HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK

Thanksgiving week!

It's here and it came so so fast! (kinda like I expected).

We've had a busy last week with celebrating Brandon's 31st birthday (nearly all weekend long - of course!), Christmas card pictures with the fabulous Candice, and then hosting Friendsgiving at our house. So much. But yet so fun!
A few pictures from the last week :)

31 balloons with 31 reasons we love him.

Birthday dinner at The Hub with just the three of us.

We had a family birthday dinner the night before at our favorite restaurant, The Table.

One of the two tables for Friendsgiving :)

And here we are, just t w o days away from Thanksgiving!
We are so excited for the great food, family/friend time, and a little bit of relaxation. But first {tomorrow}, we will be making our 12 hour drive to Pocatello, Idaho! Wish us luck for a long day of traveling with a 16 month old. She has always done great traveling before (she's been on many road trips/flights), but she is of course more active than ever and we are praying she will stay entertained! Once we arrive all will be good :) Pocatello shows snow in the forecast and I am so so excited for it! That's one of the things I miss most about home, snowy winters! There is nothing more magical and breathtaking than the city covered in perfect white snow.

Thanksgiving throwback to last year with our little {4 month old} Harper :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

xoxo

-Brittney

Christmas FOLLOWS Thanksgiving

I've always been 'that' person.

I've had a rule.  No celebrating Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving. No Christmas music. No Christmas decorations. No Christmas festivities. (I'm sounding a lot like scrooge...) Until that Friday after. Because we need to honor Thanksgiving and not blow right on past it to get to the Christmas holiday! And as soon as Thanksgiving passes, it is 100% Christmas season! Cheers! Right??!

...Well all that being said. I've felt that way until...now. And now my foot is in my mouth.
Having a child who is excited about all things.. I now get it. Her joy and the way she lights up makes for me to wish this time of year would never come to an end.
Bring on Christmas and let's embrace it all as 'the holiday season' :)

A couple weekends ago I was getting the itch to put up our tree and Christmas decorations (but I didn't).
Since we are hosting Friendsgiving this year it was imperative that I leave the fall decor up just a little bit longer :) BUT come Monday (Friendsgiving is this Sunday) fall is coming down and Santa's workshop will be taking place over here before we book it to Idaho for Thanksgiving!

And on that note... g i f t s. I would like to just burry my head in the sand on this one. I haven't bought one single Christmas gift. Nope. Not one. And we're looking at only five more weeks 'til Christmas Eve! With lots of festivities and major 'to-do lists' crammed on in there as well.
So this is another reason as to why I'm jumping on the 'start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving is over' bandwagon! I'm just running out of time :)

I can't be the only one right?! I know so many feel so strongly about how the holidays are celebrated.
Christmas FOLLOWS Thanksgiving. It's just the HOLIDAY SEASON!

One of the highest priorities on my list right now... To find new family stockings for us! I never got one for Harper last year so it's time we all upgrade :) These ones are really speaking to me. #christmashearteyes

Happy Holidays!!

xoxo

-Brittney

Harper Monaé || 16 months

As I sit here and write this I feel like I just wrote the 15 month update! Sounds cliche... but truly, time f l i e s and what a thief it is! It down right amazes me as to how many, many changes there have been in another short 30 days. Who would've known that all of those parents who warned "cherish it all, because time flies" well.. that they knew what they were talking about. And although I make an effort to cherish it all, it still flies by!

Last month we were having fiesty, frustrated, mad-at-mom moments that were becoming too frequent for me to be ok with. Wellll... I should check myself before I complain so quickly, because that really only last about 10ish days. And wasn't ever a whole day. Little miss is now back to being my sweet, loving, funny toddler. toddler?! It is still so hard for me to get used to using that word! And as much as I miss her being my little baby, these toddler days are really so much fun!

I love seeing her personality grow and grow. 

Watching her as she understands nearly everything I tell her. (it's if she chooses to listen) ;)

Getting so good at feeding herself.

Having preferences and making choices.

Running around the kitchen/living room yelling + babbling.

Being soooo excited to watch her cartoons. or 'bubba' (bubble) as she calls it. Which became short for Bubble Guppies, and that is now the word she uses for any sort of cartoon :)

Jumping and dancing to music (particularly to the 'hot-dog' song) Thank you Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Cuddling + caring for her 'bae-bee' (baby).

The way she brings a book to me to read and sits herself in my lap.

And my absolute favorite... all of the many kisses she gives everyday. The puckering up is the sweetest thing, I keep giving/getting kisses until I've pushed her past her limit :) and she's clear in letting me know that we are d o n e.

E A T

No changes here from last month!

She's still liking nearly everything and is such a good eater. 

If there is ever a food that she happens to not have much of a liking for (like potatoes), I continue offering it to her in the future because it can take up to 10-15 times for a new food to be accepted. I swear one of these days she will like potatoes! 

I recently make her some fruit popsicles for some variety and she LOVED them!

S L E E P

Again, thankful she is so good in this department!

We are officially condensed down to one nap a day and it is going great! She first has her milk then goes down so easily and will nap about 12:30-3:30/4ish. Sometimes I don't know what to do with myself! But don't you worry, I surely find things to do :)

And bedtime sleep is also for the win. Down by 8 and up about 7:30. With not a single wake up in the night. 

Bless you, my sweet girl!

P L A Y

All day every day!

During every awake hour, it is nonstop playing. With some meals and snacks in there too :)

If we aren't at home playing in the house or outside, we are at swim lessons, toddler gym, or on a play date with friends. 

Coloring is Harper's latest activity. I bought some color crayons and a couple coloring books and she is in love! I make sure to have all of the 'reading' books around her put away because I have this feeling that having a coloring book now means that she can color in her books. I know... I'm sure it will eventually happen...

Baby girl, though you aren't really a 'baby' any longer, to me you still are. You bring your daddy and I so much joy. You light up our worlds and make waking up every day worth it. When I think about how much I love you, it brings me so many emotions filled with tears of joy. You are always learning so much and it amazes us at what you prove to know.
I love you my sweet girl!! Happy 16 months!

xoxo

-Brittney