{me time}

me time. it's a rare occurrence around here.
between being a mommy of three {princess'} girls and having a hubby who works enough for 4 people...
i manage to stay pretty busy. no complaining here, just life as {i} know it.

here's my latest attempt at getting in a little me time...

...love making these. totally time consuming, but love every second of it. what do you think?

rolly polly

in more ways than one.
i feel like my posts have been all things riley lately.
it's something new everyday with her. i love this age.
this week is rolling. she is quite the pro now.
due to all those precious folds {see pictures}, this was no easy task to master.
i love the proud expression that occupies her sweet face each and every time.
don't even get me started on those rolls...♥  

ready...set...go...

completely irresistable

what is it about babies & their toesies.
maybe it's just me, but i think they are simply delicious, beyond precious.
riley found her feet this week. she loves them. it's like a new toy she keeps discovering for the first time.
i cannot get enough of this new pose...

♥

LOVE.

not just any purse.

my new camera bag...yes, it's a camera bag!

pretty stylish don't ya think?

thank you daddy and girls...i ♥ u

P is for park {F is for fun!}

practice makes {perfect}

chloe is on her third session of swimming lessons.

when we initially signed her up, she was very excited to be off the sidelines.

she wanted to do all the things big sister was doing.

that excitement quickly faded into apprehension. each lesson became a battle to get her in the water.

she did however, take a liking to a teacher...miss margeurita...as long as she was there, chloe was okay.

for this last session {before our move} we decided to go with private lessons. with the above mentioned teacher, of course. chloe is LOVING it.

yes it's a bit lot more expensive, but in just two days we have seen leaps and bounds of improvement.

the best part, she is so happy and that apprehension...a thing of the past.

watch out ella..here comes chloe!

{1st day of summer}

it's official. summer is here.
it seems as though the sun was trying to make a statement today.
at one point my thermometer read over ninety. no turning back now.
i took the girls outside just as the sun was starting to set. it was beautiful.
i love how you can almost feel the warmth in these pictures...

♥5 months♥

you are 5 months today!!

you are a rolly polly baby and i love it
you are sprouting your first tooth, much earlier than your big sisters
you are an eater and still nurse every two hours
you are learning to take the bottle and chugged down 3 ounces for daddy last week. good girl!
you are sleeping better at night, usually down around 8pm and up again to eat around 5am
you are very interested in what mommy and daddy are eating. gonna start you on solids this month
you always have your little tongue sticking out {see pictures}
you seem to have skipped the 6 month size and do much better in 9 months. big baby.
you love to have blow outs. this is more recent and is becoming more frequent.
you watched your first ballet recital and made it through the whole thing...over two hours!
you had your first non-family member babysitter {uncle alex} and you were a good girl. or so he says.
you are getting very loud and i often times have to leave the "cry room" at church cause you love to make noises.
you will grab anything and everything if it's within your reach..including hair. ouch.
you can now bounce yourself in the bouncy seat. almost too bouncy. it is pretty funny.
you are still the most easy going baby ever and i am just fine with that.

riley roo, we love you so much!

prima ballerina

ella had her first ballet recital yesterday. it was precious.

it brought back all of my own memories...the hours of practice and rehearsals,ballet buns,getting to wear stage makeup, hanging out backstage, getting so excited my tummy hurt...i loved every single second of it.

it was so special to watch ella experience her first performance. just like her mommy, she absoultely loved it.

my favorite pictures of the day...

daddy's day

my girls are so blessed to call this guy their daddy...

i love that they completely adore you.

i love that the very sound of your voice makes them giggle.

i love that they still race to the door each night when you come home.

i love that you are their prince charming,

i love how they long for the weekends, simply because daddy will be there.

i love that you are a daddy of 3 girls.

i love that you wear pink, and are proud of it.

i love that you sit and play barbies and dress up.

i love that you are totally willing to attempt to do their hair.

i love that watching a two and half hour ballet recital was your idea of a perfect way to spend father's day.

i love that they are your entire world.

thank you for all that you are to them and their mommy. we ♥ u with all our hearts.

{a bug story}

pretty disgusting right?! i was greeted this morning by this very UNwelcomed visitor.

i figured that since this blog is titled {life as we know it...} i had to share this moment with you all.

let me re-create the scene for you...

barth was out the door early this morning headed to a scope course for work. we had a busy day ahead so i decided to get up and shower before the girls. i headed to the bathroom and turned on the shower. just like every other morning chloe decided to wake up too early. i picked her up and tucked her into our bed, hoping she would catch a few more minutes of sleep. as i turned to walk back to the bathroom i saw something move across the floor out of the corner of my eye. my first thought was a mouse...yes it was that big...upon getting a better look i soon realized what i was up against {see above picture}. i was terrified. (i absoutely, positively do not like bugs) but this was not just any bug, this was the mother of all bugs. it was huge and even worse it was a fast mover. YUCK. like lightening i jumped onto my bed screaming. chloe thought mommy had lost it. poor girl. ella entered the scene and i told her to get on the bed. by now both my children sat nervously laughing, watching, wondering what was mommy going to do next. my first thoughts were why of all days does barth have to be gone right now, on a saturday nonetheless, and how the heck am i going to get off this bed and destroy this creature. i tried the magazine method, no luck there, plus it was a little too close for comfort. i made a call to barth who of course did not answer. next on the call list, my mother. i know there was absolutely nothing they could do, but i didn't know what else to do at that point. both were pretty entertained at my current state of being. i decided to get the vacuum. it had an extension on it that may be my only way out of this nightmare. the beast decided to crawl to the corner behind a large chair and pillows. now i couldn't even see it. being the loving mother that i am, i told ella to run to the chair and jump on it, hopefully scaring the bug out of hiding. i was desperate and she was somewhat willing. loving mother right? after many, many, attempts my plan worked. it came running out. the girls were screaming, and i was too. with the vacuumed in hand i very ungracefully sucked it up after many failed tries. it was over. an hour later, yes an hour, we finally could get on with the morning.

i absolutely love living in southern californina, but those bugs are one thing i could positively live without. but hey, that's life as we know it. wow, what a morning. my skin is still crawling...is yours?   

a summer stroll

the days are getting longer. the nights a little warmer. perfect for an evening stroll.

this little girl loves her sunglasses. outside or inside. it's a must.

i love the flowers here. these hibiscus are as close to hawaii as we are going to get. for now. 

ella & daddy. i hope they never get too old to hold a hand.

a daddy's girl.

toesies. one of my favorite parts to kiss♥