Fall Weekend

It was a fun weekend full of little memories I don't want to forget. 

^^This little profile. We have this routine where she wakes up from her afternoon nap and watches me put my makeup on/do my hair from her crib. Yes, I'm admitting to frequently waiting until after lunch to even get ready. Mom life. She likes to hold my comb and rub it against her head like she's brushing her hair. I'm not going to be the one to tell her nothing's there...^^

^^The tree in our front yard is gorgeous right now. It's half yellow/half green and she likes to play in the leaves.^^

^^We found a park close to Truman's work one day and it had the BEST pile of leaves. She was so mad at me when I made her leave, but we had a blast throwing them back and forth.^^

^^Those two top teeth. That smile. Her giggle. I just can't.^^

^^We had a little family date Saturday at The Mill. She gets to wear mama's hat until I can find one that I actually like for her.^^

^^She's an escape artist, for sure. Trums taught her how to run. Terrible idea.^^

^^And I chopped my hair! I wasn't not ready to face another dry, Nebraska winter with a head full of hair and a baby. I feel lighter and I get to spend 20 less minutes in the shower and drying my hair...think of all the things I can do!^^

Penny's First Birthday

This was the only decent shot I got of Penny on her first Birthday, but that's because we were having too much fun celebrating! (And this is exactly why we had Blue House Fotos take professional pictures of her :)

I was an emotional mama, as expected. I'm not sad at all that my baby is one, I just can't believe it happened so quickly. She was such a tiny little thing when she was born and now she's this little fireball walking around. It's super cheesy, but we really do fall more in love with her each day. 

Forgive the low quality in the majority of these pictures, but these are a few of my favorites that captured the day.

^^ I purchased Penny's smash cake from Whole Foods and the pregnant, tired woman in me wanted to purchase the regular cake from them, as well. But unfortunately our budget wouldn't allow such laziness so I tackled it myself. It's nothing to write home about, but it was tasty and I was pleased with the end result! Most importantly, Penny thoroughly enjoyed her cake. ^^

^^Honestly...she acted like she's been eating cake for years. Looks like she's going to have a sweet tooth like her mama!^^

We're so thankful for the friends and family who were able to celebrate with us (and for those who were with us is spirit). Penny is loved by some wonderful people!

A few things about Penny at 12 months...

-She is attached to her bamboo blanket. She will frantically walk around the house looking for it and then dive into it when she finds it. It always has to be around her shoulders, like a cape, or over her head. I have no idea why walking around with a blanket over her head is appealing, but it's her thing. This has also caused a few run-ins with the wall...funny, but sad. 

-The girl has her own language. She is SUCH a talker and she'll go on and on as if she knows exactly what she's saying. She's been saying "dada" for a while now, but she finally started saying "mama" this week. On the way to work this morning, we got her to say "hi dada!" over and over. It's so fun to hear her forming actual words.

-She's getting to the age where she knows when she's being disobedient. I will tell her "no" and she will continue to do it anyway. Though the cause for discipline has been scary, it has been good for me. I'm learning to be persistent and to stay calm when she throws a tantrum. She hates being in trouble and is really sensitive when I'm telling her no (it's kind of sweet to see a softer side of her, but then she'll go right back to doing what I just told her not to. Silly girl.) I must shake my head a lot, because Penny will walk up to things that are "no-no's" (like the stairs) shake her head like she's telling herself no and walk away. It cracks me up.

-She got a few babies for her birthday so we could start practicing the role of big sis. She walks up to her babies, squats down to give them kisses (slash bites their head), picks them up and then throws them across the room. I'm assuming the gentle thing will come with age :)

Looking forward to spending some quality time with my girl before we enter into survival mode :)

My Mind

This is how my mind works...

I'm cooking dinner yesterday (while trying to keep Penny out of every cabinet) and watching New Girl. Zooey Deschanel is waltzing around her apartment in some adorable getup that looks effortless and I think to myself "man, I don't look that good when I'm hanging around the house. Maybe I need to try harder...and get rid of the ugly lounge clothes that are my go-to." I started feeling really bad about myself and let my mind indulge in all sorts of lies (and, of course, coming up with a list on how I should change this). 

But then after a few minutes, I remembered that (1) this is a TV show for goodness sake (2) Zooey Deschanel has a team of people making her cute all the time and (3) the majority of her day doesn't consist of caring for the needs of a busy one year old and a husband. And ultimately, I had to force myself to remember that my value will. never. rest in my ability to look cute without trying (or to pretend that I'm always put together). My value lies solely in the Lord and the way He sees me. 

There's nothing wrong with putting effort into an appearance as a woman. In fact, I think it's important to take care of ourselves. But in reality, the fact that my go-to house clothes are high school t-shirts and leggings with a hole in the thigh (every. single. one.) doesn't make me less valuable in God's eyes. And maybe I should stop comparing myself to celebrities and cool mom-bloggers... yeah, that's probably it. 

Am I alone in this? Someone HAS to feel what I feel from time to time. I can't be the ONLY one who actually looks like a mess when she's not trying... right?     right?

Sorry, rant over!

Fall Essentials

Though we have been technically celebrating the fall season since September, I wanted to dedicate a blog to the way we welcome the new season. I used to hate fall. To me, it meant school beginning, summer ending, and the dreaded football games. Not to mention the fact that winter is right around the corner. However, as I've grown (and am no longer a student) I've come to love this season and all of the blessings it brings. One of them being cooler weather! I love, love, love the heat but my pregnancy and this summer's heat was just getting to be too much so the day I could turn off my AC and open the windows was a happy one!

I created a few unintentional traditions for our family throughout the past couple of years. One of the most important ones being the Bath and Body Works fall candles. My obsession with them is a little unhealthy. I'm very picky when it comes to candles but these few will forever be my favorite and I hope that as my children get older they will associate these scents with our home and the fall season. Every September I wait for the 2 for $20 sale and stock up on the Leaves and Nutmeg & Spice candles. I also tried the Pumpkin Caramel Latte candle and will be adding that to the favorites. 

There's no need to ramble about my love for fall fashion. Chunky sweaters, boots, leggings. I love it all. I also love sporting the classic darker nail polishes this time of year.

This "tradition" is a dangerous one. Roasted peanuts and candy corn. Once you start you can't stop. 

One of the most essential pieces to welcoming the fall is jazz music. I have great memories of running errands on Saturday mornings in Lincoln with the windows cracked and big band music playing on the radio. Truman also takes me to pick out an old record each year for my birthday. Some of my favorites are Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Billie Holiday, Nat King Cole, and of course Frank Sinatra. I don't know what it is, but there is something about a cool morning with jazz that makes it so rich. Try it, I dare you. 

Aside from jazz, James Taylor's "October Road" is an absolute must and a tradition I will forever hold dear to my heart. One of my favorite childhood memories is of my dad playing that album through his old sound system in the fall. 

Along with classic music, I also crave watching classic movies during this time of season. When Harry Met Sally being one of them. Maybe it's the autumn-inspire cover that gets me in the mood, but I watch it every fall! I think what I love most is Truman always pretends that he doesn't want to watch it, but he ends up laughing more than I do through the whole thing ;)

Last but not least, cheesy potato soup. This is one of my favorite recipes and it's the first soup I make of the season. 

You can find the recipe here.

Chalk it up to my need for organization, but traditions are really important to me. What I love so much about them is that half of the time they are completely unintentional. Most importantly, they create comfort and warmth in your home. I am so excited to continue traditions with my family and to also create new ones as we grow!