back to the frozen tundra!

weeee'rrrrree back from the lovely bahamas and were welcomed back to indiana with 9 inches of snow. nine. inches. it was sheer nonsense, but there really is no place like home and we're glad to be back in our own beds!

we cruised on a 4 night royal caribbean trip and, while i know i am 100% in the minority, i really, truly prefer carnival over RC. crazy, i know! the food, entertainment, everything is so much better on carnival!!! regardless though, it was incredible to get away sans toddler for a week (especially since a new babe will be gracing us in july)! ps... i'm not complaining that we had a vacay, we just all decided that next time we'll stick with carnival! :)

i made a point to take almost all my pics on my actual camera and not just my phone and those pics haven't been dumped to my computer yet, but here's a few from my phone! ptl for vacays!

my dear becca and i! 

in nassau, we rented scooters and toured the island, hit up the market, 

ate at the best local hole in the wall and ended the day at the beach!

the beauty on our scooter ride. so peaceful!

mel & joe flew down from mn to meet us for the trip and brought their sweet 

elias with them (he stayed w his auntie for the week). he's pure sugar!

so glad to have gotten away for a bit, but so happy to be back and getting into the groove of things again! vacay (with or without kiddos) is necessity for my soul!

the biggest wedding of the year!!

my dear friend, becca, and her love, jarred, got hitched this past weekend!!! another eharmony marriage for the win! we are still in florida doing some post-wedding relaxing for a couple days, but since it's currently monsooning & the babe is napping, i guess i should give the ol blog some love!! we have had the BEST time seeing old friends, introducing our wild toddler to our friends' kiddos & marrying off our girl!

traveling with a kiddo can always be unpredictable no matter how much you pack, how early you get to the airport, etc! luckily, we have a pretty low key boy and haven't lost our minds yet! holden has done pretty good overall... he was manageable on the plane, but was a full time job for both grant & i!

thankfully, the flight wasn't full (super rare going to florida), so we had an extra seat for holden. although the extra seat was nice, that doesn't mean i'm gonna enjoy paying full price for holden after next month... 😔

h didn't sleep a wink on the flight into tampa, but konked out the second we hit the road for ft myers. ptl! we borrowed a pack n play while here and h has slept well for the most part... except for that one night he would NOT fall asleep for the life of him and ended up booting grant to the couch so he could sleep w me. sharing a bed w a toddler will never be enjoyable to me. he was on and off of me all night, feet/hands/butt in my face, sweating all over me, etc. however, my view the next morning made my heart happy... #cute

on wed night, a group of us took becca out for a fun bachelorette party! we ate at a cute new restaurant downtown, took her on a crazy scavenger hunt & then went to joslyn's for dessert, presents & marriage/sex info overload!!!

 the gang: julie, kristen, joslyn, becca, rachel, ashley, mel & i

the only pics i have from the rehearsal night! holden was a busy body (aka eating bubbles & running all over kingdom come), so pics weren't really on my mind! jarred was just a liiiiitle excited to get hitched!

smartypants bride had chalk at the rehearsal dinner. besides h being covered head to toe, it provided entertainment for sure!

first looks are my fav! not only does it give the groom a chance to really see how good his bride looks, it makes the schedule go so more smoothly! all pics were done long before the ceremony, so we all got to enjoy the cocktail hour and get out of the heat post-ceremony! we were all spying on the first look from the hotel room! doesn't she look famous w all her paparazzi? guess that's what happens when a photographer gets married...

my girls!!! hauling our butts down the street to sbux. totally necessary! we made quite the scene around town and everyone had a comment about us as a group.

the 4. through thick & thin... multiple weddings, two baby boys & med school. these are my bests.

little buddy rockin the coral like his mama. totally necessary! :)

had to throw in kerry's pic. should be a famous iphoneographer for sure!

remind me to never do crazy eyes like this again! shirley & kerry make any party a good time!

loved the ceremony & reception site. art center downtown ft myers! totally unique. they had these fab lights outside that lit up the whole building. amazeness. 

becca & jarred, i wish you nothing but good cheers! you guys are perfect for each other & compliment each other in all the right ways. being a part of your big day was a dream come true and i expect nothing, but lots of lil babies to spoil in the future!!!! xoxo

PS- if you haven't entered for the stella & dot pouf on last monday's post, you crazy!!! the odds are SO good! go do it now! :)

fourth fun!

we survived! 20ish hours in the car with a toddler... i'd say surviving was quite the accomplishment!

wish i could say he was happy like this the entire way...

this past week, we hit the road to minnesota to visit my family for the fourth! the main purpose of the trip is my dad's side of the family has their annual fam reunion. my dad has 13 brothers & sisters (all biological & no multiples!), so getting the abbott family together one a year is no small task! 

12 of the 14 siblings. my dad is number 12!

i cherish this time w family each year. it's the one time we get together, play games & catch up for the year unless there's a wedding or funeral!

we set up a mini pool & sprinkler for the littles to play in! there was a high of 89 that day, so keeping them cool was key! oh, and water balloons added a fun twist, too. did i mention abbott's like to prank one another?? :)

playing in the grassy water (yuck...). the water was freezing and he never actually made it in the pool!

we had a great time watching fireworks on the fourth, too! this boy sure loves his grandpa!

there was plenty of down time this trip, which is unusual, but more than great! 

the relaxing view from my parents' house. such sweet memories from this house growing up!

we played yard games, chased the doggies, ate ice cream, went for "tractor" rides... 

my dad is so good with holden! anytime holden saw grandpa, he immediately started saying tractor and wanted to play with the dozens of tractors my brothers had growing up!

and, thankfully, holden adjusted perfectly to sleeping at my parents' house! that's always a concern... although it's really never been an issue (clearly!).

on our last day there, we blew up a little pool for holden & went out to eat. our last dinner as a fam was at one of our favs! side note: i'm loving holden in rompers right now! 

again, he wouldn't get in...

he slept longer on the way home than on the way there. we may have run tolls, though, to ensure he didn't wake up!! oops. 

all in all, it was a great trip! good family time, fun stella & dot party for my mom & a great time enjoying the freedom we have here in america!

anniversary getaway!

grant & i barely ever get away. when we lived in fl, any vacation days we had were spent flying to indiana or minnesota to visit family. it was always bittersweet that we were still jumping town, but didn't necessarily get a relaxing vacation! now that i'm a stay at home mama, i get to sing songs all day long & read dozens of books like it's my job, BUT... that doesn't mean you don't need a break sometimes!

grant's mom agreed to watch holden for a couple days so we could skip town and hang out in chicago sans baby! and ptl for that! :)

we pretty much shopped and ate the. whole. time. and both of those things are a million times more enjoyable when you don't have a baby with you! can i get an amen?

if you follow my instagram, it's no secret that i'm slightly obsessed with dunkin donuts. we had a dd within 5 min from everywhere in the fl city we lived in. now... i have to go to indianapolis or chicago (or florida!) for one! no fair!!!!

after coffee, the first thing on the agenda was home goods. if you aren't familiar, it's basically a tj maxx, but ALL home decor. it's my jam and i scope one out any chance i get!

-home goods selfie-

-the things you notice when you don't have kids distracting you. seriously creeped me out for a sec!-

since grant just moved into his office that he's leasing, we hit up ikea to find a few new pieces of furniture. we walked out with way more than we went for (hello, new home furnishings!), but I'd call it a successful trip!!

-all our ikea goodies!-

now that i'm in the routine of only washing my hair every other day, i'm getting creative. it was windy as all get out in the city, so a pony tail was a must! second day hair is sure growing on me!

we dined at cheesecake factory (one of our favs) and stopped at fair oaks farm on our way home, BUT the most exciting pat of the trip was eating at portillo's! anyone who's from chicagoland always raves about portillo's, so we HAD to try a local place! the closest thing i can compare portillo's to is fuddruckers. they're known for their hot dogs, but grant & i both got burgers. loved the decor & the experience! and the food wasn't half bad either! highly encourage you check it out if you're in the area sometime!

all in all, it was a great trip! quick, but great! and i forgot just how FABULOUS it is to get ready without worrying that the baby is gonna wake up from his nap or, more commonly, get ready with the baby stumbling over your feet! happy six, my sweet hub!

oh and ps-- my lil nephew is FINALLY here!!! lil (not so little) buddy was born on tuesday! i'll have a post about all the excitement next week! and yes... i witnessed my very first labor & delivery!!!!