e a s t e r.

happy late easter everyone! as if the resurrection of christ wasn't exciting enough on it's own, this year was arrow's first easter, so there was even more excitement, eggs & candy. we got started on sunday with bunny shaped pancakes (i cant wait til arrow is old enough to appreciate my holiday breakfasts, pancake design is an art!) - went to a wonderful church service, arrow slept through the whole thing, rough life. we then headed to my mama's house for easter. as usual, her house was beautifully  decorated, warm & welcoming to everyone. husbands, girlfriends, even my nana was in town! 11 easter baskets full of candy, books & other goodies were all waiting for us there.
**the only thing missing was the sound of my dads voice coming from the kitchen.**

arrow enjoyed chewing. ahem. i mean, reading her new book from the easter bunny & abel hunted for eggs in the backyard, while the husbands had a ping pong tourney in the basement, apparently it got pretty intense.

love was flowing abundantly all day & left me feeling even more grateful for the true reason for this holiday. christ is risen. risen indeed.

wandering mind.

while rocking arrow to sleep, my mind is usually wandering, making a mental list of the things i need to do once i get my hands free, after all, i've only got an hour or so... pickup. sweep. where is murphy? vacuum. dishes. "dogs! lets go outside!" laundry. etc. 

though for the past week or so, things have been different. after listening to her softly sing herself to sleep in my left ear, i'll continue rocking and swaying long after my job is done. i take in the way she breathes & the way her head feels heavy draped over my shoulder, her little hand curled up between her chest and mine. my mind still wanders, but not to chores or errands, it wanders so far that my eyes usually start to burn a little & fill with tears before i even reach the end of my thought trail. 

sometimes, (most of the time) i'm thinking about my dad, how much i miss him & how his time with arrow was cut so terribly & unfairly short (he didn't even get to give her one of his famous nicknames & i have so many more cooking questions to ask him.) and sometimes im just marveling at my creation, (mental high-five) this tiny perfect being. a sweet human life, I have been so blessed to call my child. 

anyways, i am grateful that i have been able to slow down & drink all of these quiet moments in lately. my heart may not always lead my mind down the most productive path, but arrow is dreaming at nap time & sometimes im just going to follow her lead.

sunny days

colorado is funny. one day you're wearing sandals + sunglasses, the next you're wearing uggs + a parka. i kinda like it. it keeps me on my toes (&my full wardrobe in rotation) - - arrow however, is more a fan of those sunny days. we can get out and explore the world, stroll around & open our eyes to new, beautiful things. everything is so exciting to her, and now, more exciting to me! the way she looks at flowers or the branches of a tree when the wind blows is not only precious, but it also helps me slow down and enjoy these things for myself.  it's like, we are learning things together, her, for the first time and me all over again.

^^ thanks auntie & grammy, for the picnic in the park!

s i x m o n t h s.

ahhh. feels good to be back on the blog & it seems only fitting that i start back up by celebrating arrow's 1/2 birthday!
yes. you read that correctly. arrow. my little baby. my world changer. my tiny sugarpie, is not so little anymore. well, she is, she's just older. so, i hosted a small party to celebrate her wonderful halfyear of life (& her being able to sit on her own, with very few spills!) 

+ i can't help it, i'll use any excuse to host a gathering of friends&&family, i just love my people.

^^ its not a party if the animals aren't wearing party hats, am i right?  ^ birthday girl, right before her party long nap :)

^ like i said, i love my people.

^^ babies on babies on babies.

thank you to everyone who came! its was such a fun celebration of life :)

happy six months baby girl.

happybirthdayarrow!

my baby little is one month old!

ONE. WHOLE. MONTH.

it feels like i have had her in my life for so much longer than that, but in other ways she still feels so new. it has been the most wonderful & fulfilling month of my life. im starting to think i was made for this whole wifey&&mama thing!

here is what we have been up to!

^^ we snuggled with daddy. (he's pretty dreamy, eh?) in all honesty he has been extra wonderful since arrow arrived. i love him for a million and one more reasons & in an entirely new way!

^^ we got our milk-belly on. its getting pretty impressive. she is a whopping ten pounds now!

^^ kisses&&snuggles are our thing.

^^ snuggled with daddy some more. (this outfit, as cute as it is, lasted about 10 minutes. diaper blowouts man, diaper blowouts.)

^^ taking a quick snooze break in uncle k's arms.

^^ we spent a significant amount of our weekend naked. & by we, i mean her ;) i have to make sure i time these naked sessions just right, but even with the few teetee spills we've had. they are soooo worth it.

^^ "cute leggings arrow!" "oh these? they are actually leg warmers... all the cool babies wear them."

^^ dexter & his #1 girl. wherever she is, he is.

^^ i wasn't kidding..... 2 peas in a pod :)

^^ we officially have a belly button over here my friends! & boy oh boy is it a cute one! kind of an outie innie.

^^ bath time was made extra cute by this owl towel.

^^ spent some time on the couch with papaw

^^ this pic was taken about two minutes before one of the diaper blowouts i mentioned above occurred. sorry papaw, it happens to the best of us. no hard feelings? ;)

^^ such a dreamboat in the morning (&all the time) & yay! my favorite outfit finally fits her!

^^ we had some cousin time with abel. he's so curious about her, its the most precious thing watching him discover new things.

last but not least, we found our little voice :) she talks to me with my coffee, like this, every single morning. i even got a laugh once! 

one full month of excitement. i cant wait to see what next month brings! happy november y'all!

birdie came to visit!

this past weekend, birdie came to town for a quick visit & to meet little miss arrow.

birdie is my husbands wonderful mother, robin --> birdie, get it? although she usually lives nearby, she & papa wayne are on an extended vacation, so her short visit home was verrrrrrry exciting for everyone! she even brought along the great grandmas!

here are some pics of her & arrow's first encounter.

^^ birdie & great grandma twila.

^^^ great grandma pat getting some sweet arrow love.

^^^ "man, being loved on so much is exhausting!"

^^^ miss you already birdie! come home soon!

arrow, my light.

arrow june.

you are my everything.

my life changer.
my heart warmer.
my snuggle bug, chunkerpie & littlest love.
my sidekick.
& my day maker.
my up all nighter, sleep all day-er & my alarm clock.

you make me want to be better.

& love deeper & dream bigger.

you keep me on my toes & keep my arms and heart full.

you make me realize what is truly important 

& make me seriously appreciate my mom.

you make me laugh without jokes.

& cry by doing nothing at all.

you have filled my heart with the purest love i have ever experienced. 

thank you for being a perfect baby while im learning to be your perfect mama.

i love you from your fuzzy head to your tiny toes :)

love, your mama.