just some randoms {29}

I took an accidental blog break the last couple of days when our computer locked us out after an update... I'm just one of those bloggers who NEVER have drafts written ahead of time so I had to wait until we got it back, oops! I'm happy to be back and you can bet that I still won't write up multiple posts to have them sitting in my drafts ;)

Sunglasses c/o Arden Deals

I was so happy with how the photos turned out to announce our news of baby brother! It's a dang good thing they turned out becaaaaause this balloon was the biggest pain EVER! While ordering this 36" balloon, it never really registered with my pregnancy muddle brain just how BIG 36" would be, ha ha! To give you an idea aside from the pictures... I could not fit this balloon in my Jeep Grand Cherokee, not even through the back! Luckily the grocery store (that made a pretty penny off of me for the helium) was located just across the street from where I was planning on taking pictures, so I loaded Mia in the stroller, tied the balloon to it and made the trek over. You can imagine the looks I got from everyone along the way, ha ha! But getting home was awful... I couldn't bring myself to just let all that money, I mean helium, float to the sky so I drove home with this HUGE balloon hanging out the window. I can laugh at it now (especially when I think of how crazy I must have looked) but I wasn't in the happiest of moods when I was actually having to deal with this HUGE balloon :) Mia, on the other hand, thought it was AWESOME!

I think Mia's going to start demanding a sleep mask once she discovers those as she gets older, ha ha! We always have to tuck her taggie over her eyes while tucking her in for nap/bed! And she always finds a way to cuddle with Mickey or Minnie throughout her sleep :)

I can't resist sharing this. I snapped around 5 photos in a row and silly Mia's face is different in every single one (and Eric's got much happier towards the end) but I died when I saw the first one! They are pulling the exact same face! These two are so much alike without even trying, it's terrifying (to me), ha ha!

Mia is such a little fishy and I love it! It's been so fun to watch her independence in the water grow (with her floaty on, of course) now that she's getting the hang of kicking her legs and "scooping" her arms thanks to swim lessons! It's a good thing we love the water so much because we will be living in the pool all summer long! 

Bow c/o Beck and Belle

I know I already shared a photo or two of Mia loving on her baby, but these photos melt me! Especially since this was totally unprompted. I told her she could sit in the rocking chair with her baby for the pictures and she did all the loving, hugging and kissing on her own! Best big sis in training, ever!!

Memorial Day weekend 2015

I hate to say it, but Eric had to work over Memorial Day weekend, which means that it was an extremely low key weekend for Mia and me! I really can't complain because we just had 5 days straight with Eric last week and we definitely made the best of them! Of course I would have loved to spend the weekend on a beach, or camping, or just grilling and hanging out together as a family, but I have to admit that this weekend was just what I needed as I got to catch up on sleep and relaxing! Some of my favorite highlights from the weekend are-

• Swim lessons on Saturday. Mia is getting so much braver in the water (she floated on her back for the first time! Of course that lasted all of two seconds once she realized we were no longer touching... but it's major progress considering every other time we tried so wouldn't let the water touch her ears!) I actually love doing the classes with her because it's so fun to see how much she loves them, we have a lot of fun together, and it takes all the weight off my body being in that water :)
• Saturday night movie night! We've slowly been working our way through our Disney movie collection with Mia on the weekends. We usually only watch a half hour at a time, so it takes all weekend to finish a movie, but it's guaranteed cuddle time and I LOVE it! This time we watched Beauty and the Beast. Mia is super obsessed with princesses right now (those are the only books she will pick to read!) so she loved watching Belle!
• I never do this, but I was so exhausted after breakfast Sunday morning that I turned on the TV, cuddled up to Mia on the couch and took a nap! Mia was in heaven because, hello? TV! I was in heaven because of cuddles and sleep, ha ha!
• Mia's favorite part of the day was church! She seriously loooooves church. And I seriously use that against her... if she's being a stinker or not listening to me, I threaten that we will stay home instead of going to church (or that I will take her home if we are already at church), HA! Does that make me a bad mom? Maybe... but she shapes right up every time ;) 
• I had all the boring plans lined out for Monday morning like the gym, grocery shopping, etc since Eric was at work, but then I decided to make it fun for Mia. After we got home from running errands, I cut some watermelon slices and off to the pool we went! They turned on all the water slides and fountains for the first time since we've been here, plus the place was packed! Mia was in heaven and kept shouting, "this is FUN!" We missed Eric, of course, but I'm glad I made the day a little more special for Mia!
• We ended the day with lasagna (grilling is strictly Eric's job, ha ha!) and more watermelon, but Eric did have a BBQ with the guys at work so at least someone ate the right grub for the holiday ;)

We are forever grateful for the brave men and women who serve our country and fight for our freedom! How lucky are we to live in this beautiful country... land of the free, because of the brave!

21 weeks {babybrink#2}

Not the normal bump shot, but proof that I've POPPED!

Size of baby: he should be the length of a carrot now. We found out at my ultrasound that he weighs 10 ounces! He's on the smaller side (as was Mia) and I'm perfectly happy with that. I'd much rather birth babies on the smaller side, ha ha! (Even though Mia and I measured small my whole pregnancy, she showed the right growth patterns at each appointment! She still weighed a whopping 7 pounds at birth! I was a definitely expecting her to weigh 6 pounds so that was a surprise for me!)

Movements: I'm feeling him all the time, all across my belly. I forgot how much I loved feeling a baby inside! His movements are the sweetest reminders that he's with me 24/7. I definitely prefer my baby in my arms instead of my body, but I'm soaking up these treasured movements inside as much as I can!

Cravings: donuts and shrimp tacos (from Cafe Rio to be exact) Eric did get me a donut after my ultrasound, ha ha! We tried to indulge in Cafe Rio's shrimp tacos but they only serve those on Saturday's in Arizona :( In Utah they have them on Tuesday's as well! Such a let down, ha!

Miss anything: having clear skin!! I'm not blessed with beautiful, glowing skin when I'm pregnant. As a matter of fact, my hormones hate me and prove so by constantly causing breakouts in the "hormone zones" on my face :( I was hoping it would be cleared up by now. UGH!

Random: Mia is turning into quite the protective sister already! We've told her the name we are thinking of for baby brother (but we won't officially decide until he's born) and she's mentioned it a few times, but never said it out loud to anyone else besides us. I had a doctor appointment a few days after the ultrasound and the nurse asked if we had decided on a name, I told her not yet. After a few more questions she left the room Mia gave me a stern look and said, "it's _______!" I didn't even realize that Mia was paying any attention, or that she cared if we told other people the name, ha ha!

Best moment of the week: watching baby boy during our anatomy ultrasound! Mia was super excited about it at first: "baby brudder! Baby brudder swimmin' in da water!" "Baby go nigh-night" and then she wanted snacks and her tablet, ha ha! Eric and I think he has the same nose as Mia! We can't wait to see what he looks like! I can't believe we are officially on the downhill slope of this pregnancy... time is flying!

bows on bows on bows {Beck and Belle}

Mia is on this "McQueen" kick (she adores Lightning McQueen and even picked McQueen undies from the boys section... for the someday that we decide to potty train, ha ha!) and wants to wear all things red, because red = McQueen, obviously. Too bad for Mia, this is the only red shirt she owns. And it's her last year's 4th of July outfit that is size 12 month :) Good thing she's such a little girl, ha! Anyway, when we received a package from Beck and Belle Mia instantly picked out the red star and asked me to put it on her "airclane" hair! (Mia is also obsessed with having the top of her hair pulled into a side pony... she shakes her head once the elastic is secured and exclaims "airclane!!" while watching it flip around. I'm guessing it reminds her of a helicopter? Same difference to her, HA!)

 Bows c/o Beck and Belle

Aren't these the cutest clips ever? We own a million bows and every once in awhile Mia still sports them, but we've been doing more pony's, piggies, top knots and "airclanes" so we were in desperate need of some clips to accessorize with! My dear friend just re branded her site to Beck and Belle and came to our rescue with these! I love the diversity of sizes, materials and colors (if only I was a photographer so that you could see how stunning these colors really are in person!!) I already have a list of more I want to order!

I can't say that I have a favorite out of those bows because really, I love them all! But I definitely LOVE the fact that the mint bow matches her mint bow shoes perfectly! Ah! Be still my matchy-matchy loving heart, ha ha! Also, little momma Mia? I die! If you're in need of the cutest hair clips/headbands/bows ever, check out Beck and Belle!

telling Eric the news about baby BOY

So I realized after reading your comments on last weeks post when I shared how I surprisingly found out the baby's gender early, that I didn't share how I told Eric the news! My creative juices definitely weren't flowin' as I was still in shock and just wanted to share the news with Eric... so the reason this is getting a post of it's own is because of Eric's reaction :) Men!

After my appointment with the doctor, Mia and I ran to WalMart to grab a few things and while I was picking up diapers, I decided to take a look at the baby boy clothes to see if I could find an outfit to bring home for Eric. After browsing for a minute I was drawn to the baby girl outfits (of course!) and decided it was best to just get out of there since I wasn't having any luck falling in love with the boy clothes. I did grab some baseball binkies though, because duh ;)
When I saw Eric later that day he asked how the appointment went and I showed him the ultrasound photos. I told him that in the top photo our baby's hands were on the sides of his face "like in Home Alone" according to our doctor. We laughed as I told Eric that obviously meant we were going to have a little terror on our hands because.... then I pointed to the bottom photo and said, "so these are the legs..." and let him figure out the rest, just like the doctor did for me. Eric smirks and says, "well, he does have Italian in his blood!" Oh my good grief! I admit that this was a really good shot at just 16 weeks of his... boy parts... (thank heavens, actually! He was moving around so much during our anatomy ultrasound this week that we didn't get a clear shot!) but, he's my baby! Men, ha ha!
Eric had been saying all along that he wanted another girl "because it gives me another excuse to buy a gun" (umm, no.) and he just really loved the idea of having a house full of girls. I had been feeling so strongly that this babe was a boy so there was no surprise for me there, but I admit I had one fleeting moment where I was a little bummed that Mia wasn't getting a sister. I was only sad because a sister is something I'd always wished for while growing up! But like I said, it was a fleeting moment because, well, how can you not be happy about the gender either way?! It's a baby and we are so grateful! But it was fun to watch Eric walk around so smug and definitely proud of the fact that he was getting a son. We are SO excited for our baby boy!!
When I finished telling Eric about our appointment he quickly informed me that I can pick out a couple outfits for our boy, but he was in charge of the wardrobe! I told him about my experience in WalMart and not being able to find anything I liked when he rolled his eyes at me and said, "no! We're going to Nike, babe!!" I daresay having a boy might be more expensive than a girl,  ha ha!

one more month...

...until she's 2 1/2! Eric and I were just talking about this yesterday and it kind of blew our minds. Time is FLYING!

- One day Eric mentioned how much Mia's vocabulary had grown in just over a week (he worked a ton and didn't get to see her that much) I don't even notice the little changes since I'm with her everyday, but it is crazy how I can have little conversations with her now! Every once in awhile Mia says something so out of the blue that I can't help but laugh and laugh! I'm trying to write everything down to put together another "Miaisms" post! I'm sure it won't be as funny reading about it, than if you could hear it yourself :) But we adore our little talker!
- Mia finally cut her second 2 year molar. These are little beasts, and they make life miserable for a couple months before finally cutting through. Half way there!
- Speaking of little beasts... Mia had her first ever melt down/tantrum in Walmart this past month. I was totally that mom, waiting in line to return something (slowest customer service line EVER!) while my child cried and screamed for 10 minutes straight... and I just ignored her. Oh the looks I was getting, ha! I did remind Mia to use her "inside voice" when her screams got a little too high pitched and loud... but gosh dang it, I was NOT giving in to her tantrum! Thank heavens her tantrums are rarer than rare, especially in a public setting. Sheesh! 
- Mia started swim lessons and she LOVES them! We've only been to 2 so far but we are having so much fun in our mommy and me class!
- She got to ride a horse by herself for the first time ever (she's ridden a horse at a carnival once before, but I was on it with her) and she LOVED it! Mia is such an adventurous little animal lover!
- Mia started measuring sizes for small, medium and large objects by saying "baby" for small, "mommy" for medium and "daddy" for large sizes. It's so cute!  
- She can almost count to 15. She absolutely loves counting and talking about numbers!
- I discovered that she knows Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars, although she gets bored of singing it if we ask her to. She only sings the whole thing on her own terms, ha ha! She also knows over half of the alphabet. I need to record how she says "w"... it's my favorite! "Dug-a-doo"
- She's still wearing a range of 12 month - 2T clothing! I think she still fits in one or two pairs of size 5 shoes, but mostly wears size 6 now!
- Well... Mia's still in size 5 diapers :) I let her pick out "McQueen" underwear and after peeing through 2 pairs in 20 minutes I decided I wasn't up for potty training. I didn't even give Mia a fair chance to learn, but I was not in the right state of mind to buckle down and potty train. Maybe I'll be more determined during the summer when it's too hot to leave the house... but for now I decided it's not worth a day, or three (or a week) of frustration from both of us. It may not even be worth it to me to give it a shot while I'm pregnant and VERY short on patience... unless Mia shows more interest in potty training. I don't want to force it on her and then be angry and frustrated over the accidents that will surely occur, if that makes sense? Mia is the type of personality that catches on quickly when she's ready for it, so I need to trust my instincts/intuition (whatever you want to call it) and wait to act on this until she let's me know she's definitely ready!

Mia has become more clingy to me in the past couple of months, and while I totally blame it on the pregnancy, I have to admit that I don't hate it! Gimme alllll the Mia cuddles! I seriously can't imagine loving her more than I already do, but our love continues to grow even stronger for her as each month passes by!

a little of everything

Instead of sharing our weekend review, I'm sharing a little bit of fun Mia and I have been having in the last couple weeks because.... we are still soaking up the "weekend" with Eric! After almost working the last 30 days straight (I wish I was kidding) we are in the middle of soaking up FIVE whole days together! It's heaven! 

Speaking of heaven... Arizona has given us the most gorgeous weather the past two Friday's! I'm talking a high of 70 plus rain! I'm pretty positive this isn't the norm for Arizona weather in May so I soaked it up! The first Friday I met up with Aubrey at the zoo... along with the rest of Phoenix... because the weather was just too good to pass up! I assumed that would be the last time we'd be able to enjoy being out (and the animals, too!) until Fall! Mia was having a bit of a rough day (she came down with a fever that night, no other symptoms, so random!) and wanted to be held the whole time. I love the snuggles but girlfriend is gettin' heavy these days! So when Emery was ready for snuggles with her momma, Mia gladly took over Emery's stroller! She curled up as tightly as she could and reverted back to baby talk and whining... silly girl! She's taking all the tips she can from the little ones on how to act like a baby again, ha ha! But she loved the animals and of course her favorite part was the carousal ride!
We have been keeping busy with a ton of play dates while Eric has been so busy at work, and I'm so grateful for how many amazing friendships we have made already since moving to Arizona just over 3 months ago! Splash pads, baby pools and chalk have been occupying a lot of our time as well. It's a good thing we love the water so much since we will be living in it this summer :)
So far our weekend fun with Eric has consisted of lots of daddy/daughter play time, walks around the lake while searching for ducks, movie night with air popped popcorn, eating at the Cheesecake Factory (I can't believe it's taken us over 3 months to finally go eat there!) and... motorcycle browsing. Yeah. Eric's on a motorcycle kick and it looks like he'll be picking up a new hobby in the next year (I'm really crossing my fingers that I can get him to hold off from buying one until 2016) Of course Mia think it's GREAT! "Bike, daddy! I want a bike!" Heaven help me! Hopefully I take more pictures in the next couple of days because I've been too busy soaking up family time to take pictures, oops!

P.S. Eric and I stayed up until midnight  one night watching Interstellar... we all know how big of a deal that is since I'm pregnant and my toddler doesn't sleep in, right?! What a waste of precious sleeping hours, we hated it! I know this movie is old news (Eric and I have a long list of movies to catch up on) but why did everyone love it so much?! We really don't get it!

20 weeks {babybrink#2}

I wish my arm was a little lower to show more of the shape, but I really feel like the bump is starting to pop!

Size of baby: a banana! 

Movement: still feeling sweet little kicks, pokes, jabs, etc. I used to feel him in the same spot, just below and to the left of my belly button, but this last week I've been feeling him all over below the belly button! Little man is growing and on the move! I've also felt a few sensations where his foot drags across, etc. I'm just soaking up this pain free movement while I can :)

Cravings: same ol, same ol! I finally bought my watermelon, ha ha! I also made the mistake of buying cereal and I've been having a bowl every night before bed. What is it with pregnancy and cereal?! We counted 18 boxes of cereal in the house at one point during my pregnancy with Mia... it was pure craziness! I'm definitely keeping it in check this time around, ha ha!

Miss anything: not being so out of breath. The stairs at the gym have been killing me this week! I read at 19 weeks that it's much easier to be short of breath but it's still a little obnoxious. Walking up the flight of stairs totally knocks the air out of me and I feel like a fool standing there wheezing at the top... and no one knows why since I don't really look pregnant yet. HA!

Random: one side effect of this pregnancy that I'm NOT loving is chapped lips. But only the outer lining of my lips, next to my skin. If I don't drink enough water in a day (I'm seriously downing 100+ ounces a day), I wake up the next morning with chapped lips that last for a week. Ugh! The worst part is washing my face... the burn!! I don't use the face wash on my lips but the chapped part must run into my skin a little bit because of all the burning I experience after. It's just so fun... but worth it!

Best moment of the week: reaching the half way point! I seriously can't believe I'm over 20 weeks now... time is flying! Oh and I have to admit that my spin instructor totally made my day! The morning I turned 20 weeks was a chilly one (rare for this time of year, but SO amazing!) and everyone was freezing as we were waiting to warm up in spin. Of course I planted myself on the bike that receives the most circulation from the fans and the instructor asked if I was okay feeling all that cool air. I told her I loved it since I was pregnant and running a little hotter than most. When I told her I was 5 months along she looked at my stomach, asked if I was sure, was this documented, had I been to the doctor about this, "you must have only gained, what? Like 5 pounds?" Oh I could have hugged that woman! I realize I don't have a big bump yet, but that doesn't mean I feel small, etc. I find out this week how much I've gained but I'm positive it's over 10 pounds so far... anyway. She was so shocked over how far along I was and did a really good job with making me feel good about myself, ha ha! We preggo's need that every once in awhile, I suppose!

currently

Mia girl is not lacking in the attitude department ;) Sunglasses c/o Arden deals

Loving: the weather! Remember how I was complaining a month ago about the heat and triple digits?! Well apparently this has been the most mild weather Arizona has seen in years (which means I'm in for it when it truly heats up!) Today's high is in the LOW 70's with some storms mixed in. We experienced this exact weather last Friday and I'm tellin' ya, it feels like heaven!

Reading/Watching: Same ol' answer here on the reading question- just books for Mia! BUT! Eric and I are escaping on a little babymoon in a few weeks and I would LOVE some book recommendations for our trip?! Light, fun, easy reads :) Remember, this momma hasn't read a book for herself in too long, ha!
I finally finished Gilmore Girls and it was a sad day in this house, ha ha! So I started watching Hart of Dixie and it has just the right amount of cheesiness to make it fun to take a break and watch and episode when I can! What did I ever do before Netflix? (I was probably more productive... but I'll blame my productiveness on pregnancy for now ;))

Trying to: figure out WHAT THE DEAL IS WITH MY COMMENTS?! For the past few months my comments on other blogs no longer go to their inbox and I have no idea why. I keep getting emails from all of you asking about it and I don't know what to say, I never changed any settings :( I've tried to figure out how to fix it and I'm not having any luck. I tried reaching out to blogger but haven't heard back. SO! Can anyone help me out?! I'm seriously at a loss :(

Wishing: I'm having a hard time coming up with anything to be wishing for these days... life is just so good! I mean sure, a massage once a week, endless ice cream without gaining an inch and being on permanent vacation with my people would be the best! But in reality, I'm extremely blessed and just hoping and wishing I don't take it all for granted, not even for one second!

Excited for: our anatomy ultrasound! I can't wait to get a more in depth look at our baby boy! I'm excited for Eric to be there since he wasn't there when I initially (and surprisingly) found out the gender. And of course I'm excited to see if Mia has any reaction to the ultrasound :)

surprise! {finding out he's a boy}

Man, I'm just so good at announcing special news for my family... then waiting forever to fill in all the details :) I'm sorry I keep dragging this out but I definitely want all the moments documented! So today I'm sharing how I unexpectantly found out the gender of baby #2!

I was 16 weeks and 5 days pregnant when I packed Mia up to head to my second doctor's appointment for this baby. Mia was super excited to go (she loves going to the "doctors", for reasons I don't understand, ha ha! She did get her shots but I guess that didn't scar her!) and so was I! I was looking forward to hearing that sweet heart beat and getting into more of the nitty gritty details with this pregnancy, since our first appointment at 14 weeks was just a quick ultrasound to confirm pregnancy. I didn't plan this appointment around Eric's schedule so that he could be there, because the important one to us was the anatomy ultrasound, which is when we planned to find out the gender!
The first thing the doctor told me when he came into my room was to schedule my ultrasound in 3 weeks (I could have hugged him for letting me schedule a week earlier than the normal 20 weeks!) and then he double checked to see if we were planning on finding out the gender. Of course!! So then he says, "Well, let's just take a look real quick!" Now let's take a minute and talk about how distracted I am at this point... I'm currently stripped down from my stomach down, with a flimsy paper over my lap. The nurse didn't tell me what testing they would be doing so I was stressing (you'd think that after birthing a child already, I'd quit being so shy about this, but nope!) about what was coming my way, instead of really paying attention (my doctor later told me that this was the stage where they do testing for gonorrhea, etc and I could deny the tests if I wanted. I was wishing that the nurse had told me upfront so that I never would have had to undress and stress myself out, ha ha!). The doctor had me lay down and started warming up the ultrasound on my belly. After a minute he asked me, "do you see that?" I wasn't even looking at the screen as I was just waiting to hear the sound of the heart beat when I answered, "huh? Oh yeah!" HA! My doctor looked at me for a second, probably trying not to roll his eyes ha ha, then turned the screen towards me more and said, "so these are the legs...." That's when I really looked at the screen and BAM! "Oh my gosh, it's a BOY!" He started laughing and said, "oh yeah! It's a boy alright!" We had the clearest shot of my baby boy and it was so crazy to see the proof of what I'd been suspecting! Of course I blurted out, "I knew it! Mia told me!!" Which is another story for another time... because you know, I'm real good at dragging out the details ;) My doctor may think I'm a little nutty now, but that's okay ;) Just add it to my list of things I'm blaming on pregnancy!
My first thought after seeing my baby BOY was total relief! I had been feeling so strongly that he was a boy, so it was a bit of a relief to see that my intuition was right, since I depend on it so much with raising Mia! My second thought was that I was SO bummed Eric wasn't there to find out with us! My third thought was... no bows?!
Obviously dressing a boy is all new to me, and I'm sad there won't be any ruffle bum outfits this go around ;)... but we are SO thrilled to be changing the dynamics of our family with a little man! It's been so fun knowing his gender earlier than we were expecting, especially since we had to reschedule the anatomy ultrasound a whole week later! I can't wait to see him at our appointment next week!

big girl room inspiration {Alexa Z Design}

For some reason I've been daydreaming about Mia's "big girl" room instead of nursery ideas for baby boy... oh wait! That reason is because Alexa Z Design just launched their newest line and I am DYING over the designs! The travel and adventure themed prints totally inspired me to deck out Mia's room in a wanderlust theme, along with photos and prints of our travels we have been lucky enough to experience as a little family! The stickers have me itching to scrapbook a few photos to stick in frames as well... who am I?! ha ha.

 Prints and stickers c/o Alexa Z Design
I'm not a mind reader... but judging by this photo, I'd be willing to bet that Mia is loving the idea for her new room!

I can't help but share a couple of my favorite prints from Alexa Z Design's new line below! If you're loving these prints as much as I am, Alexa is offering all of you 20% off your purchase using the code "BONVOYAGE" at check out (expires May 17th) We already have a few Alexa Z Design prints in our home and obviously can't get enough! I promise you will love 'em!

 Oh how I love my home state!

hiking, massages & pool time (kid free)- oh my!

I was feeling majorly bummed over a huge project that started the beginning of the month at work for Eric that took him away for our anniversary, and looked like it was going to do the same for Mother's Day weekend. I'm no stranger to Eric having to work over these special events/days/holidays as Eric worked last Mother's Day (and Mia had the pukes, lucky me) but I was looking forward to some pampering and then some family fun. Luckily, Eric was able to sneak away from work to stay home with Mia on Saturday and it ended up being the BEST day!

My day started with a 4:30am wake up call (not my fave!) to go meet Courtney at the Phoenician in Scottsdale. We had reserved our spots to go hike the famous Camelback hike with the fitness group and I was so excited to do my first hike in Arizona! It was fun to learn a little about the area, but we had an even better time when it was time for the group to turn back and we kept going! It felt good to hike at our own pace and enjoy being active! I was worried that pregnancy would slow me down, especially when a few friends warned me that this hike was pretty difficult, but luckily this felt pretty good to me considering how often I hiked in Zion Nation Park last year (the elevation difference is a killer!)

After making the killer trek downhill (is going down worse for anyone else than going up?! because ouch!) we went to the spa at the Phoenician to check in for our massages! We showered, snacked on fruit and drank their delicious water. You guys, I know I sound crazy for raving about their water, but oh my gosh, their water!! I never would have thought to add basil to water, but they mixed strawberries, lemon, mint and basil in the water and I've seriously never tasted something SO GOOD! Of course my massage was heavenly, why do I indulge only once a year?! After the massages, we had big plans to go to the pool (one of their 7 pools) and... sleep!

 Sometimes I try and pretend that there's a bump there, ha ha! 19 weeks- it should be coming soon!

Courtney and I soaked up being pool side for hours by eating, napping, having uninterrupted girl talk and eating some more! We love our kids, but man, what a luxury it was to sit and not have to worry about anyone but us :) ha ha!

We ended the night the best way possible... by having our husbands meet us with the kids for dinner! I was so excited to see my people and they were so excited to see me :) I was especially excited to see how Mia would be dressed and what her hair would look like, ha ha. Daddy took good care of her by brushing her hair and letting her help pick out her outfit! Those two, the cutest! Of course Eric looks like he's in pain in this picture though... his signature look when I ask for a picture of us (where's the eye rolling emoji when I need one?!)
I definitely wish Eric could have been home with us on Sunday as well, but I'm grateful for the little escape I got, the girl time was amazing!! Then eating dinner all together was just the cherry on the top of a perfect day!

19 weeks {babybrink#2}

I spy with my little eye... a little Courtney (should have cropped the photo) with the light hitting the belly just right to make a bump appear!

Size of baby: a large mango. We actually have a mango in the fridge right now and it's so crazy to think that this baby has already grown to this size! Time is flying!

Movement: lots of little pokes and jabs. These are the sweetest moments when I feel him moving around, especially because the movement is so pain free right now, ha ha! Eric has been feeling the movement for the past couple of weeks but I haven't even tried to have Mia feel it. Once baby grows bigger and the movements are easier for her to acknowledge, we'll have her feel the movement as well!

Cravings: watermelon and ice cream. Both of which I have NOT indulged. Ugh! I keep forgetting to add watermelon to the grocery list so I keep walking out without it... and don't remember until I'm home. I need watermelon ASAP!

Miss anything: feeling sane? I don't know what the deal is but between pregnancy, perhaps some sleep deprivation (a good thing, I had an early morning wake up call to be pampered for Mother's Day!) and Mother's Day... my emotions have been cray. Can I blame it on pregnancy hormones? I think I'll blame all my craziness on pregnancy while I can ;)

Random: I am sleeping through the night again and it's heavenly! I don't know what was up during the first trimester, but sleep was HORRIBLE for me! I'm definitely soaking up the sleep while I can because I know that third trimester is miserable when it comes to sleeping at night :)

Best moment of the week: We have our ultra sound photos hanging on the fridge and a few days ago I was holding Mia while standing next to the fridge, she pointed at one of the ultra sound photos and said, "baby brudder?!" Melt my momma heart! That's the first time she's called him baby brother all on her own, without any prompting from us! And just yesterday, Mother's Day morning, while playing in the kitchen she paused to point at the ultra sound photos and again exclaimed, "baby brudder!" So sweet!

P.S. In case you missed it, we are calling baby a "him" because we officially announced that we are having a BOY!

Happy Mother's Day {2015}

"The most beautiful word on the lips of mankind is the word "Mother,"

and the most beautiful call is the call of "My Mother."

It is a word full of hope and love,

a sweet and kind word coming from the depths of the heart.

The mother is everything-

she is our consolation in sorrow, our hope in misery,

and our strength in weakness.

She is the source of love, mercy, sympathy and forgiveness."

-Kahill Gibran

Happy Mother's Day!

all the heart eyes {Arden Deals}

You know when something was meant to be yours? Like it was made just for you?! I'm positive that's how Mia feels about her sunglasses from Arden Deals! (But then again, she has hit the stage where everything is hers... "mine! dat's mine! MY horse. MY ba'oon. etc. Yikes!) In all seriousness, Mia has always been a fan of sunglasses and she's been pretty good about wearing her accessories, even bows, over the past year without ripping them off. But I've never seen her quite as infatuated with a single item as she is with her "heart gwasses!" She absolutely adores them (and so do I!) They are the perfect accessory for my little diva!

 Sunglasses c/o Arden Deals

To help celebrate our exciting news about baby brother, Arden Deals is offering all of you 20% off your purchase using the code "BIGSIS20" So generous, right?! PLUS you get a free scarf with every purchase... score! Be sure to check out Arden Deals and all they offer (hint: clothes, accessories for women and girls, etc) and try not to buy everything (but if you do, it's okay because it's all so affordable! ;)) Happy Friday!

insta-life

That happiest Easter bunny I ever did see :) p.s. Does Easter feel like it was ages ago, instead of just a month ago, to anyone else?!

 Instead of reading a bedtime story last night, we watched the video on my phone of the ultrasound and listened to the baby's heartbeat over & over. A sound we all adore already! Then Mia cuddled up in my arms and fell asleep in seconds... I can't remember the last time that's happened. It's like she was letting me know that she's still my baby, even though she's also a big sister. Oh how I needed this! I love my sweet girl!

 Always stopping to smell the flowers! Also, those eye lashes!! Bracelet c/o Poppy Lane and Co

Mia got so excited when she saw my hair this morning, "piggy hair, momma?!" But not excited enough to smile for a picture to send to daddy Also- I curled her hair for the first time! We went to Chipotle for the first time, then Mia soaked herself in record time as we walked past a tiny splash pad...When will I learn to stop being surprised by that water loving baby who doesn't understand the "need" to document her first curls BEFORE getting soaked?! (HA!)

 The best part of a mommy and Mia road trip? Coming home and being reunited with Daddy!!

I know my 16 week&2 day bloat doesn't qualify as a bump... But I've been feeling movement inside everyday for the last week!!! I'm grateful for those sweet reminders as to why my stomach is anything but a solid bump (or solid anything) right now- gotta love the bloating stage.

 P.S. Monday fun days with my loves are my fave!

Dress c/o Lularoe Laura

Our favorite day of the week... play date time with Courtney and Ryder. I was SO excited to move to Arizona and be closer to one of my best friends, Courtney (we actually connected through blogging years ago!) and our weekly get togethers do not disappoint! Mia and Ryder are the sweetest of friends! She loves him and talks about him more than any of her other friends, plus they play together better than any of her other friends. So grateful for their friendship!

First of all, thank you for all the love and excitement on our baby BOY news! We are so thrilled and I can't even explain how happy it makes me to have you all be so excited for us! I seriously love all the dear friendships blogging has brought into my life!

So, if you aren't already following us on Instagram, you probably should since I tend to spill the beans before the exciting stuff makes it to the blog... like when I announced our pregnancy... and the gender of our baby BOY! :) If you'd like to follow along, you can find us @courtbrink!

{babybrink#2} is a....

...BOY!

Sunglasses c/o Arden Deals

 We are so excited that Mia is getting a baby BROTHER! 

I can't wait to share more details with you all but until then... who wants to teach me how to dress a little boy?! ;)

weekend highlights {7th wedding anniversary}

As some of you may have noticed, Eric and I celebrated our 7th anniversary on Sunday! I can't even believe how quickly the years have flown by! Unfortunately things came up with Eric's work and we only had one day together as a family for the weekend, but luckily Eric and I do have a short cruise planned in just a few weeks to celebrate a belated anniversary/babymoon to make up for our lack of plans over the weekend :)
Our favorite day of the weekend was Friday since that was our family fun day, but here are some fun highlights from the whole weekend:

• Swimming with Eric and Mia on Friday. It was 100 degrees again and we just couldn't stay away from the water! Mia was in total heaven having us both to play with!
• Family nap time after swimming. Does it get any better than that?!
• Mia rode a horse BY HERSELF for the first time! And she has not stopped talking about it since. She also became best friends with a spunky goat, they were adorable together! Mia was so happy and not the least bit terrified to be surrounded by animals. My fearless little two year old!
• Family date night at BJs! Pizza and pazookies... the perfect end to a perfect day with my favorite people. (Okay, so we snuck in a spinach salad to get some greens in our bodies as well, ha!)

I'm super bummed that I wasn't able to get a good picture of Mia on the horse, she had the biggest smile the whole time!

• Mia had her first ever swim lessons on Saturday! She absolutely loved it! It's giving me such piece of mind that this girl is actually learning how to take care of herself in the water, and to hopefully be learning some respect (and fear) for the water... especially since we will be spending so much time in pools now that we live in Arizona!
• We soaked up the best family time at our cousin's first birthday party! I've never lived close to the Crowley side of the family (my dad's side) so it's been so fun to be able to get together for holidays/celebrations/just because! Mia loves it as much as I do!

• Sunday was an incredibly laid back day (for me) full of sweet texts from Eric while he was at work. It's not how we had planned to spend our actual anniversary day but you know, life.
• Mia and I went to church... getting out of the house each day totally helps the time go by faster until Eric is home with us again!
• We were treated with a little peek into monsoon season Sunday evening! Heavy downpour that lasted no more than 15 minutes, lightning and thunder (that lasted sporadically through the night/early morning) and blessed cool down with the temperature... Mia and I were in heaven. Eric's not quite the storm lover like his girls are, but it made for a fun evening! We definitely soaked up the cooler temperatures outside once the lightning storm passed! I am excited for more of these storms this summer!

Our weekend was filled with lots of fun firsts for Mia, and sweet little reminders of how blessed Eric and I are to be living our lives together! There's no one else I'd want to face this craziness with... and there's no one else I want to be cruising with in just a few short weeks, ha ha! The count down is on!

18 weeks {babybrink#2}

kisses for baby

Size of baby: about the size of a bell pepper! 

Movement: when I read up on the size of our baby at 18 weeks, it mentioned that baby is busy flexing his/her arms and legs now! That totally explains the difference in movement I've been feeling! Before it was mostly a rolling sensation but in the last couple of days I've noticed more distinct jabs and pokes in there :)

Cravings: I'm still craving those stupid gourmet chicken tacos from Rubio's! I haven't indulged in a couple of weeks and each day that passes by, the craving grows stronger, ha ha! I've also had major cravings for chocolate chip cookies- the dough, gooey cookies AND well done. I want it alllll, ha ha! It's both a good thing and torture that I rarely give in to my cravings! Grapefruit is really hitting the spot as well these days... for Eric and Mia as well! Yum!

Miss anything: I can tell you right now that each week from here on out I will be mentioning how I miss being pain free, ha! I have noticed a lot of hip pain (in my lower back area) this past week. It seems crazy to me to already be feeling this pain since I hardly have anything to show for a bump, but things are definitely growing and changing on the inside! I had major hip pain with Mia as well so it makes sense that I'm already experiencing this!

Random: I am still running outside 3 days a week! Granted it's only a slow 2 mile run each time, but I'm still running! I had to stop at 16 weeks with Mia but I wasn't as in shape when I got pregnant with her as I was this time around. I'm curious to see how long my body lets me run this time!

Best moment of the week: one night while getting Mia ready for bed she was really into the baby... she kept giving my belly hugs and kisses, laying her head on my belly (prolonging the bed time process, I'm sure!) and talking to baby. I asked her what the baby's name was and after deliberating for just a few minutes she excitedly told me, "'incess!!" I said, "Princess?!" She was SO excited, "YEAH! Baby Princess!"

Last chance to enter the Glambanners giveaway. This is such a fun one that everyone should be entering ;) And while you're at it, last chance to tell me your guess, GIRL or BOY?!

7 years

I have loved you for the last 7 years

84 months

that's 2,556 days and nights

or 61,332 hours

which is 3 MILLION 6 HUNDRED and 79 THOUSAND minutes.

Happy Anniversary, Eric. I love you from here to eternity ;)

happy May

Happy May! Is anyone else totally blown away by the fact that April flew by in no time at all?! May is at the top of my list for favorite months of the year! It's the month we married, celebrate Mother's Day, etc. But I always loved this month because I could count on one last snow storm and then the beautiful weather would be here to stay, finally! I don't have to worry about cold weather now that we are living in Arizona though, we are welcoming May with triple digit temps today! Hello summer!

It's a good thing Mia loves the water as much as I do since we'll be playing in it almost every day for the next few months! I hope you guys don't get sick of water baby pictures ;)

I just discovered Tai Pan Trading's Deals page and I'm hooked! Home decor, clothes and accessories at a discounted price? Yes please!

These baked chicken taquitos (and homemade guac) were a total hit and I suspect I'll be making them weekly, ha ha! Super easy and more on the healthy side ;)

A little flashback to Mia's first May (I seriously love this month!) and a gorgeous hike at Zion National Park. Also a first for Mia! Oh how I miss Zions!

Dying to try these popsicles! I'm not a fan of peas so this will be the perfect way to sneak them into my diet.

The perfect Mother's Day article (a shout out to both mother and father, really!)

Promo code time! "may50" will get you half priced ads, for any ad space I offer! Check out my options here!

Don't forget to enter the fun giveaway from Glambanners in my previous post! xoxo