weekend wrap-up & a head injury.

and we're back.

we had a nice long weekend down in portland full of family & fun & laziness & productivity & when we got back home monday night i kinda extended all of that into my tuesday.  it was one of those days where laundry was calling & bags needed to be unpacked & there was a whole heckuvalotta things i shoulda been doing & i didn't do any of them.  don't you need one of those days every now & then?  i did, however, walk to the library with a friend & go grocery shopping & make a warm dinner for the fam so i'm chalking the day up as a success.  

our weekend was eventful.  two major things:  parker took a nasty fall down some stairs & hit the back of his head on concrete & we bought a new car.  these things happened within two hours of each other.  

it was one of those moments where you watch something happen & feel so absolutely helpless after the fact.  what's done is done & you can only hope for the best.  sam had been spotting parker down the stairs from his sister's apartment & with about two more to go, asked me to watch him so he could run ahead & get started loading up the car.  my hands were full & i was one step behind parker & i knew i couldn't really spot him like i should but i told sam to go ahead anyway because i thought in my head, shoot, he only had a couple more steps to go & i figured he was fine.  as soon as parker saw sam run ahead, he of course tried to hurry & keep up & got tripped up on his feet & fell on his knees on the step ahead of him & then twisted around & hit the back of his head on the concrete at the bottom of the stairs.  THUD.  he hit HARD.  

the scream wasn't immediate... there was a moment to catch his breath & then came the scream.  a couple good screams & then cries.  there wasn't any blood but he got a pretty good bump & his face went as pale as i'd ever seen it.  his lips were ghost white & he wasn't really responding to any of our questions & wouldn't walk.  the color started returning after a few minutes but i still put a page into our pediatrician who was on-call due to the holiday & we had to wait for a call back.  

ugh, don't google "toddler fall hit head" in these circumstances, folks.  unless you like to freak yourself out beyond what your own mind is already capable of conjuring up.  because at this point i'm already playing worst case scenarios in my mind & how i'll never forgive myself for thinking he'd be fine taking those last two steps on his own.  google doesn't help.

ok, long story short, our pediatrician called back & told us as long as he wasn't vomiting, didn't seem dizzy or disoriented & was walking/talking/running/playing as normal we were probably in the clear.  within half an hour of the fall, he was back to his normal self & never looked back.  but holy crap, it's a full day later & i'm still shuddering at how it could have been worse.   i'm still playing out all the "what-ifs" & "coulda-beens."  how quickly our lives coulda changed.  SCARY.

parenthood is scary.

in other news, we bought a new car this weekend!  it's a 2010 Subaru Outback & i'm pretty much in love with it.  i don't feel like i own quite enough pairs of hiking boots to be the owner of an Outback but i think i'll make due.  it's comfy & spacious & fits our double stroller with ease & i can't wait to tote around two kiddos in my new soccer-mom-mobile.  so forgive me if i'm never online anymore, i'm probably just driving around somewhere aimlessly in the new ride.  

and lastly, a pic of this cute little munchkin hanging out with his dad.  he's just my favorite little guy & i'm pretty sure no post on this blog is quite complete without his little face.  LOVE him.

our week by iPhone - week 80

happy long holiday weekend saturday morning, friends!  we're off to spend some time down in portland with family & there just might be some hot dogs roasted & a s'more or two eaten.  and if i have my sneaky little way, i'll probably throw some peanut butter cup s'mores in the mix & then go into a happy coma for a few days.  so we'll catch up on the other side of that, mmmk?

here's what we did this week.

monday.  we woke up to pouring rain & a cancelled stroller strides class so what better way to kill some time than shopping & cooking?  p-ray & i hung out around the house & i whipped up some pinterest-inspired "man-pleasing chicken" which turns out, is not only "man-pleasing" but also "toddler-pleasing."  p-ray was pretty into it.

so into it that he giggled all the way through his bath.

tuesday.  the rain wasn't gonna keep us indoors another whole day so we strapped on our rain gear & drove to stroller strides.  after class, parker spent a good 45 minutes splashing in puddles & getting completely soaked.  toddlerhood is pretty awesome.

wednesday.  i spent the day getting work done in my jammies {working from home is kinda awesome} & stuffing leftover cookie dough in my face.  that evening p-ray & i met up with sam on his way home at the grocery store where parker took lead of the cart pushing... he's a pretty no-fuss cart pusher & allows very little stops.

nothing exciting happened that night, unless you count lining cars & trains up in the windowsill as exciting, in which case every night would be a party around here.

thursday.  i flaunted my extremely poked out belly button in the office {really, belly button?  really?} until it was time to go pick up parker at the end of the day.  only thing is his sitter was out running errands so i had a little time to kill... oh, hello target muh-love.

then i drove my silly little man home where i painted my nails summery-tangerine-orange & parker stalled bedtime with some cute antics.

friday.  it turned out to be a gloriously gorgeous day so we spent a good hour playing at the park after stroller strides.  there was all kinds of tunnel-crawling, dirt-playing & flowers-giving to pretty older girls.

friday evening we headed downtown for a walk around the lake where i hauled my belly up a small mountain for an awesome picture & parker played king of the bench.  love me some {almost} summer-time strolls with my two favorite boys!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

***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=146875" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

twenty-nine weeks. bumpdate!

{compare boy two belly to parker belly here}

as of today i am twenty-nine weeks!  whooooooa.  seriously?  the last week of my twenties.  how did we get here?  didn't i just post about being halfway through this pregnancy?  i swear that was yesterday.

you guys, i'm going to have a BABY here soon!  like, i don't think i've really been taking this pregnancy for real... it has seemed like it took forever for my big belly to get here, for the baby to make big movements & for this to actually all start happening.  but it's happening.  and as much as i sometimes feel like this baby will never be here, i'm starting to realize he'll be here before i know it.  scary AND exciting!!  i am not ready!!

although, we did purchase a couple pretty big baby things this last week... our double stroller & an ergo carrier.  i am way too ridiculously excited for both these things.  i'll probably wheel parker around in the stroller by himself just because i can & maybe i'll try to convince parker & sam to test out the ergo.  it can hold up to 45 pounds, ya know.  and then when it's time, i am so excited to take my two little boys out for walks in the sun in their shared stroller or wear this new little guy around in the ergo while finding ways to get parker out of the house.  two pretty big items that are gonna make life as a mom of two a little bit easier... can. not. wait.

but seriously time?  s-l-o-w down.

little bits of happiness - week seven

i haven't linked up with stephanie & done one of these posts in a few weeks, so i figured i was overdue.  i got stuff to be happy about ya know, might as well share.

we got to see little man #2 last week!  the only thing almost as good as laying there & watching him squirm around & wave is taking home the ultrasound snapshots to look back at.  litte face, little feet & little hands make me happy.

some things take parker a while to adjust to.  his new flip flops?  were one of those things.  but now, thanks to a few hot days last week, he understands flip flops = playing in water.  so now he's all about them.  so much so that the other day while it was pouring rain outside, he got them out of his shoe drawer, brought them in to me, demanded his socks off & his sandals on & then said, "ok.  go outside... play water!"  i wish p-ray, i wish.

if you follow me on instagram you may have seen a similar picture in my feed already.  but this is too good not to share again... although i'm pretty unwilling to share this stuff in real life.  i made a batch of cookies sunday night & after baking two sheets, put the rest of the dough in the fridge for later.  genius, genius move.  the sad part of this story is that it's all almost gone.  booo.

and then there's this kid.  he cracks me up daily.  he's such a goof & i could just sit & watch him all day.  good thing that's basically what i do.  it's so funny to watch him react to things & learn & interact.  and by interact i mean make animal noises & roar & meow & bark at his toys.  because that's what two year olds do.

how "mommy-hood" has changed my identity.

when i was twenty-eight weeks pregnant with parker i wrote this post about "keeping my identity" & wondering how becoming a mom might change me.  i was all up in my life as a career woman at the time & wondered if i'd get "dumbed down" by a life of diapers & spit up.  i came across that post last week & now, at twenty-eight weeks pregnant with parker's little brother, i want to write a follow-up to all the questions i asked back then... because now i know.

here's the short answer.  i know more about myself now & who i am than i ever did back then.

these last two years of being a {mostly} stay at home mom really have changed me & honestly?  the only thing i miss about that full-time career woman is the bigger paycheck.  but getting to stay home with parker & watch him grow has made up for that in amounts way more priceless than dollars.

ok, that's the cheesy short answer.  here's some other ways i've changed.

i discovered my love for photography & started a business.  i've always been an obsessive picture-taker & always insisted on taking a million pictures of every occasion.  but when parker was just a couple months old i realized i wanted to take this passion to the next level & we purchased my first dslr.  it started with millions of pictures of parker but now i'm on my second camera & have since shot countless families, seniors, kids & a handful of weddings.  if it wasn't for staying home & photography blogs & a cute little model to learn on, i'm not so sure any of this would have ever happened.  i definitely see a long life as a photographer ahead of me & hope this is just the beginning... i think it's something i am good at & something i strive to be better at.

also?  this might not be true for most moms but i feel like i've discovered a lot about my own personal style & fashion sense since becoming a mom.  when i dress up, i dress with more purpose & my home is decorated much more to my liking than it ever has been {although it's always a work in progress!}. pinterest & fashion blogs & lots of trips to target & the mall probably have something to do with this.

when i was pregnant with parker i think i thought all moms were destined to lives of yoga pants & slippers & although this really is what i wear 75% of the time {it's actually quite glorious}, i still find times to dress up & look nice.  i still clean up well.  i still get to curl my hair & wear heels {if i want} to church on sundays or for my one day in the office on thursdays.  this is plenty for me.  it turns out moms wear yoga pants & flip flops or slippers all the time because it is COMFY.  who knew?

when i was pregnant with parker i worried about losing touch with current events.  becoming a mom-in-a-bubble.  this is something i work on.  i watch the news, i read cnn.com & follow all kinds of newsfeeds on facebook.  i think i have a pretty good idea what is going on in the world around me & i enjoy talking about current events with sam every night.  it would be easy to tune all that out & worry only about the number of dirty diapers parker had that day but this is something that's important to me & i hope it always is.

and lastly?  what i didn't know about myself back then is how much i could love another little human being.  i didn't expect that i would honestly feel like i love my kid more than any one in the whole world could possibly love theirs.  i didn't know that watching sam be a dad would make me fall in love with him over & over again everyday & that being a family kicks the crap out of being a married couple.

basically, all my fears i had back in the day were unnecessary.  mommy-hood is what you make of it.  i think it's important to make time for yourself & put yourself first when it's appropriate because no one should ever feel like they've lost their identity.  of course i have my daily struggle with fitting in all the things i have to do versus what i would like to do but that happens with kids or no kids, right?  you just have to figure out your priorities.

turns out being a mom is a pretty good thing to be.  i highly recommend it.

twenty-eight weeks. bumpdate!

{compare boy two belly to parker belly here.}

lots to report this week.

first off, we had our twenty-eight week check-up this week along with an ultrasound.  they wanted to see how baby boy is growing since he was a little on the small side {19th %-tile} when we had the gender scan at eighteen weeks.  good news:  he's in the 50th %-tile now!  he was moving around & kicking & also good news?  still a boy.  we never had an ultrasound this late in the game with parker so it was interesting to see how much bigger he is now & how cramped it is in there for him.  he's just gonna get more & more smooshed as the weeks go on though!

secondly, i described all my pelvic/back pain issues to the doctor & told her i'd self-diagnosed myself with symphysis pubis dysfunction.  she agreed!  i has it.  unfortunately, the only good this does is give all the pain i feel a name.  the only thing you can really do is wear a maternity pelvic support belt & wait for your baby to be born... so that sucks.

basically what happens is your ligaments relax too much & your pelvis separates way too much causing lots of instability in your hips, back & pelvis.  this causes horrible pain when rolling in bed, getting up from sitting down, trying to stand on one leg & getting dressed.  all things i experience.  and apparently 1 in 4 pregnant girls get it too.  do you have it?  misery loves company!

the good news is that with parker it went away pretty much as soon as he was born when my body quit producing relaxin & the ligaments tightened back up.  so that means only t minus twelve weeks of living with SPD!

lastly, the other night i stumbled upon a post i wrote when i was twenty-eight weeks pregnant with parker.  it was all about how afraid i was to change & lose my identity once i became a mom.  i was worried about the change from career-woman to mommy-woman & if i would hate who i'd become.  this week i will be writing a follow up to this post as an answer to myself about how i've changed... but basically?  i would change NOTHING about how i've changed.

our week by iPhone - week 79

remember all that talk about slowing down & enjoying moments?  i really honestly tried to do that this week.  there was lots of time in the sun & time with friends & good moments to enjoy... but you know what that leads to?  catching up on everything else later on!

yeah, turns out when you spend your day playing in the sun, nobody does your laundry, dishes or grocery shopping for you.  so much for slowing down!  i still feel like this whole week was catch up.

here's what it looked like in iPics.

monday hit 80 degrees & meant stroller strides out in the warm sun.  we came home & had friends over for sprinklers & popsicles... pretty much perfect.

tuesday.  another sunny day, another workout in short sleeves.  parker was into the big slides & sidewalk chalk afterwards but even more into our dinner picnic on the back porch that night.

wednesday was my day in the office this week so i drove a cute little boy to his sitter's & slapped on another shirt + cardi combo.  it's my maternity go-to.  a post-work pedicure made the day a little better but picking up this happy little boy from "the cider mill" with his sitter made the day awesome.


parker was equally happy to see sam back at home & equally adorable as a sprawled out sleepy little boy. 

thursday.  drove home a cute giggly little boy from some time at his friend's & watched him scribble on his toy-box-blackboard back at home with sam.  yup, that definitely says "parker {hearts} mommy."  and then my heart melted into a big fat puddle.

speaking of big fat things, i topped off the night with some of my homemade cream cheese frosting slopped over one of sam's homemade cinnamon rolls.  so that was cool.

friday.  parker had a lunch date with lots & lots of giggling & plate biting.  it's their thing... i don't ask questions.  also?  dinner at costco.  because we're classssy.  where else can you feed your whole family on four dollars with drinks & dessert included?

saturday we made up for our awesomely healthy friday-night dinner at costco by going for a five mile walkabout at a local wildlife refuge.  parker loved the birds & the bugs & the endless boardwalk that made for a pretty awesome place to run.  and then we undid all the good of walking with dinner at red robin.  ah well.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

***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=145881" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

let's just enjoy this moment, shall we?

oh you guys... i'm treading water.  i'm balancing a million things, none of which are bad.  mom duties, photographer duties, church duties, wife duties, part-time worker duties, self-duties, housekeeper duties... you get the idea.  probably because most of you are doing the same thing.  we take on a lot because we know we can & then we feel like {as a good friend of mine put it} you're just one step away from not getting up out of bed in the morning.  it's not depression, it's exhaustion.  and it's a situation i've chosen to be in because there is so. much. i. want. to. do.  sure, a couple extra hours in the day might help... but would it?  because i'm pretty sure i'd find a way to fill that too.

i guess what i'm saying is that i am feeling the need to slow down.  i'm getting tired, i'm feeling pregnant & i'm starting to freak out a little at what's ahead.  two kids.  but then i look at everything i'm juggling & there isn't a single thing i'd choose to take off the table.  so then whattyado?

i've definitely cut back on the blogging... maybe you've noticed, maybe you haven't.  i feel like lately it's pregnancy update, week in iPhotos, token post of another subject, rinse, repeat.  and it'll probably continue to be like that as i'm insistent on continuing to document this pregnancy & our lives in the meantime.

but right now?  right at this moment?  i just want to slow down & take a breath.  i want to enjoy some of the good things in my life, some of the quiet moments & some of the things that make life worth living.  this is what it's all about.  this is how my little family spent my third mother's day as a mom.  it was just me & my two guys + the one in my belly, at the park.  it was a gorgeous day, parker was happy & the lighting was perfect for picture taking.  so i took lots.

i love my crazy, exhausting, sometimes-overwhelming life.  i am blessed with so much & am so grateful for all the opportunities that come my way, even if sometimes i think it's gonna kill me.  i'm so grateful for sam & parker & for this little boy we get to meet in less than three months.

and sometimes i just need to step back from it all, look at the big picture, take a deep breath... and remember that.

{ps:  wanna see what our mother's day looked like last year?  click here.  spoiler alert:  i had a much flatter stomach & better hair.  just sayin.}

twenty-seven weeks. bumpdate!

{compare boy two belly to parker belly here.}

ummm, heck yes another week has gone by.  and?  this is officially the start of our THIRD trimester!!  how this is possible?  no one knows.  but it means we're on the last & final stretch of this baby growin' process.

i really only have one complaint:  my whole body feels like it's falling apart.  that's it.  no seriously, i know i've complained about having a bad back/pelvis/hips/whatever before, but seriously, pregnancy does a number on those bad boys.  it takes me like five minutes to get up from the floor or out of bed & i'm starting to waddle already because when i push off my left leg a pain shoots up my back.  you guys, being pregnant makes me 80 years old.

how lame is that?

the good news is that once i am up & moving i feel pretty good.  i'm still making it to stroller strides & walking quite a bit & doing strength training & stretching & such as.  i'm gonna look into some spinning classes here pretty soon because that's what i did with parker up to 36 weeks & it was pretty much my favorite thing EVER.  after 36 weeks i swam until the day i delivered... i may be in an old lady's body but i'll be danged if i let it get away from me.

in other good news?  baby boy is moving in there lots & lots & i loooove it.  i can see my belly poke out from his little jabs now & then & every once in a while i swear he's doing flips because it feels like my whole belly just rolled over.

and in even more good news?  we get to see the little man this week in an ultrasound.  since we did his "big" ultrasound so early {about 18 weeks} he was measuring a little on the small side & they just wanna do a follow up to make sure they like the way things are progressing.  my doctor assures me there's no cause for concern {my belly is measuring right on} & this is totally being over-cautious but what do i care?  i'm just excited to see him again.  and sam gets to take a half day & come with me so that's pretty sweet too.

anywho, i hope everyone had an awesome mother's day weekend.  sam & p-ray went out of their way to make me feel loved & appreciated & it gave me serious heart flutters.  we're talkin' flowers & a handmade card {with traced toddler handprints... LOVE.} & my favorite meals & snacks & activities all weekend.  but sam informed me that starting tomorrow there will be no more special treatment.  at least he's honest.

so happy {belated} mother's day to all you amazing ladies out there & to all the moms that have influenced me in one way or another... there are lots of you & i'm grateful for that.

our week by iPhone - week 78

pretty much another awesome busy week in these parts.  life has been nothing but go-go-go around here lately & it doesn't show any signs of stopping any time soon.  we've had pretty awesome seattle weather which means lots of time outdoors during the day & catching up on everything else at night.

i've really slacked on checking out blogs & returning emails & comments these last couple weeks so i'm feeling a little outta the loop.  someday i'll catch up on everything & be on top of it all, right?  ha!  i wish.

here's what was keeping us busy this week.

monday.  as every pregnant girl knows, there comes a time when you hit that magical stage in your pregnancy when the doctor informs you it's time to check your glucose tolerance.  so on this beautiful day i got to sit in my doctor's office for an hour & sip the most sweetest orangey sugary drink & then have a needle poked in me to draw blood for testing.

weird that i look forward to it?  no, & i'll tell you why.  parker was at a friend's so this hour was filled with headphones & good music & time on my laptop cranking out some editing.  the drink is very reminiscent of the mcdonald's orange hi-c we all drank as kids or a melted orange freezy pop.  in short?  delicious.

that evening parker took his spot waiting for sam to get home so we could head to the park for a walk.  there was ice cream eating, bench sitting & fish-watching.

tuesday.  we hit up some stroller strides on another gorgeous day.  also?  i can't resist taking a thousand pictures of parker now that he is forward facing in his carseat... i pretty much think he's the cutest little human to have sat in a carseat EVER.

tuesday evening i whipped up a batch of my favorite chipotle-chicken-avocado salad.  and by "whipped up" i mean spent an hour making what the recipe calls a "10 minute meal."  whatever.

then we all got lazy & hung out & slept with our arms behind our heads.

wednesday.  another gorgeous day, another workout in the sun.  i also spent a decent amount of time on tuesday shopping for a baby-boy doll for parker to have as his "baby" since he's so obsessed with babies & i figure it'd be good to teach him some baby-etiquette.  but no such luck.  turns out every freaking baby on the market is a baby girl & dressed in all pink.  c'mon target & toys r us... where all the boys at??

then there were crazy bath antics... pretty standard.

thursday.  i'm telling you, anything this kid does in his carseat is pure gold to me.  he enjoyed a little light reading on the way to his babysitter's thursday morning & i promise you it was probably the cutest thing i've ever seen.  at that moment.

once i was at work baby boy #2 gave me lots of kicks in the belly to let me know he wanted a burrito from my favorite taco bus for lunch.  who am i to say no?  that taco bus is legitimately legit.

friday.  another sunny-day workout, another few hours in the park.  this week is spoiling us rotten... i might cry the next time it rains.  parker spent quality time going down slides & staring up at trees until it was time to head home for naps.  sam got home in time to climb in bed with us for the tail end of nap-time which obviously turned into family wrestle-time.  it's what happens when those two get together.

then it was off to five guys for dinner {YUM} and cheney stadium for a rainier's game, the local AAA baseball team.  we sat in the grass on blankets & froze to death once the sun went down trying to hold out for the fireworks at the end of the game.  everyone made it through & we got to hear a little boy talking about "baseball!  fireworks!  boom boom boom!" all the way home.  so that was worth it.

happy weekend friends... enjoy your moms, ok?

----------------------------------------------------------------------

***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=144786" type="text/javascript"></script>

...and get on the linky here:

on our travels & leaving our baby.

sam & i had a blast in st. louis.  it was a pretty intense trip with a lot of flying, driving & work but it was an amazing experience.  i took a thousand touristy pictures but have yet to upload them because i've been so busy editing wedding photos.  maybe someday in the future... maybe not.  i was so nervous about leaving parker but he did great & his auntie was a rockstar stand-in for the weekend.  i'm so grateful for that!

it was weird to be so torn between wanting to get home to my little monster & not wanting our weekend away from him to end, all at the same time.  it was so fun to just be out & about alone with sam & to remember that we really do have a good time together even when parker's not around.  we went to restaurants & had relaxing meals, we made lots & lots of stops & didn't have to mess with carseat buckles & we slept in past 9:00.  but we still found ourselves calling milk "milch", horses "nays" & telling each other "ni-night."  that little boy has rubbed off on us.

but seriously, it was great to get out & just remember what life without parker was like.  it was fun, it was free, we had much less responsibility & we were much more spontaneous.  we were reminded that we connected on other levels besides our kid & that we actually enjoy each other's company.  we decided this is something we need to do regularly.  that in no longer than two years, when boy two is parker's age, we'd do it again.  we'll take a trip just the two of us & take time out for each other.

but holy crap, it felt good to come home to that little boy.  as much fun as we were having out there away from him, it's nothing compared to how good it felt to be together again as our little family of three.  being away from him for a while was nice but being back together is even better.  i'm so grateful to have this little boy that makes all the diaper changes, car-seat wrangling & naptime scheduling worth it.  that even though our free & spontaneous lives have been forever-altered, we wouldn't trade it for the world.

and since this trip away went so well, i'm already looking forward to the next one that will again remind me of that fact.  distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?  nothin' wrong with that.

twenty-six weeks. bumpdate!

{compare boy two belly to parker belly here.}

so i tried to re-wear the t-shirt i wore at 16 weeks & well... no dice.  i think it reached my belly button?  anywho, i know my trusty rolling stones shirt lasted 40 weeks once before, it'll act as a stand in this time around when i need it to.  glad it can be making an appearance in this pregnancy :)

the last week of my second trimester went by pretty quickly, just like all the ones before it & i'm just getting more & more pregnant.  seems like that happens every week.  my belly's getting bigger & the kicks are definitely getting stronger.  this little boy is SO active.  it was so fun to have him in my belly on our trip to st. louis... even though we had to leave parker back at home, it kinda felt like we got to take one kid along as this little man kicked & punched the whole weekend.  sam said it was because he missed his big brother.

speaking of his big brother, parker loves my belly.  he loves "tickling the baby" and he even specially said "ni-night" to the baby in my belly one night when i was putting him down.  he likes to pull up my shirt to "see the baby" & it all makes me so happy.

as much fun as these parts of the pregnancy are, there are parts that are getting harder too.  i am so stiff when i wake up & it's like a five minute process to get out of bed.  it's so lame that i have such horrible pelvic pain with pregnancy... i pride myself on being strong & physically fit but thanks to pre-existing bad-back & hip conditions, pregnancy seriously just cripples me.  with the hip-spreading & ligament stretching, there is so much pressure on my lower back & i almost always feel a dull pain in my back.  sometimes it feels like my left leg is tingling or has fallen asleep & if i'm down on the floor with parker or trying to flip sides in bed it feels like my legs are being ripped off my body when i move.  so that's fun.

but it's all worth it right?  only three more months til we get to meet this little boy.  i think i'm gonna like him.

our week by iPhone - week 77

holy cow friends, holy cow.

it's been a whirlwind last few days & i just have a few minutes to talk about it before it's off to bed to recover.  sam & i have been in st. louis since thursday so i could shoot a wedding on friday.  it's been so fun!!  we've been missing parker like crazy but we've skyped a couple times & he is having a blast back home with his auntie, so we've been able to enjoy these kid-free days knowing he's in good hands.  thanks jodi!!

anywho, this is gonna be short & sweet because this girl is tired!

monday.  distracted by baby kicks while at work & counting down the hours til i got to drive home in the pretty sun & play with my little monster.  once home i made some to-do lists & a packing list for my st. louis trip.  i'm kinda an obsessive list-maker.  while i was busy doing that, parker thought it was hilarious to brush his teeth with his dad's toothbrush... which it was.

then it was outside for some puddle splashing til sam got home.

tuesday.  get ready for a parker overload because i'm preparing you {& myself} for a few days without his little face.

so here he is, shopping for his favorite snacks at trader joe's, forgetting why he was throwing a fit on the floor mid-tantrum & just hanging out instead, lining up all his cars & trains so they're just right, being a little cheeser in the bath tub & looking adorable in his sleep.

then there's me, doing stuff on the computer... pretty typical.

wednesday.  we hit up some stroller strides for the first time in a couple weeks {vacation & sick kid made this pregnant girl a little lazy} & then came back home for a pb & jelly-faced giggle fest.  this kid kills me.

wednesday night was all about packing up for the trip... and photographers do NOT pack lightly.  multiple cameras, lenses, chargers, some lighting equipment, cords & computer things make for a heavy load.  lots of things to remember, thus all the list making.

thursday started at 2 am for sam & i.  it was up at 2 am & out of the house by 2:30 to be at the portland airport by 4:00 am to catch our 6 am flight.  made for a long day & a super tired couple.  we got to st. louis around 1:00 pm & were starving so we hit up the first place we saw that looked foreign & awesome... white castle.  turns out their sliders are mushy & no-good.  ah well.

after loading up on mushy sliders, french fries & a milkshake, we set off on a three hour drive to nauvoo.  at some point on this drive i realized we'd been in six states that day... washington, oregon, colorado {had a layover}, missouri, iowa {drove through on our way to illinios} & illinios.

how many people do you think can say they were in six states that day?

anywho, we got to nauvoo around six & crashed for an hour or so before climbing out of our hotel room like zombies in search of more food & a some site seeing.  turns out nauvoo, illinois is a pretty cool little town.

friday.  i honestly didn't take a single picture with my phone on friday.  oops.  i was too busy having a blast shooting this gorgeous couple on their wedding day.

after the wedding a little more exploring around the town, sam & i drove back to st. louis for some dinner & an early bedtime.  actually, that was sam... i think he was in bed by 10.  i may or may not have been up another four hours playing with wedding photos.  ha!

saturday.  after rolling out of bed around 10:00 {whaaaaat??} we set out to explore st. louis a little bit before we had to be at the wedding reception for more picture taking.  we hit up pappy's smokehouse for amazing bbq & drove down around the riverfront & gateway arch.  some pretty cool stuff to see in ol' st. louis!

it's been a pretty amazing trip & i can't believe this weekend is almost over.  as sad as i am that it's just sped by way too fast, i am also so freaking excited to get home to parker... can't wait to kiss those cheeks!!

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***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!

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wordless{ish} wednesday: parker + presents.

last year we went all out for p-ray's birthday.  a bbq, friends, family, decorations... all of it!  it was a blast & i love that we did it.  this year we went for a much more tone-downed approach... we did cupcakes, presents {yes, that's christmas wrap} & just the three of us.  our san diego vacay was a pretty big celebration of him turning two {our last big trip while he's free to fly!} and i don't think his big day was forgotten by any means, i just think the next huge birthday party will be when he's old enough to pick the theme & invite his own friends... so, maybe next year?  haha.

i just can't believe the day has come & gone & i am the mom of a two year old.

it's exhausting being two.

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