Right Now

Earlier I was reading through Tami's blog and saw an older post she did that I LOVED. So I'm stealing the idea and doing a picture free post. Yes, PICTURE FREE. You may now pick your jaw up off the floor. Kidding. But seriously, when was the last time I did a kid free I mean picture free post?!

Right now I am...

Watching: The Big Bang Theory. Love this show. Always good for a few laughs.

Eating: some chex mix.

Drinking: Water

Wearing: A baylor shirt and nike shorts. AKA the baylor girl uniform. ha. No, I'm not in college anymore. Yes, I do still dress like I am. ;-)

Avoiding: Actually not too much. I've stayed on top of housework and laundry. I do need to do a few things...like put a coat of polyacrylic on four kitchen drawers and one cabinet, put away a small load of laundry, make our bed, and do a few dishes. Not too bad.

Feeling: content.

Missing: well it goes without saying I ALWAYS am missing our Texas friends and family. But right now I'm REALLY missing cooler weather.

Thankful: For SO much. Seriously. Right now I am so so thankful that God has placed us within an awesome church and we have a full schedule this fall. I cannot wait for everything to start up again in a few weeks!

Weather: bleh. I mean, overcast and 83. Super humid though, feels close to 90 out.

Praying: That Emma Claire takes a good nap. HA! And also for the hubby as he drives into the city for work.

Needing: A pedicure. And to get off the couch and be productive.

Thinking: of the hubby. Haven't heard from him, need to go get my phone off the charger and make sure he got to work okay.

Loving: that EC and her daddy got to have their first ever "daddy daughter" date. They went to a Washington Nationals game! She had a blast and looked SO cute! More on that to come.... 

My Cup Runneth Over

Yesterday Emma Claire and I headed over to a friends house for a fun play date. I took my "big" camera with me because I'm trying to start prepping pictures for her 2nd birthday and I want LOTS of her with her sweet friends. I am SO thankful I grabbed the camera. I need to start taking it with me more often. Especially since I've been toying around with videography lately too.

Words can't even begin to describe just how grateful I am for all of our wonderful friends here. I think I cherish them EVEN more because I spent so long living here without friends and was so lonely. Each time we leave a friend's house I am just in awe at how much my cup runneth over. That may sound cheesy but I seriously have the best friends here. Since the hubby has such a wonky schedule, EC and I have been "adopted" into so many families, and someone is always thinking of us and inviting us into their home. Okay now I'm chasing a rabbit...this post was NOT supposed to get all sappy and emotional ;-) 

This first picture makes my heart swell up. I mean are these three not THE cutest?! I just love it. Emma Claire adores these "big" girls and was tickled when we asked them to take a picture together. 

So serious. But I love this picture. 

Toddler boys typically aren't into hugging ;-) Poor EC. 

 Siblings. How SWEET is this?! I can't even get over this picture.

Big girl with the big kids. 

And I can't leave out this cutie. How precious is he?!

Got my baby fix. :-) 

4th of July 2013

 So since it's almost September I decided it's about dang time I post some pictures from the 4th of July! Ha! 

We spent the day lounging in the pool, drinking fun fruity drinks, eating delicious food, and then ended the day playing in my parent's front yard. Emma Claire went to bed early and my mom stayed with her while I watched fireworks with Paige, my dad, and a big group of our friends. It was the perfect 4th of July.

It Takes Two

Today Emma Claire and I got to hang out with one of our favorite little guy's, Jake. His momma just had surgery and had a follow up appointment so he came to spend the day with us. 

EC was pretty psyched about having a breakfast date. This is her giving "thumbs up" fyi

I was excited to see how well they both played together. Not one fight. They shared. And everything just went smoothly. 

Cooking me some food. Such a good little chef. 

Emma Claire decided to get dressed so we headed outside to play. 

Love this. 

This picture defines what it is to try and get a picture of two toddlers. ha! Cracks me up. 

One for the wedding slideshow. Pretty sure Jake was NOT a fan of the hugs from EC. 

We worked on a bible verse. Not going to lie. They were both way more interested in drawing with the chalk than talking with me about biblical truths ;-) HA! 

Park time! 

The highlight of the day? Watching the garbage men pick up trash. Oh toddlers. 

He is SUCH a happy little guy! Didn't fuss one bit and just had a fun time playing with us girls. 

After eating lunch both babes napped and then Jake's dad picked him up. No complaints from me! It was a great day. Although when I picked EC up from her nap she instantly started asking for Jake and was sad he wasn't at our house anymore! Bless her heart. Good news is she will see him Sunday morning in nursery ;-)

Oh Emma Claire

Oh Emma Claire. Life with you is better than I ever imagined it could be. 

 I cannot believe you're already 21 months old.

You have the biggest personality and spending each day with you is the best job I could ever ask for. 

I am amazed at your vocabulary and how expressive you are. You know what you want and don't hesitate to let me know it. RIGHT when you want it.

You are so sweet and cuddly, yet independent.

You love babies, and adore all of our pregnant friends. You love to touch their bellies and talk to the babies inside. "Apparently" it's time for you to become a big sister according to all of our friends ;-) I'm not convinced yet.

The expressions you make just crack everyone up. You can do all emotions. I love hearing you say "hap-ee" and make your cheesy grin.

You will sometimes sit still and pose for pictures. The cheesy grin you give me just makes my day.

Friends make your little world go round. You love all of our "Virginia Family" and really like to name who goes with what family. You are definitely a people person.

Your expressions are endless.

Some funny things you're saying right now. 

We like to call it "EC Speak" around here :-) 

- Bunny- "Bun-bee"
- Chap stick "Chappy"

- Karen {our neighbor, also one of EC's favorite people}- "Tair-byn"

- Sammy {the dog}- "Sch-ammy" Almost says it like her nose is stuffed. HILARIOUS. 

- Grammy {my mom}- "Bammy"

- Uncle- "Uuuuungle"

- Gracie- "Darby" No clue where that one came from

Most of her hard k sounds come out as a "t" and a lot of her g words come out as a b or d.  

Cow- "tow", Karen- "tair-byn"; Grace- "dace", Grammy "bammy" 

She says SO much these days and will repeat just about anything we say. She just started saying two and three word combinations last week. Her first one? "No momma". Her second one? "Hi Daddy!". Typical. haha! Her first two work command was "more ice" at a restaurant.

This age is so so fun. My favorite yet. And yes, I say that at every age. I'm sure I will be saying that forever.

First Trip to Harpers Ferry

Last Wednesday I decided that we needed to get out of town for a little bit. So we made the hour drive up north to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Harpers Ferry is the cutest little town and the meeting point of the Potomac and Shenandoah river. The views are incredible and you could hike for days. We did a TON of walking and had a blast. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. I don't even think it got above 75.

Happy hubby

Not happy toddler...but what's new?

Enter stickers. Happy toddler. Stickers=cure all around here. 

Does it get any cuter than this?

Gorgeous. 

Since we hadn't ever been before we went into several of the little museums they have when we first arrived. 

Next up we went to lunch. We ate outside at a little cafe and it was delish. 

Technically an "outtake" but I couldn't not share. This picture just makes me giggle. 

The best one of the two of us from lunch. Oh toddlerhood. 

Yum. Thankfully we walked all day long so this was an okay lunch ;-)

Walking across the bridge. 

We walked for a little over a mile and found a path that led down to the bank of the river. Our little spot had a huge rock that created a shallow pool of water. Perfect for toddler toes. It even had some minnows and plenty of shells.

Our view. Not too bad. 

We even did some nursing on our big rock. It's always interesting to nurse in the outdoors. Ha.

Not so surprisingly, Emma Claire fell in the water so we ditched her clothes and she just played in a diaper. 

I don't think she minded one bit. 

 Favorite picture from the day. Holding daddy's hand.

Naked. Gorgeous weather. Water to play in. And no distractions. She was one happy girl. 

I carried EC in the backpack the second leg of our trip. 

Before leaving we stopped in town again and got some ice cream. 

A couples shot with a 50mm is a little tight. But we got one. 

I think we wore her out. She slept almost the entire walk back to the car, then stayed asleep when I set her down. We were cracking up. 

Sweet baby

Of all the fun things we did that day, I'm certain this was his favorite part. 

Ready to head home

 We had a great time and cannot wait to go back!