my mom used to sing this to me as a little girl.

now, i sing it to hazel.

i'm a mean old witch from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

happy halloween!

what are you doing for halloween?  we have been to a couple parties and we will probably (?) go up to salt lake this evening to see my family in their halloween costumes!  this has to be the most involved costume john and i have ever done, but it is also one of my favorites.  it took my mom and i many hours of planning and sewing, a lot of time myself crafting {the shield itself took 3 hours. am i nuts?!}, but in the end, so so worth it.  {we won best costume at our ward party.  woot woot! ;} we are super big nerds.

also, hazel was really super happy to be flying.

today:

failures:

missed our flu shot appointment

missed hazel's second nap

dropped baby food jars 4 times while leaving the store

was short with my husband

got silently angry at a friend

4 coke zeroes

successes:

took B on a loooong walk

made a yummy dinner

read three books to hazel

my house is clean

made a thanksgiving printable

made time to watch tv shows with john

today has been one of those days, man.  no matter how many hours of sleep i get, i am still trashed by the end of the day.  i have tried really hard to be on top of things and i constantly feel like the more i get around the house, the less of a good wife and mother i am.  i am so grateful for the patience john and hazel constantly have for me.  without it, i don't know what i would do!  i am so grateful for the chance i get to love/be with/take care of them.

life.

happiness is a walk on the beach. california, part 3.

well, we are home from cali.  and it is both sad and relieving.  i feel like i have been going going going the past few weeks so it is nice to actually have time to vacuum my house this week.  

but we loved spending time with john's family this weekend.  we had a relaxing sunday.  jordan and christina met us for fish tacos and balboa bannanas, and g&l's friends/family came over for dinner. hazel's cousins made us matching rubber-band bracelets (she wore it only for a few minutes in their presence... i was too afraid of it falling apart and becoming a choking hazard...) which was so sweet.  monday we went out to lunch for fish tacos {again, obsessed}, and lounged at the pool. tuesday we went on a walk through crystal cove state park/beach and then laguna beach once more.  we had such a wonderful time.  if i ever get back to jayme's beach again, i'm putting up a tent and never leaving.

thanks for the fantastic time, g&l.  we love you both!

john harman.

sometimes, he helps my sister jenna with math homework even though he knows he is going to be up all night doing his own.

sometimes, he instinctively nods his head in approval as he eats the dinner i made.

sometimes, he says, "there's always time to make cookies"  even though there really isn't.

sometimes, he wears church socks with his vans and looks really, really cool.

sometimes, he doesn't complain about anything for weeks.

sometimes, he can get me to be in a good mood, even when i am determined to be in a bad one.

sometimes, i notice him staring fondly at hazel.

sometimes, he laughs out loud, and i love it.

he just happens to be my best friend.  and i really owe him a small apology for being so scatterbrained and selfish lately.  just as he always does, he bears my tantrums bad moods with the greatest degree of love and patience, and for that i am so so grateful.  thanks john, for everything you do.  just so you know, i really like you.

california, part 2.

our second day in california we spent lounging on the beach at aunt jayme's house.  she seriously lives in the most perfect place imaginable.  to hear the waves as you wake up each morning?  simply awesome.  

hazel wasn't so sure about the sand.  she would play with it and when it got stuck on her hands she would lift them up next to her face, squint up her nose and inspect it.  it was so freaking cute!

^^ hazel and her cousin avie, 6 months apart.

^^ hazel practically posed for this one.  what. a. ham.

california, part 1.

we flew into long beach on thursday night.  hazel did amazing on the flight.  she hammed it up with all the strangers and i'm starting to think that she really loves being the center of attention.  {i wonder which one of her parents she gets that from ;)} upon walking out of the plane, i remembered why i want to live in california so badly.  the weather is simply perfect.  we were starving and i could smell in-n-out at every corner.  so of course we each got a double-double.  and we may have stopped at sprinkles on the way to the hotel....

the next day, we went to california adventure with the brunts.  i haven't been in several years, and i was so impressed with their new additions.  cars land was so perfect.  and woody's round-up had to be my favorite ride in the entire park.

^^is there anything better than a baby sleeping in a stroller?

this is us on the ferris wheel, our final ride of the night.  the ferris wheel is actually pretty terrifying to me.  and this one is worse, because it swings!  ^^ this is hazel's face as we are swinging.  she makes this face on the swings at home, and basically anytime wind hits her face.  we love her so.

stay tuned for part 2.

loving:

spontaneous trips with family
pumpkin everything
singing and guitar with john
crisp fall air
a full dvr
french vanilla hot cocoa
morning snuggles with a full, content, sleepy baby

things i want to be.

a selfless wife
a tender mother
a caring nurse
a humble child
a willing helper
a positive thinker
a hopeful learner
a kind neighbor

that suckling motion on the cup! seriously, she kills me.

IMG 7477 from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

i take my baby on walks through campus. it's cool.

our weekend.

john and i both had a couple days off so we decided to take a trip up to idaho falls/island park for the weekend.  although we didn't fit in nearly as much as we would have liked, {i was hoping for an ATV ride to big springs, *sigh*}, we had a fabulous time anyway.  {although hazel has decided that she hates her car seat and hates napping in it even more... and we had some screaming that occurred on the drive home... so there's that...} thanks g&l, for hosting us this weekend, we had a blast!

{{some instas}}

hazel in the tub. from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

this is hazel therese.

this is hazel therese.  she smiles at everyone in the grocery store, but particularly the old ladies that communicate with her in high-pitched baby-talk. 

she doesn't mind when i hold her like a newborn, as long as i'm also singing to her.  her favorite food is avocado.  she blows out of her diaper at least twice a day.  when she gets excited, she wildly kicks her legs.  lately, she scrunches up her nose and sticks out her tongue when she smiles.  her favorite book to read is 'pride and prejudice' {the 'little miss austen' version}.  she often tries to eat my face.  if i used one word to describe her, it would be 'happy'.  she has been so flexible with our ever-shifting schedules and lives.  even when she's teething, she laughs and coos all day.  {it's actually pretty adorable}.  she's in no hurry to roll-over or crawl.  and she begs to a sip of my coke zero anytime i am drinking it.

when people ask me what it's like to be a mom, i think they expect the answer, "it has brought me so much joy".  and really, it has, but that's not my knee-jerk answer.  deep down, i know that being a mom has made me so incredibly happy, but that's not what i think about each and every day.  no, when someone asks me what it's like to be a mom, i tell them that being a mom is just so much fun!  because day in and day out, that's what i'm thinking about most.  i think about how gosh darn fun it is to take care of/love/play with my little girl.  

hot pot.

we celebrated our anniversary by going to hot pot. if you aren't familiar with hot pot, you should be. you pick tons of raw veggies and meat and cook them in a steaming spicy pot of broth right in front of you, and pull the yumminess out with chopsticks and eat it as it gets done.... probably my favorite eating experience. it tops hibachi grills, but only just barely. 

we didn't get a babysitter, but luckily hazelnut was her angel self and our dinner was wonderful with her. we finished the night with cocoa bean cupcakes (snicker doodle and pumpkin, thank you very much), and the breaking bad series finale.

it's funny to think about how we have celebrated, just monetarily, each anniversary thus far. the first year we ate at ruth's chris and probably spent $130. second year, tepanyaki $70. third year, four seasons hot pot $40. next year we'll probably make pb&js and call it good. ;)

conference weekend.

we have lots of family and friends in town this week.  which is really exciting for me, since most weeks i am just sitting around, entertaining a baby, going to the grocery store and cleaning. typically in that order.  it has been so fun to see jordan and christina and meet their darling baby girl for the first time!  she is so sweet.  

as is necessary when people are in town, you have to make lots of treats and keep your fridge and pantry stocked.  {or at least i do.  i have discovered that food is my primary love language.  eeek!}

so far, i have made this, and this.  and i plan on making this before the weekend's out.  and maybe this with strawberries.  we'll see where the wind takes us.

also, did you know that looking at too many pictures of food can actually make that food less appetizing and enjoyable to eat?  who knew?  just so you know, this will in no way affect how much i post pictures of food on instagram or the blog.  consider it helpful to your dieting aspirations if you must.  you're welcome.

this is john brunt.

he loves dancing goofy to get me to laugh, he makes a mean breakfast burrito, and he's always up for an adventure.  he owns twenty pairs of pants but only wears two of them.  he is so patient he could watch grass just to see it grow.  he has to listen to a song at least three times to decide if he really likes it.  he can only grow a neck-beard.  he hates that he can only grow a neck-beard.  he hates it when i pop a zit.  he spends way too much time playing games on his phone.  his diet would consist of cereal, take-out, and hot-pockets if i didn't intervene.  he has several must-see tv shows.  he reads jack reacher novels.  he wishes he could be jack reacher. 

he also happens to be my husband.  and for all the wonderful things about him that i love,{and also the things that i have had to learn to love}, i am grateful.  i have grown to love him so much more than i did that first day i saw him - across the room at jordan's birthday party.... dressed in a long black winter peacoat.... awkward with a little bit of red stubble on his face.  that twitterpation has deepened to a love i cannot express nor could i have ever imagined.  if you had told me, when we were newly married, that infatuation wouldn't linger, i would have told you that you were crazy.  and here i am, post-baby and three years of marriage, and i am telling you, that infatuation is still there.  as is the strength and love of going through trials and challenges together.  the bond of making and taking care of a child together.  the faith and charity that comes from trying to be like the Savior together.  

so happy three years, john brunt.  thanks for making me the happiest woman in the world, three years in a row.  that must be some kind of record or something...

welcome, october.

october is one of my favorite months.  i love when the leaves begin to turn, i love whipping out my scarves and boots, making chex mix, not shaving my legs (shhhh!), and i get excited about the holidays that are on the way.  plus, our anniversary is today!  so, yay!  welcome, october.