Emma Rolls Over!

Woohooo!! To be honest, I was slightly worried Emma wouldn't roll over haha. First time over protective mom I suppose ;) She would just get super frustrated being on her stomach, so I wouldn't put her on her stomach as much as I should have. Then I had the thought, "What if she never rolls over because it is all my fault for not putting her on her tummy?!" Haha I was very overly worried. That is why I have Joel, to get my thoughts back in line ;)

She rolled over a few weeks ago, but I thought I'd share this video anyways because she is too dang cute not to share:

A few days before I took this video, Joel was home and put her on her tummy so she could play. We turn around to get dinner started, then I hear Joel say, "Umm Mollie? I think Emma just rolled over. I put her on her stomach and now she is on her back..." Haha I think it is funny we missed her first time rolling over... oh well ;)

(Yes. I know. Emma has some kind of mohawk going on! She DOES have hair... just very little surrounding that mohawk!!! Her hair is basically fuzzy, with it being thicker in the middle. When we facetime my family, the way the light is on her head only shows that mohawk, and it makes my family laugh pretty good.)

Top 5 Most Beautiful

I saw THIS POST on my friend Madeline's blog, and I thought this was a good idea! Gives me something to blog about other than Emma ;)

I have seen this going around on facebook where one person posts five pictures of themselves where they feel beautiful, and tag a bunch of people to do the same!! I really like this going around, because who doesn't want to post pictures of themselves where they feel beautiful?! Well, some might not want to, but I think it sounds fun. I also find it fun to see the different kinds of pictures people are choosing where they feel beautiful.

Here are my top 5 pictures where I feel the most beautiful:

#1

Of course on my wedding day I felt absolutely beautiful. Just the feeling of getting sealed for eternity and knowing I'll be spending the rest of my life with this man... best feeling in the world. After ten long months of only skype (there were three weeks in there where we got engaged) we were finally married. The wait was so worth it.

#2

My ultimate favorite picture of us from our engagement session up by Snow Baisn. I don't think I need to say more ;)

#3

I felt so incredibly beautiful when I was pregnant. Sure I was 10 days overdue in this picture (I won't mention how painful those last few weeks were...), but I still felt beautiful. It is such an unexplainable feeling.

 #4

I know this isn't the most beautiful picture of me, but I had just given birth! I did it, and I felt like a champ. It hit me that I was FINALLY a mom, and I felt beautiful.

 #5

My favorite picture from Emma's newborn session. Emma was crying almost the whole time, and I was finally able to comfort her and help her sleep. I felt so much love for this little one I think my heart almost exploded, and I felt beautiful.

Anyone that wishes to do this on their blog, go for it!! It was fun finding pictures where I felt beautiful, and it was challenging.

Lake Day!

On Saturday it was SO HOT. We both went out and went on separate walks, just getting some alone time. After I got back from my walk, we were relaxing and not doing much. Around 3 in the afternoon Joel started talking about a lake he visited 10+ years ago, and how much fun it was when he went with his friends, and that it wasn't too far from our apartment. The more he started talking about it, the more fun it sounded! We were trying to decide if it would be worth it, because we had to be home around 5 for a skype session! I then turned to Joel and said, "You know what?? I feel like being spontaneous. Let's just go and do it!!"

E woke up from her nap and we hurried and left! Let's just say it was a 20 minute walk to the forest, then a 20 minute hike uphill to the lake!! All in all 45 minute walk just getting to the lake. It was SO worth it, but next time we'll definitely take a car! It was a little rough on our stroller, and us haha.

The best part was being spontaneous. I think it made our trip so much more fun! This is the first time we've done something like this since little Emma came along, because it is a little harder to be spontaneous with a babe in toll! But she was a CHAMP. I think she's definitely Swedish, since she is enjoying the outdoors so much lately. (Not that I don't enjoy the outdoors, I just feel like Swedes treasure good weather and take advantage a lot more.) She didn't even cry when I dipped her feet in the cold ocean a week ago. Brave baby!

Emma was content to lay there and play with her feet while we were swimming and could keep an eye her.

Her eyelashes... seriously?! BEAUTIFUL. 

My awkward and goofy husband who I adore ridiculously much.

We enjoyed the water way too much, and if we have anymore free time when it's warm you'll know where to find us!! Joel was as happy as a giddy school boy, and said this trip to the lake made his WHOLE summer. 

On our way up and on the way back down, there was a rough patch of rocks. We wanted to hold E while we walked through them because we felt so bad watching her jiggle around in her stroller haha.

PS- We may or may not have gone skinny dipping. Right before I jumped off the ledge someone drove up and I screamed as I jumped into the water. That may or may not have happened... Or it might have. Let's just say I have never felt more Swedish in my life ;)

The Paleo Diet

Joel and I started a new 'diet'. Buuut I don't like the word diet, I prefer a change of lifestyle instead. I know a lot of people have probably heard about it, but this diet honestly just makes sense to me. The Paleo diet in a nutshell: Eating a ton of veggies and fruits, nuts, meat, eggs, bacon (YES PLEASE), sweet potatoes. cutting out dairy, wheat, refined sugar and processed foods. And we eat when we're hungry. We started it on and off a few months ago, but since June 23rd, we decided to really go for it. Ohhhh my goodness can we tell a difference in how we feel. The hard part is there is a lot of food that isn't 100% Paleo, so we aim to eat Paleo "100% but 80% of the time."

A few months ago we were eating pasta and rice. And dairy. Constantly. When Joel mentioned he was reading this blog post is about making an effort to eat like we used to back in the day (like waaaay back in the days of hunters and cavemen) and looking into this diet and wanting to try it out... I was SUPER hesitant because I thought it would be hard to cut out the things that were 'easy' to cook. Once I read the same article as Joel: The Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet, I was sold. I also found a website where a lady calls herself The Paleo Mom, and she posts tons of success stories where people completely change their lives around, just by eating Paleo. This girl is a great example of being diagnosed with MS, anxiety, depression, and headaches... and she completely changed her life and healed her body. The Paleo Mom also posts lots of recipes, and has her own cookbook. Basically I was very inspired to eat healthier and feed my body good fuel.

The past couple months we've been transitioning all of our food to Paleo friendly food! Like buying almond flour instead of white flour. Of course it is more expensive, but we've really decided we want to start taking better care of ourselves, and our health is worth it. I saw this quote on instagram the other day: "Your body is the only place you have to live in. Nurture it, honor it, love it, and respect it." That quote really hit me how I really want to take better care of my body, since it is the only place I have to 'live' I guess you could say. I am excited to get to that point where eating Paleo will come more naturally. Like I said, it is hard to go all out 100%, so we are aiming for 80% :)

Joel is obsessed with everything about crossfit, and that is how he heard about the Paleo diet since a lot of the crossfit community believe and eat Paleo.

Also... can I just say I have never really been into cooking. Joel has always loved to cook, thus resulting in me not learning. Sure he will give me tips here and there, but I feel like he is the one who is 'picky' and has always wanted to eat certain things... and I haven't really cared too much so I just ate what he ate.

The other day I knew Joel was working late and we had ground beef that had to be cooked that day! I suddenly got the idea to cook and surprise him, which I never do. Since I am so detail oriented, I wanted all the food chopped perfectly before I started cooking so I wouldn't be stressed trying to cut and chop while I was cooking. Let's just say something that should have taken an hour took two ;) BUT. I surprised Joel and it was worth all the stress and mess to see how happy he was to come home to new food! I took a picture after I was finished cooking, if you are interested to see my oh so messy ways:

It was basically a disaster. I felt so stressed because we had so much meat, I had to split it up into two pans. THEN one pan was bigger than the other and cooked faster... the whole process was stressful and I wish Joel was there to help me. BUT I DID IT!!!!! I am so proud of myself.. cooking something completely new all on my own! I just googled: Paleo ground beef recipes, and found THIS RECIPE where we had all the ingredients! (I altered it a little bit too, and added some of my own fun ingredients!) Since then cooking sounds a little more enjoyable, and I am excited to learn more recipes and cook along side Joel and be healthy!! :)

Joel and I sat down and found 10 new Paleo recipes! We've been rotating the same 4 or 5 and that got tiring after awhile. We went out and bought all the ingredients, so don't be surprised if I start posting more healthy food we're making and experimenting with ;) Our favorite is Thai food with chicken and curry paste, and it is super easy. I LOVE CURRY. I could die happy with a lifetime supply of curry ;)

EMMA IS 4 MONTHS OLD EVERYONE!!!

WARNING: picture overload!!

I am LOVING this age. Every time I walk into the room where Emma is, I start saying, "Hiiiiii Emma!!" She starts smiling SO BIG whenever she hears my voice, before she sees me! She melts our hearts constantly... all day :) We had a photo session on Tuesday, when she actually turned 4 months old. This is the first time she has been ridiculously photogenic for a long time, so I couldn't resist dressing her up a lot! Mwahahah.

She is still a very chill baby, except for when she is grouchy! On Sunday we had a family dinner, and every time someone looked at her she puckered her lips and started crying! I felt really bad, but it was so dang cute at the same time! Emma really needed Joel and I that day I suppose. Plus it doesn't help that the past three weeks she has only been taking 30 minute naps... driving me craaaazy. I think that makes her grouchy because she's not getting enough sleep, and waking up in that dern light sleep phase I am beginning to dislike.

We facetime my family when Emma wakes up for the day, usually around 5 or 5.30 a.m. I really hope she starts to sleep in a liiiittle more haha. She sits there and is quite content while I talk for about an hour before she starts to get fussy and wants to go back to sleep! She's pretty chill and is curious, so she just stares. I call it her poker face because she can really just sit there and stare you down! Emma usually keeps her smiles and giggles for Joel and I, and my mom when we facetime! If she smiles for someone other than us, consider it a great honor :)

I caught her talking on camera, and she just kills me she is so cute.

In this picture I feel like she is saying, "Look at me mom! I feel so pretty in my American outfit!!"

Joel and I have been wondering how these two will be in the future when Emma is bigger. Thus far, this is as close as Cheeto will get to Emma. E has gotten super curious and watches Cheeto all day, so it will be interesting to see how they will be together :)

I would like to end this post with my new favorite picture of Emma! I have been dying to get this new expression of hers on camera. She has been sticking out her lips to make her cheeks look huge and chubby, and I love it!!!