happy camper

How cool are legos? Katy had some birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa Beardshall she decided to spend on this beaut. How cute is that?

She made me laugh so hard when we went to the toys section and she informed me that she just wasn't really into all "this stuff" meaning pretty much everything on the girl isles. She decided that since she is so good at legos, they would be a good investment with her birthday money.

Like I mentioned before I am trying to take a more creative approach to gift giving this year. I feel like all too often I buy "fad toys" that end up breaking and my kids loosing interest in them. I want to try to invest in more classic toys that I know will stand (or at least I'm hoping) the test of time.

We have Katy a kids sewing machine, a sewing book (let's sew together), and a huge box of most everything she will need to get going on some projects. She, of course, opened the book up and declared she was going to make a robot doll fist thing....but I had to remind her that we need to learn how to use her sewing machine first! Let's start with the basics here. Her enthusiasm about the whole thing is adorable and I figure if worse comes to worse at least (hopefully) she will have a basic knowledge of sewing that will be somewhat useful for her in the future.

She also received (thank you to grandparents and loved ones) TONS of art supplies (which will always be a winning gift in Katy's book) and clothing. She is lucky she has so many people that love her so.

around here

This was my view for most of the second half of my day. Katy endlessly creating and drawing, Will turning up the charm for the camera (even though I'm trying to be sneaky and take a candid shot).

I spent the night downtown with my mom and sisters for our annual girls trip getaway (something we have done for my mom the last 7 years). We usually give it to her for Christmas and go in the spring. Truth be told, we already went on a getaway earlier this year, but with upcoming babies we decided the best thing to do would be to go early.

It's always nice to take some time out for yourself. Steve is a great husband in letting me do this every year, and happily reported that the kids (for the most part) were really well behaved while I was gone.

My mom, sisters and I had a lot of time to talk and catch up. My little sister is due next spring with her first and was conveying her fears of becoming a mom and having that responsibility. It's crazy when you have your own kids how you just figure it out...perhaps because there is no other way than to just dive right in (what other option do you have anyway?).

Pregnancy for me is hard in a sense that I feel a bit out of control with my emotions. I am usually a very level headed easy going (at least in my mind *wink*) kind of person. I seem to loose my patients with the littlest of things when I have a bun in the oven. I have yelled more that I would like to admit, with this pregnancy, at my kids (insert sad face). The thing is, at the end of the night they always willingly throw their arms around my neck, kiss my face and tell me they love me. Which of course melts my heart and makes me want to try even that much harder the next day to just be better.

Being away from my family doesn't make me appreciate them more, I don't need to leave them for that. Being aways from my family just makes me realize how blessed I am to get to deal with the occasional (sometimes not so occasional it feels like) fight between siblings, that Will is a kid with so much energy it seems to be bursting out of him 24 hours a day (which can be really exhausting), that Katy is the very most sweetest sibling anyone could ask for (she teaches me so much every day), and that Steve is pretty much the grandest thing to be invented since sliced bread!

I am grateful for everyday moments, around here, that I get to spend with my family. They are some of the very best people I know.

On a side note our painted leaf project was another success this year. Will even got in on the action with us.

cheers to 6 years

I can't believe this sweet girl of mine is 6 years old. When most people find out they are going to become a mom, while ecstatic, worry about raising a kid. For some reason I was not worried in the slightest about becoming a mom (as much as I was trying to figure out how I was going to get through labor!). Katy is a dream come true in the kid department. She made the transition into becoming a mother quite smooth. 

She even let Will open her presents.

would you like some cheese with that?

This picture kills me on a number of levels. I'm seriously at a loss where my kids got the "cheese" face from. Oh and they actually say "cheese" too. Will is demonstrating this as seen above.

He has been having a particularly rough go of things this week. I feel like he is not trying to be bad, but also that he knows better. I know, I know he's only 2 but I think he uses that cute face to his advantage. When I saw him taking selfies with my Instax camera again (wasting a lot of film) I got mad at him and made him sit in his room (seriously the third time this week he had some how MacGyvered my camera from the shelf). When I went to have a "Full House Moment" with him, he kept saying sorry and he gave me a big hug and kiss....which turned into lots and lots of kisses all over my face. And of course I totally melted and he had me wrapped around his finger again. This kid is going to be trouble for this sucker of a mom. Dad wasn't as moved with him when he found a pen in the back seat of his brand new truck and decided to have an art show all over the seats! Your on your own for that one buddy.

good bye mr. tooth

September 2, 2014
First Lost Tooth

As you can tell this girl was a wee bit excited about her first lost tooth. It was loose for several days, actually. I tied a piece of floss around it and she walked around all day tugging on it ever so gently. I finally convinced her, through my many years of having teeth, that I could just get it in one quick tug. That tooth went flying...we were lucky to find it. Katy and Will erupted into cheers and screams. Lucky for her the tooth fairy had a 2 dollar bills on hand. She was one happy camper when she woke up in the morning. Just another reason she is growing up too fast.

in pictures . a pretty happy preschool graduate

May 22, 2014
Preschool Graduation.

It's funny to think that a day like preschool graduation would hit you so hard. I mean it's preschool after all....but I think for me it really hit me how fast time has gone by since we welcomed Katy to the world.

I always say it, but Katy is defiantly one of a kind. I can't say enough what a neat person I think this girl is. Of course I am sure that you would chalk that up to the fact that I am her mom. But I think if you met her you would get a feel for what I am talking about.

Although Katy is scared to death of anything Halloween, and is sensitive....she is also one of the most thoughtful and caring people I know. She is always so kind to others, she is beyond excited when she can meet someone new and is instantly "best friends" with them (at least in her eyes....by that I mean complete strangers we meet at the park and are bound not to ever see again). She has a huge heart and an interest in learning anything that will fit in her head.

When we moved up to Bountiful I was not expecting this is where we would end up, as we had looked at 40+ houses pretty much all over the valley. Everything fell into place, as it should, but we found our selves moving at the end of August and all of the preschools around here were full. I was feeling pretty desperate when I found Mrs. Bri. She has been teaching for over 7 years (I believe) and had recently moved her family back from China, where her husband was in the military. She decided last minute to start her preschool up (something she wasn't sure about since she had just barley moved back). Boy am I glad I found her. We had a good experience in her last preschool...but if you know Bri then you will understand that she would BLOW any other preschool right out of the water. She was incredibly amazing and caring and is beyond gifted at what she does. I have never seen Katy more excited about learning and going to school. She had a great bunch of kids in her class and they were able to do the neatest things.

Katy was especially excited about all the Chinese she was learning. She said it was her favorite country, ha ha! At the end of the year I felt so strongly about her love of Chinese that I opted to put her into the Chinese Emersion lottery for a school that we are just barley out of bounds for. Unfortunately she did not get in, but I am grateful for all that she learned with Bri and for our experiences there. I am blessed to call her my friend.

little miss independent

Katy is my little miss independent. She makes me laugh how old she is getting, and also makes me want to cry when she is constantly telling me that she doesn't need any help with anything...as she can do it herself.

Having a kid like Katy is a dream come true. In the morning, she gets her breakfast, sneaks the iPad and watches shows until someone gets up. This of course is on the mornings I am at work. With Steve on a graveyard schedule he usually stays up late even if he isn't working and we always try to let him sleep in when we can.

Something else that has been happening as of late is her spunky and funky attitude. Something I absolutely love, and something I have a hard time with. I read somewhere that everything is a phase, that's it. It's just a phase. And although it's hard, sometimes, for pregnant and inpatient Amy to remember...all I have to do is LOVE her through the rough patches. Just like everyone get's potty trained - everyone eventually figures themselves out. Katy is shaping up to be a pretty cool cat. I can't wait to see what the next few years makes of her.

These were taken a while ago, as there is now a set of bunk beds in her room. I do love all her hanging art work...that has made it's way to the hallway. And I love how, no matter what, she needs a glass or bottle of water by her bed in case she needs a drink while she's sleeping.

life with littles

1. Let's sew together

2. Playful

3. Unplugged Play (for mom)

I've been thinking a lot about how I can improve my parenting skills. It may seem funny to say that I feel like I am melting in the summer heat (because it's SO much hotter so many other places)....but I find that we are inside more and that we tend to gravitate towards "shows" watching (as my kids call it).

When I was a kid I had creativity spewing out of my ears. I was always making and creating things. I loved getting the magazine Hearth Song, and would long for chances to ask for presents from there. Once I got a pack of colored bees wax, and I would spend HOURS making figures. Mostly animals. I also had a knack for sewing...something my mom instill in me (she is a fantastic sewer).

I look at Katy and I see me. She can spend endless hours painting and cutting paper. I helped her sew a dress for one of her dolls, and I can tell she is going catch the sewing bug. That is, of course, as soon as I feel brave enough to give her free reign of a needle and tread.

I have been thinking of creative gifts to give to my kids this season and with Katy I am loving the idea of getting some creative books to help her get excited about making and creating her own things. Hopefully we can find ways to unplug more and get creative.

So for her birthday and Christmas I am going to get these books, look through them, find my favorite ideas, and box it up with all the supplies to create a few of the projects contained within. I know she is going to go gaga over them. It's probably just as much of a gift for me as it will be for Katy.

life's full of surprises

The circus arrives without warning...and sometimes, so do babies. 

I can hardly believe that we will be drafting another player for Team Beardshall, but this circus is set to perform January 5th. And with my track record (of having babies early), this poor kiddo is probably going to have a Christmas birthday. 

Sometimes unexpected surprises are the best kind. I can honestly say I am very excited to meet this kiddo, but I'm a bit scared to be outnumbered. I'm also anxious to see how our family dynamic will change. I can only imagine good things are in store for us. 

iphonography . never stop exploring

Will will always be my little dare devil, okay...he may have convinced me to help him up on the ledge of the basement window...but can you blame me? His "peease" and "geee you" are killing me lately!

Family Pictures 2013

Steve always gives me a hard time about getting our pictures taken, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I mean, really, look at my family...I'm so in love. When I booked these pictures I was not planning on having them fall the day we moved (which was a Thursday), lucky for me they were able to reschedule them to Saturday morning (back in August of last year). Unlucky for me, we still didn't know where anything was and were living out of boxes. I pretty much decided the best option for us would be to go ahead and let everyone just wear what they wanted to. Will didn't seem to have much of an opinion about things so he let me dress him.

I have a bucket list of photographers I would like to capture my family, and Yan Palmer is one of them. She gave me a big hug when we met (I am SO a huggie person) so that won me over right away. She was so great with my kids and I am so in love with all of the images I now have of my family.

Here are some of my favorites...in no particular order .

progress

We have a long way to go in the settling in process. The thing I love about being in this house is the fact that here is no plan to go anywhere anytime soon. In fact, I joke Steve can bury me in the backyard because I can see us here for the rest of forever. I guess I wouldn't be opposed to ever moving again if it was because of an incredible opportunity. 

With that being said, I feel like I'm more invested in making this a house I want to be in. I don't mind spending a bit of money to do some decorating. Decorating for me and what I like, and not necessarily because it will be good for resale value. 

This house works for us in the now, and also has so much potential for the big ideas rolling around in our head. Wow, we get new ideas every day....so it will be interesting to see what will happen over the years. 

I love how the light comes into this home. In the morning it makes shadows on my walls, and we have a stellar view of the sunset every night. 

This "nook" in the kitchen is where we originally placed our table. It stuck out weird so we decided to make it a computer nook. This is a cheap computer desk we got at ikea one time. It actually survived the accident we were in on the freeway when someone side swiped us. I'd like to get something more fitting for that area, but it works for now.

I painted the chalkboard calendar about a week after we moved in. It's funny there is a desk there now, because that is pretty much the perfect pairing.



I still have some things I'd like to do with the front room. I was pretty set on the idea that I didn't want a TV in the front room. I put my record player in the second "cubby" down. Sometimes you have to compromise, though, and Steve won that battle....thus the TV is sitting there triumphantly.

We didn't have enough furniture to fill this place so had to make some purchases. These couches in the front room were on sale at Ikea. I am such a sucker for corduroy, but I would no recommend having black couches. THEY SHOW EVERYTHING! We will have to get some other covers, but for now we might as well use them.

Steve is always hilarious when we have moved in the past about wanting to get unpacked and hang everything up the first night we are there. I am more of the mindset that it's a good idea to get a feel for the place before you start hammering nails in everything.

Lucky for me the picture wall worked out, because we put that up the second day we were here. It's one of my favorite places. I catch Will over there naming everyone in the pictures and looking at all of them. It's so fun to see how we have all changed over the years.



Steve had to go out of town back last October. Painting is not one of Steve's favorite things to do....and I could only imagine that stripes would have put him over the top. Lucky for me, when I texted him a picture of the finished product, he was a fan.

Since Katy is such an artist lately (and Will's catching on now too), I decided to add an area we could add and keep more of her art up. She loves walking up and down the hall and noticing all of the masterpieces she and Will have created.

Like I said, not a finished product for sure...as I have already rearranged this place 10 times...but its a good jumping off point.

Source List
Kitchen Table / This was thrifted from the DI. While I like it in the space, I'd sure love to make a table like this for my christmas gift this year.
Couch and Chair / Ikea
Hanging plant holder / Ikea
Plants / All of the plants came from my favorite nursery J&J Gardens
Dresser in front room / I found this gem on KSL.com classifieds. It was exactly what I was looking for the space, meant to be for sure.
Ottomans / Lofgrens...one of my favorite stores that a good friend of Steve's own.
Cushions / Ikea and Vickny
Rug and Curtains / Ikea
Mirror / Ikea
Beckoning Cat / Chinatown, San Francisco. We got this last year we were there, but didn't have time to look around too long. I have always wanted one since our first year of marriage when Steve wouldn't pay more than 5 dollars to park so we had to walk from our baseball game at Giant's stadium to Pier 39 where we were going on a night tour of Alcatraz. We cut through China Town on our way and I said I would get one but forgot.
Records / This is a collection from Great Grandma and Grandpa Beardshall and my mom. It has been such a blast to listen to these.