TWO-TII-FRUITI

For Brynn's second birthday I went with a fruit themed party. Pinterest had so many cute ideas and although this was definitely not pinterest worthy I was really happy with the outcome.

We had planned on doing it outside by the pool and clubhouse at our complex but it ended up being such a stormy weekend so we decided to keep the party inside. So not everything turned out exactly how I wanted but overall I think it turned out pretty cute!

My mom made the cake and it turned out so cute! We were dying during the process though because we weren't quite sure how it was going to turn out. I was able to print the banner off of pinterest and cut some cupcake toppers with my silhouette. Thankfully Target had just put out their summer goodies in the dollar spot so I snagged a few ceramic pineapples to help with the decor.

Brynn loved having a party! We let her have a few sips of the punch we made and she was on a sugar high for the rest of the evening. She loved her balloons and presents but blowing out the candle was her favorite part for sure. She wanted us to sing happy birthday and blow out candles for the rest of the week!

They always say how fast the first year goes by but I say the year between one and two goes by even faster and is full of even more growth and development. We love our sweet two year old! She can be sassy but most of the time she is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. She loves playdoh, babies, and bubbles. Our favorite thing that she does is whisper "I love you" at just the right times. Random Fact: she is really good at sitting in time out, folds her arms the whole time and once the timer goes off she comes to you and says "sorry, happy girl" then gives you a big hug. She is potty trained and it's been the best thing to not have to change diapers these past few months. She loves Tangled and Beauty and the Beast. She loves to dance, sing wheels on the bus, and anything that involves water. We couldn't ask for a better toddler and can't believe how fast she is growing up. We are so thankful to be her parents. We love you, Brynn!

Valentine's Day 2018

Holidays are one of my most favorite things in life so as a wife and mom I always like to go all out! As soon as February 1st came around I put out all of our Valentine's Day decorations. Brynn loves to help me decorates so I always let her help. It takes a lot longer but I enjoy seeing her get excited about things I love too! We even decorate her little kitchen area for all of the holidays, I just can't help myself.

I knew I wanted to make Valentine's Day cookies for all of Brynn's little friends so I tried out a new sugar cookie recipe! It is the absolute BEST! This is the first time I let Brynn help me make cookies so it took a lot more patience on my end but she loved it and had so much fun and now whenever I pull out the kitchen aid she runs over and says "help me" haha.

So we made cookies to deliver to all her friends and of course since I love pictures I had to take lots of her in her Valentine's Day colors (3 outfits, not my plan, just what happens when you have a newly potty trained kid -_-)

I'm excited to start traditions for each of the holidays because I feel like it makes it more exciting! What are some of your favorites for Valentine's Day? I'm always looking for more ideas!

Brynn's First Easter

I know, I know. Just now blogging about Easter?! I'm trying to play catch up and I'm way behind. But I want to make sure I get things documented. Who even knows if any of my kids will look back and read these posts but I love knowing they are there if they want to.

We had a weekend full of Easter activities. On Saturday a few families from our ward got together for a little Easter potluck lunch followed by an egg hunt. We divided the kids into age groups that way the little ones wouldn't get trampled. Brynn was so cute picking up the eggs we pointed out to her. She didn't care how many she collected but instead focused on each one and opening them up to see what candy was inside. It was really cute.

When we were gathering our things so we could go home I placed Brynn down on the gym floor. Well she totally fell forward and ended up tearing her frenulum. I was freaking out because blood was gushing out of her mouth. It was so so sad. Thankfully her dad is a dentist to be and knew just what to do and could check it out to make sure it was okay.

On Easter Sunday we started our morning off with checking out what the Easter Bunny left for Brynn. The bubbles were her favorite thing along with all the plastic eggs. At church we enjoyed a beautiful sacrament program put on by our choir. We are so blessed to know that because Christ died and was resurrected that we can all return to be with our Heavenly Father one day.

After church we went over to our good friends, the Holmes', house for dinner. Melissa made an incredible spread and it was extra yummy because I didn't have to cook it. Anyways, after dinner we were just talking and Brynn just took off walking all over the place. So, she became an official walker on Easter and just one day before her first birthday. She also discovered the stairs and loved to climb up them.

We had a beautiful Easter weekend! Brynn has made each holiday more fun and it will be fun to see what traditions we will have as our family grows.

It's a new year so you know what that means...

I love even numbers so I think this year is going to be a really good one. Every even numbered year great things have happened. We got married in 2012, I graduated college and Brad started Dental School in 2014, this year we are having a BABY, and in 2018 Brad will graduate from Dental School. So you can say even numbered years are kind of our thing! ;)

Anyways, I've spent the last week really thinking about goals to make for this new year. I really want to improve not only individually but as a wife and well now, mother. I'm all about people holding me accountable so I thought I would share here on the blog.

My top goal is to be present. This is something I really struggle with. I could spend all day scrolling on my phone with all the different social media feeds. Honestly I don't know why this is so hard for me because I get nothing out of it and really it doesn't do anything to increase my relationship with those I am actually with.  But I'm really going to try this year to put my phone down more during the day.

My second goal is to create a more Christ centered home. As I'm preparing to become a mom I have thought and prayed each day about how to make sure our little one knows that she is loved by her Savior and what that really means. I also want to deepen my personal relationship with Christ and I know as I do things to make sure the spirit can be felt in our home both of those will happen.

My final goal is to take more pictures and to increase my photography knowledge. I figure both of these will kind of happen naturally this year as we are adding a new member to our family. I love pictures just for the purpose of looking back on things we did throughout the year and I would really like them to be quality pictures not just ones I snap through my phone. It sometimes feels like such a pain to tote around the big camera but the final outcome is so much better.

Those are my top three goals that I really want to improve on throughout this next year, of course I have some smaller ones that I will be also working on the side. If you have any tips on how to improve on any of these goals please share in the comments, we all know I could use all the help I can get!

Happy New Year and may this next year bring about a new you! :)

A Year in Review {2015}

It's crazy to think another year is almost come and gone. Before we close the book of 2015 I'd like to take a look back on each chapter (month) of this book! It was a great one here in the Schmidt household!

January: This month we celebrated Brad's 28th birthday by eating at Hall's Chophouse courtesy of my bosses! It was probably the second best steak we've ever eaten (first being the space needle steak). This month we also found over 15 starfish during our walk at Folly Beach! This may be a totally lame highlight of my year but it makes my list!

February: I hosted our first annual Valentine's Dinner! I had such a blast planning and decorating for this  party! I can't wait to start planning the next one! :) Brad planned our celebrations for actual Valentine's Day this year and they included a sunrise on the beach and trying out a great brunch spot, Lost Dog cafe!

March: This was such a crazy month for us! We spent a lot of time in the car between driving to Georgia for various reasons! Brad attended his first dental conference, the Hinman.

April: Thanks to our apartment complex we got to attend my first ever hockey game, supporting the Charleston sting rays! It was so fun because we had great seats and it was free and that always makes the best kind of date nights!

May: Brad took a break from studying and we got out and enjoyed the great weather by going to see the ghost busters film on one of the squares downtown. It was so fun to hear music before hand, grab some food from the vendors and just enjoy time with one another. We also attended one of our friends cinco de mayo party and had a great time and enjoyed yummy food!

June: In June I got to host a bridal shower for my cousin Shae! It was so fun to take on that task and I had a blast planning it! (I love parties!)

July: We celebrated the 4th by picking blueberries in the morning, having a picnic lunch with some friends, then going to the fireworks later that day with different friends. It's a Fourth of July I'll never forget because it was SO rainy and stormy! Then we were back in Georgia again for my cousins wedding! It was a hot but great day! We also celebrated 3 years of marriage, most days it feels like we've been together for a lot longer than that. It was a super low key celebration but that's what happens when your anniversary falls on a Sunday!

August: This was probably the best month out of the year for us because we found out we are expecting a baby come April 2016! We are still over the moon excited and I don't think that will ever change! My friend, Katie threw a great surprise birthday party for me to celebrate turning 24. Seriously she's the best!

September: I honestly have zero pictures from this month! So I can't even remember what happened besides announcing to social media that we were pregnant! Other than that I spent this month going to bed super early (I'm talking 7ish some nights) and throwing up about once every three days. Pregnancy sure is glamorous. Brad of course was busy with school and picking up my slack! He is seriously the best!

October: Such a fun month and I'm pretty sure it's because it pretty much starts all the holiday celebrations! We went to a pumpkin patch with some of our friends from the apartment complex and it was SO fun! They have a hayride that you can feed cows on when they take you out to the pasture, they seriously come right up to you! We left the patch without a pumpkin but still had a great time! We had our ward trunk or treat and then we went over to some friends house for a party on the actually day of Halloween!

November: Another month that I can't really remember much of. This is why I should take more pictures! My mom came out for thanksgiving though and  we enjoyed a lovely thanksgiving meal with our dear friends the Meree's and McGauleys! After that my mom and I did some serious Black Friday shopping! I love when my mom comes to visit!

December: I feel like this month is so busy for everyone. For the majority of it I felt like I was a chicken running with my head cut off and had one too many emotional breakdowns! On the 4th we found out that little baby b is a girl and I've had such a fun time getting things ready for her nursery and buying clothes for her! Brad and I got to enjoy the week of Christmas with my family and now it's back to reality where my days are filled with working.

We are so thankful for all the many things we've been blessed with this year and can't wait to see what 2016 has in store for us! But if 2016 wants to fast forward to April we won't be mad over here, can't wait to have our sweet girl in our arms!

Happy New Year friends! May it bring you love and happiness! :)

Let Freedom Ring

Although it's already the 7th, I can't not blog about how we spent our 4th of July because it was definitely one to remember.

Denim Bow Skirt//Apartment Eighteen

Since last year we spent the morning of the 4th on the beach, I decided to make that our little tradition. So that morning we headed out to Folly Beach. It was the perfect morning at the beach. We have finally found our "spot" on the beach and just always go to that same spot. We stayed out for 3 hours and then came home to change and get ready for our little BBQ get together with some of our friends.

I wish we would have gotten a picture of all of us together, especially since we were all in patriotic colors. The conversations are always so great with that group of friends!  I always end up laughing so hard my stomach hurts.

After the BBQ we headed to River Front Park, on the old navy base in North Charleston. They have quite the set up there. Complete with an entertainment stage, splash pad, inflatables for kiddos, and my favorite...food trucks! We met up with some of our closest friends that we've made here in Charleston.

The weather was beautiful up until about an hour before the fireworks were scheduled to start. They made an announcement saying we all had to evacuate the park and find shelter. UHHHH WHAT?!?!?! I was mildly freaking out. So we headed to our friends car and piled in the back seat with their 4 kids to wait out the wind and rain storm. Finally they said everyone could go back into the park and luckily a lot of people left because of the storm so we still got a good spot. We finished the night off by watching incredible fireworks in the rain, under our umbrella with our cute friends. It was a 4th of July to remember.

with a very special love

Today the children in our primary got up and sang a song they have been learning for Father's Day. It goes like this:

The father of our home leads our family
With wisdom's light in all that's right;
My father's good to me.

Fathers are so special with a very special love.
They watch us and protect us.
They guide us and direct us
Back to our home above.

I love this so much. I often find that I can't make it through a song about moms and dads without it pulling at my heart strings and I end up balling my eyes out. Growing up has really made me treasure the relationships that I have with each of my parents, but today I'm going to highlight my dad. 

 My dad holds such a special place in heart. There have been times where I have wondered if he ever felt like I didn't care as much about him because of the amazing relationship I have with my mom. I really hope he didn't because that is not the case at all and it would break my heart. I love him deeply. There is one letter (my love language remember)in particular that my dad wrote to me while I was at girls camp one year that I will treasure forever and think about often. The words he expressed illustrated so beautifully the special love that he has for me. 

I'm so thankful to my dad for being the perfect dad to us girls. I'm sure it's every man's dream to have a son that he can play sports with, go fishing, and do other boy activities, but I never felt like my dad wished one of us was a boy. He loves us for who we are, the good and the bad. I remember all the times he would just sit on the couch and let us play beauty shop as we put bows in his hair and did his toe nails. He is the definition of a MAN. 

Thank you dad for always calling me Brettly. It never fails to put a smile on my face. Thank you for all the personal conversations we had on our way to and from Valdosta and the airports. They are times I will always hold dear to my heart. Thank you for always "guiding and directing me back to my home above", by example of your faithfulness and dedication to the church. I love you Faddah and hope you've had a wonderful father's day.

home is where your mom is

This will always be one of my favorite pictures of my mom and I, mostly because I think it really shows how much I think of my mom. I admire and adore her so much. Mother's Day is one of my favorite days because on social media everyone posts about their moms and it always reminds me how thankful I am for mine (and how I wish we had more pictures together).

This past year as a nanny I have gotten a little glimpse as to what the role of "mom" entails. I'm so thankful for a mom who really embraced (and still does) her calling as a mother. I don't remember her ever yelling at me (although I'm sure I thought she was yelling a few times), I don't remember her ever complaining about having to make dinner every night, or take care of sick kids, and keeping up with housework. She still makes sure we are all safe and well taken care of and worries about us girls when things are going just quite right. How wonderful it is to be so loved and cherished. I know she would do anything for any of us.

She is everything I hope to be in a mother. As much as I say I would be happy to have all boys, I want at least one girl so that I can have the same bond with my daughter as I have with my mom. There is nothing like our relationship and saying she is my very best friend doesn't even scratch the surface.

Thanks mom for being there for me through the thick and thin. For always being my biggest fan. My world is a better place because you're in it! I love you!

Day of Love 2015

Our Valentines Day this year was really low key and I absolutely loved it. Brad had originally made reservations for us to go to lunch downtown but our plans changed once we realized what a mess downtown would be because of the SEWE Exposition going on. I guess the low country takes their wildlife pretty seriously. haha.

On Valentines Eve Brad asked if I would like to go see the sunrise out on the beach the next day. Of course I said yes. I'm a beach lover and will never turn down a trip to the beach even when it was below freezing outside! So we woke up at 6 am and bundled up in our scarves, hats, and coats and headed to Folly Beach to watch the sunrise. I'm so glad it wasn't windy on the beach or else I would have frozen to death. The sunrise was beautiful. The sky was all different shades of pinks, blues, and purples and it was fun to just take time to sit and talk as we were surround by such a beautiful sight. After the sunrise we went and grabbed breakfast at one of the restaurants out on Folly, then came home and exchanged gifts, and climbed back in bed since we got up so early on the one day we have to sleep in. The rest of the day Brad spent studying (who schedules TWO tests for the Monday after VDAY?!), I went shopping for shampoo and conditioner (exciting stuff, I know), and then later that night we met a group of our friends at Longhorn Steak House for dinner and dessert.

Brad did such a wonderful job with Valentine's Day this year. Honestly I couldn't feel more blessed to have him as my forever Valentine. I got a dozen roses delivered to me on Friday, along with a box of Reese's chocolates, and beautiful earrings to replace my anniversary earrings we got in Mexico that turned out to not be made of high quality materials. In the past I have done the 14 days of lays for Brad leading up to Valentine's Day but this year I decided to take a different route and went with just the 5 days before ending on the actual Valentines Day, I went with the theme of the 5 senses so each day he got a small gift that coordinated with hearing, smelling, seeing, touching, and tasting. It was fun to come up with little gifts for each one that he would enjoy.

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day weekend!

Valentine's Day Couples Dinner

When we lived in New York we had friends in our ward who hosted a valentines couples dinner each year and I loved this idea and decided to steal the idea and make it one of our traditions! So last night we hosted the first annual Valentine's Day Couples Dinner hosted by the Schmidt's! ;)

Honestly I had SO much fun planning this and it turned out so wonderfully! I love a good party complete with cute decorations, good food, fun games, and wonderful company. Our apartment is a cozy one bedroom so it was a small group, and while we wish we could have had more friends over, we were thrilled with the turnout that we had! 

 We kept the menu and served soups (potato & chili), salads (ceaser & spinach mix), bread (corn bread & rolls), and asked everyone to bring a dessert to share. Which worked out perfectly! We played a "how well do you know him/her game" and the newlywed game which always makes for a good time.

Each couple left with a mixed CD of love songs and some pictures in our "photo booth". Brad and I had such a fun time compiling a disc of romantic songs. And let's be honest I love any excuse to pose with silly props, Brad secretly wishes we never took pictures, but at least he always willingly cooperates.

I'm so glad we have started this tradition and I can't wait until next February to host another one! ;)

Mancub Turns 28

I know, I know, I'm way behind on blogging. Slacker wife of me to not post a sappy love note to the hubs on his birthday. This year we didn't do anything too crazy because Brad needed to study for his 4 tests the following week (which he ROCKED by the way, so proud of my smartie pants husband)! Thankfully he took the night off from studying and we put to use a gift card that my bosses got us for Christmas.

It was so fun to dress up for a nice, romantic, dinner that was all on the house. We went to Hall's Chophouse here in Charleston which is one of the top rated restaurants here. It's a place we never would have gone to because it's definitely not in our student budget but thanks to my generous bosses we didn't have to worry about money for a night. For those of you who are looking for a steakhouse and have some money to spend I would HIGHLY recommend this place. Everything was so perfect, the staff is incredible and the food was amazing.

Earlier in the day I had made Brad's favorite cake for his birthday and we were planning on eating it after we got home. We were so full though that we just decided to wait until Saturday to dig into the cake! haha.

I'm so grateful I got to celebrate my mancub being in my life and him getting older, wiser, and better looking!
;)

Thanksgiving 2014

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I figured now would be the perfect time to get back into blogging world. I've been thinking about it a lot lately and today I actually have some down time and figured I would be productive with it instead of scrolling through social media all day long!

Thanksgiving is probably my second favorite holiday, after Christmas of course. This year Brad and I are spending our 3rd Thanksgiving together. It's crazy to think our first one was just 2 days after Brad asked me to be his girlfriend! Our first Thanksgiving as a married couple was spent in New York City, we went for the weekend and we have so many wonderful and "funny" memories from that trip, I use quotations because it wasn't funny at the time but now I just look back and die laughing. I'm so grateful that we finally have a snow free Thanksgiving. I will take the autumn hued leaves and 50 degree weather over snow any day! 

I love that Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks for all that we are blessed with and boy have we been blessed this year. Not to say we haven't had our trials but our blessings have definitely made up for them.

I figured I would go ahead and make a list of some things I am feeling especially grateful for this year.

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of a loving Heavenly Father who just wants the best for me. This has been such a comfort especially during the times I felt alone or stressed this year. (still working on that goal of not being so stressed all the time).

2. My family. I am REALLY blessed in this department. This year they have shown so much love and support for me and for Brad. I love that they have taken him in and support him as well. I wish so badly that we all lived close. I miss seeing and spending time with them. I feel like I miss so much.

3. This year both Brad and I have been so blessed to be able to accomplish some of our biggest dreams. I graduated from college and Brad is almost halfway done with his first year of Dental School.

4. My job. I L-O-V-E being a nanny, and to the sweetest baby girl ever. I love not working retail because I always have weekends and holidays off.

Those are the more serious things I'm thankful for but if I'm being honest I'm also thankful for things like: Technology (makes living away from home a little easier because we can do things like skype, call, text, etc), Proactive (I've always struggled with my acne and let me just say proactive is always a lifesaver), and let's be real...dry shampoo (why did it take me so long to discover this?!).

I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving, whether you are spending it with friends or family (or both). I'm ready to eat my body weight today (don't worry I'm wearing stretchy pants) and then decorate for Christmas! ;)

2014

Another year has come and gone and it's crazy to think of how fast they fly by.

2014 is an even year which for an OCD person like me, means it's destined to be a great year. Two examples: (2012)-Got married to that sweet hubby of mine. (2010)- Graduated high school. See what I mean?!

It seems to be quite the trend that people always set a goal that somehow relates to health and fitness. While I think these are great goals and have been known to have one myself every single year I've decided this year will be different. I will try to improve myself. So here are some of my goals for 2014.

Graduate college. I've spent four years of my life trying to accomplish this goal and I can't wait to finish come this May. At times it has been the most stressful thing in my life but if I'm being honest I love school. I love the structure of it and I love learning and performing well. I have been blessed with jobs that have allowed me to make school my top priority while also enabling me to go to college for four years without taking out any student loans. Most of all I love the support that I have from my family and my husband. I couldn't ask for a better support group. They are always there telling me I can do it and how proud of me they are. There is no better feeling in this world. 

I hope to get my anxiety under control. This is really going to be a struggle for me as I feel like it's gotten worse as I've gotten older. Like I said above I am very much a perfectionist. When we lived in Washington I had a really bad panic attack, I'm not really sure how it came about but I seriously thought I was dying. I've never had one before and I have to admit that I remember that night so vividly and I feel like it still affects me to this day. I can feel the difference that the panic attack had on me and I'm ready to let go of that, move on, let things not stress me out, and go back to my happy, stress free days.

Another goal I have is to not compare myself to others. In today's society I'm sure we all get caught up in it. How can we not when we have facebook, blogs, and instagram  constantly shoving it in our faces. Between the exotic trips that everyone is taking, the beautiful homes that everyone is building, and the "perfect" lives that we get a glimpse of. I often times find myself getting angry or comparing myself with those who seem to be more "established". I need to remember to take a look at my own life and enjoy the chapter of life that I'm in instead of comparing it to the "perfection" I see on social media sites.

I'm looking forward to 2014. I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of {GOOD} changes in the Schmidt household! 

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

So lately it has been insanity at our house. We have been busy planning our ward Christmas party, working our buns off, and taking finals. However, once we had a Saturday morning together we headed off to the same Christmas tree farm as last year and found us a perfect tree.

Brad makes every occasion seem special and magical. As we were driving down the curvy roads, watching the snow fall he demanded we put on Christmas music, because after all we were going to pick out a Christmas tree.

We walked through the Christmas tree farm and inspected every tree until we found the one that would be just right. Of course Brad was so good to me and let me snap some pictures! We cut the tree down, strapped it to the top of the car, and headed home.

Once we got it home we turned on the Christmas pandora station, lighted our Bath and Body works "'Tis the season" candle, and decorated that tree so that it shimmers and shines.

I absolutely love how a real Christmas tree smells and makes it really feel like the holidays. I grew up with lots of Christmas trees and nothing makes it feel more like Christmas than a tree and nativities!

Here's to Christmas break and catching up on lots of blogging!

Father's Day 2013

Father's Day Weekend is here so of course I have to talk about my Faddah!

I'm not sure why I call him that, but I like it and I personally think he likes it too.

My dad is an awesome man and an even better dad. Let me tell you what, he made the BEST girl dad. Some of my greatest memories of him are when he lets us girls play beauty shop on him. He let us put bows in his hair and even paint his toe nails. What a trooper!

My dad has taught me many things and I am grateful that he took time out of his day and schedule to always put all of his girls at the top of his priority list. There are times I think back on when my dad was both working and going back to school and he still made sure that all of his ladies were taken care of and that we all knew how much he loved us.

I know my dad would do anything in order to provide for and protect his family. He is a great example of the qualities I wanted in a husband and a father figure for my own children (and I got so lucky). I am so thankful that he showed me how important it is to have a worthy priesthood holder. I have received so many blessings from the priesthood and I am glad my dad made sure that we knew that we never had to hesitate asking for a blessing.  

I am thankful to my Heavenly Father for sending me to such a tender hearted and loving Daddy. I am beyond grateful for the love and support that he continually gives me!

Happy Father's Day, Faddah! 

I love you!