this is the best moment of your life.

"This is it. This is the best moment of your life: nothing else exists." A perfect yoga class last week began with this quote, almost as if the instructor was speaking directly to me- it was exactly what I needed.

When I close my eyes and find my life 10 years from now, there are so many wonderful details that seem so real- I get butterflies thinking of our cute little yellow house with white trim somewhere the sun is always shining, overlooking a big colorful backyard. No matter what I see in that future for myself, the most important thing that keeps coming back to me is balance. I focus my time and energy where I am in each moment; my time at work is dedicated to health, development, and leadership while my time at home is devoted to my incredible husband and adorable chicklet{s!}. This is something I need to incorporate into my life starting now, today and continue every day from here on out. The most important time of Lily's life is right now, each moment is more exciting and precious than the last. I want to document every single bit of her tiny life while I can.

I am committed to adding a little extra balance into my life, doing activities that make me happy and can also revolve around my family; taking photos and sharing them with all of the most important people in my life. Each milestone should be captured and looked back upon when she is all grown up and raising tiny people of her own :)

In the last 2 weeks she has learned how to:
Use her sippy cup (and water is one of her favorite things!)
Drink through a straw
High five :)

.....and it was her first time outside in our backyard walking all by herself!

{those tiny shoes will always make me smile}

and.... I think she LOVED it :)

We now have a 1 year old!

       That sentence feels weird to say- I can not believe Lily is a whole year old already,  it has flown by way too fast. I can close my eyes and play back the day she was born minute by minute like it happened yesterday, still getting tears in my eyes. She has been such a gift, the most amazing, adorable, intelligent little girl- I could have never asked for anything better.
      She is now running from room to room of our new house, chasing the dog, tumbling and giggling the entire time. She is a fantastic climber and is learning what foods she enjoys and which ones she would prefer to drop on the ground for the dog. She has such a big personality that shines through more and more each day.
       Her first birthday was spent a bit uneventful, all 3 of us were sick the week preceding the big day and decided the best idea was to spend the day with just us. She had a ball and ate like a Queen :) Kolby said that the only thing she really liked to do was eat, so he was going to give her the best food for every meal all day for her birthday, such an amazingly thoughtful dad.

Happy little girl

A special occasion calls for a bow :)

Loves her daddy

 hmmm this is weird...

I wonder what I do with this?

Well, this is kinda fun...

hmm it fell apart...

I think I can eat this...

oh I get it, this is delicious!

And she ate the entire thing... went a little crazy, then crashed and slept for 11 hours without a peep :) It made for 2 very happy parents!

Never too late for a little catch up...

Since it has been over 2 months {WHOA} since I last posted, I will spare the details of our ever-changing life with a now 1 year old. We've been through Thanksgiving, Christmas, moving to a new house, a promotion and Lily's first birthday, far too many exciting things without a post, I know.

Christmas was spent in Bend visiting both sides of our families- a quick 2 day trip, one day dedicated to each family- but it was well worth getting to spend the Holiday with all of the most important people in Lily's life. She was a little overwhelmed, but enjoyed all of the food, presents, wrapping paper, boxes and cousins!

 She learned how to climb up and down stairs... quite the entertainment!

 Enjoyed chewing on various ornaments... 

her mouth seemed a better place for them than hanging from the tree.

Lil even opened her own presents {with only a little bit of help}

Slightly unsure as to why there was The Very Hungary Caterpillar inside that paper...

Her favorite thing all night.... a turnip {yes I did say turnip}

With Auntie Julie and Nana

Followed her cousins around EVERYWHERE!

They wanted to make sure Lily knew where to find all of the toys, so sweet.

 Just like Kolby to be in on the action with all the little kids :)

My New Favorite City...

The second we drove into Vancouver, BC at 10:00 pm last Wednesday night, my stomach filled with butterflies and I knew I would live there someday. The city was unbelievable; crossing over the bridge into the beautifully glowing buildings surrounded by snowcapped mountains with the beach below, was simply magical. All though our trip was semi-work related, clearly I work for the best company in the world because every seconds as filled with laughter, goose bumps and inspiration!

With a truck filled with 4 girls, you are bound to learn more than a few life lessons in only 4 short days...

1. If you would like a stamp in your  passport, be sure to get a yellow  

slip from the boarder control

2. When road tripping in the northwest, plan for hail- opt for a car rather than a truck

3. Read parking signs carefully, Canadians are not afraid to tow {however parking meters do take american money}

4. When given the choice between a sushi roll filled with bacon or one covered in tempura banana- choose both {and plan to go to the the eatery}

5. Smart phones are a necessity, or at least plan to see the entire city while getting around without a GPS

6. Better yet, Vancouver was just not made for cars

7. Bring water when hiking the grouse grind

8. Brushed herringbone wunder unders were not made for hot yoga

9. People are actually very friendly when you ask to touch their mustache

10. Girl only road trips are an absolute must every now and again :)

so many ways to make me smile

Lily is now fully up and walking- she believes it is faster than crawling and I am beginning to agree. She will now walk from room to room without a second thought of needing a prop to guide her. This means she can now get into something much quicker than we are used to and our eyes are glued to the little monkey at every moment {most of the time}.

10 things I have realized about her lately:

1. she thinks the vacuum cleaner is almost as fun as the dog
2. she would rather play with the smallest piece of garbage on the ground than with her baskets filled with toys
3. to her, toys do not belong in baskets, every last one of them should be taken out and spread around the room
4. she can always make me smile no matter how mad or upset I am...even after finding out a rock was thrown through the back windshield of our car :(
5. she loves piggy back rides- a sure way to cause a giggle fit
6.  shoes are just toys attached to her feet
7. she definitely has her favorite "blankie" but will carry any blanket around everywhere with her if she finds one
8. she eats food much better if she can pick it up off of her tray rather than eat it with a spoon
9. the living room table has become her track- she runs around it in circles over and over
10. her giggle is the best sound in the world

a little peak into the last few weeks:

we LOVE our baby legs.... every baby should have a few pairs!

she looks pretty annoyed that I want her to eat so many healthy things at once.....

I rarely get to sneak into a picture... and still its only our backsides :)

Nana and Papa came to visit! Lil loved listening to Nana read!

She got to go walking outside for the first time... 

a whole different ball park on the uneven ground!

The first dirt on her teeny tiny shoes :) 

L.O.V.E.

Fall already!

Time is flying by so fast I can't even keep track! I completely missed taking Lily's 8 month photo, so I suppose there will have to be a blank spot in the photo album for the month of September. Fall is in full bloom and October is well on its way! Unfortunately the  nice brisk fall weather is typically accompanied by rain, so we haven't been outside quite as much as we've been used to. Its always a little harder for me to have the urge to take pictures inside- but its a perfect time to get used to it before the Holidays when every photo will most likely be inside! Heres a few of our last couple of weeks

Her head of hair is filling in quite nicely... hopefully it will be long enough for clips and bows just in time  for the Holidays! 

 Different angles are necessary- she now comes straight for the camera when we're on the ground.

Such a big kid! She has started wearing shoes, which to her are just toys attached to her feet...

Sleeping Beauty takes up more of her bed as the days go by

Loves her toys; which are now taking over our tiny apartment!

Walking toy to get her used to putting one foot in front of the other- although she enjoys it from the wrong direction... whatever keeps her entertained works for me!