she's growing.

onesie & socks- target
tutu- gap outlet
leggings- goodwill

unpacking and relaxing.

we've been enjoying some comfy days at home...
unpacking, doing laundry, cleaning, and getting back on schedule.
we ventured out this morning to have some lab work done for millie.
we were able to have it done here in the springs- our first time.
everything came back normal!
we are super excited for a long weekend with g and the new year!

a bummer situation.

after our travels home from indiana... we were greeted at 11pm by a locked door going from our garage to our house. and no house key on our key ring. it ended up being about a 2.5hour fiasco... finally at around 2am we ended up at g's parents townhome after trying a few different options and making many phone calls to a few locksmiths. i desperately wanted to sleep in my own bed... but we just needed to wait until morning. $50 and 2seconds was all it took and the man got our door unlocked. we have now learned our lesson.

christmas at home. all the rest.

Here are some other bits & pieces from our trip... my new iphone came in very handy to catch the little moments when I didn't want to take out my big camera. I am loving the instagram app, but I will forever love taking photos on my big camera. The iphone won't take its place! And I'm really enjoying the filters on instagram to make the photos look a bit more interesting... I am not a fan of overly edited photos when they don't look like the natural colors, but this is fun to play around with for otherwise boring everyday moments. Anyways... here is the last of our trip home to Indiana. We had a wonderful time! And for the first time I wasn't in a hurry to come home to Colorado. I loved seeing Millie with her grandparents. I loved being home with our parents. It just felt right to be there. And cable tv was a lot of fun too... oh Bravo!

a sparkly manicure with my mom!

eating at our favorite restaurants!

made my first purchase at anthropologie...
extra 50%off of sale!

all packed up & ready to go...

headed home with 5 suitcases, 2 backpacks, a diaper bag, a car seat, a stroller, and a baby. and my parents are sending us 3 boxes. we are a bit spoiled...

it was a wonderful trip home... made even better by having a baby who did awesome! she took her normal 3 naps a day, slept 12 hours every night, and smiled & laughed for everyone- no stranger danger for miss millie. now our hope is that she doesnt get sick from traveling... and that she is still doing perfect in a few weeks when we go to orlando for the young life conference!

christmas at home. the cheneys.

Cal, Joyce, and Luke came to Lafayette for a quick visit... between visits with Granny and other family in Illinois. Luke snapped a few photos of the family. Loving the plaid! And then we all went out to dinner, and I took a few instax photos of the evening. It was great to see them!

my new camera is so fun... i wish the film wasnt so expensive!

christmas at home. ramey christmas.

We continued the Christmas day excitement over at my parents house for the afternoon and evening. Millie was a bit worn out by the end of it all... we definitely want to have two separate Christmas mornings with our families in the future. She was still a ton of fun and loved opening her stocking & presents. We worked around naptimes and cooking... and spent most of the afternoon opening presents together. We all got lots of goodies! We had dinner and spent some time in our Christmas pajamas before putting Millie to bed. And then we all chatted and had dessert and played with the toys that we got!

stockings!

millie got lots of fun things... including a book entitled "millie moo" -which i love, a cat keyboard that meows from her loving uncle chris, and lots of other fun toys & clothes!

i LOVE holiday dinners with my family!
my grandmas noodles are the best.

greatgrandma mia!

playing with my favorite present!
an instax mini!

we had a wonderful first christmas as our little family.
thanks grams & gramps for everything!

christmas at home. cheney christmas.

We spent Christmas morning at G's parents house... opening presents goes to a whole new level of excitement when you have a little one. She was so fun to watch- opening all the bags and playing with all the tissue. We all got lots of goodies and are super thankful for everything! It was a great morning.

presents!
millies favorite... all of the little people noah's ark animals!

stockings!

naptime for millie... christmas breakfast for us!

and after all the presents were opened... the excitement continued!
millie loves the tissue!

thanks nana & gpa!

christmas at home. christmas eve.

spent the afternoon making cookies with my mama...
and i could enjoy a few bits of dough this year!

put millie in her adorable christmas eve outfit...
49cents from the salvation army and i loved it!

a few family photos before church...

and it doenst feel like christmas if we dont go to the candlelight christmas eve service at my church that i grew up in... it is so special to me. millie was such a trooper through church and visiting with people after. we were dangerously close to a pre-bedtime meltdown, but she held it together pretty well.

millie was finally able to meet kristi!
it was so good to see her and catch up... im hoping for a visit soon.
ive always wanted to see rolla, mo!

after church we headed over to g's parents house to spend the night... millie was super sleepy when we got there, but got super excited when we put her in bed. i think she was ready for santa to come! look at those eyes!

christmas at home. pizza king.

benny b came to lafayette for the evening- he is home from england staying with his mom in illinois for christmas. as always it was a ton of fun to see him. we went out for pizza at our all time favorite pizza place in lafayette, and then went to an engagement party for an old friend from high school. the party was more fun than i expected! it was kinda like a high school reunion... i hadnt seen many of the people since graduating... aside from a few "hellos" if we saw each other on campus at purdue. it makes me a bit more excited for our 10year reunion next year!

cant wait for ben to have a lady friend that comes along!

christmas at home. the gutzlers.

We were able to spend time with more of G's family... his mom's family! It was their first time to meet Millie, so it was lots of hanging out together and playing with & watching Millie. We shared a few presents, watched a few movies, and ate some tasty food together. It was a quick trip, but it was the perfect amount of time to catch up with everyone.

we also enjoyed a surprise visit from ben & lauren!
it was so awesome to see them... and they got to meet millie for the first time!
oh how i miss lo! and my other 344 girls!

on our fourth date of christmas.

we went on a midnight shopping trip to meijer... a walmart/target type of store in the midwest. they have some pretty awesome things... i even found a few christmas presents! it was a lot of fun. it felt like we were in college again. baby free and up late at night!

( i saw the idea for "twelve dates of christmas" on a blog that i read, and i thought it would be good for g & i during this season. some dates as a family, some just the two of us... some in colorado, some when we are in indiana. just being intentional about spending time together!)

christmas at home. time with greatgranny.

We were able to spend a few days with G's granny... she came down to Lafayette and stayed at G's parents house, so that she could get lots of time with Millie. It was so fun to see her spend time with Millie... she makes the best animal noises! I want Millie to learn them all from her! I am so happy that Millie has a greatgranny that is so excited to see her and play with her. Wishing we could see her more!

lots of love from granny.

lots of playing in the crate.

lots of great dinners.

lots of family time.

and lots of pointing with her pointer finger...
she will point out all of the fuzz on your couch.

christmas at home. the union tree.

One of the main things that I wanted to do during our trip home was to go to the Memorial Union at Purdue to see the giant tree. And we wanted to see all of the renovations that they have done on the food court area since we graduated... it was a great afternoon! The tree was giant & grand, and the food court was awesome! I wish it would have been there when we were students.

My brother & Jess arrived a few hours after we returned... to spend the night at my parents house and spend time with Millie. My parents decided to give Millie a few of her presents early, so that she could play with them during the stay at their house. She got a elephant that blows balls out of its nose, which she will love when she is moving, and a bat & wobble penguin for her to whack. These are her first toys that are larger than her... and a bit more interactive. She wasn't intimidated by them, and I'm sure she will love them lots as she gets a bigger.

lots & lots of playing.

christmas at home. our flight.

millie took her second plane trip home to indiana!
we boarded our first flight only to sit for an hour before being asked to get off the plan due to a technical issue... we had to wait over 3hours for a new plane to arrive. millie was able to take a much needed nap while we waited, and we were given two $100 vouchers for future Southwest flights- which made the whole experience much more pleasant. we got in much late than expected, missing dinner with our families, but at least we made it that night!

what i wore wednesday.

an appointment at childrens.
scarf & shirt- forever21 / sweater- old navy / pants- tj maxx / shoes- ross.

cozy at home with family.
sweater- arc thriftstore / shirt- salvation army / necklace- vivi dot from fab.com / winter leggings- gap outlet / boots- goodwill.

traveling.
hat- albertus swanepoel for target / cape- target / shirt- old navy / jeans- forever21 / boots- goodwill.

merry christmas.

from us!

she's growing.

cardigan- walmart (decorated by her mama)
dress- carters
leggings- target
moccasins- macy's

the back.