our. family. ALBUM.

(how to lose a guy in ten days, anyone?)

When my mom and Cliff came down for Mother's Day, she asked if I would like her to take some family pictures of us.  Yes please.

So, here's what we did:

1. Went on Pinterest and found an assortment of poses that I liked.

2. Threw together some outfits for the three of us. (Special thanks to Auntie Mimi for not hating me for borrowing her dress without asking.  Ok, fine.  She hates me.)

3. Picked a location.  I have to admit that we cheated on this one.  When the Casey Figlewicz did our maternity photos, we took them at this park.  I knew that there was good shade and whatever.

4. Brought my mom's fancy camera.

5. Posed away!

Special thanks to Cliff for entertaining Kennedy in all the pictures!  She pretty much was smiling the whole time.

*warning: picture overload

Live Journal

So...apparently when I was in college, I had a live journal.  Remember those?  They were basically the blog of the early millennium.  I have absolutely NO RECOLLECTION of having one, but I did.  And I wrote in it fairly frequently.  I know that you would love to have a link to it, but it's far too embarrassing.  I used swear words, said mean things about friends, who was I???

Anyway, the good news is that it was incredibly wonderful to look back on my college years through it.  Although I was embarrassed for myself with every post, it is so cool to remember who I was, what I did, and see how God has transformed my heart since then.  He has molded me, grown me up, revealed sins to me, and changed me in so many different ways.  As I looked back on who Jesus was to me back then, it was saddening and also uplifting.  Have you experienced this before?

One of my favorite parts about my live journal was that I was actively writing in it in the midst of meeting Doug and getting to know him better.  Remember, we were friends for 2 YEARS before we started dating.  Here are a few excerpts (about Doug, not about me saying terrible things):


"Anyways, the bonfire last night was SOOOO much fun. so incredibly much fun that i can't even describe it. the guys are all so nice and friendly and it's the first time that i got to hang out with them and stuff so it was really great. one of them is really cute (Doug), so i'm off to stalk him online ;) 
later"


"today, i had two interviews, one over pancakes with a girl, and the second one with doug, the guy that i think it really cute. we went bikeriding up on a trail. it was insane. i think i'm in pretty good shape. i run three miles four times a week and i ride my bike to school, but pfft, that OWNED ME. i had to walk a lot of it... and I FELL!! yeah, i fell down a hill and got all muddy. and said a swear word... i was embarressing. but i made it through."


"Last night was muy fun. after I had picked mercilessly at all of my zits, one of the guys in AGO called and asked if Laura and I wanted to go get milkshakes. I was freaking out because my face was all pussy and nasty, but I had to go because cute guy (Doug) was going to be there. So i went, and it was so fun and we didn't get home until like 12:30 (late by lizzie standards)

what can i say..."my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard" :)"


"I suck. seriously. I can't talk to boys. Everytime I see bike riding boy (Doug), I freeze up. I can't think of anything to say. I just stand there. and he's kind of spastic just like me and is always off in something on his own agenda. I guess we're not meant to be. But we seem so alike. I wish i could suck it up and try to talk to him."


"Wow, life is so weird. I was online, taking a breather after finishing my finals last night, and guess who called??? BIKERIDING BOY. That's right. He called and asked what I was doing. Then came over. That's right, he willingly came over to my house."


 I can't stop laughing.  Seriously.  If you don't journal, please do.  It is so much fun to look back on!

work it kennedy- sjp

I call this outfit Kennedy's Sarah Jessica Parker outfit.  Two sets of stripes, a rainbow of colors, and yet, it works.  And holy cuteness.  Seriously?  Man, I love this kid.

Kennedy is wearing:

Hat: knit by Grandma

Sweater: Carters

Shirt: Target

Pants: Old Navy

Shoes: Children's Place

work it kennedy- pumped up kicks

Thank goodness my mother saved one item from my babyhood.  These Nike sneakers are the only thing that made it.

In more important news, Leigha and Brian welcomed sweet baby Jackson into the world on Saturday.  I can not wait to meet that little nugget.  I literally cried my eyes out watching this video and later realized that I was mostly just emotional because I'm not up there to see him in those magical first days of baby newness.

six months old

Happy half-Birthday to our sweet baby!  The last six months have FLOWN BY.  I know everyone says that, but man oh man, it is true!

Weight: 16 lbs (50%)

Height: 28 in (95%)

Isn't this picture amazing?  It was taken by our friend, Emily (Ben and Mary Beth's big sister.)


At six months you:

• Are tall and skinny just like your daddy.  You don't seems skinny to us, but I guess the fact that you're still in size 1 diapers kind of speaks for itself.
• Love your toes!  You try to eat them all day.  Most of time you are successful.
• You've grown out of most of your 3 month clothes.  You still wear 3 month pants, but we call them capris now.

• Blow raspberries like no one's business.  Sometimes it's slightly embarrassing when we're out in public...
• Continue to scoot in a circle and roll from back to front a ton.  You don't really roll from tummy to back anymore.  You prefer to be on your stomach.
• Sleep 10-12 hours at night and take a 2 hour nap in the morning.  The afternoon nap is a bit unpredictable.  Sometimes I'll get an hour out of you, but it's usually just a quick 15 minutes.
• Are so much better in the car.  You only fuss if you're tired or if we've been driving too long.  Such a relief!
• Sit up!  And then get over it or see a toy you want and tip over.

You love:

• New faces.  You love being out where there are new people.  You save your biggest smiles for strangers.

• Your jumperoo.

• Iphones.  For eating.

You don't love:

• Being away from mom and dad.  We continue to have struggles with nursery.
• Your stroller.  You don't hate it per say...but you get over it pretty quick.  The ergo is usually a better option.

Highlights of the Month:

• Eating rice cereal for the first time last week. We had a slight issue though...we used some old frozen breast milk and discovered that it was spoiled after we fed it to you.  Sorry about that.  Luckily, you didn't get sick.  Probably because only about a teaspoon made it into your tummy.
• We joined a playgroup!  We meet every Thursday, and it is so much fun.  You love watching the other babies, and I love talking to the other mommies!

• Visiting Santa Cruz for baby Charlotte Grace's shower.  Of course, I didn't take any pictures at the actual shower, but we had such a great time celebrating the coming of a new sweet baby girl.  We can't WAIT to meet her!

• Going to the Aquarium for the first time with the Eroens.  Seriously, everything is more fun with a two year old.  Each and every exhibit was thrilling.  Thrilling, I tell you.  Even, like, the lame non-colorful fish.

• Baby's first Boardwalk trip with Mor mor, Grandpa Cliff, Uncle Brent, and Auntie Jamie!

Baby girl, we love you SOOOO much, and we have a hard time remembering life without you.  You are the greatest gift ever!  We pray every day that we can raise you up to follow Jesus and put him first in your life.  We are enjoying watching you grow and learn every day.

work it kennedy- mouthy

We have a tradition when naming Kennedy's toys.  It started back with Auntie Mimi, circa 1991.  See, Mimi named all of her pets, stuffed animals, and toys after a physical trait of the creature.  Take one look at the creature in question, point out it's most obvious feature, and chances were that you had guessed the name of the animal.  There was "Silky" (our silky cat), "Brownie" (our brown mouse), "Peachy" (her peach colored stuffed bear), you get the picture.

Doug and I decided that we would continue on in this tradition as a tribute to Kennedy's auntie while she's off exploring the globe.  We have "Mrs. Pigeon" (her stuffed pigeon), "Mermaidy" (her mermaid), "Bluey Big Nose" (her blue elephant), and "Beaky" (her duck).  For Easter this year, Doug's mom knit Kennedy the sweetest little bunny rabbit.  We informed Doug's brothers of our naming process.  Brendan took one look at the bunny and said, "Why don't you call her 'Mouthy'?"

We all looked at him confused.  "Umm...Brendan...she doesn't even have a mouth..."

"But she puts the bunny in her mouth!"  And sure enough.  That thing is in her mouth all the time (along with everything else).  Good work Brendan.  And welcome to the family Mouthy.

Kennedy is wearing:

Headband: Made by cousin

Sweater: Thrifted by Grandma

Pants: Hand-me-down Carters

Boots: Hand-me down awesome

Onesie: Carters

work it kennedy- tights

Has anyone else noticed that a lot of baby tights look like ladies pantyhose?  I'm not even down with those, and I'm certainly not going to make Kennedy wear them.

My advice?  Proceed with caution when purchasing baby tights.  Look for thick tights made out of knit material.  Babies in pantyhose are seriously creepy.

Kennedy is wearing:
Headband: DIY
Dress: Penelope Mack
Tights: Deux par Deux
Shoes: Etsy