We gave extra smooches today. Sending love + sunshine, praying for those that have lost loved ones in the Oklahoma tornado. Oh mother nature.
I sure hope everyone had a good weekend. I took a trip ‘home home’ with the kids to celebrate Mother’s Day at a luncheon on Saturday put on by my sister. It was so lovely! I got to visit with my grandma and aunts and of course my mom and sisters. I’ve been so busy with work and side projects, it was a nice tiny break. Although I was still trying to finish up my niece’s birthday invitation, which caused me to be late coming home to celebrate on Mother’s Day with Thomas and the boys. Due to my procrastination and awful sense of time management. I pretty much ruined my own day. We were suppose to continue the tradition and go strawberry picking and eat lunch like we did last year when Case was just a few weeks old. Super bummed at myself. But instead, we spent the afternoon (what was left) grocery shopping. Hmmm…I actually enjoyed it. My husband left the store saying ‘never again’…I said, ‘this is what I do all the time.’ Afterwards we went to his brother’s for a little barbeque. In the end, I was so blessed to be with my family this weekend, the people I love, especially our two incredible boys. Oh and Thomas was the sweetest and got me a Wacom tablet and new hard drive for my computer…eek! So excited, but definitely didn’t feel deserving of it.
Happy Mother’s Day to all the awesome moms out there!
xo
Ladies and gentlemen…our baby turned one on Sunday! I can’t believe it has already been a year since we saw our little Casen Blake for the first time. We’ve had an such amazing first year!
I had hopes of warm weather and sunny skies, but the chilly wind and grey clouds didn’t keep us from having the greatest circus party on earth! We celebrated at a little park near our home with family and friends. I wanted to share a few of my favorite photos.
I enjoy planning the kids’ birthday parties, my husband on the other hand, who is always in charge of the food, always asks if we can just have a simple party with good food. Well, from the ring of fire cupcakes to the gold fringe on the big round balloons, it was just that! Ha!
Once all the guests arrived we ate some yummy hot dogs and hamburgers, popcorn, and chips. I think the little guest were more interested in the party blowers, candy and toys that came in their favor bags. They were troopers and weren’t going to let the weather stop them from playing on the playground and with all the circus toys and silly things to dress up with.
Of course you can’t have a circus party without a striped tent! Good thing because we eventually moved under it to stay warm, eat some homemade cake and open gifts…thank you everyone!
Happy Birthday to Case!
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circus invitation / Little Frills paper + goods available soon!
napkins / Mara-Mi for Target + Ikea
party crowns / diy from Wit & Whistle
balloons / Shop Sweet Lulu
balloon fringe / diy from Sweet Thing
ring of fire cupcakes / diy from The Proper Pinwheel
scarf/bib / IndieNook
Easter Sunday was full of blue skies, warm weather and family. Every other year we go to my grandma’s home to celebrate Easter. This year we were able to spend time with both our families. My mom made the boys ties…so cute! It was Casen’s first Easter. He was sort of crabby…he doesn’t like to get off schedule, but he was so good in church. Jax, on the other hand spent most of the time in the bathroom, walking around outside with Daddy and discovering the baptismal fountain. As long as I can remember we always flew kites on Easter. It was so awesome to see Thomas and Jax run around the football field flying Jaxon’s first kite (captured on vine). Jax had a blast hunting easter eggs twice and eating way too much chocolate. I think I had way too many Reeses eggs. Mimi and Papa spoiled the boys with lots of goodies…and sand toys for our vacation! It was a great day.
what we wore
Case: handmade tie, H&M hat + shirt, Genuine Kids pants, Freshly Picked moccs / Jax: handmade tie, Gap Hat, H&M shirt + pants, Target boots / Laura: Francesca’s dress + necklace, Forever 21 cuff, Mossimo Boots / Thomas: H&M shirt, Flypaper Denim, Dan Post Boots
SNOW DAY! Sunday it snowed ten inches! It was sort of Jaxon’s first real snow day. All the other snowy days were crap. He and Daddy made a their first snowman together. I was staying warm inside with Case, taking photos of the sweet moment. It was so great to watch. Jax loved putting all the snowman parts on. ‘Mom we need a hat!’ ‘Mom we need a mouth!’ He turned out awesome. Best. Snowman. Ever.
FRIDAY FAVE! Jax loves when his cousin Adelaide comes to visit.
Follow me on instagram…@_lauracoggins
FRIDAY FAVE! afternoon adventure with Jax in old town by our house.
Follow me on instagram…@_lauracoggins
MUST HAVE: These letterpressed IOUs! A collaboration between Christine of Ink*Lemonade and Typecase Industries. Every mom, not just new mommas can use a break every once in a while…I could really use the sleep one right about now. With all the new little ones I know arriving this year, I will be placing my order soon! I mean, how can you pass up mint edge printing. These IOUs would make the perfect gift…even for new dads!
Oh and I’m definitely adding Christine’s blog to my list of daily reads! You should too!
Just added You Are My Wild to my daily reads. It is a weekly portrait project that brings together 14 photographers to document how they see their children. I love when talented people collaborate. It’s such a beautiful thing.
Anje Bridge / Becky Zeller / Brooke Schwab / Dera Frances / Isabel Furie / Jessica Kraus / Kati Dimoff / Kelsey Gerhard / Klodjana Dervishi / Meaghan Curry / Rebecca Conway / Ryan Marshall / Tara Whitney / Shelby Brakken
Real Life.
I don’t keep a journal. I never usually blog about my days…but yesterday was a good one. Too good not to write about. Nothing out of the ordinary.
I wake up every morning when my husband is in the shower, start packing his lunch, make his tea and breakfast. I already know what you are thinking...it’s just a little deal we made, if I stay home with the kids, I wake up when he does (even though sometimes I crawl back into bed after he goes to work). Some days I hate it, today was nice. It’s our fifteen minutes. We don’t really talk about much, this morning he called me weasel while I was making his eggs. Some days that would annoy me, but I just said ‘that’s not my name’. When he was walking out the door he said ‘have fun today’. And ‘you look pretty’….I said ‘thanks’. It made me smile. The day before yesterday he stormed off to work mad because I was being a crab. This morning I tried to convince him I need a new computer…that was a big fat NO. We have good days and bad days, everyday can’t be the same. Yesterday, work was normal. A day full of answering emails, finishing up little design projects and revising proposals. The boys were really good. Their nap schedules are changing, but I was able to get some housework done. Something we argued about the day before. When he got home, he said ‘the house looks good babe’. That made me smile. It was a typical Thursday night, his sister watched the boys while we went to crossfit together. We usually are in the zone and don’t really talk to each other much when we workout, but today we were flirting. It made me smile. Sometimes we go out to dinner with friends, but it was just us. Of course we always have a hard time making decisions on where to eat or what movie to see. It actually went smooth. We had an awesome date night. It’s kind of an inside joke, but he opened the door for me…all I could say was ‘yes! yes!’ It made us both smile.
Yesterday is actually kind of unexplainable. Those little things that he may not notice. The unexpected notes he writes. All I know is that I am thankful for my husband and our family that we have made. Friends may not always be there, money can be at an all time low, but we stay strong…together. I don’t know what I would do without him. We are a team…Team TL. (Ha! Another story.) Some people may think our ideas our crazy. I don’t care. I love that about us…not knowing what will happen next. I’m always ready for an adventure. Even though yesterday was just an ordinary day it was positive and made me so happy to be alive.
These were some of my favorite moments of 2012…I love my family.
2012 was a good one. In January, Jax turned two. My niece, Hazel was born in March and eight weeks later our littlest, Casen was born. In June, my other niece, Addie was born. I joined crossfit. Took vacation to Mexico…and Thomas got a kidney stone. In August, we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary! We had to say goodbye to the giant shade tree in our front yard. In November, I made some much needed updates to this blog. Our dog, George turned 7. And most recently launched Frills paper + goods.
This year I have learned:
That I will be packing lunches for the rest. of. my. life.
That potty training is one big emotional roller coaster.
Grocery shopping with two kids by yourself is for the birds.
Being home everyday with my kids is the best thing ever.
I deserve a clean towel…I mean I do the never ending laundry.
The wrinkles on my forehead aren’t ever going away.
Anything can happen when you leave the country.
That I can’t leave Target without spending a hundred dollars.
I can still pull all-nighters, just like I did in college.
That sometimes success takes time.
I am thankful for all the memories, we have experienced some pretty low lows, had some great adventures, but I am so glad to begin a new year. I have lots of little goals for myself. I made a list, but I’m tucking it away until next year. Hopefully I can check a few things off. I’m pretty sure this year will will be a blast because this momma is turning 30…eek!
Thank you so much for reading my blog, supporting my shops and following me on instagram. Y’all are too kind…thank you for the sweet comments and love. Hopefully one day we can meet!
Happy 2013 everyone! xo
Oh Christmas, you went by way too fast, like you always do. It was an overwhelming blast spending time with family this holiday. We played games, built a castle, shopped, went gawking at holiday lawn inflatables, ate cookies, rode in a carriage, made snow globes, and had lots of laughs. So many memories were made.
If you know me, I am bit of a procrastinator. But this year I’m kind of glad I was because late on Christmas Eve, my husband and I were wrapping presents…together, yes together. I just thought to myself, this is just the beginning. Ha! The beginning of pretending to be the guy in red! Oh what parents do. This year Jax thought the our tree in the living room was Christmas and that Santa was going to bring him a spaceship. For Case, it was just another day of not wanting his nose wiped and trying to stand up. Next year, I’m pretty sure we will need a bigger home or at least a toy room.
Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!
xo
Happy Holidays from our family to yours!
OPERATION SANDY HOOK: Brickyard Buffalo has teamed up with several talented designers who created custom prints to sell to raise funds for the families of the victims suffering in Connecticut. Get involved and help those affected by this horrible tragedy. All proceeds will be sent to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund established by the United Way. I just ordered this downloadable print created by Maypole.
