In the beginning of parenthood, I used Harper as an excuse way too much. Before long, I really started to feel limited in what I could accomplish. I was surrounding myself with so many unnecessary borders. Motherhood has taught me an innumerable amount of lessons, but one of the biggest is to stop making excuses. If you want to do something, you should be able to do it. Don't stop yourself because you will have to sacrifice a little or go out of your comfort zone. If I don't want to do something, I'm honest with myself. I don't blame my daughter anymore. If I really want to do something, I do it. Lately risk has been my middle name and its SO unlike me. I've thrown myself into the entrepreneur world. It has been the most amazing experience. It is so freeing. I recommend that everyone try something they have always wanted to. I recently started my own photography business. I got rid of all my dumb excuses: I don't have the nicest camera, I'm not as experienced as everyone else, I don't have the time, What if I am not any good? I don't want to look back on my life and think "what if." There is so much out in the world and I want to do it all. Even if it takes a little longer or a little more work because I am a mom, I know it will be worth it. I want to make the most of the life God gave me, and I want my daughter to know that the only limits she has are the ones she sets for herself. You are all unstoppable, powerful, good, and capable of anything you want. Take command of your life & be the you, you want to be. No excuses. 

xo, Carly

For some reason I have been looking forward to this age for a long time. Probably because when I was 9 months I started walking and talking. I thought that Harper would probably follow in my footsteps (no pun intended). It looks like she still has a while until she can talk, but I think the walking thing is going to start any second. She is pulling herself up and walking around the couch constantly. This month, Harper has pretty much gotten the sleeping thing down. She knows what her room is and often plays in her crib by herself. She can keep herself entertained for hours. It is so fun watching her grow and explore. Her crawling skills have really improved. She is cruisin every where. She loves her reflection, playing games, bath time, playing guitar with daddy, petting kitty, taking all the VHS tapes off our entertainment center and snuggling. I seriously love this girl and can't wait for all the fun adventures we are going to have together. I took these pictures at the park & took Harper down the slide with me. She was not amused haha. I thought she would love it, but she didn't care one bit. She just wanted to play with the pinecones on the floor. Go figure. Also I plan to stop breastfeeding at one year, any advice to help the transition? Harper won't take binkies, but is starting to warm up to bottles. 

xo, Carly

Something I was happy to find out when I got married is how much Taylor loves going to book stores. The library was my favorite place to go growing up. I went frequently even throughout college. I love finding new good reads for winter nights or lazy days at the beach. My recreational reading has really taken a step back since becoming a mom. I barely have anytime for myself between school, work, harper, and home duties. Let's just say I am going to cry happy tears the next time I can just curl up and read a romance novel (my favs). I am excited that we will get to share our love for books with Harper and our other kids. Reading was one of my favorite past times growing up. I can't wait to share that. We have already started by taking Harper to the library and tons of other book stores. We had to walk clear across Jackson to find this cool little place. Thank you to the kind man & woman who gave us directions! If anyone is looking for a book store in Jackson it is in Gaslight Alley. My favorite thing was the little tree stump reading nook. Harper and I hung out in there the whole time.

xo, Carly

Taylor and I just finished the show Parenthood. Soooo good. This was like my fourth time watching the finale and Taylor's first time. I won't give anything major away, but in the last episode there is a song that I just love. A part of says "It was always you." I have been thinking a lot about my marriage lately and just how lucky I am to have Taylor in my life. I get so freaked out thinking about the possibility of ever losing him. Some people wait their whole lives to have what we do. Some people never even find it. I feel so privileged to have him. It's no secret that Taylor and I got married super young. An amazing part of that is getting to grow with each other. We get to struggle together and build our lives from the bottom up. We get to continually look back together and think look what we have done. It is an amazing feeling. I think back at the long journey that lead me to Taylor. All the boyfriends and heart ache and drama and wasted tears. All the games and confusion. Taylor was different from the moment I met him. I was comfortable with him. There was never any guessing. He cherished me and kept my heart safe. He made me feel wanted and special. Like I was the only person in the room. He was such a breath of fresh air. He made me believe that everything I had ever dreamed of having in a husband was possible. That fairy tales are real. There is so much to love about Taylor. Everyone who has met him, knows what I am talking about. I am just so happy to be a long for the ride and laugh together for the rest of our lives. Love you to the ends of the earth. It was always you.

xo, Carly

Jackson is one of my all time favorite places to visit. Mostly because there are like 1000 shops I can walk around and browse. Anyone who knows me well knows I love to window shop. I love getting ideas for home decor, making lists of books I want to read, mentally noting what the new clothing trends are... I love everything about it. My mom and I used to do it all the time when I was younger. I hope it is something that Harper and I get to do together too. This year we went to Jackson to surprise Taylor and Kevin with a birthday celebration! They loved it and were totally surprised. We stayed in the cutest Airbnb for the night and then explored Driggs & Jackson. This trip was so much fun because we were with our best friends Nicole and Kevin. They are the bees knees. Harper had a blast too. She was such a champ in her car seat the whole trip. I love this girl to pieces. There are so many more pictures, but I will be posting them later on so that you can enjoy them separately. I hope you liked your little sneak peak at this amazing adventure!

xo, Carly

I've been so busy lately. Blogging has just fallen to the bottom of my to-do list. This week Harper and I worked on a cool collab for a local business. I love working with locals and supporting small businesses. It feels good to be a part of their journey toward success. Anyway, I had the hardest time getting Harper to pose with the wooden camera. I thought she would love it because she is obsessed with my camera. But of course, when I needed her to pose, she just wanted to crawl around and touch everything but her new toy. Thankfully I got some photos. The business owner said that she will be posting them on Jane.com. That is pretty sick. Let me know if you spot Harper in Jane! Baby girl is getting so big and teething like crazy. I hope she grows to love this toy because it could really help her aching mouth. My poor baby. If anyone is interested in collaborating send me an email or post a comment and lets work together!

xo, Carly

Guys, being stuck inside this winter has been really tough. I thought I had a glimmer of hope when it started to warm up. Then the Rexburg winds came and ruined it all. I was planning on taking Harper on a sunny walk the other morning until I stepped outside and froze my buns off. So I decided to just get creative and build a tiny fort for Harper and me. I won't lie. It was serious paradise. Harper was laughing the whole time under it. It was so sweet. I just love her so much. She is becoming my best friend. I loved sitting under the blankets getting all sunggly with my girl. I highly recommend building a fort in soon. It is the perfect pick me up for those winter blues. It was pretty perfect for date night too. Taylor and I snuggled and watched a movie under there. It was pure magic.

xo, Carly