THREE.

August 31st is the day that she made me a Mama. She was born at 2:48pm, and we snuggled her, loved her up and marveled in her beauty.

Here she is on her first birthday. We had lunch with Daddy at work, finger painted, and enjoyed an afternoon together at the zoo.

On her second birthday we made star pancakes for breakfast, had a picnic lunch with Daddy, baked banana bread muffins and played at the park.

And today. Well, today she turned three. When she woke this morning I asked her how old she was. She replied '2'. I told her 'Nugget, you are 3 today! Today is your BIRTHDAY!' . She replied with 'No Mama. My birthday is on Wednesday.' Guess what baby girl? Today is Wednesday. You are in fact 3!

I couldn't be prouder of the little lady she is becoming. She is beautiful and sweet and kind and silly and fun and sensitive and sassy. I love her so much. She got to do the choosing today. She chose waffles and fruit for breakfast (easy to please). She wanted to go to Manic Ceramic, a paint your own pottery studio, but only she calls it 'Ceramic Ceramic'. She wanted to have lunch at Subway. And Nick and I decided to take her out for pizza and ice cream this evening. That's a lot of indulging for one day, but hey, it's her birthday.

Days before her special day, Nugget announced she wanted to paint a caterpillar at Manic Ceramic. They have oodles of items to choose from, but I wasn't sure if a caterpillar was one of them. I didn't say anything about it, because I knew she'd be easily swayed into some other fancy trinket if a caterpillar wasn't an option. Maybe she remembered from the last time we were there (Sister has a sharp memory like that) or maybe she just got lucky. But she walked right over to it, picked it up, and wanted to get right to work. I encouraged her to examine all her options before choosing, which she obliged too, but still chose a caterpillar in the end. Girl knows what she wants, and I admire that.

 Brother was very patient while we worked, keeping entertained with a paint tray, sponge, and a paint brush. He also flirted with the ladies and flashed them his adorable, gummy smile.

It didn't take long to complete the caterpillar. We had driven all the way there for a project she finished in a short amount of time, so we set out to make this together. At the time I was thinking we'd get a jump start on Christmas gifts, but I'm a sucker for anything she makes and now want to keep it for myself. I've got a long while til Christmas though, so we'll see.

She capped her night with  'Cake and Ice Cream' ice cream. I told the lady it was Nugget's birthday, then she fancied it up with whip cream and sprinkles. Nugget was tickled pink.

While tucking her into bed tonight, we looked at pictures from the day she was born and each of her birthdays thus far. As I told her special stories, she smiled up at me and snuggled in closer. I told her how happy I am that God chose me to be her Mama, and she my Nugget. I am still amazed at how much she has grown, learned and changed my life for the better in just three short years. I am so excited to see what joys her forth year brings.

Happy birthday little lady! I love you!

HORSES.

Summer is fading fast. The end of August has carried in some very fall like weather. And after surviving another summer without air conditioning,  the change is very much welcomed. However, it is also a reminder that after a beautiful, crisp fall, will come the dreaded winter. Don't get me wrong, we actually choose to live here, which must mean that we somewhat enjoy it. Winter is pretty here, and with it comes things we enjoy, like cozy days at home, hot cocoa, sledding, and snowman making. But it also means we're stuck indoors (for the most part) for five months. You can't even run out to grab your mail without first bundling up in a sweater and slipping some boots on. My point here is that the end of summer is bittersweet. I love watching the seasons change, one fading into the next, and for the most part, I am ready for the shift. But this summer has been so good. We have been incredibly busy, and made so many memories as a family of four. It will be hard to see this one end. But i'm not stopping til there's snow on the ground, so we're grabbing what's left of summer by the horns and riding it as far as the wind will take us. We're pushing aside our normal evening routines to savor the last few hours of the day. Tonight, we went and fed some horses.

We loaded up a basket with apples from a neighbor's tree and set off. I know what you're thinking, Geesh, first she stole pinecones, now apples?. First of all, it wasn't my idea. I was going to run to the grocery store and grab some, but Nick suggested the neighboring tree. One less stop, with two kids in tow? I'm in. And hey, i'm taking from nature to give back to nature, so I think i'm justified.

I wanted to be brave and show my girl it was no big deal to feed a horse. But truth is, i'm very squeamish about animals getting too close, especially eating from my hand. And have you ever seen a horse's mouth up close? It's nasty. And their teeth are huge. And the slobber everywhere. I just couldn't do it. So we rolled them under the fence and the horses seemed just fine with that. Ha.

It makes my heart swell with joy to see my kids happy, and tonight was no exception. We all enjoyed it for different reasons and a happy memory was made. I couldn't ask for more, except maybe a couple more beautiful August evenings to wring out the last of summer!

HAPPY PEOPLE.

I've anxiously been awaiting this. I couldn't wait for her to learn how to do it so I can proudly display them all over my house and tell my friends 'See that one? That one right there. Yes, the one that looks like a potato with sticks in it. That's me. Isn't it beautiful?' 

It's coming. I don't have sticks yet, but I do look like a potato. Isn't it beautiful?

While some of them may look a bit sad, or even mad, I assure you they are happy people. Because when we ask her to draw a smiley face, this is what we get. And smiley faces are happy people.

She's making them all the time. And I'm gonna pepper my walls with them. Because I am a proud Mama, and that's what I do.

There you have it. Our whole little family of happy people. Mama, Daddy, Nugget and Brother. So proud of my girl.

SNIPPETS.

I'm on a mad quest to play catch up with this blog. I've let it slide the past few weeks while I've focused on other things, mainly Nugget's birthday party (more to come on that soon). So, a short but sweet post, here's what we've been doing as of late.

Making bird feeders. I stole gathered these pine cones from a neighbors yard. They are huge and are just perfect for such a project.

Blowing homemade bubbles. I have fond memories of doing this with my Grandma Mary at her kitchen table. She had way better accessories than I, specifically a bubble pipe, but hey, it was a spur of the moment thing so we made do. After Nugget had a quick lesson in how to blow out through the straw rather than suck in (one wrong inhale is all it takes!), we embarked on some bubble blowing fun.

Nugget hosted a gathering of garden friends.

I made some beets into baby food. Brother enjoyed them, but man, what a disaster of a mess!

Houston, we have a snuggler.

Brother getting a little check up from Doctor Nugget. What a good little patient he is.

Nugget's new favorite morning ritual, snuggling up in Mommy and Daddy's bed and watching Dora. The mornings lately have been a bit chilly, so I can't blame her! Our bed is super cozy.

Nugget got this awesome cupcake from Grandma Sue. It was too pretty not to photograph.

Having some fun in Nugget's kitchen.

My happy little man.

And my pretty little princess. She proclaimed she was going to wear this ensemble to our neighbor's (not the ones I stole the pine cones from) wedding the next day, but I kindly told her that she couldn't trump the bride. Mama overruled on this one, and sister gracefully obliged.

Nugget and Daddy playing some games at our church festival.

The Slaviks and our newly married neighbors, the Dominiak's.

STEPPING OUT.

Until recently, I was a play it safe kind of girl. I admired those who dared to take a risk, try something new, think outside of the box. I always wanted to be a bit more brave, but often fell back into the comforts of the familiar. Case in point: family pictures. I've always styled (if you can even call it that) in fail proof classics. For our engagement photos we wore black. As a family of three we've worn white and brown. Now we're a family of four and i've had enough. No more drab for this mama. I'm stepping out people. And it feels amazing. We've been reminded often that life is all too short and that the risks are worth taking. I want to live my life, I want to show my kids adventure and fun. Although it may be a small step, I did it. And I am beyond thrilled with the results. I opted for color. And patterns. And lots of them. So what if my kids look back at these pictures and scream 'Mom! What in the world were you wearing? and Oh my goodness, look at that ridiculous hat you made me wear!' . Because you know what? This is now. It is our life. And we're living it. I wanted these pictures to reflect exactly who we are today, at this given moment. And we nailed it. See for yourself.

Our happy little family...

Lovers...

Nugget (3 years)...

Brother (6 months)...

I owe a lot to the woman behind the camera. She is not only an amazing photographer, she is also a fabulous friend. You can check out Jennifer Bahn Photography on her website and her blog. She has guided me and inspired me in more ways than one. She has encouraged me on my own photography journey, not once hesitating to share her knowledge. She always oohs and ahhs over my photos and makes me feel so good about them, even though I know I still have a lot to learn. Her soul is kind and sweet. Our husbands get along great and our daughters are the best of friends. Just like I need some color and risks in my life, I need good friends. And I am so glad she is one of them.

Have you stepped out lately? Oh, how i'd love to know.

SIX MONTHS.

This post is a little overdue, but Brother didn't have his six month check up until today. We had to find a new doctor for the kids as our pediatrician left our clinic earlier this summer. I was a little hesitant and my thoughts wandered back and forth a bit, but in the end I followed my gut and we are very pleased with the new doctor we chose. She is kind and sweet, and great with our kids. We're keeping our fingers crossed that she's not going anywhere anytime soon. We don't like change. But she's a local, so hopefully she's here to stay.

Brother checked out good at his appointment, and won over his new doctor with his gorgeous blue eyes and gummy smile.



He's hanging on to the title of 'Little Guy' with his current stats:

Height: 26 1/2" (75%)

Weight: 14 lbs. 7 oz. (7%)

Head: 17" (25%)

The doctor was about to give me the talk about how to fatten this little man up a bit, but then I told her Nugget was the exact same way. She put their charts side by side and they were almost identical. She said 'Nevermind' to her earlier thoughts and told me he'd be just fine. I guess I'm just made to have long and lean babies, even though we'd love to get our hands on a chunky one. Regardless, he's adorable as ever. He's ours and we love him so.

Here's what he's up to at six months:

*LOVES eating solids. He'd love to get his hands on some table food, if only he were just a bit older! If he sees us eating he gets mad and squawks until we feed him too.

*Sitting on his own for the most part. He does really well if he's leaning forward reaching for something. However, he is still prone to toppling over every now and then.

*Gets himself up on his elbows and knees frequently. Perhaps we'll have an early crawler?

*Smiles and laughs all the time. All we have to do is laugh and he joins right in.

*Sleeping fairly well at night. He's waking once or twice, but nurses and then goes right back to sleep. He's down for the night around 8pm and awake by 7am, if not earlier.

*Takes 3 naps a day. Generally at 9am, 12:30pm and 4:30pm. They last anywhere from one to two hours.

*Likes to shake rattles or anything that makes noise, drool over himself in the mirror and suck on Little People. He has a fondness for sister's Little People tractor, and she's fairly good at sharing it with him.

Now for some six month cuteness.

 Snuggling with Daddy post nap.

 First time drinking from a cup like a big boy. Again, he swuaked until I figured out this is what he wanted.

Mama and Brother at the Lonsdale Days parade.