Aw shucks.

Hadley Jane, sometimes my cup runneth over, with absolute love and adoration for you.

*and somedays I want to break both of your arms.

Big girl bed...say what?

So we moved Hadley to a big girl bed last week. Figured the earlier we get her out of the crib before new baby comes, the less she would hate new baby for completely wrecking her once perfect little life. After much hesitation (by me because Hadley is a great sleeper and I'm a big believer of 'why ruin a good thing'...she could have been in that crib until she was 10 for all I cared), but we just went for it. And Hadley never looked back. She was stoked for a new room, new bed, and a night light. She snuggles right in, with a huge smile on her face, and that's the end of it...not to be heard of until morning. And that's where it started to get a little sticky. Morning for her became 5am! The freedom of just getting out of bed and opening the door proved a little too much for the bean. One morning I found her in her old room emptying out every single dresser drawer, the next morning she found some pens and thank god was coloring on paper, the morning after that she was just downstairs chilling on the couch eating cereal and sharing with Rudy. I sat down with my dear husband and convinced him that this was a safety issue and we needed to do something STAT! I mean she could unlock the front door, go into the street, die, etc. When in actuality it was a sanity issue. I need mornings to myself, I need my tea, my newspaper, my quiet time. It didn't take too much convincing as Ryan needs his sleep. So we bought some handy-dandy little child proof door locks for lever handles (didn't think they made those), Hadley took one look at them, and being the quitter that she is, tried once to open it, failed, and succumbed. And we are back to a 7:30-8am call time. It's so fun being the parent when you win...the feeling of triumph is indescribable! We'll see how long it lasts...because a good thing never does...especially with a two year old.

Daily convo over her shades.

Hadley: 'Where'd we buy these sunnies Mama? At the store?'

Me: 'At the Mariners game.'

H: 'I no like the Moose. I no sit on Moose's lap. I no hold Moose's hand.'

M: 'That's okay, you don't have to be friends with the Moose.'

H: 'I say hi to Moose, and Mama hold me.'

M: 'Deal'.

H: 'I sit on Ho-Ho's lap.'

M: 'You're going sit on Santa's lap?'

H: 'Yep. And I ask Ho-Ho for a big treat.'

M: 'Smart girl Hads, but I'd ask for way more than a big treat.'

H: 'Allrigh, I ask Ho-Ho for LOTS of gummy treats and a big treat'.

...a girl after her parents heart. Maybe, just maybe, we won't be backbending in Santa's lap this year if we're already thinking about him in August?

Gag me with a spoon.

The only thing that would have made this performance enjoyable is if she would have died at the end.

The kids.

I have so many pictures of growing up with my cousins that I just can't help but take a million when the kiddos are together. Can't wait for the days when they are looking at them asking us...'why did you dress us in that? why is my hair so short? why are we so filthy all the time?'

so fresh.

As you already know, I'm quite sensitive to smells (actually more sensitive to stinks). So here's one way I'm fighting the battle. Everyone in the house has to step it up a notch.

Gum.

This is the smile I see if this gal thinks she has even a remote possibility of getting gum. She is obsessed and asks for gum at least 20 times a day. And each time she assures me 'I chew mama' in her most serious, convincing voice. And each time she forgets and swallows, and therefore has about 105 years worth of undigested gum in her stomach. But she's happy.

Somedays...

...she's just a hot mess.

Ugggh.

10 things I HATE about being pregnant:

1. I have more acne than the average teenager...not only is it all over my face, but it has made a nice little home on my neck and chest as well. Who the hell ever made up the 'pregnant glow' is an idiot.

2. My legs look like I've been hobbled by Kathy Bates at the end of the day.

3. I feel hungover every minute of everyday...but never get the enjoyment of an actual alcoholic beverage or the fun of hearing what I did/said the night before.

4. I cried because Jamba Juice was closed the other night. Seriously.

5. I cried one day because the day 'just wasn't going right', Ryan kindly asked 'well what did you want to do instead babe' and I screamed at him through my sobs 'NOT THIS'. I still am not sure what I had in mind for that day, or what demon took over my body.

6. Did I mention I'm a total hormonal bitch?

7. All I think about is Kraft Singles, Lucky Charms, and Donuts. And my stomach is starting to take the shape of the latter.

8. Once 7pm hits the most I can do with my life is lay on the couch and watch Real Housewives of Atlanta (awful), NYC Prep (worse), and/or 16 & pregnant (at least they're way worse off than me...I'm including all of the above in the way worse off part).

9. I can smell the pores of the person next to me.

10. I'm a real life bulimic, purging at least once a day, but with no weight loss, which is again, depressing!

Can't wait to meet you baby...payback is a bitch.

*I am totally kidding, I promise to be nice to my defenseless little infant...I'll take it out on Hadley instead.

Etsy eat your heart out.

Kip & Lis left this old dresser up at the cabin and I said "hey, I'll take it. We need a dresser for Hadley's big girl room, and they cost a fortune." So WAH-LA!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Allie Cat.

We have a new little niece in town. All 18.5 inches and 7.7 pounds of Allie Taylor Davis greeted us on July 26th @ 7:56am. We were pleased as punch to meet her, although as my mom, Hadley, and I were speeding down I-405 at a record setting pace we thought for sure we'd either die or be arrested before we got there. Hooray we made it...and she was definitely worth the all the reckless driving. We love her to pieces, and someone else in this family is ridiculously smitten with her new baby cousin.

Rudder, the poor middle child...sure to be screwed up. We'll just start calling him 'Jan'.

She might not see 3.

Somedays, I swear, I am awfully close to being arrested for involuntary manslaughter. However, there's not a worry in my mind that I wouldn't 'get-off' for reasons of insanity. If any of you had to spend time with with my daughter two weeks ago (mom and dad, you can vouch) you might have wanted to give her a 'dirt nap' too. She was IMPOSSIBLE! Really she was a crazy woman, with borderline personality disorder, and a severe developmental delay. I think I may have heard 'i do it all myself' 756 times (and if she didn't do it all herself there was hell to pay), I ignored 432 tantrums...and not just little pouts, I'm talking backbending, limp, to the floor, alligator tears, my life is over (maybe she was on to me) tantrums...she wouldn't go to bed at night (we were at the cabin, so things were a little off), she wouldn't sleep in past 5:30am, she decided no means yes and yes means no, and was not satisfied with a thing in the world. I was fresh out of patience (you know how long it takes for a 2 year old to put their socks on...an eternity), fresh out of reasoning with her, and fresh out of marbles (meaning I had lost all of mine). And then the fog lifted...and minutes before I was going to put in a call to Brad and Angelina's 'people' to see if they were ready to adopt a Caucasian kid...she won us back over. A simple kiss on the lips, a gaint hug followed by a pat on the back, an 'i sorry mama, i wuv you mama', and a little smirk when she said ' I wan muney peas', made my heart go pitter patter, gave me a smile ear to ear...and I put back the cyanide that I was planning to sprinkle atop her Lucky Charms.

God, she better hope she stays this cute as a teenager...or I should think about sending my measurements to the Monroe Correctional Center.

They did!

Breathtaking. Astounding. Awe-inspiring. Astonishing. Heart-stopping. Magnificent. Overwhelming. Thrilling. Stunning. Absolutely stunning. These are just a few words that run through my head when thinking about Bennett and Jocelyn's wedding day. This gal & guy didn't miss a beat...or a detail. Everything, from the wood painted wedding signs to the homemade jam, was so them! They had brick oven pizza's (that people are still talking about), a bluegrass band, a photo booth (my new most favorite wedding 'must have' ever), mismatched napkins, skip & go's in mason jars, pickled appetizers, darling cupcakes, pies made with love, twinkling white lights everywhere, fresh lemons, pottery barn table clothes, a wedding party head to toe in J.Crew, a choopa, all in the most beautiful backyard I've ever seen. Oh, and the bride...don't even get me started on how heavenly she looked. Let's just say when she put that dress on, I lost my breath and was (for one of the few times in my life) absolutely speechless. Their letters to eachother didn't leave a dry eye in the place (except for maybe my husband, but he has ice in his veins), they were surrounded only by the people that love them most in the world, and the rain drops that made everyone run to the tent made it all that much more romantic & intimate. All they wanted was a 'simple' backyard wedding...and what they got was simply perfection...it was a backyard utopia.

*pictures stolen from this amazing gal.

Snapshots.

Here are some 'amateur' photos that I took. Maybe they don't look like Alicia's because I'm using the wrong lens or something;).

The rehearsal.

Rehearsal dinner was, of course, in the Whitsell's backyard, which really is like a little dream. It was a gorgeous night, with great friends, and a lot of excitement, stress, and anxiety looming over us for the 'big day'.

Everyone was just plain happy. Especially after Jocie gave us all of our Coach purses. How fancy is that?!

The favor.

So a few weeks ago, (geeze, more than a month ago now...but don't worry the wounds are still fresh), I was saying to my mom that Hadley needed a haircut. It was a breezy conversation, nothing deep, nothing more than me making a comment about my scrapnoodle of a kid. My mom counters with, 'I'll take her tomorrow.' And this is where the story gets a little cloudy...I remember saying 'okay, I want to try this new place in Bothell because it's about half the price of her normal fancy schmancy haircut place.' My mom said 'well we'll see if we have time tomorrow.' That was it, nothing more, nothing less. So the next morning, thinking about all the things that could go wrong in this scenario I call my dear mother on my way to work to give her a few haircutting ground rules, and she quickly says 'oh, don't worry about it...there is no way we are going to have time.' And then I come home to this...

They HACKED her. She looked like a mix of Jim Carrey in Dumb & Dumber and Moe from the three stooges. It was awful. Her little bangs that I have grown out for her whole entire life (wow, that's dramatic) looked like they were cut with a weedwacker. And to make matters worse, yes it's possible, come to find out my mom took her to the Main Street Hair Salon in Bothell, a place I've never seen an actual customer in...and Hadley's hair was 'cut' by a nice tranny named Belinda. Belinda?! Shouldn't that have given her a clue that maybe this 'lady' should not be styling hair in the year 2009!

Seriously people, this is the little stooge I came home to.

To top it all off, the back of her neck was SHAVED and she sported a nice, nasty, raised, red rash for 3 days. Who shaves a two year olds neck with a razor? The right side was longer than the left and the back of her hair was longer than her actual hairline, and from every single angle her hair was completely uneven. It was so awful, that after 48 hours of looking at our mangled kid, Ryan and I couldn't take it any longer and went back to our spendy little salon....

which we decided is worth every single penny. And they confirmed, Hadley pretty much had the worst haircut they've ever seen.