That Day

For our Son, Colt.

My man, let me tell you about the day you were born.

You took us by surprise when we found out we were expecting you.

(Surprise...probably more like shocked describes it!)

But your birthday was planned.  

You were going to be our 9/9 baby.

(Did you know Daddy loves the number 9?!)

I slept pretty good the night before you were born.  But I was up at the crack of dawn with anticipation.  I showered and woke up Sis + Bud.  They put on their special big bro/big sis shirts we picked out.  Lila was in tears that she couldn't go to the hospital with me.  We kissed and hugged Gram, Pops, Tia and the twins and were off to the hospital by 6:30 AM.

I was excited.

I was nervous.

I was ready.

We didn't know where to check in or what floor to be on.  Some friendly people helped us out,
and before you know it, Dad + I were in our room.

And just like that!, I had an IV in my arm and gown on my body.  

My nerves were a-coming.

They wheeled me back to the room to get the party started, but daddy couldn't come back with me at first.  That was pretty terrible for me.  Because here is what you need to know about Dad + I.  We are tight.  He makes the bad days good, and the good days great for me.  He is my steady and he makes me feel unstoppable.  With him not there for a bit, I had to pull up my big girl panties and pretend to be brave.  I said some prayers for courage + strength
and just kept on focusing on the getting-to-meet you part.

It was just me + you Colt.  

I just knew I had to go through all this for you.

To get you.

They were some pretty terrible moments before Dad got in the room.  But once he was there, I immediately felt more secure.  There are already bits and pieces of your day that I can't remember, but I will never forget the way your Daddy looked at me when you were born.  Man did he make me feel beautiful.  (And you can look at the pics, I was a hot mess!)  And his eyes just reflected the intense love he felt for both you + I.

And then, you came.

And our family was complete.

You came out with a fire in your belly and a ferociousness in your soul.

You let it be known that you were finally here.

We were so glad you were here.

You were perfect.

You were the dream I stopped allowing myself to have.

You were a desire deep within Dad + I that we just couldn't abandon.

Until we did...and then God gave us you when we least expected it.

And we are so glad he did.

There are parts of your birthday that were kinda terrible for me.

But every part was worth you.

I fell in love immediately.

I fell deeper in love with Dad.

When the twins walked in our room to meet you, 

it was probably one of the happiest moments of my life.

Because we were all together for the first time.

Our family was now complete.

Our exclamation point had arrived.

Weekly Colt

A Little Bit of Everything

THIS JUST HAPPENED!

My sis + I are in a picture together {without children} for the first time in forever.

This pic was taken on the way out of Disneyland day #2.  

We were tired.

Our feet were sore.

I'm sure we were hungry.

We were feeling tremendously blessed.

It's still my dream that one day we will be next door neighbors.  

I want to take boot camp classes with her, carpool with the turds, 

come over for last-minute dinners, 

take in a concert or game with her + Rus, 

walk into her kitchen and know where everything is...

the list is endless.

In the meantime, I'm happy for fabulous times like these. 

In other notes of randomness--

We have been having so much fun cheering for our local teams with the twins.  

This was last Thursday for the Seahawks game. 

 It ain't easy being a fan of a Seattle team.

Not in the least.

We figure it's better that they learn that lesson while their young.

Last week Brian told us all to get in the car after dinner.  

We were going out for ice cream!

Can I be honest???  (Don't hate me!)

Ice cream isn't really my thing.  

I could go a very long time without the urge to eat it.

BUT the other 3 Swishers, who are NORMAL, love it.

And so sometimes, Brian declares it ice cream night.  

For no reason at all.

And  of course I have some too.

Because I want to be a part of this fun tradition Brian has created for our family.

The kids obviously just hate eating ice cream.  

Tonight after swimming class, the kids wanted both mom + dad to play in the pool for a bit with them.  Even though Brian + I had really long days, 

and the cold YMCA water wasn't something we were extremely excited about, 

we did it.

And we had the very best time.

And after we showered and all put our sweats on, we went out for pizza.

Sometimes simple nights like these make me happier than you can imagine.

My sis sent this pic to me from our trip.   

 The L's still nap, {THANK GOD!}, and so after lunch on these days they were a little sleepy.  

On this day we were waiting in line and sissy asked me to hold her.  

Within 60 seconds she was asleep.  

For about a 30 or 40 minutes I was able to hold my sweet little thing in my arms
just like I used to when she was a baby.  

And even though I was sweaty, and it hurt my back and my biceps were sore for 2 days,
I would do it again every time.
I sure do love my Lila Pearl.

This guy. 

I can't get enough.  

And his eyes--

...I love how in pictures I see my own.

It's weird really, but there is something kinda special about seeing a feature of your own on your child.

I used to kinda hate my puffy eyes in the pictures of me as a child.

But on my boy, I melt for them.  

It makes me love those puffy eyes now.

 And this guy--

I love him so.

Even if he thinks pictures like this are ever so funny.  

The weather guy just said we are having a warming trend in the next few days.  

It might warm up to the mid-50's.

Might.

Ready or not Karla, the next 8-9 months are gonna be rough.

Rough and wet.

Pumpkins

We made our annual patch outing with the cousins this past weekend.  

I'm not quite sure when all the turds became so big. 

 Trent will look me in the eye before I know it, Landon and I are pretty much in the same weight class, the twins can carry their own pumpkins 

and Carleigh's thighs have doubled since I last saw her.

Oh, TIME, you are such a son-of-a-gun.

My world.

Captured in one little posed picture at a pumpkin farm.

Oh yes, we did the hay ride.  

Brian's smile just seems to say, 'I'm living!' right there, doesn't it?!

First year doing the corn maze.  

And man, was I thankful to not have to do it again for another year.

We are the in-laws.  

(Da, da, daaaaaaa.)

And there is not a baby in the bjorn.  So that's interesting, no?!

And this lovely pic was snapped by Lincoln.

In the corn maze.

That I happily don't have to do for another year.  

(Did I already mention that?)

I love the pumpkin patch.

Even if it is our tradition that we always leave pumpkin-less.

That is what grocery store pumpkins are for!

Summer...so far!

Summer is exhausting.  And ever-so-fun.

Summer is so short here in the NW that we seem to jam-pack everything into a very small amount of time. 

Here are way too manysome pics from my iPhone.  After going through these, I now understand why I feel so spent.  

Summer is...

...portrait-taking...

...collar popping...

...train riding...

...parade watching...

...new bark...

...list making...

...lots of reading...

...new big-kid! bikes...

...tide-pooling...

...jam making...

...crashing...

...car washing...

...playing with dad...

...camping...

...the beach...

...sand castles...

..swimming... 

...fire-booms...

...chalk-painting...

...sunglass wearing...

...celebrating 11 years... 

...table making... 

...friends with cool slides...

...ballerina camp...

...superhero toys...

...cousins...

...knee-healing...

...big boys...

....mmmmmmmm...

...california cousins...

...tubs full of dirt...

...air shows...

...spiderman...

...lipstick...

...hitching a ride..

...bunny whispering...

...birthday-ing...

...dance partying...

I mean, we are just barely into August right?!
Bring it!
I just love summer.