July (yes, July) in Pictures

You'll accept seeing pics from July in late August, right? Oh, good. 

---------------------

Gwendolyn's Independence Day church outfit. Too much? Never.

4th of July fun in Eden Prairie. You may remember additional pictures that I put up in my 4th of July post. Uncle John always attracts the kids.

What you can't see in this pic is the small hole in her water balloon that kept spraying her in the face. It was hilarious.

Always carrying around random things.

Where is Gwendolyn?!

Waiting for daddy to come home.

She has since moved past it, but she was obsessed with our keys for a couple weeks.

Reading books with daddy.

My friend Diedra's baby shower. 

Willa arrived last week! I can't WAIT to meet her!

Snuggles after waking up from a nap.

Still in pj's mid-afternoon, and having fun being "so tall".

We had a little Saturday night bbq at the Meier house. Ceci was so nice to share her wagon with Gwendolyn.

All sitting up to the table eating their dinner. Love it!

She loves to hide the food she no longer wants in her bib pocket. See what I mean?

We had a very mild bout of pink eye. Thankfully it never made her eyes turn pink and they only mildly crusted over. They were puffy though and in general you could just tell something was up.

Hilarious. I also just noticed that this pic shows her carrying around my bra on her arm. She loves anything she can "wear". Maybe we need to buy her some new toys. Ha.

And she loves carrying around as many things as she can possibly hold.

Helping daddy unload the dishwasher without even being prompted to do so. She also throws away her own  diapers and gets her own shoes and socks. What a great little helper!

Erin and I working on the wine glasses for Trisha's bachelorette party. We followed this tutorial, and they were very cute. We were a bit concerned in the beginning, but after three coats of glitter they looked like they should. 

Don't feel badly if you don't know what a foam pouncer is - we didn't either. Martha thinks of everything!

The bottom step is one of her favorite hang outs.

When will those muffins be done?!

Is her hair long enough for a barrette?!

Not quite.

Being silly with mommy.

I can never get enough of her kisses.

She loves Uncle John and Aunt Trishy!

Hidden Haven is our haven

A cabin.

A lake.

Catching the big one.

No bake cookies.

Cold beer.

Cute babies.

Cute three and four year old's.

Family.
Meal time.
Trucks in the sand. And in hair.

Toys.

Sleeping in.

Nature.
"My mommy said..."

Perfect temps.

Fish fry.

Reading.

Coffee on the deck.

Late night conversations.

First boat rides.
Baby talk.
Snuggles with Aunt Nikki (Gwendolyn's new fav person).

Sunrises and sunsets.

Treasure hunting.

Fruity Pebbles. (And other vacation only foods.)

Awesome bubbles.

All five kids down for the night - woohoo!

Water skiing.
"Froggy!"

Relaxing in the sunshine.
Annual dad and daughter fishing trip to our secret lake.

Bath time giggles.

Weston calling Gwendolyn "Wendy" and Nathan "Mason.

2012 London Olympics

I'd say that just about wraps up our week at Hidden Haven! We missed Brent, Sara, Noah and Hayden (they skipped out to go visit her brother in NY - who can blame them!) and were even more sad when Mom and Dad didn't think they'd be able to make it up because Mom was in the hospital with pneumonia. They're troopers though and made it up mid-week. Thankfully, she's feeling so much better and is off oxygen. Praise Jesus!

Unfortunately, while working on my slideshow I realized I was missing some pictures that I had taken while on vacation. I have no idea how they got lost or why they disappeared from my memory card or what happened, but I'm trying not to be too totally distraught over it. (I will admit I fought back tears when I made the discovery. You know me and pictures.) Pretend you see a really super cute pic of Jacob hugging me. Three babies in diapers (all looking at the camera) out on the deck. Gwendolyn going down the water slide. Our treasure hunting skills producing THE hidden treasure! And Gwendolyn wearing a life jacket for the first time (so adorable) while on her first boat ride.

They were all great pictures, but at least we have memories, right?! Right. *smile.

Enjoy!

Jumping

Gwendolyn is always coming up with new tricks and skills and "jumping" is her latest one. She doesn't get much air as of yet, but we'll keep working on that.

Ohhhh, I love that girl. 

Lake Michigan Fishing

I went fishing for salmon in Lake Michigan two weekends ago with my dad, nephew, two brothers and my sister. Can you say awesome?! Definitely in my top 10 life events. Doesn't happen very often (or ever) that I get to experience something so cool with some of my favorite people ever. Thanks to Daddy-o for having the dream and paying paving the way! It was a blast, and I'm so thankful Becca and I swapped spots with Robert and Tom at the last minute as it was originally supposed to be a "boys" trip.  They would have had a great time, but I'm pretty sure we made the party. Let it be known that I absolutely loooooove my sister!

My big bro Scott and I rode together and left bright and early Saturday morning to drive 6 hours to Kenosha, WI where we met up with the rest of the fam. We went out fishing almost immediately for five hours with Captain Al, who totally rocked. After our first five hour trip, we checked into our hotel and then headed out for dinner where we were able to literally enjoy the fish we had just caught. (Our captain cleaned the fish for us and then hand delivered it to the cook.) We got to try it broiled, fried, and blackened and all were fabulous. After dinner, we showered and hit our pillows hard in anticipation of our 4 am wake-up call to head back out on the boat for another 5 hours. Yes, Captain Al wanted to leave at 4:30. We were a tad late, but I don't recall exactly whose fault that was. *clearing throat* Anyway...being out on the boat so early in the morning was very cool. The sun was just coming up and it was beautiful. 

I'm not sure how many poles we had out at all times, but we went youngest to oldest whenever we got one on a line. At a couple points, there were three or four people on deck reeling in. Pretty exciting! What's not exciting is knowing you have a fish 300 feet out. Becca and dad shared the work of bringing a big one in that at one point was 600 feet out. (The reels have trackers on them.) 600 feet! That's a lot of line to bring in. I think it took a good 45 minutes. These ain't your little sunfish. They're big and strong and fight. Ahh I love it! So nerve wracking and exciting.

Noah bringing in the very first fish!

How big will it be?!

Dad and his two favorite daughters...

I had a death grip on that thing. They had teeth!

Day 1 catch:

Four lines out! Who will bring one in first?!

Those are decent....

7:30 am beer!

Day 2 catch:

It was a really cool weekend. Scott had plenty of time on our 12 hour road trip to teach me all about the war in Iraq (he served for a year) and how the government works and money management and how to run your own business and all sorts of interesting things that a brother should teach his little sister about. He's so smart and I love being able to chat with him.  We all had a fabulous time - I only wish mom had been able to join us, but she was busy at home hanging out with Hayden and Weston. Sounds like they had a great time too. Great memories! Thanks so much, Dad!!

----------------------------

In this video Scott makes it look easy...it was actually really hard work! You hold the pole against your hip or leg when reeling - I was so bruised up!

16 Months

Gwendolyn,
You turn 16 months old in a few days! I actually started writing this last week and already you have new tricks. I can't keep up with you, girl! According to the doctor at your 15 month check up on July 10th, you're coming along beautifully developmentally and physically. We give all praise to Him.

I know it's a bit ridiculous how much I love to just look at you and watch and observe you. Your dad and I talk often about how we wonder if you think we're annoying with all our kisses and being so in your face, but then you put your arms out and hug us and then I think that maybe you're ok with it.

When I look at you, I see less and less "baby" and more "little girl". We often exclaim, "you're heavier today!" and you take up more room in my arms and on my lap than before. It still feels perfect though.

We love that your hair is coming in, but we also don't want it to because, you see, we're selfish and we like how it feels when we rub our cheeks up against your bald head. Plus it's nice and short so it doesn't stick up too much, except for the little curl in the back, but sometimes I let that even stand on end so I can admire it before it's gone forever. I've heard too many moms tell stories about curls that once cut, never return. I wonder what our future holds in the hair department. It seems that everyone has their own opinion on what color it is or will be, which is kind of fun to dream about. Today it's sandy blond and shines in the sun.

Your face is still round and your cheeks are squishy and you're long and lean with just one roll on each thigh and your belly is so adorable. Sometimes your eyes look so green while other moments they're hazel. You talk a ton and say by either voice or sign language: up, down, more, milk, eat, turtle, hi, bye-bye, ball, cat, dada, please, tickle, mom, all done, and Becca. We're working on lots of others (someone in the family has made a special request, so hopefully "grandma" is one of your next words.)  Your sign language is absolutely adorable. Our favorite is "eat."

You understand so much - it's amazing! You can get your own diaper now and throw dirty ones away all by yourself. You'll get "bear" or "ball" if we ask you to, and most of the time, you respond to our commands to "shut that" or "come here." You're definitely 16 months old though and sometimes "fail" to hear us. We gotta brush up on what we learned about discipline from our parenting class at church! *smile. We're working on body parts - so far you know eyes, nose and belly button.

You love all things animal, even ants! Stuffed animals are your favorite and you love hugging them. You sleep with your blankie and "cat" and love to hold on to cat's tag. You finally wake up happy and standing in the corner. Upon entering your room, you instantly point at your collection of stuffed animals until we find the one you'd like to hold while getting diaper changed and dressed in the morning. You get very excited seeing any sort of animal on TV. You know what a bear, a monkey, and a snake all say.

You really are so easy. You don't get too upset about much unless you're hungry (again...we see "eat" a lot.) You sometimes have to skip naps and it doesn't affect you too much. In fact, I think you get crazier and more funny when you're tired. It's actually very entertaining.

You are a hilarious dancer and love music.

You cut your top two eye teeth! You're up to 13 total with the bottom eye teeth definitely on their way.

You've become a picky eater. This majorly bums me out, but we'll keep working at it. (Who doesn't like pizza and mac-n-cheese?!)

You typically sleep great....7 pm to 7 am, give or take 30 minutes. You've been waking up around 11:00 the last few nights only to cry for a couple minutes and then dead silence. Not sure what is up with that, but I'm just happy that you fall back asleep.

You wear mostly 18 month clothes (some are a tad big, but others fit perfectly) and size 4-5 shoe. You're still in a size 3 diaper, but I think our next diaper purchase will be size 4. You wear a lot of dresses and have a crazy stylish wardrobe.

You love collecting things. We often find you carrying a zip-lock bag around filled with random things you've found. I luckily caught your church sandals hiding in a bag headed out to recycling the other day.

Which reminds me, I so wish you could tell me what you did with our small digital camera.....sigh....

I am not sure how long you'll nurse and I think that's ok. Nursing you for these 16 months has been one of my most favorite parts about being your mom. Right now you still nurse three to four times a day on the days we're home together. Sometimes it's for 20 minutes and other times it's for 2.

You and daddy read books before bed most nights. The last two nights you have sat through the entire "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" - must be the rhyming words b/c you are totally enthralled. And it's a long book!

You now pucker to give kisses and make the kissing noise. Melts. My. Heart.

You follow us around all the time and are usually right on my heels. You're very loving and if I'm on the floor with you, you're typically right on my lap.

You can get a little shy sometimes, but thankfully don't cry when dropped off at the church nursery anymore. You'll let pretty much anyone hold you. For two seconds anyway.

You used to be the best little shopping buddy b/c you love to just look around and take things in, but now that you're walking you'd rather be out of the stroller and on the go. Oh well. I guess we save money this way.

Your 15 month stats:

Height: 32 3/4 - 97% (almost "off the charts")

Weight: 22.08 lbs - 25-50% (up from last time)

Head: 18.5 - 75-90%

The spectrum of emotion that come along with being a mommy is huge. My arms ache for you when we're apart. I miss you like crazy when I'm at work or on a shoot. Or when you're napping. I want to cry with you when you fall down or get poked at the doctor's. I want to shield you from future pain and heartache. You fill our home with so much laughter and joy that I wonder what we ever did without you. You stretch us and make us work hard and have forced us to become less selfish and more giving. I plead with time to slow down. I desperately want you to know Jesus and have Him fill your heart. So much joy and yearning and love.

We'll keep praying and relying on God and doing our best girl. You are absolutely treasured. We are so proud of you and feel so blessed to be your parents.

I love you. I love you. I love you.
Mommy

(I love this pic....it shows you carrying around a bag of  "things" and how you back right up to me and get as close as possible any chance you get.)

(Playing with two stuffed animals and a bottle brush. You bet!)

Stitch Fix - need your vote!

Have you ever heard of Stitch Fix? I had not until my blog crush Raechel (she is so stinkin' cute and creative and fun and talented and sweet) from Finding My Feet did a post about it and I was super intrigued because I really do want to be a nice dresser and will admit I need help.

I honestly don't know how and where people find these super cute, perfectly styled clothes because I am not seeing them at the places I shop. (Huh, perhaps that means I'm shopping at the wrong places...) Part of the issue is that I just don't really care that much, which is why I wear a lot of black capris and tank tops and in the winter that switches to black yoga pants and simple and comfortable long sleeved shirts. I like to be comfortable and not flashy or risky. I rarely wear busy patterns and I am not trendy. At all.

So get this...you go online and fill out a survey answering a variety of questions about your style (ha. style?) and preferences. They show you complete outfits and you tell them whether you love it or hate it. You tell them styles you would never wear and styles you wish you could include more in your wardrobe (I think I said more classic and romantic styles.) I love me a good survey, so I thought that part was fun. I was a bit nervous when most of the pictures of complete outfits were totally not me, but I decided I would never know how this would work unless I tried the entire process, so I just gave it a whirl. Once you've completed the survey, you wait for your Fix! And you get the luxury of trying on in your own house without having to dig through racks at Marshall's. It also forced me to try things that I wouldn't normally pick out. They give you helpful cards with two ways to wear that specific item. That may be awesome for people who have a ton of clothes and options, but I don't own skinny jeans or pencil skirts or scarves, so I just kept the work pants on that I wore yesterday with everything. Ha.

We were all pretty pumped when my package arrived!

She wasn't too happy when we pulled it away from her in order to open it up.

My little helper....

To be honest, at first sight I could already tell I was going to be stretched a bit.

A.) A simple (but expensive) cardigan. Tom really liked this one and I definitely don't have anything like it.

B.) A sweater. With holes in it. Just not sure I can pull off holes AND the the short in front/long in back look.

C.) The least expensive top. Looks a bit "animal print" to me, but is very soft and comfortable and has cute detailing on the sleeves.

D.) A "tank". I think it's romantic looking, so I can see what they were trying to do, but I think I would like it more if the fluttery sleeves continued in the back somehow. I don't really like to show off my arms, so the back is almost a bit too revealing or something. 

E.) Another sweater. Pretty colors and very soft. However, I don't do "tight" and the sleeves were too clingy for my liking while the rest of it just looked baggy.

(The girl looooves paper and anything she can tear into small pieces.)

So what do y'all think?! Any of them worth keeping? I will tell you that I paid a $20 styling fee that is then used as a credit towards whatever you decide to keep. And I only have three days to decide, so I need your feedback! I have one I'm leaning towards, but am open to suggestions *smile.

If you like to be surprised (I do!) and think it's fun to get mail (I do!) and have someone "shop" for you (I do!), then maybe you should give Stitch Fix a try! It's fun to live life on the edge.

But seriously, let me know what you think! I need help here people.