adventure...

i LOVE that this sweet girl makes me feel like a kid again. At least once a day we head out to the front yard for an exciting adventure. We manage to find golf balls, kitty cats, disgusting lizards that make me want to vomit, grass, airplanes...the list goes on and on. I just love to just sit and watch. Observe this intrigued little darling get so ecstatic over the simplest of things. She helps me to pause, breathe in the fresh...well fresh for California standards...air and get back to basics. Just what I need to help me remember to be grateful for the simple things in life....especially baby fedoras:)

thank you...

I was overwhelmed by the love and encouragement I received from my previous post. Thank you all so very much for your kind comments, emails, texts and phone calls. It means the world to know of all of the love and support I have. I am one lucky girl, that's for sure! So thank you all so much.

one year...

This year has by far been THE HARDEST year of my life. Hands down. Today has been a lot more difficult that I thought it would be. I think about my mom multiple times a day, so I thought, although today marks a year since my mom passed away, I would be ok. I would be strong. I have to be. People depend on me to be. I've gotten real good at putting on a brave face.
I woke up this morning with my mom on my mind, as I lay in bed with my eyes closed, I felt tears streaming down my face, I didn't even realize I was crying. Oh great, I cannot start my day this way.
I am not the type of person to wallow in self pity...what's the point? I'm my biggest critic. I'm not getting any sympathy out of myself. --But there are days when I find myself jealous. Jealous of those girls that call their moms daily. Call to get advice, ask about a recipe, to vent, just to catch up. I miss that. I could spend hours talking to my mom. She was THE BEST listener. She always had words of encouragement. She knew the perfect thing to say. She laughed so hard at any story I told. She made me feel like I could do anything.

I have a terrific mother in law and other great women in my life that I know would do anything for me. For that I am grateful. But there's just something about a mom, that you just can't find anywhere else.

This is my absolute favorite picture of my mom. She stayed with me for a week when I had Harlow. She LOVED our little babe right from the beginning...I am confident to say she loved her as much as I do. Which is virtually impossible. My mom was in between chemo treatments when Harlow was born, she was so sick, had no energy and started loosing her hair. She didn't complain once. Instead, she cleaned and cooked, made sure I was ok. Held our sweet little baby and loved her unconditionally. She was concerned about me and Harlow, not herself.
This picture is in Harlow's room, I don't think I'll ever take it down. You can clearly see the love and adoration on my mom's face. So sweet. I clearly remembering taking this picture. It was such a tender moment and I am so grateful I was able to capture it.



Every night, before I go to sleep I think about her. About the amazing woman she was. Did I do everything right today? How would she have handled things? I am being the type of mother that she was to me? That's a lot of pressure, she was the best mom in my eyes. I can only hope to be a small percentage of the wife, mother and friend that she was. What an amazing legacy she left.

This last year I have learned to live life to it's fullest. To really be in the moment. When Harlow comes up to me, I need to get down to her level, look her in the eyes and listen. (Even if she is just babbling or telling me that she has her shoes on.) I need to be enthusiastic about even the smallest things. My happiness is reflected onto those around me. I need to encourage my husband and constantly let him know of my love and appreciation. I need to be a better friend. My sweet Sue was the best example to me and I can only hope to be anything like her.

I know I'll have tough days. Maybe even tough weeks. But I always tell myself, someone else has it worse. I am so blessed with wonderful family and friends. I have the gospel in my life. I have everything I can ever need. I am blessed. That was my mom's attitude and now it is mine.

Bijou Market

Attention all Utah friends!!!

Clemmie Sue has been chosen to be a vendor for Bijou Market in Provo, UT! It's our second time participating and let me tell you...it is well worth your time. They have everything from adorable pillows to creative kids toys. Not to mention AMAZING headbands:) Make sure to stop by, you won't regret it. Check out Bijou's website for an official list of vendors and more information: bijoumarket.com

lately...

Ever since Harlow was about 7 months old, she has been the best sleeper. She loves taking naps and we never have a problem putting her down at night. Notice that I said "7 months old"...before then, she was waking up every 2 hours at night and I had to "bounce" her to sleep for naps...it was miserable. Anyways, ever once in awhile she decides to be a stinker and won't take a nap when I put her in her bed. I know she's exhausted and needs a nap, she just won't take one. I blame it on teething. One Sunday...the day we would appreciate her taking a nap them most!! :)...she didn't nap but was so cranky. So around 4pm we took her for a walk in her wagon. As Eric and I were talking we kept looking back at her and it just looked like she was looking down at the doll she was holding. She CANNOT fall asleep anywhere besides her crib and occasionally a car ride so we were so surprised when we found out that she was sleeping! She is so out of it, it's hilarious!

18 months!!!

Today my sweet baby turns a year and a half! I seriously cannot believe how fast time is flying. It makes me so sad when I come to the realization that Harlow isn't a baby anymore, she's a kid! I LOVE the adorable little girl that she is becoming. She has the BEST sense of humor and KNOWS that she's funny. She is always trying so hard not to smile when she does something silly, I can't stop cracking up! She is constantly happy and just walks around the house talking and laughing. She is the best at giving hugs and kisses. I just love when she'll grab my cheeks and give me a huge kiss out of nowhere. Whenever Eric or I walk into the room she stops what she's doing and makes sure to wave and say "hi!!!". She is such a doll and we can't imagine our lives without her. I know I've said this before, but Eric and I are constantly saying how cute she is, we just can't get enough of her. Well, only 6 more months until she's 2! I guess I need to start planning her birthday party!!! :)

can I please have her wardrobe?...

Looking at the title of this post makes it seem like I am going to be posting pictures of super fashionable celebrities like Nicole Richie and Sienna Miller...nope! Although I would DIE if I could get my hands on either of their closets, I'm talking about none other than Harlow Sue. I literally spend twice as long picking out her darling outfits than my own. She is dressed to impress while I on the other hand have my unbrushed hair thrown in a high bun with the same 4 items of clothing on rotation. It makes sense. I enthusiastically spend my time and energy picking through the most trendy items you can think of for her...while my unfortunate image is put to the wayside. But hey...my diva of a one year old looks MUCH better in skinny jeans anyways.

clemmie sue...

I can't believe that I have NEVER mentioned Clemmis Sue on my blog! My sister and I started our headband company, Clemmie Sue last summer and have absolutely LOVED the creative process that goes into making adorable hair accessories. We started out by making headbands for adults and have naturally gone into baby headbands as well. We have an etsy shop: clemmiesue.etsy.com.
Please feel free to take a look! Here is a sneak peak of some of our newest pieces for all of the Baby Sue's out there: (they will be updated in the shop throughout the next few days)

nothin...

Well nothing too exciting has been going on here.
Eric broke his foot last week. I'll spare you from seeing the disgusting pictures.
A boat on a trailer smashed 3 bones.
Pretty gross.
Harlow is just as cute as ever. She LOVES having daddy home!
We feel like she gets older and smarter each day! I can't handle it!
Eric and I were talking about a family that owns the drugstore that we go to. I love it there. They know everyone by name. It feels like we're in a tiny town in the 1950's.
Anyways, Eric was telling me that one of the sons has SIX daughters!!! I quickly told Eric how awesome I thought that would be...just imagine! 6 Harlows running around! I would be in heaven.
Eric quickly cut me off by saying, if that ever did happen, his biggest concern would be having a house full of females "on the same schedule". I almost choked on my food from laughing so hard.
I think his medication makes him funnier. He doesn't seem to edit his thoughts before he speaks...hilarious.

a little DIY project...

My little sis, Julie's birthday is just before Christmas and so I was racking my brain trying to think of a cute do-it-yourself project for her special day, especially since her main gift was for Christmas. I woke up in the middle of the night with the perfect idea!! My mom's temple bag was cute and simple AND has a lot of sentimental meaning, so I decided to update it a little bit for Jules... I love it! She loves it! It turned out great! I really hope she holds onto it for awhile and one day...MANY MANY years from now, she can use it when she goes to the temple:)

This is the bag before:


And after...

The 3 T's...

Things have been a tad bit on the whiny side over in toddler land.
Poor Harlow babe is Teething.
Blasted molars!
The only items of comfort that we have around here (besides a paci and doggie of course) to make things a little bit better at the end of the day are:
Tutus and Toy story




I'm sorry my little munchkin, I wish I could go through the teething process for you.

Harlow's 1st trip to the ZOO!

I have been dying to take Harlow to the zoo because she is obsessed with animals! Eric didn't have to work on New Year's Eve so we decided it would be a perfect day to go. Well guess what...she LOVED it! It was so fun to watch her get so excited when she saw animals that she recognized. The LA zoo is huge and of course right as we were getting ready to head down hill, she decides to be miss independent and refused to do anything but walk on her own. She is so funny!! She is very opinionated and knows what she wants. We tried our best to get her to allow us to hold her hand so she wouldn't have too many face plants on the cement:) By the end, she was exhausted and fell asleep within seconds of putting her in her stroller. We are planning on getting annual passes because it was such a fun, easy day trip and totally worth it to see her get so excited:)