true love:

and not just for liverpool...

::my little grouch::

after lily and finn's naps today, i promised lil we would head to the park. well, we had had an awesome summer thunderstorm that had seemed to resolve. so, rainboots were donned and we headed out the door...only to be met by more rain. well, 8 weeks ago, that rain would not have stopped me. but, in good conscience, i just couldn't take finn out into the downpour. complete tantrum ensued. our neighbors probably thought we were absolute loons. lily was kicking and screaming on the front stoop and rolling around in the grass. love it. my sweet 2 and a half year old.


luckily, she redeems herself easily.

i really do love everything about motherhood. tantrums and all...



and a little finn love. :)

changes...

first smile caught on film...


and it melts my heart.

smitherses...

to make our wonderful weekend even sweeter, finn got to meet our dear dear friends andrew and lisa this weekend. they have the most beautiful daughter, ellison, who is filled with so much spirit and life. it was the perfect way to cap off our weekend and it left us wishing we lived so much closer to them!! thank you so much for making the trip guys!!!

perfection...

well, almost.

after six years of wedded bliss, ryan and i brainstormed about exactly what we wanted to do for our anniversary. after contemplating lots of different things, we decided to head up to wintergreen, a ski resort nearby, for a small weekend getaway.

we spent saturday enjoying every minute on the beautiful mountain. we swam in several pools, went to a lake, paddleboated, had an amazing dinner as a family, and just relaxed in the pristine setting. it was truly perfect.

but, a sidenote is this: we thought we were being wise and cost effective by renting a one bedroom condo. we aren't made of money, you know? we figured we'd put lily to bed in the bedroom, and then move her out to the living room when we were ready for bed.

so, bedtime rolls around. lily has been in her "big girl bed" for months now, and we weren't quite sure if she'd prefer an air mattress or pack n' play. so, we came armed with both... just in case. well, she undoubtedly wanted the air mattress, since she is a "big sister now." so, we blow it up and tuck her in all safe and snuggled in. flawless. she falls asleep in an instant after a day in the sun and water. awesome. well, around 9:30 we hear her crying and i go in to check on her. lamby has been lost... which is not surprising since the air mattress has lost the majority of it's air and has practically swallowed my daughter and her beloved lamby right up. yikes.

so, plan B. we convince her that even big girls sleep in pack n' plays and that hers is bigger than finn's. she concedes and we tuck her in for round 2. thirty minutes pass by and we hear her crying (you can't blame the girl... she is touching both ends of the crib and that hard mattress just can't compare to her bed!) but, that is not the problem. she has to go to the bathroom. and i would too if i had indulged in about 20 oz of chocolate milk, a peanut butter and banana sandwich in it's entirety, french fries, applesauce and some nachos for dinner (it was a special night). anyway, the whole ordeal takes about 20 minutes and by this time she is wide awake.

tuck-in number three occurs without trouble. about an hour later, ryan and i decide it's time to go to bed. we sneak into the bedroom with finn in tow and climb into bed. about 30 seconds pass by before we hear,
"mumma? mumma, are you sleeping with me??" (you can imagine the pure glee in her voice).
me: "yes, lily. we are. but, it is time to go to bed."
10 more seconds...
lily: "is finn in here, too?!"
me: "yes, he is. but it is time to be quiet."
lily: "dadda? dadda? are you here, too?!!!"
ryan: "yes, lily. no more talking. love you."

well, this goes on for 20 minutes and all i can think is that by the time she finally does fall asleep, finn will wake up to eat and the whole conversing process will begin again. so, i finally decide to schlep out to the bedroom with finn and his crib in tow to sleep on the couch. happy anniversary, right?

anyway, after about 30 more minutes, i am very near to finally drifting off to sleep when i hear the sound of a blanket being dropped on the ground by my side. i sit up and find ryan has decided that he too must make the move out of the bedroom. "she just won't stop talking to me," he says. (yes, she is going to be that girl at all the sleepovers... "psst...anna, are you still awake??")

so, in the end, our two and a half year old daughter slept in the bedroom, in a pack n' play with an EMPTY king size bed, while ryan and i slept in the living room on the floor. not exactly what we'd had in mind, but it was still perfect to be all together, if you ask me...

happy anniversary, my love. i adore you.

such a miracle...

figuring things out...

lily's quote of the day...
while playing with her beloved raccoon stuffed animal:
lily: "mumma, does raccy-hoon have a tail?"
me: "yes, he does."
lily: "does finn have a tail?"
me: "no, he does not."
lily: "but he does have a pea-NUS!!"
me: holding back a huge laugh, "yes. yes, lily, he does."

oh how proud her dad will be...



ps. our air conditioner broke in the middle of the night two nights ago... it has been upper 80's-90's and lily woke up from her nap today with completely wet hair. yum.

you know you are in the south when...

you are invited to a "redneck crawfish boil and slip n' slide" party... and it was awesome!


the setup


the rivals




the demonstration