bethany victoria | ten months old.

What a month, what a month! You are officially in double digits, little lady. You are TEN MONTHS OLD! Time just keeps getting by us, but we're clinging to every moment we're given. You are such a happy girl, and you constantly make us giggle at the faces you make. You experience a whole lot of emotions all day every day, and most of them are on the bright side. You laugh, shout for joy, scream out in horror, and more -- sometimes you do all of these things within the same minute, giving us a whole lot of entertainment. You are a fast little booger, bear crawling all over the place, and you are a professional at pulling up and cruising. This month's picture documentation required some extra creativity from me and Braxton, because the last thing you wanted to do was lay still while I clicked my shutter.

- - - - -

Your favorite thing is when your big brother acts silly to try to make you laugh, and boy, do you laugh! You've even fallen over a few times from laughing so hard, and there are lots of times when all four of us are sitting around just laughing together. Braxton loves to show off for you (which is sometimes problematic, LOL), and he does it because you love it so much. You two interact more and learn how cool you both are every day, and I just love to sit back and watch y'all go at it. He's been a little more jealous of you in the previous weeks, especially when it comes to my attention, but he still thinks you're the best thing ever -- and you feel the same way about him.

- - - - -

You are eating so good these days, and you're even getting great at feeding yourself table food. You're still trying to get the hang of the sippy cup, but we practice every day. You weren't feeling good yesterday, and you drank some Pedialyte from your straw cup, which was a highlight of our tough day. You chugged away, probably because you were so pitiful -- but we were so excited to see progress! It took you several months to master your bottle, so I'm prepared for the sippy cup taking a little longer than it did your brother. I know you'll figure things out, smart girl! Aside from food and cups, you just plain love to have things in your mouth. You've got four teeth popping through (with more on the way), hence why you put everything you hold straight into your mouth. Your little toothy grin is THE cutest thing. Seriously, you are SO dang cute. Between your big grin, turkey thighs, bright blue eyes, button nose, and gorgeous hair, you've got it going on, girlfriend. I don't say this only because you're my daughter, but because it's true: you are absolutely, positively beautiful.

- - - - -

I've started planning your first birthday party; in fact, I just ordered your invitations two days ago. I'm currently on the hunt for your birthday outfit, and it's looking like I'll be making a good part of it -- your mama is creative and frugal, and I hope that serves you well your whole life! And true story: I'm so excited to plan a birthday party themed around two P's: pink and pumpkins. I'm most excited to have our closest friends and family members join us for a day of celebrating you. You are so loved, sweet girl! I'll never stop telling you and showing you that you are.

- - - - -

You've still only said "Mama," which is totally fine by me, but Daddy is patiently waiting for you to call him by name. Braxton is sure that your next words will be "Braxton Michael," so there's a challenge for you. LOL! Back to the mama thing, you are 100% my girl; you hear my voice and you come running (well, crawling, but you get the picture). Even if you hear my voice from across the house, I'll hear your little hands and feet pitter-patter on the hardwoods as you hurry to find me. You really know how to make a girl feel loved, missy! You were sick all day yesterday, and the only thing that made you happy was to be laying down on my chest. We slept on the couch together two nights ago when you were feeling so bad, and literally the only thing that gave you any comfort was to dig your face into my chest. You were breaking my heart and making fireworks go off inside my soul all at the same time -- and I think that's a pretty accurate description of motherhood in general; so many emotions!

- - - - -

We've got lots of things planned over this next month: completing our HiB 30 challenge, play dates, time with family, pajama days, birthday parties, and more. You'll most likely have taken your first trip to the pumpkin patch by the time the day rolls around next month, just like you took your first (and second) trip to the apple orchard since the last time I wrote. I can't wait until you're looking through photo albums like your brother currently is obsessed with, retracing all the things you did and memories you made. I want your life to be more than just okay -- I want it to be extraordinary, filled with things that make you smile, challenge you, humble you, and that teach you to make the most of every moment. As a mama, helping you and your brother thrive is my mission.

- - - - -

Keep growing big and strong, little one! You become more of your own person every single second, and we love cheering for you and shepherding you along the way. You make our hearts so full, Bethany Victoria, and we love you more than you'll ever know!

Braxton Michael - Ten Months Old

skytop orchard.

Pictures don't do the fun or the apple donuts justice, but this is a truth you can count on: this was a good, good day. We got up and headed north early to beat the traffic, we picked apples, we hiked (literally) through the orchard, we ate apples, we ate donuts, we played on the playground, we drank cider, we laughed, we had the best time. Yep, that about covers it.

Days like this one are good to keep in your back pocket for any hard ones that follow, and I'll have this one tucked away for a long time. Especially since we got to have all this fun with our best buds.

Plus, it was game day. So, naturally, we proudly wore our orange as we filled our baskets to the brim.

glassy mountain | hike it baby.

If you've followed me for any amount of time, you know this to be true: I was born to explore. Whether it's around the block or around the world, adventure has always been my favorite way to spend my days. I'm not afraid of new places or things, and I love the surge of excitement that comes over me when I reach my destination; there's nothing like those butterflies.

None of that changed when I became a mama nearly four years ago, except a heightened desire to see and do and experience life to the fullest. Only now, not just for myself -- but for my children, the ones I'm responsible for teaching and shepherding. In a world driven by the need for more things, I want my kiddos to choose to make more memories. Instead of wanting more stuff, I want them to learn that less is more, that joy is more about perspective than circumstances. And nothing has taught me more about that than creation.

We're almost halfway through our fourth Hike It Baby 30 Challenge, an initiative to encourage parents and kids to hike/walk thirty miles and/or spend at least thirty minutes three times a week in a month's time. This isn't easy with work, full schedules, and two wild children, but it's worth the intentionality for us. Some of those miles are spent on trails, but a lot of them are simply spent walking/biking the streets of our small town. Just breathing in fresh air does something to a soul, I believe it. And there are few things that I pray for more often over these little Bargerons than to learn to breathe deeply.

The phrase "Gratitude over attitude" has become a motto in our house in recent months, and I don't think it's a coincidence that I say this significantly fewer times when we're outside in creation. Every hike and walk we take exercises more than just our bodies.

Creation has given me clearer eyes to really see my Creator. That's why I explore.

And I hope that one day when our kiddos are grown, they'll never fear the mountains or the valleys, but rather see them as opportunities for growth and maturity and a whole lot of fun.

fifteen years.

Fifteen years.

More than half of my life.

That's how long I've loved my Teesh.

Sure, we didn't know much about love back then, but there is no mistaking or denying how I felt about him. From passing notes in seventh grade math class to becoming boyfriend and girlfriend in ninth grade in the hallway after school. From high school to college. From an engagement to a wedding. From marriage to parenthood. We've been through lots of seasons hand-in-hand, each simultaneously getting easier and harder, but none of it would mean anything without each other.

Our relationship hasn't been and still isn't perfect. But somehow, I believe through the grace of God, we've managed to press into each other in sunshine and in rain, in certainty and confusion, in all of it. We've always had a strong connection to one another, really since the first day we met when we were just twelve years old, which is a major miracle. A miracle I don't take for grated or would ever trade in for anything else in this whole, wide world. And I know that we'll always share this pull towards each other -- as long as we keep pursuing it.

Fifteen years ago, I was a fourteen year-old girl who had been waiting for months to become TJ Bargeron's girlfriend (THE TJ Bargeron, you guys!). And on this day, all those years ago, a new season began. A season that we're still in: young and in love. We still share a large cherry coke and a large popcorn every time we go to the movies, we still wish each other a "Happy 3:49!" every time we notice it on the clock (the exact moment he asked me to be his girlfriend; yes, I checked the clock), we still enjoy a good round of mini golf every so often, we still have dance parties to 2000s pop, we still fight about a lot of the things we've always fought about, we still have a hard time forgiving each other over certain things, we still would rather be angry together than happy anywhere else, and we are still absolutely, positively crazy about each other.

Fifteen years is a lot of years.

And yet, somehow it feels like it's only been a second since I first gave my nervous "yes" to the boy I had both secretly and not-so secretly liked for almost two years. It wasn't that long ago that we were two young love birds who went on chaperoned dates with his big sister, gave awkward side hugs, and stayed up all night for months and months talking on our house phones. Time passes so quickly, which is all the more reason to linger on every single moment.

Although we're still babies in a lot of ways, we've changed a lot, too. And praise be to God that we've given each other space to grow and mature and become. I think that's what real love is all about -- growing and maturing and becoming alongside of each other, always saying yes to what's next instead of staying hung up on what came before. I'll always be grateful for the purity, innocence, selflessness, resilience, endurance, and patience that is in the DNA of who we are as a unit, because those things have followed us into adulthood, into each new season we enter into.

Together, we are unstoppable. We are unique. We are a dream team. We are blessed.

Yep, that last part is where I'll park my heart and mind today -- reflecting on all the blessings we have received since September 9th, 2003. Fifteen years of being we. You and me. Me and you.

Us.

That's my favorite thing about the memories we've made -- making them together.

Happy anniversary to the boy-turned-man who will always hold my heart, have my love, tempt me to punch a hole in the wall, and make me weak in the knees. In a life that tempts so often with regret, God has used him, my Teesh, to protect me from more than I even realize. Even on our worst days, I think our love story and life together is better than anything Disney could write.

And y'all know how I feel about Disney.

"Don't allow yourselves to be weary or disheartened in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you've planted is coming!"

-Galatians 6:9 (TPT)