A little update and a little rambling

It's pretty apparent that since starting Stripes and Polka Dots...now Preciously Paired I haven't been very good at staying up on my personal blog. Sometimes I miss the outlet this particular blog gave me when documenting the growth and events of our family would sometimes lead to writing more of what was really on my mind with being a mother of two toddlers. This blog is a place where I don't really worry about writing proper sentences and structured posts; something I'm terrible at anyway. I guess it seems more like me.

Speaking of my other blog, now shop, it has been fun and an outlet in a whole other way. Sara and I get to be creative again using each other's strengths and share it with others. We're meeting so many amazing and inspiring people. I'm sure we're possibly setting our sights way higher then we'll ever achieve but it's a fun challenge. Recently we decided that blogging a couple times a week on different projects we came up with wasn't very satisfying. I love a good diy or craft but I don't believe I have the creative mind or energy to come up with multiple projects a week to share. Instead we both found that we really love more of the shop side of things. There's still a lot we have to learn and a some mistakes we're making along the way but it's exciting to create things that are for others rather then just yourself.

As for my full-time job...being a mom, I have my ups and downs with it. Both Mia and Livy are in phases that require me to constantly stay on top of them in one form or another. With Mia it's having to discipline and teach her how to be a good big sister to Livy, not talk back and listen to mom and dad. Most days I want to scream into a pillow and have my doubts that anything is getting through while in the back of my mind I wonder if I'm doing things right or instead just screwing Mia up to be a non-functioning human being. On the brighter side Mia has learned to be a really good friend to others, she still loves learning and helping and can do a lot more things by herself which she prefers. Livy is in the classic 1 year old phase where she goes from one things to the next, destroying everything in her path. My house can look like a tornado hit it about 30 minutes after the girls get up and most of it is Livy's doing. She's into EVERYTHING! She also likes to think she's Miss Independent by thinking she can run off in all directions the moment I set her down in public. However, no matter how independent she tries to be she still always comes up for a snuggle every now and again. Livy is also officially done with pacifiers. This involves a lot more screaming at our house...happy and sad. Even though it's easy to see all the difficult things about being a parent, there's something about kids that still make you love it and never want to give it up. It's funny how that works.

Basically our every day isn't much different then most people's. We have our bad days, our normal days and our really good days, but all in all we can't really complain. Life is good.

Now what most of you came here for; some picture updates:

Mia's first day of Preschool

We've started sticker charts with Mia for being good and listening. The prize for filling one was a pony ride.

It's a rare occasion when these two can play together, let alone sit next to each other without one of them screaming. I'm praying these two can grow up to be friends rather then enemies.

A few weeks ago we went out to Ely for a week. One day we went up to Cave Lake and Eric and Mia fished. Mia caught 5 fish on her little princess fishing pool. It was the cutest thing to watch her reel the fish in.

While there I also took some pictures of my little brother and parents. Even though I'm sure none of them will fess up to it, I think the pictures turned out pretty good :)

And of course a few from Halloween.

Until the next update...

Livy's One Year Book

I kept putting off this book and even wondered if I should make one. Livy being the second child, she got a little neglected in the picture taking department. I also wasn't as good at documenting Livy's progress and "firsts" over year 1 as I was with Mia so I was worried there wouldn't be much to put in a book. However, with a code for a free book from Shutterfly and seeing how much Mia has loved looking at the two photo books I've made of her I convinced myself to sit down and do it!

It's crazy to see how much Livy has grown since first holding her in the hospital over a year ago. She is SO different from Mia in more then just her looks. She can be very sweet and then sassy all within a few seconds, definitely knowing how to hold her own with an older sister. My favorite thing is that Livy has been such a smiley and giggle baby from what seems like birth!

Boy, I love this little girl and the joy she has brought into our family this last year and a half! Oh and for a quick update...Livy is officially walking everywhere! It only took her 15 months.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Create your own custom photo books at Shutterfly.com.

Family Pictures: Lifestyle Shoot

With growing children it is near impossible to stay up on family pictures and have them not look outdated just months after taking them. One thing I've been seeing a lot more of over the last year or two with photographers is doing a lifestyle shoot which naturally captures life spent together as a family without all the posing and staging. Granted I can't say either Eric and I are super natural or comfortable in front of a camera, but I figured something like this would be so precious to have once the girls are grown up. It will help us remember and let the girls see life as it was when they were care free and young.

I'd been closely following a neighbor we lived by when Eric and I were first married who was majoring in photography at BYU. I have seen her talent grow into a business and all her lovely shoots. She mostly has done weddings in the past but has started doing more lifestyle family shoots. When I saw this I knew I wanted her to be the one to do our shoot!

I love how she was able to capture our little family, especially our beautiful girls. This shoot will be something I will treasure!

Photos taken by Danielle Woodall

Summer Updates

If I were to give you all of our summer happenings from the beginning you would be here all day or just quit reading after the 10th paragraph so I'll kept it kind of brief. Plus hopefully some of you follow me at my other blog to stay a little more updated.

Basically this summer has been busy and fun from May to now. It seemed like we were gone visiting family and had family visiting all throughout May and June. Then in July we had Sara, Collin and Addie staying with us for 2 weeks. We had a blast having them here by the way!

Some people would say that's got to be crazy and sometimes it is, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I just love my family and all the commotion and have been glad we've got to see everyone at one point or another this summer. Also my best friend from high school came home from her mission at the end of April and moved to Provo so I've got to spend a lot of time with her. I've missed her and Sara SO much!

For updates on the girls; Mia is talking just as much as ever and even though she still has a little sass sometimes she's quite often my sweet, little helper. She LOVES to help me with just about anything I'm doing. I've also started to notice how friendly and not shy she is unlike me. Often times when we go to the park or someplace she'll just go find some kid around her age and start playing with them and by the end everyone around is her friend. She'd always rather be playing off with some little friend then me or Eric.

 Livy is pretty social too but more from a distance or if I'm holding her. She'll give just about anyone a cheesy smile but when they go to lift her up she freaks out. Plus she loves following all Mia and her friends around acting like she's part of the group. Livy is still not walking. She's making small strides to getting there but still highly prefers crawling. I guess I can't complain.

Oh and I can't forget the biggest update which is our new dog. For those of you who know me, you know I never wanted a pet. It was a battle Eric and I were constantly facing since we got married. One day I let it slip out to Eric that even though I still didn't personally want a dog it wouldn't be that bad having one as I always made it out to be. Since every time before that moment I refused to even slightly consider it, this statement seemed to light the spark and low and behold about 2 months later we came home with a 7 week old Beagle. We named her Missy. Even now I wouldn't call myself a dog lover, but having a dog has certainly changed my perspective on pets. Mia loves Missy and it's helped her get outside and active a lot more this summer by herself.

Life has been very good to our little family. We're still loving our neighborhood and our house. It's been fun to see all the pretty flowers blooming around our yard all spring and summer and to watch our garden grow. This year was definitely a learning year for that but it looks like we will get a little food from it. 

 

Happy summer!