39 weeks!

i can't believe i {hopefully} have one week left before baby brother is with our little family. but then again as i attempt to roll out of bed—and have to ask todd for an assisted push—i can't imagine have baby brother in me one more day! pregnancy is such a lovely, beauty, silly, annoying, crazy, miraculous thing, isn't it?

i am so dang lucky to be trusted by my heavenly father with one gorgeous baby, let alone another on the way. motherhood is such a beautiful thing. and especially at this christmas time, i am so aware of it. i love being a mom. it is crazy challenging and my patience is tested every hour {every 10 minutes?}, but i love it. i love it. i love it.

here's to a beautiful christmas season with another blessing on the way!

gingerbread houses & sugar rushes.

what's a christmas week without gingerbread house making! and if this isn't a craft for children and candy-lovers alike, i don't know what is. i think harper ate a piece of candy for every three placed. it's a few hours later and she's still buzzing!

 ***the cutest team of builders***

***sneaking a piece a candy***

***guilty. chocolate-covered and all.***

a chat with father christmas.

harper: hi! i'm harper, and i want a sparkly princess cup. 

santa: a what, sweetie? 

harper: a sparkly princess cup.

{santa hands her a gift. harper opens it. it's a book.}

harper: {in the most confused and hushed voice} moooom? this isn't a sparkly princess cup. 

{insert a motherly explanation here about being a good girl and christmas day and all princess dreams coming true...} 

since then, you better believe mr & mrs clause have passed that important news onto their elves.

touring london with R+J.

we were so lucky to have ryan and janelle visit us over thanksgiving weekend. they were only here for a brief 48 hours but we made it worth their time, as we were busy going from one thing to another. i think we passed by big ben 4 separate times in those 2 days. i love having a reason to get out and explore my city. another bonus? i can't remember the last time harper slept so well at night. r & j, please come back…i need sleep again!!

***this photo. i think we all know what was bothering H***

***love these two***

munich & salzburg // christmas markets.

here are a few {read: a zillion} photos from our trip to the christmas markets in munich and salzburg. also known as our last trip in tour de pre-baby. 

munich is the quintessential german town with smells of cooking sausages filling the air and bavarian architecture lining the streets. right as we exited the underground we were greeted with the clock above {glockenspiel}, performing its 11 am musical spectacle. i couldn't have asked for a better german welcome. we arrived on a saturday so the weekend markets were in full swing. harper enjoyed running from one stall to the next looking at the ornaments and christmas decorations. fruit and veg. sausages and pickles. the city was alive and bustling. i've been itching to travel to germany for a long time and kept pinching myself because we were actually there!

on sunday, we took a day trip to salzburg, austria to enjoy the christmas markets. it was the first weekend they were up so it was crowded and awesome. i love a bit of craziness at christmas time {speaking of, i went to oxford street to do some christmas shopping yesterday. whoa! crazy. and awesome. but i'm getting off topic}. austria was beautiful. also, i'm 1/8 austrian so i felt a particular connection to my fellow austrians. guten tag!

***the christmas markets in munich were setting up the weekend we arrived. a booth covered every nook of the city***

***pickles & pregnancy. can i be more cliche? :)***

***surfing on a river wave in munich. whaaa? crazy, i know. todd had to give it a go***

***we ate our way through munich, munching on pretzels and sausages. todd said he ate 4 brats in 24 hours. ***

***welcome to salzburg. just LOOK at those colors.***

***the hillllls are alive. i've never actually seen the sound of music. {i know i know} but supposedly a scene plays out in this courtyard. i should watch.***

***the main square of the christmas markets in salzburg***

***thousands upon thousands of ornaments filled the booths. wouldn't it be a dream to fill a tree with these?***