11 months....

Well, we are officially at that point where I am telling people that my BABY is almost a year old!!!!!! Man, she is really growing up so fast. She has tested my patience so much this month. She is a "go baby"!! She cannot be trusted haha! She is into everything, so I am more worn out than ever ( especially since Gabe has been gone A LOT in the last month), but life is rich!

  She is starting to mimic us more and more, which is so cute and scary at the same time! Whenever I pick up the phone to call someone or answer it, she puts her hand up to her ear as well and says "aah" aka "hello". She thinks it is HILARIOUS when I have to spank Sadie or tell her to go to her bed, as Sadie dog has been a bit of a pain lately! Sharing attention is just not her thing.

Some things Amara is loving right now:

Blueberries and Peaches

Rice with soy sauce

Drinking whole milk

Picking up Sadie's toy to give to her, then clapping

Dancing, which is her on all fours rocking back and forth

Drinking out of a sippy cup

Giving hugs

Crawling everywhere...It is so hard for me to let her crawl around in public places, but it is sooo much easier. She just reaches for the floor the entire time. I always give in! Thanks goodness for wipes!

Putting things "in" and pulling them "out" of containers

Trying to pull up

Standing up with her head on the ground!

Waving

doing BIG smiles....it actually makes my face hurt to watch ;)

Swinging at the park....it is as if she has rediscovered it. She absolutely loves it!!

A few things that mommy is loving right now......

Introducing whole milk :)

Getting to cuddle with her every night before I lay her down ( sweetest time of my day)

Feeling her tug at my leg to be picked up

Just being out an about and feeling her throw her head on my chest and cuddle me.....tears

Watching her eat....she is a gluten, but it is cute! Big appetite like mommy and daddy!

Seeing her discover and retain what she is learning

Her short, chubby legs

Her little teeth poking through

How much she loves Sadie

Watching her smile when daddy walks through the door

I feel crazy busy right now, but it is alllll good! We are looking forward to a Disney trip in Sept. ( taking baby A), daddy being home in a couple of days and a 1st Birthday bash to celebrate Amara and our life-changing year! That is about all I can focus on right now. Words cannot explain how much I freaking love my husband and the sweet baby we made together! We celebrated 5 years of marriage together this month, and it has only gotten better each year. I truly mean that! Amara is just surprising us everyday with new things that she is doing. We want to give her the world. She is a lover of people, and I will drive that prayer into the ground for as long as I live. She is a special baby, and once again......I can't believe I get to be her mommy! 

Thanks for a great month baby and boots.....and Sadie too! I love you three more!

This was by far the hardest photo shoot we have done to date! She is a mooooover!

Thanks for reading....as always! 

DIY Ribbon Garland

I have been wanting to make a ribbon garland for quite some time now. I think they are so stunning! I am in desperate need of a craft ( since the hubs is gone for a week), and I have a teething baby! I thought this would be a nice little escape for me since I love to just get lost in a project. Yesterday, to relieve stress, I cleaned my bathroom. Making a ribbon garland is much more fun I believe!!

I got cheap fabric from Wal-mart. It was 2 bucks a yard. This technically isn't ribbon hanging, but it is fabric made to look like ribbon strips. See where I am going here? Ribbon is much more expensive for a project like this. I opted for peach, cream and a little bit of mint green for mine, but go crazy with fun prints/patterns and different colors. The less you think about it, the better they look in my opinion. I chose solid fabric.

What you will need:

Roughly 2 yards of fabric ( in each color) depending on how long you want your garland

Self healing mat

Rotary cutter ( a major time saver when it comes to cutting fabric)

Jute twine

Fabric Scissors

A baby in over- sized pjs to crawl in your piles of ribbon .......ok, not really, but that is what I got!

About an hour of your time

I used my mat to roughly measure how thin/thick I wanted each strip to be. 

As you can see, they are not even nor are they all the same size. Imperfection = perfection with this project. It gives the garland some dimension.

Baby....

Take each of your strips and tie them in a knot onto the jute twine.

Then, simply scrunch it right up next to the previous knot you made so there is no space between the ribbons.

Then, cute the remaining fabric down to about a 1/2 of an inch. This just gives the top of the garland a nice clean line. I debated leaving the extra fabric at the top, but it made it look to "messy". To each their own!

VOILA!!!!!

These are great stored away for a special occasion, hanging in a nursery, or even anywhere in your house for that matter. Have fun with it!

Hope you all enjoy your Thursday!

Randomness...

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I sure did! Gabe was gone on Saturday, so Amara and I got to spend some time with family. We ventured out for some cinnamon doughnuts and home made orangeade (YUM) at the Farmer's Market. On Sunday, we got to do our usual cleaning of the studio and then headed to church, which was so amazing as always. I am still having a hard time walking away from the door at the nursery knowing that Amara is crying. Why do I like to look? Just drop off and walk away....it is so hard for me though. 

Not only is eating out my absolute FAVORITE thing to do, but it is especially so on Sundays. However, we opted out of Sunday lunch since we knew we would be going to dinner that night ($$), and I am actually glad we did. It was pouring rain when we left church so it was so nice to just come home and all of us rest. I stripped Amara down to her diaper and let her play in the bed with Gabe and I ......those are some of the fondest memories I will keep! I actually didn't do any cleaning......we just relaxed and it was perfection!!

Then, later that evening, we celebrated my mother-in-laws birthday at an amazing sushi spot called Wild Ginger. Amara did sooooooo well! I was a proud mama. Gabe had to work today, which is a bummer, but it is a big opportunity and that man will do whatever it takes to provide for his family. I am thankful for that daily....sometimes more than once daily :). He leaves again tomorrow for a WHOLE WEEK!! Bummer.....

I am digging down deep to find strength for him to be away for these longer tour runs. I truly respect single moms on a whole different level now. I am so lucky to at least have family around, but sometimes you just want your spouse. Amara is doing so many new fun things daily, and I know he hates to miss it all, but thank goodness for amazing technology these days.

This is all kind of a random post with pics from the weekend.....I don't usually do weekend recaps, but I am feeling crazy today ;)

Happy Monday everyone!!!

My little sister, Jordan and my mom ( yes, I know we look alike, and it doesn't help matters
when we wear the same exact shirt, but in different colors. Totally unplanned! )

Amara sits in high chairs and stroller side ways.......so strange, that kid!

DOUBLE DIGITS BABY!!

I literally heard a friend of mine say " yeah, Amara is 10 months today!", which reminded me....Amara is already 10 months! I was not prepared ( hence the way late photos), and I find that I am completely shocked when another month has come and gone! CRAZINESS!!

It is official....I gave birth to a ball of energy! She is my little "hot mess" if you will. Amara is all over the place these days! I remember when I first had her, other moms would stop me to say something about her hair, then proceed to tell me that they miss the days that their child would just sleep all day and lay on their chest! I am officially THAT mom. Today, while we were in the grocery store, there was a sweet family shopping together. They had a newborn ( who was being quiet) and a 5-6 year old ( quiet as well), and I found myself day dreaming about peaceful days. How can two be more peaceful than one??? Amara likes to be heard in the cutest of ways. Don't get me wrong, she is so perfect and fun, but I am definitely that mom who blows raspberries the entire shopping trip to entertain my child then feel like I am going to pass out when I leave.

It is so fun to watch Amara claim more and more of her independence. The biggest thing that happened ON her 10 month birthday was that she crawled for the first time. Yes, we got it on video!! Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched her try to get her bearings. It always seems that after a baby does something, they won't do it again for a while. As expected, Amara didn't crawl again for another several days. I woke up this morning to Gabe's voice on our monitor saying " Babe, come upstairs if you can hear me...Amara is crawling for real!" She officially knows that those little hands and knees can take her where she wants to go.

Another super fun thing right now is our meals. I love watching her eat. I know it sounds weird, but it is the cutest thing watching her learn to pick things up and shove them in her mouth. She absolutely loves hummus on bread, kid's greek yogurt ( berry), cheese, avacado, cinnamon toast, bananas, puffs and her banana oatmeal in the morning. Each day is different with breast feeding. Some days, she is super interested, and others not so much! I think it is more sweet than bitter for me for that phase to end :)

We have lowered the crib mattress alllllll the way to the bottom. She really loves being up on her knees. Sometimes, when she wakes up I will just peek in her room to see what she is doing. It is always super cute to see that bed head and listen to her talking to herself and sitting up on her own.

I am loving that Amara is warming up to people and not crying so much when I walk away. She loves to wave at people, say "uh oh" when cued, "na na na na na" all day long and reach out her hand to touch other people ( especially kids). She has been going to the nursery at church ( 2 times and counting now), and it is so great to come back and peek in the window and see her playing happily with others.

The other day the teacher said that Amara is a lover! That is such a prayer of mine! I want her to love people the way Jesus did, and I really hope that just being around Amara will make others take notice to the fact that there is something special about her spirit and the condition of her heart. I want her to shine from the inside out. I feel like I married a man who has so many special gifts and callings. He walks with such a humble attitude and being around him makes you want to smile and be a better person! If Amara, captures half of that, she will have it made!! I am a lucky woman.... I get to be a wife to such an amazing man, and I still can't believe that he chose me to do life with. The cherry on top is getting to be "mommy" to Amara. Thank you Jesus! I will continue to praise You in everything that I do. I do NOT take for granted these moments. I honestly just hope I am doing a good job! ;)


We are having a blast. Summer is coming to an end, and we are gearing up for a busy and somewhat lonely fall season as Gabe will be gone a lot. We are soaking in as much family time as we can! Thanks for checking in and sharing in these little milestones with us! It means so much to me.

Much Love!
Jenni

EXTRAS....

Amen...

Came across this post on my facebook, and I think it is beautifully written and well spoken. Thought I would share.... Pray for these families in CO that suffered tragedy and loss! It is absolutely heartbreaking to me!

Read on...