high five for friday.

I'm doing my first ever link-up From my Grey Desk.

Here goes nothin...

[ ONE ]

I've been working on 1st birthday "printables" for Jack's BFF. His birthday is at the beginning of September and it's a "Little Man" theme. I really think I've out-done myself. :)

{sneaky peek from Instagram || follow me @emalina18}

[ TWO ]

The mister and I finally made a point of doing some meal planning for the week. I've been at it for a couple of weeks, and it's so nice to know exactly what I'm preparing for dinner each night instead of the uncertainty and eating a random dinner at 9 business that had been happening for way too long. 

[ THREE ]

I'm working on an Etsy store for my designs, and had hopes to get it up and running by early August, but things have come up and it might not happen by then. But! I definitely want it finished and shopable by the end of August. Pleeeeeaaase hold me to that!

[ FOUR ]

We have another wedding this weekend. A friend of the hubs' is getting married. He's the type that we weren't sure would ever get married, but he met the girl and they're getting married about a 1.5 years later. I'm betting it'll be pretty fun. Maybe a pic recap after ... I don't know.

[ FIVE ]

My main squeeze turns THIRTY on Sunday! Like I mentioned, we'll be at a wedding, but I have his bday present and we're doing a little road trip soon. Should be supafun!

Have a good weekend crazies! Stay cool...

life lately.

We've been sorta busy recently, and though I have posts in the works, there's no telling when I'll get down to business and put one together. So, in the mean time, here is a bulleted update on all things Divine Mrs. EM.

{they already look like they have inside jokes}

• Late last week we finally found an evening to have dinner with some of our favorite people. Luke is just 4 months younger than our Monster and we have high hopes for them to be the best of friends. When we finally got both boys out of their high chairs after dinner and outside where they could run (and monkey crawl...hah!) around, they were so fun. And all over the place. We have plans to make dinners a lot more regular and I'm so glad we are!

{you can see the giant bubble, and the toothbrush he refuses to let go of}

• For two weeks (last week and the week before), Jack and I took to the pool for swim lessons. I'm so glad we did this. The first two days were awful, but every day after that got better. (I will do a whole post on this one) And now, Monster Man is blowing bubbles in the bathtub.

{LOL!}

• Last Saturday we had a wedding in Tulsa. Jack stayed with John's parents that night and, as usual I packed his little tiger backpack with all of his one-night essentials. The backpack has straps and it rolls. Usually Jack loves to roll it around, but this particular time Uncle Matt strapped it on, and of course, hilarity ensued.

• Said wedding was for a pledge sister. It was a rare wedding that the BFF and I attended together (more of our girls need to get hitched!), and we had a great time! Owning the dance floor, getting kicked off the band's microphone, Shades, confetti throwers, "WE ARE YOUNG!" sooo fun!

•And, finally, a good friend and I are determined to run the White Rock Half in Dallas in December. But, this means that I'll need be able to run at least 3 miles before I can train for said half. So, now I'm doing a Couch to 5K and yesterday was day 1. I really don't think I'll need all 9 weeks to get back to 3 miles, but at the same time I won't be surprised if it does end up taking me the whole time. Ahhh!!! 13.1 miles here I come (again)! (I really am so excited to run another half. I reallllllly loved running my first one a year and a half ago!)

And, there ya have it!

Jack: 14 months

At 14 months (nearly 2 weeks ago...), Jack is:

• loving food. Right at 14 months, it seemed like Jack would eat his arm if allowed (I'm thinking it was a growth spurt). We've tried peanut butter and it's a hit so far.
• a total charmer. When he's in a crowd, you should see how he works the people around him. He waves, he smiles, he dances, he marches, etc. It's hilarious!
• giving 5s and loves to instigate peek-a-boo
• testing boundaries. This boy knows what he wants if he doesn't get it, we are experiencing what I hope are (but really, I know it isn't) the beginning and end of tantrums. And another bad habit is that he's gotten into "hitting" when he doesn't get what he wants. I've asked daycare, but he doesn't seem to do it to other kids or the teachers there. Guess we're just the lucky ones...
• climbing on things. And, subsequently, learning to slide off the couch/bed/furniture on his belly.
• way into the dogs. He points at Gus (and Lily) and says "Ga" ... Gus. And says Dog (of sorts). He loves to follow them, tug on them, hit them, watch them and poke on them. I have a feeling they'll all be the best of friends for years to come.
• answering questions with a shake of the head. And usually his no head shake is a real answer to what I'm asking. He likes to stand in the bathtub (again, testing boundaries) and when I ask if he is ready to get out (because he's standing), he sits down and shakes his head no. Ha...stinker.
• a trooper. He and I roadtripped 6 hours south to visit my family in Austin. JUST THE TWO OF US! I was super nervous, but of course, our Monster Man was fabulous!
• walking backwards, running, spinning and our favorite ... marching. When we sing March! March! March march march! ... he "high steps" and "marches". It's adorable.
• working on his spoon/fork skills.
• still speaking some form of German. There are several words he says repeatedly, but we haven't deciphered exactly what he's saying.
• still taking two naps. I'm really unsure of how the one naps are going to happen and how I'll deal ... but I'll figure it out when we get there (as usual).
• loves the water -- his water table, the bath tub, the sink, the pool.
• wearing mostly 12 month and 12-18 month clothes and size 4 (but I think we're nearing the time to size up) shoe

14 month stats:

•No clue on the weight -- my big ole guess is 23 pounds

•loves the dogs, throwing and chasing balls, wind-up toys, books and puzzles (mostly just the pieces)

•12 month and some 12-18 month clothes, size 4 shoe 

•size 4 diaper, size 5 at night

cousin time + spiderman birthday.

Almost 2 months ago, right after Jack's birthday, the three of us flew to Denver to have a little family/cousin time!

This was Jack's first plane flight, and I was super nervous. But, as usual, he did great. He slept the entire way there and half of the way back, with minimal crying.

We had so much fun with my brothers, sister in law and Jack's two cousins, even though we hardly left the house (it's tough transporting 5 adults and 3 kids who need carseats). We also celebrated our niece's 4th birthday. And, this may come as a surprise to those who don't know her, but she wanted a Spiderman birthday. Ha!

Warning: Potential picture overload...

cousins!

the Wii got a serious workout while we were there. Especially the golf game

I think we need a storm door.

Spiderman tattoo. Hannah insisted hers go on her stomach.

Presents for Hannah and Hunter for Hannah's birthday

and presents for Jack!

Tara's smash cake was way more successful than his birthday party one.

Everyone, minus me.

Everyone, minus J. (and Hannah refusing another picture)

today.

Today Jack is 14 months. I'll have a 14 month post coming soon, but I took a few pics today and want to remember just what we've been up to lately (today in particular).

snack and sunglasses ... the usual pre-swim lesson ritual

just trying to figure out which is his best side.

ohhh yeah. lol!

And then we were off. I plan to do a full update and blow by blow of swim lessons. In the meantime, days 1 and 2 were complete busts, day 3 was great and day 4 (today) was good.

toy time this evening (post water table fun)

Ha! J put my flops on Jack and he wasn't happy. BUT! He sorta tried to put my other shoes on after this.

And, another thing I'd like to document is tonight's bath. Pre-bath, I was saying to Jack "riiiiiight chah!" (slangy "right here"), and he was trying to mimic it! And, then during the bath, Gus came in the bathroom and he pointed at him and said Gus. 

J and I have talked about it a lot, and we know he's saying real words (and lots of German), but I think we're finally starting to understand some of what he's saying.

Oh, Monster man, you're too much fun!

bullets.

I've been a major blog slacker recently.  I have a few posts in the works, but until I choose blogging over catching up on my dvr, a bulleted list of what's going on is going to have to suffice.

• J and I had a date night Friday. We went to an asian fusion restaurant and chose to sit at the sushi bar. Uhh...if you haven't done that, do it! Like, now. Because the last two times we've chosen to sit there, we've gotten a little freebie! The first time we got a roll and Friday one of the sushi chefs made us two seared tuna "nachos" that he rarely makes for anyone. We were the lucky recipients and it was goooood! We luckily had some leftovers from dinner, so we're enjoying green curry for the next couple of days.

• July is super busy for us! Two weddings two weekends in a row and then J and I are off on a 30th birthday road trip for him. Should be fun, but that means we'll be spending time away from our little monster, which always makes me a little sad.

• Speaking of the monster, poor guy has molars coming in. His top two have already cut through (about a month ago), but now the bottom two are coming in. One side wasn't too bad, but the other one is really giving him fits! Poor guy has been on the Tylenol/Motrin and running occasional fevers. Honestly, Jack has handled teething really well since his first one popped through months ago, but these darn molars are tough! I'm hoping by the end of the week that final molar will be through.

• Lots of things are going on with the monster right now ... he starts swim lessons tomorrow. They are four days a week for two weeks. And, the best news of all is that I got a spray tan so I don't scare all those kids and teachers with my pasty white skin. He'll thank me later, I just know it.

• It's so weird to have the 4th in the middle of the week. But, it's kind of fun to have 2 weekends to celebrate. What are you guys up to? Or, did you have your festivities this past weekend? We're keeping things low-key. Grilling out, swimming and maybe set off a few fireworks.

• And, finally, please say a little prayer for this family. They've been so strong with everything that they've been through, and it looks as though the rough road isn't over just yet. I cannot imagine being in their shoes and handling everything nearly as well as they have. And, it's got to be so hard to remember that God has a plan ... especially when that plan involves your children suffering.

Happy monday, friends!