Just some of the reasons we love Momma

I love playing robot turtle with her
I love her hugs and kisses
I love going on walks with her, just the two of us
I love her belly button
I love going to the grocery store and getting a donut
I love it when she comes to my Open House at school
I love her dresses
I love riding in the car with her

Love, Alma and James

 

Utah!

(Photos courtesy of Erica's camera -- thanks darling!)

Ice Cream Truck

My Brother Brian

 Found these cute pictures of my brother and me.  I may be stretching things a bit but I think Alma looks like my brother and James looks like me. 

Happy Anniversary: 6 years!

Here we are at Golden Gardens park in Seattle back when we were first dating.  I love the joy in our expressions.  Even though we don't get much time with just the two of us to be this schmoopie, the feeling is still there.  I'm so grateful that what I see in these pictures -- the silliness, the closeness and the love -- is what I still feel, even if it isn't what I have the opportunity to express and demonstrate as often as I would like.

Adams Natural Peanut Butter

As a push-present for myself, I purchased eight 32 oz containers of my favorite peanut butter.  Here's to never fitting in my non-maternity jeans again!  Hooray and yum!

Super Bowl 2012

Until James is a bit older, Joshua is still essentially in a girl-dominated house.  Therefore, the Super Bowl party in our house was primarily toenail painting and watching the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.

Zoo

Last Saturday, we braved the cold to walk around the Lehigh Valley Zoo. It made for a fun morning trip. It was so cold that they didn't let the penguins outside -- yikes!  To be fair, they are warm-weather penguins so it is a safety thing ... but can't it also be bragging rights?!

Thank goodness Patrick and Carrie showed me how to properly use the Moby wrap! We have been using it daily for our family walks. What a great way to carry a sleeping baby and keep us both warm.

Ikea

Completely random post to proclaim my love for Ikea.  Gosh, I miss living closer to its godliness.

Hawk Mountain Hike

Last weekend we hiked up Hawk Mountain, a bird sanctuary about an hour drive from our house.  While we didn't see many birds (one red tail hawk in the distance), it was a more comfortable hike than the last time Alma and I hiked there in (at least) a foot of snow.

Bread maker: Joshua --> Machine

After over five years of marriage and begging for a bread maker, I finally got one!

The bread maker was surprisingly inexpensive + the recipes are super easy + the bread is so good = I keep thinking that I will slowly win Joshua over to my side.  However, even though he is enjoying tasty toast for breakfast, I think he still isn't sure about giving up the role of bread maker to a machine. 

On another note, I'm realizing that I've totally become a gadget head.  Not with any fancy technology (computers still seem to repel me), but with household gadget that make life easier.  On a daily basis, I use a Roomba to clean my floors, a Cuisinart Mixer, a bread machine and an electric tea kettle.  I love them more than I imagined I would.  Remember back in the day when everything I owned fit in the trunk of my car as I moved to Seattle?  When we first got married, I didn't even want to own a toaster because then we couldn't pick up and move as easily?  Yeah, I'm a different person. 

Five Years of Fantastic

Five years ago when we said "I do" I could not have imagined the many ways I would continue to fall in love with Joshua and our life together. 

Happy Mothers Day

So blessed to be able to celebrate another Mother's Day with my two sweethearts. 

House Projects Update

 We finally painted the kitchen nook a few weeks ago.  We went from this (APPLE JAIL!) to a great shade of green, which honestly isn't showing up in this photo very well, but that makes the area feel clean and bright and perfectly wonderful.  Somehow, it even makes looking out the back window so much nicer.  Can you tell I'm happy with the color choice?!

Alma and I also tore up the carpet in the "monkey room" and installed some closet organizers in what is fast becoming an exceedingly large walk-in closet.  More current photos will be posted shortly.

Daily Alma Fix

One of my favorite times of day is when I get an email sent to me from Laura's phone. No message just an attached photo of the daily adventure. The above picture is an example of when Laura taught Alma how to splash in the water on rainy days. It is a little gesture that makes being away from home easier. Laura's value of family and commitment to connecting me to all of Alma's daily experiences and joys is something that I love and can not acknowledge enough.

The Big Three-Two

On the 12th, I turned 32. As a child, 32 was BY FAR my favorite number. I remember fantasizing about turning 32. I expected that by that time I would have a wonderful husband (check), house of our own (check), an interesting career (check), a cat and a dog (check) and a few children in high school (happily I missed the mark on this one -- 32 is much younger than I was imagining as a child).

Because Joshua had to work the night of my birthday, we shifted the celebration a bit.  I spend the night before celebrating with a delicious cake -- chocolate cake with orange cream cheese icing, which tasted like a chocolate orange.

The next morning, we went to Bada Bingg in Allentown for breakfast.  They had boots in cement to play on the mob-theme of the restaurant. 

Then Alma and I went out to Carlisle to hang out with my parents for a few days.  This cake was chocolate with marshmallow icing -- my go-to for birthday cakes. Yum!

 

Nana, Alma and I went for a great bike ride along the rail trail.   Even though she has a very serious riding face, Alma loved spotting the birds, farm dogs and squirrels as we rode. 

Gym Time

Recently, I started taking a stroller workout class at a local gymnastics school.  Before our workout begins, the kiddos get to play in the toddler gym.  It is so fun to watch them just on the trampoline, walk on the balance beam and try out all of the equipment.  Alma's favorite is the slide.

Marathon Relay

The first weekend in April I ran the Garden Spot Marathon Relay in New Holland, Pennsylvania with some wonderful Franklin and Marshal College alums, including my best friend Kate.

 Highlights of the weekend included night before the race spaghetti pizza carb loading.

And hanging out with Kate's wonderful parents who hosted us in their Lancaster house.  Here they are in the middle of an impromptu dance party. 

Sugar-Sugar

While Joshua loves playing video games to have some down time, I'm not such a big fan ... until now. He found a logic game (Sugar-Sugar) that totally had me hooked this weekend when I needed a short break from work.

Try it! And then send me suggestions for other computer logic games!

Laura's Former Outfits, Alma's Bedroom and Curls!