::feliz cumpleanos to me::

I turned 31 earlier this month! Nate took the day off work and

it was so nice having some time with him.  

>>>NAPS<<<

Both kids napped at the same time and it was great.

Birthday silence is a wonderful thing.

>>BUTTERFLY DISH<<

Mabel was so excited to give me her present. She had been keeping it

an almost secret for about a week! She told me a few things about

it but tried REALLY hard not to give it all away. :)

Nate had taken her to Color Me Mine and she got to choose

something to paint for me.  Then you leave the item there and they 

glaze and fire it for you and you pick it up a few days later.

I love my butterfly dish! She chose all the colors herself. 

Isn't it great? I keep it on the counter in my bathroom.

>>TRIO<<

My friend Jocelyn watched Mabel for the evening and Nate

and I went to dinner. One of my favorite restaurants is Trio.  It's so good

EVERY time and their rosemary flatbread is amazing.

They have a location downtown and in Cottonwood Heights. 

Elliott fell asleep on the car ride over (his birthday present to me!) and

then stayed asleep through about 20 minutes of dinner. 

It was almost like we were alone!!

We both got fancy drinks....mine was cucumber cooler (cucmber, lime, ginger, seltzer)
and Nate got a peach pounder (white peach, pineapple, and ginger beer).
They were interesting!

I like these two guys.

(and I really liked Nate's pasta carbonara...

going to have to get

that next time!)

>>CAKE & ICECREAM<<

Nate got me my favorite cake (carrot) and Mabel helped me blow

out the candles.  I got lots of wonderful texts, emails, cards, and FB messages

from friends and family - thanks for making me feel so special!!

...tiny dancer...

Bonnie's Dance School

Mabel is taking a dance class once a week...

pretty cute tiny dancer isn't she?

This girl and her faces!

She asked me to take a picture of she and Elliott:

It's pretty entertaining watching her class!

Miss Bonnie has a five month old baby (plus 5 other children) and taught throughout her whole pregnancy! I want her energy.

~Good Day Preschool~

Mabel started preschool!!

Silly faces are her favorite.

We were both ready for her to start school.  The past few months have been pretty rough for her adjusting to Elliott.  I think it's a combination of just being a three year old, the fact that I can't leave the house and go do a lot of the fun things we used to do, and I can't give her as of much of my undivided attention as I used to.  She is a busy body and a smarty pants and needs a lot of stimulation throughout the day. 

 She is working really hard on entertaining her self and using her imagination to play alone, but it's hard.  I organized several shelves in our pantry so she has a lot of art and craft supplies, games, and snacks all within her reach.  This has really helped her to stay busy while I am nursing or getting Elliott to sleep. Plus she loves being able to reach things on her own. 

I feel guilty because my patience reserve is pretty low most days...lack of sleep and I do not mix well.  I have been trying to choose my battles wisely and that has seemed to help...power struggles with a three year old are ridiculous and frustrating and letting go of some control has really made things easier for me. School is on Tuesdays and Thursdays for two hours and is the perfect outlet for her, and a much needed break for me. 

Good Day Preschool is in our friend's basement just a few houses down.

We love the convenience of being so close! 

Getting ready to go inside...

Miss Amanda

 It's only been a few weeks since school started but she is loving it. She feels really comfortable there (Miss Amanda goes to our church too) and she says goodbye to me and walks right in!  I love hearing her tell me about what she learned (and what kids didn't listen to Miss Amanda - she loves the drama!), and seeing her already being able to write so many little letters and numbers.

::a decade::

Nate and I celebrated our TENTH wedding anniversary on August 6th!

 We have had highs and lows, grown and stretched, and sacrificed

for each other.  We debate, we daydream, and we drive each other

crazy. We also laugh A LOT. 

A decade with this guy has been the best adventure ever!!

We always had big plans for this anniversary...we wanted to be in Italy.

Instead we got a sweet addition to our family, Mr. Elliott!

We are still planning on Europe in a few years but for now a couple's massage

and sushi was our celebration topped off with cute kisses at bedtime by both kids.

We watched our wedding video and snuggled on the couch before I passed

out around 8:30pm.  

I posted on Instagram and Facebook 10 favorite memories I have had with Nate over the course

of our 10 years of marriage...and I realized I had pictures to go with almost all those 

memories!  I also realized I posted 11 memories. Sleep deprivation messes with basic math skills.

one: on our honeymoon in mexico when we

found the biggest sand crabs ever!

two: sandwich saturdays on the front lawn

of our first basement apartment in sugarhouse

three: seeing the city lights of new york from

our harbor cruise

four: eating two cheesesteaks in one day while

sightseeing in philly

five: hot chocolate and apple fritters

in san francisco

six: holding hands as we snorkeled across

a deep spooky kauai trench while looking for turtles

seven: crazy bingo at lava hot springs

eight: dancing to etta james sing our wedding

song live at red butte gardens

nine: the time nate accidentally put dish soap

in our dishwasher and i almost went into labor

from laughing so hard

ten: getting sneaky vip seats at the postal

service concert

eleven: having nate by my side as our 

sweet babies came into this world