4th of july 2018 || suncadia

boy oh boy. 

the fourth was daysss ago. 

like  f i v e  days ago. 

but for us it feels like it has just ended.

the never ending holiday. but definitely NOT complaining! cause it was so so great :)

we made a getaway of the fourth. left tuesday morning and just got back home saturday afternoon. we’ve made this trip to suncadia over the 4th two years in a row now, along with some very best friends of ours. after we had so much fun vacationing together with our families last summer, we knew we had to try our best to make this summer happen too. there’s a high chance this could become an annual thing!

each of our families have two kiddos (making four) and we're both expecting our number threes this fall! so before we know it there are going to be six babes between us!

it's so fun to grow our families together. 

harper + aubrey are only two months apart.

tanner + adelynn, 8 months.

and these next tiny ones will be only a month apart!
we somehow didn't manage to take a whole group shot! ;( but the kids will do!

we looked around a little bit at houses to rent that would fit our families and ended up going with the exact house that we had stayed in the year before. 

we got to thinking- why change something that isn't broken.

it was so fun to reminisce on the memories we had had over the fourth of july last year. and to experience some of the same this year around too!

we turn the temp down on the hot tub and the kiddos use it as a pool all day every day.
last year harper + aubrey lived in here.
this year they had to make room for tanner boy to join too!

matching jams + all the festiveness we could manage!

besties from birth. and now til the end of time.

they lived on otterpops from morning til night. 

these colorless ones (i found at costco) were soooo great! mess/stain/stress free ;)

jacob giving the 'serious' low-down on the rules to the fireworks.

haha i can't even take him serious (at least they did!) ;)

the line up for their pop-its to throw.

so fun seeing tanner being a "big kid" right in the middle of the girls!

kids kept jumping into this picture, and it just kept getting cuter and cuter :)

P H O T O  D U M P
of all the others :)

 

 

  we all came back with our cups so full along with a handful of mosquito bites each ;)

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

photo every hour | father's day 2018

i just looked back at my previously posted 'photo every hour' posts, and funny enough the last one i did was also on father's day last year. though i am in shock- - it's been a year since the last one?!

most shocking to me cause it's one of my favorite type of posts to do.

easy + lots of pictures :)

FATHER'S DAY 2018

6AM
his favorite. golf. so a super cute golf card it was.

 7AM
his favorite. french toast. so french toast it was.

8AM
the getting ready for church process.
hang out on the bathroom floor while you wait ;)

 9AM
tanner. makes it into church nursery about 75% of the time.
we call it a win!
he wasn't having it and wanted a little extra daddy time ;)

...when it got to where he couldn't quietly sit still... dad took him to the tractors out back :)

...& so stinking cute! #hearteyes

 10AM

 11AM
he wanted an after church starbucks stop. but in addition i opted for a sonic drink stop.

 12PM
a little lunch prep!
this delicious (easy!) crunchy salad recipe is in THIS POST :)

 1PM
to papa + nana's for bbq lunch.

 2PM
and a whole lotta time in the pool!

 3PM

4PM

two tired kids.

tanner pushed through naptime like a champ.

 5PM
...until the second we drove out of the driveway

 6PM
back home.

 7PM
...& early to bed!

i don't have pictures to follow, but from then til our bedtime, brandon and i enjoyed a couple acai bowls and hit plopped down on the couch.

we had such a great day, celebrating such a great dad!

these two here (and before we know it, three) have the greatest dad!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

23 weeks || littlest brother bump update

just checked my app to make sure i'm correct here.

...and yep. 23  W E E K S with this sweet baby brother bump!

being my third pregnancy here (aka having two toddlers running around with me 24/7) i haven't had the time + energy to document this pregnancy like i did the others.

check-ins here and there & "unofficial" bump update pictures will have to do ;) and i sure love this little boy all the same!!

with harper (pre blogging days) i took a weekly chalkboard picture tracking what fruit she compared to in size. and with tanner it was a weekly pic tagged along in a weekly bump update blog post. i LOVED doing this with each of my babes and love looking back.
i get a number of odd looks whenever i say this out loud... but i love being pregnant.
i cherish it best i can and yet it always seems to slip away too quickly.
that and the newborn phase. if i could just always be pregnant and have a newborn.
it goes too too quick!!

so here's to a 'summary' recap of where we're at 23 weeks in with baby number 3!

how far along? 23 weeks + 5 days

total weight gain: 14 lbs

baby is a: eggplant. maltese puppy. or a fruit pie. haha! whichever you choose to go with :)

maternity clothes? wearing a few staple pieces. there are a handful of items that are go-to's for me and others i try to mix piece that i already have in my closet that are non maternity. but maternity bottoms for sure!

stretch marks? yep. since baby #1 ;) all the oils + all the lotions and yet i'm still a mama with them on my hips. truly nothing i'm ashamed of or embarrassed by though.

sleep: so so good!! snuggling up with my pregnancy pillow each night and i'm out like a light!

best moment this week: i'm really embracing and enjoying my time with just harper and tanner. and this last week we've gotten many moments where i'm just so happy to be spending this time with them. it's going to be such a good summer!

excited for: been doing some furniture shopping and i think we're close to making a decision and getting his crib and dresser ordered!

current symptoms: not much. thankfully! other than sciatic pain that i'm in and out of the chiropractor's office for. each pregnancy it comes, and it is just as painful each time. thankful i know what it is when the pain creeps on and how to manage it! cause the first time around i was most certainly blindsided by it.

midwife update: i'll be in for my next appt in a couple weeks. it's all pretty uneventful at this point, so not expecting much to come from it. (which i am thankful for!). the second trimester bliss ;)

miss anything? man how i'd love a cold hard cider paired with a cold sub sandwich on warm sunny days!

movement: yes yes yes. LOVE feeling this little one wiggle around in there. each week it keeps increasing. I had first felt him around 13 weeks, then was no longer feeling movement until about 18-19 weeks. thought maybe my placenta was on the front, but ultrasound proved that wasn't the case. he's perfectly healthy, but it just must be this 'third time around' pregnancy belly that was giving him allll the space. too much space for me to feel where he was at ;)

food cravings/aversions: i've got an acai bowl obsession. and s'mores (with reeses of course). but i'm not sure if it's pregnancy craving or just a little less self control!

gender? BOY! we found out via a blood test at 14 weeks! and yay for a little brother!! though the first couple days of finding out, harper was quite disappointed. poor girl wanted a sister! but she is over the moon excited for this little brother now :)

looking forward to: i'm always looking forward to my next prenatal appointment. our plan is to go the same route with a natural birth at the birthing inn again (as i did with both other babies). i just LOVE being there and the peace it brings to me. anytime i get to spend there feels so special. i luck out being that my midwife, susan's office is in the birthing inn :)

wedding rings on: on. i never take my rings off. like never ever. 

belly button in or out: more-so making itself flat ;)

how i'm preparing: once we decide on furniture then the fun of finding cute nursery decor will come. such a blessing to have this little one and his room has gotta feel just as special. i do have to say though, it is much harder for me to think of and come up with ideas for a boy nursery than it would be for a girl. i have found with boy (in most ways) i've gotta dig a little harder and search a little more to find what i like.

i love to talk about all things pregnancy, labor/delivery, and baby. any questions or just to chat, would love to hear from you. so please feel free to reach out! 

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth