Pink.

Real men wear pink (or their older sister's swaddle since they have outgrown their own)!

Words.

My little girl is growing up and is full steam talking. It is just crazy. Everyday she wakes up and has a new word (or words) she is saying. I feel like sentences are on their way any minute.

A few Saylor words:
Bathing suit
Bunny
Elmo
Thanks
Please
Milk
Snack
Spoon
Get out
Mommy
Daddy
Sissy
ShuShu
Bake (for Gbake)
Baby
Swing
Rock
Ride
Shoes
Feet
Toes
Nose
Eyes
Play
Blankie
Paci
Book
Kitty
Get dressed
No
Yes
Move
Run
Jump
Mouse (for Mickey Mouse)

There are lots more, I just wanted to record a few for my memory :). Love this little chatter box!

Thankful

Today, I'm thankful. Most days I am, however, I don't always take a few minutes to think about how truly thankful I am. How deeply the Lord has enriched our lives and given my husband and I not only each other, but beautiful blessings to love.

As I drink my coffee this morning and sit in a quiet (pre-kids waking up) house, my cup runneth over. I am thankful my husband works so hard so I get to stay home and raise my children. Although financially trying at times for our family, we have managed to make it work for the past 2 years and I am forever grateful. I am so thrilled I haven't missed a single moment with my littles... Every smile, tear, and new milestone, I have been here for. Days are sometimes very long being a stay at home mom, but it is in these moments of quiet reflection that I realize the beauty in the hard days is paid in kisses from my littles.

We've lived in SC for 2 years now, away from family and friends. Although it is certainly our goal to get back to NC, I'm thankful that we have made a home here and built a life. We've learned to work together as a couple and lean on each other. We've built new friendships and brought 2 babies home to this house. As much as I'd like to get back to the Tarheel State, I'm thankful for the memories we've made in this house and the love that has grown here.

This past weekend, Sean and I joined some friends in Charlotte for the Kenny and Tim concert. I'm thankful for fun getaways with my husband, and even more thankful my parents were willing to come down for the night and take care of the littles. Our house is busy and it's no easy feat, and I'm so grateful I can leave my house, knowing they are so well taken care of. I also love getaways with my family and am so looking forward to heading to the beach for a week... Just the 5 of us. There's really something special about having just your own little family on vacation. You beat to your own drum. You play or sleep or eat whenever you want. I'm thankful for that time.

And just now, I took a break in my writing to read my morning devotional and found this:

Wed 27: The blessing of the Lord makes one rich... (Proverbs 10:22)
Count Your Blessings

Be still my heart. Thank you, Lord. For your gifts are rich and covered in abundant love.

We are thankful. So very thankful.

Wordless Wednesday

3 months!

Happy 3 months, sweet Baker!
(a few days late!)

You, my love, light up my life. You have such an easy, calm way about you. You smile and talk constantly. As soon as I smile at you, you give me the biggest grin. Melts my heart every single time. 

You are such a trooper and go along with everything we are doing. You get drug everywhere and are just as happy as ever. You sometimes smile a crooked little smile just like your daddy and it is darling.

 You've been to both the lake and the beach (twice) this past month and have been a breeze. You nap on the beach and love the ocean breeze. You sit in your baby chair and take naps. You are a piece of cake!

You are a BIG boy! You have outgrown most of your clothes and are wearing mostly size 6 months. I would guess you weigh around 14 or 15 lbs now. You are in size 2 diapers, although they are starting to get a little snug too. You are growing so fast and this momma wishes it would really slow down. 

You go to bed at 9 and sleep until 6:30 - 7 in the morning. You eat and go back to sleep until I wake you to eat at 9am. You are still exclusively breastfed and take bottles like a champ if needed. You take 3 - 4 naps a day: Around 10am, 2 pm, 6:30pm and usually a 20 minute cat nap on my chest before your 9pm feeding. You love to be swaddled and it soothes you immediately. 

You hold your head up great and are ready for the bumbo seat! Crazy how fast that happens. Your little legs are so strong and you love to stand up and look around. You love tummy time and sleeping on your tummy, and after playing on your mat on your tummy, you usually nap right there for atleast an hour. 

You love your paci, are great riding in the car, and love to be outside. You love taking a bath in the evening before bed. You love to be carried facing out (just like your sissy did!). 

You, my sweet little fella, light up my days. I love you to pieces and am so proud to be your mommy.  

I love you, and your sweet feet, little darling. 

Happy 3 months, love!

Catch up!

Summer is here and we have been on the go non-stop. We spent last weekend at the beach and the littles loved having both sets of grandparents to play with all day long. Saylor's vocabulary is booming and each day she learns more and more words. She has learned all the names of her grandparents and currently walks around the house calling ShuShu (my mom) on her phone.

Baker is getting so big. He is outgrowing his clothes at a rapid pace and I feel quite certain his growing has got to slow down soon. He is just the sweetest little fella. Smiles constantly and is so easy going. When he smiles his little eyes light up so big and it jut melts me everytime. He is still sporting his mohawk! People comment on it all he time. He is losing his hair on the sides and I'm starting to wonder what color it will come back in as. Blonde, maybe?

Speaking of blonde (and my hair fiasco), I called my brother's girlfriend last week during my state of panic. She does hair at Dolce Vita salon in NC and was thankfully a calming voice of reason for me. She suggested i wash it with dawn dish soap to fade the color a good bit. It worked! I also spent time in the sun, which has also helped (follow me on instagram to see updated pics!). Hair appointment is scheduled for next Tuesday! Praise God.

Hope y'all are having a great week! It's so darn hot here we're unfortunately spending lots of time inside. We run a few errands and go to the gym during the day, but toting 3 kids everywhere is not a walk in the park! Whew. Happy Wednesday from all of us (and this cute little guy)!

iPhone photo dump Friday.

On hair.

I got a wild hair yesterday (pun intended). Usually when I get a wild hair, it involves a last minute road trip or some kind of purchase. Never does it involve my actual HAIR. Yesterday, it did. And to be frank, I hate it. Wow, that sounds a wee bit dramatic, huh? Okay, so I don't really love it.

Post having 2 babies, my always very blonde hair has started to show major roots the minute my hair grows. Short of being in the salon every 3-4 weeks (read: completely impossible for multiple reasons), the upkeep of my beloved blonde was starting to become a hard battle to fight. I decided yesterday to give dark a try. Not my best decision. I have always been under the mind frame, "it's just hair," until yesterday. And when you go and do something crazy to your own hair, that "it's just hair" mentality gets thrown out the window. Especially not 11 weeks post-partum. During these post having a baby days, with your body and skin a mess, hair is all you've got. And now dark hair is all I've got. Not thrilled. Don't get me wrong, friends, I like brown hair, just not on me. Not at all.

I've spent time both laughing and crying about this. Silly, I know. But truly, it doesn't look like me. Not at all. Case in point: I sent my parents a picture of me last night and they didn't know it was me. No lie. Chloe has said atleast 4 times that she wants my old hair back and I was completely ready for Saylor to cry when she saw me and not recognize me (thankfully, that didn't happen, ha!). My husband has been super sweet, telling me I look beautiful, but we have both agreed that brown isn't my thing and I need my blonde back STAT.

I promised the gal that does my hair I'd stick with it a week to let the shock wear off.
T-minus 6 days, anyone?

Before:

After:

On the road again.

Per usual for the Branch crew [or group as my dear friend refers to us as- hi C!], summer hits and our tires get hot. Chloe's last day of school was last Monday so we loaded up Tuesday morning to spend the week at the lake. My mom and I managed to survive the week together, with 3 kids, visitors, rainy weather and bumps on the head. We headed back home Friday morning to enjoy a relaxing weekend with daddy.

This week, Chloe has VBS, I have a hair appointment [praise God! - it's the little things, right?!], also a dentist appointment [not my favorite], swim lessons in between, and then we hit the road Friday morning for our annual Father's day beach weekend at TI with both Sean's parents and my parents.

And in the spirit of keeping the road hot, after heading to the beach this weekend, the following weekend we'll be heading to Charlotte for the Kenny and Tim concert, then heading back to TI for our beach week and Sean's birthday. That puts us on the road until about... Hmmm... July 8th!

Summer isn't so bad after all... Just as long as I can manage the highways in between :).

Party on.