Woah, did that just happen?

Watch out for 2013, it's a doozy.

January 19, 2013, we welcomed Raleigh Payton into our family.

 We sure do love her.

 We sure do love this wild one too.

 

We celebrated Valentine's Day on a Saturday.

 

We combined homework assignments with family outings. 

 

We celebrated my 27th birthday, and I was spoiled.

 

 We said goodbye to partners.

  We packed up our little house the first week of April. I was always complaining about the it, especially the kitchen (as you can see, it was "rustic"), but I already miss it. It will always have a special place in my heart as our girls' first home.

 

We snuck in some extra cuddling sessions and said some really hard goodbyes.#reallysmallgang

 We moved to Washington. Seth drove the moving truck with Mischa and Blue while Rosie, Harlow, Raleigh, Tino, and I took the Jeep and made it in two days. #braggingrights

 We added an Earthy Bliss Wrapture to our carrying stash to make being parents of two easier. Both littles love it. Quit staring, I know I look gorgeous.

 We all got horribly sick.

 We introduced Raleigh to Gigi and Papa, her Grandma and Grandpa, her aunts and uncles, 

and many friends.

 We moved Harlow to a toddler bed.

 We took classy bathroom photos to document days that we got dressed in real clothes.

 We proudly watched Seth be sworn in as a police officer.

 We practiced smiling for the camera.

 

We ignored the camera in favor of picking our nose.

 

 We climbed rocks and explored.

We have all become expert baby wrestlers, including Nana and Opa (finishing this semseter of grad school successfully was a team effort. The final product: wikiwikiwiki)!

 We went to a circus. We decided it really wasn't our thing. 

 

We celebrated Mother's Day with the best of them. 

Well...

I'm doing it. I'm six weeks into graduate school, and for the most part, I'm loving it. The texts are amazing, the discussions are interesting, and the papers serve a purpose, which makes them less painful to write. The only downside is the foggy pregnancy brain, and the fact that it's keeping me firmly planted in the A- zone on almost every assignment.

This little blur is getting cuter and sweeter every day! We were having a girly dance party in this picture - and yes, she's wearing the last of her infant clothes... I am going to relish the last few weeks of warm weather and rompers before she starts wearing 2T everyday. She's getting so big!

She is still a little animal lover. Today she tried to file Blue's nails (our resident fat cat), gave her plenty of hugs and kisses, and chased her around with her Tinkerbell "fla-wight" (flashlight). She helped me holler at the barking dogs, and fed them treats. She also brought me her Ikea farm animals one by one, and I helped her learn to say "bull," "baby bull," "swan," and "snail," in addition to talking about the animals she already knew by name.

I have a feeling that if Seth is able to get hired on as a police officer in Washington, our future will resemble some sort of modern homesteading, complete with chickens, sheep, and a cow for Harlow, a garden for Seth, and a beautiful setting for me to spend the days with our girls (and of course a fabulous outdoor laundry drying system).