Anniversary Weekend

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Like most of our other weekends in the past month, our anniversary weekend was super relaxing! Friday night, we had fun going back through pictures old pictures of us, then got Costa Vida for dinner and just hung out all night. We've been really into Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy lately (because we're 90), so once we laid down to watch those, the couch was basically our home for the night.

We slept in on Saturday, then went to lunch at our new favorite place, Village Baker. Brandon's parents and grandparents were in town for a reunion, and they all came over for a few hours that afternoon. Brandon's grandparents had never been to our house before, so it was fun to give them a quick tour and share the nursery and all our Carter things with them. We have a bear that weighs what Carter weighed when he was born, and we have molds of his little hands and feet. I love sharing these things with people, because I feel like it gives them more of an idea of what he was like physically. It was really special to have one set of Carter's great-grandparents hold him (in a sense).

That night we went out shopping for a few more things for the office, and ended up coming home with new Halloween decorations (Michael's is really convincing, okay?). We also found an ottoman for the office, so we didn't completely miss the mark on our shopping goal! We took the ottoman upstairs, then just lounged in the office for a while. I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but we recently finished the office, and it feels so homey now! So we have fun just being in there and enjoying all the new things.

Sunday, our actual anniversary, was by far the best day of the whole weekend. We stopped at the store on our way out of town and picked up some mini-bouquets for the babies. We are constantly on the hunt for blue flowers, but rarely find any, so this time we snagged some blue ribbon to tie around the vase for Carter. Once we got to Logan, we went straight to the cemetery. I always feel such a rush of relief when we finally get to the grave. It was nice to visit with the babies again, even though it has only been two weeks since the last time we were up there. We cleaned up the grass and leaves around the headstone, cleaned off the actual headstone, and rearranged all the toys and goodies. Two more cars were missing, one from Brandon and one from his dad, so that was kind of sad. I really do know that other kids probably just picked them up (both times we've noticed a car missing, they had buried another baby, so it was probably a kid from another funeral service), and that's okay, but it still makes me sad! Brandon says that it's okay, because it gives him an excuse to buy more cars for Carter. And that's fine by me, because we sure do love spoiling our babies!

We stopped at Walmart really quick so I could buy a journal for a new loss family. Every time a baby is buried at the cemetery, I leave a journal and a note for the family with my contact info. I remember how alone we felt in the hospital, and I don't want anyone else to ever feel like that, so it's the least I can do to reach out and leave a little something. We went to the Crepery, stuffed our faces and finished the note, then went and picked up a gift from a sweet reader. I'll share that in it's own post, because it really is so special! Then we went on a tour of all the places in Logan that are special to us. We stopped by the movie theater where we met, the Costa Vida where we had our first date, Brandon's parents' house where we spent much of our time, campus, and both apartments that we lived in. At every stop, I asked Brandon what his favorite memory was there. It was really fun to look back on our almost seven years together, but it's crazy to think about how fast time is going!

As always, we went back to the cemetery before leaving town. I left the journal for the family, we chatted with the babies, took our picture, then said goodbye. Every time we leave, I almost wish we lived there, so we could go see them whenever we wanted. But we drove home, got Costa Vida (you can tell what kind of a week we've had by how many times we've had Costa), and spent more time at home thinking about our life and all the wonderful things we have together, specifically the babies. That night, we got ice cream and took it up to walk around our favorite little lake. We sat on the dock while the sun set behind us and talked about everything we're looking forward to in our years to come.

Brandon and I have so much fun traveling together, and we always try and do a vacation in the summer, but they generally never fall on our anniversary. We talked a lot this weekend about that, but I've decided that I'm almost happier just being home on the actual day, especially now that we've lost Carter and little bean. I love going new places with him, but being home with Brandon is my favorite place to be.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

 
 

Six years.

in

I can't believe it has already been a year since the last anniversary post! Times flies when you're having fun. Or when you're losing your mind. Or both, really.

We did this last year, but let's talk for a second about all of the accomplishments we've had since we've been together: We've taken 17 vacations (that's three more than last year!), 16 jobs/positions (we added two this year), still have lived in three cities, owned two houses, and adopted two cats (though I wish it were more). Last year, we were ten weeks away from meeting our first baby. This year, we are about two and a half weeks past our third pregnancy that ended too soon. We've been blessed with our sweet Carter boy and little bean, and our family is now twice as big as it was at this time last year. We've spent more time in Logan in the past ten months than I ever thought we would, and we've had more sad conversations than I can count, but we've also been infinitely blessed.

This past year has been the hardest year of my life, but it has also been one of the best. This was the year we were given our children, and this was the year that I learned without a doubt that I married the very best man on the face of the earth. Probably in the whole universe, actually. Brandon gives the best pep talks, has the best shoulders to cry on, and tells the best (worst) jokes. He is extremely patient, kind, considerate, patient, selfless, patient, funny, encouraging...did I mention patient? He's my best friend, number one travel buddy, greatest support system, and my overall favorite person.

Seeing him hold Carter for the first time was my very favorite moment of our marriage, and I'm hopeful that year seven brings another opportunity to hold a child of our own. Losing our babies has been so hard for both of us, but there is no one I would rather do all of this with. All the cemetery trips, the stupid decisions, the grieving...I couldn't ask for anything more than everything Brandon does for me. He is the very best dad, and the world's best husband, and I'm so thankful for every minute of these six years we've had together.

Here's hoping year seven brings more laughter than tears. I sure do love you, b-rand. Thank you for everything you do.

 

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Five years.

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The older I get the faster time seems to go. I'm sure this is true for everyone, but I can't get over it. It seems like just yesterday I was this goofy little nineteen year old trying to casually flirt with my shift manager at the movie theater, and here we are, almost six years later, married for five years.

We've had a lot of fun lately thinking about all the things we have done/accomplished in our time together. We've lived in three different cities, had 14 different jobs between the two of us, have taken 14 trips together, bought two houses, adopted two cats, and now are just a little over 10 weeks away from meeting our first child. We always joked that we would be waiting seven to ten years before we started having kids, and even though that was definitely not true, it would have been so easy to continue spending time just the two of us. We have so much fun together regardless of what we're doing, and we've loved traveling, trying new things, and just exploring together. We don't intend to slow down once we have the baby, but I will always cherish these past five years that we've had to ourselves!

Onto the sappy stuff: 
I honestly couldn't have asked for a better person to hang out with for the rest of my life. He is smart, silly, hard working, adventurous, funny, sweet, and so many other things. I love how hard he works to make sure we never have to settle for anything, and I know that when it comes to providing for our family, he will never let us down. I love how he is always willing to do things for others. I love that he never complains when I ask him to help fold the laundry, vacuum, or switch sides of the bed with me six times throughout the night. I love that I can never stay mad at him for too long, no matter how hard I try, because he always either does something nice or makes me laugh. 

He really is the best. Anyone that can put up with as much sassiness, tears, and bad jokes as he does from me is someone special, and I'm glad I snatched up a good one before someone else did. Love you, B.

 
 

Friday again??

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It seems like just yesterday I was complaining about having to go back to work, and  now here I am, three weeks done already. The last few weeks have been a little busy, which is normal for us, but also so fun! Brandon went to New Orleans for the first few days but since he got home we have been trying to soak up the last little bit of summer before the cooler weather starts to hit. We went to Aggie Night at the Bee's baseball game, went to a balloon launch and the glow later that night, made smores, and went for a nice little walk around the lake in Daybreak last night. It's finally not blazing hot, so I can actually stand to go outside at night for longer than five minutes, thankfully. I have been so tired lately, and I feel like all I want to do after work is lay around and then just go to bed at like 8:30, so I'm grateful for the nights that we can venture outside!

We also have been busy busy busy getting the babe's room ready for him! The crib and dresser were set up before the end of July, but since then we have bought some art for his walls, a changing pad, and an 8 cube shelf for his closet with some cute bins. I can't wait to stuff those bins full of toys. We already have a few books for him on the shelf, and I just am getting more and more excited every day. We're kind of in the home stretch now; third trimester, and Wednesday next week means we only have ten weeks left!  It's so crazy. All the teachers back at work keep telling me how cute my bump is, but I just am more excited to see how cute our little guy is. We don't have another appointment for a few weeks, but I know it will come quick with our busy schedule coming up. 

This weekend is our five year anniversary! I can't believe it has already been five years; where does the time go? We're celebrating by picking up the rocker for the nursery, probably Costa, and maybe a movie. My little brother is relocating to Logan on Sunday, so we're going to meet my family there and help him move in! Next weekend we have a wedding to go to, and the weekend after that my other brother is getting married (!!!) and honestly before we know it, it's going to be October. Life is crazy, but I can't wait for everything we have coming up!