21 Months

Oh My! Sweet Em is 21 months and I can't believe how big she is getting. We have been spending a lot of time drawing, playing in Em's toy kitchen, and with her princess castle. It's been too cold to go outside - especially with the negative temperatures but hopefully when it warms up we can head outside to play in the snow! :)

Her newest obsession is Sesame Street. She hasn't really ever seen the show, but we have showed her little songs on YouTube. Elmo's Ducks and Ernie's Bath are just some of her all-time favorites. Sesame Street Live is coming to our town in April and it just happens to be on April 23rd.. which is Em's 2nd Birthday! Obviously, I was over excited and we purchased tickets RIGHT away. I hope she isn't terrified of the large characters. Haha.

If you follow on instagram {prettylittleelm} then you have already seen this picture! We had so much fun taking these pictures. It's definitely a group effort - but I love that we'll have the pictures one day.

{Food Favorites Lately}

• Spaghetti, Spaghetti, and more Spaghetti :) 
• Veggies and Dip (small pieces of broccoli and carrots while I'm sitting with her)
• Cookies... I gave her one vanilla oreo after dinner ONE night and she won't let me forget it. :) 

{Play}

• Girl would listen to music all day long as long these songs were on repeat: EIEIO, BINGO, Hokey Pokey and Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. 
• Coloring and Drawing
• Sesame Street Stuffed Animals. She wouldn't try her peas the other night, but when I pretended Elmo was telling her to - she definitely tried them. Ha! :) 

{Words}

• She knows her colors! We are pretty excited about it and so is she. We are still working on purple, pink, black and white. 
• New words every day. Putting 2-3 words together especially - Emi Fall Cry No Way. She loves saying that when she's about to do something dangerous that she isn't supposed to do. :)

{Skills}

• Em went to the bathroom on the potty! She has done it twice now - not sure if she really gets it or if we are just in the right place at the right time. Either way, we still aren't pushing it but we are excited about it. :) 

{Moments}

• Em singing to songs, or breaking out with the alphabet song when we least expect it. She started singing Rain, Rain, Go Away the other day and I had no idea she knew the song... but I could totally understand what she was saying! 
• Rocking her to sleep on a night she wasn't feeling well. We don't get to do that too often anymore and I loved it. 

20 Months

Time is flying with the little lady. Every now and then.. hubby and I take a peak back on the last two years and seriously can't believe how little (and chunky) she was! She's growing up so fast, but she keeps getting better every day! Sometimes I can't even believe she was just a little baby bump. Happy 20 Months sweet girl. You make us happy when skies are gray. Xo.

Daddy was making her laugh so hard because he was having little people fall off of his head. It's the small things. :)

{Weight} 

{Teeth} Too many to count! Her mouth is full. :) And she's had a bit of a hard time with teething in the past two months. 

{Food}

• She loves fruit! Blueberries and Apples are her favorite.

• Food - She isn't loving the vegetables lately, so we have to sneak them in! She likes turkey, chicken, and anything we are eating for dinner. I feel like I'm making better food choices because I can't sneak anything with her - she always wants what we have! 

• She LOVES cheese as well. Basically everything you hear toddlers like/don't like.. she falls right along with it. Although she does like carrots and tomatoes - so we are happy about that! :) 

{Play}

• Em is starting to imagine and I love watching her! She got a little people princess castle and loves making them go through the doors, jump out the window {eek}, climb the towers, and say hi to one another. She also loves playing with her baby and putting her to bed and feeding her milk. 
• She still loves her stuffed animals and has to tell me each name almost every morning. She holds them up and says.. Hippo, Moose, Bunny Hop Hop, Cow, etc. 
• One word.. ELMO. She is crazy over this little red guy. She got Big Hugs Elmo for Christmas and was terrified at first, but now she wants to take him everywhere and make sure that he does everything she is doing. 
• Drawing - She wants to do it all of the time! It's something I love doing with her.. we sit together and draw with big chunky crayons. She is trying to figure out the color names - but still confuses them. 

{Words}

• Too many to count! She is definitely a talker and is a little sponge when it comes to learning new words. Around 19 Months she started putting two words together like "Papa Bye Bye" and "No Daddy!" Haha. 
• She leaves the ends or different sounds off of a lot of words. I can pretty much understand everything she is saying.. but it's funny to watch other people try to figure it out! {Jup instead of Jump.. Pay instead of Play.. Moo instead of More}
• She can count to 4 and make it to the letter E in the alphabet. I'm not sure she really knows what counting means, but she'll copy us by holding up objects as she counts. It's really cute. :) 
• Em's Favorite Words - {Oh My} when something happens that surprises her. {No Way} when we are trying to trick her or when she doesn't want to do/eat something. {Elmo} for obvious reasons.. and talking about herself in 3rd person like when she is about to do something she shouldn't be doing.. {Emi uh huh Mama. Emi uh huh.} :)

{Skills}

• Jumping. She is starting to really figure this out when we are on the bed. When she is on the ground she still never actually leaves the ground... but she is trying! 
• Walking Backwards, Rolling, Twirling, and more crazy dance moves. :) Running - She loves to see how fast she can go, especially when we are chasing her. 
• Eating with silverware. Not sure if she is a righty or lefty - but she is getting pretty good with both!
• She loves making us laugh. Just last night out of no where she said "Ah Choo" and pretended to sneeze. When we ask her if she has to cough.. she always does her fake cough and pats herself on the back. :)

{Moments}

• Playing in the snow for the first time. All she really wanted to do was eat the snow.. but she stayed outside very happily for about an hour! 
• LOVING her grandparents. It's so great living in Ohio now because she truly loves all four of them and wants to see them all of the time! I think the grandparents are loving it even more. :) 

{Changes}

• Em loves all of her friends at her new {Home Daycare} We have been on Christmas Break for over 2 weeks and she still talks about them like she just saw them yesterday. I think she's pretty excited to go back and play with them! 
• She has started with "meltdowns" and we are learning and choosing as parents how to deal with it. So far.. we either just let it be until she calms down {ignore} or one of us takes her to a quiet room and talks to her about what she's doing and the choices she has. Parenting is so tough! I'm not sure if anything is working - but she seems to calm down when we take her away from the situation - and she seems to understand everything we are saying... time will tell!
• She definitely knows where the potty is.. and what it is used for.. and tell us when she has gone to the bathroom in her diaper. We are not doing anything crazy yet, but if she says potty, we definitely sit her on the potty and see what she'll do. She is around some 2-2 1/2 year olds at her home daycare so she is definitely seeing them use the potty every day! 

2014 - Perspective

I once read that your 28th year was supposed to be your best {you know in one of those crazy ranking articles you find that your friend posted from Facebook}. Anyway - that kind of hit me hard...The year really was wonderful... at least until I turned 28 and we moved back to Ohio.

Moving Day in Summerville {July 2013}

It was a seamless move..Seriously seamless. We both got jobs quick, sold our house even faster, and had amazing parents that opened up their home as we searched for a home of our own. {that we still haven't found yet. Eek.}

It all worked out exactly as we had planned when hubby and I first discussed moving down the coast as {lovebirds} in college.
- live in a little apartment on the coast as newlyweds...check
- teach and enjoy what the perfect city of Charleston/Summerville has to offer...check
- move back to Ohio to be near family when we are ready to settle down and raise a family...check


But it's been hard to come home. Really hard. I knew it was going to be an adjustment.. getting used to all things new.. but I didn't know that I would question our decision almost daily the first few months that we moved back. Every day I asked myself why I didn't love our lives in Ohio as much as I loved them in S.C. Why I liked who I was better when I was in S.C. and why being so close to family didn't fix all of my doubts. I haven't quite worked through all of my feelings yet.. but the bottom line is..{and I'm sorry that it took me 4 paragraphs to get to..}

I'm ready for a new perspective. I'm ready to embrace this new life in front of us. Perspective is my word and resolution for the year...or at least having a positive one. Embracing change and embracing that even if I "think" life is tough - it's really all about perspective.. and I've had the wrong one..oh for about 6 months now.

I've spent all of this time looking back at what we had in Summerville and because of that.. I haven't had the chance to move forward and embrace all that we have here.

I'm so thankful for the person I became through my experiences and relationships in S.C. I'm thankful for the sweet friends that made me a better person and my husband who has been my rock through it all. But I'm ready to start living in the present again. I'm ready to change my perspective and embrace change. Embrace the snow, the country roads, cornfields, and a lake house instead of a beach house.

Sweet Em has had a positive perspective since we drove down our country lane in the U-Haul. She has already turned from a little Carolina Baby into a Country Toddler who loves dancing in the rain, eating sweetcorn, playing in the dirt, and riding ponies {or at least talking about them} every chance she gets.

{Our Little Country Lady}

2014 is going to be an amazing year... and from now on... so is my 28th. :)

Xo,

Brittany

Christmas 2013

Christmas is so much more fun with Sweet Em in our lives. 

 Every time she opened a present she said, "Oh my! Oh my!" which is her new favorite phrase thanks to the book, "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly". I can't get enough of her saying it...so hopefully that phrase sticks around for a while. :)

The big part that she didn't understand was opening more than one present. After she opened one, she wanted to play with it instead of opening more.

It was nice to not have to travel this holiday. Every other holiday for the past 5 years we have made the big trip from S.C. to Ohio and everything was always amazing {and really rushed}. This year - it almost didn't feel like Christmas because we weren't making plans to travel - weren't stressed out and packing.. and I didn't have to spend hours in my classroom getting everything ready for the new year.

We had a lot of family come in from out of town and this morning they all left. The house is definitely quiet and I'm a little sad that it's all over. We are still living with my parents because we just can't find a house we both love! It's been a blessing.. because we have somewhere to stay mortgage free.. but at the same time - it's been a hard adjustment. Sweet Em loves it though.

I still feel like we are living in limbo.. not really settling in here, but not really knowing where we are going to end up. I wish that I could just get past it and enjoy the time I have at my parent's house - but it's hard to keep perspective at times. I miss the little life we used to have.. I miss living in more than two bedrooms, I miss Saturday mornings together as a little family at the beach and Charleston... and I still miss Summerville and the people there a lot.

Even though life has been a little {off} for me lately.. I still know how blessed I am. An amazing hubby.. and perfect daughter. A family that supports me and a new school and community close to home where everyone has been so sweet. Not to mention a group of kindergarten students that make me smile every day {even if they are a little crazy}.

It's easy to lose perspective - and miss everything we used to have.. but it's also pretty easy to get it back.. especially when you have memories like this.

P.S. - Don't let this picture fool you - Em was terrified of Big Hugs Elmo for the first 30 minutes. Ha! :) 

Hope you all had an amazing holiday with family & friends! Xo.

Eek! Life is Crazy.

Hey Everyone!

I'm on my lunch break at school and I just wanted to write a quick post to tell y'all that I miss you! I miss blogging.. and I miss the memories I was documenting while I was doing a better job. Life has been crazy. We have moved back to Ohio and let me tell you.. I underestimated how hard it is to MOVE! Not even physically.. that was annoying.. but emotionally.

Let's just say I've been an emotional wreck. Well.. not a wreck.. all of the time at least. But It's definitely more like a roller coaster. My poor husband. :) Haha.

Anyway - I'm doing a guest post over on Strawberry Swings and Other Things. Erinn is amazing! If you don't already follower her blog, you definitely should!

We've been busy going to pumpkin patches and enjoying all things fall. I will say - that is something I missed with living in Summerville. You REALLY get the seasons in Ohio.. which makes me terrified for winter.

A few teachers said that SNOW is in the forecast for next week. {Say What?!} I seriously can't handle that.

Xoxo.

Greener Grass

Hey Blog Friends!

I know.. I know. It's a new theme that I start out every blog post with {Wow..it's been way too long!}.I was doing so well with posting all of the time and with the craziness of this summer blogging has definitely taken a back seat.

Thank you all for your sweet comments about our big move. It still feels like we are on a long vacation.. and not actually gone. I've been missing my sweet friends in South Carolina and our little life that we built there... a lot lately. Friends are still checking up on me all of the time and it means the world. We relied on so many people in S.C to be our family.. and now that they aren't close to us, I feel like something is missing. I don't know if anyone reading this has ever moved close to their hometown after being gone for a while.. but it's a big adjustment! Even though it's a place I've known my whole life and my family is here.. it just doesn't feel quite like home yet.

With that said.. I'm not being very fair! We've only been here for a few weeks and haven't even started our new jobs yet. :) I'm sure it will start to feel like home once we are an active part of the community.

Em is having a blast. Between weekends at the lake and unlimited space to run - she's set. She knows my parents by name now and just loves them. She screams and runs when they get home and looks for them when she wakes up in the morning.. especially when Mimi has graham crackers. :) The move is all worth it when we put things into perspective.

Another perk is the backyard. Wow. We moved from a tiny backyard in a neighborhood to acres and acres in the country. :) We play A LOT outside.. and Em has adjusted to her little farm girl life pretty quickly {especially when it comes to playing in the dirt and rocks.}

{Headband}

{Top Notch Dance Moves}

Xo. Happy Weekend! :)

Crazy Little Life

Wow. It's been way too long!

Big things have been happening with our little family. We are moving back to Ohio! I know.. I know.. the first question we get is {Why in the world would we leave the beach?}

Right after we got Engaged! 

We have absolutely LOVED our time on the coast in Charleston. We are so thankful for the friends we have met here.. and the memories we've made. We have so many BIG things that have happened here.. Dan proposed, We married, Bought our first house, got a kitten, and then our little daughter was born.

Not to mention.. the friends that I've made.. they are irreplaceable. I can't say enough about them or how much they've been there for me. I think moving to S.C. has helped me realize what true friendships are. People that bring you up and not down.. people that truly listen and are there for you when you need them. I'm going to miss them a lot! :(

Anyway - When we first moved to S.C. - We thought we'd stay a few years.. and a few years turned into five. Five amazing years.

Our families are in Ohio. Both of us had the chance to be close to our grandparents growing up.. we are starting to feel like we're cheating Em and our parents out of that chance. It's the right thing.. and it's a hard thing. I loved growing up in Ohio.. I'm scared to move back in a lot of ways, but at the same time, we both have an AWESOME group of family and friends ready to welcome us with open arms.

I'd say we are pretty lucky.

Anyway - I'm sorry it's been so long.. and I'm sorry this post is so long!

Here is what I've learned so far from moving (which we aren't even close to being done yet):

Moving is not easy.

- Moving with a one year old is nearly impossible. {I put things in a box.. she takes them out. Over. and Over. Again.}

- Moving with a one year old, while filling Pretty Little Elm orders, while still wanting to go to the pool every day every now and then... well... that is a problem. Ha! :)

Speaking of my little Etsy Shop - We are on BRICKYARD BUFFALO this week! It's kind of like a dream come true. Our Sparkle Bows are 40% off! :)

xoxo. Promise to post MUCH more pics of Em next time.. but until then - I post on Instagram all of the time! :) {prettylittleelm}

xo,

Britt