5.) the return of entertaining. i’ve missed the continual flow of dinner guests, of having my house ‘company clean’, of feeling the satisfaction of serving people, of setting a nice table. i need to entertain, and we’ve sworn that having people over again is our new leaf turned.
so, friday night we did. candles lit. melodious sounds of jack johnson and madeleine peyroux. wafting scents of garlic and fresh tomatoes.
the table set with our ‘good’ silverware, pressed cloth napkins, placemats that actually match.
kids running through the hallways, playing in the bedrooms.
…and laughter. lots of laughter.
…it was heaven. and, sadly, i have to admit, the last time we had this particular clan together, all at one time, was two years ago.
4.) little kids sitting at their own table. now, that’s just cute.
3.) baby bathtime gone wrong:
that is…
because she loves both babydolls and baths, my motherly ingenuity thought it would be brilliant if i combined the two into a fun game of ‘let’s give babydoll a bath.’ 
it started out darling…lainey smiling as she gently washed the baby’s ‘hair’, lainey smiling as she smeared lotion on the baby’s hands, lainey smiling as she tucked the doll-sized hooded towel over baby’s head…
…and then went awry when lainey drop-kicked baby across the floor, choosing rather to use baby’s bathtub as a swimming pool. she splashed, she dunked, she flung sopping wet washcloths around the room. there was water everywhere.
needless to say, i learned the lesson that water stays in the bathtub. and lainey…well, she just had fun.
2.) our families are here. both brett’s parents and my dad are down, and last night we all joined for dinner. family is heaven. (and kicking myself for not getting a photo of all of us together last night!)
1.) the emergence of more ‘cute.’ just when i think her quota has been reached…she grows more beautiful, more cute, more deliciously fun to look at.
…enjoying the many-photo-ed things.
~k
WOW! Lainey is so beautiful! Can’t wait to see her again!
Love you, tessa
I love the “redo” picture from 2 years ago. Cute idea.
And can I just say, that you are such a patient mommy with the whole bathtub ordeal? Good for you. Can you pass some of that patience over this way?
The pictures of Baylee (that is Baylee right? Sorry if it’s someone else, haha!) and Lainey in the chair and at the little people table are so cute! I hope you guys are surviving all these hurricanes alright! xo 🙂
You are the greatest hostess ever and think of every little touch!!
Note to Nanny K: Do not let LL give Lily a bath next week!! haha!! Those pictures are too cute! I love the way you chronicle every step!!
she IS beautiful! and she just seems to be getting older everytime that i see her pictures…where is the time going?
water is just water…easily mopped or sopped up with towels. that kind of fun, can never be recreated in a perfectly organized environment…fun must be had in an unorganized and sloppy way! good for you for allowing and encouraging it!
you are right, she does just get cuter and cuter! did she get a bang trim? it looks like she got a hair cut in the baby bath pics.
i wish! i’ve been wanting to trim it again because it looks so clean and babyish when it’s trimmed and then grows in thicker and nicer, but brett’s been begging me to let it grow and see what happens. we’ll see who wins in another few weeks…i don’t like stringy hair on babies.
love these…inspired to entertain again, too. life is too short not to share it.
lainey IS delicious. love the pics with the dolly.
and the one of dede and anna ruth.
and the impromptu one of brett, matt and chad.
inspired! digging out placemats today!
beautiful! love is in the details and it looked lovely!!!!
psst…it looked like a fall day…i think it was. did u mull apple cider and turn your thermostat way down low???
i won’t tell:)
xoxo
i’m back…
just had to invite you over to my place for a bloggy party i’m throwing! 🙂
thank you for inspiring me to enjoy ALL of the moments within my days as a mommy.
Love all the details…looks like a wonderful night!! SO nice for the kids to have playmates around their age, too!!