Our Annual - It's been too long post

Well if you follow our blog you have come to realize that we aren't so great at posting on the regular.  We go through our kicks then drop off the face of the earth for a few months.  BUT the good news is we ALWAYS return!  Hi!

So since we haven't posted since March we have lots of news to share with you!

First, little big guy Parker celebrated his first birthday! I know I can't believe he is one either.  It was a fun birthday party with the family.  Hattie, Harper, Mimi, Poppel, Great Aunt Cheryl, Great Grandma and I all made the trip to Chicago to celebrate with him.  Jess did a wonderful job with the decorations and food for his camping themed party.  For fun pics of the party check me out on Instagram: handhmom or search for #campparker #happybirthdaybigguy

Second, are you listening because this is pretty huge...Joey and I are expecting baby #3 this December and it's a boy!! YAY!  I'm 20 weeks now and am finally starting to feel a bit more like myself.  We are thrilled and scared and nervous and all those other things that come along with expecting a new baby.  There is still so much to do to get ready including finding this baby a name, any and all suggestions are welcomed.

Third, I accepted a new role at my company (a promotion!).  I've been transitioning over from my old role for the past month and am now officially 100% in my new role.  So far it's been exciting to learn new things and to get back into more direct marketing.

Fourth, Wrennie pooh can spell her name, knows her alphabet, can count to 20 (or more!), can count backwards, and she isn't even three...well yet.  Her birthday is this Sunday!  Hard to believe she will be three.  They really do grow up way too fast.

Fifth, Hattie & Harper are growing like weeds and are hardly what I would call toddlers anymore!  They are super excited to have a new baby in the house and often times talk to my tummy saying "Hi baby! and I love you baby" it's the sweetest thing.  Hattie is beyond bossy and independent and Harper absorbs everything you say and teach him.

Lots more to share with you all soon.  Looking forward to reconnecting.  We've missed you!


Lots of love,

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday! Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. I know we did, even though as usual it went by way too fast. We kicked things off on Friday afternoon with a trip to one of the parks by our house. It was the first time we've been able to go to the park without snow everywhere in months. Wrenn was ecstatic to be outside running around, climbing and sliding. Parker loved sliding down the slide too, especially when Wrenn went down beside him. We wrapped up the evening with a super healthy dinner of chicken nuggets and french fries for Wrenn and myself and yummy fruits and veggies for Parker while enjoying a dance party to "Happy". We love that song and they have a blast clapping along. 

Saturday morning winter decided to make another pit stop covering the ground with snow and dropping the temperatures back into the low 20s, which was NOT cool. We made the most of it with lots of playing inside Saturday and Sunday. We played bubbles, princess castle with dragons, ballet, cars and airplane just to name a few. It's been so fun the last couple weeks playing with both Wrenn and Parker together. I love how much they love each other and love being around one another. It just warms my heart! 

Lots of Love,

-Jessica

Silly Wrenn

Wrenn has been making me laugh out loud on a daily basis lately. Since it feels like I can't remember anything anymore (anyone else feel that way since having kids?!?!), I wanted to write down some of the things she's been saying so I don't forget. Here are a few of my recent favorites.

1. When I say something like, "Wait a second, you can't take a bath until we have clean-up time." Wrenn will say, "Oh ya, silly Wrenn."

2. I usually put her in her car seat and then let Dan tighten the straps, but yesterday I put her in and tightened the straps without his help. Wrenn said, "There you go, you did it! Great job, Mommy."

3. Instead of saying she loves someone or something, she says "I miss" them. She loves to say "Awww, baby Parker is sooooo cute. I miss him."

4. She loves to go around singing "Par-ker Buddy Big Guy, Par-ker Buddy Big Guy, Par-ker Buddy Big Guy". Simply music to my ears! : )

5. Yesterday was bath night, so I told her we were going to go home and take a bath. She said, "Yeah, bath time! Oh, I can't wait to get in the water!"

6.  When she gets up in the morning she says, "The sun came up! All the animals woke up, Mommy!"

7. Pretty much every time they pick me up from work Wrenn says, "I wanna go Target, Mommy".  And if we do go to Target, she typically says "Bye, Target. See you tomorrow." when we are leaving.  We may or may not have a bit of a Target problem!

Lots of Love,

-Jessica

Anthropologie - What's in Our Carts?

If you are like us you love to go into a store and grab everything you see that you like and walk around pretending you are going to buy it all no matter how much it might cost- even if it it means feeding your family ramen noodles for the next 6 months. Then reality sets in and you slowly start putting items back and walk out with just one or two things that were great buys or your "have to haves".  If you are like us you probably also do this online in the form of adding items to your shopping cart.  Your shopping cart turns into a grand wishlist where items will sit for weeks until you actually need to buy something from that store, at which point these items get moved to the "save for later" section of your cart.  But really isn't that what window shopping is all about!? Here's a look at what's currently in our Anthropologie shopping carts. 

ANTHROPOLOGIE

From top left to bottom right

1. Ivorie Dress - $188

2. Caravan Slingback Huaraches - $188

3. Bavay Dress - $148

4. Meow iPhone case - $38

5. Boteh Maxi Dress- $228

6. Twinkled Tweed Cardigan - $98

7. Ether Wedges - $100

8. Sonora Shirtdress - $138

Ginger's Grand Total: $1126

From top left to bottom right

1. Gilded tunic dress - $350

2. Mara Hoffman Anada swimsuit - $256

3. Ambler perforated booties - $235

4. Kerala peplum top - $298

5. Logan tapered trousers - coral color - $98

6. Windfall shift - $128

7. Janie Layered pullover - $88

8. Vernalis maxi dress - $198

Jessica's Grand Total: $1651

Happy Shopping!

Free Fonts are Fun

I love fonts, particularly fun swirly ones that have the ability to make any word feel fancy.  I also love the word free.  Combine it with font and I'm like a kid in a candy store!  Free fonts? Yes please!  Here are a few of my favorite fonts found at dafont.com. 

 

Wolf in the City//Some Weatz//Antrokas//Voluptate//Channel Left Slant//Blackjack//Austie bost all my love//Chopin Script//Signarita Chloe

Be sure to check out the FAQ on dafont.com for information on how to install fonts and other great tips for using fonts.  

Lots of love,

Dear Mr. Parker Reece

                     

Dear Mr. Parker Reece,

You are simply growing up too fast. Please slow down. You turned 9 months old on Monday. I still don't even know how that is possible. You had your doctor appointment Monday as well and passed with flying colors. You currently weigh 21 lbs 9 oz (80%) and are 30 1/4" tall (98%). You started crawling last Tuesday and have been non-stop ever since! Your first tooth started to (finally) push through on Wedsnesday and it looks like you are about to get a couple more. 

You love watching and playing with you sister, crawling everywhere, chewing on any and everything, clapping and playing with/pulling everybody's hair including your own. You are all smiles and giggles with just the occasional fussies. You still aren't sure about table food, but you have been enjoying eating packs on the go! 

You are such a joy each and every day, Mr. Parker Reece. I'm so thankful God chose me to be your mommy. I love you forever, Parker Buddy Big Guy. 

Love,

A Pretty Pink Stripe Shirt

If the persistent cold weather this winter wasn't enough, this adorable pink stripe shirt from J.Crew Factory has us counting down the days to Spring (only 23 more days!). 

Here's how we would style it:

 

Jessica's items:

Boyfriend jeans - Gap 1969 sexy boyfriend jeans

Polka dot headband - Etsy cream and gray polka dot headband

Neutral low wedge - JCrew Factory demi-wedge sandal in honey brown

Classy gold watch - Michael Kors 'petite lexington' bracelet watch

Adorable tote - Anthropologie french bulldog tote

Earrings - JCrew crystal venus flytrap earrings

Ginger's items:

Aviators - Tory Burch 59mm aviator sunglasses

Shorts- JCrew Factory demin roll-up short

Neutral flats - Madewell the d'orsay flat in leather

ID bracelet - Madewell woven id bracelet

Statement necklace - Stella and Dot norah pendant

Chunky cardigan - Sheinside apricot long sleeve pockets oversized cardigan

How would you style it?

Lots of Love,

Party Time!

The final H&H Birthday Celebration Week post is of course all about the party! I let H&H pick their own themes this year.  Little miss of course chose Disney Princess and Bubbie went with the very traditional "Batman and Robin and Joker and all those guys" theme.  This year I tried to stop putting so much pressure on myself to make the party pintrest worthy and just do what felt right.  I made a few decorations but otherwise kept it very low key.  I made their banners using free fonts I found online.  Princess Castle font is JLR Mouse House found here.  The batman font is Bat Ben found here.

I still can't believe the twins are three, which make them officially official toddlers.  I feel like there isn't any more baby in them.  It makes me very sad that they are growing up so quickly, but at the same time I feel incredibly proud.  I love watching them grow and learn new things. The best part is when they hug you and tell you they love you and you know it's true because they are old enough to really know what that warm fuzzy feeling means.

Lots of love,
 

Closer

The twins were so blessed this birthday!  The weather all across the country has just been nutty this winter. Ice in SC! Snow in NC! 14inches of snow in WV! Bonkers.  However, my parents are so in love with Hattie and Harper a blizzard couldn't keep them from traveling the 11 hours up from South Caroline to help the twins celebrate their birthday.  Not only did my mom and dad make the hike, but my one and only Twister barred a 6 hour drive down from Chicago with a 2 1/2 old and an 8 1/2 mo old!  Each visit with my family fills me with so much love!  It does always make me said to see everyone go and I pray that someday we will all be closer together, but I know that no matter how far or near we are to one another we could never truly be any closer than we already are because our love for each other bonds us together no matter where we live.  This truth made me think of one of my favorite lines from a song "Home is Wherever I am with You" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. There are so many cute prints with this saying and I think this quote or another about home, family and love should hang in every home as a constant reminder of what is truly important in life.  Here are a few of my favorites.

 

Etsy

Etsy

Lindsay Letters

Lindsay Letters

                                 

Minted

Minted

Lots of love,