in the blink of an eye.

Chloe turned twelve a couple weeks ago, and overnight it seemed, she went from being my shy little girl to an independent young woman.

have a look yourself.

where do the years go?

have a great weekend!

-jessica

PS. I hate to tell you guys this, but *I* didn't take a single picture at my baby shower.  I know, shame on me, but I just wanted to relax and enjoy the party rather than bustle around, camera in hand, asking my friends if they would, "PLEASE TAKE MY PICTURE."  uh, no thanks.  however, my niece Meghan did take a few that evening, and you can view those HERE.   

fifteen months.

-jessica

a funny story about a headband.

or maybe a more appropriate title would be "The Case of the Mistaken Identity."

about a month ago, I entered to win a darling headband from Silly Me Baby via a contest on Facebook.

after the contest ended, Kim (the talent behind Silly Me Baby) posted on Facebook that she had drawn a name and the winner was announced on her blog.  out of curiosity, I clicked on the link to the post to see who this lucky person was.  and what do you know?
there, typed out in super duper extra large print was my name, Jessica Kesti. well, maybe it wasn't quite that large, but you get the idea.  

to say I was shell-shocked would be an understatement because I NEVER WIN.  depressingly enough, I can't even say that I've won a measly chip clip.  you know, the little gadgets that you clip on your chip bag to prevent the chips from going stale, that are given away by the dozens at Tupperware parties and the like?  yeah, the consultant would have like 20 of them to give away, only there'd be 21 people at the party.  guess who left empty-handed?  of all the rotten luck.

anyway, I was sooo thrilled that I immediately left a comment on Kim's blog saying something to the effect of "sweet, this is so cool! can't believe I actually won!" etc, etc.  I think I even posted a status update on Facebook about it, too.  I mean surely, this was something to shout about!  hello, I was now a WINNER, right?

wrong.

on a whim, I decided to go back and double check the post, to make sure it really was me who had won.  

upon further inspection, the winner's comment (shown in the blog post) did not look one bit familiar; it definitely wasn't what I had remembered having said.  for a second I was a little confused.  like, huh?  how could I have won, but yet the comment doesn't ring a bell?  was I losing my mind?  then it dawned on me.  of course!  it was my sister-in-law Jessica's comment.  she had won, not me. (for those of you that are slightly confused-- a couple years ago, my husband's brother also married a Jessica, making two of us with the same name.  we don't reside in the same state, so sometimes I forget that there's another Jessica Kesti running around :-) LOL.

I was excited for Jessica, but still.  nothing like having the wind taken out of your sails.  I quickly sent a message to Kim, explaining how I had just assumed it was me who had won, before thoroughly reading the post.  soon after, I was laughing my head off over my silly mistake.  chalk another one up for the Queen of Brilliance!  right.  feeling bad about the misunderstanding, Kim, bless her heart, decided to send a headband to me as well, under one condition: that I take pictures of one of my girls modeling it so she could post them in her etsy shop.

she didn't have to twist my arm too hard :-)

I think the ending to this story goes something like this: "and they both lived happily ever after."

-jessica

baby cakes: part II.

I thought it would be fun to let Scarlett do a cake bash, purely for entertainment value.  in fact I was laughing so hard I could barely press the shutter button.  and now, after looking at these pictures and remembering her "what am I supposed to do with this?" expression after I set the cake in front of her, I'm giggling again.

goodness, I can't believe how fast her first year has flown by.  like babies do, she has filled our home with immeasurable amounts of happiness, joy and laughter.  she's been such a good-natured little girl; so happy-go-lucky and always smiling.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again; what a blessing these little ones are!  my cup runneth over with love for her.

well, enjoy.  hopefully the photos will add a little sugar and spice to your day! :-)      

hmmm... maybe she's gonna be left-handed like her momma!

happy 1st birthday, Scarlett Jean.  I love you.  every adorable inch.

xoxo,

mom

PS. although her birthday is not until the 25th, we'll be celebrating it on Sunday (one day early) with family-- aunts, uncles and cousins galore!  Gary's sister Jodie (and her hubby and kiddos) will be at our house for the next few days, and lucky for me, she just so happens to be a cake decorator extraordinaire!  I only had to twist her arm a teeny bit before she agreed to decorate a birthday cake for Scarlett ;-)  it'll be fun to have them here!  

that said, I'll be taking the rest of the week off to enjoy this time with family.  looking forward to lots of visiting, a trip to Sedona, and maybe we'll even drag them out hiking, LOL.  wishing everyone a happy and blessed Easter!

baby cakes: part I.

so maybe I went a little overboard on the pictures, but it was nearly impossible to draw the line.  there were waaaaay too many cute ones, and well, how could I not post them all?  

honestly, is this not the sweetest little munchkin you ever did see?  I die from the cuteness!  of course I'm a bit biased but... squeeeeal!  love her to pieces!

and for inquiring minds that want to know, here's the shopping list:

pettiskirt bubble romper: Dream Spun Kids.

headband: Silly Me Baby.

tissue poms: Party Poms.

chair: thrifted, although it was black and majorly peeling when I bought it.

pearl necklaces: from my closet.  and don't worry, they're fake. *grin*  

stay tuned for part II tomorrow.  I'll leave it a surprise, but guaranteed you'll be laughing! 

-jessica

photo shoot fun.

unfortunately, I don't think I'll have much time for blogging this week.  BUT.  I did take oodles of pictures over the weekend, so for now, I guess you'll have to put up with some eye candy instead.  which is better than nothing, I suppose.

on Friday, I took some photos for 1crown3tiaras boutique.  seriously, I LOVE her designs, and practically faint whenever a package shows up in the mail from her.  psst, head on over there and check out her shop-- she just listed a bunch of new items! 

and now a little "behind the scenes" action from my day; take one.

okay.  so I had this awesome idea to get a bunch of balloons for the shoot, right?  anyway, I vaguely remembered this party store on the other side of town, sort of a hole in the wall place, and decided to try my luck there.  I about died when I saw the polka-dot balloons, and of course, HAD to have them.

I pay for the balloons and carefully corral them into the van.  I give the littles strict instructions not to lay a finger on them, or else.  I get oh, not even a quarter-mile down the road, and all of the sudden, POP!  I glance back to survey the damage.  there, lying on the bench in a shriveled up heap of latex, is the green polka-dot balloon.  and, according to Phoebe, NO ONE EVEN TOUCHED IT!  sigh.  I head back to the store and relate my sob story.  luckily, the lady just gives me another one, only she has that "I'll do it just this ONE time" attitude about her.  this time, I manage to get the balloons home safe and sound, and promptly lock them in my room.  the balloons, not the kids.  because as we all know, kids and balloons don't mix.

alright-y then.  balloons: check.  now it's time to get the "model" ready.  I inform Phoebe that I'd like to curl her hair, and she excitedly agrees.  after two curls, she asks, "are you done yet?  this is taking like,  FOR-EVER."  in case you were wondering, patience is not high on her list of attributes.  after much coaxing, I finally finish.  model dressed and hair done: check.  coffee and advil for me: double check.  

 I load everything into the van and drive to the location of the shoot, only I'm not sure where that is yet.  you see, if I were an actual photographer, I would have scouted out a place beforehand.  but alas, I'm not, so we just drive around and around (and around) until something strikes my fancy.  like this green door, for instance.  

I get Phoebe all situated, snap a whole three pictures (that's 2, plus one more), and BAM! BANG!  two more polka-dot balloons meet their fate.  deep breath, Jessica, deep breath.      

at least it was a happy ending :-) 

             

gorgeous headband from Silly Me Baby.  Kim creates the most fabulous hair pieces ever!

aaaand last but not least: living proof that this girl is 110% drama.

agreed?

-jessica

miss Hannah banana.

I admit I was a little, okay a lot, surprised when I delivered our firstborn and lo and behold!  it was a girl!  up until that point, all (at the time, five) of Gary's siblings had bred males first, and so I just assumed we would have a boy as well.  heavens, why break the trend?  but I guess eventually someone has to buck the system and become the "black sheep," right?  may as well be me. (actually, there has since been a couple others that have had girls first, so phew!  I'm not the only black sheep now ;-)

I feel fortunate to have been blessed with such a wonderful daughter (although are there any other kind? :-)  from early on, Hannah's been a superb helper, my right hand (sometimes left, too!), and without her I'd have drowned a long, loooong time ago.  not even kidding.  girls, by nature, just seem to possess those motherly instincts, starting at a very young age even.  they have the distinct capability to see what needs to be done, and they do it, no questions asked.  if either Rowan or Scarlett has a poopy diaper, they take the initiative to change it.  whereas Jake, he'll avoid diaper duty at all costs, claiming he "never smelled anything."  pfft, whatever kid.  as if you can't smell the noxious odor that is wafting throughout the entire house, practically burning the nose hairs.      

anyway, my intentions aren't to pooh pooh the young male species here, because I know there are plenty who are indeed responsible and capable individuals, whether it be inherent or learned.  and Jake will definitely pull his weight if he has to-- emphasis on 'HAS.'  also, boys do come in handy at times, especially when it comes to fixing bikes and killing spiders and all that manly, macho stuff that girls simply don't have the knack or guts for. but as far as babysitting/housekeeping goes, when I compare my two oldest (girl vs. boy), hands down Hannah wins.  there's simply no comparison. none. although it probably doesn't help that Jake knows she'll take over at his first cry of distress.

Hannah is pure sweetness through and through.  she has a heart of gold and a personality that sparkles and shines, even through the gloomiest of moments.  feeling blue? no worries, her bubbly nature and infectious laugh will cheer you right up.  guaranteed. 

LOVE this girl with all my heart.

FYI- there are a TON of pictures, but they were all so gorgeous I just couldn't decide! enjoy!                                      

whatever her goals and aspirations may be in life, I'll be there to support her, 110% of the way.

and speaking of goals, I accomplished mine for the week.  go, me!  completed week three of training, adding weights to my repertoire.  for an extra punch on yesterday's hike, I lugged Rowan on my back.  we're talking 30+ pounds of oscillating weight that eventually turned into dead weight once he fell asleep.  pure torture!  needless to say I was soaked in sweat, and covered in drool where his face rested against the back of my neck as he slept. lovely!  thinking I'll go for distance tomorrow with a 6-miler.  sound fun?  I know you're all jealous, hee.  haha.  haaaa.

happy weekending!  oh, and don't forget to dream BIG!

-jessica

nine months.

photos taken in Sedona last Sunday. 

at nine months, Scarlett continues to swoon us with her adorable looks, charming smile and happy-go-lucky personality.  unlike the one just above her (I won't mention any names here, but it starts with R and ends in oh double-u a en), she absolutely loves to cuddle.  in fact, you can always tell who's been snuggling Scarlett by the presence of snot or drool marks on his or her shoulder.  and believe me, around these parts that's what we call a good sign!  it means she's been held and loved!  and then it turns into a competition of sorts, where people are comparing shoulders to see who has the most snot. like, pfft you only have a tiny streak, I have a huge gob!  so there!

as far as accomplishments and developments go, she can now pull herself up to standing with the help of certain objects which include, but are not limited to, my leg.  in addition to baby food, we have started to introduce a few table foods, mainly anything that she can feed herself; cheerios, cubes of cheese, crackers, peas and corn, etc.  she now has six, yes SIX, teeth that are razor sharp. (think "ouch, Charlie.") yeah, if she manages to unleash her pearly whites on you, it really hurts.

at her last well-child check up, her pediatrician detected a slight heart murmur.  as a precautionary measure he recommended she have a chest x-ray, followed up by a visit to a pediatric cardiologist.  well, she had the chest x-ray a couple weeks ago and and we were much relieved to hear that the results were normal.  so this afternoon is the appointment with the cardiologist, so let's hope all goes well and it's just one of those innocent murmurs. I haven't noticed any signs or symptoms that would lead me to believe she has a heart problem, but I'd rather have everything thoroughly checked out just to be safe.

last but not least: I hate to tell you guys this, but I'm seriously suffering from a major case of "blog burn-out."  and if I'm feeling that way, surely you guys must be bored to tears with my incoherent babbling these posts as well.  and so to remedy the situation, I'm going to take the rest of the week off to "unplug" a little. who knows, I might even go as far as avoiding facebook, too.  now wouldn't that be something?  I will continue to post my photo-a-day (see Project 365 above), so be sure and check back for the latest photo updates.  this project has been more challenging than I initially thought, but at the same time, I've been having a lot of fun with it.

thanks for your patience and understanding!

have a great rest of the week, peeps! (and now I'm off to snuggle my baby girl!)

-jessica

eight months.

warning: serious cuteness ahead. (photos taken on Christmas day)

at eight months, Scarlett is crawling all over the place, exploring like crazy.  she follows me into the kitchen and laundry room and thinks it's great when she "finds" me.  and then she promptly whines to be picked up.

she's at the "everything goes in the mouth" stage, which I really can't stand.  I have to constantly remind the kids (think broken record) not to leave their Legos, Knex, polly pockets and other small trinkets lying about because "Scarlett might choke." 

from day one she's been an awesome sleeper.  currently she's pulling 10-12 hour nights.  and takes a couple solid 2-3 hour naps.

she has developed "stranger anxiety" and refuses to go to anyone except mom, dad and her "stand-in" mom, aka Hannah.  and sometimes she prefers Hannah over me.  harrumph.  all other siblings she strictly tolerates.

she just learned the patty-cake thing and also says "mama", "dada" and "baba", although I don't think she's put two and two together yet that "mama" is "mom."  or that she's referring to me.  so for now I'll just act like she knows what she's saying and brag about how smart she is.

also, I noticed the other day that her top two teeth have popped through. 

I don't know... the more kids we have, the cuter they get.  or maybe it's just that ugly parents make cute kids.  or what?

-jessica

PS. adorable headband from silly me baby.  I had emailed Kim a picture of Scarlett's dress, asking if she would make a matching headband.  I told her I wanted "something with a little sugar, spice and sparkle... and some vintage mixed in."  I think she nailed it, don't you?  wow, she is simply amazing.