6/28//

i have really valued these sunday journals, not only for the pictures, but for the notes i've started taking in my meetings. i usually share my favorite piece, or a piece that stood out to me, but i so cherish that notes and thoughts that i've collected.

the youth from our stake just returned from trek this past saturday, and a young man share how he was so nervous to attend for the fear of there not being enough food for him. he bore his testimony that God listens to every prayer we say, even the little ones that we're embarrassed about. it touched my soul to hear of his close relationship with our Heavenly Father. (if only i had known this when i was 14.)

happy sabbath!
xo

the benefits of waking up before 6 am:

Amelia discovered these ants and was terrified, but still willing to cheese it up for a picture.

just a magpie who stole the last bite of our avocado (see next picture)

 the only picture i could get of amelia with these dinosaur exhibits. cute girl was pretty vary of them...

ah, the girls and i are up between the 6 and 7 'o clock hour every day, makes for long days for sure! on a faithful friday, we decided to head up to the zoo and arrived right when it opened (9:04 am). It was pretty empty and just perfect! We stumbled into the seal program, which was just darling, and then into the leopard program, which completely disgusted me (watched a leopard jump into a tree and devour a bunny... gag). we had an early lunch around 10:30. little birds surrounded us, and amelia was anxious they would eat all of our popcorn. a magpie jumped on our table while we were distracted and took the last of our avocado, amelia has been talking about it for days. it was hilarious!

we've seen the entire zoo (i think?) in our two visits, and it has been so fun! we left around noon and despite my attempts to keep them awake, the girls were passed out before we got to the freeway (meaning they wouldn't nap when we got home, meaning i had a long afternoon ahead of me). i opted for a frosted lemonade from chik-fil-a. by myself. the timing was a bit cynical... as soon as i finished the last sip, scarlett started squawking and amelia started mumbling, and that was the end of their 40 minute nap!

love these girls and our adventures and motherhood in general.
xo

06/21//

how convenient the content of sacrament was the power of priesthood. on father's day.
i'm not going to lie, i was a little vary and probably confused about the priesthood when i first heard of it.
i had a solid testimony on prayer and my relationship with heavenly father.
i knew that blessings helped me feel the peace i needed,
but it wasn't until the blessing during my kidney stone that all my skepticism faded away.
i'm grateful for the priesthood and it's presence in my life.

also, amelia got chocolates after sacrament to give to jer,
insisted on carrying it home by herself
took off down the hall to the kitchen
when we got through the front door and put scarlett down.
we found her with her mouth full
"i only had one!!"
priceless.

daddy's day.

these girls love their daddy. their hearts drop when he leaves for work and their faces light up when he comes home. he is the very center of our lives. i wish i had better words to express how thankful we are for him, but this is it. he's patient and kind and gentle and hardworking and so so loving. and how dedicated he is in supporting my role as a mother.

i'm also grateful to my own dad for teaching me to love, to show me what qualities i wanted my babies' dad to have. patience, kindness, gentleness, hardworking, loving, and so supportive of my mom. people always say girls will marry their dads, and i never thought i would. but i did. i'm so grateful for the way he makes me laugh in ridiculous ways, just like jeremy does; for the way listens to my dreams, just like jeremy does; for the way he values my independence, just like jeremy does.

i'm so grateful for dads.
happy father's day!
xo

loveland living aquarium

well, i've turned into the mom that blogs only pictures of her kids without many words, but am pretty much saying, "hey, look cute  c uuuuu t e these babies of mine are!" but for real, i just want to munch their cheeks! jer came with us our first time and we all agreed the remodel was so much more kid-friendly! we loved the displays and loved tuki's island; both girls were all smiles and we had so much fun! similar to our experience to the zoo, we didn't rush to do everything, but enjoyed what we could slowly and looked forward to our next visit. just perfect! jeremy, the big sucker, got amelia a $4 pretzel and a $15 stuffed animal for each girl. i know i probably sound grumpy and cheap, but really i love that jeremy spoils the girls rotten. i oblige because it melts my heart, but i'll never admit it to them. amelia decided she wanted an octopus at the last minute, and then at home she wanted to trade for scarlett's turtle. it's okay that she monopolizes all the toys and scarlett just gets the scraps, right?

loved this trips so much, we went back the very next day with my girl christie. she lives so far away, and i love and miss her so much. it was just nice to catch up for a minute.
xo

hoogle zoo

we got annual passes to the zoo + the aquarium for christmas and i thought it was time we put them to good use. one random morning, i braved up and decided take the girls to the zoo! and hurried, packed up the girls, and left before i could change my mind. it was completely  p a c k e d  because the weather was overcast aka perfect. we got so, so lucky that someone pulled out as we were driving by and we got a front row spot. where i totally nursed scarlett in the backseat before we got out.

i gotta say, i'm pretty impressed with myself for containing both girls by myself and having so much fun together. we made it all the way to the otters, where amelia told me she had to pee. after that, amelia asked to play in the splash pad, and i figured we could visit the rest of the zoo another day. we had lunch (okay, amelia had lunch and i wondered why i forgot to pack myself anything) while scarlett munched on my glasses and made faces at us. we went back around to see the elephants for a second time, and amelia yelled out, "they're pooping mommy! so much! like daddy does!" i'm pretty sure i peed my pants a little. but really, those elephant poops were ginormous.

i managed to keep the girls awake for the drive home, even though they were exhausted and the three of us took a nap together. mission accomplished!

6/14//

listen to the prophet because he has the keys.
even when his guidance isn't trendy.
even when his guidelines don't include, "thus saith the Lord"
because he knows us + loves us.
and truly wants us to be Christ-like + live with HF again.

three + no longer two

 my little two year old, asleep the night before her birthday.

 birthday pancake, and candles to blow out too!

a pedicure for these mini toes, she picked out her own color

this sweet little face loves her scooter.

her first haircut at age 3. she was so good, sucking on her peppermint drop. for a month, i've been asking her if she wanted her hair cut long (a trim) or short (a bob), she was going back and forth, but finally whispered "short" at the salon. (love that she and scarlett are making the same face) 

daddy finally came home from work!

amelia's first theater movie- cinderella! she also had 2 buckets of popcorn for dinner and lemonade in her sippy. (aka THE best night of her life).

but for real, she had mac 'n cheese from noodles & co, but only a few bites before she told me she was going to puke of course.

amelia started to really understand the concept of fun surrounding birthdays right after she turned two. she watched her cousins, friends, parents, grandparents get cake, presents, parties on their big day and COULD NOT wait for hers.

I knew it just had to be a big deal for her.

millie girl is so independent these days: she
-puts on her own saltwater sandals,
-climbs into her own carseat, gets her arms through the the belts + buckles the chest clip,
-dresses and undresses herself,
-picks out her own outfits for the day and pajamas for the night. she doesn't like to match (this is not an opinion; her pajamas are literally always mismatched),
-bathes + scrubs herself (we rinse),
-can tell me what letter a word starts with,
-will kiss you and say "i love you so, i eat you up" if you pretend to be asleep on her,
-memorizes songs like it's no big deal,
-helps calm and soothe scarlett,
-helps me put the dishes away, switches loads of laundry, cleans up her own messes, helps me fold her pants and shirts, changes her own sheets,
-potty-trained day & night + hasn't had an accident in such a long time (since she started changing her own sheets and washing out her own underwear, knock on wood),
-doesn't suck her thumb anymore,
-loves loves loves daniel tiger,
-negotiates like there's no tomorrow,
-doesn't like to be called "amelia bodtcher" because she's "just millie,"
-loves sunday pancakes, sacrament meeting, but not nursery,
-adores her bike, soccer ball, water fights, swimming, dressing up, baking + adventures.


her naps are getting shorter and she is still sneaking into our room in the middle of the night.
everyone always comments on how smart and sweet she is.

she is strong-willed and determined.
she is so so kind and just growing into such a wonderful child.
she is simply the light of our lives.