later 2017!

NYE included work(for me)
Family Dancing to Frank Sinatra
Dinner made my Jonas(I adore the break from the kitchen)
My super cool romper
Sparkling grape juice
& a countdown wayyy before midnight

holidays are over & life is moving forward!

We had a wonderful holiday season with Zara- we took her to see Lights Under Louisville, loved having our Christmas tree up and enjoying the spirit of this special time of year. We have spent a lot of time at home, staying out of the cold and enjoying each other.

Tuesdays have become mama/ daughter day. After six years with the same company, Jonas took a new job. I have had six years of lonely evenings and weekends by myself, so it is a nice change for all of us to have him home more often, even without the Tuesdays. It is also a bit strange, the shift.

Zara ended her time at her day care, but she will still attend the same one on holidays and breaks. It was such a difficult decision because she loves everyone there so much & so do I! But she will go to a school now and I think it will be good for her. I am just nervous for the transition.

I have gone on some misty December jogs trying to wake up my creaky bones. I stopped running after my marathon and truly miss exercise. I have a hard time leaving Z alone more than I do already. Otherwise, I would totally be at the gym every day. Currently I am working on a plan for this.

I am thankful for it all. The changes, even the lack of sleep because it means that I have a perfect, tiny human in my life to wake me up. & my home. my job. safety. the chance to learn. I feel extra thankful after all of the families who have lost loved ones this season. It's heartbreaking and it sucks. I know we all have to go on, but sometimes it seems like there should be a small pause, at least, you know?

^last photo is the Milchreis Jonas made me. I had to eat it from our Hamburg bowl because the mix came from family in Germany. They sent us so many awesome packages (they always do). We always have so much fun receiving them!

^The Christmas tree above is covered in the woven boxes a sweet lady from church makes all the time.

hope you had a merry christmas!

I didn't take many photos of Christmas day..it can get a bit crazy & dramatic 😒

but I came across an instagram post from Emily Winfield Martin and found it to be so true and lovely:

"The other day I saw someone describe the winter holidays as a kind of temporary insanity, and I keep thinking (lovingly) how true that is. This exuberant, spangled whirlwind here, just for a few weeks, we listen to weird music and make a million cookies and bring trees inside.

I love all of this out- of the ordinariness, but what I am most grateful for is this uncommon chance, this time to see friends and write kind words and send little gifts, this suspended moment of generosity (as the Muppet Christmas Carol puts so well): The Ways of Love Made Clear."

christmas eve 17.

we picked up some yummy cinnamon rolls yesterday to help get our day started -from one of my favorite places for treats- please&thankyou. then we went to a lovely church service. & took some family photo gems, like this one below. yeah, we gave up::

 Z looked like a little angel though::

 I love when we match::

 I had to bribe her with candy to take some photos::

 Her Christmas Eve nap::

 My favorite card & advent calendar from family in Germany. It is so cute::

 We had the missionaries over for an epic dinner. We prepared our raclette grill and had a great time making and eating our creations!

 The missionaries did a rap version of Away in a Manger with us. It was hilarious and it made my christmas eve so happy. I love them. They are so sweet to Zara too. She gave them so many hugs before they left::

Happy Christmas Eve!!

zara. two year old update.

this girl. I cannot believe I am saying this after some of the rough times we have had- but she is a pretty happy toddler. Of course, they are some little tantrums, especially after we get home from work/daycare, but it passes. She just needs to reconnect. I am really proud of both of us. She still isn't sleeping through the night so that's not great, but I look forward to someday! Zara loves to help clean and take care of me (example- bringing me a blanket). she talks so much (mostly in her toddler language, which I know most of). She is obsessed with her little kitchen, which she brings me and her papa pretend food and drink from. The only color she knows is 'yellow', so she recognizes it and then calls all of the other colors yellow as well.
Z LOVES the music in Robin Hood and will dance to it for so long. Sometimes she wants to put the DVD in just so we can listen to the music that plays with the main menu. We also have a little place in the movie menu loop where a little puppet comes out of a log and we both scream "ahh!"
I call the cat by clicking, so sometimes Zara does the same thing to me, haha.
She calls Mickey Mouse 'haha' because she thinks he is a monkey and monkeys say "hoo hoo haa haa". She usually names animals by the sound they make.
Z calls sweeping "so so". & it is so adorable.
I am really loving that I can communicate with Zara more now, that she understands and is sometimes ok with the explanation. Of course, sometimes I put her milk in the wrong cup or don't bring her the right stuffed animal, but it has been some excellent progress with reasoning.
Her favorite thing to do is bring me blankets, stuffed animals, a paci and milk, push my head on a pillow, say "night night", kiss me and then close the door. love it.

She is still in her size 5 diapers, 2t clothing & still in the upper percentiles for height & weight. Thankfully, no well visits for another year!

I just love all the cute things she does, the funny looks she gives me, laughing at the same thing at the same time with her, her hilarious eye rolls, how she ignores me to be funny. We have a pretty good one here.

This is a problem, but I think she is almost over it::

puppy party!

Photo overload alert of Zara's Puppy Party!
We held the party at my sister's house & it was so fun.
Thank you to everyone who came and made the day so very special!
& a HUGE thanks to everyone who helped set up and clean :)

 Poor Zara, she makes this face when she feel awkward. We were singing and she felt all the attention::

 When your brother takes over the camera::

 Dog dress & Z has a little dog pin on her dress :)

 when she starts trying to get away::

 As we were cleaning, the snow started to really fall. It was lovely. Unfortunately, it was tough to get home. & no snow in Louisville- such a bummer!