You Capture: The Feeling of Fall

September 1st I always go out and buy a smelly fall candle. And then I try to hold off for days on putting out fall decorations. But I fail. And put them up right away. Fall is just awesome, isn't it? It calls for bonfires. Hoodies. Hot Carmel Apple Spice from Starbucks (um, delicious). And cute little girls wearing brown and pink polka-dot vests.

I was obviously excited when Beth over at I Should Be Folding Laundry had this week's challenge be the feeling of fall. I love fall. In fact I love it so much, that I would be totally content with going from fall to spring. Okay, maybe winter on Christmas, but that's it. Fall to one-day-winter to spring.

I didn't capture Audrey (yet) in her pink and brown vest. But I did get her frolicking in the leaves at her Grandpa's house. [Are most babies obsessed with leaves? Or is mine just weird? Which either way, I would be okay with.]

Be sure to go and check out more lovely fall photos at I Should Be Folding Laundry!

Going Through the Motions.

I tweeted this a couple of days ago:

"Do you ever feel like you are just going through the motions? ugh."

And I got responses on it right away. And it felt good to know that I am not the only one feeling like that. I mean, I know I am not the only one. But sometimes it feels that way.

It can be tough with Facebook, Twitter, and reading other blogs. I read things like "Just finished canning tomatoes for the entire winter." Or "Homemade pasta ready for dinner with strawberry cheesecake for dessert." Or "Went running three miles and I feel great for being 35 weeks pregnant." Or "Just cleaned the entire house with a toothbrush."

Okay, I made those up. But I have read things pretty darn close. Don't get me wrong, I love reading things that people accomplish or enjoy doing. Sometimes I write like that. It's normal. It's what we do. We like to talk about the good things we are doing. But sometimes. Sometimes it's tough to read it. When all you feel like you are doing is going through the motions.

I wake up. Make coffee. Feed breakfast to Audrey. Do laundry. Dishes. Make sure the house looks okay. Then we leave to do something for the morning. Come home. Eat lunch. Audrey naps. I sometimes nap. [Because gosh darn it, I have been so tired for no reason. And I don't like it one bit.] We come up with time fillers until daddy gets home. We eat dinner. Daddy works more. We do bath. Then bed.

I am just going through the motions. I am waiting. Waiting to move. Our house is half-filled with boxes. Our new home is half-remodeled. Okay, not even half, like one room is complete. When October 19th gets here, I won't be going through the motions anymore. I will have a purpose. I will be decorating a new home. Painting more. Life will move on.

But I want to stop going through the motions now. I want to take in these moments I have left in this house. I want to take in the moments I have left with my not-quite-one-little-baby. I want to take in life. Take in the strong breeze outside. The leaves changing. Falling.

I need a pick-me-up. Not a cup of coffee that is going to get me through the next couple of hours. A real pick-me-up. But I think the only way to get that is just to do it. I am going to stop going through the motions now. And take in life. Because these moments are passing me by.

Etsy Won.

After much deliberation and research I have finally bought Audrey's first birthday presents from us. Remember the list? Um, yeah, I ended up not buying anything from it. (Except the hat idea, but not from my original choice.) So feel free to use my awesome ideas, since I am not. Ha.

Etsy was my pick to find unique items for her. I purchased this beautiful sterling silver bracelet from Sophia's Closest. Obviously, it won't have "Bella" on it, but it will say "Audrey Rose." And have the October birth gem on it. Isn't it lovely?

We also bought her a hand-knit hat from Aura Knits. I went with this hat with recommendations from Steph over at Adventures in Babywearing and because I follow her daughter' blog. I can't wait to get it in the mail, I love that it has a rose on it, so appropriate for my little Audrey Rose.

That's it. Two things. I am cutting myself off from any more gift buying for her. She doesn't need much. But I feel like these are both practical [Don't argue with that. You know a one-year old needs a bracelet and adorable hat.] and memorable.

Caught at the Scene of the Crime.

How messy can a house really get with just one child? One 11 month old sweet little girl?

[I did not stage any of it. Seriously.]

Oh no, Momma, you caught me.

[Disclaimer: The things she pulled out of the cabinet were really in there. Yes, random stuff, I know. But I have random stuff EVERYWHERE right now, because we are in the middle of our move. And I have packed up the unnecessary items and kept the essentials out. Like popcorn containers. Which are very essential. Kettle corn is awesome. Thanks. And I have it pretty much every night in one of those containers.]

You Capture: Happiness

Finally. I am doing You Capture again. I don't know how I let it slip away. I love participating in You Capture and checking out other great snapshots.

This week's theme was happiness. And let me tell you, no matter what kind of day you may be having, when Audrey flashes that grin, everything else that seemed like it mattered becomes so minute. I love how babies do that. Put things in perspective for you.

Without further-ado. Here is that grin.


I love the details in the photo. The scratch in the corner of her eye. The drool shining off her chin. The left over lunch crumbs all over her. The exposed roll on her arm.

This is pure happiness to me.

Time to Unplug.

Sometimes you have to disconnect and unplug. From the t.v. From the internet. From everyday life. No matter how busy you are.

We were able to do just that this past weekend. As much as we wanted to work on our new house remodel, we were committed to attending a wedding reception that I was a bridesmaid in from the destination wedding back in July.
I am so thankful we were able to get away this past weekend. And unplug. We stayed in a cabin in the middle of the woods with a lake. And the wedding reception was right there. It was amazing. No air conditioning. No dishwasher. No internet. Just a beautiful view. We laughed. We had some good girl talk. We drank wine and sat in a hot tub. We danced. We celebrated.
When is the last time you unplugged?

11 Months and Walking.

Audrey is one month away from one (as of Friday the 18th). All of a sudden she became a little person. She discovered she has a will this past week, with the lovely sounds of screams and the word "nooooooo." She doesn't always use it in the right context, but I know she knows what it means. Like when she stood in her crib when it was nap time and I heard "no. no. no. no." Over and over. And over. Until I came in and saw the biggest grin and swooped her out and we played instead. Because that's what we do.

She doesn't see herself as a baby anymore. But every single kid around her is one. Even if they are five. And she LOVES babies. I can't wait to get her a sling so she can carry one in. I think I might make one.

Having a baby doll is a great motivator to get her to walk. Yes, that's right folks, she is walking. A couple of weeks ago she started taking steps but didn't know how to catch herself. But now. She can move. Very cautiously and carefully. But she does it. And it makes my heart go boom boom. Maybe it will make your heart go boom boom as well. Here just watch...



Okay, you know one video just isn't enough...


So did it work? Did your heart go boom boom? Mine just did, again.