Gone are the days....

Gone are the days of midnight dance parties, or sharing clothes with every girl on my floor, or putting on makeup just to go eat breakfast.  I love where I am in at this very moment in life, but I would be lying if I said I never looked back on my college days with a bit of nostalgia.  It was a wonderful time in my life that helped define who I am today.  There were several people I met my freshman year that are proving to be life long friends.  These are friends I can go 6 months to a year with out seeing, but when we get together to catch up, it is like we were never separated.  Last week, Harrison and I took a quick trip to Lexington to visit two of my closest college girlfriends.  It was a perfect visit, and it made me wish we all lived closer.  I miss being able to walk across the hall to make a smore and sit and talk about my day, but I am so thankful to still have these lovely souls in my life. 

Brittney, Stephanie, Me and Harrison enjoying a lovely afternoon at Stephanie's beautiful home!

Stephanie and I HAD to get a belly shot.  Her little bundle of joy, Houston, will make his debut in August!!

So thankful for wonderful friendships!!

Last time vs. This time

This is a picture taken of my poor feet at 35 weeks with Harrison.  My feet (and legs, and hands, and face, and....everything else) were so swollen that they felt like they were on fire.  Matt would take dish towels and tie bags of frozen peas to my feet so I could have some relief while I slept.

This time around has been a little easier!!  Here is a picture of my feet at almost 35 weeks with Harper.

Happy Earth Day

To celebrate Earth Day today, we went to visit our friends at the recycling center.  In our small town, we do not have our recycling picked up.  If you would like to recycle, you have to sort it, pack it up, and drop it off.  I will admit, it kept me from recycling for a few years.  But after a trip to Disney World and listening to Timon and Pumbaa (The Circle of Life ride at Epcot), I knew I had to start recycling :)  Harrison and I pack up our recyclables every week and go visit Val.  He is one of the happiest people I know and he is always so excited to see Harrison. 

Sunday Is Coming!!!!

One of my favorite worship songs would have to be The Wonderful Cross.  I get goosebumps every time I sing it.  I found myself singing it this morning and it could not be more appropriate for today, Good Friday.  Today is the day I remember my Savior giving his life to save me...but the best part is Sunday is coming!!!! 

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of Glory died

My Richest gain I count but loss

And pour contempt on all my pride

See from His head His hands His feet

Sorrow and love flow mingled down

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet

Or thorns compose so rich a crown

Oh the wonderful cross

Bids me come and die and find

that I may truly live

Oh the wonderful cross

All who gather here by grace

draw near and bless your name

Were the whole realm of nature mine

That were an offering far too small

Love so amazing so divine

Demands my soul, my life, my all

Two of a kind

Since the day Harrison was born, people have noticed the resemblance of my two boys.  I know I see it on a daily basis, and as Harrison gets older and learns more and more facial expressions the resemblance becomes undeniable.  Harrison even delivers the same sarcastic glare that my loving husband sometimes sends my way :)  After talking with some girlfriends, I thought it might make a fun blog post to compare my two boys at the same age.  When going through pictures of Matt at 18 months, I found a picture that made my jaw drop.  Not only does Harrison look just like his daddy, but I found a picture taken last month in almost the exact same pose in almost the exact same outfit.  Matt and I spent a long time tonight staring at the two pictures side by side, taking in the craziness of their similarities.  How precious are they?!?

19 months!

1. You love to sing along to every song
2. Your favorite phrase is "Oh, no" sometimes it turns into "Oh no no no"
3. You are wearing 2T clothes and size 5 diapers
4. You are definitely a daddy's boy
5. You hate sitting in a stroller
6. You are happiest outside playing with a ball or bubbles
7. You love to kiss my belly
8. We are working on animal noises.  Your favorites are cows, ducks, dogs, cats, and lions
9. You love the Imagination Movers Concert we have on our DVR.  You watch it once a day
10. You are learning how to jump.  It is pretty awesome
11. Mommy and Daddy's favorite time of the day is around 7:00 in the morning.  You wake up and we put you in bed with us.  We lay in bed for about 30 minutes and listen to you tell stories and laugh.  You are such a morning person.  Sometimes you like to run in place on the bed just to make us laugh
12. Your favorite toys are your books, Elmo, a flute (or recorder), your Thomas the Train, your blocks and your vacuum
13. Pop taught you how to wink, but you close both eyes (it is adorable)
14. You now know how to shake your hips :)  And you are still a dancing machine
15. You LOVE crushed ice
16. You play really well by yourself
17. You still take 3 hour naps for me
18. Your favorite books are Eight Silly Monkeys Jumping on the Bed and Old MacDonald Had a Farm
19. My favorite.  When we pray, you fold your hands, bow your head, and whisper to yourself.

What I learned from my Pop

Our getaway

Matt and I escaped last week to his parent's place in Florida.  It could not have been more perfect.   We enjoyed long days of...NOTHING!  We spent our days on the beach with books and sudoku.  We slept in, took naps, sat in beach chairs with our toes in the water, and ate out without chasing anyone between bites.  We even took an afternoon and drove up to the beach where Matt proposed to me almost 8 years ago.  We walked (well, he walked, I waddled) the streets with adorable boutiques and enjoyed some icecream.  It was a much enjoyed break....however we found ourselves talking about or quoting Harrison half of the time.  I will admit, this trip was very bittersweet.  I took advantage of my break, but I missed my little man more than I expected.  Leaving a toddler is hard.  He is still so little, and even though I knew how spoiled he was getting back home I still felt like he needed his mommy and daddy.  As a stay at home mom, it was quite an adjustment to not be constantly listening for him, looking for him, and holding onto him.  After our five days, we were both excited to get home.  Mission accomplished, we feel refreshed!!! 

He tried to go with us :)

In the same spot where he popped the question. Love him more now than I did then!

My view at the beach.....Harper got some sun!!!

Just the two of us :)

Last night's sun set as we ate dinner from our patio.  Gorgeous!

7 Weeks to go!!!!!

Pictures are worth a thousand words

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine (Vivian Cox) wrote on her blog about getting pictures together for her boys so that when they are older they will have physical albums to look through.  This got me thinking, there has been no picture shortage with my handsome boy, however with over 7,000 pictures taken since he was born I had maybe 15 photos printed.  I did not want these pictures to go without being looked at as the years go by, so I decided to tackle this problem....filtering 7,000 pictures.  While going through the pictures, it occurred to me that I may be a little picture crazy, however I am so thankful for the many moments my precious Cannon has captured.  I take that trusty camera with me everywhere we go and I love having images to share with you on this blog. 

After doing a little bit of research, I found coupon codes for two different web sites that gave me discounted printing as well as free shipping.  I ended up printing 700 pictures and having them shipped to me for $40!!!!  This ended up costing me $0.06 a print.  Pretty fantastic if I do say so myself!  I will be honest, that is what kept me from printing pictures in the first place.  I was scared of the dent it would place on my wallet. 

I received my 700 pictures in the mail today and was so excited.  Within an hour they were are all safely stored in precious photo albums for my son to enjoy for years to come.

I thought you might enjoy seeing some of my favorites from the past 18 months :)

  

  

Happy Birthday Mimi!!!

This past weekend, my family had the honor of celebrating the life of one of the most precious souls you will ever meet.  I have been so blessed to have this beautiful lady as my grandmother and I can not even begin to describe to you what she means to me.  Every person who knows her, knows they are blessed by her presence and her friendship.  Her party was filled with so much love, it really was an amazing afternoon.  She is one extraordinary woman and I am know how lucky I am to have her as a major influence in my life.    

I love and admire her more than I can say.  Just know how thankful I am for her :)

Mommy's little helper

Harrison loves to help mommy with whatever chore I am doing.  When I dust or wash windows, he wipes away with me.  When I am loading the dryer, our new routine is for me to hand him clothes from the washer and he will put them in the dryer (and he loves to add the dryer sheet and close the door all by himself).  Once I remove the silverware, Harrison likes to help me unload the dishwasher one piece at a time.  For Christmas he got his own vacuum to help around the house.  He loves for me to give him trash and he will put it in our garbage or recycling (with a few hints from yours truly).  We move at such a slow pace so that he can keep up, but I always try to remind myself that this is a teaching opportunity and he is learning how to take care of his things.  Here are some pictures of my little man hard at work :)

Taking out the trash :)

One night I asked him to pick up his toys in the playroom and look at what he did ALL BY HIMSELF!!!

How did he do such an amazing job all by himself????  He just moved all of the toys that were on the floor from one room to the other.  See for yourself....... 

He even tried to help organize my closet.  Unfortunately, I was not in need of organizing.

And here he is enjoying the warmth of laundry straight from the dryer!