This is T H I R T Y

I'm thirty years old! Wow!! In my head I feel like I'm still 22 so it's weird to actually be in my 30s now. I honestly thought that I would still be pregnant on my birthday so actually having Crew in my arms was the best birthday gift ever. Can you imagine being 40 weeks pregnant on your 30th birthday?! Haha. I'm glad I didn't have to experience that ;)

I quite honestly didn't want anything for my birthday; having a baby is enough and a little overwhelming anyway. When I got home from the hospital the day before my birthday, I walked into the house and found the dining room and kitchen all decorated!! My friends really outdid themselves and put up so many balloons, streamers and a huge tinsel "30" on my mantel. I thought it was so sweet of them. I really didn't expect it because they had already thrown me a baby shower a couple weeks before which they did not have to do since this is my third boy! I have enough clothes for baby boy, believe me ;) It was so nice of them.

And then the next day they showed up at my door in the afternoon, sang me happy birthday, embarrassed me with "30" glasses and a banner and then gave me sooo many treats, so many goodies and so many gifts! And last of all, a super cute box full of 30 notes where they wrote down 30 things they loved about me. I was so so touched! They said some of the sweetest things anyone has ever said about me. I feel so lucky to have such thoughtful friends in my life. They went above and beyond and they really didn't have to!

Steve asked me if I wanted him to take me to dinner for my birthday or to a movie and I was like nooooooo. Haha. I don't like to leave the house for at least two weeks after baby is born so I told him I didn't want anything. I can't even wear a bra yet without it hurting so going in public does not sound fun! Haha. He decided to finish painting the baby's crib since that never got finished before the baby was born and it was the best gift! He also painted the changing table for me and it all turned out so cute. I can't wait to decorate his nursery, I just haven't had the energy yet.

I wish I could say that I finished everything on my 30 before 30 list but nope, not even close. I'll have to go over everything another time when I have a chance.

So, this is THIRTY!! Here's to a new decade!! I can hardly believe I'm here but I have no complaints. I love my life. I love my friends. I love my family. I love my husband. What would I do without him by my side? 30, you're not so bad when I have such great people in my life. How can I possibly complain about getting older. I have a lot to be thankful for ♥

Crew Anderson// five days old!

Crew Anderson at 5 days old! Which also happened to be his due date: October 30th! I just want to take pictures of him all day long, every day because they grow and change so much as newborns! Right now he has jaundice so I'm waiting until it's gone to take some proper newborn pictures. He also hates being naked because he hates being cold which makes it harder to take his newborn pictures. But I did manage to get these shots. I think they're so cute.

He is the sweetest baby. Seriously, I am so obsessed with him. He reminds me so much of Cole as a newborn, especially with his eyes open. His hair is so dark in the back but he is surprisingly very fair in the face. The hair around his hairline is so blonde compared to the back! And I'm almost completely sure that he has the widow's peak hairline!! It lives on haha! When Cole was a newborn it was so obvious because his hair was darker in front. You can't make it out as easily on Crew because his hair is lighter but I'm almost completely sure that it's there.

And don't get me started on his cute little legs!! I heart seriously can't handle it! He loves to curl them up when he sleeps, which is pretty much all the time and he looks like he still in my womb when he does it! Oh my heart. I just love it so so much. I want him to stay this way forever ♥

Welcome Baby Crew!

My baby is here! And I am so happy.

Crew Anderson Byers

Born October 25th, 2016

at 11:40 pm

7 lbs even & 19 inches long

He surprised us and arrived 5 days early! I'm so glad he is here. He is so so sweet. He looks a lot like Cole did as a newborn, his hair is just quite a bit lighter in front. His eyebrows and eyelashes are also blonde, but he has a whole lot of dark hair in the back! He also has a little stork bite on his forehead like Logan did. So he really is a good mix of the two. I had a dream about him a few weeks before he was born and he looks just like he did in my dream! He has the most perfectly cute round face. I am completely in love. I can't wait to share his birth story and more pictures of him. I will have to do that when I have a chance to write it all down.

Welcome Crew, you are already so loved. ♥

39 weeks.

mmmhmmmm.

I look so large and in charge here. 39 weeks and feeling every last bit of it. Baby boy, you can come any time!

Hidden Acres Farms

I love these pictures because you can see how happy Cole is. It makes me so happy to see him happy with his kindergarten class. School has been so so good for him. I love seeing him thrive.

When I was 37 weeks pregnant (yikes) I was able to be a chaperone at Cole's first field trip as a kindergartner, to the farm! The whole class was so excited. It was adorable. We went on a tractor ride, checked out stinky farm animals, picked and ate an apple, went through a hay maze, picked our own pumpkins and even got apple cider and a mini donut at the end. What kindergarten dreams are made of ♥

Cole + Logan// a little update!

I've been wanting to update my blog on these two boys for so long now. I've been feeling guilty that I haven't taken very many pictures of them with my nice camera this year. It's been such a busy year for our family. In the spring we went on a handful of trips to see family and to see two of Steve's brothers get married. I also got pregnant, and then in the summer we bought a house! Our first house! It's been exciting and exhausting. We now live in our favorite neighborhood in Liberty Lake, WA and although half of our house is still empty, we love it. (That's what happens when you move from a 1000 square foot home to a 3000 square foot home and get rid of all your furniture in the process!) We've done lots of updates on it this summer (well, mainly Steve has haha) but we love where we live, we love having a nice big back yard for the boys, we love having a big basement and we love the layout of it!

I also shot two weddings this summer which added to the craziness! My first time! I'm happy with the results and so were my brides and I'm excited to share the images on my photography blog when I have a chance!

In September, when I took these pictures, Cole started Kindergarten! And he absolutely loves it!! It's been such a good thing for him. It's only in the afternoon which has been perfect for both me and him. We can take our time in the mornings and I have a better daily routine because of it now too. It gives Cole something to look forward to everyday. He loves being with other kids and he loves his teacher, Miss Gillilan. She is the cutest little thing and you can tell that she loves teaching. This is her first year teaching her own class and we think she is doing a great job. I was so worried about sending Cole to school because I didn't know if he would listen to his teacher and stay in his seat and follow the rules etc, but so far he is doing great and we are really so so proud of him. He loves learning and wants to impress his teacher.

He made a little friend in his class, who rides the same bus to school as him as well. Her name is Evelyn and she is the cutest little thing. She's such a happy little thing! Cole and Evelyn look like they could be siblings! Both of them love to play and have fun which is why they get along so well. I love seeing Cole make new friends and be so happy! Obviously I can't say enough good things about Cole going to Kindergarten. I'm so glad that it's been such a positive thing for him so far.

Logan is my sweet boy who loooooves his older brother Cole. He often times will tell me "Be nice to my brother Cole!" when Cole is getting in trouble here at home. I'm so glad they have each other to play with, even if they fight every now and then. Even though they have fun together, I think Logan likes having the one on one time with me while Cole's at school. He such a smart little boy and can talk so incredibly well for his age. Something I've noticed about him is that he is really thoughtful when it comes to saying his prayers! You can tell that he's really thinking about what he's saying! He's also really good at remembering lyrics to songs he learns in nursery. I'm always so impressed with him that way.

It's funny because Logan is completely obsessed with kissing me! Like, he always wants to be kissing my hand or my neck or my cheek, or pretty much anywhere. It's pretty cute unless it's the crack of dawn and I'm trying to sleep! Haha. I've thought about why he does this and I think it's because we kiss him all the time! He's been our baby for the past three years, we dote on him and kiss him and tell him he's cute all the time. He must just think that's what you do. Haha. It's kind of funny to think about. Both of the boys are obsessed with kissing my pregnant belly too!

I know that they are both going to be great big brothers and I can't wait to see it in action. I hope they know how much I love them. I'm the luckiest mom in the world. I don't know how I got so lucky to have them. I love you, boys. ♥♥


And here's some shots from my phone because they turned out pretty darn cute too: