Declan's First Birthday

1, 2, 3,
4, 6, 7,
8, 9, 12 months

Declan turned one two Saturdays ago on January 30. I still can't believe it. He's been a perfect light and joy in our lives and I can't imagine ever living without him.

The morning of his first birthday, Declan woke up and played with balloons with Tenley. 

Then we drove up to the Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth, Minnesota. 

The kids had an awesome time

monkeying around...

staring in awe...

looking cute...

getting a bit tired...

and modeling (/watching sister in envy on the swing).

We had a great time despite it being winter (it was a nice day) and other than Tenley almost freezing her toes off when her mocs got soaked, we all were happy with the day.

Then we headed home for a little birthday party with two couples in our new branch at church. Declan demolished his slice of ice cream caking (we wanted to do a smash cake but time got away from us with our outing and I couldn't make one in time). 

Declan loved the cake but was a little distracted

and all but refused to smile at the camera. He must have been enjoying the sugary goodness. 

Now Declan is just busy looking cute. We went to a pediatrician in town the other day and he got his vaccines and first flu shot and is doing great. He weighs only 20lbs and is just under the 50th percentile but the doctor mentioned with how active he is, it shouldn't be a problem. 

Declan is running around, climbing in scary places, getting into everything, eating like a champ, loves to snuggle his mama, loves the bath/shower, loves his dad and sister, gives kisses on command, loves to give raspberries on bellies, has at least ten teeth, says "mama" "dada" "dah" (for Tenley) "uh oh," claps, waves, signs "more" and "all done," dances to music, and brings his diapers to the trash after every diaper change. He sleeps in his room until the middle of the night, then likes to sleep on top of me (so I can't sneak away;).

He is growing and changing in personality so much lately and I can't wait to continue to get to know this little boy of ours. Happy first birthday, Declan! You are my dearest son!

Our Little Webster Home Tour (Living Room & Hall)

Today, February 9 (my half birthday I just realized...) was finally the day that I managed to get and keep my home clean enough during daylight hours to take some photos for you guys who were asking about our sweet little house.

It's not my dream home or anything, but I love the space we have. It's not too much too clean and has just about enough room for all of our things. 

If I could change one thing about it, I would choose not to share a wall with a neighbor. He's another counselor at Northwest Passage and isn't home a lot, but I feel bad when my kids are hollering at 4am and I'm yelling back (before I remember we share that wall). Also, my crazy kids think it's funny to knock on that wall until I snatch them away and remind Tenley we have a neighbor and we need to be respectful. It's just a little bit stressful having to worry about someone else, especially at nighttime. 

One random fact about our duplex/house is that we technically only have four windows. One over the kitchen sink, two in our room, and one in the kids' room. We also have a large glass doorway that leads to our porch in the living room which brings in a lot of light but I just feel like four windows doesn't sound like many. Though we technically had three at Wymount so it's still an improvement ;). 

One random thing I love about our little home (besides having a dishwasher and laundry units;) is the water. I'm not sure where the water comes from and I don't really care necessarily since we haven't died from it, but it tastes really, really good! It's like having a cold spring water bottle. We did not care for our Provo water at all. We bought water bottles all four years we lived there and I hated wasting the money. But the water here is so good and another bonus, it heats up and gets cold really quick, too!

Anyway, let's get on with the tour. 

First, this is our view of the backyard from the living room. We have this great deck and a shed (which has only one or two things of ours in it), and though I initially didn't like the idea of having a house in our backyard, I actually do for the time being while Dalin is working 3-11pm each night and I'm home alone. It's comforting to have neighbors pretty close, especially when we have none across the street and the ones next door are rarely around. I feel better anyway. And there's a good amount of room for the two tiny kids to play in when it warms up! 

The living room isn't huge, but it's a perfect amount of space for our little family. It's also much more reasonable than the ridiculous tiny rectangle of a room we had before. I love that the children have room to play, we have room to workout, and we had the perfect amount of room when we had two other couples over for Declan's birthday. Also, don't mind the blank wall over the couch. I've been working on a painting for that spot but it's not in an acceptable state at the moment. 

Gotta love our Ikea rug (I do...it's my favorite) and our custom pillows from ebay. Some day I'll get a picture of that U.S. map pillow. It has a heart on Caldwell for Dalin and a heart on Gilford for me. There is a straight line from Idaho to New Hampshire and guess where that line crosses right over?? Northwest Wisconsin. Right where we live. It was meant to be. I'm painting a heart there and on Provo at some point. I drew one with a Sharpie which was an awful idea. 

This is Tenley's (and Declan's) little Ikea kitchen corner. We spent $80 on that part (there's another upper part for $20 we may get one day) and I spent what should have been like $1000 worth of labor putting it together in our flipping bathroom on Christmas Eve because our children would not sleep and I was excited to get it done. My back and knees probably still haven't recovered from that little escapade though. 

The view from the hall. I like how our kitchen and living room ceilings are vaulted and I like the beautiful wooden doorframe between them. I want that wood in our home someday. 

The kids' area. I'm all about those books and blocks, man. If it were up to me, those are pretty much the only things my kids would own (though I'm grateful we both have great parents that spoil our kids). 

I like to incorporate pieces in my home that tell a story. That's why I really love antiques. We (my mom and I) got those darling baskets on many trips to the BYU Bookstore. Also, a couple I think came from Ross or TJMaxx. The yellow clock also came from BYU. The custom burlap flag is from ebay and the rough wood frame is from Hobby Lobby. I love signs. If you can't tell. I had to restrain myself which is why there are only five on this shelf. They read, top to bottom, "Families are Forever," "Believe," "Family," "Welcome to our neck of the woods," and "Home is wherever I'm with you." On the bottom sheld, the left half of our books are Dalin's Psychology/medical books. The right half are my English Literature/mom and family books. The middle box holds hides diapers, and the basket holds wipes. Above that, we have some of our LDS books in the first basket, a basket holding only a few members of Tenley's owl collection (that's my not-so-secret nod to Harry Potter), and a basket with my collection of yet-to-be-used journals.

So that's the living room. It's square and cozy and I love the feel of it. 

Now for an exceedingly brief tour of the hall:

Basically this closet holds our camping stuff, 95% of our coats (we keep our currently worn ones in a more convenient spot), most of our luggage (all but one darn suitcase), and that little bin of sports' stuff. 

This guy at the end of our hall holds so much. All of our extra bedding, cozy blankets, extra towels, sewing materials, our haircutting supplies, our board games, my drill, and probably more. 

This house really has some great storage. If it had just one more little closet, we'd be golden. But I'm not complaining.

I hope that you haven't been bored to tears. We've just been busy here living life, playing a lot, exercising a lot, eating lots of fresh veggies, celebrating the guys' birthdays, watching lots of Fixer Upper, exploring our area, and packing for Florida (me).

Life is great:)

Two week Florida packing plan and list

Back in Florida in 2013 when Tenley was 4 months old

Some of my cute Florida family

Had to throw in a pic of us in Harry Potter World of course;)

As you now know from the title of this post (if you did not know before), the babies and I are going to Florida for two weeks in mid-February! We can't wait! We bought the tickets for cheap back in August so it's been a long wait! I'm really bummed that Dalin most likely can't come for more than a few days toward the end of the trip, but I'll be so relieved to enjoy some much-appreciated WARM weather and get out of the house for a little while. Plus we're meeting up with my New Hampshire family so that's very exciting! I'm psyched to see my brothers and mom (my dad may not make it due to work) as well as my wonderful Florida aunts, uncles, and cousins! I love them all so much.

Obviously I'm also over-the-moon excited at the idea of flying alone with a one-year old and a two-year old...(ha ha) but really, I'm not that worried because we have flown more than a dozen times in the last two years. (Here is a post I wrote a long while ago about how I do it with littles if you need it!) And with just three hours of flying time from Minneapolis to Orlando (broken up with a layover), it should be a piece of cake compared to my past six+ hour flights (those are the lamest).

But packing is another matter. I don't mind packing. In fact, I enjoy packing for my husband and children. I like organizing everything in the best way and making sure no one forgets anything (mostly my husband;). But packing for myself is another matter. Honestly, I don't know why it's such a headache for me. Who actually cares what I'm wearing on vacation?! I shouldn't, but I do. And I never know the proper amount of clothing to bring. 3 bathing suits? Or 5? Like, come on, get it together, Olivia, it's not like I'm selecting a major in college.

But I pack for myself last every time, and every time I get nervous I won't have the shorts I want when I'm sitting on a beach by the Gulf, or the shoes I'll want when I'm at a theme park in Orlando. I'm a mess...that's why I usually have my best friend and master/professional packer, Megan, pack for me (but unfortunately she and I see each other so little that this is usually an impossibility...though she did pack for me when I left for college;).

So now, in late January, I'm going to be ahead of the game. I'm going to make a list, then start packing in early February for MYSELF so I can get that sorted away before doing anything else. And I'm sharing my thought-process with you.

The first thing that I think about when I'm traveling somewhere is the time of year and the weather.

In mid-February to early March last year, Orlando had highs of 83-degrees and lows of 52-degrees, but the average was about 72. So logically, I need mostly t-shirts, shorts, sandals, and swimwear. I probably need two sweatshirts at the most, and 4 pairs of leggings or jeans (since it gets "cool" in the mornings and evening and I tend to adapt fast to Florida's weather). As for the other things, I need maybe two dresses for attending church down there.

Since we are staying with family much of the time and should have access to a washer/drier, I really should not need more than ten days worth of outfits (and even that probably is unnecessary). So my list should look like this:

2 sweatshirts
10 t-shirts (I doubt I can narrow it down further)
6 pairs shorts/capris
4 pairs leggings/jeans
2 dresses
4 swimsuits
2 pairs socks (I never wear sneakers...I don't believe in them;)
1 pair sneakers (I lied...though I really don't wear them except on...excursions...and rarely then)
2 pairs sandals
1 pair flip flops

2 necklaces (I always forget jewelry...I usually have one pair of earrings on the whole time)
4 pairs earrings

Toiletries:

1 razor
2 pairs contact lenses
travel-size contact solution
glasses
eyelash curler
mascara
eyeliner
eye shadow
blush
spot corrector
tweezers
lipstick
chapstick
Aveeno non-scented baby lotion (my favorite besides Melaleuca's Body Satin lotion...but it's $$$)
deodorant
brush (the one thing I tend to "forget" or decide not to bring for some reason)
travel bottle shampoo
travel bottle conditioner
toothbrush
travel toothpaste

Other necessities:

iPhone & charger
camera & charger
iPad (same charger as phone)
journal & good pens
wallet!! (cleaned out vacation-version)
travel-size pillow (for flights)
pull-ups/undies for Tenley
diapers for four days (I buy a package there usually)
package of wipes
snacks, snacks, snacks
gum or mints

car seats... }:[   (ugh, our toddler car seats are MONSTERS)
double stroller (if I could wear Declan I would bring the umbrella stroller, but he's getting heavy and I am going to be riding the coasters with my family so it's best to have a stroller that fits both kids...though I'm seriously tempted to buy another umbrella stroller in Florida to use because they're just SO much more convenient!)

Is there anything I'm forgetting? I'm getting so excited! I love having something to look forward to! (Even though the thought of leaving Dalin for ten days is still making me sad). And I hate to admit it but I'm reallyyy enjoying the ache in my muscles from another day of Insanity. It's nice to feel like things are happening (and give myself hope that I might see a bit of improvement a month from now). I even made what I would consider a "healthy" smoothie today (it had yogurt in it :P) and it was insanely delicious. (I was concerned about tossing the plain Greek Yogurt in there because MAN is that stuff gross--it's like curdled milk!--but the smoothie was excellent.)

What trips do you have planned this year? I'm pretty sure we'll be flying a lot this year...probably three separate trips after Florida. Gotta fly while we can before Declan turns two and we have to start paying for four of us...Yippee.

P.S. The last time I flew was with the kids to Minneapolis airport in December when I made a rookie mistake and stuck our Kindle Fire HD in the pocket in front of me on the plane. We switched seats during our stop and I forgot about it all the way until I got to the hotel. Even more embarrassing for me, was the fact that it had no case on and wasn't labeled anywhere. Plus it was locked when turned on so there was no way for someone to figure out it was ours...basically it was like a blank device. : | So even though I put in a lost item notice on Southwest's website (and even though I knew exactly where I left it), there basically was no hope of it being found and now that it's been 30 days, I'm pretty certain it's lost forever. So I had it erased and I'm really sad it's gone because I actually used to watch movies and read on it (and Tenley used it for her alphabet games). So learn from me--LABEL your devices on the outside in some way, and don't be a dummy and leave it on the airplane! It probably would have been more likely to be found in the airport even. Sigh...I'm still a little sad.

Favorite clean romantic novels

    

Here's my list of good clean romances to read. I've been really into them again lately. Many of them were read during college or even way back in high school and I may not perfectly remember how much I enjoyed them at the time, but I will do my best to provide accurate ratings. If you haven't read them and need something clean and cute to read, I'd recommend something from this list.

Quick note: I honestly like them all, so the 5-star system is kind of moot, but basically a 5-star rating means I think the book is pretty much perfection, a 4 is very, very good, and a 3 is just something to do in between finding better options.

Pride and Prejudice ★★★★★ - Jane Austen 

Sense and Sensibility ★★★★★

Persuasion ★★★

Northanger Abbey ★★★

Mansfield Park ★★★

Jane Eyre ★★★★★ - Charlotte Bronte

Wuthering Heights ★★★ - Emily Bronte (I love the classic romances...clearly from the first several books on this list)

Edenbrooke ★★★★★ - Julianne Donaldson (I LOVED this book! It is easily in my top ten, maybe even top five favorite books)

Blackmoore ★★★★ (Still very good, but I liked the first book most!)

Austenland ★★★★★- Shannon Holt (Very good book. I loved the movie, but the book is quite different and definitely better)

Midnight in Austenland ★★★ (I wanted to rate this higher, but the bar was set so high after Austenland that I felt a little let down. Also, I was very frustrated by our protagonist. In every circumstance I would hope she'd do the opposite of what she did! It was very aggravating) 

Mistress of Mellyn ★★★★ - Victoria Holt (I read this at my teacher's recommendation in high school and loved it. I just read it again recently and enjoyed it again--especially because I forgot the secrets in it)

Twilight ★★★★ - Stephenie Meyer (I don't care what people say about Twilight, I think it's a cute story between two high schoolers. Maybe I'm just too easy to please. Oh well. It makes me happy)

The Host ★★★★ (I like this even more than the Twilight series but there's only one book)

Ella Enchanted ★★★★ - Gail Carson Levine (Love this twist on Cinderella. Also, the book is way different from the movie. It's really well-written)

Books I want to read:

North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell (I loved the episodes on Netflix. I hope the book is as good or better!)

Emma - Jane Austen (I don't think I've read this fully and I should probably do so at some point.)

Book of a Thousand Days - Shannon Hale
The Goose Girl - Shannon Hale (I only read the sample and wasn't super excited by it so I moved on to something else, but I'm willing to give it another try)

Princess of the Midnight Ball - Jessica Day George
Wildwood Dancing - Juliet Marillier

Truthfully, this list would have been QUITE a bit longer if my tabs with all the clean book suggestions hadn't crashed. So, I'll leave this as it is for now, but as always I LOVE suggestions!

Please comment or message them to me!!!!!

Our (3rd) Home Tour: The Bathroom

I feel bad I haven't blogged for a while, but with moving from Utah to Wisconsin and Christmas (never mind having no internet for a week), things have been a bit crazy around here. Anyway, a few people have wanted to see what our new home for the next couple years is like. I absolutely love it. After living in the tiny space of Wymount, our Birch Street home feels "so spacious!" (as Tenley declared when we asked her if she liked our new home). Anyway, it may not look like much, but it's home and we love it dearly (so much so that we've already scribbled on the walls in pen...I guess we'll be painting the hallway eventually). 

The front of the house is basically complete (meaning the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and even the hall closets) but our bedrooms aren't what I'd like them to be, mainly because we do not have enough furniture yet (which translates into not enough storage for our many clothes). 

I started with the bathroom because it was an easy space to tackle, so here it is (sorry for the absolutely awful phone quality photos). 

Basically, the unintentional theme became a very distinct ocean and garden theme, which I find very familiar and comforting. 

This photo doesn't nearly show how wide the bathroom is from wall to wall. There is so much space! It's like twice the size of our Wymount bathroom at least. Maybe 2.5x.

The sink area is still a bit more cluttered right now than I'd like it, but I'm continuously sorting through our millions of decorations and old containers to dump things. That thing on the left is full of makeup for me to go through, organized by eye makeup, blush, skin creams and foundation, and lip stuff. 

I love having an étagere behind the toilet. It is so helpful for storage. The Peter Rabbit bins on the middle and lower shelf contain each of our individual items that we most often use. The white towels are for guests, and the towels below are the kids. I put them there so Tenley can reach them because she's my little retriever. 

Last, a sign that reads "Beach Rules" (which Dalin gave to me one year) and our basket with literature (aka The Far Side and Calvin & Hobbes comics mostly). 

I am not pleased with how poor the photos look on my screen, so I'll see what I can do about that. In the meantime, enjoy that brief tour of our ever so spacious bathroom. ;)