late night randoms.

it's late, i'm tired... but i want to blog.  sounds like the perfect setting for a random post with bullets, no?

--> so i asked about "the walking dead" on my facebook page & you guys spoke up loud, saying it was definitely a must watch.  so i watched.  and watched & watched.  i just have a couple more episodes to go til i'm all caught up & holy crap it's intense!  i am crappy at suspense so i may or may not have read ahead to see what happened with some episodes before watching them.  a girl has to prepare herself for some of that stuff, am i right??  let's just say, when babies/kids/moms are involved?  i'm a puddle of sappy uncontrollable mush.

--> guess who's winning at the holidays already?  this girl!  my christmas cards are ordered, the decorations are up, i've already worked halfway through a bag of peppermint bark, parker asks for christmas stories before every nap & we've watched elf three times already.  totally winning.

--> i decided i can no longer be trusted with cookie dough.  i was making a half-batch & then portioning it out to last a week.  so, in other words, i was eating a half batch of cookies, by myself, every week.  ugh, why is cookie dough so freaking good??  it's not fair.

--> elliot has decided sleep is no longer something he's into.  last night he was up four times between midnight & five am.  my sanity is definitely suffering.  i can't tell you how many times i've told him he's lucky he's cute.

--> this is the first picture i've shot that is half way decent of my boys together.  i really should attempt it more often because it's really not that hard to get parker to cooperate, you just have to promise candy.  but that's totally worth it, right??

--> fact:  i could stare at this picture all day.  these boys make me so, so happy.  and that's really easy to say right now since they're both currently sleeping.  it's dreamy.

--> i'm gonna put together a holiday bucket list.  it will involve lots of hot chocolate, lots of crafts... including making paper-link-countdown-chains, christmas cookies & homemade ornaments, lots of christmas lights-looking, playing secret santa for someone in need, an advent calendar, lots of classic christmas movie watching & lots lots more.  what's your favorite christmas tradition?

elliot in the sink.

i'm happy to report this squishy little baby is in the 95%-tile for weight.  to celebrate?  i bring you squishy baby sink-bath pics.

family pictures.

what do i even say to introduce these pics?  i'm slightly obsessed with them.  my homie stacy from stacy jacobsen photography did these for us & i'm convinced she's some kind of wizard.  i was sure that due to the rain & wind & two wiggly kiddos we were gonna experience family picture fail.  but uh, no... i LOVE them.  

i so rarely get to be in front of the camera with all three of my boys, in a shot that is further out than arm's length.  i think it is so important to capture "mom" in the picture every now & then so my boys have something to look back at years from now to know i was there.  that's why these pictures make me so happy.  because now i have something that immortalizes this time in our lives... when parker was a squirmy goofball & elliot was a ball of squish, when we lived in seattle & braved family pictures in the rain, when i was an exhausted overwhelmed mom of a 2.5 year old & three month old & sam was doing more than his fair share to keep it all together.  this is our life right now.  it's not always glamorous but when i look back at these pictures i might think it was.  we look happy.  we are happy.  and now i have these pictures to remember this time forever.

and bonus?  i showered and curled my hair that morning... it may have been the first time that's happened since elliot was born.  but let's just pretend i look like this everyday, mmmk?

iPhone photo dump... because i'm still here!

dudes, it's been a while & it's time to unload some halloweeny-baby-cuteness-fall-time-goodness.  it's a real thing.  per the uge, we been busy.  these two boys keep me busy & when i'm not playing mom or wife, i'm playing photographer.  it's family picture season, yo!  but busy is good.

what's new this last week?  elliot is a couple days short of three months & p-ray is a busy crazy two & a half year old.  i absolutely love these two little monsters.  it's still so weird to me that i have two kids!  that they are MY kids, i made them in my wombs & they are my offspring.  so weird, right?  i mean who thought i should be trusted with TWO of these things?  it's crazy talk.

well that's about all i have at this time.  my brain is tired & my pillow is calling out sweet nothings to me down the hall all the way from my room.  i mean, i shoulda gone to bed an hour or so ago but i just got done watching two episodes of "the walking dead" and anyone who watches that show knows you don't just flip off the tv afterwards & jump into bed.  no, you gotta watch a little late night comedy after that to erase images of zombie from running around all night in your head.

and now i have to think of something else to talk about so i don't sit here & continue to think about zombies.  oops.

how about the two adorable kiddos that fill up 90% of the pictures below?  i like them.

i miss blogging.

dang, i used to be a really good blogger.  like, i was creative & my posts were topical & thought out & more than just "here's my chaotic life."  i miss that!  i miss doing crafts & steppin' out posts & recipes & silly little random posts that were about me & not necessarily even mom related.

and you know what?  i think this stuff is all on the horizon.  life with two kids is mellowing... elliot is sleeping more & i'm finding this newborn-new-mom-fog is lifting a little.  i'm feeling a little more like myself these days & i'm chomping at the bit to start doing stuff.  to start getting in shape {for reals!}, to start cooking new things, to start diy-ing again & to start dressing in things other than yoga pants & hoodies {maybe}.  i'm excited about what the future holds.  i'm feeling like i'm the most inspired at this time in my life than i have ever been!  with photography, with decorating & what i want in my home, with healthy-living & fitness, with my wardrobe & of course with the life i want to live with sam & our two little boys.

good things are on the horizon, i can just feel it & i am so, SO excited.

plus?  i get to hang out with this guy all day... and that makes everything pretty awesome.