at my house.

our thursday was pretty eventful...

first evie watched a little bit of baby Einstein while i got ready, ate breakfast, fed the dogs...you know. do your babies watch baby Einstein? should i feel bad that mine loves it? we only watch once per day, but she squeals and stares like it's the greatest 40 minutes of her life. she's learning stuff, yes? i mean, i think that part where the bears put on rain coats and dance with umbrellas is definitely educational.

after baby Einstein, we hit up play group and saw some of my dearest dears. evie played on the swings, went down the slide, ran in circles, the usual....or maybe she just sat there, i can't remember. we might be too young for play group. we might not care. see ya next time, friends!

then scotty-too-hottie-for-his-naughty-body came over. we sat on the lawn and i told him stories about all of my neighbors. some of them like to sit on their porches and smoke illegal substances in the evenings. that didn't happen where i grew up. i think its just an avenues thing.

while we were outside some neighborhood hooligans walked by and tried to befriend bubba, but he barked ferociously and tried to scare them off. "careful, he's mean!" i said and they ran away. i was kidding, you know, but hopefully our car doesn't get egged again tonight (true story!).

anyways, later we talked about "16 & pregnant" and i took this picture of him. i am not 16, in case you were wondering. sometimes when i forget to wear my wedding ring people give me that look like "are you a teen mother!?" and i feel inclined to say "listen up, lady, i'm 24 and married, so shut it!"

after scott left, evie requested to please play in her jumpy thing. this takes significant work to achieve, seeing as she is bite-sized and her feet don't touch the ground, nor does her body fill the seat, but hey-we make it work.

then we lounged on the lawn until it got too windy/cold to lounge on the lawn any longer. i cursed the utah weather like i always do and took my bite-sized baby inside.

now the baby is napping and i have a few minutes to spare before the husband gets home and i have to attend to my wifely duties (dinner, cleaning, baths, you know).

not bad for a thursday. (did you know that thursdays used to be my favorite day of the week? that was back when i knew what day of the week it was, of course. now any day when it is sunny and something is written on the calender is my favorite day of the week.)

what about you, friends? good day?

adventures in shopping.

I've been making a lot of runs back and forth to the Gateway over the past few weeks in order to update my wardrobe and welcome summer (Summer! Welcome! May I pour you a glass of lemonade?!). And it's been a bit daunting in some ways, since I can't figure out my sizes now that I'm a Mama (you, too?). I mean, I had a baby. And now I'm nursing that baby. And my boobs are, well, let's just not go there. Things are different these days...I mean I thought I was a medium, but now I guess I'm a small except sometimes I'm a large??

And then I bought these shoes. These beautiful, perfect shoes that proceeded to fall apart in front of my adoring eyes 48 hours after I purchased them and boy, was that a buzz-kill. "Don't wimp out on me, shoes!!" I pleaded, but they simply couldn't keep it together and now they are dead and I am wondering what in the world $39 can buy a person these days, because apparently, not a pair of shoes that can survive dinner and a movie with a few steps in between. Whatever.

The same day I purchased those sad shoes, I also happened to experience a Christmas miracle, so perhaps let's discuss that! You see, once upon a time I owned this pair of jeans that I loved more than any girl has ever loved a pair of jeans before. And they were tight (but not too tight) and dark (but not too dark) and they made my husband slap my butt when I walked past. Which is important, don't you think? When one finds a pair of jeans like these jeans, one wears them into oblivion and loves them eternally. Am I right?

Which is what I did. And which is why, when they died, I tried to immediately re-purchase them only to find out that they had been discontinued! Forever! And I really questioned life in that moment.

Flash forward an entire year and I am browsing Urban Outfitters for a new pair of jeans, when into my hands falls the exact pair I had once owned over a year ago. I didn't believe it at first, it seemed too good to be true, but alas, there they were. MY pair of dark denim beauties! And there was only one pair remaining! One pair that had been haphazardly shoved under a pile of full-priced denim threads and forgotten, or perhaps hidden?- who knows. All I knew was that this moment was meant to be. Everything was there, the denim-dark, the tightness-just right, only one factor remained-the size. So, I closed my eyes tight and braced myself for the worst-only to peak at the label slowly and find that they were, in fact, MY SIZE!!

Your astonished at this point, I know, but it gets better, because moments later I would discover that these jeans, these beautiful, perfect jeans were also listed for 50% off. Yes, that's right. No more than $20, my sweethearts were. And it was in that moment that I cried real tears (No, I didn't. That was a lie. Can we still be friends?)

Obviously, I bought them. And obviously, I'm wearing them. And obviously, my husband was just as thrilled when I called him with the news. "A Christmas Miracle!" he proclaimed! Or maybe it was, "Jess, quit spending my money"-I'm fuzzy on the details-all I know is he certainly did slap my butt that night when I put them on.

I am Jessica and I have faith that me and my jeans can be together forever. Amen.

i say "yes, please" to paris.

just found out about this giveaway via my friend, mckenzie. so of course, i am entering too, because well, what if i win!?

link here.

just because.

Last week I mastered the fine art of acquiring flowers RANDOMLY from the man in my life. Yes, that's right. Flowers. In a vase on my coffee table. You know, "just because".

Want to know how I did it, so you can do it, too?!

Read on, friends!

{First, I should probably preface this by admitting that yes, this is a big deal and no, he doesn't buy me flowers "just because". And while we're at it, I do still think he loves me and fine, and am taking him out of the "Mormon Bloggers Best Husband in THE UNIVERSE" contest, because obviously husbands who don't supply flowers weekly "just because" need not apply!}

Moving on...

G believes flowers make a poor gift. "They die!" he says. "They're pretty!" I respond! "They're overpriced!" he cries, "They smell wonderful!" I argue! My husband, G, (in case you haven't already noticed) is all things practical and no things frilly. "Give a gift that dies?!" he wonders, "How rude!" G would love to get you something that is well-made and well-thought out and will last you a long, long time, preferably the rest of your life. Flowers need not apply.

And that's okay. I mean, I don't feel too duped (even though I ALWAYS remind him that he sent me flowers at work "just because" while we were dating with a note that said something like "Dearest Love of my Life, I'm going to Lake Powell without you and I will miss you so much I might die a slow and tragic death!" and whoa! That was seriously romantic of him, now wasn't it?

But last week I needed flowers. My house was dreary. The weather was awful. The baby had shots in her thighs and proceeded to cry alligator tears for the following 7 hours and you guys, I knew flowers could make it better. I just knew it.

So I set out to get them.

The first step in acquiring flowers "just because!" is to send the husband to a place where flowers are sold. This is tricky, because how are you going to get him to a florist shop!? I pondered and prayed about this question and received no answers. It can't be done. You could choose a grocery store, but the flowers you will receive in return will be ugly and small and may or may not smell like carrots. And that's no fun for anyone, now is it?

So, where to send him? The answer to this question is the same answer to almost all questions you might have in your lifetime: Costco. Get your husband to Costco! Send him for bread and avocados and Aussie Bites (because boy are they good) and cross your fingers Costco's flower selection that day consists of those glorious sunflowers that are as large as your head.

Once you've sent him on his way, brace yourself because here comes the tricky part. Your timing in this eneadvor is crucial. You must call him precicely while he is standing next to the flowers in order for his train of thought to lead him straight where you want him to go. It works best to imagine him going through the motions of his errand. Imagine him staring at the electronics for a good 5 or 10 (or 30?) minutes...Imagine him hunting down the bread and the avacados and those delicious Aussie Bites. Imagine him rounding the corner and stealing some samples (you get the idea...)

Once he has reached the flower section IN YOUR MIND! pick up the phone! Call that boy and chit chat for a moment or two and then start to lament about how long your day was and how many hairs you lost in the shower that day and mention (again) that Oprah is no longer there to comfort you at 4pm and isn't that tragic?! Once he is feeling sufficiently sympathetic you must deliver this line: "I just need something small to cheer me up"*

And then wait.

Because it is in this moment that he will look up and see the flowers. Those flowers will be staring him in the face and the hallelujah chorus will begin. "I am the answer!" they will sing! "Bring me home to her!" they will cry and suddenly he will feel all heroic because Look! The answer! Right there in front of him! (what are they odds?!)

Within 20 minutes or so he will return home with the flowers of your dreams in hand and a satisfied smile on his face, because look how thoughtful he is and didn't he just make your day?! This is the part where you should smile and bat your eyes and possibly go weak in the knees and fall into his arms proclaiming "Flowers!! I'm shocked! Why did you bring me these?"

And the answer to that question will most definitely be, "just because".

*If that line doesn't work try "Some flowers might make it better..."**
**If that line doesn't work try "Buy me flowers. Now. Please" ***
***If that line doesn't work I've got nothing.

may.

want to see what the month of may looked like in our lives, via the cellular?

alright then...

on memorial day weekend we visited grandpa's grave, had a family bbq, went to breakfast, lunch & dinner (a few times, actually), did cartwheels, somersaults, handstands & lifts in the backyard and ate a lot of popcorn.

we went on lots of dates. this particular one was to setebello for pizza.

evie met jane kinyon! this is also known as the night ev had a major meltdown (her first) that we couldn't make better. it was kind of funny. i laughed. whoops.

holls & i enjoyed some park time, some kitchen time and a few walks with our babies. this afternoon we decided to throw our babies in a large pile & take pictures. we're really good mothers, i promise.

we went to the zoo! i feel the urge to always say the "zoo-z-zoo" when referring to this place.
do you feel that urge? where does it come from?!

we visited the burbanks and ev met beau burbank for the first time!
she has these brothers to choose from when it comes time to marry. choose wisely, ev.

we spent hours in the bumbo, on the playmat and examining the toys.
and this is what my life looks like every day at 5pm; me and evie in her bedroom keeping ourselves occupied & counting down the minutes until g gets home. what does your life look like at 5pm?

we went to the tulip festival and ev met marley chunat! that girl has a lot of friends these days.

we spent lots of time with the bride & groom to be. 

dinner at citrus grill, helping with their wedding prep & just hanging out.

meg and i also caught a late-night movie. we love them.

dinner at citrus grill.

and the girls went for a mother's day pedicure and lunch.

there you have it...bits & pieces of may. despite the crazy weather, we managed to have fun.
here's to summer, the stroller, the pool & sunshine. happy june!

month four: a baby and her teddy.

this is a classic "evie face"

some pictures of our big four month old taken with something other than a cell phone!

month four.

Can I just say that I LOVE the baby stage. I know some people aren't so fond of this stage (they can't talk, they need to be carried, they sleep a lot, they have blow-outs, you know...) But I absolutely love it. I love having a tiny person on my hip all day long. I love that she can't crawl away and get into trouble when I set her down. I love her gummy smiles and little laughs. I love that her and I are attached at the boob hip all day long and after having a baby in my home, I honestly can't imagine ever not having a baby in my home (and wow, that might cause some problems, huh?)....
Moving on.

We went to Ev's 4 month checkup the other day and little girl is still a teeny tiny little girl. She is only in the 7th percentile for weight, but has climbed up to the 67th percentile for height! Tall and skinny. I told her that there are worse things to be, am I right, ladies?! Despite the fact that she is small, she loves to eat & looks nice and chubby to me.

Of course a checkup also meant the dreaded shots that are supposed to be no big deal, but in this house they are a very big deal, because they mean tears and pain all night long. We went to see Nana after the appointment and Ev seemed to be okay for a while, but after an hour or so, she was more hysterical than I've ever seen her. It broke my heart, but luckily she had two of us there to comfort and hold her and she is feeling much better now.

Here are some snapshots from her big day. I've realized I honestly take at least 5 pictures of her every single day on my phone, but I haven't really photographed her in a while, so we will try to get that done soon.

waiting for the doctor. we waited for a long time & amused ourselves with the crinkly paper!

finally asleep. those cheeks are edible! they taste like Swedish fish!

her first night sleeping without the swaddle (the doc told us to stop). she did fine until 2am when she woke me up crying, at which point i deliriously stumbled into her room thinking to myself "what time is it!?" because i haven't been up with her in the night for something like 8 weeks now & i forgot how to function at that hour. anyways, i didn't even think twice- just went in and swaddled her little waddle so tight and we both went right back to bed & never regretted it for a second. whatever.

poor little nakey baby time with band-aids on her thighs!

Happy 4 months my sweetest girl!

food festival downtown!

last weekend was officially my favorite weekend in a longgg time. for the first time in a while, the sun was shining, people were happy and there was actually something to do! outside! imagine that!

first ev & i went to a shower for aunty meg, whose wedding to brother jon is just around the corner! her cutest grandma threw the best stinking party (that i'm sure sarah will blog about soon, right sarah?) and we had a great time (despite the fact that evie was like "get me home & put me down for a nap, NOW!" the entire time)

later that evening, g and i went to the living traditions festival & little brother k tagged along. lots of yummy food (tried so many new things), amazing people watching and some cool (and not-so-cool) on stage performances.

here's to hoping summer is on it's way and there will be more fun to be had. well done, slc!