cora eats sand

here's a little video of cora exploring the sand last time we went to the beach.  her face when that sand hits her mouth is absolutely priceless.

Cora + Sand from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

hazel selfies

every once and awhile, i will look at the camera roll on the ipad and discover ten new hazelnut selfies.  they are usually a similar version of the exact same thing: hazel looking at her reflection and making a funny face.  here are four of my favorites from my recent ipad pic cleanse:

and bonus, a video!  love this silly girl so much.

Video selfie from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

down the shore again.

there is something so magical about being on the beach.  the sand in your feet, the sun on your face, the cool breeze blowing in your hair... it's breathtaking.  we decided to make the drive on saturday and i'm so glad we did!  we drove in the foggy morning and stopped at meemaws for the crazy monkey french toast: banana bread french toast with maple syrup, bananas, chocolate chips, cookie butter, vanilla marscapone, and powdered sugar:

then we headed to the shore to dip our toes in the {still warm!} water and play in the sand.

we played in the sand, watched little sand crabs, swam in the water, collected sea shells, and the girls even got a nap underneath the umbrella.

i set cora in the sand and she straight away took two fist-fulls and shoved them into her mouth.  

after the beach, we went to hoffmans and got ice cream.  they have a cookie monster flavor that is everything i've ever wanted in life.  it's vanilla {colored blue} with cookie dough and oreo pieces.  aka pure heaven.

i will think back on the perfect day so fondly.  love my family so much.

cora eats! this is a novelty for me. from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

happy friday!

it's friday!  hurray!  what should we do this weekend?  probably something glamorous like get a car's oil changed?  haha.

well, here's a few photos i snapped a couple days ago when the weather was glorious and we spent over an hour outside; hanging out on the camping blanket my mom gave us for our wedding, eating cool ranch doritos, watching clouds, and playing with sidewalk chalk. 

hope you find something more exciting to do this weekend than getting your oil changed ;)

wishing:  my baby didn't have to go through teething.

drinking:  diet coke all. day. long.

making:  a big girl bed frame for my hazelnut.

looking:  for fabric to make halloween costumes.

reading:  the screwtape letters.

wanting:  a vintage peacoat.

playing:  with my girls every chance i get.

waiting:  for the weather to cool off just a little bit more.

listening: to this american life on npr.

hoping:  that i am the kind of wife and mother that heavenly father wants me to be.

following:  the republican race.

wondering:  when i'll learn to be more patient.
needing:  phone chats with friends and family.

praying:  for loved ones who desperately need help and comfort.

smelling:  freshly baked glenna buns.

loving: sitting outside with my girls.

noticing:  john's selfless actions and endless patience.
wearing:  my skinny jeans once again.  {thank you, breastfeeding.}
thinking: it's about time for some hot chocolate.

a day in brooklyn: john's cousins come to town

if there's one thing that makes up for the inconvenience of living in new jersey, it's that people come visiting.  (well, visiting nyc anyway ;)  we were lucky enough to see one of john's cousins visiting from verrry far away (whom i had never met...) and another cousin from san fran and his two babies (whom i had also never met!) and also eat pizza at julianna's.  

hazel was sleeping in the stroller (of course) while all these pictures were taken so she isn't in any of them.  sorry, hazel!  we still love you.

cora pulls on my hair constantly these days.  to cut, or not to cut? that is the question.

two beauties in one photo: cora, and the brooklyn bridge.

the day would have been pretty much perfect if it wasn't for that mean guy at the toll-booth who not only yelled at us for accidentally going through the cash lane (because apparently there's no carpool option for "MTA" {which we didn't even know was different from transit authority}?), but proceeded to charge us a whopping $16 bucks to get out of the city.  people get so jaded and rude here, especially in public service jobs!  i mean seriously sir, if you hate people so much, go find a different profession.

it's okay i'm still happy.  because john bought me some lizzmonade!

mae mae is six months! here are some things she loves:

kicking things - wipes bags, toys, her sister, etc.

taking loooooong afternoon naps

rolling over to her tummy immediately when i lay her down

playing with wrappers - large un-swallow-able ones, supervised of course!

smiling with her tongue sticking out

baby einstein

jumping in her jumperoo

listening to music

cora kicking things

we started noticing cora kicking things to entertain herself.  sometimes, when i am holding her on my hip and holding a laudry basket or something on the other, she will stick her leg out and kick it.  it's super funny.  here are two videos of my favorite 6-month-old around, doing hilarious, goofy baby things.

cora kicking a toy from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

kicking wipes from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

the farm and r&j come to visit

we had some very fun visitors this weekend! hazel kept asking for uncle ryan, janessa, and cousin claire today and we had a serious fun-hangover. for instance, we went to alstede farms again and picked peaches and raspberries. (john and i are eating peach cobbler right now and it is delicious!)

hazel likes to pose for photos. look at her little hand on john's leg :)

and cora has the best pouty lips!

we shared a homemade strawberry ice cream cone. but if we're being totally honest, hazel kind of hogged it ;)

sheer joy on hazel's face as we talked to the goats!

buzel 

lots to love.

things i am loving right now:

listening to hazel "read" - books she has essentially memorized - to the rest of us.
fall crockpot soup smells.
tickling cora mae under her chin.
having hazel help me water the plants.
listening to npr radio while i mother.
reaching across the bed to john after a long, exhausting day, and just squeezing his hand. he gets me.
watching hazel make cora laugh.
drinking lemonade.
sneaking into the girls' room at night to watch them sleep.
coloring outside with sidewalk chalk.
sitting on the porch at night, feeling that pre-fall crisp in the air.

spiders and pool faceplants

all of us felt pretty beat-up after this week, physically, mentally, and emotionally.  we bought parts and john built a computer with my dad's help (insert applause emoji here), and then we bought a desk off craigslist the next day.  and since we had family coming into town this weekend, (and i can't live more than a few days in a mess), the pressure was on to get the desk painted and computer set up on top of it so that we could start using our kitchen table again.  

so i painted for three days straight. i painted, and then i went from feeding/clothing/changing/napping the girls right back to painting.  hazel face-planted on the pool deck, cora was teething (i think?  you really can never tell until a tooth cuts...), i burned my arm, cut one finger with scissors, and smashed another finger in the door, and we were all generally feeling a little beat-up around here.

to top it off, all the little house spiders in new jersey have decided to take up residence in our household.  as soon as a vacuum one up, the next day another one has taken its place.  it's really quite disturbing and they are making john and i turn on each other ;) i killed six in our house yesterday... but don't tell any of our guests that.  

now {finally} people are starting to recover over here from a very weird week for us.  we made it to the park today with cousin claire, and there's a chocolate pie and fresh whipped cream in my fridge  right now so, not a bad week, all things considered.

blue eyes... don't ever go away.

dancing through life

we've always been pretty skilled at dancing over here.
exhibit a.

exhibit b.
exhibit c:

evolution of dance from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.