memorial day swim party.

 i love three day weekends. it was so nice to have josh home for the whole day! we partied at the porters and got in lots of swim time and lots of yummy food. josh ate like a million bratwursts. no, seriously. i mean, how else do you celebrate memorial day?

 gussy was so relaxed in the pool he fell asleep. cutest thing ever.

sweet little emily jepson let gus borrow her floaty and he was in heaven so we got him his very own today! i see lots of swimming in gussy's future.

 thanks porters for throwing such fabulous parties! we love you guys!

chocolate chip birthday cake.

this year's birthday cake was courtesy of mel, naturally. her recipes never seem to fail me. this chocolate chip cake was a breeze to throw together and the cinnamon/sugar layers made it even more delicious. thanks mel!

hammerheads.

we kicked off my birthday weekend with a date night to hammerheads in louisville. they're supposed to have the best burgers around, so of course josh and i had to check them out. the burgers were amazing and their whole vibe was right up our alley. we'll definitely be back soon.

date night at the comfy cow.

 we're all about ice cream in this family so the comfy cow  was right up our alley. super fun ice cream flavors and the perfect family atmosphere. we'll definitely be back soon. like, maybe tonight. you think i'm joking.

mamas.

happy mothers day to these fabulous mamas! em and i are celebrating our first mothers day today and we're so blessed to have georgia as our example of what it means to be a mom. i'm so grateful gussy made me a mom 7 months ago. it really is the best gig.

josh.

hey josh,
i love you.
thanks for being my best friend
and my biggest fan.
i'm the luckiest.
hurry up and get home from work already.
love, kaylea

the paci.

(gus and the paci in happier times)

well, we took the plunge. josh and i decided it was time for gussy to part ways with his paci. see, gus never really took the paci, but occasionally he would so we kept it around. but the paci no longer is welcome here and gus is struggling, which is weird because he never really took the paci. i'm struggling more. i need need need him to learn to self soothe during nap time (bed time is usually pretty easy). here's to better days ahead without the paci.

p.s. the pb brownies mentioned below are helping me cope.

peanut butter brownies

(image via)

em pinned this recipe last week and since then we've both whipped these bad boys up. they're easy peasy to make (we didn't frost them since bakeralla said they were better without. even easier, bonus!) and they have such a great texture. thanks em for a new fave dessert! 

oh, and they really hit the spot when you're six month old finally soothes himself to sleep after a really dreadful afternoon and you finally get some alone time.

bats game.

 we went to the bats game with the barkers 2 weeks ago and it was a trip. gus started bawling the second we walked into the stadium and didn't stop until we got to our car to drive home. we only lasted about 20 minutes.

 this picture pretty much sums up the evening. poor gussy, he's just not a sports fan. wonder where he gets that from?

thanks barkers for the double date and the awesome seats (seriously, so nice)! here's to hoping gus warms up to sports a bit so we can enjoy some brats and nachos next time. that's the whole point of baseball, right?