Flashback! It's been almost 2 months since Rowen's first birthday, but it's not too late - these photos needed to get up here!

This summer has been about going sloooowww. It started off fast, with a flurry of work, Rowen's birthday, two weeks in Asia (for me), then a family week on the east coast. Whew! All I have wanted to do since then is simplify, and soak in the sunny weekends and long evenings with Ro and J. I haven't really traveled, blogged, worked out (much), cooked (much) or done any of my fave hobbies/extracurriculars in about 6 weeks. And it's been amazing! I feel refreshed and rejuvenated. I'm not used to this slow pace, but oh my goodness I didn't realize how much I needed it. All that is to say, I'm glad to be back!



On to Rowen's Birthday! :)

I have to thank our good friend Micah for snapping these shots because I was so caught up in the moment that I hardly took any! It was a simple but perfect party. Rowen had some of her best friends and fam come over, and we played games, enjoyed good food, and adventured around the ranch together. I'll never forget what it was like to watch her eyes light up when I gave her the piece of cake (like..."that's for ME??!"). Her auntie Phi gave her the sweetest gift of all - a homemade growth chart for us to mark her height on as she grows.

I was clearly emotional all weekend, but it all felt right. We're so grateful to our amazing friends and family who helped celebrate the day with us.

 

Sunset on the Ridge

People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves.

"Wild Awake” by Hilary T. Smith

In two weeks exactly, our wedding weekend will have begun! We have friends and family coming from all around the country to join us in the woods of northern Sonoma county for a 3-4 day love-celebration-getaway.

Right now my brain is filled to the brim with decor and travel logistics and brunch menus and lawn games and hairstyles and vows and beauty appointments and honeymoon plans. And love and love and more love. The planning process has been intense but in the very best way :). I know it's going to be a weekend to remember.

I wanted to share these gorgeous photos taken back in the fall by our friend Jake Murphy from Love + Wolves Co. I can't BELIEVE how lucky we are to have him as our wedding photographer -- just look at their stuff! These photos make me so incredibly excited to move into the next chapter of life with this sweet, adventurous, imperfect, lovable family of mine :).

Family Photo Sesh: Rowen at 4 months

Guys, I just went down memory lane so hard with these photos! Look at this little sweet treat I've got in my arms here! She has already grown SO MUCH since these photos were taken back in October. 

I haven't really done much blogging about this whole Baby thing. It's pretty hard to express in words. I now have a huge appreciation for those mom-bloggers out there who seem able to do it so eloquently (Megan and Erin come to mind). But if you know me, you know how obsessed I am with taking photos to document life - and this is why. If in the future I ever wonder how I felt, or how life looked back in fall 2016 when Rowen was 4 months old...these photos will remind me in an instant. In our faces I see elation, exhaustion, pride, effort, cluelessness, and overwhelming gratitude. You may not see it, but believe me, it's in there ;). 

Many thanks to Michelle Feileacan for taking these beautiful shots of our little family!

All photos by Michelle Feileacan.