Summer time is here.

June is already in full swing and so goes our summer break. I must say the first two weeks were rough as I woke up and packed Avery's lunch then woke her up only to remember that schools over! She wasn't happy about that either as she dearly loves her school as well as her friends, so adjusting to no longer seeing them as much and not having school was hard to handle. I think we're over that hardship though as now she continues to write and draw me pictures and stories about her new friends at her new school. 9 weeks to go....

We've grilled a lot, slept in a lot, had a few play dates

Avery and her BFFS (Anna & Sophia)

A fun day at the Dallas world Aquarium

We went to the movies and yesterday finally busted out the swimsuits on a low key Fathers Day.

   It's officially summer. Nothing big planned like last year (thankfully). We have VBS in 3wks, then a girls road trip to Georgia the week after that and possibly a trip to Galveston for a fun weekend but we may bypass that for a stay-cation.

Otherwise I don't have much to update on, which is weird. 

What are fun things you do in the summer time?

-Britt

Get Happy!

Www.100happydays.com

I signed up today. I wanna see what makes YOU happy too.

-Brittnye

Celebrate Good Times...Come On!

This past weekend I celebrated my birthday. Yeah, 28 years old and starting to realize I'm getting old. Perhaps having a baby and being sleep deprived doesn't help but there it is. Evan turns 29 next week and he's already freaking out about turning 30 soon. ha. I can not remember the last time I had such a fun and special Birthday. Don't get me wrong, I've had some good ones but this year was just nice and easy going with nothing too exciting happening and usually there's a group outing or small party with lots of friends and family. Not this year...nope. This year it was just Evan and I having a date night!

Evan used his floater day from work for my birthday so was off work all day! His parents came over and watched both the girls for us (Our first time away from Alyssa) while we went to Lewisville and had Hibachi for dinner to celebrate both our birthdays. There was only 1 other couple at our table and the chef asked if we wanted a full show or just a nice quiet meal to which we both said the latter. LOVED IT! He was amazing still with the fire and jokes and showmanship of cooking our food but it was a short/fast version and we got to enjoy our meal in a much quieter setting than the majority around us. The other couple was older and the husband asked me twice how long Evan and I had been dating which was funny seeing as my wedding ring was in plan sight. As we were both leaving I made a comment to Evan about checking on the girls to which the wife seemed shock to hear I had 2 children let alone a newborn at home. The husband started congratulating Evan for doing a "Good job!" and then adding how good it was for us to "Keep dating" He was British so maybe I was missing something? Anyway, they made our dinner kinda funny and not so hush hush.

After dinner we wanted dessert but didn't know where to go. We debated on driving to Frisco for Cheesecake when I remembered that most Barnes & Nobles have a Starbucks cafe with desserts, so we drove to the nearest one. As we walked in the cafe we both recognized the manager as a guy we went to High School with, not just any random guy but my freshmen year he was one of my closest friends, he was also in the Chemistry class where Evan and I met and joined in on the journal we passed around and wrote notes in! Evan wanted to see if he recognized us so we decided not to say anything until after we ordered our stuff. Once he saw us he made small talk but kept staring at me when suddenly he realized who I was and came rushing around the counter to hug me and Evan and was super excited to see us. We hadn't seen each other since our Wedding so he was so happy to hear and see we were still together and had kids now. When he asked what we were doing we told him it was my birthday and he gave us our cheesecake for free and also made me a special drink on the house. It was so sweet of him and getting to catch up was also great. Evan and I will definitely be seeing him soon.

We headed back to Denton and rented movies then said bye to Nan and Gary and Avery as they were taking her for the weekend to have some one on one time with her (she was so excited). Ate our cheesecake, snuggled up on the couch after we got Alyssa down and watched movies until we both crashed.

Saturday was amazing as we slept in until 9am (Alyssa has been sleeping 6-7hr stretches). Cleaned the house a bit before getting ready to run errands. We shopped for Alyssa and Avery then drove to Grapevine to BassPro so Evan could try to find ammo and a cleaning kit for his handgun and just look around. After that we went to Southlake where we enjoyed Central Market for some goodies for us as well as our friends Ross & Therese who were in the area for the weekend and having dinner with us in Arlington. I love Central Market, seriously...I could spend a whole day there. Got to dinner where Alyssa continued to be the best baby ever by never crying or fussing but being super mellow and sleeping off and on. She only fussed once in the car and we were out and about for over 5hrs!

So if you read my blog, you know Ross and Therese. We met back in Feb of 2009 at an engagement party for Evans best friend Nick, whose (now) wife Kate went to TCU with Therese. Evan and Therese were in the wedding party and Avery was only 6wks old so we had her with us and Therese being a NICU nurse was instantly wanting to see and play with her. We soon learned we had a lot in common and both lived in Fort Worth. Add that Evan and Ross were both Architect majors and we hit it off great. After the wedding we started hanging out, going on runs together, dinner dates, movie dates and enjoying our mutual love of Central Market. Ross and Therese became very special to us. They literally made living in Fort Worth not so miserable for me. Then Ross accepted a grad school offer in Kansas and they moved away to Kansas City. I even went with Therese on her trip to KC to find an apartment for them to live in and we also helped pack them up on moving day. I remember driving back home and just crying, I thought for sure I'd never see Therese or hang out with her again.

So wrong. Over the past 3yrs Therese has been down here to visit about once a year and once Ross surprised her with a trip down to Fort Worth just to have dinner with Nick, Kate, Evan and I. We also email, FB and Blog stalk each other and have random days where we txt nonstop and an occasionally phone date. Therese is just one of the biggest blessings in my life and our friendship although not big on face to face time is still one of the strongest friendships I have. So when she txt me and asked what Birthday plans we had I was super stoked when she asked if they could be a part of them since it just so happened they were coming to DFW for the weekend as Ross had a conference at UTA!!! Talk about awesome timing and an amazing gift for my birthday.

So we had dinner at our favorite Sushi place, Piranha Sushi, and got to catch up over delicious food. You'd never think we hadn't seen each other in almost 2 years! They also got to meet Alyssa which was neat since Avery was that little the first time we met them! I know they were sad about missing Avery this time as they adore her too. It was the perfect ending to such a nice day with Evan and it made my Birthday that much special. :)

 Meeting Alyssa.

 Just like old times.

 The original group. Evan, Me, Nick, Kate, Ross & Therese.

 Avery helping "Tree" Move to KC.

Just Chilling with Mr. Ross.

From Therese last visit in 2010

Girls Night Out.  Before she had to go back to KS.2010

                                        Us 2013                                      Us 2009

One of many activities together...

I said it on FB but I'll say it again. I've come to learn with age that when it comes to friendships I'll take Quality over Quanity anytime. Some friendships are just too special to let distance, time apart, life and other things take away from it.

Thankful: Day 12

Day 12-

I am Thankful for the wonderful website known as Pinterest.

Seriously, am I the only one obsessed with pinning? I can spend a solid afternoon finding recipes, DIY and organizing tips for my home, plus if I ever need a laugh....it's all there.
 Even Evan is a fan, he loves the meals I have made from my pins, the desserts too and Avery's Christmas and Birthday ideas are all from Pinterest. What did we do without it?! (I know a little lame, but I do love this site)

September Already!? :)

I feel like such a broken record with my poor blog. I could have sworn I updated a few times in August but apparently I didn't! Same with my HLC blog which I'm starting to wonder was worth all the hype but I know it's just the pregnancy and summer-ness getting to me on that end.

SO much to catch up on and I warn you now you oh-so-AMAZING reader, I've got much to update and just pour out about. Maybe need to hash things out in a 2-parter and just keep this entry as simple as possible.

Life at the Hartfield casa seems to finally be slowing down after a busy summer. We just got back from a weekend trip with Evans parents (always and I mean ALWAYS fun being with those two amazing people!). Avery started school this week too which means new routine and schedule and not too mention a little free time for mommy and daddy.

Check out my big girl!!!

She is Blessed with two awesome teachers this year and I just can not tell you how EXCITED Evan and I are that she gets to have this experience. She really loves her school and the 1st week is done and she already has made new friends! She's also ridiculously taller than her classmates.....

We had 2 more foster litters come and go and we even got our sweet mama kitty, Layla adopted! I know it sounds dumb but after having her be at our fence, deck and slowy into our home after 2 years, I kinda didn't expect her to get adopted and she was adopted just 2hrs after I took her to the shelter!! When I was notified about her adoption, I sobbed. I'm talking...wailed! Boo-hooed and did the full blown ugly cry. I loved her and was so used to her ALWAYS being with us even though she really wasn't ours. After the last kitten was gone it took me 3 days to realize I wasn't hearing kittens or needing to get up and feed them. Paris and Gus are sure happy and Evan has asked that I not bring home anymore Little's until after our own new little arrives. :)


Speaking of our Little.....

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

We are having ANOTHER girl! We found out 2wks ago and are super excited. For now she is referred to as "Little Miss" since we are not sharing her name until she is born. (I told 2 friends on accident and Evan told his parents so now we are being VERY strict with this rule!) Sadly, this is the best sono pic I have so far but I have my anatomy scan on Tuesday so hopefully I will get a better pic to share.

I'm 21wks today! Crazy to think we are already half way there! I started feeling her at 16wks but as of last week she has decided to let me know EVERY move she makes! With Avery it was a few stretches in my ribs and hiccups but this one....she's a roly poly!! Usually around 7am and 10pm she is most active and I am loving every second of it. I'll get a 20wks picture uploaded soon and show my 14wk/16wk & 20wk belly shots. :)

So far we know she has her daddy's booty, chin and profile, just like Avery did. She is super long and has little feet.

I'm finally getting the reality of it I think. I've been telling people how weird it is for me to be so lax about EVERYTHING with this pregnancy but once we found out SHE was a SHE I started planning and thinking and list making. Evan and I went to Babies R Us and started a registry, we've got her and Averys room laid out so I know where to start from there. I just wish I could narrow things down and stop being so indecisive. SO much has changed on the market since we had Avery and we both feel weird about asking people to buy Little Miss gifts for her shower which.....hasn't even been planned or talked about and I'm not even sure if I'm having one.

Her colors are Gray and Lilac with no theme for her nursery. I'm just going for colors and patterns. Super Hartfield, I know. ;)

Alright, that should do for a sufficient update. I'll get belly pics and another update out and about before the weekend hits full throttle.

Thanks for sticking with me and my lazy, nonblogging self.

-Brittnye

Life Update

Oh my poor, neglected blog!

I know I said I wasn't going to over indulge on this pregnancy but I didn't mean just stop blogging all together! This summer has been pretty busy, good busy but busy. I feel like I'm finally able to play catch up.

Evans job has been a little worrisome with production being down and layoffs being rumored but THANKFULLY he survived the first round of layoffs and even though the loss of production days is temporary, we've turned his short work weeks into lots of fun family time. Avery and I feel so spoiled getting daddy home 4 nights a week instead of just on the weekends. I will say it's been nice on my low energy days with this pregnancy because Evan is AMAZING with letting me nap or helping me out with house stuff or Avery's high energy. :)

Avery is growing like a weed! She is getting taller which is hard to believe since she's always been above average but this summer she has shot up 2 sizes in shoes alone! Her speech is very pronounced and her personality just explodes now that she can communicate so much better. I love her random comments or cutesy phrases. So hard to believe she'll be 4 in December! She's also finally conquered potty training!!! (Tee tee anyway) What did the trick? CHEVY. He visited us one weekend and used her princess potty and Avery did not like that!!! As soon as she saw him use HER potty, she decided it was hers and only hers and started using it the next day. Now she won't use her potty but the big potty. We're still hit or miss out in public but if we make sure she goes before we leave the house she doesn't have accidents and she gets so tickled when she wears her panties. Getting her 100% potty trained before Baby arrives was a worry for me but come delivery time I have no doubt she will be completely potty trained.

She's loving the summer time.

As for me and Baby? We are doing great. This pregnancy is by far easier than Avery's was, even with the horrible morning sickness and fatigue I am loving it. We are in the 2nd trimester now and in 3wks we find out if we're PINK or BLUE. I'm hoping for a boy this time but a part of me has a feeling this is another girl. Guess we will see, I swore Avery was a boy and all the old wives tales pointed to boy but she is ALL girl. No matter what God blesses us with we are just so elated to be having another baby. Avery is already an amazing big sister and she even picked the girls name we decided on. She loves to kiss and hug my belly and she talks to the baby daily. I'm feeling kicks now but nothing too big yet, Evan got to feel a few on Saturday while we were camping and at our OB appointment the baby kept kicking the doppler. I feel them especially at bedtime or very early morning when I'm laying still in bed. :) So ready for them to be felt by everyone, especially Avery.

                                                        Rocking the bump @14wks

 I'm also having cravings like crazy lately, the first month I barely ate much from being so sick and lost 6lbs. Then once I hit 9wks it was Mexican food every day, every meal, especially nachos! Now, not so much... This week it's been sweets, mainly pie. I blame our pie shop stop Sunday while heading home from our camping trip because now my freezer is stocked with this....

Pie anyone?!

Other than that we are all doing good. Enjoying family time, mini trips, pool time and staying cool in this Texas heat. I'm also doing a Woman's bible study at Church and am so glad to finally be doing more in our church, this transition into Gracepoint has been easier than I first thought which is weird since it's been almost 8months but I'm just now making time to be more involved like I was with MSBC. I love our church, our church family and I love watching Avery grow up in this atmosphere of believers. That's a whole other blog entry though. :)

                                                       Oh how I missed quiet times.

How about you my sweet readers? How are you doing? I feel so out of the blog loop and my HLC is beyond neglected as well, I must try to stay updated better and make time to write, it's so nice to have something to fall back on and to keep me accountable.

Love and Blessings,

Brittnye

Oregon/Washington Trip (long post)

Well, I've been back to reality for 3 whole days now and am finally able to blog about our vacation.

I just want to say off the bat that considering it was our first vacation with just the 3 of us, I didn't expect it to be as smooth as it went. Avery, who has NEVER flown before was a champ and was such a mellow traveler! No melt downs, no freak outs and oddly enough, she slept the majority of the travel time! (Thank you Jesus!)

DAY 1:
We were out the door to the airport at 4:45am to catch our 7am flight to Portland. Security was super easy and they let Avery keep her cuppy of chocolate milk after testing it (made me laugh). She was alert and bubbly carrying her princess suitcase behind her as we made our way to the terminal while I was freaking out over all my mental checklists. We had 1 suitcase with Evan and I's clothes and shoes, 1 suitcase of Averys clothes and things that was thankfully carry-on sized and then her backpack and a tote bag filled with everything you could think of to keep her entertained/distracted/content on the plane.

I totally didn't need to pack any of it. We boarded the plane when Evan started doing his freak out thing (he hates flying, no joke, like I doubt we fly ever again if we can drive to our destination). So I decided I would just leave him alone and focus on Avery who was not happy about having to have her seat belt on for take off. After a few tears and a bribe of gummy letters (at 7am, sure why not) she settled down as we approached the runway to take off. Apparently all the bumping and jostling was soothing to her because by the time we were in the air still over DFW this is what she looked like...

Yep. Head in my lap, blanket over her and snoring!

It was a 4 hour flight and she slept 3.5 hours of it!!!!! Seriously, I had to laugh about it and be thankful none of the hundreds of scenarios I imagined actually played out. It made me have a boring flight to be honest. I was so absorbed in making sure she was comfortable that I failed to pack anything for me to be occupied with. Evan slept off and on which helped his nerves. The flight attendants must have felt pity for me because they kept bringing me juice, cookies and a crossword puzzle all while being in awe of how good Avery was! She even got a pair of Alaskan Airlines wings she wore out of the plane. :)

        

These two crack me up so much, like father, like daughter....

I must also say that I am one of those window flyer's who just loves looking at the view, it's just so incredible to me how amazing everything looks from 35,000ft up!! Just so inspiring and relaxing.

      

X Marks the spot.

Anyways, we made it to Seattle where of course it was raining. We boarded our next plane which we had to walk out onto the runway to climb up a step ladder to board which was way cool! Avery was more excited that it was a pink plane (maroon really). It was a propeller plan and super little compared to other planes I've been on so Evan got to sit elsewhere while Avery and I were beside each other. 30min flight easy-peasy and Avery entertained everyone by singing the alphabet over and over in different versions.

We arrived in Portland and made our way to baggage claim where Jarrod was waiting for us. I wish I had gotten some pictures because I tell you it was super emotional for me watching her spot her Uncle Jarrod and take off at a run shouting his name while tons of people watched from security. She literally leaped into his arms and knocked him over she was so elated to see him. When we caught up and hugged Jarrod she turned and shouted "Look mommy, my uncle Jarrod!" and then proceeded to hold his hand and jabber about her being in an airplane. *heart melting all over again*

We got our bags and headed to Portland where Jarrod and Evan caught up a bit and all the giddy-ness and "We're really here!" bliss almost suffocated you in the car. We were a bit hungry and with the time change it was still too early for lunch so Jarrod took us to Slappy Cakes for brunch. WAY COOL PLACE just fyi. You pretty much buy batter and your own toppings and make pancakes on a griddle in the middle of your table. So fun! I got Lavender Honey and dried cherries, Jarrod got blueberries. So good. We had a fun time seeing who could make the better pancake. Then it went from that to making Avery mickey mouse and heart shaped pancakes and seeing which looked better.. (Again, I failed to take pictures)

After brunch we headed to Jarrod and Sarah's place where we got the tour, met the kitties and relaxed for a little bit deciding what to do. We finally decided to go check out a park and stopped at a store to buy a kite and a huge hello kitty bounce ball and bubbles and made our way to Laurelhurst area in Portland (I told Evan if he bought me a house there, I'd never complain) Long story short (since I have days left to cover) Jarrod took us to the wrong side, we walked around forever trying to find the play area, all the kids swarmed us due to being so awesome with our toys and then we went grocery shopping to make home made pizzas for dinner. Time change hit me and Avery hard and we both went to bed at 7:30 Portland time.

Day 2:

After a lazy morning we all packed into Sarah's car for a drive to the coast. Such a beautiful drive!!!! We ended up in Cannon Beach which was so amazing and Evan and I are thinking of doing a summer vacation there. It was close to raining so we ate lunch on the beach at Mo's which is known for their Clam Chowder. Their homemade bread was outstanding and melted in your mouth!! I had the chowder and it was amazing as well, so good and the view was amazing as well. Avery and I had never been to the ocean or beach so we were very excited. (I've been to Normandy Beach but I don't count that, it's a sacred place and very odd and calm and not the type of place you want to go swimming and strolling along). Anyway, after lunch we debated on walking along the beach but it started raining and Avery freaked out once we went down the barge because of how cold, windy  and wet she was getting, I also think the loud waves crashing scared her so we headed back to wait out the rain. The guys however, decided to get their feet wet since Jarrod said the water was super cold.

Headed to the Ocean!

Lunch at Mo's

Our view from our table.

Getting caught in the rain.

sooo windy!

So stinking cute.

Getting their toes wet.

<3.

After drying off a bit we drove to the actual town of Cannon Beach and walked around the shops. There is a candy store called Bruce's Candy Kitchen that Sarah and Jarrod wanted to go to for their Sea Salt Caramels (which were fantastic, yum!). The sun started to show so we walked back to the beach at the end of town where I got my turn to put my feet in the ocean and Avery wasn't so afraid since there was no wind and it was more calm then where we had been. The water wasn't that cold actually and I loved it!!

Soo much fun and it was so beautiful. We headed back to Portland where we took a side trip to the Japanese Rose Garden for the City view and walked around making fun of the names of the roses. We ate dinner at Burgerville which was a neat place that made it's mark by being all local and fresh and recycled and reused a lot of it's material (Something Portland is very big on!).

 Day 3:
We packed our bags and made the 3 hour drive to Seattle!! I had booked us a hotel in Bellvue which is on the other side of the Washington bridge which is maybe 15minutes away from Seattle. Once we got settled into our rooms we went to Seattle and had dinner at a Pizzeria called Bambinos which was pretty good. Service inhaled vigorously, won't lie there, but the pizza was different and prepared in a fire so it had a crisp taste with the fresh ingredients they used. After walking around the space needle a bit we headed back to Bellvue where we stocked up on snacks and rested for our day in Seattle.

Day 4:
We spent the majority of our time in the market which it being Saturday was super busy. I really liked Seattle, after the market and lunch on the pier we headed to the space needle before making the drive back to Portland.

 Once we got back to Portland we had dinner then went and grabbed donuts from voodoo doughnut a big hit in Portland. I wasn't too fond of them but I don't really go for donuts anyways. cool place though and very creative.

Day 5:
Jarrod had to go to work that morning so we lounged around until lunch time. Sarah drove us to Rocky Butte where we checked out the views of Portland and where Jarrod worked and enjoyed the sunshine for a bit before going to lunch. Sarah and Avery have a huge thing in common food wise and that is their love of grilled cheese sandwiches. Sarah took us to this awesome double Decker bus called The Grilled Cheese Grill where we enjoyed grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup and this amazing dessert called the Jayme which was Marscapone cheese, bananas, and nutella grilled in a sandwich. OMG, so good!!!

We got back to the house where Jarrod waited for us. The three of them headed to Saturday market while Avery and I enjoyed some quiet time and watched a movie. Once they got back Sarah and I went to Powells city of books which I L-O-V-E-D. Biggest book store I have been in and the smell alone was what I love so much about books. We wandered around for an hour or so before heading back to the house. Evan and Jarrod headed out for some brother time while us girls made dinner and relaxed the rest of the night.

Day 6:

With an early flight we pretty much spent all morning packing up before we made our way to the airport. Security took forever and by the time we got to our gate we were already boarding! Made for a fast flight process. Once again Avery was awesome and sat quietly and colored and watched a movie. The end of our flight was horrible though I mean so turbulent and shaky. Poor Evan was a bag of nerves and in such a bad mood, even I was so nauseous and a little nervous while Avery just kept calm and let me read to her for the last 20minutes which were VERY rough. We had a 2 hour layover in Albuquerque so that helped calm Evan a bit after lunch we lounged in the terminal where Avery fell asleep on my lap and slept the entire boarding process and flight only to wake up once we landed in Dallas.....again, seriously easy to travel with!! Dad picked us up and we had dinner at The Foundry in Dallas, definitely worth checking out if your in the Dallas area. ;)

Got home around 10:30 and we all slept until noon the next day thanks to the time difference. :)

Such a great trip and the rest of our pictures are on FB too. It was so good to see Jarrod and Sarah and it was so nice to get out of Texas for a bit.

Thanks for sticking around this long :)

-Brittnye