{Merry Christmas & Happy New Year } ::

{ 11 months } ::

December 3rd Sydney turned 11 months! wow. it is seriously so mind boggling to me the developments that take place in just ONE year. I say it all the time, but it's so true. time FLIES on by. and I can honestly say that we have LOVED every moment thus far. we've definitely been blessed! Sydney loves to give hugs and kisses. she is so full of life and he is so adventurous and super active. she loves music, our silly dance parties and bopping to the music. she loves it when we sing, 'patty cake'. she loves it when we read to her, her favorite book is anything with animals and dr.seuss 'hand, hand finger, thumb'. she loves to clap and wave to people and bringing smiles to peoples faces everywhere we go. November was a fun month and celebrating your first thanksgiving. you definitely have given us some much more to be thankful for! 

oh Sydney...11 months. You went a few weeks of just standing in place holding your balance, then quickly taking a step or two to then getting back down to a crawl, I was sure you were quite content with that, but then bam! a week later you were taking steps all over the place. your zest for life is unstoppable! i love that about you! Oh how we love you and we know you love us just as much. i love that you are 11 months old...and just about to hit that one year mark. what a celebration that will be. 

we love you. 

 life is sweet.

10 months

{ 10 months } ::

 

 On November 3rd Sydney turned 10 months! October proved to be an exciting month! lots of first and lots of fun! Sydney you've mastered the stairs and can go up them like a champ! you walk along the furniture and can stand in place for a good long time. before we know it you will be walking. you celebrated your first halloween, and you took it by storm, our little wonder women! you loved everything including the candy. that'a girl! 

you've enjoyed lots of outdoor activities, walks, runs, and trips to the pumpkin patch. you continue to shine with your happiness and joy! your personality is in full swing and it's so much fun getting to know you! you make us laugh and smile all day long. you love being apart of whatever brody and your daddy do. 

we all can't get enough of you! you have a zest for life and at 10 months, you are full of spunky personality that we just love! you love any food we give you, you sleep great at nap time and at night. your love for animal is heart melting. you love it when dogs bark at you, you pull out some sort of incredible belly laugh i wish i could bottle up. you love going to the Zoo and seeing the animals, you squeal with delight as we move along to each animal. you are cuddly and lovey. you do a really great job of keeping up with brody and playing with him. he adores you so much. 

the past 10 months have been perfect. we are so lucky to have you and have so much fun with you. you are our ray of sunshine and we love you so much!

9 months

{ 9 month check up } ::

on September 3rd Sydney had her 9 month check up. 9 months! she is happy as can be! and she sure loves her big brother. pretty certain he is quite fond of her too. these two are too cute together. love them so! and really can't believe how fast 9 months has flown by. i mean really flown! time flies when you're having fun! we love you little girl! so happy you are ours! 

 Sydney Adele stats are ::

 head : 17 1/2 inches 

 weight : 22 pounds 11 ounces 

 height : 29 3/4 inches

6 month status

{ Butter Crumble Apple Pie } ::

what do you do with freshly picked apples? why, make pie of course. but not just any apple pie my friends, Butter Crumble Apple Pie!

 yes, that's right! what's better than pie crust and a crumble topping? i answer, nothing! crumble on a pie is soooo good! Yum, so so Yum! Seriously the best apple pie i've ever had, ever made! Actually first Apple Pie i've ever made! (Erin L. are you so proud? come here so we can make pie together!) And it was so easy!

 I got the recipe from The Country Cook. And here is her pie crust recipe & her butter crumble apple pie recipe here. on the site she shows you step by step pictures of how to make everything, which i always find helpful. but if you don't feel like clicking on over for the recipe, *i will share it here with you and little bits of what I did for my pie! 

Butter Crumble Apple Pie

Preheat over to 400 degrees  

Pie Crust Ingredients 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 

1/2 tsp. salt 

1/2 cup vegetable oil

 2 tbsp. water 

 Directions 

 In a medium bowl, combine flour and salt.

 Stir in oil and water. 

 Mix until combined. 

Then form into a ball. 

Spray your pie pan with non-sticking cooking spray.

Put your ball of dough in the middle of your pie pan. 

start pressing down on your ball of dough and spread it to the sides.

Do the best you can to press it to the sides. 

you want enough dough along the sides so you can make the pretty crimp at the top of the edge.

It's a forgiving dough, so if it tears a little, or you press to hard, just smush around the dough with your fingers to seal it back together.

And also make sure when pressing the dough on the bottom that its not thick, try and press it out as even as possible. 

*once I finished my pie crust and it was all pressed out and the edges were crimped, I put my pie pan in the fridge while I did the apple filling and the crumb top. 

For the Filling 

6 granny smith apples *(I used Jonagold apples and it was AMAZING!) Peeled, cored, and sliced.

1/4 cup all-purpose flour 

1/2 cup sugar *(I used white sugar) 

1 tsp. ground cinnamon 

 *I washed my apples, peeled them, then sliced them, and put all the slices in a large bowl. 

 In a small bowl, toss the flour, sugar, & cinnamon 

 Pour the flour, sugar, cinnamon mixture over the apples and toss to coat all the apple slices with the mixture.  

*I left my apples in the bowl while I made the butter crumble topping. 

 For the Butter Crumble Topping 

1/3 cup white sugar 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1 stick (8 tablespoons) Butter, room temperature 

 In a bowl, combine, sugar and flour. 

Then add in soften butter. 

Using a fork, combine flour mixture with butter until it looks crumbly. 

 *Get your pie crust out of the fridge, pour your apples into the pie crust, and sprinkle crumble mixture all over the top of the pie. 

 Bake in the center rack of your oven for about 45 minutes until apples are soft and top is golden brown. 

*After about 30 minutes my pie was nice and golden brown, I was afraid my apples weren't cooked all the way, so I just turned my oven down to 300 for 15 more minutes. 

And then I took it out and let it set for like 3 hours. That was the hardest part, waiting! I did get a fork and dig out a piece of apple just to doubly make sure the apple was cooked and sure enough it was perfect. I did stick it in the fridge to cool for about 2 hours. 

 It was amazing pie! like soooo amazing! so what are you waiting for? go make some pie!

{ 9 months } ::

 

Sydney is 9 months old today. 

 i say it all the time but, seriously we can't get enough of Sydney. she fits in our family so perfect and we are so lucky! 

she is growing like no other. and well i think it just needs to stop, but at the same time it's so much fun. little miss, eats great, sleeps great, plays like a champ, is pulling herself up on everything and scoots along (crazy talk!), she climbs the stairs like someone on a mission, she is fast, and girly, super mischievous, beautiful, happy, has the best smile, strong and healthy! 9 months old. i love it! she is so full of life, spunk and personality. 

in the past month she has perfected...giving kisses, waving hello and goodbye, and waking along the furniture. i love the stage that she is in right now. it's bittersweet to see how fast my baby is growing, but i love every new thing she gets to explore and experience. life is great. 

 can you stay 9 months forever? pretty please? 

 we love you peachies!

8 months

{ 8 months } ::

 

 On September 3rd, Sydney turned 8 months! this little morsel of everything yummy is the sweetest thing ever

 she's a super speedy crawler. 

 she's standing himself up against everything. 

 She has 2 bottom teeth, so cute! and the top teeth are starting to make there way. 

 she's so curious and adventurous! 

 she loves being outside at all times. 

 she claps her hands when we cheer for her and say, "yay"! 

 she gives kisses. 

she LOVES our huge bear Big.

 she loves all food and is an awesome eater. 

 she loves to snuggle, especially with her papa bear. 

 she's a little jibber jabber talker and it's so cute. 

 she is a little charmer everywhere we go. 

 she loves going to the park and swinging. 

 she loves other kids and babies. 

 she loves reading books.

 she's been hiking and to the zoo. 

 she loves having brody around. 

 she is so fun and silly. 

 she loves it when we crawl around with her and chase her all around, she giggles the whole time. 

 she's got one spunky, fun loving personality and we can't get enough of her. 

 we love you baby girl!

7 months

{ Friday June 28th } ::

on Friday June 28th at around 3:50 pm Tyson was in a car accident. 

let's jump back to about 3 hours before his accident, Brody, Sydney and I ate lunch with Tyson. we were pretty quick because Tyson had to get back to work for a meeting and I was going on visits to see a few ladies from church. while eating lunch i was telling Tyson that I kinda didn't feel very good, he suggested coming home early, but I told him no, because I would be on my visits and I would be fine. we parted our ways and that was that.

 from what we can figure, it had to of been around 3:30 when Tyson was at work, sitting in front of his computer working on a power point presentation, when he says he was looking at the screen and just felt a gush of energy just rush down his body, and literally could not for the life of him remember what he was working on. he decided to get up and walk around for a few minutes to try and shake things off, but when he came back to his desk he still couldn't remember anything. he had a feeling that maybe something was wrong with me, because remember how at lunch I told him I didn't feel very good. and so he thought once he could get a hold of me he would be able to refocus. so he tried calling and texting me, that was at 3:40 pm. when Tyson couldn't get a hold of me he decided to just come home for the day and check on me. All he remembers is getting into the car to drive home. 

 as I was about to leave my friend Emily's house I was grabbing the kiddos and my stuff and checked my phone and noticed I had just missed Tyson's call and a text. I got the kids in the car and called him back. he was in the car on his way home. he told me he was just about to get off on Gaskins (the exit he takes off the highway to come home), and he said he was thinking something was wrong with me, I told him I was fine, just tired and told him I was just leaving Emily's house and was on my way home too. 

I started just talking to him telling him about my visits when I noticed he wasn't responding to what I was saying, but I could hear he was still on the line. I started saying, "tyson? tyson?" and then I kinda heard a slight moan on the other end and that was it. in that quick moment i first thought maybe he dropped his cell phone when he went to shift to go around the sharp turn on Gaskins. so I tried calling him back a couple of times but he never answered. all of this happened within like 2-3 minutes! I thought it was kind of weird and got a little scared inside but told myself it was ok. i kept trying to call him and then tried calling his work cell. i called his work cell a few times when suddenly a women answered his phone and she told me Tyson had been in an accident. I quickly asked her if 911 had been called and she said yes, she told me where the accident was, I was like 1 minute away. She told me he was shaking and foaming at the mouth and I begged her not to leave him and told her to tell him I was coming. it took everything in me to stay calm so I wouldn't scare Brody. Luckily Sydney had fallen asleep and Brody was playing on the ipad. She told me to take my time and she would stay with him. 

 I drove over the overpass on Gaskins (heading toward threechopt), there were firetrucks, police cars and an ambulance. my mind was racing, my heart was praying uncontrollably, could all of this have just happened within minutes? I mean, I was JUST talking to him! and how did his car get on the other side of Gaskins? from where he had gotten off the highway his car was on the other side of the over pass. I pulled up behind a firetruck and told a fire fighter that was my husband in the accident and my kids were in my car and he just told me to go to Tyson.

 I ran towards his car, his smashed up car ( it looked a lot worse to me at the scene than in the picture ). I saw a girl standing by the car and told her my kids were in my car, please go sit with them and she did. Tyson was still in his car when I got there. still buckled in, no scratches, no blood. the women who had answered his phone got out of Tyson's car and came to be by me. I think her name was Cheryl. she told me she saw that there was the accident and pulled over next to Tyson's car and just got in the car with him. yes, you read that right. this women pulled up to Tyson's car and got in with him! how amazing is she? an angel perhaps? i thanked her over and over for being being with him. but by the time I left the scene she was already gone before I could get her information. The more I play it all through my head, I really think she was an angel. 

 But back to the scene, Tyson was totally out of it. and I mean OUT. OF. IT. he was super lethargic and ANGRY. So so ANGRY and looked liked he was drugged up. The paramedics were trying to get him to stand up and get him out of his car and onto the stretcher but Tyson would not have it. He didn't want to be touched, he kept saying he hurt and he just kept yelling at all of us. I kept telling him him he needed to just try and calm down and he looked at me and yelled, leave me alone Emily! In my mind I was like, WHAT? and I told him no that it was me, Jen and I was here with him, but he just kept calling (yelling) at me, Emily! He didn't even know who I was. 

Because he kept fighting the paramedics, the paramedics finally told me that I had to be the one to try and get him on the stretcher. I must have been full of adrenaline and I think heavenly father was with me too, but I was somehow able to pick Angry Tyson up and get him on the stretcher and the paramedics took him away into the ambulance. 

 then the cops start talking to me trying to figure things out, how did i know tyson was in the accident and where it was? why wasn't he at work? was he on drugs? i told them i was talking to him on the phone, the lady Cheryl answered his phone and told me where he was, he wasn't as work because he left early because he thought something was wrong with me. (WRONG! What was wrong, was Tyson! he just didn't realize it at the time.) and NO, he was not on drugs. but man alive, those cops were determined he was on drugs. and to be honest, if you could have seen Tyson, you too would have thought he was on drugs. It was bad, i mean bad. They searched his car high and low for any "evidence". They wanted to know how often he drank. I just kept telling them he doesn't do drugs and doesn't drink!I know it was super hard for them to believe me. I just told them he didn't do any of that. It did cross my mind though, was he on drugs? because seriously, you should have seen him. they asked if he had Epilepsy, I said no. They were thinking that maybe he had a seizure. meanwhile, as I am being drilled by the cops, which I should note they were really nice, they were just trying to figure it all out. one of the paramedics comes up to me and says, "miss, you're going to need to come inside the ambulance and calm your husband down". in my mind i was like really? he doesn't even know who I am. 

I ran over to the ambulance and the first thing I saw, was Tyson handcuffed and tied down to the stretcher. yes, he was that angry they had to tie him down and handcuff him (awesome!). i just kept telling him firmly that he needed to calm down so that the paramedics could help him. but of course he just kept yelling at me calling me Emily. don't worry, I kept reminding him I was Jen. and I looked at the paramedics, told them knock him out if they could. I had to go back to the police and fill out some paper work, I did that, then went back to the ambulance where they told me they were taking Tyson downtown to VCU hospital. 

 I knew I couldn't take my kids with me to the hospital, and I got out my phone and quickly called my friend Lara, who also happens to live across the street from me. Up to that point I had kept it together, until Lara answered her phone. and I lost it, like hysterical, telling her Tyson had been in an accident, he didn't know who I was, and she had to help me and take my kids for me. she told me to come home and she could take care of them. The accident was super close to our house. I ran back to my car and thanked the sweet girl who stayed with my kids, and started to drive home. I knew I had to start calling family. I called Tyson's mom first, no answer. I called my mom, no answer. I called my dad, no answer. I called Tyson's sister Amy, no answer. I called my brother and he answered and I couldn't even talk I was still completely hysterical in tears, my brother just kept telling me to tell him what happened, and all I know I said was, "tyson's been in an accident and he doesn't know who I am, he's headed to the hospital, pray for him, call mom and dad." and that was that conversation. Then I got a hold of Tyson's sister Sara who too had to deal with me in total hysteria! (sorry guys!) she called everyone else for me to tell them to pray for Tyson. 

meanwhile, I got home, luckily Lara's nieces were in town, so they watched her kids, Lara got our good friend Ashlee who lives across the street to watch Sydney and Brody and Lara went with me down to the hospital. As we were on our way to the hospital I got a text from my brother saying he was on his way and would be there in a few hours!

 At the time I called my brother I had forgotten he was in Chicago on business and when I called him he was on his airplane ready to head back to Oregon, but when he got off the phone with me he told the flight attendant there had been an accident and he had to get off the plane and get to D.C., they opened the door to the plane got him off and onto a plane that was just about to take off to D.C. he was here within 4 hours! yeah, amazing huh? he was my saving grace!!! 

 I was so scared that Tyson wasn't going to remember me. we made it to the hospital and by that point I had talk to Tyson's parents and my mom. Lara and I got to Tyson's room in the E.R. and there he was sitting on the edge of the hospital bed with lots of wires hanging from him and I looked at him and asked, "do you know who i am"? and he looked and me and said, "of course, you're Jen" .....HUGE RELIEF PEOPLE!!!! and then I said to him, "now i promise i won't be bad at you, so be honest, are you on drugs?" and he laughed and said, "no". Hey!,I had to ask!! we laugh about it now. 

 after knowing he knew who I was and wasn't on drugs I started to feel a teeny tiny bit better. he was still loopy, not angry just a little goofy. Lara's sweet husband came down to the hospital and gave Tyson a blessing and then the doctor came in to talk to him, Tyson didn't remember the doctor, nor did he remember the questions the doctor asked him. the doctor ask him the same questions I guess he asked Tyson when he first got to the hospital and this time he was able to answer them. they did x-rays, heart test, cat scan, urine and blood samples, you name it a test was done. and everything came back normal. which obviously is great. in conclusion to all of this, they determined that he indeed had a seizure while driving. SO SCARY! 

The doctor said that patients who have a seizure, start off angry when coming out of the seizure then slowly being to come to and get goofy and slowly become normal again. Luckily for Tyson he does not remember at thing. all he remembers is leaving work to come home, waking up in the ambulance for a quick second knowing he was handcuffed and really mad and that's it. Tyson had to stay at the hospital for a few more hours to be monitored, so I headed home. I got the kids from Ashlee and got the kids all ready for bed and put to sleep, Tyson called and said he was good to go and to come get him. Ashlee stayed at my house while I went to pick up Tyson. 

When Tyson said he was good to go, I asked him where he was. his reply, "in a hallway" me: alone? tyson: yeah. me: what if something happens? tyson: i dunno. me: um, okay i'm on my way, you just had a seizure while driving, hit two cars and you are in a hallway all alone, perfect! Thanks VCU Hospital ;) 

 So yeah, to quickly recap things, talking on the phone with Tyson, car crash, no memory, angry tyson, tyson calling me Emily (which we figured was the last thing he heard me say before he had his seizure was, "i just left Emily's") calling everyone telling them to pray for Tyson (because we didn't know what was wrong), being completely hysterical about the whole thing, to....okay I am good to go come pick me up. WHA??????? yes all that happened. the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. that all really did happen and I'm the only one that was there for it all. I mean obviously all my amazing friends who helped me out were there, but really it was only me who saw the accident and went through it all. it's like i made it all up. i didn't. ha! but it was all so crazy. Anddddd...I'm kinda glad Tyson doesn't remember any of the accident. 

 I picked Tyson up from the hospital he was good! the doctor said to take it super easy for a week, and if he were to have another seizure it would be within that week. Good News, he never had another one, nor has he had another one. he's had a check up with her doctor and he is good. By law he had to see a Neurologist which he saw on August 29th, that appointment went great. The doctor looked at his CT scan and x-rays from the day of the accident, she said his brain looked healthy and amazing. She also had him do some movement tests and he did just fine. 

So from there she set up an appointment for an EEG which he had today. Everything went good and now we just wait. If they find anything funny in this test, then they will schedule an MRI. If everything comes back fine from the EEG then he just has a follow up with his Neurologist in December.

 

By law, because Tyson had the seizure while driving, he can not drive for 6 months, so December 28th is his official driving day. So lucky for him he has me to drive him all around :) it's actually really great and we love all the extra time we get to spend together as a family. 

he is doing great. to him all of this still never happened, so at first it was hard for him to take it easy. I had to remind him his accident was so bad that he doesn't remember a thing, that's kinda huge for the brain. but he really is great! after the accident my amazing brother Jeremy stayed with us for a week to help make sure everything was ok for all of us. he is AMAZING. I am so thankful for him. I am thankful for all my wonderful, loving friends who have helped me over the past few months and for Tyson's work and his co-workers for being so great to us. 

The first month after his accident was super hard for me. I was afraid to leave him alone with the kids in case something happened to him. We've had a few incidents where I have left Tyson and the kids alone and I've called and he did not answer his phone. Talk about instant panic! Luckily the few times, they were either playing down stairs or Tyson just didn't get to his phone in time. So thank heavens, but moments like that may of had me in tears in the car, or in the little boys underwear section in Target sobbing. not a big deal ;) but two and half months in and I am doing better and Tyson is doing great. We know he is totally safe at work, and everyone around him is there watching out for him, and the rest of the time he is with us. 
Andddd...I have left him alone with the kids more and more too. ha! 

The doctors all think this was just a one time thing for him, but they will continue to test him and check him just to make sure. 

We know Heavenly Father was looking out for us that day of the accident. Tyson got off the highway and just barely finish the turn off Gaskins Rd, where he proceeded to hit a car coming up Gaskins, hoping over the median, followed by hitting another car coming down Gaskins Rd. before stopping. everyone involved was ok. thank goodness. He was going through his seizure during the whole crash, literally an angel had to of been driving his car. it just makes no sense how his car got where it did and so safely at that. You just have to see the whole intersection to get it. We just feel so blessed. We have gone through every scenario possible, thank heavens he was off the highway going slow instead of 70 mph and crashing on the highway, thank heavens he wasn't with the kids, thank heavens he wasn't killed or killed someone else, or severely injured etc, etc... we count our blessings daily! I am beyond what words can express how thankful I am that Tyson is OK and just love him so much! Biggest scare of my life. 

 Thanks again to literally EVERYONE for helping us, calling us, emails, texts, thoughts, prayers, you name it. THANK YOU!!!

{ hello!, Pre-School } ::

It's hard to believe it, but our little love is in Pre-School! Today Brody had his very first ever 1st day of Pre-School. And he LOVED it! He was so excited to go, I knew he was going to have the best time! That makes me and my heart so happy. His favorite part of his morning was playing outside. not a surprise, he loves being outside. I held my tears till Brody got out of the car, and only proceeded to cry for about 2 hours. I think I am good now. I am so excited for Brody to continue to learn, grow, have new adventures and be the best he can be! This is really only the beginning, sad and exciting, but overall exciting. It's like a love hate relationship, I hate that my kiddos won't stay my little babies forever, but I love that they get to experience the world all around them. 

 Happy 1st day of Pre-School baby boy! I love you, WE love you oh so much! Go, go, get'um get'um!

{ here's to 9 } ::

August 14th 2004 was our special day! 

 can't believe it's been 9 years!

   

 I'm sure glad you knocked on my door that Sunday night ... then came back to ask me out ... we went on a date ... decided to get married ... and 9 years later! we kinda rock this! aren't we lucky?

 thanks for being the best husband, greatest dad and my best friend! 

 i sure love you!!! 

happy anniversary to us! 

 past anniversary posts right here!

{ 7 months } ::

 

 on August 3rd, little miss Sydney turned7 months. let's say this again, 7 months! really? can someone please tell me, where is the pause button! i just said 6 months flew by and here we are at 7 months with this smiley bundle of love! we sure are soaking up every lovely moment with our sweet little girl. My heart is so full of love for her it's exponential. 

Sydney, 

 i love your sweet, lovey, sensitive personality. i love your curiosity for the world around you. your laugh is priceless, i wish we could bottle it up and ship it off to all our friends and family who don't get to hear it - it brings joy to our hearts and smiles to our faces. you are crawling all about and want to pull yourself up on everything you can find. i think you just want to keep up with big brother. you have 2 bottom teeth and you are a champ about it and they are too cute to boot. you sleep 11-12 hours every night and take 2 naps a day, you love your sleep. you love it when we feed you anything we are eating. you love peek-ah-boo, your toys, books and PAPER and well Anything you can put in your mouth. i love how you love to play with your brother and let him play/taunt/smother you with lots of loves and sometimes not so much love, ha! if you could be naked all day you would, you are not a fan of getting dressed at all. you love it when i sing to you. you love to be outside, go on walks and swim in the pool. you are so HAPPY and smiley. And on top of everything else you are adorable. i am so happy you are mine! 

 i love u. 

 6 months

{ 6 month check up } ::

this check up was a special one! On July 9th Sydney had her 6 month check up and Brody had his 4 year check up! it was fun taking both kiddos in together, but maybe not so fun that both had to get shots. but we lucked out with tough little ones who did a great job with all the shots they had to get. we can't believe that Sydney is already 6 months! wow that went by so fast. like soooo fast. it has been so much fun and she is such a sweetheart and such an amazing little girl. we are just so in love with her, and just as much in love with our Brody bear as well. we can't believe he is 4! that 4 years went by fast too! but it has all been so much fun. we love his zest for life and spunky personality and he brings us so much joy everyday! we are so lucky and blessed to have these two little lovies! 

 Sydney's stats are :: 

head : 16 1/2 inches 

 weight : 19 pounds 8 ounces 

 height : 28 1/8 inches 

 Brody's stats are ::

 weight : 54 pounds 

 height : 46 inches 

 4 month stats

{ my baby @ half a year } ::

this bundle of love is the best thing ever! i tell ya, she is pure bliss. it's so hard to believe that she is 6 months old. it has gone by so fast, SOOOO FAST! she pretty much is to die for! 

she is so sweet and full of personality! we are in love with every inch of her and savor each day. she still loves being outside, sleeping and her brother, she is sitting up and trying to crawl. she's very curious about everything. she is the best eater and gets really upset if we are eating and don't give her anything. that okay though, i get upset too if people eat in front of me ;)  

she loves going to the pool, being around other kids, she makes so many people happy, she loves to laugh, snuggle, and give slobbery kisses. 

 it's been so much fun to watch her learn and grow. she is definitely an adventure baby and is the perfect fit in our family! oh how we love our little bundle of yummy goodness. she is perfect!

happy 6 months baby girl! 

1 month : 2 month : 3 month : 4 month : 5 month

{ Running in the 804 } ::

let's talk about running shall we? it's a given, i LOVE to run! I just do. i like how it makes me feel, it makes me happy, i like that only I can do it for myself and no one else can do it for me, I like that it's all up to me how fast i go, how hard i push myself, how long time wise i go, how far i go etc. i love listening to my music as loud as it goes and just getting in the zone. 

 while i was pregnant with Sydney i would have dreams all the time about running. i couldn't wait till i would be able to go again after having her. in February i went in for my 6 week check-up post Sydney and got the "go go go" to run from my doctor. no really, he said and i quote "get on outta here and go RUN!" weird, but he's kinda all about me running. so i did, i knew i had a 10k to train for that was coming up in April and i was really worried i wouldn't be ready by then. i went to the gym and ran 3 miles. i was quite proud of myself, no scratch that, i was shocked that i was actually able to do it, i mean i did just have a baby 6 weeks before. i may or may not have gotten goose bumps while i ran, i was that happy. (insert your eye roll right about now!) so i did 3 miles for a few days and decided to up to 4 miles, great, then 5 and then 6. it was actually a little too easy (insert another eye roll ) but i loved it. and i was totally ready for my 10k when April 13th roll around. don't get me wrong, just because i enjoy running so much doesn't mean there were/are many days of not so good runs or hard days where i may have not wanted to run, but i always end up going anyways and when i go, it for sure always reminds me why i love to run.

 i did the Richmond Monument 10k with my good friend Lara. she has never done a race before, she had never even ran a mile before she started to train for this race. so inspiring, i love it when friends become runners. just like my friends Heather & Ellen when we did this race, they had never ran a race before when they started to train for that race. AMAZING, i tell you! together we rocked our 6.2 miles. it was such a fun race, it was perfect weather, and running downtown with thousands of other runners, and even seeing other friends running or finished running and cheering others on (hi Pete!) it couldn't have been better and i am so happy we did it together. and really running a race is fabulous but being greeted by my cheer squad is definitely the icing on the cake!!

 

................................................

 the following weekend i got together with some uber fabulous friends and did the "Color Me RAD 5K". what's that you ask? well it's pretty much a moving party, where you are encouraged to wear all white, and get doused with kaleidoscopic cornstarch every kilometer and at a postrace celebration! in other words...nothing like paying money to have colored cornstarch thrown at you for 3.1 miles! this within itself was an experience and so much fun! best part of the race? oh, just having my little side kick do the last mile with me! seriously brody is my little athlete. he rocked it! let's just say i for sure felt pretty RAD after this race! races like these kinda rock! because it's not about how fast you go, but more about how much fun you can have along the way! and because i can never choose just one picture, here is an overload of super RAD RUNNING pictures...

Danielle, Paige, Nichole (and so proud! this was her first race and she rocked it!), and Myself

{ zoom zoom } ::

back in April, yes back in April (just playing catch up here) we went and did a Segway tour of downtown Richmond with our good friends the Garners. we live so close to the city, so it was so much fun to really get a more in depth look at where we live and learn some pretty great history as well. it may look kinda nerdy, but don't let those super awesome helmets fool you, it was awesome! 

 we started off by being trained on how to use the Segway and to say i was completely terrified would be an understatement. as our tour guide was demonstrating how to ride the Segway, i wasn't sure whether to poo, throw up or faint. yeah that bad, ha! he even gave the people/person who was the most scared to go first to get "more time" on the Segway, well, let's just say I was the first one on. it probably only took me about 5 minutes to finally get the courage to get ON the thing, while tyson did circles around me. ha! but once i was on and got zooming it was so much fun! we had an absolute blast and we can't wait to do it again!

 

{ summertime : strawberry picking } ::

summer is here and pretty sure the best way to kick off summer is to go strawberry picking! we found a farm we went to last year and had so much fun, we knew we'd go back and do it again this year. this time we met up with good friends, picked berries, had a picnic and went on a tractor ride. it was a hot morning, hence we are all shiny in our pictures.

 

 my cute berry picker

 

this cutie enjoyed herself, and pretty sure brody and some of his little friends decided to share some strawberries with sydney too. she didn't seem to mind one bit.

brody with his friend rex, giving a thumbs up because strawberry picking is super cool. and hanging out by the farmers big tractor with sophie.

yummy picked berries and the strawberry fields. 

 we ate a few of the berries and they were really yummy, and the rest got made into a few batches of homemade strawberry freezer jam, i know totally domestic of me, right? pictures of jam and recipe to come. erin, if you read this it would have been way more fun to make jam with you, just sayin!

we've been picking strawberries now for quite a few years, but this post from just 2 years ago, wow sure gets to me. 1. because i miss ohio and 2. i can't believe how little brody looks! nothing better than having such great memories to look back on. and nothing better than making lots more! 

{ 5 months } ::

 

 Sydney is 5 months! 5! this past month just seemed to fly on by. this little one is seriously the best thing ever! she is always so happy! like sooo happy! and those yummy happy cheeks add to my pure happiness. it takes everything in me not to just kiss and squeeze her all day long. we just love her so much. it's been a pretty happening month for little miss sydney! 

 she is still a champion sleeper and eater. 

 she absolutely loves being outside. 

 she is almost mastering sitting up, and rolls back front, front back and i continue to find her in the craziest places in our family room. i will put her down, run into the kitchen real quick and come back and she's already made it over to the other side of the room. silly girl! 

 she gets arms up and tries to bring her knees up to crawl. girlfriend is trying so hard! 

 she's been to the water park twice and has loved it. water baby! so happy she loves the water as much as brody. 

wants to chew on everything insight...we see teething in our future and sure hope it goes as smoothly as it did for older brother!!

 loves her baths and her whole bedtime routine for that matter. 

 she snuggles and would all. the. time. mmmmmm, love that! 

 she's been strawberry picking. took her to the historical farm, mt. vernon and the zoo for the first time, pretty sure she loved it all! 

she still has crazy hair, that we love. gravity is now really taking over and i think she looks darling with it brushed over.
she loves her  feet! just caught her today trying to eat her toes, which was hilarious due to the fact her little tummy was getting in the way of her mouth and those tiny cute toes!

she got to meet her uncle jeremy and it was love at first sight! she loves him. so sweet! 

she had her first weekend away from me, while i went to ohio to run a half marathon. but no worries, she was in the best care of her daddy! 

 we had our own girls weekend while daddy and brother went on there farther and sons camp out. 

she loves to talk, coo, LAUGH, oh that laugh, so yummy! 

 loves her brother, she still gets so happy every morning when she sees him for the first time. 

 so pretty much she is perfect. 

we love her so much! 

 happy 5 months baby girl!

1 month : 2 month : 3 month : 4 month

{ 4 } ::

 

 oh my little one. yes, i still consider you my little one. you are 4 today! 4 years ago today this happened and life has been the very best ever since! i love you so much my heart could burst. you definitely have a zest for life and spunky personality! you are very lovey and love to give hugs, hold hands, and snuggle. you are adventurous and incredibly imaginative. you are so funny and always have us laughing over the silliest things you tell us. our dance parties never get old, and you my dear know how to groove! i love that you get excited over the most simple things, and i love getting to see the world from your view. 

 my little bear, you are loved! we are so lucky to have you as ours! i love that throughout your days you need me, and you know what? i need you too! i'm so glad we have each other! i am the lucky one that gets to be with you everyday. literally every. single. day. day in and day out. i am so happy that it's ME that gets to be with YOU! What fun we have, what adventures we have, days of reading stories, painting, playing with planes, trucks and cars, digging in the dirt, killing bugs, going for walks, baking, eating yummy food, traveling to far off places, watching tv and movies, going to the farm and going to our favorite spots, play dates and the list goes on and on, we have great days, we have days we are laughing so hard we cry and our bellies hurt from laughing so hard, and sometimes we have sad days, some days we have struggles and hard days and maybe some tears, BUT if i were to go through any day with someone, it is you my sweetheart! it's you, it's you, it's you! i love you! 
WE love you! 

 dr. seuss said it right... 'Today you are You, that is truer than TRUE. There is no one alive who is YOUER than YOU!'

 Happy 4th Birthday!!!

1st birthday : 2nd birthday : 3rd birthday

{ 4 month check up } ::

on May 3rd Sydney had her 4 month check up. 4 months! everyone asks us all the time, "is she always this happy?" ...the answer my friends is YES! she is just SO HAPPY! this super sweet little one definitely brightens everyday! 

 little miss stats are :: 

head : 16 inches 

 weight : 16 pounds 14 ounces 

 height : 25 3/4 inches 

 3 month stats

{ Blessed } ::

On April 14th Tyson blessed Sydney. It was such a sweet special blessing, perfect for her. She looked like a little angel in all white. we were so lucky and both sets of grandparents came to celebrate. It was a sunny and warm beautiful day! we are so lucky to have this little beautiful bundle of love in our family.