wordless{ish} wednesday: sad day in hat land.

the hat.  it no longer fits.

this is a very sad day around here... the hat has been p-ray's trademark for quite some time.  but it has gotten to the point where it leaves red marks on his forehead when he wears it & that can't be good, right?  we don't wanna restrict his brain/head growth or something, i guess.  so the hat has been retired.

why do we get so emotionally attached to our kids' items?  i'm sure parker couldn't care less.  we bought another hat for him in the next size up but it's just not the same {we couldn't find the exact same hat in toddler size.  boo.}  but maybe this new one will grow on me.  we'll see.

{linking up with wordless wednesday at and then she {snapped},  baby baby lemon, the paper mama, jenni from the blog & a little king & i}

steppin' out & the freakin' weekend.

i feel like i blinked & the weekend was over.  seriously, we jam-packed so much into these last couple days & i am so not ready for a monday.

saturday i fit in a friend's baby shower, a maternity photo session & a date night with my family.  it was one of those days where you have about fifteen minutes to catch your breath between activities & then when it's all over you realize boom.  you just had a rad day.

our family date nights are pretty romantic... sam & i split a burger & ate our weight in steak fries.  parker barely touched anything in his meal besides ketchup-dipped apples.  and then this time?  we took it up a notch.  we went to cabela's to buy trigger locks for sam's guns.  that's how we do it.

parker was way more excited about all the taxidermy-stuffed animals than we expected.  the rest of the night all we heard was "elephant!  zebra!  fish!  deer!  more deer??"

looks like more trips to the world's most expensive outdoorsman's store will be in our future.

and sunday was lazy.  there were naps, leftovers & movies.  we watched "being elmo" & i may have cried some serious pregnancy-induced-hormonal tears because it was such an amazing story.  it's on netflix instant queue, so watch it tonight.

and lastly?  i blow-dried my hair & put on some heels for church-going.

here's a steppin' out fun fact for ya:  this dress/boots combo is the same outfit i wore on my very first steppin' out post back in october 2010.  but back then it didn't serve as a comfy maternity dress.  and i was blonde... ish.

and parker?  he's still pretty dang cute.  only now with a little more hair.

and then there's these two.  i like them.

happy monday friends!

{linking up for steppin' out saturday with mandy at harper's happenings.  it's fun, so do it.}

our week by iPhone - week 67

i liked this week.  even though parker is getting more persistant & his emotions are getting a little more extreme {i'm laughing!  i'm crying!  i'm so happy!  i'm so mad!!!} he is such a blast.  and bonus.  this week was awesome because he napped at least a solid two hours every single day without any drama.  and that makes for a good week in my book.

here's what it looked like in iPics.

monday started off with book exchange day at stroller strides.  after a sweet work out we scored a sweet new {to us} book.  win win.

and do i lose my place in the mom of the year runnings for picking up my kid his first happy meal?  if so, i don't wanna be right.  because he loved those nuggets & i loved a break from making lunch for a day.

after naptime we snuggled on the couch while i stalled doing housework but eventually did my thang while p-ray ran around as the blanket monster & played with trains on the windowsill.  two of his favorite things.

monday ended with a skpye date with my very attractive friends.

tuesday was a very exciting day!  it was the day that our new toybox made its move into the house.  the paint is dry & all the parts are in place.  sam is pretty much dad of the year for single handedly finishing this project up.  more on this later.

wednesday i attempted to shop at normal stores for clothes that will work later in my pregnancy.  i got kinda depressed & ended up leaving the store with a t-shirt.  sweet.  really upping the fashion sense there.

the rest of the day proved to be pretty awesome for parker.  happy times at the grocery store, train ride-pushes from dad & goof-ball bath-time with mom.  it's too bad this kid is so hard to please.

i finally cracked open mockingjay wednesday night with the help of some milk & oreos.  this is becoming a nightly thing & i like it.

thursday.  while i was satisfying a major pregnancy craving at work with an amazing deli turkey sandwich {thanks for all your input on the deli meat issue facebook friends!} parker was playing kitchen at his sitter's house, which apparently tuckered him the heck out because he slept flat on his face with his arm pinned underneath his body.  ouch.

friday.  parker & i were pretty happy to go on a costco shopping spree & to have a full fridge & freezer.  seriously, why does costco have so much good stuff??

post-nap snuggles in mom's bed turned into family snuggle time when sam came home from work & immediately put on his jammies & joined the club.  that's how we do friday night at our house.  but once parker was asleep the real party started... sportscenter for sam & mockingjay for amy.  we're crazy like that.

***photos edited via instagram.  do you instagram?  find me @amy_agoodlife & let's picture bond!***

that was our week!  how was yours?  i wanna see, so link up!

Game Rules:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

2.  if you want to grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog do it.

and please post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.
the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=133106" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

sixteen weeks. bump.

{compare kid two belly to parker belly here.}

look!  there's a baby in there!  and now i feel like i'm pregnant.  i feel like i can't hold in my stomach any more or attempt at looking not-pregnant when in public.  that poochy tummy is out there for all to see.  and that's good right?  that's what we want.  a growing belly!

yup, i heard baby's heartbeat for the fourth time this week.  why?  because i am an incessant worrier with an obliging doctor's office.  they are awesome in that the nurses at my OB's office will let you call with just a few minutes notice & then before you know it you're laying on a bed listening to your baby's heartbeat.  it is music to my ears, every. single. time.  you're in & out in ten minutes with a whole lotta reassurance that everything is ok.  because i worry a lot.  i mean, it's such a weird time period in pregnancy... your symptoms are dwindling but yet you don't have the constant movement/kicking from baby to assure you that everything is ok.

last week i said i had a premonition of kid two's gender.  welp, i'm back to having absolutely no idea.  some things with this pregnancy are very different from parker & some things are exactly the same.  i just have no idea what this baby is gonna be... hopefully either a boy or a girl.

i am so anxious for our big ultrasound.  not only because i can't WAIT to know if it's a mini amy or mini sam #2 in there but because there are so many other questions that you get some answers to.  are the vital organs forming ok?  what does my baby's little profile look like?  is baby the right size?  are its bones strong & in place?  is my body doing everything right in there?

these are the questions that run through my head constantly.   and i'd like to think the ultrasound will ease all these fears but i know better than that.  i know by now that this is just the beginning of a lifetime of worry for my little baby.

and i already love that little avocado in my tummy so very, very much.

{i'm linking up with the "my pregnancy journal" meme over at happenings of the harper household.  if you're prego & blogging about it, then you should too!}

befores & afters.

first off?  we are having a serious run of crap weather here in the pacific northwest.  like, flood warning torrential downpour weather.  and this is no fun for a photographer with a new camera who wants to get outside & put her stuff to the test!  i haven't been able to shoot a single session with my new camera & it's killing me.  killing me dead, people!  rain, go away!  i've scheduled a maternity session this weekend so i'm crossing my fingers & toes & eyes & whatever else that it happens because i'm getting a little bit anxious.

in the meantime what have i been doing?  making good on some of my home projects.  things are getting wrapped up around here & maybe it's nesting or maybe it's cabin fever but either way it's progress.  the toybox we started like a million years ago is now complete & sitting in our living room holding way more toys than the little basket we used before did & it feels like we have officially reclaimed our living room from the millions of blocks & cars & puzzle pieces that previously overran it.  although, the finishing of the toybox must be credited 100% to sam... and a post will be dedicated to this later.

for now, here's a little project that took me just a few days.

when we had our family photos done a couple weeks ago i knew that i specifically wanted something i could blow up & display that really captured my little family.  and the photo ledge in our entry way was waaaaaay embarassingly out of date so i knew i wanted to do something there.  after getting our photos back from stacy jacobsen, i went to work.

this was our photo ledge as it had existed for the last six years in our entryway:

random beach pictures of sam & me from when we were DATING.  that's like, forever ago.  parker wasn't even a twinkle in our eye at that point!  and if you look really closely, you may even recognize that there isn't even a photo in the last frame.  i guess i never got around to filling that one.  who does that??

ok, my concept for the new photos as designed in photoshop:

i measured the ledge & drafted the sizes that i thought would look good.  from left to right the prints are 8x10", 16x24" canvas, 5x7" & 8x10".  i also made the pinterest inspired date print in photoshop too.

after all the prints came back & i painted the ledge white {five coats later!} here is what it looks like in real life:

i am in l-o-v-e LOVE with it.  it really brightens up our entry way & finally shows off my little family to the rest of the house.  love it.

and one more little before & after before we go.

i remember reading somewhere {i'm sure it was a blog... sorry to whoever it was, i wish i could credit you!} but they encouraged you, as a picture-taker, to just plain & simply always take the shot.  if something's happening in the moment & your settings may be all wrong & you think in your head it won't turn out... who cares.  take the shot.  it may be improved a bit in photoshop & a crappy picture is probably better than none at all.

this has stuck with me.  if parker's doing something crazy i'll snap a couple pictures without even looking at my settings & then attempt at adjusting them to get that perfect shot.  but oftentimes the moment has passed.

that happened today.  he was cracking himself up by tickling his own neck... one of the most ticklish parts on his little body.  he was tickling & giggling & this was the first shot i took:

after some quick edits in photoshop, i was able to make it somewhat decent.

he is so goofy.  and if i could freeze him in this stage of life i might consider doing it.  but then again maybe not... because i'm sure someday it will be nice not to have to wipe yogurt out of those neck crevices after breakfast.

steppin' out: it was ladies night.

i warned you guys there would be a post about my blogger meet up, what i didn't warn you about was the bazillion pictures that would be forthcoming.  but c'mon, we're bloggers.  it's what we do.

and by "what" i mean get together, talk & laugh loudly in a restaurant, mill in a mass to the yogurt shop, gather in the middle of the mall & laugh & eat yogurt like little girls {where are all the cute boys at??}, take pictures of each other doing weird & random things all while tweeting/facebooking/instagram-ing every second of it & then making our way across the mall to F21 to try on hats & clothes & eventually get yelled at for taking pictures.  i guess F21 is against a whole lotta free advertising from about 14 blogger-girls.  whatevs.

needless to say, fun was had.  many laughs {to tears!} were had & i was reminded how much it hurts to wear four inch heels from one end of a mall to the other but also how fun it can be to act like a crazy person in a herd of like-minded mamas.  the girls i'd met before became even closer friends & the ones i met for the first time have now been upgraded to "real life" friends as opposed to "internet" friends.  so that's something.

here's the rundown on the night & of course some pictures for a "steppin' out" post with harper's happenings which i haven't done in AGES.  hopefully this is the beginning of a resurrection of those posts.

i don't know how NOT to stand like mary katherine gallagher in front of a camera.  it's so awkward!

{yes i was really enjoying touching mandy's belly that much}

here's everyone, from left to right:

amanda, jill, chelsey, chelsea, fiona, melissa, mandy, me, ashley, mandy, emily, stephanie & kiara.

oh what F21?  i guess we got a few shots in before we were scolded.  winning.

can't wait to do it all again with this group of crazy fun ladies!

our week by iPhone - week 66

another week that has gone by in a blur.  valentine's was awesome & i took all kinds of pictures with the intention of doing a v-day post but it probably just isn't gonna happen.  you'll survive without seeing a play by play of my homemade chocolate dipped strawberries, right?

we had an awesome week & an awesome v-day & samm-o did an awesome job on the day o' love.  so props to him for that.  here's what it all looked like!

monday.  after stroller strides, p-ray & i picked up some strawberries to try our hand at chocolate-dipping them.  more on that later.  i spent nap-time editing pictures from my first newborn session {check out my favorites HERE!} & p-ray spent bath time looking cute & chubby.  love him.

tuesday.  parker started the day of love off with a v-day themed brekkie & then i showed some 80's love at stroller strides for 80's day.  after an awesome workout we headed downtown to pick up some cupcakes for dessert & then went home to prepare all of sam's goodies.  we made handmade cards & dipped strawberries in chocolate & it turns out they are way too easy to make.  this is dangerous knowledge.

after sam got home we ate pizza, drank root beer & then i watched him & parker wrestle.  it was pretty much perfect.

wednesday.  i got a taste of what two kiddos will feel like someday & parker got a taste of what being a big kid feels like when he sat at the dining room table while i watched a friend's little girl.  i have to say, it wasn't that bad so if this baby comes out eighteen months old, i'll be golden.

another random parker bedtime pic... this time with his leg up on his sheep.  i'll find any excuse to take a sleeping baby picture.

thursday.  i worked in the office & was recognized at our staff meeting for reaching my five year anniversary with the department.  i got a pin & a certificate & a round of applause.  really outdid themselves.

i made the appointment for our BIG ultrasound!  it's on march 14th which seems like a million years away so i'm trying not to think about it.  i'm sure it'll be here before we know it & it'll take forever all at once.

while i was working, parker had an awesome time with his sitter getting treated to some yummy food out & then we had a fancy feast of mac n' cheese for dinner.  that's fine dining, yo.

and thursday's sleeping baby pic?  drool puddle.  'nuff said.

friday.  after a quick check up at my doctor's office parker decided he needed to go down the two flights of stairs by himself.  who am i to say no?  i was on a high from hearing kid two's heartbeat loud & strong on the doppler.  one of the best sounds in the whole world, am i right?

then we went & picked up some subway & ate like the classy folks we are in the les schwab tire place while a leak in my tire got patched.  parker was very in to sportscenter playing on the lobby tv.  he is is father's son.

friday night consisted of fro-yo & late night art projects.  instagram photostrips!  inspired by this pinterest pin.  good times!

***photos edited on instagram.  do you instagram?  find me @amy_agoodlife & let's picture bond!***

that was our week!  how was yours?  i wanna see, so link up!

Game Rules:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

2.  if you want to grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog do it.

and please post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.
the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=131966" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

fifteen weeks. bump.

{compare kid two belly to parker belly here}

hey!  baby is the size of an orange & i wore orange.  didn't even plan that.  maybe it's already the mother-baby connection coming through?  probably.

i don't feel like there was much bump growth this week, just kinda some thick-around-the-middle growth.  but that's ok, everyone loves that awkward stage where people are afraid to ask if you're expecting because your belly's looking bigger but you could also just have made out like a bandit in the chocolate-department on valentine's day.  don't they?  meh, i'm over it.  my sweats & hoodies are actually quite flattering.

so i scheduled kid two's BIG ultrasound!  hopefully baby will be willing to share his or her goods with us on march 14th because i am dying to know if parker will have a little brother or sister.  i did have a moment where i got a "feeling" but who knows what that means.  also, the real anticipation of the big ultrasound is to see if your baby has ten fingers & ten toes & a well-developed heart & all those other important things.  but that is way scarier to worry about so instead i will be spending my time focusing on gender & praying all is well.

in other news, i will be attending a seattle area blogger meet up saturday night & am so excited/nervous/excited!  a girl's night out is long overdue & it will be fun to see all my old bloggy homies plus meet some new ones.  but there's always all that fuss leading up to it like what-the-heck-do-i-wear & shouldn't-i-be-hanging-out-with-sam-&-p-ray-tonight?  i'm sure both issues will turn out fine.  the clothes never seem to matter & while i always end up missing sam & parker, i'm always grateful for a night out on the town.  should be good times with lots of pictures to share next week.

hope everyone has a great weekend & does something awesome & gets out of their sweats at least once.  or maybe not, because that can be good too.  happy friday, yo!

{i'm linking up with the "my pregnancy journal" meme over at happenings of the harper household.  if you're prego & blogging about it, then you should link up too!}

twenty-one months.

another better-late-than-never p-ray monthly update!  parker will be twenty-two months in ten days so maybe next month's update will be a little less late & i can actually be on time for his two-year post?  let's cross our fingers.  i know you're all holding your breath.

parker is the big two-one.  officially in the twenties.  which really means almost TWO!  this blows my mind.  here he is all growed up to twenty-one months.
{compare previous monthly pics here.}

i keep saying i'm going to attempt to write down all the words he uses on the regular to prove to sam that it's somewhere in the hundreds.  he talks so much.  and my favorite thing he does lately is repeat everything i say back to me.  it's cute when we're playing, not so cute when someone cuts me off while driving down I-5.  but usually it goes something like this:

me:  "ready?"
parker:  "weddy."
me:  "ok?"
parker:  "otay!"
me:  "let's go!"
parker:  "wet's doe!"

...all day long.

and he says "thank you" for ev-ery-thing.  you get him out of his carseat?  "thank you!"  he put him back on the ground after changing his diaper?  "thank you!"  you hand him his drink?  "thank you!"  it really is the sweetest thing my ears have ever heard.

this last month hasn't been all butterflies & roses though.  he is definitely getting more independent & strong-willed & gets frustrated when things don't go his way.  but having him be able to express himself so that i know what he wants has been pretty nice.  when i tell him we're not watching tv after walking up to me with the remote saying "choo-choo?" he may throw himself on the ground in a fit of tears but at least i know why he is freaking out & i can deal with it.  speaking of "choo-choos" he's still obsessed with his thomas trains & we've spent a good amount of time looking on craigslist for a complete train set... one may be in his near future.

i think he's spent some time with teething of some sort this month.  he has been pretty irritable, not sleeping quite as good as the norm & chews/sucks on his fingers constantly.  hopefully this goes away in the next few weeks.  or, maybe it's just called toddlerhood.

some of his pants have become high waters over night & some of his shirts no longer go to his waist.  as much as i think parker could pull off the belly shirt, we've been weeding out almost all of his 12-18 month clothes & are now pretty much entirely in 18-24 months or bigger.

he loves standing at the sink & brushing his teeth & giggles every time we wash his hands at the sink after eating.  but trying to wipe hands & face down with a wet rag after eating?  you'd think i was trying to kill the child.  unfortunately this has to happen about three times a day.

and?  he is still so dang cute... even when stuffed into a wicker basket with his favorite toys & a beverage.

love this kid.

hey girl.

just a little belated valentine from p-ray to you.

{if you haven't seen the ryan gosling "hey girl" meme to see where the heck this is coming from, check out jess's pinterest ryan gosling board HERE to get caught up.  and to probably waste a good 10-15 minutes reading/laughing/drooling.}

{linking up with wordless wednesday at and then she {snapped},  baby baby lemon, the paper mama, jenni from the blog & a little king & i}

family pictures & it's v-day!

i suppose an obligatory "happy valentine's day" is in order, yes?  i hope everyone out there is feeling the love on this absolutely silly holiday.  it's a silly holiday that i don't really mind though.  i mean, it's an excuse to eat some extra chocolate & do something sweet for that special someone, right?

sam & i have some valentine's day traditions.  they include eating pizza & drinking root beer outta champagne glasses & making handmade cards.  last year p-ray got in on the pizza & card-making action & i'm kinda excited about making this a family holiday rather than a couples holiday.  today parker & i are gonna hand-craft a card for sam & make chocolate dipped strawberries!  should be a good time.

anywho, i've mentioned having our family pictures taken like fifteen thousand times & now it's time to actually share 'em all here on the blog.  they were taking by the amazing stacy jacobsen & i am SO happy to finally have some legit family photos.  i've already ordered one in a 16x24" canvas for a photo wall & UPS says it should be here on friday.  i'm kinda freaking out.

also, these are watermarked with my blog name only because the images she gave us weren't watermarked but i don't want watermark-less pictures of my family out there on the interwebz, so thus i slabbed "a good life" on there.  i in no way took my own family's pictures.  again, they were done by stacy jacobsen.  check her out.

here we go.

this last one is the one i had blown up on canvas.  i love it!  also, can i just say that parker's hair cannot be tamed?  we wet it down right before pictures to try & reduce the flyaways but it still somehow managed to fro out a bit.  ah well, it makes me laugh.  i love that little monster.

and i have to give sam some credit... he hates having his picture taken but he went along with this fairly well.  probably mostly because i told him this gets him off the hook for a good year or so of family picture-taking.  that alone shoulda given him something to smile about!

our week by iPhone - week 65

wow, this is up really late.  wanna know why?  because every minute that wasn't spent hanging out with my little family this weekend was spent either napping or going to bed early!  and it was glorious.  parker's naptime became family naptime & bedtime for sam {which is always a couple hours earlier than i usually go to bed} became bedtime for amy too.  i thought i was starting to get more energy... i guess i was wrong.  ah well.  sleep is good too!

so here's our belated week in iPhone pictures!

monday.  i managed to snatch parker from his running around antics at stroller strides long enough to take this awkward picture.  not really his most flattering face, but don't tell him that.

later in the day we met up with sam at the grocery store where he pushed parker around in the cart so fast that i think parker started to look a little sick.  it's ok, he made it up to him by a nice little pre-bed back massage.

tuesday.  we started our day off at my OB's office for my fourteen week check up where parker pretended to play with toys but was obviously eavesdropping on the people-next-to-us's conversation.  he's a sly one.

it was such a gorgeous day that after our appointment we met up with our friends cami & lindsey for a walk around capitol lake & some baby-banter at the picnic table.

parker was nice & groggy for some serious post-nap snuggles & then we got to preview our family pictures from last weekend!  yay!  can't wait to show them all to you.  and then parker looked soooo bored playing with trains waiting for his daddy to get home.

wednesday consisted of stroller strides, target & burnt cookies.  can't really complain, i still ate half the batch.  and parker has a new fascination with clipping himself in to grocery carts... he's all about safety.

thursday.  while i was excited to be at the office, parker spent his time at the sitter's soaking his pants by splashing in puddles & thus having to wear girl pants.  i must say, he totally pulled off the blue polka-dot leggings.

the humiliation of wearing girl pants was quickly forgotten with some pre-bedtime wrestling.

friday.  just some post-stroller strides grocery shopping & grocery cart parker-antics.  another friday night spent finishing a book {kinda exactly like last weekend} & calling it an early night.  my life is way too exciting.

that was our week!  how was yours?  i wanna see, so link up!

Game Rules:
1.  your pictures have to be taken by your camera phone. that's it!  you don't even have to have a picture for every day.  got one camera phone pic of something fun from this week?  link up!

2.  if you want to grab the code below & put it in your post to have the linky with all the thumbnails show up on your blog do it.

and please post a link to my blog so others can come here to grab the code, too.
the more kids who come out to play, the more fun it will be, right?

Grab the code here:

<script src="http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=131001" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

fourteen weeks. bump.

{compare kid two belly to parker belly here.}

there's a lemon in my uterus you guys.  basically.  in the mornings when my bladder is full it pokes out like a tumor.  i'm starting to get more energy but that's also making me stay up later which doesn't coincide with parker's earlier-than-usual morning antics very well, so thus... i'm still exhausted.  but now i kinda only have myself to blame & don't tell sam i admitted that.  what am i doing up so late?  two words:  "catching fire."  but that's pretty much a whole other post.

anywho, i think i'll be posting these weekly updates every friday because that's when my week changes.  like... i'm fourteen weeks today.  so why not make it all nice & official & keep it regular like that?  everyone likes regularity, don't they?

i think our weekend is gonna be pretty mellow.  or maybe not... seems like we always find something to do that keeps us busy at the last minute & allows me to put off dusting the furniture til next weekend.  spontaneous road trip to portland to buy parker a train set off craigslist?  why not!  it could happen.  whatever we end up doing i hope it leaves room for lots of chocolate milk & finishing the second installment of the hunger games trilogy.  those two things are at the very tippity top of my to-do list.  and does anybody ever actually dust their furniture anymore?  seems overrated.

{i'm linking up with the "my pregnancy journal" meme over at happenings of the harper household.  if you're prego & blogging about it, then you should link up too!}