fairytale.

Oh, what a fairytale. I didn't set my alarm, but was thrilled when Saylor woke me at 5am (I am convinced she knew it was royal wedding time!). I woke up my hubs immediately as I searched frantically for the remote. I turned it on right in time to see the Queen arriving. I loved every minute of it. The beautiful people filing in. The hats. The music (made me want to cry!). The precious little girls and boys in uniform. Darling Pippa, helping her sister align her dress just right. Prince Harry acting like such a little brother. And the ceremony was perfection. 

And Kate, she is just stunning. The dress was perfect. So classic. She is such a beauty.

Cheers to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

Lots of randoms!

- My little angel is growing up so fast. I can't believe we are a few weeks shy of her being 6 months old. Makes this momma want to sob and smile at the same time. I already miss her being so tiny. It went by too fast, but I love each new moment I have with her. She is starting to try to sit up on her own and loves to talk and giggle. She has no interest in crawling (which I find quite hilarious!) and would rather me just tote her around on my hip all day. Tough life, huh? :)

- In an effort to lose the remaining baby weight (argh!), my friend and I are training for a mini-triathlon in July. I think I drank some crazy juice. We are following a 13 week training guide, with 1-2 days off per week. Lots of swimming, biking and running are in my future. I, personally, am not aiming for a time. My goal is just to finish the thing! Ha!

- We have been traveling a lot lately and will continue to do so over the next few months. My brother is getting married in June and we have various showers and events throughout the next 8 weeks. I love having a reason to visit Greensboro!

- I am in my 3rd week of my newest Bible study, Jonah - Navigating a Life Interrupted. I have found it so interesting how the Lord is using the story of Jonah to remind us that even though we think God is interrupting our perfect plans (or so we think!), it is really a divine intervention on God's part, as He has something so much greater in store for us. Our God is always faithful to His promises. 

- I went to a coupon class the other night, and wow, I am so overwhelmed. Has anyone watched Extreme Couponing? That show just blows my mind. I'm looking for ways to lower our grocery bill and am thinking of trying this coupon thing out. Any tips? I sure need all the help I can get. 

I am sure I have more random things floating around my head, but I just looked up and realized it's time to wake the girls from their naps and head to the Little Gym. Adios, friends. Hope you're having a great week!

swoon.

via

wall of shoes? yes, please.

Pretty please.

Can someone please call my husband and tell him I would like this kitchen, please? 

And if he could throw in this darling little swing in the backyard, I would love that, too. Pretty please?

via

How Great Thou Art!

Beautiful, just beautiful... How Great Thou Art! 

He is Risen!

"My God's not dead, He's surely alive, and He's living on the inside, roaring like a lion..." -DCB

Happy Easter, friends. He is risen!

We had a wonderful Easter with family at the beach. It was Saylor's first Easter and we had such a great time. 

Both my parents and Sean's parents were together to celebrate... It was so nice.  

Here is Saylor's first Easter bunny (thank you ShuShu!).

We spent our days enjoying laughter and smiles with family, soaking up the salt air and the ocean waves....

And we found out quickly that this little girl is a beach bum (making her momma proud!)

We dyed Easter eggs, made cupcakes, enjoyed the beach and Sean and I even snuck in a date night while we were there (and had grandparents around to babysit!). 

It was a great first Easter for Saylor!

From one beach bum to another, Happy Easter!

Hope you had a great Easter and celebrated our sweet Jesus... For He is Risen!

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. - John 11: 25-26

Giggle Box...

Nothing sweeter and more precious than watching my sweet girl giggling! Melts my heart and makes me laugh so hard! 

(excuse all the laughing and talking in the background, ha!)

Vegi Fail and Teeth.

Saylor tried vegi's for the first time yesterday, and she was just not interested. As you can see in the photos, it was all over her face and not in her mouth. We have given up on rice cereal for the time being and thought we'd give her a go on sweet potatoes. Not so much. Do we have a picky eater in our future? :)

In other not so fun news, sweet girl is having a time with teething. I noticed a little white speck trying to make its way through and it has made for one upset little girl. Bless her heart. Last night, she was up almost every hour, and finally at 4am, fell asleep for a few hours. She has been tired today (so has momma!) and seems to have a cold again. Poor thing, can't catch a break! 

Any teething tips? Thanks friends!

We start our new Bible study tonight by Priscilla Shirer - Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted and I am really excited about it. Happy Wednesday!

that's some good sleep...

Sleeping so good, the paci is falling out...

5 months!

Happy 5 months, sweet Saylor!

You are a doll. You light up my life. I love you to the moon, more than I ever knew possible.

This past month has been so fun with you. You are getting such a little personality. You are so laid back and easy going.

You love to be held... especially on mommy's hip, facing out, so you can see what is going on. You would ride on my hip all day, ha.

You love to talk and jibber jabber and it makes me smile. Your laugh is quite possibly the most precious thing on earth.

You are still such a wonderful sleeper. You go to bed at 8, and if we keep you up much longer than that, we hear about it, ha :). You sleep until 7 or 8 in the morning. You take 2 naps during the day, usually about 2 - 3 hours long. You still sleep in our room in your moses basket, all swaddled up. You love your swaddle and you love your paci.

You are in size 1-2 diapers and 3-6 months or 6 months clothes. We went to the doctor last week (you had your first ear infection - sad momma), and you weighed 14.8 pounds.

You still breastfeed exclusively. I have tried rice cereal with you a number of times, and you just really aren't a big fan. Every now and then you will eat it, but for the most part, it's not your thing. We will probably start vegetables sometime during this month.

You love to stand up and try to lift up your feet to move them. You have some strong little leggies. 

You are much better being on your tummy and roll over almost every time I put you down.

You are great in your bumbo seat and like your jumper more and more since you are almost able to touch the ground in it.

It looks like your first tooth is starting to come through! That was a surprise to us... we just noticed it the other day, ha. You are growing up too quick!

I love the way your eyes light up when I talk to you. I love the way you hold your sweet hands together. I love your sweet smell. I love you forever, my angel. You made me a mommy.... and I am so proud you are my little girl! Happy 5 months, love bug.

"A mothers treasure is her daughter." - Catherine Pulsifer

power outage and some ramblings...

Happy Tuesday, friends. Little sluggish today after the crazy (did I say crazy? I meant intense) storm we had last night. Not to much sleep was had at the Branch house last night. At one point, I almost grabbed everyone to huddle up in the laundry room because I thought the tornadoes were hitting our neighborhood. Needless to say, we didn't huddle in the laundry room, but we did have a full bed. All 4 of us, to be exact. Makes for some close sleeping quarters, ha.

I woke up first to crazy wind and rain, etc. Next thing I know, the storm wakes Saylor up. I pick her up, try to cuddle her and put her back to sleep, with no such luck. I layed her down in the bed with us and tried to fall back asleep. 5 minutes later, power goes out. Another few minutes go by, the alarm system is beeping (I guess because the power outage), so I send Sean to check it. As he's checking it, Chloe wakes up from more loud booms and Sean heads upstairs to get her. 4 of us in a bed... not too much sleep for this mama. Ha. Top that with an 80 degree room, due to loss of power (and a hubs who doesn't like the AC on too low).... how's that sound for a fun night? ;)

Thankfully, our power came back on sometime this morning. I have been up and at it all day, doing random chores around the house. I have been doing the Insanity workout with my neighbor, and whew, that is some hard stuff. I try to do it in the mornings during Saylor's morning nap... so waking up to these faces below is always fun (not!).

(doubtful I'm going to look like those trim folks, but worth a shot to get this post-baby body back in shape!)

Saylor is finally on the mend from her cold and an ear infection. She seems to be feeling much better and eating much better. I had given up on trying rice cereal again until she felt better, but gave it a shot today and she ate the whole bowl. That 'a girl!

Have a wonderful day! 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! -Phil 4:4

and cue the Friday happy dance.

It's finally Friday... whew. This has been a long week. I would dare say, partly because it has rained, rained and rained some more. Getting in and out of places with a baby in a car seat in the rain... no bueno.

 Sweet baby Saylor has an ear infection and hasn't been feeling the best this week. We went to the doctor yesterday and they put her on antibiotics. She then proceeded to sleep from 6:30pm last night to 8am this morning. How's that for sleeping the sickness off? Go girl.

Mom and Jessica came to visit Monday. We had such a great time and love having visitors! Tuesday was spent running errands here, there and everywhere. Did I mention, it was raining the whole time? Wednesday, I finished my 10 week Bible Study on David, Beth Moore style. As always, in Beth Moore fashion, the last session was killer. She breaks it down to the heart of the matter, and man, I am always left wanting more. David was a wonderful (and hard!) study and I am looking forward to the next one. Thursday, same ole' hodgepodge of running here, there and everywhere (again, in the rain, ha!), and now, here we are successfully on Friday. How's that for a quick recap? 

Here's wishing for a sunny weekend, folks! Love the ones you love. Laugh alot. And just enjoy.

 Happy Friday!