cinnamon drop biscuits.

i'm all about simple go to's & one of our favs are cinnamon drop biscuits. it's literally the bisquick recipe (which is bisquick & milk), plus some cinnamon sprinkled in. takes 3 minutes max. drop them on the tray for 10 minutes & voila! we pair them with roasted veggies, favorite soups & the other morning i made them for bible study in the morning (a little jam/honey & let's call it breakfast!). i was raised in a family where bisquick is a food group (and the gospel in terms of pancakes) & these have grown into a favorite of our little family too!

around here!

 

my new favorite anthro mini splurge & preparations for a very special friend's arrival!

 

we had some very special birthdays in our family last week & ellie busted out her sign making skills for the occasion!

 

ellie had her first swing ride, which she seemed to like, especially cause her bow matched the swing!

 

we LOVED having aunt robin in town!! ellie & robin share a birthday & boy was ellie girl crazy about her birthday twin. these two were so cute together. more on her visit soon!

ellie lecturing sophie... cracks me up!

 

we are FULL of personality these days & teething ... so if posting is light, it's because we're running on very little sleep around here. more soon! xo

we're taking a baby to new york city!

this weekend we're in ny introducing ellie to some friends & family -- first stop, new york city! above photo was taken a few years back when we were young & in love, on our first trip to nyc together. it was pouring rain the entire time & let's just say we didn't quite have the right clothing to stay dry. this photo always puts the biggest smile on my face. see our last trip to ny here!

have an amazing weekend!

our crazy little family.

this is what happens when you try to get a rare family photo at a church picnic while you have a teething, squirmy four month old. love these. family photos from a few months ago & when we were waiting on ellie to show up!

what i tell ellie every day.

i've started a little tradition. every single day, usually around bedtime, i look at ellie & say this: 

"you're imperfect, and wired for struggle, but you are loved & you belong."

here's why:

a dear friend sent me this amazing TED talk a few weeks ago. the whole thing gave me a lot to think about, but i really clung to one of the final lines about parenting that boiled down to the above statement. what i took away is that our role as parents is not to ensure our children's lives are perfect (which is a real temptation, especially when they're precious babies) -- we know that's impossible. our own stories tell us these innocent babies of ours are going to struggle, experience pain & know heartache as they grow up. the very best we can all offer them in the face of that is for them to know regardless of what might come, they are loved & they belong. i have no idea what's ahead for ellie, but i want her to rest knowing ryan & i will always love her & she will always belong to our family. there's nothing she can do to change those two things.

for me, this is also a statement of my faith -- Christianity is based on this being a fallen world, that pain and struggle will be inherent in our time here, but that God's love is boundless, relentless & despite everything, we belong to Him. 

right now, when i say this to ellie, she is either looking around the room for the nearest thing to put in her mouth or waiting for me smother her in kisses (which i usually do), but i'm planning on saying this to ellie each day for a long time & i hope as she grows up, we can talk about what this really means. the truth is, i say it as much to reign in my parenting, and remind me of what my role really is (seeking perfection at any stage is unhelpful), as i do to encourage my sweet little girl.

update from ellie.

hey guys! boy do i have a lot going on these days -- let me tell you, being four months old is BUSY! all that sleeping i did early on didn't give me nearly enough time to find my toes or put toys in my mouth. i pretty much love this owl seat. see those buttons? they make the greatest noises. i usually try to match them with my voice, just to be sure mama is paying attention.

this is my walking buddy jackson. he is AWESOME. he's a bit older than i am, so he's always showing me the ropes. i was all nervous about sitting in the big part of the stroller, but look what a great time he is having! & that hat! i had to give it a try.

i was very brave. only made my mama carry me the last half of the walk. she's looking to get arms like michelle obama & i'm helping her out.

 

this is my friend finley. get this -- we were born at the same hospital almost exactly a year apart, with the same midwife! his birthday is christmas eve, and mine is the day after christmas, so we're going to talk each other through this whole birthday near christmas thing. right now though, finley is going to be a big brother, so he came over to hang out & get some practice. gotta say, he's going to be fantastic! he brushed my hair & we had a staring contest. (side note, my dad is a little weary so many of my friends are boys... he keeps saying he'll be in full camo on the porch when i go on my first date...) 

some mornings, i help mama make lattes. shhh dad is still sleeping! we're going to go wake him up soon though. we always do.

 

spring in virginia is beautiful, we're getting in lots of time outside (p.s. wind is crazy!)

 

so, two pieces of news: i'm sitting up tripod style! & we had some new friends come over & they brought me this book. have you read it? it's hilarious. mama & i are in stitches every time we read it!

had my big four month check up & i was super brave about my two shots. whew, hope i don't have to go back there for a while.

 

you aren't going to believe this: my mama wore the sweater in this photo when SHE was a baby. yeah, the same mama who's in that photo above, all grown up & not baby. can you believe she was ever that small? i got the biggest kick out of that. 

back soon, you guys are the best!

happenings.

what do you guys think of the new t&f logo? was really fun to make! thank you again for all your feedback on this survey -- i had no idea how annoying it was to have the captions after all the photos. never again! captions as we go!

 

finally snagged a copy of this & it was even more amazing than i thought it would be. wonderful writing, stunning images -- a true escape to a simpler place. also, loving this wine label (which is basically how i decide which wine to buy).

there's finally a little more cooking going on around here (for a while we were living on trader joe's prepared foods...) made our fav roasted veggies & cinnamon drop biscuits.

 

& other days we cry, "let them eat sweets!" so we go to two old favorites: my dad's famous invention: GCPBCC (graham crackers, peanut butters & chocolate chips) or the best ice cream of all time (which was WAY on sale!)

with the help of my dad's green thumb, we're making a go at gardening. so far we have an absurd amount of arugala, the tomato seedlings didn't quite make it & one radish that knocked our socks off.

finally, some dear friends made us an incredible dinner: a from scratch salsa that was so good/addictive i could have eaten it as the main course, a wonderful zuccini chicken & some roasted potatos, and then to top it all of angel food cake from scratch (with strawberries & whip cream). i will beg allison to share the recipes with all of us soon! moreover, we laughed so hard my cheeks ached when we left.

now your question should be, "all you have to show for this magical evening is one stinking photo that is mostly of chips?" yes. and i'm sorry. i got so caught up i didn't take a lot of photos & then we ended up using the lifesaving white noise app on my phone to keep ellie asleep in their back room, so i was without my camera. just trust me, it was wonderful.

"excuse me?"

"am i really having my picture taken, again?!"

four month old ellie.

ellie, you're so busy! just taking these photos reminded me how much our days have changed since you used to just sleep in my arms for hours. now, we have things to do! books to read. toys to put in our mouth. feet to find. buttons to push. smiles to give. your little personality is shining through & we really do love you more each day. you make us laugh & want to be better just to love you well. keeping growing sweet girl (some stats: you're 25 inches and almost 13 lbs -- you're going to be tall like your dad!). we love you so much, mama & dad

three month, two month & one month photos!

link love.

 

there have been some really fabulous finds out there -- excited to share my favorite links of late!

these pretzels look amazing & fun to make! gonna try them soon & report back.

just digging this bottle opener.

adore these engagement photos (taken in my favorite place on earth: charlottesville!)

amazing way one military wife is approaching a year long deployment: 52 very special dinner guests.

best marriage advice i've read in a long time. (great conversation starter too!)

a list of 67 books every geek should read to their kids before the age of 10 ... if you're a how i met your mother fan, you'll understand when i say, "challenge accepted!!" :)

any links you're loving right now?