weekly photos

3 Things Thursday

Happy Thursday...it's been a while since I did a "three things Thursday" post.  And, since I'm lacking any imagination today, three things seems like a doable blog post :)

Without further ado...{because I know how excited you are}

1.  We have been living with my parents for FIFTY {5-0} days.  It's been, how shall I put it...challenging, stressful, a loooong 50 days, but we're all adjusting {some better than others, I think}.  Sadly, I think I fall into that "not adjusting well" category.  After college & a {fortunate} break-up with my ex, I was forced to move back in with my parents.  Yep, I was that kid.  And to be honest, I don't really remember it being as difficult as I do now.  Maybe it's because it was just me that moved in...this time, I brought my hubby, daughter AND dog.  When we first moved in I had an overwhelming "homesick" feel; however, once we started to get into our "new" routine, it sort of went away, I guess.  But, not long after, I started to feel really stressed out.  I've been trying to please both my hubby/daughter and my parents.  I'm trying not to wear out our welcome, while keeping things as close to "normal" as possible. Bottom line: it's hard to do.  I feel like my parents {more so my Dad} are starting to get a teeny-tiny-little bit frustrated  with us.  It's frustrating for me because I don't really have time to do much cooking {not to mention, my parents are fairly stuck in their eating ways, where as I like to cook new things often} & I feel bad that my parents are usually cooking for us.  I want to contribute to the chores, but finding time to contribute has been a chore itself.  Though I am completely 100% grateful to my parents for letting us stay with them while our house is being built, I am completely 100% ready to move into OUR own home.  

2.  ...speaking of OUR OWN HOME; it's coming along nicely :) Hubby & I are working together to create a *new* blog dedicated to our house & the journey we've had thus far & everything that happens in the upcoming months!  For now though, I'll just give you a sneak peak of the progress thus far ;)

3.  We are FINALLY having some family pictures taken tomorrow!  My very dear friend is taking some photos for us and I am so excited!  It's fairly sad that Dafney is almost 2 years old & we haven't had any "professional" pictures taken of her or of the 3 of us together as a family.  So, it's about dang time!  I am stressing out a bit as I haven't picked out our outfits yet.  I'm thinking of having some taken with casual outfits & some taken with nice(r) matching outfits.  Here's to hoping I can find something in our closets by 3pm tomorrow :)  Excited to share the photos when we get them back!

On that note, have a fabulous weekend!

Ready or Not, Here IT Comes

It's true, IT is upon us!  What is "IT"?  Well, it is the crisp, cool air, the gorgeous leaves, the shorter days, pumpkin flavor bursting out of any and EVERYTHING...a.k.a. FALL!  My very favorite time of the year...other than knowing that {gulp} winter is just around the corner.  I love pulling out the warm, cozy sweaters, sipping on pumpkin spice lattes & enjoying the Sever's Corn Maze with some good friends!  A while back, some of my friends started the ever-so-loved tradition of going to Sever's & then to someone's house for the infamous pumpkin carving contest.  If you know me and my {non} artistic ability, you can probably imagine why I no longer participate in the pumpkin carving.  Instead I socialize, drink, eat, drink, eat some more, socialize, have another drink and round it out with stuffing my face with even more food :)

This year we picked the most perfect day to hit up Sever's!  It was absolutely gorgeous outside...probably one of the last the state of MN will see until next June {no, really, I'm not even joking}!

Dafney and I arrived a few minutes before everyone, which allowed me to snap a few extra photos to capture her first time participating in this legendary tradition :)

The first thing that caught the kiddos' eye was the tire playground.  There's something about climbing & sand that seems to attract children.  This had both!

After playing in the tire playground, we hit up the corn maze.  This year it was in the shape of Minnesota...awe :)  We spent what felt like DAYS an hour or so in the corn maze & found our way out!  At first Dafney wanted nothing to do with the maze, but once she saw her little buddies B & B, she was all about it.  She thought it was SO funny to run through the corn {such a little stinker}!

After the maze, we hit up the ever-so-popular CORN PIT!  All the kids {big & little} had a blast jumping in, throwing {haha, we're those people} & playing in the corn!  Seriously, how can I get one of these in my backyard?

It didn't take Danfey long to realize how much FUN this big corn pit was!  She loved burying her mama :)  And even jumped off the side into the pit a couple of times!!

After we had our corn-pit fill, we headed off to see the "choo-choo" as Dafney calls it.  She has this new obsession with trains {I sense a train set in her Christmas future}!  I think this might have been her favorite part of the whole day!

My favorite part was being able to do something fun with my little girl!  Love, love, love her ♥

Afterwards, we went to our friend, Tim's house for some grub, drinks & pumpkin carving!  It was the perfect way to round out the weekend!

The pumpkin carving artists...

...and their masterpieces!

Seriously, my friends have some major pumpkin carving talent!!

Here's to another successful {& fun} Sever's trip...I'm already excited for next year ;)

weekly photos {mostly from the Children's Museum}

house project: demo day

The long awaited demo on our house has finally begun!  Last Friday, the hubby received a text message from our Foreman showing us the remains of our house.  To finally see some progress made me beyond happy!

I thought I might be sad when we pulled up to the "house" over the weekend, but I was giddy as a kid in a candy store.  It was actually really neat to see the remains of our house.  It's crazy for me to think that just a week ago, our house was just waiting to be torn down.  And now, it's gone.  

We hope to get to the house every Sunday to snap some pictures of the week's progress.  I can't believe that in a few super, long, exhausting short months we will be in our brand new home!  

This whole process is pretty amazing & I'm excited to document this whole process!  

Until next time...

Bakin' Friends: September

Goodbye September...hello Bakin' Friends reveal day :)

I participated in Bakin' Friends again this month.  Our secret ingredient was zucchini.  Seriously, this stuff has been growing like crazy & this was the perfect opportunity to use some.  

My Bakin Friend, Marcia, sent me some Lemon Zucchini Bread with a Lemon glaze and let me tell you, it was delicious.  So delicious in fact that I took a bite & totally forgot to snap some photos {so sorry}.  I absolutely love zucchini bread, but I've never had LEMON zucchini bread, so this was a real treat!  Thanks, Marcia!!

Interested?

Check out Steph's blog for all the delicious details!

Happy eating, friends!

a 21 month post

It's been a while since I posted about Dafney and what she's up to, so I thought I'd better do one!  My Dafney is 21 MONTHS {and 10 days} old already!  I'm in major denial that my sweet, little girl is going to be TWO in a few short months.

Over the past few months, I've noticed so many fun & exciting changes with Dafney.  Back in May, she started in the Toddler room at daycare & I swear she learns something new each day.

*I was going to attempt to do a "21 for 21 months" portion, but I don't have the time want this post to be a novel*

1.  Walk don't RUN, please.  She is on the move and at a fast pace.  The days of walking at a nice leisurely pace are looong gone. Now she runs which gives me a mild heart attack every time!  

2.  Say what?  Let me tell you, the girl LOVES to talk.  65% of the time I have no idea what language she's even speaking, but more & more often, I actually know what she's saying {or trying to anyway}.  She is starting to put small phrases together.  My personal favorite..."hi mommy" {♥ melting}!

3.  ABC, 123!  She is getting so close to knowing a majority of the alphabet.  She has the tune down perfectly & half of the letters correct.  I just can't believe how much she knows!  And, she can also count to TWO.  Yeah, yeah, it's only 2, but I still think she's a sheer genius!

4.  She's got moves!  Let me tell, that girl has MOVES!  She loves to dance & when she hears any sort of music, she will stop pretty much anything she's doing to bust out her moves ;)

5.  Friends!  My baby has friends!  She has a couple of best buds: Hannah & Eloise are the 2 she probably talks about most, but loves to be around any & all children.  She knows pretty much everyone at daycare & asks "where they are" on the weekends :)

6.  She is FUNNY :) - let me tell you, Dafney has a pretty funny personality.  She loves to make people laugh & her laugh {you know, that deep down belly laugh} is enough to make Mr. Scrooge crack a smile :)  Even her daycare teachers tell us that she loves to make them laugh & does a really good job of doing so!  Hmmm, I wonder if this means we have a class clown on our hands!?

7.  Yep, she's STILL clingy!  What can I say, the girl loves me...and I don't blame her I am pretty cool...hardy-har-har!  I love that she wants to spend her every waking moment with me, really, I do, but can someone please reassure me that she'll over come this clingy stage before she hits High School?

What Dafney's lovin': singing {especially row, row, row your boat}, dancing {music in general}, bubbles, playing outside, slides & swings, looking at frogs at night, anything to do with her babies, cars {not real ones yet, thank-fully}, playing tug-of-war with my parent's dog, Maddie, phones, playing in her kitchen, looking at books, water, watching The Mickey Mouse Club, jumping on beds/trampolines, going for walks and of course, being with her family ♥

What Dafney's NOT lovin': eating dinner {actually eating in general}, having her face washed, being told "no", most dogs, having to sit still, wearing pants {hehe}, being without Mom & Dad and being dropped off at daycare!

What Dafney's wearing: she is mostly wearing 18 month shirts/sweaters & jackets.  Most of her pants/shorts are 12 months, but she still fits pretty comfortably in her 9 month pants {except they are a little short}.  18 month pants are WAY to big on her yet. And, she wears 18 month PJ's.  She also wears a size 4-4.5 shoe.  Her feet are still teeny-tiny, but they've grown 2 sizes since May...

{some of} Dafney's favorite words/phrases:  ♥ hi/bye ♥ see you tomorrow ♥ what's that ♥ where's frog ♥ o-toodles {ha, you know what this is if you watch Mickey Mouse} ♥ a phone ♥ a on ♥ baby sad ♥ who's this {as she points to herself} ♥ ride ♥ where's "ryie" {Rylie is the dog that she's totally scared of & we baby sat him a couple months ago} ♥ it hot ♥ water ♥ it rain ♥ it hurt ♥

Well, I guess that sort of sums up Dafney & what she's been up to lately.  She is the sweetest little girl around and I love her to the moon and back!  She is constantly making me laugh and is always bringing a smile to my face!  

I love you, sweet Dafney!

xoxo