Friday Favorites

I think this is likely the longest stretch I've gone off the blog.

a little break from it & stepping back from social media over the last week felt quite refreshing.

& i'm quite sure i'll take little breaks a little more frequently. to just unplug and be more present in the now.

but blogging and catching up on instagram are also fun outlets for me. and creating a keepsake 'book' here on the blog is the whole why of why I even blog :)

...so of course it continues ;) with a few of our favorite things as of late!

..ONE..

rest + quietness were my focuses these last handful of days.

..TWO..
harper started back to kindermusik last week and her love for it has like doubled this year!
year two of going to kiddos and kin.
it's also been great mommy + harper time that we get just the two of us on friday mornings. usually followed by a run through our favorite donut shop for some donut holes on the way home  :)

..THREE..
our nursing journey will be coming to a close here in the near future.
tanner + I have had a great experience nursing. I cherish and love it so much.
we're down to nursing about 1-2 times a day, and each time I feel like it could very well be the last.

..FOUR..

THIS BOOK.
I became a fan of jen hatmaker after reading her devotional written for moms, Out of the Spin Cycle.
(if you're a mama-- go order it NOW!! i swear you will love every bit of it.)
I'm not quite halfway through her new book here, and its just SO.GOOD.
what a gift this woman has, how she shares jesus, and her humor is just the best! I can't wait to go to her Moxie Matters tour when it comes here the beginning of november!

..FIVE..

happy, healthy, growing kids.

that I thank the lord for on a regular.

happy friday, friends + family!!

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

Cannon Beach, OR || summer 2017

family getaways are getting better and better as our family grows and as we return back to the same places. the memories we make, and getting to repeat our destination makes for an extra special little place in our hearts. 

we went to Cannon Beach, OR for the first time as a family of THREE last year when I was pregnant with tanner. and to have gone back the following summer and tanner is actually there with us.. just warms my heart.

this trip was a last minute thing, but it was all just as fun had it been something we had planned for months. we knew we wanted to make the 3ish hour drive there again this summer, but we didn't anticipated it'd be in the plans only two days before going!

because of that (and it being the busiest weekend EVER-- labor day weekend!) we just barely found lodging. we stayed two nights, and each night was in a different room :) I think we literally got the last available rooms in the whole town.

we were honestly fine with it, because all that mattered was that we were THERE!

and harper actually got soooo excited with each room and exploring it. like the second we walked in the door, her three year old energy just EXPLODED!

honest to goodness, there is nothing more special to me than spending time with my little family. all four of us.
as much work that there is to come along with traveling with a one year old and three year old.. it is absolutely worth it.
these two do so well. we make sure our days are flexible with little to no big plans. if a nap needs to happen, we just spend a little time going for a drive. which brandon and I actually LOVE doing. it kinda becomes like a little bit of date haha! quiet time, just him + i :)

we took this same picture, in the same spot last summer.
last year's picture HERE!
we would've included tanner here, but he had fallen asleep in the stroller :)
salt water TAFFY!!

sunsets over the ocean are spectacular!
and pictures just never do them enough justice.

harper every time she found something she liked... "take a quick picture of me like this!"

the afternoon spent at the beach-- definitely everyone's most favorite part of the weekend!
both kiddos we in heaven.
tanner jumped right to playing in the sand as if it's a thing he's done a hundred times. pure boy ;)
and harper. poor girl, I forgot to pack her swimsuit along!! #MOMFAIL
she still had a great attitude about it though and thankfully it didn't ruin the moment. cause those moms of three year olds... you know how something like that can just ruin a moment, right?? ;)

this ocean water on the pacific northwest coast is anything but warm. SO COLD!
but harper could care less.
if we would've let her, she would have been out there swimming in it.
in her makeshift swimsuit and all ;)

we had pizza for dinner both nights and we would've had it again for a third if we'd stayed longer :)
it was that good.

CLEARLY tanner boy agrees with me on that! ;)

ice cream three times in the two and half days we were there.
birthday cake with sprinkles was harper's go-to. in a cone. of course.

until next summer cannon beach!!

I can't wait to see what changes come in the next year for our family and how much these littles grow and learn.

our next family getaway will be planned for Suncadia just before christmas. I'm already looking forward to it. it'll be our THIRD year making that trip.

--last christmas, suncadia HERE--

--and the photo every hour post of that trip HERE--

Xoxo

-Brittney

follow along on instagram @brittneyhjelseth

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