9.23.2013

4 Months | Miss V

Dustin and I have been enjoying watching Olivia grow over the past 4 months, and we are especially excited for fall. Today I bought pumpkins for our front steps. Now that fall has arrived, we’ve been reaching for delicious SweetTango apples, drinking cider, lighting our pumpkin candles, and as the holidays creep closer & closer, my heart sings with happiness that this year we’ll be a family of 3 enjoying them together.
Four-Month Stats:
Date: Monday, September 23, 2013.
Weight: 15 lbs, 3 oz | Length: 24.5 inches long
Diapers // Clothes: Size 3 diapers | Clothes are still sized 0-3 Months | Pajamas are Hanna Andersson Size 50 (0-6 Months)
Sleep: Still an awesome sleeper. You rock, baby girl :) We put you to bed around 10pm and you typically sleep until about 9 or 10am. You usually take a short late morning nap, and a 2-3 hour afternoon nap (starting around 1:30pm). During your daytime naps we give you your little blanket and you love to snuggle it. You’re still in your bassinet but by next month we may transition you to your crib!
Milestones: You giggled for the first time last week (9/20/13) when Daddy was pretending to sneeze! In addition to being such a happy smiling babe, you are starting to love your tummy time! You hold your head up so strong and inch across the bed or floor by using your arms for pulling and your legs for pushing. You are nearly able to roll over and you love to hold your bottle all by yourself.
Favorites: In the past few weeks we’ve introduced you to Freddie the Firefly and you love playing with him in your carseat. You hold onto the plastic rings and fall asleep still gripping them. Your favorite thing to do is wiggle and smile. When we hand you a stuffed animal, you hug it so sweetly.
4-Month “Birthday Book” - The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger
Monthly Letter to our Little Lady:
Olivia - Our hearts melted to a whole new level last week when we heard you giggling. Mommy even cried! The joy you bring to our life is beyond anything we could ever imagine or hope for; you are the most perfect little angel and we are so proud of you. The past four months have been the best of our lives. You are so loved by so many. Happy Four Months, Via Bea!

9.21.2013

Olivia's 1st Giggles



  • via is napping. dusty is napping 
    chicken tortilla soup is in the crock pot
    a pile of dove milk chocolate promises sits next to me
    & I heard my baby girl share her first giggles with us today

    my day is made.
    Happy weekend.

9.20.2013

in love.


    in love
    in love
    in love

    apple of my eye

      when I arrived home from work tonight, Dustin had already left for work. Olivia was in my mom’s arms, ready for bed & all smiles when I walked in the door. I walked upstairs to put a few things away and upon entering the bedroom, I spotted rose petals and a card on the bed. my husband had left a simple surprise for me that absolutely melted my heart. the card said “you are the apple of my eye,” and could not have been more perfect. around midnight, I received an email from Dustin with an explanation of where the phrase originated (because he knows I love that sort of thing):
      "The phrase ‘Apple of my Eye’ refers to something or someone that one cherishes above all others; the person of whom one is extremely fond of. The origin comes from the Bible in Deuteronomy 32:11: "God found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye." If someone were to touch the apple of your eye it would be very painful and so it is protected by the eyelid. The biblical imagery is that we are the apple of God’s eye and God is the eyelid who protects us."
      long story short, (err, long), this blog post is dedicated to my hubby, hard at work into the early hours of morning. he is the most incredible human being and even now, after a year of marriage & a beautiful baby girl, I am still in awe that he chose me to be his wife.

      9.18.2013

      little muffin

      life with this little muffin gets better every single day
      dustin is working nights for the next few weeks so us girls have been so happy to have Dad home during the day. 
      [This of course means lots of extra-fun adventures that we normally wouldn’t be able to enjoy until the weekends roll around] 
      yesterday we went to the apple orchard.
      today, starbucks.
       
      Olivia is inching up on being 4 months old and she is ever so delightful (& happy as a clam, I might add).
       
      That’s all for now. Dustin & I are speaking tonight at Bethel and then its off to work for him and mommy&me time for Olivia before bed. Coming soon…our favorite fall recipes, Olivia’s 4-month stats, and more!

      9.17.2013

      my little bear

      being a mom is the absolute best thing in life
      hands down.
      this little bear steals my heart over & over again
      I love the way she lights up when I walk in the room
      She knows I’m her mommy & it is beyond rewarding
      I love the way she winds herself down for bed,
      Hearing her sweet little noises as she begins falling asleep melt my heart 
      I love the way she grins when I put her in the carseat
      Its like she knows we’re off on another adventure 
      I love the way she falls sleep gripping onto her toy or blanket in the stroller
      (And the way she puts her blanket/dress/bib/burp cloth in her mouth every time she has the chance)



      I love the way she grabs onto my hand and pulls it toward her when I’m changing her or getting her dressed
      Its her little way of showing affection 
      I love giving her eskimo kisses every night when I’m tucking her in
      She is my dream come true.

      9.13.2013

      16 weeks | Miss V

      this little muffin is 16 weeks old today
       she is our littlest angel & as adventurous and curious as ever

      9.11.2021

      as of late

      Miss Bea is sound asleep upstairs in her bassinet. I contemplated taking a nap this afternoon, especially since Dustin is working late this week, but I thought the blog could use a little love first. We both have had a busy morning and a busy schedule over the past few days. Lots of fun and many things to come.
      here are few things that we have been up to lately:
      hanging new art in the babe’s nursery
      having Olivia dedicated at our church this past Sunday & hosting a big lunch with family & friends afterward (photos coming soon)
      started my new part-time job & loving loving loving it!
      celebrated my dad’s 60th birthday
      now planning a celebration for my mom’s 56th birthday next weekend
      & starting to think about my husband turning 28 in a few weeks (oh my goodness once he’s 28 I will really feel young)
      attended a new group at church (Girls of Grace // Homemakers) today & met some awesome people
      spending time with grandma Bea
      bought our little lady a blabla knit doll (fleur the bunny)
      cleaning, shopping & decorating our home for fall // burning heirloom pumpkin & woodfire candles, set out new glass pumpkins & stocked up on fall treats and everything needed for homemade pumpkin icecream (on the menu for my mom’s birthday dinner this Sunday)
      yardwork & landscaping (okay, so mostly that is something Dustin has been doing…but hey, I stand in the backyard while giving my input and throwing some encouraging phrases in there)
      writing thank-yous for all the beautiful gifts we received on Sunday
      getting excited about my rubber stamping class starting next Thursday
      preparing to speak at Bethel with Dustin next week
      thrilled that the Marriage Matters (MM) Fall Kickoff is only a few weeks away
      spending more time hugging and kissing my husband (hugging, seriously, is SO underrated)
      & cherishing every moment I have with my littlest angel.
      life is good.

      9.10.2021

      my sun + my moon + all of my stars

        9.09.2021

        my little cub



        I fall more in love with her every single day. Can’t she just stay my little bear cub forever?

        9.05.2021

        traditional gifts

        Sunday was our 1-year anniversary. 
        For those of your unfamiliar with the “traditional gifts,” here they are for the first 5 years:
        1st anniversary: paper
        2nd anniversary: cotton
        3rd anniversary: leather
        4th anniversary: fruit (edible arrangements, anyone?)
        5th anniversary: wood (maybe we’ll start to build our own home like we always dreamed of!)
        some of them you have to be more creative with than others.
        Lucky for us, paper is easy. 
        Let me just preface this by saying, Dustin is difficult to shop for (sorry, hunny, but it’s the truth). And by difficult, I mean this is the general conversation we have every time a holiday/birthday/special event is approaching: 
        “What do you want for our anniversary/your birthday/Christmas?”
        “Oh, I don’t know. There’s really nothing I need.”
        “I know, but what do you WANT?”
        “Hmm, I can’t really think of anything.”
        “Okay…well…let me know if you do.”
        (Incase you were wondering, he usually doesn’t).
        So, here I am, left trying to be creative and think outside the box. Well, I love to spoil Dustin the way he spoils me (though I don’t think I’ll ever quite reach his level), so for our first anniversary, I wanted to get him something unique and fun that he can enjoy every day. My first choice was to buy him a new car and give him the title (pink slip) in his anniversary card, then wrap the keys in a box. Seeing as I’m a stay-at-home Mom, a benz was a bit out of my budget this year. SO, the next best thing was a bit more affordable.
        We have a bare wall in our kitchen that has been begging for some artwork for some time now. What better way to spruce it up than with 6 kitchen-related vintage prints arranged in a gallery-wall style in various frames? His first gift was 6 prints (ranging from 8x10 to 11x14) and frames for the neglected white kitchen wall (he was thrilled by the way).
        Continuing on the theme of paper, I purchased another print (a customized venn diagram) for him to hang anywhere in our house and then a vintage 18x24 stork print for Olivia’s nursery. My mom & dad also gave us a “paper” gift for our first anniversary - a beautiful card, money for a date night and a lovely customized 8x10 print for Olivia’s nursery (photos coming soon!)
        Well, my paper prints were all a hit in his book (& I was rather proud of myself).
        Dustin, too, gave me two beautiful “paper” gifts, among other things.
        First, this customized “EYE CHART,” which is now hanging in our stairwell. 
        It reads, “I love you more today than I did yesterday but not as much as tomorrow.”
        And secondly, a one-year subscription to my very favorite magazine, Real Simple. My first issue will be arriving in the coming weeks. Hooray.
        Here are a few other ideas for traditional anniversary gifts: 
        PAPER (Year 1):
        Books, magazines, any paper-related subscriptions, prints, a handmade card or handwritten letter, concert/event tickets, frame your wedding vows, monogrammed stationary (for us girls), a new journal or notebook, an XL map to plan future travels, a classic coffee table book, a personal photobook (I would definitely recommend artifact uprising), a neat calendar (my go-to is papersource) 
        COTTON (Year 2):
        Clothes/new outfit, new Egyptian cotton bedding, monogrammed bathrobe, luggage, cotton candy (genius!), new shoes, a necktie, apron and chef’s hat if your hubby loves to cook 
        LEATHER (Year 3):
        Watch with a leather band, leather wallet, a new belt, a leather-bound book, shoes or boots, a new purse, gardening gloves (are they made out of leather?), autographed baseball/football/soccer ball or basketball, etc.
        FRUIT (Year 4):
        Edible arrangement, chocolate dipped strawberries, plan a picnic with fresh fruit, plan a date to go strawberry picking (if anniversary is in summer) or apple picking (if in fall), vintage kitchen prints with fruit on them, a fruit basket, gourmet caramel apples, wine (hey, its made from grapes so it counts, right?), bake a fruit pie…yes, we are being creative. 
        WOOD (Year 5):
        A wooden clock, an engraved plaque, a new top-notch cutting board, a jewelry box, a game set (pegs & jokers, anyone?), barbecue tools (the grate scrape is incredible!), or just carve your initials into a tree with a heart around them!
        ——
         p.s. When I peeked on Olivia this morning, I could have sworn she grew like crazy overnight! I laid her on her changing pad and grabbed a diaper. It was so small; I couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought to myself, “there is no way she grew out of these diapers so drastically overnight, what is going on.” As she laid there, wiggling and smiling, I was amazed that the supposed size 2s no longer fit her. Well, I looked closer to discover a NEWBORN size diaper had been misplaced in the size 2 pack, so no wonder she seemed to have outgrown them over night! I was so glad to see that Size 2s still fit just fine, and that maybe time didn’t fly as fast last night as I’d first thought.
        happy hump day.

        9.02.2022

        paper | our 1st anniversary

        Today is our 1st anniversary. It is crazy to believe that not only have we been married a YEAR already, but we have a 3-month old baby girl.
        Here’s a brief timeline of our relationship: 
        December 24. 2006 - we meet & we eat a spaghetti dinner on Christmas Eve together. A friendship follows effortlessly.
         October 4, 2021 - after dating for the past year, Dustin asks me (officially!) to be his girlfriend 
        June 23, 2021 - Dustin takes a knee & pops the question. This was by far the biggest surprise of my life (way to be sneaky, Dust! It’s tough to pull a fast one on me!)
        September 1, 2021 - we tie the knot (a truly perfect day) 
         
        October 3, 2021 - Dustin turns 27; 3 positives later…it’s official — we’re expecting! (2nd biggest surprise of my life) 
        May 23, 2021 - Via Bea is born. (our greatest adventure yet)
        (We recently discovered there were exactly 700 days between when dustin proposed & our little olive was born. Pretty darn neat.)
        The past year has been a rollercoaster of fun, laughter, growth, new experiences, learning, changing, and loving one another through it all. I fell even more in love with my husband as I watched him support me through my first pregnancy and as I witnessed him being an incredible father to Olivia. Dustin’s sense of humor - one of the first qualities that attracted me to him - is still in full force (and a necessity for parenting)! Dustin has a heart of gold and he always give me the very best. He puts my happiness and well being above his own, and he truly treats me like a queen. He is always optimistic, encouraging, uplifting and cheerful. We can act silly like little kids in one moment and make serious decisions regarding our daughter and our future the next. 
        In our home & marriage, there is a perfect balance of playfulness, responsibility, understanding, communication, support and fun. Dustin brings out the very best in me and he always gets me, even when I don’t always get me… (It’s so good to be got). There are no words I can use to express how much I love the man he is; God really blessed me with my knight in shining armor when he put Dustin into my life. I can only hope and pray that our little lady marries a man just like her daddy, because he is amazing in every way.
         Happy Anniversary, baby! I love you so very much. You are my dream come true and our adventure together has just begun! Here’s to many more years, a lot more laughs, a bunch more kiddos and endless love! XOXO

        9.01.2022

        feeling extra blessed

          feeling extra blessed by the beautiful family God has given me
          there are no words to describe these 6 most wonderful, incredible people I have ever known
          (Grandpa Milan, we miss you & love you very much)

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