grover's lately

Where did the month of March go?! Seriously each month that passes I can't believe another month has passed by and this awesome weather we have been having just makes the days pass even quicker. March for us was full of Jimmy traveling, birthday's, and an anniversary!

Jimmy traveled to WY with my brother, brother in laws, and a friend for an annual snow mobiling trip in the mountains and then a day after he got back was off to Mexico for a week for work. Boo! We have been thankful to have him home the rest of the month but are preparing for a busy 3-4 months of travel for him approaching.

March 7th is my brothers birthday which we celebrated on March 10th as that day is my nephew Devin's birthday as well. They hosted a joint birthday grill out to celebrate them both.

That same weekend, March 11th we celebrated Lily's best buddies birthday, her name is also Lily by attending a 1st birthday party at their house - it was a rainbow theme and so so cute!

Then came March 16th which was my birthday! I love my birthday!! This year it was made special by a lunch date and shopping to pick out some goodies for my birthday with my mom, coming home to flowers and Scratch cupcakes from the hubby, and then dinner at my favorite local restaurant Brown Bottle and off to a movie with Jimmy that night. I got lots of fun gifts and cute cute new summer maternity clothes! Most of all it was fun to think back on another blessed year and be thankful for health and blessings!

Just 4 days after my birthday on the 20th was our anniversary  - 2 years - whoot whoot! Which we are celebrating with a trip to St Pete, FL next month and I absolutely cannot wait! We all know I love the beach! If you've been to St Pete and have any suggestions for things to do let me know!

And today we celebrate my older sister's birthday and the last of our March celebrations :)

So we have had a busy busy month celebrating another healthy year for so many. Aside from that we've been enjoying the weather with walks, visits to the park, outdoor picnics, dragging the patio set and spring decor out, and watching flowers and trees already bloom!

We have a busy rest of the Spring and Summer ahead too - bridal showers, graduations, Lily's birthday, my high school reunion, bachelorette party, and weddings galore. I am looking forward to everything we have ahead and a speedy pregnancy as this belly is already OUT there :)

On the pregnancy note I felt baby kick for the first time this past week. I feel movement almost every night now as I lie down at the end of the day and I love wondering about what baby will be like, how baby will look, if baby will be like Lily, etc. etc. We find out in just 5 weeks if it's a boy and girl and I'm already anxious for that appointment! And I promise to post a bump picture soon - I'm waiting for the 16 week mark to get going with the monthly shots.

Until then here's some other entertaining photos of us lately.

was too funny not to include - lily had a bad diaper rash so we were letting her crawl around with bare buns (per my mom's suggestion) and jimmy caught me with rollers in hair and a protuding belly bump getting a kiss from lily may

loves to play on the stairs!

peak a boo with the dish towel

her first whale spout

lily (garvin's) 1st birthday party - danielle and lily and lily and i

2 years

This was us 2 years ago.

Today Jimmy and I celebrate 2 years of wedded bless. 2 years doesn't seem like that long, does it? But when I think about all the things that have happened in our lives in the last 2 years it's a little crazy. I moved to Springfield, we had our baby girl, we moved to Iowa, we discovered we are expecting baby #2 - and so many things in between.

When I stood before Jimmy 2 years ago telling him I'd love him forever I really didn't think it was possible for me to ever love him more than I did in that moment but I do. Not every day is bliss but I can honestly say that every night as I lay my head down and talk to God about what's on my heart gratitude for the relationship I have with my husband overflows. God knew what He was doing when He created Jimmy to be my partner.

My love for Jimmy has grown every day as I watch him interact with our baby girl, my family, our friends, coworkers, neighbors, and strangers. He is so much more than my husband and I can't imagine my life without him.

I often wonder if everyone has the kind of love that we have and unfortunately I don't think so. True love is rare, it's worth waiting for, and it's worth fighting for.

Jimmy - may you always know that my heart overflows with happiness when I simply think about you. I adore and I love you more than anything in this world. May we continue to walk hand in hand, trusting our lives to God's plan through the many more years of happiness that lie ahead. You are my one true love and I'm forever yours. Happy Anniversary Baby!

10 months

On Saturday Lily turned 10 months old - hard to believe in just two short months she will be the big 1!

This month she has gotten so so busy. I feel like I am chasing her all over the place making sure she doesn't get into this or that. And I thought I was tired before?!

New things for her this month were: crawling! just a few days after she turned 9 months she offically got the crawling thing down, and now she has moved to walking along everything and standing on her own for a pretty significant amount of time!, she says "dada" and "bye bye" and some other things that resemble "ok" and "hi", she has started making the funniest faces this month - a kissy lips face, sticking her bottom lip out when told no (she's sensitive), and scrunching up her face when she laughs, she shakes her head no whenever you tell her no, she sprouted her second tooth just after her first one, she climbs up and down the one step that comes before the baby gate and is very curious about the stairs, she climbs on, over, and through anything in her way and likes crawling under things - we noticed this one at other people's house because we don't really have any tables or anything she can crawl under, she gives high five, she had her first spell of ring-worm!, and her little buddy Lily's 1st birthday party!

New foods included; cereal bar, muffin, pizza, corn on the cob - she grabbed this from me and just started munching away - hilarious!, animal crackers and goldfish. She pretty much just eats whatever we are eating these days - she is offically over pureed foods and it makes feeding her pretty simple. She still loves bananas and yogurt but also really likes her animal crackers and pizza!

Lily - you truly bring us so much joy baby girl. You make my heart melt in one way or another every single day. Your so sweet and a little bit sassy personality is so fun and so obvious at such a young age. You absolutely adore people and are always up for putting on a show. I look forward to these next months alone with you before you become a big sister! We love you to pieces and can't imagine a day without you!

and since i mentinoed it - just diggin in :)

from 3 to 4 we will grow

On January 22nd one little word on a stick told us that our family would be growing from 3 to 4 this year! That's right, I'm pregnant!!

We are so thrilled, thankful, excitied, blessed, grateful....the list goes on and on of the feelings we already have for this unborn child in my belly.

The story of how we discovered I was pregnant and how I told Jimmy is quite uneventful this time around, no running outside the house in a towel or anything :) We actually had just ate dinner which was cheese stuffed pasta shells which were stuffed primarily with ricotta cheese. I am not a huge fan of ricotta cheese and almost immediately started feeling sick after eating them. However, I ate dinner, we went downstairs to hangout a bit before bed and it hit me, a wave of nausea - I tossed Lily to Jimmy and ran to the nearest bathroom where my dinner immediately came up. I came out of the bathroom saying something along the lines of  "hmmm I must really not have liked that ricotta tonight" which Jimmy followed with a suspicious smile saying "are you sure that's it? Maybe you should take a test...."

So later that night, before bed I peed on 1 of the 3 sticks we had in our bathroom cabinet and to my pleasant surprise read the words "pregnant" just a few moments later. I called Jimmy into the bathroom and he read the words along with me. Truly a miracle. We are so blessed.

As you may recall I have trust issues with those darn sticks and so I decided I would take 2 more tests the next day "just to be sure :)" Sure enough they told us the same story, "pregnant". So within the next few days I called the doctor to set up an intial appointment. Since I was still nursing Lily I had not gotten a period and therefore really had no idea how far along I was. I went in for blood work first, they then called me back to come in for an ultrasound. At the ultrasound they discovered I was 7 weeks pregnant! Which would have also explained the nausea and dizziness I was feeling the week prior while visiting my sister in Denver, CO! To me it's just funny that my body can be growing another human being for almost 2 months without me knowing it!

Yesterday we heard the heartbeat and it was a strong 150 bpm.
So here I am 13 weeks pregnant with #2. Baby is due September 18th and we are just thrilled!

monday madness

It's been a week or so since I've had time to post - between busy travel schedules, a busy busy (almost) 10 month old, and a tired mama it just hasn't been top priority. So what's been happening lately? Here's a catch all of what's been on my mind lately.......another manic monday - enjoy yours.

1. My Story: Jimmy and I joined a new small group a couple months ago and in attempt to get to know each other better we are spending the first few months sharing our stories. And guess who is next? For some reason I've been thinking alot about this lately. Not neccessarily because I have some remarkable story or anything earth shattering to share but just because it allows yourself to be vulnerable. It's about sharing things in your past that have shaped you and your views of the world around you today, and for some reason that just makes me nervous. So I pray that I will have peace this week as I think about the things in my story worthy of sharing and how I will share them.

2. Warby Parker: have you heard of this website? If you haven't and you wear glasses you should. It's a company owned by the same guy that owns TOMS shoes and it's the same concept but for eyeglasses. The idea is that you buy one and they give one - for every pair of eye glasses they sell they provided sight in the form of surgery, new glasses, etc. to someone in need - cool huh?! Another awesome perk is that you can go online and pick 5 pairs of eye glasses to be shipped to your house and try on for absolutely FREE. You then have 5 days to try them out and see which ones you like best before ordering. I loved it, such a convienent thing for me, a mom with a little one, that makes it hard to go into an eye glass store and pick out new frames - nearly impossible. All frames are $95 too which is a steal!

3. Jimmy's Travel: So Jimmy has been traveling a lot for work lately. Now we both knew that was part of the deal when he took this job but it's getting old, really old. I'm ready for it to be done. September(ish) is the timeline so lets hope it comes quickly. China, India, Mexico, Georgia - you'll be fine without my husband :)

4. Lily: Lily is a busy busy girl. She is moving like crazy and changing so much right before my eyes - honestly I cannot believe she is almost a year old! Where does the time go?! I enjoy spending my days off and sneaking time to hold and kiss on her during my work days (one of the many perks of working from home) so much and never knew I could love a little lady so much. She keeps me on my toes that's for sure and most days leaves me completely exhausted largely in part to item #3 and hence item #5.

5. I'm Tired: Lately I have just been feeling tired and a little run down. By the end of the day I am so ready for some time to relax and do absolutely nothing. From 6am to 8pm I am in go mode and enjoy a cup of tea, a book in hand, or a mindless TV show on, while lounging by the end of the day!

6. Spring: I am so ready for Spring, actually Summer but Spring has to come first I suppose. I absolutely love warm weather and absolutely hate cold weather so this winter can't get over fast enough. Now I know we've barely had any bad weather this Winter but still, I'm ready. I'm ready to bust out the bright Spring colors in my home and in my closet and say bye bye to sweaters and Ugg boots! I'm ready to run outside with the sun shining on my face instead of bundling up to all ends just to go for a mile walk outside with Lily - what a pain!

7. March Madness: March is a busy busy month for our family. 3 of us 4 kiddos were born in March, one of my nephews birthdays falls in March, and our anniversary is in March which equals a busy month! This week is my brother and nephews birthday, next week is my birthday, the following week is our 2nd annivesary, and the following week is my sisters birthday - lots of fun busyness ahead celebrating birthdays and another healthy year! Woohoo! PS - I LOVE birthdays!

8. Party Planning: I have lots of party planning to do in the near future. We will have a busy summer this summer filled with weddings, reunions, birthdays, and maybe a mini vacay?! Beginning next month I am in charge of the following events - bridal shower for sister-in-law, May is Lily's 1st birthday party, June is sister-in-law's bachelorette party and my 10 year high school reunion, July is sister-in-law's wedding and a family trip over the 4th, followed by an August wedding, and 2 in September. Busy busy but lots of fun! I love party plannning and as long as I'm on top of everything and planning ahead everything should go as planned :)

9. Are you watching the Bachelor this season? I am and honestly I'm kind of annoyed by it and wish I wasn't. Lots of rumors floating around about who he picks, his intentions, her intentions, etc. and it's just a whole lot of unneccessary drame - but oh so entertaining?! Hence the perfect show to enjoy a cup of tea to and zone out while relaxing - #5!

And that's about it - random ramblings I know but that's what's been consuming this mind of mine the last few weeks. All that and one other biggy thing that will be shared later on this week :)

dancing

One of the cutest things Lily does these days (if I do say so myself) is dances. It's obvious that she loves music - maybe it's because Jimmy played guitar to her at night when she was in my belly and I'd sing and hum to her all the time while pregnant, or that music is almost always playing in our house, or that Jimmy takes her into the basement almost every night and plays guitar and sings with her while she pounds away on the hand drum and shakes the tamborine. Who really knows why it is but one thing is for sure - that girl loves music and she's not afraid to show it. Most every time music starts playing - whether it's a toy, itunes, or the radio she will start dancing and it's just precious. We've found her favorite to be Taylor Swift :) - here's a video of her "moves"!

what i will spend money on

People are always trying to save money – right? While I would say that statement for me is, generally speaking, correct there are a few things that I am not willing to compromise on and that I will, most likely, always be willing to spend a little more money on. So, I thought I’d share with you what those things areJ

Vacations

Jimmy and I love love love to travel. We did lots of it while we were dating and continue to value it as something we want to always do. When we were dating it was pretty easy to do – we didn’t live in the same state so we figured instead of flying to one of our places (which we did our fair share of too) we’d just meet somewhere. We spent weekend in the North Carolina Mountains, Chicago, Tenerife (Canary Islands), St Louis, Denver, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Dallas, and many more. Now that we are married, and hence live in the same household, we haven’t traveled as much but still enjoy getting out and exploring when we can. We honeymooned on a private island called Petit St Vincent whom is known for one of the most beautiful beaches in the world (kudos to Jimmy for planning that one)!, we’ve traveled to Punta Cana,  Eureka Springs, San Diego, Galena, Denver, and a few more places in the last few years as well and enjoyed every minute of it. Vacations are one thing that creates lasting memories and is something I’m definitely willing to spend a little extra money on when it comes to nice accommodations and great experiences!

Make up

Make up isn’t something I’ve always spent money on but as I’ve gotten older I’ve begun to significantly notice a difference in brands and price points. I’ve never had “bad” skin in terms of acne, excessive oil, redness, etc. but it was never uncommon for me to have a zit/blemish here and there, until I started using Bare Minerals for my base. I use the eye lightener, foundation, bronzer, and loose powder and love it all. It’s all in powder form, which took some getting used to but it's done wonders for my skin - I love it. I also can tell a huge difference in Mac eyeshadow compared to all other brands. All my primary colors, those that I wear on an everyday basis, are Mac and whenever I use a CoverGirl or Maybelline type product I can see the difference. Mac lasts longer and goes on so much better too!

Jeans 

This is also something I haven’t always spent money on but as I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten wiser and realized the difference in quality and fit of a good high end jean compared to the Old Navy $20 jeans. My absolute favorite brand of jeans is Joe’s Jeans and the pairs I have fit like a glove, have lasted a long time, and are so cute! I also really like the jeans they carry at Black House White Market and have a few for the same reasons as my Joes. As I’ve gotten older less is more and having a few great fitting and great quality items in your closet goes a lot further than 20 pairs of jeans that don’t fit right, look great on (not just good), and fall apart after 20 washes. Here’s a couple pictures and links to the few pairs I own and one on my wish list J



the honey



http://joesjeans.com/shop/product.php?productid=3372&cat=2

the best friend

http://joesjeans.com/shop/product.php?productid=3246&cat=2

loving this color!

http://joesjeans.com/shop/product.php?productid=3335&cat=2

Purses

I think this one goes without much explanation as we all know my love for Coach! In the past few years I think I have only bought one purse that was not Coach and low and behold it’s pretty much completely fallen apart – point proven people J Unfortunately I think I’m in the diaper bag stage for a good 3+ more years so not sure I will be investing in any additional purses lately. Good thing Coach makes diaper bags!

A Treadmill

When we moved into our current house this summer we invested in some home gym equipment – a treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike and punching bag. We have extra space in our basement and are able to have it set up with good visibility to the TV, ipod dock, etc. It works perfect. People often say to me “I have to go to a gym to stay dedicated, I won’t do it unless I actually have to leave and plan on it.” For me I think it’s just the opposite, especially for the phase of life I’m in right now with a young baby. It’s so convenient to have the equipment right in our home – making it possible for me to squeeze my workout in early in the morning before baby wakes up, during a lunch break while our nanny is here, or during nap times. It works really really well for us and I’m so glad we invested the money in the equipment. I wasn’t too vocal about brands, features, etc on anything except the treadmill as I knew that’d be what I’d use most. I don’t need lots of fancy stuff but a few basics were a must and we were able to find them within our budget – score!

Hansen’s Milk

Now this one is a bit different than the others I’ve mentioned but it’s important to us – especially since our little one will be transitioning to cow’s milk in a few months. I had always heard about Hansen’s milk and dairy products but never really bought into any of the hype until I randomly purchased a gallon of milk and a few other things while on that side of town this summer, and now it’s all we buy (with a few exceptions). You truly can taste the difference in the milk and I love knowing that it comes from a local source. They offer a frequent customer discount program too that works like a debit card – you put money into an “account” whenever you want and then every time you buy dairy products with that card you get 10% off. We love it and plan on using that as our #1 source of dairy for Lily in a few months as well.

So that’s pretty much it – at least the top 5 in my book of what I am willing to spend money on. Some may agree, others will not but isn’t that what’s so funny about different people – the different things that we find value in?