get away.

for valentine’s day, aaron (kind of) surprised me with a night at the lodge. i say "kind of" because aaron and i can never keep secrets from each other and are the worst at surprises in the whole world, so naturally the surprise didn't last all the way until valentine’s day...

we had overlapping family members to babysit for a while on wednesday evening, so aaron and i went out for chinese food and hung out alone for a while. then we picked up our babies and spent the night and morning at the lodge before i had to go to school for an exam. we love spending time there, its cozy and old and is just a little mini vacation even though it's now only about 15 minutes away from where we live;) we've been going there for years and it holds lots and lots of memories for us, from dating to marriage to one baby to two. one night was not enough time away for me, but it was so nice to have a chance to connect with aaron and spend time in the game room with roman (one of our favorite things to do!). it was also fun to see my two boys running ahead of me down the halls. i can remember being at the lodge when it was just our little family of 3 and dreaming of having two little ones and now that dream is a sweet and precious reality in my life.

i love getting away, and am cringing at the thought that we probably won't go anywhere for our spring break/seven year wedding anniversary this year. it would be fun, but it would be a better idea for us to put that money away for bigger and better adventures that we are hoping to put into the works soon!

// and yes, roman has a broken arm! for the SECOND time in his life. his cast comes off in 

about two weeks. i love that he chose pink and green for his colors :)//

so good.

just some photos from last night. i took them with my computer and they are dark and blurry and horrible quality, and i wouldn't have them any other way. sometimes getting the perfect photo becomes exhausting and meaningless. and these photos to me are full of purpose and love.
 asher and i got to spend a little time alone last night - taking these photos, playing our hug and tickle game, and then i nursed him to sleep as he played with my hair of course. and as i watched his little face up on the screen, i just felt in awe. he is beautiful. and wonderful. these asher baby days are a whirlwind all around me, but i got a little chance tonight to step back and see what a beautiful little soul i have in my life. it isn't always perfect, but God is always good. so good.

visit me today at spearmint baby :)

chapstick.

who knew a baby putting on chapstick could be so cute?

 if only a photo could capture one of asher's new favorite things to do which is to put one finger on his lips and say "hmm. hmm" 

oh my goodness, cutest thing ever...
also, i'm over on spearmint baby today! so thankful for the opportunity to write on such a wonderful site :) 

five.

well with all these updates on little ash, i  have to include an update on roman who turned FIVE over a month ago. it about broke my heart, but now that i've settled into it - five is pretty much the most perfect thing i can think of. roman is growing up so much but he is still such a little boy who needs his mom + dad so so much and thrives on being with his family and being at home. i'm so happy that he is still little and i'm so lucky to spend all day every day listening to his sweetness all around me. sigh. i absolutely adore this boy and everything about him.

he wasn't really into photos this day but i had to try because i absolutely love that hat and his little colorful skinny jeans that he always wears. he went through a phase of wearing that hat everyday all day.

one + a half.

happy one + a half times around the sun little one!

(turned 18 months on tuesday)

brothers.

life lesson that i am still learning - don't make photography forced with your children. of course i had in my mind these amazingly cute photos of my boys wearing matching outfits but i ended up just getting so frustrated with roman because he was being persnickety and wouldn't smile. which is just hilarious because why do i expect my son to smile on command?? oh well. regardless – still happy that I got an updated shot of these brothers :)

it is so interesting to see the way that asher looks at roman. he literally admires him in the deepest sense of the word. he is constantly watching roman and doing everything that he does. i constantly catch this happening. roman laying on his back reading a book on the bedroom floor - asher grabs a book and lays next to him mimicking him. roman jumping from bed to bed fighting imaginary bad guys - asher following him, jumping and making fighting sounds as well. the other day roman left the room to grab a shirt. when he came back in, asher was right behind him holding his own shirt. he watched roman put his shirt on and brought me his shirt to put on! I DIED.

just loving, loving the chance to watch my boys grow daily into their own individuality and also watch their relationship grow as brothers.

such a blessing :)