Disney Vacation... Part ONE

I just want to start today's post by taking a moment to remember those families who are missing their loved ones today. You and your families will always be thought of and prayed for by our little family. I am so grateful for the men and women who worked and served to help NYC ( and the rest of the nation) recover from such a horrific day! God Bless you all...from the bottom of my little heart!!

We just got back from our Disney vacay, and I must say that it is extremely bittersweet. I don't miss sweating to death (while holding a sticky toddler) or the long lines, but Disney is just "magical"....truly!
We were so blessed to tag along on Gabe's "business trip". We were able to enjoy some time with friends and family while we were there! There is nothing like hopping on a plane to go to a different state, and seeing some sweet friends at the airport who are taking the same flight.....especially when you are a really slightly anxious flyer :) Amara did GREAT though. I couldn't have asked for a more well behaved child. Suckers, Ipad and short flight....thank you, Lord!

Disney has this Magical Express service that takes your bags from baggage claim straight to the hotel. Dreamy right? Considering that I had a toddler in tow, a stroller that was sent to baggage claim that I was NOT going to, and a huge diaper bag full of toys she played with for all of two seconds each needed on the plane. Well, apparently, if it rains....everything shuts down at the airport. Therefore, my 3 hour wait time for the delivery of my bags turned into a 10 hour wait for our bags. Extremely frustrating  not being able to put jammies on Amara or comb our hair out after a shower or simply go to bed before 2 am. My husband is a better man than me. He was so patient and nice to those sweet Disney workers! I let him handle all of the 4-5 calls we made to them wondering when we would receive our bags.

When we arrived at our hotel, we got to see more friendly/family- like faces. Amara was still running on some sort of energy. She hadn't napped a bit, but you know how it is when you get to a vacation destination. You get your second wind for sure! We had little time to just relax! We went straight to meet up with my mother - in - law ( who was also there for work) for dinner at Magic Kingdom. We hung out until it was time to watch daddy sing.

The band performed in front of the Disney castle, and it was pretty amazing to watch. I had the best seat in the house, which was watching that little toddler of ours dance and clap her little heart out while wearing her Minnie mouse ears that lit up. Sigh! Our sweet friend, Tony, held Amara the majority of the show. I am so grateful for that man. He will sweat and dance with Amara until the very end. His poor arms!! It is so nice to get to watch Gabe perform and not be holding her the entire time though.

Here are some of our pictures from that day....mostly blurry, night-time Iphone photos...sorry:

 ^^ taking it alllllll in... ^^

 ^^ sweet friends ^^

 ^^ I put her on the bed to go to the restroom, and came back to unwrapped chocolates ^^

 ^^ Monorail rider! ^^

 ^^ Amara selfie....1 of 12 of the exact same picture. You can't leave her alone with your phone for too long or this is what you get! ^^

 ^^ Watching daddy! ^^

 ^^ Tony.....Amara's favorite dance partner! ^^

^^ My favorite part of the show right now....the drum sequence. ^^

^^ The perfect ending to ANY kind of crazy day! ^^

Tassel L.O.V.E

Hey there! I hope you had a great weekend!!I don't know about you, but I can't get enough of tassels right now! I think they are so fun and festive. I was out shopping this past weekend, and every boutique I went in had some amazing jewelry pieces on display, and I wanted them all!

Some of my favs....

^^ Gold and Gray Jewelry ^^

These come in so many pretty colors for summer, but I am loving these darker ones for fall!

^^ Anthropologie ^^

  

^^ Anthropologie ^^

Love this color for fall.

^^ I don't know who makes these, but they are in a local boutique. I have been eyeing these little guys for quite some time....sigh... Beautiful, aren't they?!

Have a great one!!

xo,

Jenni

Life lately....according to my STILL cracked Iphone....

I am so glad it is Friday! I technically stay at home every day with my amazing little one, but all is right with the world when you know that you get to wake up tomorrow morning, and nothing is expected of you, ya know? It is your right to be lazy....yep.

I am just trying to get back into blogging. My posts have been non-existent lately. I just finished a baby sprinkle, in the final stages of planning a 2 year old's birthday party, finding time to escape with friends to celebrate MY birthday, and we are fitting a trip to Disney right in the middle somewhere. We originally were planning to go to Disney sans child, but the closer we got, the more I got anxiety about leaving Amara. Weird??? Yes, I know. It is a business trip for my husband technically because he has a show there, but we are staying an extra couple of days. I mean, how can I NOT take Amara to see her daddy perform in front of the castle at night!?!? I think the kid in me is even excited about that.

Just wanted to end the week with some Iphone pics! You can follow me on Instagram if you like pictures of food, kids, date nights, and sometimes shoes! ;)

Enjoy your weekend friends!!
xo,
Jenni

Sprinkling a "Fab Mama"

Last Saturday ( yes, I know I should have posted this on Mondayish??), two of my besties, Lori and Lauren, and I threw a baby sprinkle for our dear friend, Leah and baby Max! She is not only an amazing mother to sweet Ari already, but she is such a thoughtful friend to me. The sprinkle had to be special, it was a no brainer to all of us hostesses! 

Leah wanted us to keep it simple ( yeah, okay), so we opted for a restaurant setting in the evening. We chose a Nashville hot spot called Marche, and it was absolutely perfect!! The food, the ambiance, the service.....perfect! We went with some of the colors from Max's fab nursery, and accented it all with gold tones. All of the beautiful paper goods were designed by Lauren at Rock Paper Scissors. Gorgeous, aren't they? We toasted with some Prosecco in hand, and it was just an avalanche of delicious food from that point on.

Here are some pictures from our evening! Disclaimer : forgive some of the blurry pics. Like any great hostess/blogger, I did not charge my camera, so I had 30 secs to snap pics of the table and decor before it shut off. The rest are from my Iphone.

^^ The Fab Mama looking stunning! ^^

^^ If you have not eaten at Nothing Bundt cakes, you are missing out!! Seriously, amazing! ^^

^^ I had so much fun arranging these flowers! Flowers just make me happy! ^^

^^ Tea lights wrapped in gorgeous gold washi tape from Lauren's boutique! ^^

^^ Favor take out boxes for leftover bundt cakes. ^^

We love you Leah!!!! We can't wait to meet baby Max! He is already loved so much!!

- Jenni

22 months!!!

Hey there! Nope, I haven't forgotten about my little ole blog here, but man, oh man have I been busy with life. I also can't deny that I have been a little uninspired lately....or lazy maybe? Gabe has been traveling a lot, which means I have been with our sweet little one round the clock! Her nap time lengths have been extremely unpredictable. I have taken any quiet moment to really just relax and rest up for the next half of my day with her. She is a girl on the go these days!!

This brings me to a 22 month update.....

 "Lap", "love you", "mommy", "oh no", "banana", "sadie" are some of the CUTEST words that come out of Amara's mouth right now. She definitely knows how to cut her eyes at me, but she responds "well" to spankings ;). We are teaching her to say " I am sorry". She mimics even the little things that she sees people do or say!

 She is extremely aware of crying babies, as she points them out always! She has a very loud voice..... it's just loud. She loves to dance so much, and I enjoy watching. She capitalizes on EVERY opportunity to crawl/climb up onto things. She took her first major "Do I need to take her to the ER?" fall in Target, which equalled my scariest mommy moment so far. I love just randomly locking eyes with her and sharing big smiles together. She gives amazing cuddles and kisses right now, and for the most part, seems happy to do so. She enjoys "talking" on the phone. Her world just stops when I tell her that we are going to call daddy.....its pretty much the best. thing. ever. 

Favorites:

foods: ice cream, peaches, greek yogurt, m&ms, rice

tv: Goofy movie, Curious George, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

toy: Ipad... Mommi Lite App and any video of Gabe singing

clothing: LOVES trying on shoes 

activity: pool time/splash pad....anything involving water outside

She is just as much fun as she is challenging some days, but I am loving it. She can drive me up the wall, but I miss her like CRAZY when I have to be away from her. I think that is the way it is supposed to be. I am looking forward to 3 weeks of Gabe being home and us enjoying some family time. Thank goodness for technology that allows me to keep Gabe up to date on all the new fun things that Amara is up to these days. 

Praying baby

 I know as parents, we all brag on our children every chance we get. Just to be clear, this is not that moment that I am taking to do so. I have been told time and time again how much Amara will start to pick up from Gabe and I as she is inching closer to 2 years old. We all want our children to pick up our good habits, right? I watch her put on make-up with me while I get ready ( will that make her vain or insecure?) She repeats words that just come flying out of our mouths like "shoot" (will other mom's judge me or think its cute?) I watch her throw tantrums or whine ( is that just part of being a kid, or do I play into that when I do the same thing at 27?) 

All I am saying here is that you are always waiting for those little glimpses of sunshine in the midst of all of your cloudiness. I caught my glimpse the other day when I was unloading the dishwasher. Amara was just wandering around while watching tv, and she made her way to the dining room table and crawled up onto the bench ( quietly) and I look up and see her just sitting at the table. Her little feet were swinging, her hands were lightly drumming on the table top, and she had the biggest smile on her face! She was so extremely proud of herself for getting up on the bench. I think I said something like "Boots! You got up there all by yourself?!? Look at you, big girl!!" Then, I noticed she crossed her little hands together ( which we never do when we pray - we hold hands), and she began to bow her head and pray. Tears welled up in my eyes, and all I could do was take in the moment. I didn't care about grabbing a camera or making sure I got the perfect photo. I just wanted to sit there and watch my sweet little baby have a conversation with the Lord. She was just talking away!! I DID hear the words "pad pad" ( Ipad) and "Mimmie" ( Mickey). She is clearly thankful for those two things. Then, she raises her head and spreads her arms out as wide as they will go and shouts "Amen". 

BEST. MOMENT. EVER!

Gabe was gone, and I obviously wanted it on video eventually, so I kind of "encouraged" a reenactment and this is what we got!

Amara Praying from Jenni Patillo on Vimeo.

Sure, Gabe and I make an effort to pray before meals with her and every night before bed. It doesn't make us completely responsible for this. I ask the Lord every night to pursue Amara's heart and let it be open to what He has for her.....despite us. It was just a great moment for me to take time to say "thank you" to God for allowing her actions to play out what may be stirring in her heart at this young age.

Have a GREAT weekend everyone! I am so grateful for all of you! Love you ..... mean it!

xoxo jenni

Summer Nights at the Vineyard

Some people have a beach nearby, a farm or even a lake to retreat to during the summers. While all of those things aren't all that far from us, Arrington Vineyard is super duper close to us. I have a feeling that is where we will be spending a lot of our summer evenings. Gabe was out of town this past weekend, so I called up my spontaneous bestie and we decided that a picnic filled with Mexican food, leftover birthday cake and wine would bring us much happiness! Simultaneously taking in a beautiful view didn't hurt either.

Off we went! I love how many families had the same idea that night. I enjoy crowds of people ( for the most part). I watched Amara run up and down a hill repeatedly, which brought her a lot of entertainment. I was able to relax on a blanket and eat in peace. Did I mention, we will be spending a lot of summer nights here?

 ^^^ Left over birthday cake with some raspberry dessert wine that the vineyard makes. ^^^

(They have a blackberry that I am dying to try)

^^^ Little hands can't resist cake......who can blame her? ^^^

 ^^^ A little blurry, but I love this picture. ^^^