christmas traditions.

me on my 3rd Christmas (i was a december baby) 

as a little girl, my mom has always been big on making traditions. she is a perfectionist as holidays come (which i in return have inherited) and has always strived to make them special. 

a few of our traditions growing up...


1. holiday baking: we would always take a night and bake as many different kinds of cookies that we could fit in. one of our favorites was sugar cookie cut outs. we would always take pride in decorating them as best that we could.
2. christmas eve at my dad's parents: my grandmother would cook lunch, and then we would open gifts. we always got 4 gifts...2 toys and 2 outfits. it was fun as a kid to get a sneak peek of christmas.
3. candle light service at the baptist church: we would dress up in our christmas best and sing our favorite songs. Now as adults we get mad if they don't stick to the tried and true.
4. new pajamas: on christmas eve we would always open christmas pajamas. after we put them on my mom would present us with a new christmas book, and we would read it together under the tree.
5. pallets: on christmas eve we have always all slept on pallets on my parents bedroom floor. i have a child and husband and my brothers still requested that we do this this year.
6. christmas morning: we would come out of my parent's bedroom in order from youngest to oldest to see what Santa left us while Johnny Mathis plays in the background.

now that i have my own child, i look forward to making our own family traditions in the years to come. 

two_ months.

At two_months SKB...

weighs in at 12 lbs 
is 24 in long.. she is measuring long!
holds her head up by herself
smiles a lot!! and is starting to giggle
has flown in an airplane (twice)
traveled to another state (TX..this makes number 3)
been to her first college football game.. go aggies! (mommy's alma mater )
loves to mainly be held
went to church for the first time
met Santa
slept through the night for the first time
looks almost identical to mommy's baby pictures (minus daddy's eyes)
only loves milk from mommy (we are working on this)
continues to love the baby bjorn
loves to take naps with daddy
is starting to "coo" a lot more 
likes her baths
made her first trip to the Galleria in H-town

she's a growing girl!

november_1 : a lot to be thankful for

photo from our maternity shoot shot by david + tammy molnar

today is the first day of november. oh, what a year it has been. the husband + i have lots to be thankful for this year. i am constantly trying to take a step back + say "wow, we are so very blessed." 

most of all we are thankful for Jesus Christ. without him we would be nothing. i can't imagine fighting all my battles on my own. his love is unconditional + it is an amazing feeling knowing that we serve such a loving God.

so on this first day of november i want to thank him first. what a blessed year we have had.

happy 1 month sweet angel!

Little S is officially one month old. oh how time flies. i cannot believe she is already this old. i realize that in the grand scheme of she is not old at all, but it feels like she has already grown is much in the short amount of time. i want to take in every moment, every second of the day. i don't want to take anything for granted. i know understand what it means when mothers say they picture their children as babies because i know i will always see her this way. 

At one_month SKB...

weighs 10 whole lbs (22 in long)! 
is holding her head up very well for her age
starting to give me a little "smile"
is already has traveled through 2 states
seen the ocean
lived in two homes
has been to Starbucks numerous times
has made her first trip to Nordstrom
loves to be held
often is put in a milk coma
loves the baby bjorn
is a big fan of time with daddy
usually just wakes up once at night


basically we think she is pretty amazing...

fall maternity clothes.

i first heard about the hatch collection a few months ago on another blog. i intended to buy some of their amazing summer pieces, but never got around to ordering anything. i know, i made a big mistake.

the thing i love so much about hatch collection is the fact that they design essentials that are meant to be worn before, during and after pregnancy.  

i am 10 days away from no longer being pregnant, and i am surprisingly a little sad i won't be pregnant this fall because i would die for some of their fall pieces. i can still order some to wear, but i love how they look while sporting a baby bump.

check out the rest of their fall line here. 

pre-baby movie list.

we are officially 11 days away from our due date. these 3 movies are on our list to watch before the baby comes. we (i) thought it would be fun to watch a few of my favorite baby movies. hopefully baby girl benz will stay put until we finish. just kidding.. if she decides to make an appearance early i wont be complaining : )

our latest obsession...

husband + i's newest obsession has been last season's hit show REVENGE. we meant to watch it during the year last year, but our dvr kept erasing episodes before we could get to them and before we knew it we were so behind and wanted to get to watch it all from the beginning. 

we just started it last weekend, and are already just episodes away from finishing. it is an extremely well written show with well developed characters, and is very unique compared to everything else that is on tv these days. 

if you haven't gotten hooked yet i suggest you catch up. the next season starts not too long from now, and we cannot wait!!

it's that time of year again.

 

i walked into starbucks yesterday only to realize that it was the first day of the pumpkin spice latte. now don't get me wrong, i was well aware that it could be any day, but it was a pleasant surprise to look down at my phone and see that the date on the sign was in fact yesterday's date (my pregnant mind is very forgetful so i needed to double check the date.)

however, it was so warm yesterday that i didn't think there was any way that i could walk back to my car with a warm drink in my hand, so i decided to get a decaf iced latte. last night i begged my sweet husband to bring me back to starbucks to enjoy my first pumpkin spice of the season. 

it's the little things in life. like the taste of something that reminds you that a new season is in the horizon. and taking little sips of it to make it last while walking around our quaint little downtown franklin talking about life in the last days of us being a family of two (plus two dogs). 

we are very ready for fall in tennessee, and can't wait to spend our first fall with our little girl. although she won't remember this first fall of her little life, we can't wait to bring her along to do all our favorite fall things to do in nashville.  

fall forward.

 

even though i am still 8 months pregnant, i am already researching fun fall products i want to try out post baby. my feet are a little too swollen to fit in these babies now, but come october 1 the swelling should be down + i want to be ready for my the first rainy day here in nashville. 

you can find them here. 

summer beach reads.

here is a list of my summer beach reads. one of my favorite things to do at the beginning of the summer is to check and see what new books will be coming out this summer, and i make a list of when i need to go pick up my copy. the first four are some of my favorite authors.  i am anxiously awaiting the new Emily Giffin novel to come out. She is one of my absolute favorite authors. i love getting lost in one of her novels on the beach. i just started The Next Best Thing yesterday, and so far it is pretty good. i try to read a lot during the summer especially this year pre-baby girl. so far i am slacking, but i'm trying to do better : )


what do you like to read in the summer time?

2 years ago today...

i met a boy on the beach and my life has never been the same. the past two years have been a roller coaster (in only the best way). we dated for 8 months, engaged for 5, married for 11 and will have a baby girl in 2 1/2. i wouldn't change a thing about the journey we have been on, and i can't wait to see where else life takes us. 

here's to many more years and adventures. husband, i love you to the moon + back.

fine paper goods.

via Design*Sponge

loving these disposable paper cups and saucers that look just like classic Wedgewood china. how perfect are they for a picnic or tea party with out all the mess. 


you can buy a set here. 

husband's first father's day.

precious decorated root beer bottles my sister-in-law made for all the dads

 gift for wade's dad complete with an old photo from the early 80s

the dad to be and i.

husband's gift and list i made him of the reasons i think he will be a great dad.

this year we got to celebrate husband's first father's day. even though our baby girl has not yet arrived, her daddy loves her so much already and deserved to be celebrated. we went over to wade's parents house for lunch then we spent the rest of the day relaxing at the house and watching knocked up. i made wade a basket of goodies, and typed up some of the reasons i think he is going to make an amazing father. 14 more weeks until i get to see him in action! 

i, unfortunately, did not get to see my dad this father's day. we had considered trying to make it down to the beach, but it was too crazy of weekend for everyone. luckily, i will be seeing him next weekend when we drive to texas for my shower. 

laundry is a lot more fun with this girl...

i mean, how can you not love that face?

an early father's day post.

i wrote a short blog about my dad today on the work blog. you can check it out here...

a girl to style.

last week i walked past our guest bedroom and found a stack of baby clothes we bought on our trip to L.A. the weekend before. it was one of those days where it was really sinking in that in a relatively short time i am going to be a mom. no really, i am going to be a mom. that sounds so crazy and some days i almost forget i have this little baby human girl growing inside me. then i feel a little kick and remember she's really in there, and i can't wait to meet her. most of these outfits her daddy has picked out for her, and i can't wait until she gets to wear them. she is going to be well styled that is for sure : ) 


we can't wait to meet you baby girl benz. 15 short weeks to go! 

memorial weekend in iPhone photos.

memorial weekend in pictures.

every year we spend memorial weekend down at the beach. it has been are tradition for several years now, and i absolutely love it. my parents friends always go down to the beach with us this particular weekend. 


we laughed and laughed and laughed, ate amazing food, made new friends, and sat out on the beach until late in the evening. it was an extremely hot weekend for the end of may. i can only imagine the heat index in july. my one piece is definitely warmer than my bikini. oh well, next summer i will have a little girl to dress and play with at the beach. 

another great beach weekend.

on wednesday i headed down to the beach for memorial with these two love bugs. my mom was in town and decided to ride with us instead of flying home then driving herself to the beach from texas. we got there late that night, but it was so worth it waking up at the beach thursday morning. my dad, brother + some of our family friends flew in that night. we all had an amazing weekend filled with lots of beach time, great food, dog walking + bike riding. more pictures + details for the weekend to come soon!

my first (soon to be) mother's day.

sunday i was fortunate enough to be able to celebrate my first mother's day. though the baby is still in my belly, i feel like i have already started learning what motherhood is all about. i feel so blessed to have this healthy baby girl growing inside me. husband and i are constantly saying how crazy is it that there is something alive that is inside me. it's just mind boggling and confirms our faith in God even more. 


we spent the day at church, followed by lunch at the hermitage hotel with his family. it was a very rainy day, so as soon as lunch was over we went home, put on our pajamas, and caught up on tv for the rest of the day. husband brought me to anthropologie on saturday to pick out some new clothes since not everything in my closet is fitting these days, so that was my mother's day gift. 


we cannot wait to meet our little girl. she's completely ours which is hard for me to wrap my head around! the ultrasound pictures these days are so high-tech you can already kind of tell what the baby will look like which makes the anticipation even greater. 18 more weeks, and we will be holding that sweet angel! 


here's to many more mother's days to come. 

the end of a era.

sunday night husband and i mourned the series finale of desperate housewives. we both had been watching it since the beginning... separately then together for the past two years. we ate ice cream with homemade chocolate sauce and dreaded the end.


tv just isn't what it used to be. i'm not saying that i'm not absolutely in love with new girl, but most of the shows just don't seem to be as good as the 8 seasons of desperate were. in the last season, it was just as good as it's first.


well i'm done with my mourning. sunday nights just won't be the same!

more woodwork.

well our house is starting to look even more like a home. we have all the walls and ceilings up making it easy to see each room. it's so exciting to see are dreams come alive!

more updates to come.