4 Months - 4 Months - 4 Months

 Time Flies! Our little Peanut is 4 months old :) She may not be growing as quickly, but her brain has definitely been ticking with how much she has learned this past month!

 We have our doctors appointment later this morning, which will include her second round of shots. I'm a little nervous just because on top of the shots, she's teething! I suspect we'll have one sleepy and cranky girl this afternoon...

But here's the scoop:

• She can tolerate the swing, but it definitely doesn't rock her to sleep.
• She enjoys helping Mommy put away clothes (OK, really, it's more like I can happily tote her around and she'll just lay where she's put while I put things away or pick up the apartment)
• She loves to smile - and will even laugh sometimes! She's still a chatterbox, and has learned to do some high-pitched "screams" - she likes it when Mom and Dad squeal right back at her.
• In stores, she prefers to be swung in her carseat rather than being placed in the cart... or better yet, we should hold her or put her in the Baby Bjorn (the carrier works well if she's about to fall asleep).
• Teeth. Yes, we have an early teether on our hands - her two front, lower teeth are poking through! She does not know what to think of them, but she is definitely not enjoying the teething process. The early teething definitely comes from Grizz's side - his older sister got her first teeth when she was about 3 months!
• She still likes baths, and even if she doesn't, she will quiet right down when it's time to brush her hair - she's like her Daddy who likes his head scratched :)
• Rolling over! She would roll from her tummy to her back every once in awhile starting way back at her 2 week appointment... well, now she is rolling from her back to her tummy! It just goes to show how much she dislikes being on her back - anytime we put her on her back, she rolls right to her tummy! Anytime we put her down on her tummy, she stays put.
• She will spin in circles while on her tummy but she hasn't scooted forward or backwards yet - even though she's trying to! She usually has her feet kicking, but she just hasn't quite figured out how to scoot.
• She loves standing with assistance - she prefers that to sitting on our laps.
• Naps are a little hard to come by (she'll fight them!), but she still sleeps really well at night... waking only once (or not at all) to eat and then fall right back asleep.
• She loves putting things in her mouth, but she hasn't quite figured out how to keep things there to chew or suck on. This fact hasn't helped the teething process.
• Nursing is still going well!
• Cloth diapers are also going well - I have to wash every day or every other day, but I don't mind... we were in Missoula for a few days earlier this week, and I just kept her in disposables for the entire trip... I couldn't wait to get her back into cloth once we got home!
• She's almost grown completely out of her 0-3 month onesies, but she can still fit into a few. She's comfortable in her 3-6month onesies.
• We haven't even tried a bottle in several weeks - she just doesn't like them! She doesn't take a paci every once in awhile... even if it's just to chew on it :)

Ok, that's all the updates I can think of... sorry for such a long post, but it's mostly to help me remember her likes and dislikes once she grows older!

Glacier Wedding Eye-Candy

Just sit back and enjoy a "few" wedding day collages :)

 The couple in Two Medicine, where the actual ceremony took place.

 A romantic lace wedding gown on the beautiful bride and a handsome groom in an Air Force uniform.

 Bundt Cakes!

 The Reception Tent

Two of the centerpieces and a cute photo-prop sign...

 Tent Decor

 More Decorations 

 The Bride's Things

 Small Details

 I love watching the photographer work!

And finally, a little bit of scenery :)

Remembering the Music

Two years later: Remembering the music of our special day... music just adds so much to a wedding ceremony, and we wanted our music selections to be unique yet traditional. 

Here's what went down:

This was actually at the end of the ceremony... instead of having everyone say the Lord's Prayer together, I asked one of my college girls to sing it. I already had a CD with her singing it, so I knew it would be an amazing finish to the ceremony. 

 Our piano player was a good friend of ours who actually married Grizz's cousin. She was a choir teacher, but she is a stay at home mom - their first little one is about 8 months older than Peanut! Anyways, a little back story: about half a year after meeting this amazing piano player who has a wonderful voice to match, a group of us went up to Mt. Carmel near Alexandria, MN for a winter weekend of friendship, snowshoes and xc skis. We held our own church service where this girl sat down and played just about any hymn from the book we asked her to. She also played a gorgeous version of All Creatures of Our God and King - a popular hymn that a Christian artist recently added his flair to. Soooo, when we were deciding what congregational hymns to sing at our wedding, we of course had to include Grizz's now-cousin-in-law playing All Creatures of Our God and King. My college girl lead the songs while the piano played.

Congregational hymns (played with piano and a vocal leader):

• All Creatures of Our God and King - traditional hymn redone by the David Crowder band
• Mighty to Save - Hillsong United

(If you've never heard either of these songs, I suggest you search You-tube!)

We chose to have congregational hymns over having soloists as a way to include the congregation in our special day. However, as I was searching for first dance songs, I found "This Day" by Jadon Lavik. It is not very well known at all, but I fell in love with the lyrics. When I shared it with Grizz, he just up and offered to sing it while playing the guitar. Yes, please!!

Solo

• This Day - Jadon Lavik

 On a side note... it was incredibly awkward to stand up there without him! Well, it was a bit awkward to stand up in front of everyone throughout the ceremony. No one ever talks about that! I resisted the temptation to look out at everyone, as I did not want to see that all eyes were on us. Ugh. Even during the congregational songs... have you ever just stood and stared at your guy and sang for two entire songs? Haha. It's just one of those things I have to laugh about when I think back to that special day :)

 Last but not least, I needed to have the organ playing at least sometime during the ceremony. There's just something so inspirational about organ music in a church sanctuary. I would choose that over a piano any day. Luckily I have an aunt who still plays the organ (it's becoming a lost art!); she gets called on to play at weddings a lot. She played for our prelude, processional and recessional... this is the part we get very traditional!

Prelude:

• Music chosen by organist

Processional:

• Wedding Party - Canon in 'D' (sometimes referred to as Pachabel's Canon)
• Bride - Jesu, Joy of Our Desiring

Recessional:

• Trumpet Tune

That's all folds... the music at our wedding ceremony. I can't believe it's already been two years... it is so fun to look back and reminisce!

*Photography by Black Studios.

Joyful Sundays

Same song as last week. What a wonderful reminder.

More Scenic Color Cards

These may be the last ones for awhile, but I do so love to create them :)

 Ocean Waves: A California Beach next to California waves...

 Pumpkin Row: My parents' porch. A lovely fall scene...

 Muted Rainbow: I was surprised to see what colors came out of this photo. I expected brighter, but I love the muted tones...

Robin's Egg: A sure sign of Spring. A scene from a trail run...

Nature Inspired Color Cards

If you can't tell, I've had plenty of time to play on the computer while cuddling a fussy little Peanut. I hope to sew or craft soon :)

 Lake Sunrise: From an early morning at XC camp. I love waking up early to see the colors that the sunrise paints in the sky :)

 Lilac Love: My favorite flower. I love the smell and I love the colors.

Mountain Hikes:  This was a gorgeous day with plenty of photography inspiration. Here is some bear grass with a glacier lake in the background. Love.

Joyful Sundays

This was the second verse of the song we sang at the beginning of the funeral a few weeks ago. 

I like it. 

There is a calm assurance that Peanut can face this crazy, unpredictable world because He, our Savior, lives.

Three Wedding Color Cards

 Green Wedding: A picture from a friend's wedding day shows the multiple green hues with silver and black accents. A beautiful wedding :)

 Muted Bouquet: This came from my brother's wedding... with a few tweaks in photoshop!

Muted Glitz: Golds and reds were center stage at my cousin's fall wedding. Perfect for autumn!

More Color Cards

It's been awhile since I posted color cards, but I found these while I was cleaning folders off the computer (Peanut is asleep in my arms again!). These are made using my own photography in Photoshop.

 Garden Full: Perfect for the Spring and Summer... purples and greens are my favorite colors, plus this combo reminds me of my wedding. I didn't care what the shades were; I just mixed and matched all shades of purple and green... I like to think it created more depth than if I had just stuck with one shade of each. :)

 Golden Flight: I come from a big bird-watching family, so I was excited when I got a great picture of the common Goldfinch as it ate from one of my dad's many birdfeeders. I think this combo would be a great color scheme for a sunroom.

 Gravel Road: Yes, this is an actually picture of a gravel road. I grew up in the country, and I look forward to moving back to the country soon. This scheme is full of great neutrals...

 Mini Exotic: I still don't know what type of plant or bug this is. I took this shot in McCrory Gardens in Brookings, SD. This combo would be great in a kids' bathroom or even a bedroom or playroom. Bright, saturated colors!

Tree Rings: I've always loved taking macro shots of tree stumps trying to get as much detail of the rings and cracks as I could. "Tree Rings" is another neutral color scheme, perfect for a muted lap quilt or for a rag rug... understated details in a simple room.

Joyful Sundays

I found this in the folder that I keep all the pictures that I hope to post eventually. It isn't perfect for this particular Sunday, but it works.

Lifting up our voices and singing can be difficult during difficult times, but in all circumstances we must find reasons to rejoice.

Today is the prayer service for Grizz's aunt. She has been fighting breast cancer since last July (remember this quilt?). Tomorrow is the funeral.

One of my uncles passed away just a few months ago. He had been fighting various cancers for several, several years.

So, even though we're only 5 months into 2013, we've already said good-bye to two family members, but we have also welcomed one. In all circumstances we must find reasons to rejoice. Alleluia.

Meet the Little Bundle :)

On April 7... we went from Team Green to Team Pink!

 Our little girl was born at 7:37 ... weighing 7pounds 1 ounce ... and measuring 19.5 inches

 She came 10 days before her due date, but I sure wasn't complaining that she wanted to come early! Her room (well, more like her corner) was as ready as it was going to be!

 And so, we welcome Evelyn into our lives :)

 We chose to pass on having a professional photographer come in and take Evie's newborn pictures, so yesterday, in between feedings and diaper changes, I was able to take a few pictures. Thankfully, Grizz and I were able to agree on one for the birth announcements - I'll be addressing those envelopes this afternoon!

 We took her 1 week picture as the last setting in the "photo shoot," and she was getting a little feisty...

We decided to be done after this shot :)

PS: From now on Ev will affectionally be known as "E" until a name that goes with Grizz and Dove comes to us!

Picturesque Yellowstone

This past weekend, we headed down to Yellowstone with a few of our friends (Neighbor and her Fiance). We stayed one night in West Yellowstone and then we were taken into the park, where we stayed one night in a cabin near Old Faithful. I'll post more about what we did and what we saw in future posts, but to begin, here are some of the scenes and sights that we were able to enjoy :)

 Even in the middle of winter, when everything should be white and blah... color was bountiful in Yellowstone!

 Steam/fog/mist was everywhere as heat came out of vents and geysers and even rivers.

 Old Faithful was as amazing as ever - during the day, at twilight and from the Observation Point trail.

 Bison. Bison. Everywhere. Those future posts of mine will describe a few run-ins with them while we were on the trails, but here, let's just enjoy the steady serenity they seem to posses as they calmly dig through the snow for food.

 Last but not least, a few quick details... it has been awhile since I've had such great lighting while using my camera, so I couldn't pass these moments up!

Yellowstone Post #2
Yellowstone Post #3