expectations

I was going through some pictures and came across these photos of Lark I snapped one afternoon about six months ago. She was singing and dancing on my bed in the vintage tutu her sister once wore almost every day, and I remember thinking, "How does she fit into that already?" These little girls of mine are growing up before my eyes. 

When Lark was born I was expecting a carbon copy of LM to come out (or at least close to it), but when I held her for the first time she looked totally different with all of her own tiny features for me to memorize. And then when her hair finally grew in I was shocked and delighted that it was a beautiful red, just as I was shocked and delighted to discover LM had beautiful curls. 

As Lark has grown every aspect of her spunky and sweet personality has been so fun to watch unfold and compare against her sister. Not in any sort of competitive way, but just as us parents marveling at how our girls are their own little wonderful selves, and finding it funny that in most areas they are complete opposites. So different from each other and yet so alike. 

I can't help but wonder who is coming to join our family now. All of my expectations have been wiped clean since I now know we don't make carbon copy children. I do know we make pretty amazing ones though, and every day they make us smile and keep us on our toes.

I guess I am expecting to, yet again, be surprised.

best news

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from ALL of the Hart clan! I guess I have a penchant for making baby announcements coinciding with holidays because we spilled the beans about our newest little bean on Christmas (last time it was Valentine's Day). My heart is overflowing with happiness and gratitude about this new little life growing inside of me.

Am I also scared? Yes. I waited longer to tell our news this time around because my heart needed to hold onto the secret, tucked safely away, for a bit longer. But now doesn't feel like the time to tap into all the of thoughts running through my head about pregnancy after miscarriage. It has been an emotional journey to say the least and maybe someday those thoughts will start to form themselves into sentences, but for now I just want to celebrate that God willing we will have a baby BOY join our family at the end of May! We are all so excited.

I could stare at that cute profile all day :)

shop update: christmas part 2

Red Scallop Collar Dress//White Deer Dress

Plaid Jumper//Red Velveteen Daisy Tunic

Red and White Dress//Flower Maxi Dress

 Plaid Pinafore Jumper//White Frilly Blouse

Plaid Sleeveless Dress//Navy Blue Pleated Dress

The second and final batch of holiday clothing is now listed in the shop. Be sure to remember all domestic shipping gets a free Priority upgrade for the month of December, so there is still plenty of time to get your favorite piece of clothing before Christmas!

And, I know that darling flower power maxi dress doesn't really fit the 'holiday theme', but it was just too cute not to list right now. :)

shop update: christmas part 1

Candy Cane Dress//Smocked Gingham Dress

 Navy Blue Blazer//Red Plaid Jumper

White Button Up Dress//Silk Taffeta Polka Dots Dress

Plaid Jumper//Paper Doll Blouse

Saks Fifth Avenue Velveteen Dress//Plaid Peter Pan Collar Dress

After a year break I am finally updating the shop! I really didn't mean to take such a long hiatus, and I am happy to be back in business for the holidays. This is the first of two Christmas-y updates I am listing this week, and as a special gift to you all domestic shipping will be given a FREE Priority upgrade for the rest of December. No special codes or messages needed.

Thanks for your support friends. Head on over to take a look at them all!

thankful + joules clothing

We spent Thanksgiving with family in the desert. It was a nice respite from our cold temps and was probably our last chance to run around outside without hats, coats, mittens, scarves, and boots for awhile. These two girls took advantage of every minute they had with their cousins while us adults enjoyed playing games and talking late into the night. Sometimes holidays can seem hectic and go by way too fast, but I felt like this Thanksgiving was slow and we were all able to fully enjoy being with each other. It was nice.

I really am truly thankful for this little family of mine and the time I get to spend with them every day. This was a difficult year of loss for me, but because of that loss it was also a year of immense personal growth. The greatest gift I received was a more abundant appreciation and love for my children, and a greater understanding of what a blessing it is to be a mother. That is what I am most thankful for this year.

Recently Joules was kind enough to send us some clothing for the girls including these two dresses. I must say they have quickly become a favorite staple in their wardrobe. The girls love that they are warm and comfortable with just the right amount of twirl, while I am a big fan of the quality and the fact that they still look brand new after several washes (not to mention no ironing required!). All of the girls clothing at Joules is darling and would make a really nice Christmas gift. Here are some of my favorite pieces - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Oh, and don't try to come between a toddler and her polka dots. There can never be enough. :)

sponsored post: happy thanksgiving from crayola!

I have been looking forward to this week all month. Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorite holidays since in my book not much can top taking a time-out from our busy schedule to spend a whole weekend with family. Oh, and let's not forget the food. 

It is also fun to do some holiday projects with the girls. So far this year we have kept our Thanksgiving crafting pretty simple. I set out a roll of paper with some markers and crayons on the coffee table and the girls have been drawing pictures of things they are thankful for... our family, home, rainbows, flowers, warm beds, trees, kites, crayons, scribbles... :) It has been a good way for us to keep an open discussion with them of all the blessings we enjoy, both big and small, and help us all fill our hearts with gratitude this season.

As a kid I remember being given the job to make place holders and paper turkeys for table decor. It made me feel important like I was contributing to the meal too, and looking back I am sure it was my mother's way of keeping me entertained and out of the kitchen! I am sure my girls will need some entertainment while we are busy prepping food, so I have been taking mental notes of easy Thanksgiving projects they can do mostly unsupervised. Crayola has put together a short Thanksgiving craft inspiration video for those of you looking for some fun ideas too. You can watch it below.

This post is sponsored by Crayola.

pear harvest

This year we were better prepared to harvest the fruit trees in our backyard. Last year at this time we were in the thick of the remodel and were sorting through a bunch of rotten apples. Our backyard smelled like rotten fruit and I felt pretty overwhelmed at all of the clean up and pruning our trees needed.

We inherited an old giant pear tree that is half dead and needs a lot of care. Last year when we tried a pear straight off the tree the texture and flavor was so gross I thought maybe the tree was sick and produced bad fruit. I had no idea that pears should never ripen on the tree! Thankfully, this year I did some research and we picked the pears early and let them ripen off the tree and it made all the difference - they were SO good! The taste and texture was delicious, although Lark enjoyed  nibbling on the pears all summer long and didn't seem to mind whether they were ripe or not. ;) We ate our fill and shared a lot with friends and family.

Next year we hope to make our pear harvest turn out even better, these are the types of learning curves I really enjoy.