dear husband

dear husband,

tomorrow is the day i've been secretly and lately quite openly dreading since last season ended this past october. tomorrow is home opener and with that comes a full 6 months of almost non-stop work and way too much traveling for you. i know you love what you do and i am so very grateful for all that you do for our little family. i know we are blessed beyond measure in so many ways, including your job that provides us with much more than just the basics. we've had such a great six months at home, traveling, being spontaneous and deciding what we wanted to do on a day to day basis. very few people get to spend this much time simply enjoying their family life and not worrying about making money. i look forward to joining you on a few trips again this year, so that you don't have to miss us too much. i know you will. i know it will be hard being away from us so much and maybe missing out on a few milestones. as i say "don't worry about that" i have to smile because you are such a worry wart when it comes to your family. probably even more than when you unnecessarily worry about whether you're doing a good enough job at work - babe you are phenomenal!

please know that there is one thing you should never worry about and that is whether you're being the best dad and husband you can be. the last year and a half since i got pregnant, has been such a whirlwind.
 again we have accomplished more than i ever thought we would and you have turned into that amazing father i knew you would be. logan and i are both so lucky to have you supporting us in everything we do, even my crazy little escapades ;) you put a smile onto that little guy's face every time he sees you and he loves you so much.

so when you start to feel lonely on the road, or you think you're not doing a good enough job being a dad, husband or even at work, know that we will always be right here for you. we're not ever going anywhere and you don't have to worry about those things at all. you are the best and we already look forward to having you back to ourselves in october.

you know i'll have all of our vacations planned by the end of the season and a new honey-do list will be waiting for you :)

be safe, work hard, don't worry about the things you cannot change, relax (at least try).
we love you

soph&lo

{style files} cobalt blue pants, stripes and denim

pants: tjmaxx, striped dress worn as shirt: h&m, denim shirt: motherhood maternity, shoes: old navy

someone actually took a picture of just the two of us. i can't remember the last time that happened. all our pictures now are of one of us with lo and a few are of all of us but there are never any of just the two of us. so i'm happy about this picture. the hubby's grandpa turned 86 so we went to a small party at my inlaw's house this past sunday and that's where the picture was taken. food was good and we got to hang out with family from out of town that we don't get to see much. so glad everyone could make it. 

a day at the zoo

while we were in florida we spent an afternoon at the florida aquarium in tampa. if you've ever been to the atlanta aquarium this one surely won't knock your socks off, but it was nonetheless a nice day out for us. they have a great outdoor play area with water fountains, sandboxes and a cafe. once the little mister gets a little older i think he will enjoy coming here again and spending some more time. 

now that we're back home we've been working on getting the vegetable garden all set up. i spent a few hours outside getting the soil ready and planting the first onion sets and some lettuce seeds. tomorrow i want to get the peas in the ground and then i am hoping we won't get any more frost so that i can fill the rest of the beds up. i am so excited for my very first vegetables this summer :) 

do you have a vegetable garden? any tips you'd like to share? 

instagram sunday

since we were on vacation last week i missed instagram sunday so this week you'll get an overload of pictures from the past two weeks, mostly from said vacation in florida. i feel like i am totally behind on posts that i wanted to write and i have so many pictures to edit... there is simply not enough time in each day, folks! i will try to catch up this week so you'll likely see more beachy vacation pictures.

during the last two week we...

packed suitcases
painted coral nails
hauled a car seat, stroller, two suitcases, a diaper bag, backpack and the kiddo to the airport twice
wouldn't sleep on the plane
fell asleep 10 minutes before landing, go figure
soaked up lots of sunshine
wore hats and actually kept them on most of the time
put on a ton of sunscreen
ate more mac'n'cheese than mama could eat herself (vacation diet)
stuck our toes in the ocean
got afraid of the ocean
ate sand
ate some more sand
ate lots of seafood
hung out in big hotel beds
cuddled a lot
ate the best ice cream in the world, like every year (almond joy flavor at two scoops on anna maria island, go there!!!)
went back for more ice cream 2 more times
laid by the pool
read books and magazines
played in the water
remembered why we hate places like hooters
went to the florida aquarium in tampa
ate greek food
did not go outlet shopping! a first :)
went for walks instead
had a blast swinging
went to a baseball game with friends
pleasantly surprised mama by falling asleep during said baseball game so she could watch the entire thing, fireworks and wait for papa to finish up work
got a new t-shirt as a gift
almost died several times while driving - florida, you win the prize for worst drivers in the country
watched a few movies on hbo
shopped at cvs and publix
hung out with papa's work friends
laughed a lot
papa got a cold
passed that cold to the little man
had to fly back home but didn't want to
had the worst air tran check-in experience EVER!
paid a lot of money for airport parking
enjoyed some evening sunshine on the drive home
stopped for moe's take-out and some great colored drinks ;)
reunited with the puppies who we missed
didn't take many pictures due to the sick babe
wiped that tiny little nose endless times
saw the doctor
went through almost an entire bottle of triaminic
finally started to feel a little better
tied to decide on a bathroom wall color
went to a 86th birthday party
enjoyed spending time with family from out of town
worked on the vegetable beds some more
mowed the yard for the first time this year

wow, that was a lot! what did you do?

{style files} dark denim, ruffles and a blazer

jeans: gap, belt: pieces, tank top: jcrew, blazer: zara, necklace: schmuck art, shoes: tamaris 

i love this outfit - it's so me. the blazer from zara is super versatile, i wish there was a store close to us but it may be better for our finances that there isn't one. i just sent my parents a huge list of zara toddler clothes to bring from Germany... yeah you could say that i have a problem. 

at least the little mister is going to look super handsome.  

and on a totally random note: last night we watched a great documentary called "being elmo" about puppeteer kevin clash. it was super interesting, touching and very inspirational. it's on netflix in case you'd like to see it as well. 

have a great weekend everyone! 

shop my closet

ladies i've added a 'shop my closet' section since i'm trying to clean out the closet a little bit more.

click on the button in the top right corner and see if there is anything that would like to find a new home in your closet :)

mama&lo: a few things i like

just a few pretty things from around the internet that i have my eye on for myself and little mister lo. 

i am really loving yellow lately and i guess it shows... 

1. yellow zara blazer with zipper detail 

2. family origins map wall art 

3. zara sweater in my all time favorite color

4. kiwi clock for the nursery

5. saltwater sandals in yellow and maybe matching ones for the babe? 

6. cute little elephant for lo

7. p is for pierogi onesie by garbella is a must have for a pittsburgh babe

8. raglan circle tee by nico nico 

9. polka dot coin purse by cheeky leopard 

10. yellow american eagle skinny jeans