SWVA Perfection

This little corner of SWVA sure is a pretty one -- and on days like this one pictured, it's hard to imagine a more beautiful place to live. We have it all, all year long - sunny days, crisp evenings, cold nights. Sunny summers, snow-filled winters. We have thunderstorms in the spring and crunchy leaves in the fall. It's just picture-perfect all year long!

 

I've traveled quite a bit in my young life and seen all sorts of beautiful things, but I swear, that mountain covered view is my favorite thing in this whole world.

(Also, momma needs a haircut. And a selfie stick!)

Jaxon's Birth Story (01/09/2013)

This post is 1+ year in the making...I've literally been sitting on it that long! I meant to post this around his first birthday, but it just didn't happen (oops!) So here it finally is, the birth story of my firstborn son...and now I really need to get on Toby's birth story. 


It all started on a Tuesday evening. I was sitting on the couch, just taking it easy and gearing up for bedtime, when I started to feel contractions. Out of the blue, moderately strong, timeable contractions! After never going into labor on my own before, it was quite the shock :) Justin kept side-eyeing me, asking me what I thought was going to happen - I joked we'd either have a baby or the contractions would just go away...

Monumental

If you don't agree, then just stop reading now. If you're not on the same page as me when it comes to human rights, I don't understand you, but I'm not going to judge you. To each their own (even if I think your own is so very wrong...)

Today was...monumental. Amazing. Such a seemingly small step, but I hope it will be an enormous leap forward. I dream that 50 years from now all this debate surrounding same-sex marriage will seem as innocuous as interracial marriage. I dream that my children can grow up feeling safe in the knowledge that they can fall in love and get married and raise families without ever having to think of the sanctity of their marriage being questioned or challenged by our government. I dream of family and friends getting married --maybe even one day in sweet Virginia-- to the loves of their lives regardless of gender. I dream of acceptance, not tolerance. There is nothing to be tolerated. Full acceptance and love for our fellow human beings; being decent and kind and respectful and, above all, equal. 

In my mind, it seems like such a simple idea -- the notion that we shouldn't judge one another, that we should all be able to coexist in spite of our differences, in fact, because of our differences. My heart just wants to burst open and fill the world with love. Why can't we all just love each other? It may seem like a hippie thing to say, something childish or cowardly. I just want love. I want to witness love. Full, abundant, ceaseless, meaningful, equal love. 

{8 Months}

Our little Nugget hit the 8-month mark yesterday. She's 2/3 of the way to her first birthday (which I must tell you, Sidney is already planning for her with great delight)!

This past week has been a bit of a doozy for her; she's been quite the sick little ladybug and wants to be held and loved constantly. We took her to the Dr yesterday and she has a case of RSV and an ear infection, so it's antibiotics and lots of humidified air for this girl. If I leave her sight, it's instant meltdown. Even her big sister isn't enough of a comfort to her - although Sidney recently discovered her snake-charming side. She found a way to kiss Rhealen's cheek that puts her in a total trance. It's the cutest!

Rhealen has mastered the art of sitting up, but no crawling yet. If she's on a slick enough surface, she can scoot clear across the room! She will put her hands down in front of her and try to rock back and forth, so crawling is only a matter of time.

She still has the best appetite of any baby I've ever seen. There's nothing this kid won't eat! She loves fruits, veggies, meats, breads - all of it. Some her favorites include pears, bananas, asparagus, mozerella cheese, pizza, sour cream & chive cheese crackers and waffles. Of course, she also has a penchant for iced tea and ice cream, but I'm not supposed to admit she eats that stuff! Or eggs and peanut butter. Or double-stuff Oreos.

As of right now, she sleeps almost 11 hours every night - most of the time through the night, but sometimes she wakes up rooting for her paci. If you pop it back in quick enough, she goes right back to sleep. We recently moved her pack-n-play out of the living room and into the girls' room and the transition has made a world of difference. She sleeps better, longer, more soundly. She's also a huge fan of white noise, so I think we're going to invest in a sound machine sometime in the near future.

She can clearly say "da-da" (her favorite word), "mom-mom" and "num-num". We're working on more, lord knows Sidney is dying to hear her say her name. I don't have the heart to tell her it'll be awhile before she spits that one out!

I honestly don't think I could ask for a better baby - she's sweet as can be, loves her family and has a great adaptability to roll with the punches (most of the time). She loves to be on the go in the car, and yet you can almost hear her breathe a sigh of relief when we walk through the front door at home. She plays well by herself and is in love with taking showers with me. She has a lot of little quirks and habits that remind me of Sidney (like sticking her left leg up on the table while she eats in her high chair) but she's so totally opposite Sidney sometimes, it's amazing they're even related.

I look at her sometimes and think to myself, I made you. I carried you. I felt your first movements, your first kicks. I was the one you heard first, and I'm the one you knew first. How blessed am I to have known her first, to be the one who shared a body with her and helped her grow into this being of light and love. She's been outside of my body almost as long as she was inside.

Happy, wonderful 8 months, my sweet Rhealen Jo. 

{5 months}

This time last year we were just finding out that baby #2 was indeed a girl - and now, a year later, we've got a five month old Rhealen Jo sitting here. This little lady is growing (slowly) like a weed; she's on the small ends of the charts, but that's okay. She'll catch up and level out eventually. For now, she's just petite!

Rhealen loves to pull hair, scream at the top of her lungs (just for fun), chew on her toes, sit up and look around, stare at her big sister, hang out in her swing and ride in the car, just staring out the window. She's definitely a lover of those she knows well, but she can be a little nervous around other people.

I love watching Sidney & Rhealen together - there's nothing in the world quite like it. Rhealen absolute adores Sidney; if Sidney's in the room, everyone else disappears to her. Sidney loves being the "big sister" and will remind RJ of that fact 100 times a day. That works out okay right now, but I have a feeling it'll be the start of many fights later on down the road...

At her four month check-up she was 12 lbs and 10 oz, so I'm excited to see how much weight she's gained in a month. She keeps getting longer and longer (24.5 inches at four months) but she still feels light as a feather. Sidney was always an over-achiever and in the 99% percentile for everything; poor Rhealen is only in the 10% percentile! It's amazing how kids can be so different...

Other than some breathing problems, Rhealen is perfectly healthy. They're thinking she might have asthma, and she's been on breathing treatments, but things seem to be getting better for her...so I'll update on that when I can.

Rhealen is a great baby, a much loved and needed addition to our family. We couldn't have asked for a better little girl; we laugh about it now, about how we were so panicked Rhealen would be a monster baby since Sidney was such an easy little angel. She may turn out to be a wild child later on, but for now she's the sweetest little dumpling anyone could hope for.

Our family feels complete with her here. There were questions in my mind before about whether or not we were done, whether or not I wanted more kids; but those questions are answered now. I'm perfectly happy with my girls. My two sweet, beautiful girls. I can't imagine adding a third in the mix; it all feels perfectly perfect right now, just the two of them.

They can make it if they try.

officially unofficially not very but oh so close to being cool

My awesome husband got me the most awesome anniversary present ever Sunday. I have a slight obsession with sunglasses, especially Wayfarer-esque sunglasses. I have about a dozen or more knock-off pairs. But my baby? My man? He got the real deal.

Rayban Wayfarers. And if that wasn't awesome enough? He got me the fold-up kind.

I devote myself to them him.

I'm feeling very Tom Cruise - Risky Business meets Don Henley - Boys of Summer, all kinds of glorious awesome cool up in here. Thank you, dear husband!

Tomorrow is our anniversay. Two years married, eight years together. It's been an incredible journey -- one I'll write about a little more tommorrow.

Today, we spent an amazing day together -- lunch and shopping and Starbucks and an afternoon filled with playtime with the girls. I couldn't imagine a better day with a better man by my side.

I got my first pair of Rayban Wayfarers today!!

Such a good husband.

graciously rubbing it in...

My kids are golden.

I am so lucky, sometimes it's hard for Justin and me to grasp just how lucky we got! Our girls are the biggest joys in our lives, obviously, and they're both so awesome 24/7 (or at least 23/7, everyone is allowed a little bummer time)...

Sidney has been putting herself to bed lately...she just up and announces it's time for bed around 8:30 or 9:00 and off she goes. One of us will tuck her in and let her "blow out" the light (just like my mom and dad used to do with me, I love passing down traditions!) and she's usually asleep in less than 10 seconds. There's no whining, no arguing, nothing. When she's ready, she's ready. And in the morning when I wake her up for school she usually will say, "Do I have to go to school today?" and I have learned to say "Nope, you can stay home if you want." She then follows that up with "BUT I HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL TODAY! WHO WILL SIT IN MY SEAT? THEY NEED ME!"

So, yeah, she's never cried once about having to go to school. She eats her food, uses the toilet like a grown-up, plays extremely well by herself with that incredible imagination of hers, gets along with others, refuses to let other kids get her in trouble at school, loves to hang out with everyone in our family, takes such good care of her baby sissy, and manages to not act like a diva most of the time. Of course she has her moments, and when they happen oh dear g-d are they awful, but luckily they're few and far in between.

And then there's Rhealen...sweet little RJ. Y'all may think you have a good baby - you haven't seen a good baby until you've seen our little one. She is perfection, rolled into a blue-eyed girl with blonde/brown/red hair. She's the best. She sleeps like a champion, eats even better than that, has no worries in the world and never fusses (unless you lay her horizontal, dear g-d, don't lay that child flat down whatever you do).

She's been sleeping through the night since the first of August, and when I say "sleeping through the night", I mean she goes to bed around 10PM and I have to wake her up to get ready in the morning at 7AM. She always wakes up smiling and cooing, it's the sweetest way to start the morning. Who could ever be mad when you see that sweet face? Rhealen will even wake up to smile and talk to her Daddy while he's getting ready and then go right back to sleep when he leaves. SHE'S AMAZING, that child of mine. Everyone who keeps her says she's the best baby, and she really is. I would say bragging on her might jinx us, but she's too damn good not to brag about.

Justin and I got so damned lucky. We must've been martyrs in our past lives or something.

{today}

Today has just been on of those days. When you walk outside and the sun hits you and you smell the best of life in the air. Your close your eyes, breathe in deep, and it just feels right. Life feels right. If only for a moment, if only until you open your eyes again. It's days like today that get you through the cold winter. It's days like today that remind you the sun will always shine again, even in the darkest moments.

I look around me and see my family, happy and healthy and here beside me. What more on this earth could I possibly need?

Sure there are things I want, but there's nothing more I need. This natural high, this state of euphoria is beyond reach sometimes for me - but not today. Today is a good day. The best of days.

source

{How's your Thursday?}

have a happy weekend

{via}

Where is this? And how do I get there? Like, right now. 

today only, 04-25!

{via}

Funny stuff. And for one day only, right?!

to be married

Married life.

Everything you'd ever need to know wrapped up in an animated kid's movie clip that's less than five minutes long. When Sidney asks me what married life is like someday, I'm going to make her watch this clip over and over again.



It really is that sweet. And amazing. And hard. And up. And down. It really, really is.

And it's all worth it.

mini-beach vacation

I forgot to mention it earlier last week, but we headed off Friday for a little vacation down in Myrtle Beach, SC over the weekend. It was amazing, to say the least! I did manage to fry myself (my legs in particular) and it was sort of hard to move on Monday (or Tuesday or today...) but it's getting better slowly but surely. Other than that little hitch, everything was pretty awesome. Perfect weather. Not too crowded. A great hotel - what more could anyone ask for?

This may be the only vacation I get to take this year - so I'm probably going to end up staring at these photos longingly for the rest of the year...the rest of the very long beachless year.

damaged film

One of my goals this summer (besides having this baby) is to get outside with my trusty old Canon Rebel 35mm and experiment with film photography. I'm also thinking about investing in some Lomography cameras to play with, but we'll see.

Before I buy the camera that is made to manipulate the film, I thought it'd be fun to learn how to "damage" the film myself to create some really amazing shots. I've been browsing around on flickr (god bless flickr) and some of the photos people have been able to create are simply amazing. I think damaged film is my new favorite obsession!

Here are some of my absolute favorites:








It's pretty amazing what some people can do - I've always wanted to learn how to process and develop my own film. Most people probably dream of having their own in-home theater or six-car garage - I just want a darkroom in the basement!

If you'd like to learn how to do more creative things with your film, read up on this fun article here. Hopefully you'll see some creative shots from me this summer, especially seeing as how I'll have an adorable new little face to practice on!

13 inches isn't that big...

...when you're referring to a TV.

Last night, Justin and I were able to get our dream TV! 50 amazing inches of glorified goodness. He's already got big plans to rush home and watch the Tennessee game tonight on our mega-screen. Our living room is so tiny, I'm a little nervous the TV is going to overwhelm the space. Then again, it may be like watching regular ole TV at the movies.

Either way, I'm tickled pink to finally stop using a 13-inch RCA circa 1993 as our main source of television. My eyes are damaged, maybe forever - and yes, I realize how incredibly spoiled I sound.

Starving Ethiopians would still appreciate my new TV, believe me.

our kind of Christmas

...Sidney has presents scattered across our entire house, and the entire county.

...I've eaten so much steak, ham and turkey over the last two days I feel like my insides might explode.

...We woke up to a white Christmas, the perfect kind of powder that is awesome for sledding (if we did that kind of thing).

...We're watching The Grinch, the new one with Jim Carrey - which is pretty darn close to the original in it's amounts of awesomeness in my little opinion.

...We finally got a new couch (thanks Mom & Peanut) so it's actually enjoyable to be in the living room once again.

...Our TV died earlier last week; we went from watching our (borrowed) 32" flat-screen to this (gifted) 13" old-school job. I hate to whine, but this is me whiiiiinnniiing.

...We let one of our dogs in for the night, we would've let the other one in - but he's missing in action at the moment.

...It's been an amazing day of gifts and food and family and all-around wonderful(ness).

...I can only hope your Christmas has been just as wonderful! MERRY CHRISTMAS

June 25th, 2011

So yeah, remember this post? The one I wrote a mere 21 days ago?

It's funny how things work out. It's even funnier how much the universe likes to mess with me. Just when I think I've got things figured out, life comes along with another curveball. Here we go again, round #2.

Baby #2.

That's right, I said Baby #2.

You have my complete permission to be as totally freaked out as I am - and have been for a few days now. I'm barely pregnant, and it's going to be a long nine months from here on out. But it feels amazing just to be able to say the words out loud, and I couldn't keep this is a secret if I wanted to.

So now you all know and you can keep up with me as I document this second pregnancy. It's going to be one heck of a ride, and I can't wait to see the day when our little family of three turns into a family of four. I can't wait to see the day my little girl becomes a big sister. I can't wait for this baby to make his/her arrival in late June 2011.

SQUEE!!!

flo (honorable mention)

I know, I know. Yet another Florence + the Machine post.

But seriously....this gal is amazing.




My boy builds coffins and I think it's a shame
That when each one's been made, he can't see it again
He crafts every one with love and with care
Then it's thrown in the ground and it just isn't fair

My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
He's made one for himself
One for me too
One of these days he'll make one for you


Do yourself a favor and spend some time this weekend listening to this band - you can thank me Monday morning.

the best part of last night's vmas, other than lady gaga's meat dress

play, have fun, rinse and repeat

Sometimes she's a good kid and lets me photograph her while playing outside. And sometimes the photos I get are good enough to make me cry and smile all at the same time.

She's getting so big, that kid of mine. That silly, beautiful, vivacious, active, almost 3-year-old of mine.