valentine's mail + olympics

gosh valentine's day snuck up on this year! we didn't get our grandparent valentine's mailed out as early as we usually do, but i'm so glad we did them!

kendall got a little more serious about it this year and wrote 'novels' to her grandparents.

and brooklyn loved writing hers without any help this year.

this year we went to the post office to mail them and that was an adventure. they thought it was so cool to mail them in the 'big mail slot'.

the olympics are a big deal around our house and we love any chance to get together with family to celebrate that! my mother in law put together the cutest little opening ceremony party for all of us. the kids got pom poms and everything!

adalyn's hair is finally getting long enough for piggy tails and i love it!

we celebrated some good behavior and took the girls to red robin. they proved to us that they can behave so well at a restaurant. especially if that restaurant has bottomless fries and dip. they couldn't get enough! they also ate their actual meals so well and we told them we'll have to go back again soon.

we are 20 weeks!

most important thing first, we are now 20 weeks over here. i am honestly overwhelmed with gratitude when i think about being halfway through this pregnancy. a pregnancy that started out very scary for me. i seriously am so incredibly happy. i feel baby move and i can't help but smile and seriously feel so so blessed. 

20 weeks.

you won't hear me complain about pregnancy. sure i don't sleep well and i have the headaches and the leg aches, but i will take it one hundred times and over and over. these little pesky things will never compare to being able to bare children. when it's something that you want so badly, there is no room for complaints. i know too many women who would give their lives just to experience pregnancy that i hope i never forget what a miracle it truly is. so if you ever hear me complain, slap me across the face, hard. and i mean that.

we get to have our big ultrasound next week and i definitely look forward to it. with brooklyn, i wouldn't really believe she was a girl until her 20 week ultrasound. i didn't buy anything pink (or anything baby) until after that ultrasound. i guess i feel a tad superstitious that something could still go wrong, which is obviously not a healthy way to think, but i really can't even help it. so we're praying for a healthy ultrasound next week to help us feel even more excited (and relaxed) about this baby. 

brooklyn talks about her baby sister often now. i love it. i don't force it on her or even ask her about having a baby sister. she just comes up with all these things she's going to teach her. like how to blow bubbles with bubblegum. something she looks forward to learning how to do it as well. 

our weekend was enjoyable. like i mentioned on friday, i was super stoked for the opening ceremonies and have been enjoying the olympics all weekend. i seriously get obsessed. i love it. brooklyn has loved watching the ice skating. she runs around the room like she's on skates and i totally relate to that. gosh i wanted to be able to do that so bad when i was a young girl. who am i kidding, i want to be able to do that now! the ruesch clan joined us and we enjoyed some yummy snacks. a little healthy mixed with the not so healthy.

(i am not even joking, if you haven't tried those coconut delight oreos...go get some NOW! RUN!)

brooklyn enjoyed a morning play date on saturday. she ran to the door, knocked on it, and made sure that i wasn't coming in with her. she's growing up way too fast.

this was my weekend reading material...

i'm a sucker for a good housekeeping book. this one in particular is from my MIL. she gave it to all the gals in the family for v-day. i love it! and the good ol potty training book (also given to me by my MIL). yes, that is in our very near future. pray for me.

we had our taxes done. always a good feeling to have done. 

and we definitely vegged and just enjoyed the olympics. i love these kind of weekends. i'm happy to be surrounded by my little family, who are healthy and happy, just enjoying some relaxation. looking forward to a week full of valentine's fun. 

h a p p y  m o n d a y 

happy list.

here's my happy list on this bright snowy friday.

1. this girl who wanted so badly to 'stretch' her own scone for dinner last night. she was beaming with pride.

2. homemade dulce de leche. i've wanted to try this forever, and i finally did. it is delish over ice cream. recipe here. 

3. my husband making his side of the bed before he goes to work (and i'm still sleeping in the other half). he's been doing this for a few weeks and it always makes me smile.

4. feeling this baby's kicks and wiggles in the early morning hours. i love it. i felt her move from the outside for the first time this week. so exciting!

5. my feral watch. it's brand spankin' new and i haven't worn it out of the house yet. around the house with the stopper still in it, you bet.

6. the olympics! we love the olympics at our house and we always try and watch as much of it as we can. we watched events last night and are looking forward to the opening ceremonies tonight.

7. i finished the Book of Mormon this morning! only 2 days early, but i'm so excited and i always feel so happy after i finish it again. 

8. this article. i loved every single bit of it!

h a p p y  w e e k e n d i n g 

my first happy list here and another one here.

a girl and her box.

our day started out with olympics, both watching and a little participating. brooklyn calls this sport, diaper box surfing. it absolutely makes me a nervous wreck. this girl is fearless. she bounces, dances, squats down, and even holds things while she's on top of that box. she has fallen a few times, but never hesitates to jump right back up there. i guess that deserves a gold for perseverance and determination.

the rest of the day was pretty uneventful. i spent it pulling everything out of my lazy susan and getting rid of things that expired or things that were basically empty. i'm really not wanting to move anything with us that we don't absolutely have to. as fun as that wasn't, it is so nice to have that checked off my to do list.

when james got home we checked something off our summer bucket list and had brats (bratwursts) for dinner. so good. and so very good hot off the grill. then we headed to the library to claim our summer library reading program prizes. brooklyn even got to choose her book. okay okay. she kind of chose her book. i narrowed it down to my favorite two and then i let her choose. there was a much better selection for the adult books than i had expected. i had a really hard time choosing. i almost almost got a danielle steele wonder, but instead, i went with the one below. brooklyn was so excited about her book and had both her dad and me read it to her several times before she went to bed. i love it.

was she happy to go to bed?

no.

but she'll be excited to know that we have another day of olympic watching and 'participating' when she wakes up in the morning. maybe she'll try something else like speed drawer emptying. the possibilities are endless. especially when you're 1 year old.