Fall Family Pictures by Valerie Shelton Photography

 

So we had our family pictures taken a little over a month ago by my friend Valerie Shelton, and they are AMAZING! I have a thing about getting professional pictures taken, we have a ton but these are by far my favorite EVER! So prepare for picture overload!

 

Mama+Mini Isla Headbands

 

 

 

 

 

 Trying to escape during wardrobe changes!

 

 

"mad" face, happy face, silly face 

 

this girl loves her Daddy, especially giving "donks" 

"That's a wrap, I'm outta here!"

Come On Baby Harper!

I know there is hardly anyone left that reads this blog but seeing as how Lauren and I started the blogging journey together (kudos to her for still going strong) it seemed only fitting to write this here.

 

If you would've told me that the couple who showed up at my house for a birthday party three years ago would end up being the very best friends we have ever  had, I would not have believed you but that's exactly what happened. From the very first night, we hit it off like we had known each other for years and since then Lauren & Cody have become more than just friends, they are our family. In this short time I have got to watch Lauren go from fiancé to wife and now mother. The tears are welling up in my eyes because I know in a few short hours as soon Cody and Lauren lay eyes on that beautiful baby girl they will  know what true unconditional love is.

  Over the past year and a half, watching Lala & Coco (as Nora calls them) with my daughter I have gotten a glimpse of the amazing parents they are destined to be. Lauren loves so unconditionally and always thinks of others before herself. She has made me feel like we were family since the day I met her. She will be the most amazing mother. And Cody is one of the most passionate people I have ever met. He just thinks Nora has him wrapped around her finger, he has no idea what is coming! I can not wait to watch them go through the amazing journey of parenthood! 

     Little Miss Harper, we are absolutely ecstatic to meet you! You have a whole army of people so ready to love you, us included! We will always be here for you no matter what and we already love you so so much! Your fiery little bestie Nora is so excited about her "Harpie" she will probably be a little rough at first and maybe even jealous. But I have a feeling she will be very protective of you and teach you all kinds of fun things! Come on sweet girl, we are ready for you! 

Whoever is reading this, join me in saying a prayer for a safe delivery and a healthy momma & baby!! Congratulations Collins family, today your family grows by two feet and your hearts by a million! 

 

 

Oh Hi, Whats Up?

I am not sure if anyone is left to read this but if for some reason you decided to click over here today, Hi! I know I have said this in every one of my sporadic posts but I REALLY do miss blogging. Aside from that fact that I have no time, we also don't have WiFi at home so the only time I have a chance to blog is if I have a break at work. Anyway, I saw this link up on Miranda's page and thought it would be a fun catch-up post since I have a few minutes today!

 

Linking up for What's Up Wednesday

 

 

Eating.. I have actually cooked this week, shocker! Monday night I made one of my favorite recipes One Pan Balsamic Chicken & Veggies. Paul was working late plus he doesn't really care for this (veggies are not his jam) but he was working late so I made it for me and Nora then saved the rest for my lunches this week. Last night Paul had nachos, Nora had a quesadilla and I tried this Spaghetti Squash Burrito Bowl recipe, it was DELICIOUS. I have never tried the whole spaghetti squash thing but after this I am all for it! The picture isn't so pretty but I promise it was delicious and super filling (I only ate half the squash and put the rest up for tonights supper). Also Quakers, Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal is dabomb.com!

                                      

 

Reminiscing.. about how BEAUTIFUL my little sisters wedding was a couple of weekends ago! I realize my last post I was just announcing her engagement and now she is an old married woman! The wedding was so beautiful and intimate and after two weekends or torrential rain we were blessed with the most beautiful Fall day! I bawled like a little baby as she came down the aisle, I practically raised my sister and seeing her being all grown, marrying the man of her dreams was overwhelmingly exciting!

 

 

Loving.. this stage in Nora's life! 16 months has been SO much fun, she has the best personality. She is talking so much, mocking everything we do/say, dancing, running around and just being really awesome! I love watching her learn new things, her slobbery kisses and "wuh you"(love you) are the BEST ever!

We've been up to.. well since my last post we moved! We are now back in my hometown and it is just as incredible as I thought it would be. It is amazing being so close to my family, reconnecting with old friends and living the small town life! I do miss being so close to Lauren, Cody and Target but we still get to see our besties quite a bit and my bank account thanks me for the few & far between Target trips!

 I have known these girls most of my life!

  

and now our babies get to grow up together!

 

Dreading.. the leaves falling! The mountains are SO beautiful at home right now, I just wish they looked like that all year round!

                              

 

Working on.. wedding pictures from the wedding Lauren & I photographed last month! It was such a beautiful wedding and Lauren was SUCH a trooper running around with me being all adorably pregnant! We took over 3000 pictures so the editing process is taking quite a while!

 

Excited about.. speaking of Lauren! I am BEYOND excited about that beautiful baby girl she is growing in that tummy! Having my own daughter makes me 520% more excited that her & Cody get to experience all of this! They are going to be the best parents and Lauren is seriously the most STUNNING pregnant woman I have ever seen. She literally glows! I love that little family so much and cannot wait to meet sweet Harper or "Harpie" as Nora calls her! P.S. they will be the cutest baby besties ever!

 

 

Watching/reading.. we don't have a TV service yet either at the new house so we have been watching The OC on dvd. It is overly dramatic, addicting and I love it. Reading pretty much consists of Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Nora's favorite farm animal pop up book. I love how much she loves to read. She will lay down on the floor with a book and "read" all by herself. It is adorable!

                                          

Listening to.. my music is always a completely random mix but a reoccurring favorite the past few months has been a local guy that I know very well. He is a friend of my sister's and ever since she showed me a video of him singing in highschool I have been a fan. Well he finally put out an album (a for real album) this summer and it is phenomenal. Seriously you should check it out!

 

Wearing.. Per usual I don't have any Pinterest worthy outfit pics but I am loving cardigans and blanket scarves.On the other hand, if you ever see my kid she is dressed too cute for words! Let me just tell you baby sized scarves and cowboy boots are pretty much the cutest things you will ever see!

 

 

This weekend.. Trick or Treating of course! Or whatever the 16 month old version of that is.. Nora loves people so we should be able to convince her to walk up to at least one door but I don't see it lasting too long. She is dressing up as Boo from Monsters Inc. I had every intention of going all out and making the little purple monster costume but with all the wedding craziness and life craziness she will most likely end up in a pink shirt, purple leggings and pigtails. Don't judge, I promise she could care less.

 

Throwback to my itty bitty last Halloween!

 

Next month.. Thanksgiving. Because food, duh. Thanksgiving is my all time favorite holiday, the food, family time, weather, food, it is all amazing!

 

What else is new.. hmm.. I have developed a new love for yoga! When we moved  back I started working out with one of my friends who is a personal trainer and also teaches power yoga. I have been going to classes for the last few months and I love it so much, such a great workout and you get to lay out on your mat for 2 minutes at the end of class with a cool lavender towel at the end, its the best part.

 

 

Well that turned out a lot longer than I expected! If you are still reading, bless you! Hopefully I can get back to blogging every now and then!

Late Night Confessions...

 Hey y'all! I decided to knock the cobwebs off the ol blog for an edition of late night confessions! I've never really done one of these but since I can never seem to focus my attention on one thing for a post I figured I would just throw it all together in one. So if there is anyone left to read this (Hi!), here we go..

 

I confess.. 

 

I miss blogging terribly. I never wanted to let this little space go but it just sorta happened. Since I work full time I spend every spare second with my sweet girl and when she is sleeping it is time for chores and hubby time. So at least my time is well spent!

 

 I have always dreamed of an all white bed. I have NO clue how you ladies do it, I gave it a shot when we first got married but no matter how clean everyone in the bed is that junk still doesn't stay pretty white!

Dreamy 

 

Since I have been MIA in blogland my little sister got ENGAGED!! She ended a 5 year relationship not long ago (which I was very thankful for, great guy just not the one for her) and much to all of our (including her) surprise discovered the love of her life was someone who has been a dear friend her whole life! Anyone who knows me personally or has been around here for any length of time knows that my sister is practically my child. Since our Mom passed, in so many ways, I embraced her role in my sisters life. Not ever trying to take her place but always looking out for her and trying to instill in her everything that our Mom had instilled in me. Every milestone in her life has felt monumental to me and this was no exception. Even though I have trouble letting her be a grown up at times, I am so truly proud of the woman she has grown into just in the past 6 months. I am so happy for her and Dwayne and I can't wait to see what God has in store for their journey!

 

This kind of goes without saying but I am totally and completely obsessed with the most perfect little girl! Motherhood is a whole new kind of love!

 

I always heard you will love your husband more once you see him as a father. Truer words have never been spoken. Paul amazes me every day, seeing him with her fills my heart so much it could bust. The love I have for those two is the  can't-eat, can't-sleep, reach-for-the-stars, over- the-fence, World Series kind of stuff!! (movie reference anyone?)

 

This one is kind of big. A big change may be coming for our little family! As of now we are looking for a place in my hometown! Where I am from is a small town in the North GA Mountains which is only about an hour away from where we live now. I have always envisioned raising my family there, there is such a sense of community and security, I just feel complete being there. The main reason we haven't made the move sooner was the distance from our jobs. But after lots of prayer and discussion we have decided to look for a place to rent, give it a shot and see how it works out! I am very much a planner when it comes to these types of things but I am trying my very best to put it in Gods hands and let His will be done!

My 8 month old is still sleeping in her pack & play in our room. I never intended on her being there past 6 weeks but her room is upstairs and I just can't bring myself to put a whole floor between us. Sorry not sorry. #thatmom 

I tried on my bikini from last summer. Yikes. I've lost all my baby weight but I still need to lose the ten I gained pre pregnancy. My problem is I am not one of you super women whose body bounced back to its 17 year old self right after having a baby. No, I have this odd shaped, weird squishy belly and stretch marks from mid belly to mid thigh (you're welcome for the visual). So getting in a bathing suit is going to be hard for me this go round but it's happening because after a year without it mama needs the sun!

 

I got sucked in to the dang Bachelor

Again.. Totally team Becca, Whitney is obnoxious ..

I am freakishly excited for Easter and family coordinated outfits! Nora already has two Easter dress contenders lol

Well I had better wrap this ramble session up! If anyone reads this nonsense, I love ya!