Sunday Snaps: Desert Sunshine

We had such a wonderful trip to Tucson last week! We owe a huge thank you to Grandma Rise and Grandpa Billy for helping us out with the kids while Will and I were at a florist convention/vacation for a big chunk of our time down there. Aren't they the cutest?

























All I can say is that it was heavenly to get out in that desert sunshine!

One of a Kind

What is it about motherhood that makes you want to publicly declare the one-of-a-kind love you have for your one-of-a-kind kid, but you can’t... because no words are one-of-a-kind enough?





That’s how I’m feeling tonight, but here I am wanting to tell the world that this birthday boy of mine is so dear to me, so I'm floundering for the words anyway.

He turned three today. It’s kind of selfish, but I hate that he had to do that—turn three. But I figure that if I jot down the things I love about him at this age, it won't be quite as hard to watch him grow up because I'll always have the memories.

I love how affectionate he is. Out of the blue, he'll come give me a big hug and look me deep in the eyes and tell me he loves me.

I get to hear, "I wub you, Mommy" almost every day, totally unsolicited.

When I carry him up the stairs, he often asks,

“You okay, Mom? (I think he knows how HEAVY he is.)

“Yeah, I’m okay…are you okay?”

"Yeah, I okay."

He hates getting left behind and is always saying, "Wait for me!"

And just now he came into the room and buried his head in my lap and said, "I just missed you, Mommy."

The other day I overheard him and Maggie talking...

Maggie: "When I grow up I'm going to be a ballet teacher."

Magson: "No, no! you can't grow up!"

Atta boy...set her straight!

Yeah, his open and sweet way of showing his love toward us is definitely something I love about my birthday boy. Snapshots of the festivities coming soon!

Bryna & Peter by Marie Photographie {Kitsap County, WA, Engagement Photographer}

Here's what I remember about the lovely Bryna and her fiance, Peter. (I have a terrible memory, so hopefully I've got this all straight...)

She’s a physician’s assistant.

And he’s a political consultant.

They met online, and on their first date, they were instantly attracted to one another…

Except Peter didn’t think the date went that well. So, when Bryna called him afterward, he was thrilled.

Not too long into their courtship (Am I allowed to say courtship? It sounds so old-fashioned, but I like it.), he took her on a trip to Paris on what I'd like to call the mother of all dates... (Paris!)

They live in Seattle, and she loves how he cooks for her almost everyday, and we're not talking mac and cheese. Before he became a political consultant, he worked as a chef. And word has it, he's got skills.

They love to go on picnics together.

She loves his smile and blue eyes...

He loves this pink shirt on her, and said he always notices when she wears it. She laughed because she's had it for years and was surprised that he picked it out when they were deciding what to wear.

Post wedding, they're off to Italy for their honeymoon. Drool. I told them to go visit Lucca. They said I'm the second person to recommend that cute little city, so I think they might take me up on it.

Bryna has the cutest laugh and dimple!

And she brought along a beautiful quilt that she and her grandmother made together. So sweet.

Bryna is an Irish name, and Peter is a family name. Don't call Peter "Pete." He doesn't like that. I just made it sound like I called him Pete during our photoshoot and he got after me. No, we just got in a big discussion about names, and he happened to mention that he doesn't like being called Pete.

And there you have it, a bunch of random, all-over-the-place facts that my brain could conjure at 1am. Can you tell that I had the consultation with Bryna? It was so fun to hear about all the things she loves about Peter. And then on picture day, it was so fun to see how obviously smitten he is with her. Thanks so much, you guys! I wish you the best!

Now I'm off to finish packing because we're headed to sunny AZ in the morning. With all of the thunder/lightning/hail/rain/wind going on up in this neck of the woods, I'm thrilled to be headed south for a bit!

Proof!

Here's proof that after all my wishing, I now have new floors! Thank you, Will, for my favorite Christmas present to date! I love you! And a big thank you to his dad and brother and mom for helping us out with getting these floors in. You guys are always there for us and I love you for that!

If you want to check out what our house looked like back when we moved in you can here and here.

It's fun to see the changes we've made, if I do say so myself.

Proof of the bear walking skills.

Proof that we are a chocolate chip family.

And here's proof that I never know what's for dinner! (Actually, I just wanted to show you the little chalkboard I made with an old Goodwill picture frame and some chalkboard paint from Lowe's.)

So, yeah. I better go figure that out!