emma words.

the other day emma and i were sitting in the living room, just enjoying each other. she was deep in thought.

emma: "mommy?... when people die, is that when we get ham?"

me: "ham? when people die??"

emma: "yeah, you know... ham... like we eat on sandwiches? do we get that when people die?"

me: {completely bewildered & trying to keep composure} "what do you mean, baby?"

emma: "well, because... don't we have ham inside our bodies?"

me: {oh. my. gosh. trying to keep it together & explain the difference between our muscles and lunchmeat.}

oh, how i love that little girl. :)

catching up :: june 2011 :: videos.

note: this entry was written in july 2012, in an effort to finally update this little blog on the missing year or two of our lives, while i was so busy starting my new teaching career. :)

i found several videos in my iPhoto, and i realized i wanted to remember my girls at this age... not only how they looked, how little they were, their sweet smiles... but also their giggles, the way their voices sound so tiny, the way rylie toddled around on her just-learned-to-walk legs. :)

here's a little peek at these sweet little lives, only one year ago. :)

emma got to go with her nonna and grampa to fort meyer beach {i think}, florida last summer for about a week. she got lots of sand and pool time. these are some of the sweet videos donna sent us so we wouldn't miss our girl so unbearably:

rylie, on {or around} her 1st birthday:

this little gem was discovered on my phone. i wasn't present during the writing of this song or the making of this video {hehe!}:

{"jesus, please, i love you..." yes.}

we spent lots of time at area splash parks with friends. on this particular day, rylie was not super interested in being in the water. she kept wandering off the pad, and i had to chase her down several times. :) i just love watching her little toddler walking... she's grown so much since then:

catching up :: june 2011.

note: this entry was written in july 2012, in an effort to finally update this little blog on the missing year or two of our lives, while i was so busy starting my new teaching career. :)

the month of june just flew by. i was thrilled to be home with my girls, just being wife and mommy for the first time in my life. :) it's hard to feel completely settled and secure in something, fully knowing that it won't last. i struggled a lot last summer knowing that it was ending so quickly. i kept a mental note of how many weeks were left, and it just made me so sad "watching" it slip away.

this summer, i've tried to be better about that and just enjoy the time i have home with my girlies.

looking back at these pictures from last year makes my heart happy. we did have a fun time. :) it's good to remember the sweet moments. it helps me remember how blessed i really am. :)

end of the year gift for emma's teacher

end of the year gift for emma's teacher

emma on her florida trip with nonna & grampa

emma met this friend at the hotel in florida. they
became fast friends & even pen pals! :)

emma's dolphin necklace

silly girl :)

my little sassafras :)

now that's what i call an ice cream cone. :)

bathing beauty

sweet sisters

emma pushed ry around in this doll stroller all summer

while i was folding laundry on the couch... two little stowaways :)

this was rylie's morning routine :)

rylie's first really big owie :(

sweet girl fell in love with this hat.
so, of course, daddy bought it for her. :)

sweet ry at the splash park
{what's fun, is she can still wear this suit this summer!!}

catching water :)

so excited to play with the macs at the apple store :)

emma loves playing at the apple store

fun family date on the carousel :)

daddy & his little girl

mommy & ry waiting for our turn on the carousel

mommy's going a  little overkill on the kisses, i guess...

emma was SO excited about this cupcake shoppe they
were building at stonebriar mall... we haven't been yet,
but we definitely need to check it out -
so pink & princessy! :) reminds me of cinderella. :)

{taken from my rearview mirror}
loved looking back and seeing these little feet
enjoying the summer breeze :)

she was so proud that she "snuggled rylie to sleep." 

they love each other so much. :)

bathtime fun. :)

jason surprised me by sticking sweet love notes in
random spots around the house. it was a great way
to communicate our love & appreciate for each other. :)

i was excited to finally get my dishes into my cabinet!
i got all these beautiful white dishes for christmas & it
took me 6 months to finally get them unpacked and
put away! :) but i love love love them. 

invitations for my friend reci's shower to welcome her twin girls :)

favors & thank you notes

cookie favors :: "thank you for making my shower TWEET!"

addressing envelopes for reci's thank you notes

catching up :: june 2011 :: rylie's 1st birthday.

note: this entry was written in july 2012, in an effort to finally update this little blog on the missing year or two of our lives, while i was so busy starting my new teaching career. :)

time flies when you're having fun! :) we couldn't believe our sweet rylie was already one... we had a fun day celebrating our baby girl.

we woke up and had a fun day at home, and then went to chick-fil-a for dinner. our neighborhood chick-fil-a does super fun family nights throughout the summer. rylie's 1st birthday fell on a tuesday, so it happened to be free ice cream and face painting night! :) we took emma's bff haley with us, and the girls had lots of fun.

birthday cupcake bears from nonna & grampa

sweet birthday girl

"it's my party and i'll cry if i want to!"

face painting at chick-fil-a

yummy chick-fil-a for the birthday girl & daddy

beautiful butterfly princess

our friend haley, getting her face painted, too

i think she likes it. :)

emma & haley :: sweet friends

haley & emma :: silly friends 

haley & emma :: love these girls

loving some ice cream. :)

"ice dream" buddies

the birthday girl loves her french fries

what a great daddy! he got his face painted, too! :)

emma just thinks this is so great...

a princess & her superhero

just because they're so cute... trying to remember them this small. :)
{emma-4, rylie-1 :: june 2011}

rylie's birthday party was at our house last year. it was held on july 2nd so jason's parents could be back in town from their vacation and be there. we had SO many good friends and family show up, which was great, but our tiny house was packed full. it also happened to be probably the hottest day of the summer at that point, and although our air conditioner worked overtime to keep up, it just wasn't strong enough. so, needless to say, it was much less than comfortable in our living room (i think with about 30 adults in kids in one room, the temperature didn't get under 80 the entire time... maybe even as high as 88!!). even so, it was a fun day, and i had a blast with the fun little details. :) jason has more pics on his computer, so i'll have to post more later... these are more of the decorations and such. :)

sign on the table at ry's party

pinwheels & sunshine for rylie's first-day-of-summer birthday :)

pinwheels for rylie's party

pinwheels for rylie's party

working on rylie's 1st birthday shirt

pinwheels & lemon{ade}s :)

table decorations {framed party invitation}

table decorations

invitation to rylie's 1st birthday party
"sunshine & lemonade and twirly whirly fun...
come help celebrate, our rylie is turning ONE!"