizza, watching cinderella + snacking, making popcorn on the stove, and then climbing into bed and making shadow puppets on the ceiling with the flashlight :)
the first of many for these sweet girls!!

>>TWO<<

harper's first dance shoes!!

she'll be starting dance lessons next weekend and talks about it everyday.

we got her essentials (ballet shoes, tap shoes, leotard, and tights). over and over again once we got home, she would pack and unpack her dance bag :)

so excited for this tiny dancer!!

--who just LOVES to dance!!--

>>THREE<<

these three had theirs first cousin bath!

so cute to see all these little babes in one big tub.

>>FOUR<<

kinda feels like the grand finale here :) 

at just barely three years old miss harper participated in her very first two day cheer + dance clinic!

I was nervous going into it that she'd be clung to my leg the entire time, want nothing to do with it (unless I was standing by her side), and be extremely shy.

I was 100% WRONG.

 she did awesome!

a little social butterfly who ran around (often a little too much!) and danced to her own beat ;)

by the end of it though, she learned a little bit about 'trying' to stay in line with the other girls. and her favorite part was the dancing by far. 

she met some new little friends, enjoyed performing at the baseball game (once she got over the fear of being away from mama and that the mascot wouldn't do anything to her), and had a cherry on top of getting to experience this with her most favorite auntie 'E-E'!!

we were all so proud of our harper girl!!!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

friday favorites

it's been AWHILE since my last friday favorites post!

but summer is slightly slowing down, we're feeling in the groove, and it's clear that fall is upon us. which brings for more structure and more time spent at home.
I've been checking back over our summer fun list and seeing which items we haven't yet completed. and making a point that we fit them into these last days we have!

.ONE.

harper's fist sleepover at our house with her little bff aubrey!
there's not doubt that us mama's are just as (or more) excited than these two toddlers are about it!
aubrey + her mama kaylani are heading over this evening and we have a fun night of pizza making, movie watching (cinderella!!!), and treat eating planned!

.TWO.

nuby! we love nuby and all that they offer. bath toys are no exception.
both kids play with these bath links, each just in a different way :)
for tanner it's more piece by piece, but for harper's she's got it down on how to link them up and "make a train". and what else I love... how i can so easily drain the water out of them so they don't grow mold. there are so many bath toys i swear where no matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to get allll the water out and eventually I notice dark mold in them. and to the trash they go...

.THREE.

FabFitFun.
no shock to anybody here, but I am LOVING fabfitfun and I've only gotten one box so far! I've had other subscription boxes before. (which were great). but this one is definitely the best!
soooo many great things. and things I actually like and use.
follow this link HERE, use code "BEACH", and you can still get $10 off!!
((that makes the box only $40ish and they're only seasonal-- NOT every month))
fall boxes are about to come out in september, and I can't wait to see all that's inside!

.FOUR.

stroller strides
this a simple favorite here.
an awesome workout. great mamas to work out with. and all of our kiddos in tow.
WIN. WIN. WIN.
if you're a mama in the tacoma, wa area, come join!!

.FIVE.
rodan + fields
another big love of mine. I've been using this regimen every morning and every night since the middle of june. and I.AM.IN.LOVE.
I look forward to this part of my day and have truly seen positive results in just a short couple months! and the cherry on top??! the LASH BOOST! I've seen my lashes grow grow grow from using this at night before bed. I can't say enough good about it!
my friend Kari introduced me & she's awesome. contact me, and I'll connect you!

happy friday, friends!!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

life lately | our weekend

what I'm gonna call our weekend started on thursday :)

about mid morning,  brandon's work schedule for the day opened up. he came up to me, suggested we take the kids to northwest trek, and without an ounce of hesitation I said YES.

it literally made my week.

doing family things together is one of my absolute favorite things. with brandon's work life in real estate it can be sporadic as to when he has free time. and even when things are planned ahead, last minute work appointments can switch that up.

life of a realtor ;)

but there are also perks like having this whole thursday afternoon together as a family!

northwest trek is amazing!
it's what I would call a 'zoo', but in addition to that they have a tram that drives you through acres and acres of wildlife. the animals are literally right outside the window.
it's so fun and amazing to see them so close!

after our tram ride, it was time for a little ice cream treat before walking around to see the rest of the animals.

friday
one of my favorite times of day is putting this sweet boy down for his nap.
it's so stinking hard for me to actually lay him down though once he falls asleep!

that afternoon I headed out with some awesome mamas from fit4mom for some kayaking fun followed by pizza. this girl time was so refreshing and filled me up!

saturday
the only picture taken... but I was home with the babes in the morning while brandon was working.
then tanner + harper had some time with their nana while my sister-in-law angela and I went out for a coffee and some shopping before meeting up with our husbands for a fun bbq with friends.

sunday
at the start of 2017, brandon made the decision to take sundays off of work. in real estate, that is not always an easy thing to do. it can become 24/7 if you let it. but since he's done it, it has been the BEST for all of us.
so sunday is family day.
we made our way to the farmer's market with tyler, angela, & lleyton.

did some things around the house, went outside for some bike riding, and fit in some naps.

THEN!!!
it was harper's first every HAIR CUT!!
to trim those little baby hairs that have been there for three whole years was not easy!!
but made such a difference in her hair with it getting cleaned up.
I should've done this long ago!!

...and I'm the crazy mom who saves her baby's hair!

it was a good one over here, and hope your weekend was a happy one too!!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

IDAHO weekend | summer of 2017

we had such a fun weekend going back to visit my home state of idaho.

makes me so sad to say but it had been nearly two years since i'd been back. and I was reminded why I still love it there so much and how there will always be a place in my heart for idaho.

my ten year high school reunion was what initiated us going when we did. then to visit my mom, grandparents, and best friend filled up the rest of the time we were there.

five days. jam packed. with two of them including 12 hour drives.

it was non stop- yet relaxing at the same time. but just perfect. and filled my heart and soul.

we drove all day friday. and thank heavens the kids did well with it!

my mom has semi recently found a love for horses and riding, so saturday morning she took us all out to see + ride her horse shony.
I was a little nervous for myself, and also for the kids that they would be hesitant and nervous of just how big a real life horse is :)

boy was I wrong!!!
not an ounce of hesitation by either harper or tanner. these two were in heaven and seemed to be right in their element!

the only time tanner protested, was when it was time for him to get OFF and let someone else have a ride :)

after a couple hours of fun with the horses, we stopped at our favorite local lunch spot (5th street bagelry-- if you're ever in pocatello, ID, this is a MUST!!).

then headed for the house to get cleaned up and ready for the reunion.

I had been looking forward to it and knew it would be fun, but I didn't know it would be just as fun as it actually was! seeing these girls, and more friends I went to high school with TEN years ago was so special!
a night I will remember for so long! wish we were able to see each other more often, but catching up and laughing our hearts out for a night will have to do.
#centuryhighschoolclassof2007

the next morning, we packed up to leave Pocatello and headed about 30 minutes down the road to make a stop at my best friend's house.
a couple hours here was so great, but just not enough time!!
our babies:
harper + sutton are just one month apart
tanner + wilder are just six months apart

brittney (yep, same name, same spelling) :) and I became friends in college when we were both on the bengal dancer college dance team.
we have a friendship that I know will last forever no matter how far apart we are.

once we left there, we made the hour and half drive to small town mackay, ID  (population of about 500ish) to see my grandpa and grandma where they spend much of their summer.
we often spent time here camping in the summer when I was growing up. to then bring my babies and husband was so much fun. I loved seeing them love it and enjoy the simple outdoors.

both of these next two pictures... only in a small town like mackay... haha!

rides in grandpa's truck.
don't call the cops on us ;) but harper LOVED the treat of not always having to ride in her car seat.

harper, tanner, and I loved tagging along while mom and brandon played a round of golf.

brandon was in HEAVEN having tanner along and I just KNOW he was imagining the day he can actually take him out to golf with him :)
love watching this father/son relationship.

SO many rides on the four wheeler!!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth