ara & emr

friendship is important, awesome, special – doesn’t matter how big or small you are.

emma’s momma & i are buddies which is how anabelle & emma became buddies.  that’s kind of how it works when you’re a wee one, right?

leng and her little emma are just lovely girls; so kind and creative and talented.
we had lots of fun playdates this summer together:

emma’s first haircut . . . followed by delicious mr. frosty!

 

 

swim dates in the gorgeous sunshine.

oh girls!

 

 

(leng, thanks for the great pictures!)

fun at the discovery museum.

 

 

and then this fall the girls started dance class together.  what a sight!
that will have to be a different post all on its own.

*dance sneak peek*

 

off to school

i feel like i am so so behind.  i swear i blog every single day . . in my head.  i’ve lost count of how many time i’ve had to consolidate my notes on posts to write.  i do miss it, that little snipit of quiet time, but lately we’ve just been too busy or too crazy or too awesome or too sleepy – you pick.  today i’m determined to at least get a tiny one in.

this one starts with a recent favorite picture of mine.  i think photography is pretty amazing and i’ll admit i do get pretty stinkin’ excited when i capture an awesome shot like this one all on my own.  yah me!

ok, back to the actual post . . .

so, anabelle is in school.  it’s a small montessori school close by recommended by a friend.  she goes monday/wednesday/friday from 1-4.  i was a little anxious the week before she started, wondering how we would both do.  well, we both did great!  she made it really easy on me and i was surprising confident that we were both ready.  as for interrupting emilymae’s nap – she was not as big of a fan about the new schedule change.

anabelle’s first week of school was the beginning of december.  that friday they had their holiday program scheduled.  her teacher told me that even though she probably wouldn’t know any of the songs she could stand next to her classmates (it’s a small group) and try to sing along or maybe dance if she like.  i’m pretty sure they did not realize how seriously anabelle would take them up on the offer to dance.
here is a peek – it was hard not to giggle out loud.

it’s a little long but pretty great.  go anabelle!

this month has been dinosaur month which anabelle loves (she’s a huge fan of dinosaur train) and friday is pajama day!  she’s pretty much stoked about it.

we had a few set back with potty and a few epic heartbreaking meltdowns after birthday treats were given during snack (whole cupcakes and birthday cake – quite a shock to the system for the little girl who can splurge on a handful of animal crackers or 3 chocolate chips).  i was that mom and had a little chat with the teacher to come up with an anabelle alternative.  Ii hadn’t thought of all of the celebrations that go on at school – birthdays, valentines . . . we just got a notice that we have a mandatory activity due by feb 6th of making a valentines container for our child.   not to mention the 14 signed but not addressed valentines we have to make sure we bring for the party.

oh.  right.

can I please put in a request for sugar free festivities for anabelle?  can it count as an allergy or something?  yes, i know. lame.  i won’t be like this forever.  you didn’t see the sad meltdowns.

overall, school is great.  i’m just still feeling like a newby.  don’t know the teachers very well.  don’t know any other parents.  i only hear two speaking english at pick up time. 

anabelle is learning a lot.  new songs. phonics.  even started ‘join together’ (addition).  she almost always has a huge grin as she come out when she’s dismissed and I love it when she shows me her work that she has in her backpack or tells me stories about the day’s activities.  a fireman came by today!

mail day is a lovely day

many of you know i heart etsy.

even today i snapped a picture of emilymae sporting three different etsy items all at once.
(hat, hoodie, skirt)

well, i've been wanting to create my own etsy shop for months and months (truthfully for years) and i finally did it!  friends & family - may i introduce to you . . . .

thanks to everyone who has been cheering me on while i tried to create this, while it was all just scribbles in my notebook, and especially my muggy who has always supported my ideas & creativity and helped entertain a not sleepy emilymae while i tried to put the finishing touches on my shop and actually write this post.

click my logo above to check out the shop and click here for the ‘about’ section which will explain some of my thoughts leading me to this project.

i only have five items up so far but you have to start somewhere and since saturday is small business saturday and i wanted to join the party with my own small business opening!

i’ve talked with chris several times about the concept of ‘figure out what you love and find a way to get paid for it’ so this is my own attempt.  at some point i’m also going to figure out how to market myself as an etsy personal shopper (to help narrow down the endless choices for those slightly intimidated by the world of etsy) and doing the design and formatting work for photo cards (thanks alisha for letting me help with your holiday cards in the past) and photo books (you know those cute abc books with pictures of your little ones that you see on pinterest?  i love doing that sort of thing!).  holler if you might interest in any of those ‘services’ or have suggestions for marketing myself in those areas.  thanks!

well, here i go!

usmc ball 2013

i met this boy in december 1999 thanks to his awesome sister (yah chi-o!).  he invited me to his first usmc ball in 2001.  i followed him around for years, got to marry him in 2006, and just last week we went to our 12th ball together.

(i know that doesn’t add up - he was deployed for the ball in 2010).

- back in the day with a  ridiculously special couple

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my parents were just here for a week (such a great visit – that’s another post to write) so we got adjoining rooms at the hotel and they watched our girls while we had a fun evening just being us.  thanks mom & dad!

we were calling it the ‘hotel party’ for anabelle.  she packed a bag full of toys and picked out new pj’s at target on the way, actually two pair.

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love this shot of ema trying to get back to me.

this was chris’ first year in his new uniform.  sort of weird sometimes to stop and think about how experienced and senior he is now.  he’s an expert at what he does and i’m so very proud of him.

i love being kids together and having kids together!

luckiest girl in the room

this year i rented my dress and jewelry from rent the runway.  if you’ve been thinking about trying them i totally recommend it!  the reviews on there are so helpful and the whole process turned out to be super easy.  this dress was so comfy!

we had a yummy room service breakfast picnic all together before my parents had to head back to florida.  was a busy, full, fast week.  so miss them!
these little ones had a great time too.  anabelle is in love with her new nightgown (her first) and emilymae enjoyed playing with whatever she could get her hands on.

 

happy birthday marine corps and thanks m&r for EVERYTHING!

chi-o love

chi-o sisters became a special, dear, extra important part of my world back in 1998.  whoa, that seems like a long time now that i just typed out 1998!  damn.

anyway, back to the special awesome memories and adventures of having sisters. 
lots of them.  all over the country.  many different lives but such similar hearts.

my sweet friend miss jen (not sure why we still call each other miss but we do) and her family moved up to monterey this summer.  i'm pretty sure i hadn’t seen her in person since undergrad but we had kept in touch about graduation (she was actually one of my pledges), jobs, our guys, moves, babies, mommy-ness, deployments . . .

now in cali, this was my chance to see her and meet her men.  her husband went to school with us at UF, but i didn’t know him very well, and now they have three little boys – three awesome little boys about to be 5, 3, & 1.  i was so excited about the trip (a quick non-stop flight, just a baby in my lap, and a cozy place to stay once i arrived) but anxious about being away from anabelle for three nights.  thankfully chris was in town so they had a fun buddy weekend planned together. it all worked out SO great.  jen was a lovely just-like-we-visit-all-the-time host and her men welcomed us right in.

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forgot how easy it is for me to fly with just one little instead of two.

the conversation started before i even got in her van – as we waved like excited silly girls do flagging each other down outside of baggage claim – and just went on & on throughout the visit.  my heart was happy, my soul was happy, my momma-wifey-susan-ness was being recharged!

i even left with a sweet list of new products to try & things i just had to to buy that before my trip i didn’t even know i needed.  i think that in the two weeks after i got home i got an electric griddle (which i use all the time), a new knife, new editing software (which i still need to find time to learn), and a new cell phone and baby proof case.

 

ema and josh had some standard baby fun together in between light saber performances from the two bigger boys, joe and hank.  emilymae watched closely, interested but cautious.

i had been to monterey a few times before so i wasn’t there to see the sights which made it even cozier to just share and learn and soak up some extra joy at the daniels house.  trust me, there’s oodles of joy at home too but sometimes it’s good to mix it up, have a dose of another version for a bit.

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and this, my friends, it team daniels!
real life - perfection.

and what girl doesn’t love getting to see their friend/sister so in love with such a great partner?

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on my last day we drove out to the coast all together (thanks to their swagger wagon filled up with four carseats) with our trader joe’s picnic (one of their first trader joe’s experiences) and enjoyed some of the gorgeous sights and sounds of the pacific ocean.

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beautiful coastal trail with my tiny milk monster.

 

by the time we finished our lunch the sun had come out and the marine layer burned off.  such a great dose of sunshine and fresh ocean air.

even scored a new monogrammed ombre camera strap created by the expert herself! 
thanks miss jen.  loved getting to see you work and pick directly from your stash.  it’s definitely my favorite one so far.  (yes, i’ve ordered more than one over the years & they are one of my favorite gifts to give)

quick etsy shop shout out – broward patch
she’s my etsy mentor.  she does fabulous work.  check it out!

while i’m on the shout out train, let me just add that jen daniels is a crazy awesome photog too!  she’s growing her own photog business (while already succeeding in the etsy world and the momma-of-three world) and i am so proud of her making it a priority to nourish her creative and talented self by following her passions.  she spoiled me a with a s&e photo shoot that i absolutely LOVE – quite possibly my most favorite photo shoot i’ve been a part of.

jen daniels photography – you might as well check that one out too!

here is one pic for now. 
i’ll have to wait and write another post to fit in the pictures and how it all made me feel.
L. O. V. E.

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got my backpack and baby all bundled and ready to head home.

it was a wonderful trip.  it did wonderful things for my brain and my heart. 
it was wonderful to get back home.

thank you muggy for helping make this a fun break for me. 
thank you jen for sharing your time, your ideas, your home, and your heart.

sweet anabelle moments

i know, lots of pictures and no story.
for our days, though, these pictures tell so much of our story.

anabelle is a star.
she’s an entertainer.
she’s a debater (who is often reminded to use her kind words).
she’s compassionate.
she’s crazy & lovely.
she’s a strong, creative, joyful, smarty pants!

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she and her papa together make quite the pair!

there was a quick discussion about whether or not capes are worn outside before this walk.  anabelle won.

she likes to dress like this and ride her giraffe. 
you might think she’d say she’s a knight with her noble steed. 
nope, she’s riding her motorcycle!

a few times we’ve been able to watch chris flyover the house in a t-34.  it’s pretty special to have our own little airshows.  he rocks his wings and we wave like crazy!

in august chris took anabelle on a date to her first movie.
chris had been waiting for months to take her.  so sweet!

a different day with papa – with a slightly less effective version of being helpful.

they are such special buddies!

i get my moments too (we’re lucky all around!). 
here we are sitting on the bed of the truck watching waves and surfers while
emilymae snoozed in the cab.

not many naps from this one anymore but when they do happen they are good for everyone.

it’s a daily surprise for papa to see what anabelle is wearing when he gets home from work
(on those happy days he’s home before jammies).

she started creative dance class with her friend emma (I’ll post more about that later) and love to follow along to a fun toddler ballet dvd we have.

and as always, little ema still thinks she’s pretty darn amazing!

i love catching some of her kind, gentle, tender moments.

she still sings ‘twinkle twinkle’ whenever she hears emilymae start to get upset in the car.  she gives her sweet kisses on the head, or toes, or belly.  whatever she can get to.  she says her prayer before bed (“now i lay my emilymae down to sleep . . . “), and has started trying to help get ema dressed . . . or just try different hat and shoes on her.

she takes extra special care of carter, of course, and every now & then asks to borrow my boppy to nurse all of her buddies.  even her papa doll got ‘momma milk’ last week.

i’m pretty sure there is a true momma heart in that busy little body.