My Little Soccer Player

Carter started his first season of soccer this month. I think he's still a little too young and we probably should have waited another year, but he sure is cute out there! His team is called the Tiger Cubs and it's 5 boys and 1 girl (all between 3 and 4 years old). I played seventeen seasons of soccer myself so it's a sport that's near and dear. I'm hoping he really grows to enjoy it!

These are from his first game:

Carter is #4

(more pics to come as the season progresses!)

Fashion Friday: My Recent Evolution

Happy Fashion Friday (I set this to post automatically, but apparently it did not. Thus "Fashion Friday" on Sunday)! The past few weeks I've been thinking about a change going on in my personal style. I don't subscribe to the thought that you have to dress a certain way because you are a certain age, but I feel like my style might be saying otherwise. Looking back at the last five years I've been very drawn to color, patterns and accessorizing. However, within the past year I've shifted the other way. Looking through my closet I'm much more drawn to solids or darker pieces. Black tends to be my go-to, often paired with just a pop of color. I think having a baby caused me to cut down on my accessorizing because of all the grabbing (Which is probably for the best! Talk about over kill in some of these photos!) As for my new preference for colors I'm not sure if it's my age, my stage of life or my state of mind. Maybe a little of each? It's definitely interesting how individual styles change through the years though.

What type of fashion evolutions have you gone through?

A red patterned romper I wore when I was about 20 weeks pregnant

Another brightly patterned pregnancy dress

Mustard yellow polka-dot top (which I still have, so who knows maybe I'll wear it again?)

And how you'll probably see me these days:

P.S. I realize this is my first post in a month!! I have no excuse except that I just haven't felt much like blogging. I'm hoping to get back into it though as I have some really cute pictures to share with you from Carter's first soccer game!!

Vegas Never Gets Old

Before Carter was born I'd only been to Las Vegas 3 times. Since he's been born we've gone every year. I've had people tell me that they don't think it's kid friendly, but I'd disagree. If you are walking the strip at 2am then yes, you are probably going to see/hear/smell some unpleasant things. However, during the day we find a lot to do and in the evening we enjoyed bowling and swimming at our hotel. For us it's a close and affordable little getaway and  we always have a great time!

 It was our first time seeing the M&M store - - all 4 stories of it!

We went on the High Roller Ferris Wheel (the tallest in the world!!)

(Btw, Carter isn't hurt. He just decided that he wanted to start wearing band aids for a little flare I suppose.)

Carter was so unbelievably cute bowling. He lifted, carried and rolled the 8 lb ball all by himself. His enthusiasm must have stood out because he soon had the 3 lanes next to us cheering him on...and he loved every second of it!

Another awesome trip!

Reflections on my birthday

 I'm still having trouble finding time to blog so this will have to do. This is my FB post from my birthday last weekend:

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." 

As my 32nd birthday comes to a close, I can't help but reflect on the ups and downs. We found out this week that our first IUI didn't work and it felt heartbreaking...a feeling I've gotten to know well this year. However, I also felt so much joy and happiness. My sweet Carter is the most kind hearted boy and I can never feel down for long with him by my side. He's a miracle and I never forget that. And my amazing husband, Russ, is my rock. Like the song says babe, "If we only die once, I wanna die with you." This upcoming year is full of possibility and with these guys by my side I'm ready for the ride!

July Roundup

I have been a terrible blogger this month. Summertime, what can I say?

Some pretty big news is that we've decided to put our house on the market. We won't be moving far, but we'll be getting a new home and we're excited to be able to pick out our own flooring, counter tops, etc. We spent a couple weekends looking around and Carter was a trooper! We've already started fixing the house up a bit to sell and we're hoping to have it on the market by the end of August/beginning of September.

Carter got a haircut!

We went to a new water park by our house

And of course we had to see the new "Planes" movie

We had a family dinner at the beach complete with smores. It was Carter's first time roasting marshmallows and he was hooked!

A self portrait by my artist

And my last bit of news is that I had my first IUI (interuterine insemination). This pic is us in the elevator on our way to the car following the procedure. We are both very hopeful for this cycle, but also trying to prepare ourselves should it not work. The success rate is about 10-20% for a woman under 35. Sometimes it's still hard to believe that we're at this place, but this journey has showed me parts of myself I didn't know existed (or maybe they didn't until now). And I'm so blessed to have such an amazing partner by my side. Russ is my rock. So at this point we've done all we can this cycle and now we wait. Please send prayers and positive energy our way.

This week we wrap up July and prepare for all that August has in store. My birthday, Russ' birthday, a trip to Vegas and hopefully a positive pregnancy test!