My Week in iPhone Pics: Boo to You Stomach Flu!

{My sunshine girl// Celebrating 4 years, it looked soooo good// Stomach virus weekend}

{Making "spaghetti"// Just hangin// Stripey baby}

 {I won these, nbd// Flower from my girl// Tired chickpea}

 {Tiny hand-holding!//Almost 35 weeks//Mommy snuggles and Daddy naps}

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend that this time does not include a stomach virus. Happy fathers day to all the dads, grandads, step dads, and dads to be! I can't wait to celebrate the two most important men in my whole world!

**Don't forget to come back Monday, I will be hosting my first ever giveaway and it is so full of ALL THE PRETTIES!**

A Brief History of Us

Today is my 4th wedding anniversary! Ok, it is Ryan's anniversary too I guess. In honor of that special day, here is a quick story of how we met (interspersed with A LOT of random photos that only date back to when I got a digital camera. I need a scanner for the truly good pics).

Actually, I'm not sure of the first time we officially met. He was a friend and a fraternity brother of my first college boyfriend and I know we spent time together in groups well before I actually "met" him. I even have a picture from about a year before our first date and we are both at the same party. I do remember talking to him about how some college guys were really creepy, but that he was too sweet and I couldn't imagine him being creepy if he tried. He also remembers being in a small group of my guy friends that come to my dorm room to watch the movie "Hook" and he fell asleep in my beanbag chair. First of all, how romantic right? And also? Who has a beanbag chair! Oh, every college student? Ok.

Those extremely exciting encounters aside, the first real part of our story began just before spring break of my sophomore year. Ryan's fraternity had a big dance up in Canada every year called "Sigma Chi Sweetheart" where they basically had a big party and named one girl the "Sweetheart" meaning she was important to the house etc. etc. and they gave her flowers and sang songs. I know, how 1950's of you! But you are not allowed to make fun... I became Sweetheart my junior year. Leave me alone! I was special, I got FLOWERS!

Anyway, I had just come out of a really long drawn out break up and my now ex-boyfriend and I decided it would not be a good idea to go to the dance together even though we remained (and still remain!) good friends. Because I was close with all the guys in the house I guess they wanted me to go and Ryan volunteered to take me. He secretly had a crush on me of course.

This is how he asked me: he printed out a poem and did that thing we learned in second grade where you dye it with tea and burn the edges to make it look all old. When I think about it now it is so hilarious to picture him doing that. What a nerd, I love him. He also gave me a rose which happened to be my favorite (yellow that turns orangey at the tips) and asked me to the dance. Of course I said yes.

Now this isn't your run of the mill first date. This is a 7 hour drive each way and a two night stay at a hotel. Now don't get any ideas, I'm a lady, there were no expectations of any funny business! In fact, one of our friends shared the room with us the second night! Just had to clear that up. Ok, we may have kissed, but that is neither here nor there. ANYWAY. I was a bit nervous to spend 7 hours stuck in a car for the first part of our first date. What if we didn't get along? What if it was super awkward and boring. Seven hours is a long time. (We were also driving in a big truck with rattlesnakes painted on the side. Yes it belonged to Ryan. That is another story entirely). Luckily one of my good friends and her boyfriend also needed a ride so we had them as our buffer.

Turns out we didn't need those fools because talking to Ryan was like talking to my best friend. It was like we had known each other for years. It was still fun to have our friends along teasing us and trying to make us uncomfortable, but from the moment we started our trip I knew this was something good. I don't even know how to describe what happened. I was not looking for a boyfriend, but by dinner that night we both just kind of acted like we were dating. It just happened and all of the sudden we were together. It was the most natural thing. We never talked about it. By the time we got back to school he was my boyfriend (though I didn't say boyfriend yet, I'm not crazy...he said it first).

I remember thinking to myself "I really hope I fall in love and marry this guy, because he is too nice to ever break up with." Seriously, I figured if that didn't happen I was going to have to be a really terrible girlfriend so he would break up with me because I could never do it. Luckily I did fall in love with him and 4 years ago today after 6(!!) years of dating, we got hitched. Best decision of my life.

I love you Ryan (just pretend he reads my blog) and I am so happy that we decided to become a family of two, then three, and now almost four! You are my best friend and the love of my life. Thank you for being exactly who you are.

30 days, 3 years and 13 months!

A lot to talk about in this post!

30 Day Shred: Week 3

I've been better about doing the shred this week. I did take Friday off, but 6 days out of 7 is better than my 5/7 last week right? I just keep reminding myself that it is much more than the NOTHING I was doing before. Tuesday night I did a different Jillian video on demand and when I jumped out of bed Wednesday morning to turn off the alarm I could barely walk! I don't know if it was her booty busting moves or the 2+ hour walk Lily and I took with my Dad, maybe both! I also feel like the stretching they do is never enough, but I just turn the video off and stretch by myself.

I don't feel like I am ready to move up to level 3 yet, so I will keep busting out level 2. That jerk Natalie is whooping my butt! I did get a comment from a friend I hadn't seen in a couple of months that I looked "smokin"...so there's that!

3 Years

Tuesday was Ryan and my 3 year wedding anniversary. We celebrated on Sunday by going to see X-Men: First Class at Cinebarre in Mountlake Terrace. Holy moly I LOVE that place! I had never been. For those of you not in the know, Cinebarre is a regular movie theater...only it is a bar! You have to be 21 to get in. The lobby is a regular bar and when you get to your seats you have a tabletop in front of you and a waiter that brings you food and drinks. AMAZING. It was so fun to carry my glass of wine from the bar into the theater. I may be immature but drinking during the day, especially in places where you don't normally get to, is so fun. The movie was great, it totally appealed to the super nerd that dwells behind this future-soccer-mom facade.

Afterward we took a trip out to Woodinville wine country (I swear I don't always center my life around alcohol), which is where we got engaged almost 4 years ago. We had a great time visiting the spot where Ryan proposed.

 Tree tunnels are my absolute favorite so it was very fitting that this was where he proposed. Also, the bench we sat on when he popped the question is called the "Love Bench" according to someone with a swiss army knife.

People were lining up for an outdoor concert (apparently it was Jethro Tull?), so we took advantage of their outdoor wine seller and plastic stemless glasses. It was a perfect day, 70 degrees and sunny with a slight warm breeze. If it weren't for Ryan's allergies I might still be sleeping on the lawn.

It was a fabulous day, but I was so happy to get home to my peanut.

13 Months

Lily is so funny these days. So smiley and loving. It melts my heart to see her expressing love all the time without prompt. She gives kisses and sweet snuggles randomly, always welcomed with huge smiles and thank yous from the recipient.

She has started pointing at the sky when planes go by. It may be my favorite thing. I hope to capture it in a photo someday soon.

She loves to imitate faces and motions. She won't always "perform" when I want her too, someone has a mind of her own! She also claps after everything she does and looks around to make sure that we are all clapping for her. It is hilarious. When she learns a new thing or does something we want her to do we clap and say "yay!" so she knows it was right. Positive reinforcement people! Now she expects it every time...uh oh. Oh, we are also starting to like "uh oh".

Play date with Stella. Apparently they find their mamas to be hilarious!

She is so close to walking, so confident, sometimes too confident. I have had to come to terms with the fact that she has many tumbles in store. I am always there with a snuggle and a kiss, but I can't hover around and bubble wrap the whole world. Watching your kid get bumps and bruises is so tough, but I am sure these physical owies are much easier to deal with than the emotional ones that are sure to come. First heartbreak? Kill me now. I will be more of a mess than she will!

Look at the awesome Pottery Barn chair that we got at a garage sale for $15! These things are usually like $100! This is her favorite place to stand and wave at cars/people/dogs/birds/trees. It took a few theatrical dives on to her face and much coaching from Mom and Dad, but she now knows how to safely get out of the chair. We are also working on getting off the big couch and eventually going down the stairs.

I can see her little mind working all of the time. She knows what I say to her and does things when I ask her to (unless she doesn't want to...stubborn!). It is just amazing that she went from a soft little lump to this completely conscious being in such little time. I know more words are coming and every time I see a new concept click in her brain it is like tiny fireworks in my belly. Better than new shoes. Not that I wouldn't mind new shoes.

I fully plan(ned) to continue the Ugly Doll pictures at least through the next year, but I just haven't taken the time to do it. She has been 13 months for almost 2 weeks now, is it too late?

I have a big weekend coming up. Wedding season has fully begun and one of my girlfriends is having a bachelorette weekend in our old stomping grounds of Walla Walla. I am going to miss my little pea, but she and her daddy will have lots of good bonding time leading up to Father's Day.

How did the second week of the shred go for those of you who are doing it? Anyone else enjoy day drinking in forbidden locations like I do?