August Instagram Photo Dump

I haven’t been great about blogging consistently lately, but I still want to keep a record of what our lives look like right now. There are every day laughs, joys, and blessings mixed in with the mundane to-dos, moments of frustration and a bit of randomness. And this is my outlet for it all. I want to take advantage of it, but not feel guilty about my lack of posts on a regular basis.

Enter Instagram. Although I don’t have an iPhone, I’m able to use our iPad to take quick snapshots of life. And so, I thought a dumping of Instagram photos from the month may help me produce an update more regularly. It also gives me an opportunity to explain my hoots a little more elaborately. Lucky you. :)

The end of the month falls very close to Hayden Kate’s monthly updates, so I should be able to sort through photos for both posts all at once. Efficiency is nice.

Analiese LOVES this dress. I picked it up on clearance last year from 77Kids (the kids store owned by American Eagle) and she would wear it every day if she could. Sister has some great style. Sometimes.

My girl, Kelsey, brought this chocolate back from Belgium for me. Delicious. She was on a six week long mission trip in Sierre Leone, Africa. Awesome sauce. She had such a great experience. It makes me long for my girls to have a heart for the Lord and to desire to share His love with others…even if it takes them miles and miles away from home.

On a random day, I decided cupcakes were in order. Other than the sheer goodness of the cupcakes, this was an awful day packed with loads of impatience–with myself and with Analiese. I vowed never to stay home all morning long again. I’ve broken that vow already, but I learned from that day to be more flexible with my plan and to be more loving to my two and a half year old.

We got a digital antenna hooked up just in time for the Olympics! This was a birthday wish of mine and it came true thanks to H. Ross. We even hosted a little Olympics watching get together with friends in our newly finished basement. I never thought that day would come.

Most of the time when I go into Analiese’s room to get her up for the day or from a nap, she is already wide awake. But on a few rare occasions I go in and find this sleeping beauty. I just want to snuggle right up with her. So at peace.

Another summer wish of mine was to have a grill that could cook up more than two pieces of chicken at a time. An “after summer” sale last year made that happen. Our new grill spent the winter and spring in a box in our garage, but has been getting lots of use this summer. My favorite thing to make is this pizza with roasted red pepper sauce. (Thanks, E!) Kelsey stayed with us for a few days while her parents took her big sis, Hailey, to college. This was dinner one night.

I really need to get Analiese a set of watercolor paints. I would be so much more willing to set her up to paint more often than I am with this paint from IKEA. Nevertheless, she is in her glory when I let this happen.

Smoothies, sunglasses, and a pretty party dress that Analiese wore on her second birthday and still fits in perfectly. Little peanut, that one.

Some days call for a baby belly just hanging out.

This one has been so smiley recently. Her dimple on her right cheek is the best.

We’re still figuring out night time sleep. Some mornings begin a lot earlier than I want them to and so we crash in bed together for a few minutes. Yes, only minutes. Snuggling with this one is not as cute as you may think. She is loud and grunty.

I think I emailed my cousin over a year ago for advice on purchasing riding boots. I finally purchased a pair and I’m still not sure about them. They are expensive…I want to be sure.

Every time I see the preview for The Great Gatsby I get excited…and i anticipate a future date night with my hubby. It looks so good. And it’s a Baz Luhrmann film…Moulin Rouge! And so I finally made a run to the library to check it out. (Sorry, any high school freshmen…I got the last copy.) I forget a lot of the book from when I read it in high school, but it is my best friend’s all-time favorite book and so I’m looking forward to revisiting Jay Gatsby and his crazy life on the Long Island Sound. So glad I don’t have to take a test on it this time.

Do you know what she’s doing with her spoon? She’s texting. Apparently, any inanimate object will do for a two year old.

A few months after Analiese was born, I wrote about sending out her birth announcements. It was just as therapeutic this time around and I’m so glad to have them done. Both Hayden Kate and Analiese slept great for the one nap that overlaps and I was able to get them stuffed, sealed and stamped. Ready to go.

We have a busy fall ahead of us. Lots of traveling for good things that make me smile. That means our fall project of painting the garage and replacing all of the wood trim needed to get bumped up a little before all of the craziness begins and we have to look at a red garage all winter long…again. Ross started tearing off the existing wood trim and we hope to make some more progress this weekend.