Today, Marcus and I celebrate our third wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe that three years have gone by since I donned that white dress and walked down the aisle towards him. Over the past three years our love has continued to grow. He has gone from being my best friend to my husband and now our son’s dad. Love is truly grand!
Sometimes I feel like I could use an extra day after a three day weekend. How about you? Ours consisted of heading to Lake Panorama to take in the sights and sounds.
[evie’s first boat ride – he doesn’t care for the life jacket]
[morning walks are tough when you have a butterball strapped to you]
[suns out, guns out]
[thanks to all of the service men and women, past and present]
Hope you had a relaxing Memorial Day weekend!
This past weekend we loaded up the car and headed over to Pella, Iowa for the day. We missed their annual Tulip Time Festival a couple of weeks ago and were hoping to still get a peek at the late season blooms. Copious amounts of almond paste and a picnic in the town square followed…
[that’s my boy: Evie checking out the goods]
[these were perfection]
[a mandatory stop: Jaarsma Bakery]
[Dutch for the day]
I pulled this insert from the Sunday paper a couple of weeks ago and am making it my summer goal to do more day trips around our great state. Do you have any must-see Iowa towns/attractions that should be on our list?
I don’t know if you are like me, but I accumulate a large amount of photos of my child. I mean, it’s a bit out of control.
Since Evie came into the picture (literally) I have already had to up my iPhone storage. Every day he is doing something different (that as a mom I deem photo worthy) and just getting cuter and cuter. How can I resist snapping pics of his growing amount of leg rolls?! It’s simple. I can’t.
I know this past weekend is usually reserved for celebrating moms, but my dad’s birthday just so happens to fall around the same time as well. This year, it was an extra special birthday as the big guy turned 60!
A while back my little sister came across this amazing birthday idea and we knew how special it would be to replicate it for our dad. So that is exactly what we did. Lots of laughter and tears followed.
After spending the morning together reminiscing and eating pancakes and bacon, we moved the party to Principal Park to watch the Iowa Cubs make an epic comeback.
[evie’s first trip to the ballpark]
[my boys lookin’ all cute]
Ev’s favorite things:
Vtech soothing songs bear
happy baby yoga pose
being outdoors (he gets this from his daddy)
Boxes for Billy: Local author (and friend) Billy Dohrmann created this book encouraging children to see more in the world around them. Imagination can be a very powerful thing! I picked a copy up for Everett at the recent book release party at Eden.
Merona maxi dress: Maxi dresses just seem like they were made for moms. I always look for thicker straps and something that isn’t too low cut. Evie is in a grabbing/pulling stage right now…
Mother: Created by two super stylish mom’s, this new lifestyle and parenting site makes motherhood look pretty darn amazing.
This Sunday will be my first Mother’s Day and I now understand the true importance of it.
Becoming a mom is by far the greatest (and hardest) thing I’ve ever done. Not a day goes by (more like minutes) that I don’t worry/care/obsess over my son. It is both exhausting and rewarding at the same time. To know that I had a hand in creating a life is such a powerful thing and it has forever changed me.
So moms, take an extra long shower this weekend/get a mani/run a child-free errand – whatever your heart desires, and know that you are appreciated, loved and amazing!
Still looking for LOCAL last minute gifts for your mama? Look no further:
Yesterday was all about team bonding! There is nothing quite like getting out of the office with co-workers and painting on the sidewalk for an afternoon.
DMU has a square every year as part of the Drake Relays and due to rain we had to reschedule our paint day. Sun was shining – couldn’t have been more perfect!
Have I mentioned lately that I love my job?
I have always loved May Day since I was a kid, so of course I have to introduce my traditions to Ev this year even though he’s a little too young to understand it all.
I’ve created printable May Day tags for you to use too!
Can’t wait to ring those bells tonight and leave some goodies on our family and friend’s doorsteps.
Tomorrow's To Dos 