he saves me.

for all the times you have come home and seen that look of exhaustion and frustration in my eyes and have picked up my slack

for supporting my diet coke habit

for ordering mango sticky rice without even asking me if i want some

for telling me the truth when i ask for it, even when you know it will be hard to hear

for making me laugh every single day

for smacking your lips and looking up and down at the food you want to eat, as if seeking permission

for going and going each day and never complaining once about it

for making me want to be better each day, and making each day more perfect than the last

for being the most perfect father to our girls

thank you for all these things and more. you save me every day.

the girls are loving:

hazel:

- the zoo, the park, going on walks, and all-around anything outside the house

- her speech therapy

- the ipad (yes, still obsessed, but we try to limit her screen time as much as possible.)

- dressing up as different animals or princesses- just wait til you see our halloween costumes!

- jumping on the couch (i am not so fond of this)

- reading "are you my mother?" - she can practically quote this book

- eating pizza (she LOVES pizza!) and breakfast burritos and showing us how different animals eat - which basically means making the sound that that animal makes.  the dog, for instance, simply takes a bite and says, "woof! woof!"

- doing "surprise eggs" which is basically where i put a treat or tiny toy inside of easter eggs, cover them in play-dough, and then she gets to uncover what is inside

- helping me cook or bake

- watching singing and dancing of any kind: watching little clips of broadway shows like finding neverland and singing in the rain is our new favorite!

- being tickled

cora mae:

- cora simpy loves everything.  she loves the world.  she loves getting attention from strangers, being sung to, and just being ignored and let to play with toys.  seriously.

- eating crackers and pizza crust and anything that she can independently put in her mouth and gum to oblivion.  she can even put puffs (cheerios) in her mouth one-by-one, which takes fine motor skillzz

- watching hazel run around, dance, jump, or act goofy or entertaining in any way

- playing with wrappers - under strict supervision

- rolling over immediately when i lay her down

- sleeping on her stomach - which is so weird for me, since hazel abhorred being on her tummy

- jumping in her jumperoo

- looking at her adorable little self in the mirror

- when mom kisses under her chin (the best giggles)

zoo days

here's a bunch of photos from our weekly outings at the zoo!

on the train - it's the first thing we do every time.

hazel loved holding the bird.  she was so calm and careful with it - it was sweet!

we love having friends come with us to the zoo.  

life lately!

things that have been going around at our house these days:

these girls are getting along gloriously these days.  having a sister is the best!  some days are so so hard, but then i see how close they are, and think about how much closer they will get as they get older and it makes it all worth it.

{sidenote: yes, cora is always this happy.  i am not making this up with these photos.  her face is practically smushed in this first one and she's still happy as a clam.}

#1. hazel has been choosing out her outfits and it is downright hilarious what she picks some days! "hor-see shirt!" "sun-glass-is!" "heded-band!".  

#5. she has also been putting on make up some days with me.  this was one of the more memorable makeovers she gave herself.

#6. you know it's been awhile since i did a pic dump on the blog when there's a swimming pool picture and it is now october.

#8.  hazel was throwing a tantrum at the moment i took this.  as you can see, cora thinks hazel crying is quite amusing, along with everything else she does.  i serious have to compete with hazel frequently for attention!

cora tried the swings for the first time yesterday and loved them! {excuse the crazy outfit, we were down to our back-up clothes out of the diaper bag ;) 

#1. feet are just as tasty as real food.

#2.  gooooo cougars!

#3.  this is one of hazel's hilarious expressions.  that girl seriously cracks me up!

our loves!

everything about this photo makes me happy.  hazel's wild hair, cora's big grin, the beautiful weather on the day it was taken and remembering how good it felt to be outside on that day with two of my favorite people in the world.

here are some things we are loving right now over here as a family:
reading scriptures together in the evening
going on walks or to the park
swedish fish

sitting outside on our camping blanket and looking at clouds
ice cream
facetime with family
eating pizza once or twice a week
the smell of pumpkin spice candles
planning, working on costumes, and dressing up for Halloween
bath time
when dada gets home
doing something special together as a family on the weekend

DC part 3.

our last day in DC, we went straight to the korean war, MLK, and jefferson memorials.

the jefferson memorial is quite a walk from the national mall, and kind of isolated, but it was definitely worth it.

we went to arlington cemetery and took a tour.  i wasn't too impressed with the tour, but it was worth the $12 just to just sit on the trolley (by this point we were pretty tired, having walked over 20 miles over the past two days) as we drove through the cemetery.  it was the culminating moment of the trip.  such a beautiful place!

we met more family for dinner at ray's hellburger.  great way to end a great weekend.  i'm so glad john was able to drive with us on the way back home!

arlington cemetery from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

thanks again for such a wonderful weekend, g+l!  we had a blast!

when dates are too good to be true.

i don't know how i did it, but i am so lucky i convinced john to marry me.  he took me out on a hot date for our anniversary last weekend, and i found myself feeling so relaxed and happy, and laughing the entire evening.  he is my favorite human.  

we saw finding neverland on broadway and all-around did the tourist-y things.  it was the best!  we grabbed a lamb gyros on the way to the theater and were in heaven.  john coined the phrase, "greek taco bell" and i think that sums it up pretty nicely.

the show was absolutely stunning.  we both loved it and have been singing the songs ever since!

john harman, i love you so much.

a special thank you to r+j, for watching our girls and making such a fun night possible for us!