My Favorite Time of Year!!

This is definitely it...my absolute favorite time of year, though the hustle and bustle gets a tad exhausting.  I LOVE Christmas!  I love that people are (for the most part) full of holiday spirit!  I love the tree, the decorations all over the house, the cookies, the holiday parties, AND the snowstorms!  Each year, as we bring all of our Christmas decor up from the basement, I find myself smiling at all the ornaments we've collected from different places throughout the years.  The snowmen from our first year dating up at the cabin, the REALLY cool Santa Snowman head from Brenna (she got if for me when she was in New York), the black lab reindeer with presents on it's back, which was Sasha's first Christmas ornament, the photo ornament from our wedding, and the snowman holding a big letter M, which was the ornament we bought for Marley last Christmas when she was still in my tummy!  So many fun memories!!  This year, we've added two new ornaments to the collection...one of a black lab hanging in a stocking (sooooo cute) and one of a Christmas cupcake, Marley's very first ornament for her very 1st Christmas!  I'm beyond excited to share my love of Christmas with her this year!!!!!  We've already been dancing to holiday music each night, we've baked our first batch of chocolate chip cookies together, and I gave her a tiny taste of the dough...hey, I know that's a no-no, but live a little!!!  She was so happy!!  Here is a picture of our tree!  Oh, how I love it and how it makes my house smell!!

 Marley's Tree

Besides all this Christmas craziness, Marley is keeping us busier than ever.  She is zooming all over the place and really getting the hang of walking...at least two steps or so at a time.  There are still plenty of falls, and sometimes I wonder if we'll ever have a day without her bumping her noggin on something!  It makes me feel so bad to see those little bruises on her head, but I know it comes with the territory!  She's a daredevil and has no fear, that's for sure.  Marley has yet to show the least bit of shyness around new or unfamiliar faces!  She loves to show off all her tricks for new people and is always laughing, well...unless she sees food and then she does her little nose snort face.  Can you say Miss Piggy?!  This girl is going to eat me out of house and home!

First few steps...

Showing off her top teeth!

Travis and I have been living in this whirlwind of activity for a few months now and are looking forward to things slowing down a bit in January!  Between weddings, Thanksgiving, holiday & retirement parties, and Christmas...we've been swamped.  He's been working a lot of late nights and extra hours with Tom (his dad) recovering from hip surgery up north.  And now we're in crunch time in terms of finishing up our holiday shopping and getting ready to head to the cabin on Wednesday the 22nd.  We'll be spending Christmas Eve in Fifty Lakes, but will drive home on the 24th.  Our plan is to get home before Marley's bedtime so we can make cookies to leave out for Santa, and then in the morning we'll open our gifts and stockings!  Around noon, we head to Faribault to spend Christmas with my family.  Lots of driving for us, but it's always nice to see everyone!  I have taken care of the plans for Marley's 1st Birthday, and we'll be celebrating with a brunch at our house on the 9th.  All the decor, preparations, invites, etc are all taken care of for that!  And once that passes, we'll have a few more weeks and Travis and I leave for our trip to Mexico!  Sunshine, pools/beaches, margaritas, sleeping in!  Ahhhhhhh!  Marley will be staying with Grandma K up north for the 6 days that we are away!  I'm beyond excited and in need of a getaway with the hubby, though I'm a tad nervous to leave her for 6 nights!  I will MISS her so much!!!!


Here are a few pictures of what Miss Marley and Fam has been up to...

Today happens to be our 2 year wedding anniversary!  Happy 2 years to my amazing hubby!  I love you more today than I did then...........sometimes the stars align and make things happen, and I'm so happy/lucky/fortunate/blessed to have you as my husband!!!  Thank you to God for bringing us into each others lives and though I know the road to our wedding day was full of bumps, everything turned out exactly how it was supposed to!!!!  I really believe that!  Here is a new quote that I'm literally IN LOVE with...


"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."

Happy Holidays to all of you!  May your days be full of love and laughter!

XOXO-
Stevie 

Warning--Don't watch if you are the fainting type!!

Warning--Don't watch if you are the fainting type!!

Warning--Don't watch if you are the fainting type!!

Warning--Don't watch if you are the fainting type!!

I was cleaning up files of saved photos and trying to get all of the thousands, literally, of photos of Marley organized...and stumbled across these.  So there will be 4 short little videos posted here.  On the day Marley was born, Trav was in charge of the camera and unknowingly shot mini videos when he thought he was snapping pictures.  The result...my one and only remembrance of that day in the operating room.  I have to admit I cried when I realized these were videos and a rush of emotion swept over me.  This was the very first time I met my daughter!  Literally her first minute of life!!  And Travis captures them taking her out of my belly!

Marley's 10 Month Photo Shoot!

I know I've raved about her before and I'm going to do it again...Casey Von Stein is an amazing photographer!  She has taken Marley's pictures 3 times now, and they keep getting better and better!  She is so fun and easy to work with, and she does a great job capturing my baby girl's personality.  

If you are looking for a great photographer, check her out...http://smileuponyourface.com/ 

She posted a sneak peek of Marley's 10 Month photos on her blog.  You can view it by clicking the link below:

http://smileuponyourface.com/blog/?p=963 

We met Casey at the Casket Arts Building in NE Mpls.  The building was, of all things, an old casket factory.  Casey and I joked about how odd that was, but then quickly pointed out that caskets had to be made somewhere, right?!  Anyway, the building is beautiful and the backdrops were very urban...lots of exposed pipes and brick.  It is now home to over 100 tenants, mainly art studios...and the space really is amazing.  We will likely head back in the spring, as the building is covered with vines that I am sure would be amazing to photograph as they turn to green!

Happy Sunday from Miss Marley :)

Quick Sneak Peek!

We had pictures taken this morning with Marley....per a suggestion from our super-duper fabulous photographer, we visited The Casket Arts Building in downtown Mpls.  The building is amazing, to say the least, and I'll write more about this later.  For now, here is one quick photo that Casey posted on her website, a mini sneak peek, if you will.  More to come and I know we'll love them!