something new

now for a fresh start...

i have opened up a shop love lizzie dee to sell these adorable little fabric dolls!
i can also customize a doll to look like one of your little people if you would like.
contact me at lovelizziedee@gmail.com for more details. 

xoxo

liz

the beat goes on

hello people! it has been way too long since i've been on the blog. a lot has happened - my dad came to live with us while battling stage 4 prostate cancer. he was put on hospice on august 17th and then passed away peacefully in our home on august 21st. it was a very bittersweet moment.

i cannot express how grateful i am that he was able to spend his last days with us. naomi still talks about him "sleeping" and i am already sad thinking about the day when she forgets...

my dad was amazing for so many reasons. he had the kindest heart and gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. he was loyal and had an unshakable faith. i really miss him but knowing that he is reunited with my beautiful mom makes my heart not hurt as much.

my goal now is to become like him someday. i feel incredibly blessed to have had him as my dad in this life...and forever. because, as i keep reminding myself, being a parent doesn't end at death. so now i have two guardian angels who still see me as their daughter. :)

see liz run

 i did it! i finished my first half marathon!! i ran it 20 minutes faster than i thought i would finishing at 2 hours and 10 minutes. it was such a great experience and i would do it again in a heartbeat. i felt great the entire time and loved every minute. a big huge thank you to my sweet husband who had to miss out on several long saturday morning bike rides so that i could do my long runs...also seeing his face at the finish has got to be one of my favorite moments of all time! he was beaming with pride!

and another big thank you for my darling sister and nephews who made me a sign and cheered me on as i crossed the finish line. they almost missed me because my sister said she kept looking for a blonde. hahahaha!
good thing yousef has a sharp eye!

and did i mention that i have the greatest mother and father in law in the WORLD!!! they came to cheer me on and shower me with love and flowers. i couldn't have asked for a better day!
...my joints are a little sore but other than that i feel great and can't wait to do another one someday. it even gave me the crazy notion that maybe, just maybe i could run a marathon at some point.

another work of art

i was so pleased with all the positive comments about my family watercolor portrait! thank you all!

my sweet friend, whitney, asked me to do one of her family too. 

and... in my humble opinion i think it turned out pretty great.

so if anybody out there in blogland is wanting one of these beauties i would be oh-so-happy to paint one for you. the cost is $20 for a two-person portrait and $5 for each additional person. 

if you live out of state - free shipping. :)

i've also made a few more of these pretties lately - great for baby shower gifts or girly birthdays!

one customized fabric doll is $30

*BUT if you get a watercolor, i'll throw in a doll for $25*

email me if you are interested and/or have questions 

lizhart1290@gmail.com

newness

there have been some changes around here on the blog. i'm trying to "pretty" it up so i'll be motivated to be more diligent with my posting. so if you are in reader you should click over here to see all new stuff.

also see this sweet little watercolor i made using our family picture as a reference. 

yeah, i'm pretty impressed with myself.

in other news naomi started walking!

that deserves a post all its own, so stay tuned...

around these parts...

someone is growing taller and lovesssss opening any and all drawers

also we love playing with our rumbi boy..and he loves baby-size socks

naomi could read books all day long! her favorite part is turning the pages.

she's discovered how fun it is to play in small spaces.

and don't forget mr. giraffe... heaven help us if we ever lose him!

crafty lady

recently i had this grand {and time consuming} idea to make fabric doll look-a-likes. i, of course, started out with my sweet little naomi... pictured below...

she turned out pretty darn cute i think. also i learned A LOT during my first attempt so i decided i would make a "sophia" who is naomi's little neighbor friend...

and here's my 3rd attempt. i did two at once while watching conference. i think i've finally got all the kinks ironed out so these turned out SUPER cute. in my humble opinion.

london and demi.
these are for steve's two little nieces who have the same birthday in april.
i hope they like them!

be-lated birthday pics

i am officially the worst blogger ever. but these pics of naomi and her birthday cake are just THE cutest. that's exactly how she ate it - face first.
what a fun first birthday she had!

Lately

We have been caught up with all sorts of sickness up in here for the past month. Which resulted in many a "stay in your jammies" kind of days.
Thank goodness we have rumbi and the good old tellie to help us through the tough times.

from baby to toddler

can you even believe how fast that happened?! oi.
naomi was born and with the blink of an eye she is now a one year old.

i thank my Heavenly Father every day for such a beautiful and precious gift. she is easily the brightest spot in our lives and i can't tell you how much she has changed {challenged} us and helped us become better people.

having a baby helps you put life in perspective and makes your heart grow 10 sizes every day.
wow. i love her so much.

our now "toddler" is as curious as ever getting into EVERYTHING, naturally. she enjoys testing our patience, usually at mealtimes, choosing to live on a diet of mandarin oranges, goldfish and bread. she gets a thrill out of doing things that she "knows" are going to get a "no,no" out of us. but she still LOVES rumbi the bestest, saving most of her smiles only for him.

she is a fabulous sleeper and the perfect sidekick. she loves to be out and about, giving strangers a good stare down everywhere we go. she will pretty much go to anyone, so long as you are female. but her favorites are little girls.

she is a sensitive little soul and will start crying if anyone even has the slightest angry tone in their voice or if she sees anyone else crying. so sweet.

she still refuses to walk or really stand alone for that matter but that's fine with us. makes us feel like she's still our baby for a bit longer.

please, naomi, there is no rush. no rush at all.

baby turns ONE!

3 years

happy anniversary to us!
naomi got to play with grandma and grandpa d while we went on a fancy schmancy date.
dinner {with no high chair at the table - woohoo!} followed by a round of mini croquet. ha.

our first year of marriage was amazing, filled with many vacations - Hawaii, Italy, Niagra Falls, Palmyra, Philadelphia, Vegas... the second year rumbi joined the family and we found out we were expecting! we learned all things "hypnobabies" while we watched my belly grow, and grow and grow and grow... but year 3 was of course the best yet - becoming parents and loving on our lil sweetie day in and day out.

i have a feeling life just gets even better from here. i'm so lucky/happy/grateful/excited that i get to share it with this guy...

iloveyou steve - lover!