Between Easter and both girls' birthdays happening this month - April is an exciting one this year! I've never been a fan of April Fool's day, so to see that side-lined by Easter and all that it offers was welcome by me! 

This Easter was the most magical yet - Aria's imagination is the best right now and all I want to do it feed it. And Emi.. well Emi likes anything fun, new, different and to see if she can make a mess with whatever it is - so it's always a party. The girls' uncle Steven came into town as well - so we had double the egg dying, hunting, candy and fun! 

We attempted to attend the Good Friday service our church offers, but Emi wasn't having it- we sat in our seats for about 1 minute before she was writhing around on the floor. And being a Friday, kid's classes weren't an option, so we headed back home and listed to music instead. 

Easter eve started with bunny pancakes & making a carrot cake and finishing the eggs we has left in dye overnight. Our eggs turned out awesome. We did regular box dye earlier in the month and attempted our first round of natural dyes - which turned out beautifully! More on what we used and how we did it in my insta stories. I may do a full post on it in the future. 

We also planted "magic jelly beans" that spouted into lollipops.. and the bunny left a trail of footprints to our door.. and Aria was slightly disappointed when the Easter bunny only ate half of the carrot we left out for her - (and Easter bunny is a girl - according to Aria). 

Egg hunts done, Easter grass strewn about and onto Emi's birthday!!! Gah, I can't believe she is TWO!!! How can that be? I can remember holding her for the first time and watching as she was weighed & had her footprints taken, like it was yesterday. 

The only way to start such a day was with a balloon ambush and waffles + sprinkles. 

Seth took the day off from work and our goal was to wear the girls out with all the fun things. Between bouncing on the trampolines at the gymnastics place, picking out cupcakes at Sweet Life, getting lunch out at a sit-down restaurant (which we've maybe done twice before with the girls) they were exhausted.. Emi napped just long enough to be woke up for cake & presents then off to go swimming! 

Our house is littered with tired balloons, paper ice cream cones and all the toys from the Easter eggs. And I love it. We have a birthday sleepover planned with friends and plans for a special day just for Aria at the end of the month. 

A two & four year old. What?! 

I love that each day is new, busy and blooming with imagination, vocabulary and independence. It's always an adventure - I can't wait for summer! 

1. I'm the oldest of 4 kids, I have two sisters and a brother. I find it hilarious when Aria pulls some little trick on Emi. It also makes it hard to scold her when I can relate to Aria's need to bodyslam Emi after she grabbed Aria's barbie and booked it down the hall.. sisterly love right? 
2. This one's not so much about me.. but apart of our life. We have two dogs & an indoor cat and adopted outside cat. Tex, Moey, Dash & Muffin.
3. I've never been out of the country.. or east of the Rocky Mountains.. but we have plans to change that. 
4. My favorite wine is Cabernet Sauvignon.. and I love a good Pinot Noir.. I'm always on the lookout for Petite Verdot- and a glass of Tempranillo is a must for steak.. and Champagne calls my name often.. but my favorite white would be a bright & fruity Sauvignon Blanc.. what can i say?.. I don't discriminate. 
5. I baked cupcakes for small local events, weddings and parties when we lived in Bend (on the side while I still worked at my full time job, so it was more of a hobby). It was so much fun!
6. I still love to bake.. but I do less so now simply because my "self control" is always in the shop - something about it just never seems to work right and all the cupcakes will suddenly be gone. 
7. The sound of my girls laughter - those deep belly giggles in particular - is one of my favorite things EVER. 
8. Food & drinks on the patio, with music & good company, also sits at the top of my "Favorites" list. While in Bend, this was a weekly thing.. one of our friend's houses was referred to as "12 Barrel".. as many of us were friends with the owner's of 10 Barrel when they were getting started. 
9. My favorite show ever is (was) The Walking Dead, even though normally anything with a lot of gore/violence is a huge no for me. I am also obsessed with Orange is the New Black, Grey's Anatomy, Better Call Saul.. and The Patriot. 
10. I love vacuum lines. I'm a bit of a clean freak - and I owe that to my mom. One of the last things I do when I clean the house is vacuum, something about those lines makes me feel like life is in order - at least for the 10 minutes they last. 
11. I am a huge procrastinator - but believe I do best under pressure.. at least that's what I tell myself. 
12. I feel like I'm organized by piles.. a pile on the table, microwave and bedroom dresser.. The hall closet or the garage is the catch-all for all the crap I don't want to look at. 
13. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone is chewing their food loudly or being able to hear the dogs/cat grooming themselves.. I have to leave the room... or bump the dog to make them stop.  
14. I hate texting - I tend to prefer a voice-text, so I apologize for all the missed punctuation and "wtf spell check?" moments..  but I do love texting with emojis
15. The beach holds a special place in my heart. There is nothing like the sounds of the ocean or the feeling of sand beneath your feet.
16. Black is my favorite color. Light black, pitch black, matte black.. black on black..
17. I only like dark coffee..  and I don't own a coffee pot.. or a toaster for that matter. We use an Aeropress for coffee to make an espresso-concentrate.. which is the hands-down best way to have a super smooth iced coffee. I'll drink my coffee black, but most of the time I add a splash of half & half and that's it. For those times I go to Starbucks - the Flat White with one pump vanilla is my jam. 
18. I love to write- but haven't always - I somehow ended up in honors English in high school but never finished one single book we had to read and bs'd my way through the papers. Beyond my little space here, I have small journals for my girls that I try to sit down and write in every few months - something to give them when they are grown.
19. I grew up hiking, fishing, hunting, riding ATV's.. and used the term 'rig' for a car or truck until a few years ago. Just a tiny bit redneck. I look forward to the days I can show our girls that part of me. To teach them to fish, to push themselves up a mountain - literally, and for them hear an elk bugle over the ridge or the excitement in finding an elk or deer shed.. 
20. I love to create. Painting, drawing, and even working with clay. I'd love to have a pottery wheel someday. My grandfather was an incredible artist, I remember spending hours drawing with him as a little girl. 
21. After attending an intensive vocational program, I was a massage therapist for one of the best Chiropractors in Oregon for several years. At the time, I was terrible at taking care of myself and eventually left the massage world, but much of that is what led to my interest in health & wellness. 
22. I love lists, pretty notepads, pens, organizers & planners - Anything that gives me the illusion I'm actually getting things done. 
23. I hate running, but love lifting weights & kettlebell work. 
24. I also hate spiders - even the feel of a cobweb on my skin makes me bust out the spastic dance moves to get it off of me.. God forbid something land in my hair. 
25. I'm not really afraid of heights, but I dread climbing a ladder. And I wasn't much of a risk-taker as a kid.. I didn't even know how to ride a bike until I was eight years old. 
26. We follow an enveloped-based budgeting system. We went through the Dave Ramsey's program a few years ago which was a game changer for our finances and marriage. I highly recommend it for every couple. 
27. I've always wanted to travel the world. Australia, New Zealand, Spain & Ecuador are at the top of my list. To spend some time in the South Pacific is another one. Our goals for the next 5 years are for financial freedom so our dreams can actually come true- we'd rather do something than have something. We have yet to buy a house for this reason. 
28. My babies, my husband & all the rest of the people we love mean the world to me. Creating a fun & happy life for my family is my number one priority.

Aria is three.. and has been for almost two weeks - and that right there is one of the thousand reasons behind the hashtag #momlife..

The day of her birthday, we had so much fun. She picked out her favorite dress, we then headed to the cutest little bakery where she picked out four cupcakes for our little celebration at home that night. The fun continued all day as we went to pick up balloons, run some quick errands for her party the next day and even ended with a fro-yo date topped with all the sprinkes & gummies.

Her party was the next day - cue the Costco platters as I made the cupcakes. A post-naptime celebration would ensure everyone was in a good mood and minimize meltdowns. However, 2:15pm and we hear Aria rustling around in her room followed by the sound of her vomiting. 

Oh no! (you should know there were some other four letter words mixed in there.. ;) 

Her party was set to start at 3:30pm - we had planned to wake the girls at 2:45pm so we could arrive early, but we played janitor as we called all the families to let them know the party was rescheduled. We covered her in Tummygize and she seemed better later that night and she recovered over the next few days. 

Since then, we've been doing our best to enjoy the sunshine which shows itself a few days at time. 

It's been a blur, but to think I became a mama just a couple years ago to the sweetest little girl  - one who's too smart for her own good, has more sass & attitude than any three year old should but the biggest heart and sweetest soul; makes me take a step back and wipe my happy tears.

Over the past year she has become a snuggler, which I can't get enough of. Every night we read stories and talk about our day - and every night she can tell me more, using bigger words, understanding and conversing with me - it's bittersweet because I love each phase a little more than the last, but I long to hold onto those days she'd fall asleep in my arms. 

To see how she loves her little sister makes my heart melt. Insisting on giving her kisses at naptime, bringing her pacis, blankies & sippy cups.. and already convincing Emi to do her dirty work.. gets me every time. 

Our littlest and wildest turns a year old this week! Where does time go? I look back at pictures, and can remember the situation around each picture, almost feeling like I can remember that day, but then I can't comprehend how they feel like the days were so long ago, but yesterday at the same time. Memories are funny that way. 

To celebrate our little peanut, we invited a few special friends and family members over for a mid morning brunch. Waffles, overnight french toast, homemade whip cream, and of course, a smash cake, all washed down with and iced coffee & juice bar. 

The night before, while making the cake, there was some leftover batter for a few cupcakes. Aria happily claimed one for herself, making sure to take good care of it, extra careful holding it - but not eating it, just caring for it like a little pet.  Emi, a tiny tornado, sweeps through the room and finds big sis has a treat. We warned Aria to keep the cupcake away from Emi, however in one fell swoop, Emi's little mitts mashed that cupcake into bits. If you hadn't known what had happened, you might think that some awful tragedy had struck, that someone had died or a cat got ran over - Aria came unglued, meanwhile Emi just wanted to know what the sticky crap on her fingers was.. 

Emerson, surprisingly was very hesitant to smash into the cake the next morning.. but after a few interested taps into the frosting, she discovered that the sweet stuff was delicious and helped herself to a chunk of cake. 

We kept everything pretty simple and low key with an at home party. Butterflies seemed fitting for our sweet girl and the fact that we are seeing more Spring-like weather. We set everythiang up at our dining table pressed against the wall. The older girls had more fun moving their plates around in a game of keep-away from Emi rather than eating their waffles. We socialized, chilled out, let the sugar run its course, then enjoyed some 3 hour naps from the kids. 

We had so much fun celebrating our sweet girl. She's the happiest little thing, all the time. She loves Aria so much, with the biggest smile coming over her every time they play, or when Aria goes in for a hug. She only has her two bottom teeth, but assumes the role of "snow-monster" when the older kids decide to run around the house, Emi will follow, room to room growling with glee. She loves smooches, snuggles and to play peek-a-boo and a little game of look-away. 

Thank you to all of those who joined us to celebrate! Happy first birthday sweet little Emerson Rose, stay wild my child, we love you so! 

This little ice-cream queen turned two this week, so to celebrate we filled the days with ice-cream, or rather "kweeb" in Aria's terms, sprinkles, popsicles and all thinks pink & fun. 

We kept her actually birth day celebration low key at home with family to open presents and blow out her candles. We decided to go with a play kitchen for her birthday this year. With a big thank you going out to my brother-in-law for venturing to Ikea and hauling it up here from Cali earlier in the month. Aria loves to be in the kitchen with us. We set her on the counter to make coffee and pancakes in the mornings or give her spoons and a mixing bowl of Cheerios to mix and sort, so it just seemed perfect. 

We told family our plans of a kitchen so everyone pitched in all sorts of kitchen themed gifts & accessories.. pots & pans, food and all the cutest tiny utensils. Why are tiny spoons and cups so much cuter than regular ones? ;) I've found that there is a never ending list of hacks to make the little wooden kitchen even cuter! A mini kitchen renovation may already be in the plans. ;) 

I decided to make her cake myself again this year. I had the hardest time deciding between several ideas I had, but went with a gluten & dairy-free chocolate cake recipe with dairy-free vanilla frosting topped with dairy-free fudge and a faux ice cream cone. I wasn't quite brave enough to make this an actual ice-cream filled cake- maybe next year. ;)  

With the extra batter I made some mini cupcakes. Sprinkle dipped waffle cones and vanilla & strawberry coconut ice cream a la mode. 

Watching her blow out her little candle on her cake may be my favorite part. She wasn't quite sure what to make of us all singing "Happy Birthday" to her, she had the cutest little smile on her face as she looked at us all as if we'd lost our minds. Her recent bubble blowing made for great practice for her birthday wishes. She was so happy as blew out the flame. 

I've cream cones, sprinkles all over the floor and too much sugar before bed made for one happy toddler. She had so much fun! 

Friday we had planned an ice-cream play date at the park, but cooler, rainy weather made for a change of plans that made my living room look like a pink tornado hit. Baby dolls, tea party remnants and all the play jewelry made for a toddler-created mine field. 

I seriously cannot believe this sweet girl made me a mom, and her daddy & I parents just two years ago. It's bittersweet, as she's growing too fast, but I cannot wait to see what this coming year brings. We love you Aria, happy second birthday baby girl! 

Aria is turning TWO tomorrow! How can that be!?

She is our sweet, sassy, wild girl, which makes all of her emotions extra big, including how she loves. When she smiles her whole face lights up, she loves to snuggle on the couch every morning and snuggle into our lap for bedtime stories at night. She puckers up for a kiss & tells us "yuv you!" which is almost too much to handle. She tries our patience & pushes our buttons, but then turns on the charm & makes us forget all about it. 

She's still adjusting to becoming a big sister, but does love Emerson so much. She is quick to share her very favorite blanket and makes sure Emi has her binky. She gives her kisses on her head, brushes her fingers through her hair and say "awe, sweet!", which melts my heart! 

She is a little comedian, she always knows when she is being funny & will do anything to make us all laugh. She is both a mama's girl & a daddy's girl. 

Aria has stolen our hearts, day after day, and we can't believe she is turning two tomorrow! As I look through pictures and watch videos of her past two years, I've become a puddle on the floor. This sweet girl made me a mama and I couldn't be more thankful & blessed. I savor each moment as much as I can, as I realize the days of her being a little girl are fleeting. As much as I reminisce on her days as a baby, I look forward to watching to grow, reaching new milestones and each new phase of life. We love you sweet baby girl! 

"Hold her a little longer,

Rock her a little more, 

Read her another story,

(You've only read her four),

Let her sleep on your shoulder,

Rejoice in her happy smile,

She is only a little girl

For such a little while."