joy of love :: days 14 {wedding bands} and 21 {hands}

catching up with my last 2 photos that i took during the joy of love class. i fell behind, what with everything going on with my last months of pregnancy and crazy busy schedules, but had to finish up with these last 2 photos. well, 3. i couldn't decide which {hands} photo i liked better.

and with that, the month of february is complete (i know, like 13 days ago! get with the program, emily). i'm working on catching up with tons of photos and thoughts before baby #2 arrives very shortly.

so until tomorrow, it's spring forward time and the morning is going to come way too early. g'nite.

girls weekend

a few weekends ago, my mom, heather and i jetted off to d.c. for our annual girls weekend. places we've ventured in past years have included a spa and antiquing in canada, and shopping and the theatre in chicago. this time, we included family visits, beautifying at my sister-in-law's fabulous new salon that just opened and of course, shopping.

michael and harper spent the weekend at home. this is the view i shared with my harper bean, when she wasn't too busy playing with her toys.

and this is where we spent our sunday, getting glorified and beautified, and getting the chance to play salon. heather and i haven't laughed so much in years. and we were instantly taken back to days of youth.

here's heather, skyping with her husband, tim.

here's my brother's attempt at using my camera, a little out of focus, as i step in as hairdresser.

nyla and callie got to join us at the salon for the day.

all prettied up. much love and kisses to our very talented sister-in-law, stephanie. and her salon is just amazing.

chris, my mom, me, heather.

kaelyn 1 month

kaelyn noelle. 1 month old. wide awake and smiley. and so compliant. and of course, adorably yummy.

and jacque's take with the camera, in her words "kaelyn looks just like you right now." just preparing for our next turn with a newborn in a short little while.

joy of love :: days 7 {generations} & 10 {spaces}

three generations of ladies with the middle name, elizabeth, after my maternal grandmother.

mary elizabeth. emily elizabeth. harper elizabeth.

a strong name. a strong generation lineage.

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lately, harper's favorite space is curled up in the very corner of the couch to watch mickey mouse clubhouse. usually with her taggie, and sometimes asking to be covered up with a blanket.

joy of love :: days 5 {love to hate} & 17 {staying in}

it has taken me since february 4th, when we received the e-mail for the day 5 prompt, to figure out what it is i love to hate about my husband. yes, there are things that irk me. we're not perfect. but, most of his quirks are things i've come to either love or just ignore because it's not worth the stress. i pondered and pondered and pondered in my head just what it was that really annoyed me, because there had to be something, right?! yes, some nights, his snoring bugs me, and i have to keep tapping him to gently wake him up enough to stop and perhaps roll over, allowing me a second or two to fall asleep before the noise wakes me again. but how do you photograph that? until today, as i was picking up the basement mess of toys did i realize what i truly love to hate. unfinished projects. and we have a whole mess of 'em in our house. there just never seems to be enough time to finish it all. what with our work schedules, michael's mba classes + studying, raising a toddler and preparing for a newborn, and trying to balance all that work and have to's with the fun things and the want to's. can you blame us for not getting it all done?

but, this project in our basement has been there since the kitchen renovation in july/august of last year. michael had to tear apart a wall in order to expose the plumbing lines for the upstairs sink. and then it just sat there open until last weekend when he started to repair it. and now, it sits again. until some day when he has time. but it also sits among the vacuum and the tool box and the tub of stuff to throw away and the wood boards with exposed nails that used to be the molding. all within the small area we now use as our play room, where harper spends a lot of time.

{sigh} i love, love, love him, but i hate this. and i know he hates it, too.

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and this is our latest version of staying in. putting harper to bed. sidling up on the couch in our jammies with a dvd on the tube. slippered feet propped on the ottoman and relaxing with a shared bowl of ice cream and strawberries. hey, baby needs calcium, right?!

joy of love :: day 12 {the eyes}

the eyes are the window of the soul.

english proverb

i heart faces {red}