six

 

sometimes it feels like it's only been 6 months, and other times it feels like it's been 60 quadrillion years. so many ups and downs and adventures and difficulties and joys. the last 6 years have been perfect, in all of their crazy, imperfect glory. isn't it all of the messy imperfections that make life so fulfilling and interesting? so glad he decided to take me as his, despite my many flaws.

i am so lucky to call him mine.

so

much

love.

i could gush for pages, but this time i'll refrain.

can't wait to see what the next 6 {million eternities} hold.
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and just because it wouldn't be a true post without a pic of the reeser's.  here she is in all of her chocolatey glory following our anniversary date to our favorite ice cream joint. {yes, we let her tag along. how can you resist a face like this?}.

turning 2: the big day

the morning of reese's actual birthday was the saturday of our ward camp out when she woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 4:30am. i like to think it's because she was just so excited to turn 2!

any way, by the time we returned home from camping it was nap time, so presents would have to wait.  when she woke up she was acting really ornery, and we assumed it was because of the late night/early morning.

opening gifts:

one of her favorite gifts, a bed for baby:

the big gift of the day was her new bike.  she was seriously ecstatic!! she couldn't stop smiling from the second she saw it. finally, a bike of her own! no more stealing other kids bikes at playgroup! she seriously sat on this thing for 3 days straight singing "my bike, my bike, this my bike!!" it was adorable. and does it get any better than seeing your child full of pure joy over something you've given them? this is her showing us how "big" she likes her bike.

posing with that awesome smile:

she was little confused about what age she had just turned and kept insisting, "oh, i'm four!!"

that night we ordered pizza and she wouldn't eat a bite.  she barely even touched her banana, one of her very favorite foods.  again we assumed it was from extreme tiredness so we decided to hold off on her cake.  and man oh man am i glad we did.  at 8:30pm she started throwing up every single little thing that was in her stomach.  poor kid. on her birthday and everything.  by 11:00pm she had barfed 5 times and just wanted to lay in my lap and snuggle and watch cars.  honestly, it was kind of awesome to have her snuggling with me like that. and speaking of perks, it got me out of speaking in church the next day. sa-weet. but really besides those two small bonuses it was extra sad.  luckily, the bug only lasted those few hours and she was happy as a clam the next morning.

finally, on monday we presented her with her much anticipated cake! {i know, i know, you're all so impressed with my cake decorating skills.  my poor kids.  this is about as fancy as i get, much to deek's chagrin.}

she was so excited for her "sugar!!" aka frosting.

and yes, i took a million pictures.

discounting the whole lack of sleep and barfing thing, it was such a great celebratory weekend of our little reese. now if i could just figure out how to keep her from growing up so fast...

ward campout 2011

we were so excited to be a part of our ward's first annual campout. great food, great company, and fabulous scenery.  it may have made me slightly homesick for my mountain wilderness. why can't everywhere smell like fresh pine?

believe it or not, this was reese's first real campout.  as in, sleeping in a tent somewhere other than papa's backyard. i was intrigued to see how the whole sleeping thing would go since she was still sleeping in a crib at home {we've since made the transition to a big girl bed. hurray!}. my intrigue proved to be well deserved.  after finally getting to bed around 11:30pm, we were able to get her to fall asleep with minimal crying. victory!!

and then the rest of the night happened.

apparently, sleeping on a little backpacking roll up mattress isn't quite as comfortable when your 28 weeks pregnant. and then when your 2 year old somehow kicks you off of said mattress, the hard, slanted, rocky ground doesn't exactly scream cozy either. why did i not bring the blow up mattress? stupid rocks. a mistake not to be made again while i'm pregnant.

any way, between stolen mattresses, dogs barking in near bye campgrounds, and reese's rolling neither deek or i slept. part-ay! and then at 4 a.m. reese woke up. like really woke up for the day declaring, "no tent. no like tent." and that instead she'd prefer the company of our local 'fie-a-pace' {fire pit}. yes sweetheart, whatever your heart desires whenever it's the middle of the night and there are 20 other families within ear shot of your cries. we think it was because she was freezing since she refuses to let any blankets cover her while she sleeps. awesome. or maybe she was just so darn excited since it was her 2 year birthday and all.

deek being the totally sympathetic parent that he is granted her her wish and left me in peace to finally catch some sleep. guys, i have a lot of respect for my husband.  he could have been ornery or upset or grouchy toward reese for making him get up before the sun but he didn't. instead, he seized the moment and saw it as a chance for some quality father/daughter time.  he hauled her to the fire pit, started up a new fire and sat there for 3 hours with reese in his lap. she didn't want to sleep - our usual busy body little gal just wanted to chill by the fire and snuggle with her daddy. and deek loved every second of it. isn't he the greatest dad? i think so.

despite the crazy night, we still managed to have the greatest time.  in fact, we're actually really excited to try it again, this time with the air mattress and a few more clothing layers for reese in tow.

we have the greatest people in our ward and it was such a delight to get to know every one a bit better outside of church.

i really can't get enough of these two.

our abode for the evening

our little tree hugger

this moss covered almost every tree. isn't it gorgeous?

tired morning eyes after only 4 hours of sleep. and on her birthday no less!

 this dirt hill kept her entertained ALL morning. climbing up, then sliding down. she was in HEAVEN.

 

the girls chased her away, so the local tribe of lost boys adopted her into their club. it was seriously adorable. they let her decide everything to do. looks like she may be her mother's daughter, feeling more comfortable with the boys and all. eh. less drama that way any ways.

 

some day i hope she learns how to do a real smile.

can't wait til next year!