little moments: january

this month was super long, but also super short. We got into some good routines, but also got hit hard by sickness that knocked us down for a while. But here are some of our healthy, good moments!

 Family dance parties are a regular occurance. 

 Playing the piano at the children's museum. Rhett put on quite the concert. 

 He loves animals but is also scared they will eat him alive. 

 Combing Tessa's "hair" to get her ready for the day. 

 She loves getting into Rhett's cars

 Tessa's first time down a slide!

 Family trip to the zoo! We learned that free days on Saturdays are total crazy-town, but we still had fun!

 We probably spent as much time finding parking and walking to/from the car as we did in the zoo, but Rhett scored the best ride of all. 

 All the heart eyes for babies in snow boots. 

 Rhett has been really into throwing birthday parties for his stuffed animals lately--like a few a week. This was from somebody's birthday where part of the party was Rhett reading books to all the animals. 

 Snow day! By the time the wind stopped the snow was super icy, but it didn't slow Rhett down. 

 Love this baby girl!

 Tessa got into my (clean) makeup sponges. 

 Riding together at Costco! They both loved it. 

 A trip to Scheel's to see the fish and ride the ferris wheel. First stop: the moose. 

 This is Tessa's normal expression for the hour before bedtime. It's a little rough. But a baby on the stool!

Doctor's office selfies, obviously. 

thoughts lately

just some thoughts to get out about life lately:

I started a book club! I'd been thinking about it for a while, but I finally did it. We had our first meeting this week and it was everything I hoped for. Plus, I left with a huge list of book recommendations!

We tried keto for two weeks and are pulling the plug. It's just not sustainable and eating all that heavy cream and cheese just doesn't seem healthy. So now we're moving to low carb/low sugar/high protein but just healthier than keto. We'll see!

Deciding where to send Rhett for school is a bigger decision than it should be. Obviously we're first-time school parents because I got a bigger thrill from picking up his kindergarten registration forms than I should have.

I'm so behind the times, but grocery pick-up is amazing. I'm not sure if I'll still use it once I have to pay for it after the three free orders at King Soopers, but I'm loving it now. Having someone bring my groceries to the car is so much better than pushing a shopping cart and two kids through a snowy parking lot.

Colorado weather, man. 70 degrees and sunny to 30 degrees and snowy within two days.

We had a stake conference broadcast today with President Ballard and it was great, of course. I left feeling inspired and encouraged--yeah, life can be hard sometimes, but we can do it!

We watched the movie Lion this weekend, and combined with reading the Orphan Keeper a few months ago, I'm thinking about horrible things that happen kids around the world. 80,000 children are lost in India every year. It's just adding to things I've been thinking about for a while--how can I help? What good can I do?

January so far

we're in the depths of flu season over here, so I'm looking back at the good times this week before the sickness hit.

We weather this winter this year has been amazing! We took advantage with fun (and free) days at some famous Denver haunts--the stock show and the zoo. 

 Cowboy Rhett at the stock show. We started playing "count the cowboy" but stopped when we hit too many. 

 John Deere tent--a little boy's dream. 

 Petting zoo fun! Rhett loved brushing and feeding the animals. 

 Tessa got in on the fun! We wasn't so sure about the goat. 

 A great day at the zoo! Bundling up for sunny winter visits is totally worth it because the animals are so active. 

And of course a visit to Trader Joe's after the zoo, where Tessa sat in the shopping cart for the first time. Clearly she loved it!

wrapping up december

Before we move on to the beginning of the year, let's wrap up with some little moments from December...

 Checking out a new restaurant's grand opening with free hotdogs and great balloon animals

 Rhett loves that Tessa can finally (sometimes) play with him on the playground

 Lots of ukulele and piano jam sessions

 We turned part of our basement into a play area and then had some friends over to test it out. This is exactly what I wanted.

 We checked out the amazing touring dino exhibit at the science museum. Rhett got in touch with his inner paleontologist for some excavating.

 "Isn't this le-raxing?" Just reading in the tub while I get ready.

 These two!

 Watching Tessa learn to eat solids has been wildly entertaining. Here she is trying mango.

 Rhett wanted a turn after I took Tessa's six-month pictures. He's definitely getting into the mugging for the camera phase.

Soaking up beautiful days by exploring a new park with frozen ponds

Cutest girl in the cutest dress

Party animals on New Years. We hung out with friends while the kids played before an early "midnight" celebration. Everyone wins!

2017 in Review

Wow, what a year it's been! Our cheesy Christmas cards said "Living the Dream in 2017", and it's true. A lot of big dreams came true this year. We got closer as a family, worked hard, and played hard. There were definitely some ups and downs, but overall it was a great year! 

January was full of snow, staying cozy, and announcing baby girl was in her way! It was a busy work month and looking ahead to what we would do in the year. 

In February we celebrated my birthday and Valentine's Day. Second trimester energy was awesome, so Rhett and I got in lots of fun outings and new adventures. 

In March we seriously started looking for houses. It was an up and down journey that took over our lives—checking listings all day long, rushing to see houses, deciding where we wanted to be. It definitely took over our lives for the month. 

In April we went under contract for our house! We celebrated Easter with lots of fun activities, and Rhett was in a preschool art show. 

In May we celebrated Andre's birthday and then closed on our house the next day. The young women threw me a darling baby shower. It was a busy month of family activities, finishing the school year, doctor visits, and moving. We ended the month with a Kaiser trip to Moab over Memorial Day that was sunny and great. 

June was all about getting settled while waiting for our routine to get disrupted again. My company got bought out and my entire department was let go. Not the best timing, but it ended up being a huge blessing. Rhett rocked swim lessons, we did lots of house projects, and savored our last days as a family of 3. The best day was when sweet Tessa was born in June 28. 

In July we adjusted to our new normal. Andre took the first week off, and it was literally like a slice of heaven to have us all home to soak in the new baby. Rhett turned 4 and started becoming the best big brother, and we celebrated our 6th anniversary. 

August was full-on summer mode. We played hard and kept finding our new routines. The Richardsons visited, we played, and we worked on lots of house projects. Tessa was growing way too fast, and we tried to soak up every minute. 

In September we were back in a routine. Rhett started Pre-K and soccer and loved both. Our Saturday mornings were spent with the best entertainment—preschool soccer. We blessed Tessa over Labor Day with lots of family in town. I got some new freelance clients that I loved. 

Fall in October was awesome. We started the month with a trip to see Nana and Poppy in Missouri and had a great time with them. We can do road trips! André got a promotion at work and officially started his cufflinks business with craft fairs and Etsy listings. We enjoyed all the fall activities and a super fun Halloween.

November was a blur. Rhett started gymnastics, Andre had craft fairs, I started my new calling in Cub Scouts. The kids and I went to Virginia for Thanksgiving and my phone died. We ended the month with Kaiser fun in Colorado.

December was busy but still left lots of relaxing family time. Cufflinks were in full swing. We tried to fit in every Christmas activity we could. Rhett hosted a gingerbread party. It was mainly just all Christmas festivities all the time. We ended with a perfect Christmas at our house--a fitting way to celebrate Christ's birth and all we've done this year.

We have big plans for the coming year and feel energized to have fun and be better. Thanks for the memories, 2017. Bring it on, 2018!