Three Years of Marriage

Three years of marriage. 8.5 years together. One sassy kid and another on the way. Travels. Cross country moves. Air Force life. Late nights. The good, the bad, and the everything in between. We've been through a lot in our time together, and I wouldn't want it any other way. The bad makes us appreciate the good all the more. The occasional distance makes us not take each other for granted when we're together. This life isn't the easiest, but it's special, crazy, and fun. It's unique and beautiful, and there's no one I'd rather co-pilot with. Happy third wedding anniversary to my handsome husband!

I accidentally called Dan my wife at the end of my vows (that I wrote) in front of all of our family and friends and had the moment epically captured via photographs AND video... see below! Ha! 

We couldn't have done it without all of these amazing friends! I'm sad that the last time we were all in one place was at our wedding. 

Forever thankful to have a husband who will dance in the rain with me! 

Year Two (Cotton) Anniversary: The Gifts

Our second wedding anniversary was just a couple weeks ago, and I never got around to sharing the gifts we exchanged. I headed out of town for a week just after this, so I had already pre-written and scheduled my blog posts for that timeframe.

Better late than never, right?

We decided last year before our first anniversary to follow the traditional anniversary gift theme each year. Last year was paper, and I gave Dan a typed version of our wedding vows (that we wrote ourselves) to each other, and he gifted me (paper) tickets to see The Rolling Stones play at Arrowhead Stadium, which was a blast.

This year was cotton themed, and it was a little more difficult to decide what to give Dan. Unlike last year, I was preoccupied with a crazy baby, so I ordered his gift on Etsy from BeCoProductions.

It is a custom cross-stitch of one of our wedding photos. The seller was wonderful to work with and accommodated all of my special requests - like flipping our photo so we would be on the correct side with "Mr. and Mrs.", making sure some of my hair was showing even though it wasn't in the photo, and even adding Dan's tiny ribbons on his uniform. I am in LOVE with how this came out, and we have it hanging in our dining room now.

Dan got a little more creative with his gift, and he definitely does know me well. He decided we didn't need any more "stuff" in the house, so he rented a COTTON CANDY MACHINE for us. Guys, I am not even kidding. This man is a keeper! He knows the key to my heart for sure. I am obsessed with cotton candy, always wanting some at ball games and carnivals. He truly does know me. We had a blast making 45 (yes, 45!!!) things of cotton candy one night. We let Annabelle help for a while before her bedtime, but she looks cranky in the picture below because she was tired and mad that we wouldn't let her have any. Sorry, kid, but you of all people will NEVER need straight sugar. 

The cotton candy machine was such a fun surprise!! We had so much fun making it... and he rented it from Outdoor Recreation on base - how cool! I didn't even know they had them. 

Do you follow the traditional anniversary gifts with your spouse?

Celebrating Two Years of Marriage

Two whole years have flown by since the most magical day of my life. Sure, the day Annabelle was born can easily be deemed my "best day ever", but it certainly wasn't as pleasant as the day we proclaimed our love to each other with our own, unique vows (of which I totally messed up and   called Dan my wife instead of husband at the very end, prompting these epic photographs... first, Dan processed what I said... then, I gathered what I had done based on his face... oops! Sorry not sorry... that was typical Janelle, and our guests STILL bring that up all the time).

All joking aside, we had a fabulous day, despite the rain, because we were finally saying "I do" gathered by all of our family and closest friends, and it was just the most perfect day. And I promise I'm not laughing or looking horrified in every single wedding photo... here are my personal favorites from our big day!

Two years married have flown by. We have gone through a lot already, such as moving across the country twice and having a precious baby girl. It hasn't been all sunshine... marriage is a real trial. Living with someone else and staying in love is a very real struggle. We are both super stubborn, strong-willed people... so it's no wonder we argue when we both want our way. But I am so happy that our love for each other wins. 

I am still so thankful to be Lieutenant Lovemuffin's co-pilot in this crazy life.

We took our annual photo holding last year's photo, where we were holding a wedding photo. How's that for complicated?! But I love it!

You can see our first anniversary photo in front of our last home in Ohio here... I like the tradition we've started with posing in front of our current home each year because we all know we'll live in so many different places over the years! 

To read more about our awesome Colorado mountain wedding, check out this post - or just watch our wedding highlight video below! :)

I can't wait to see what this next year brings! 

Seven Years Together

Does anyone else still celebrate their dating anniversary? Is it just us? Please say it isn't because Lieutenant Lovemuffin already hates having more than one anniversary to remember.

Anyway, today is our dating anniversary! Seven years. It's crazy to think it's been seven years, three states (soon to be four) lived in, an engagement, a marriage, a baby, lots of traveling, and life in between!

We are doing anything crazy to celebrate... no gifts or even cards. I do have one surprise up my sleeve, though, and I'll be sure to post about it next week! I don't want to give it away before he gets home to see it. 

    

Our First Anniversary Photo

I have been such a bad blogger lately. I am on NO schedule, which feels as awful as it sounds. Yes, I still have my calendar up-to-date with posts I WANT to be sharing... but this third trimester exhaustion sure is taking a toll on me.

By the time I finish my daily shop orders and chores, I just want to nap... so I do... because it's the only way I can function by the time Dan gets home from work. 

Because of my crazy lack of updates, I never shared our first anniversary photo. I loved this idea when I saw it on Pinterest before we were even married, and I couldn't wait to do it! I've also seen many friends and bloggers use this idea... so it must be a really cool one. 

Yes, our anniversary was in May. Oops.

We wanted our house to be in the background, so we tried our best. We actually got this photo on the very first try... by setting the timer on our camera and placing it on the bed of Dan's Dodge Ram. Next year, we'll have a different house in the background!

Do you do the anniversary picture-within-a-picture too?
Do you keep your anniversary photos displayed in your home?


    

Anniversary Trip: Smoky Mountains

After we left Nashville and Lynchburg, Dan and I drove to the town of Pigeon Forge! It was... interesting. We weren't huge fans of the town itself, but the scenery nearby? Definitely worth going for. We have been missing Colorado like crazy for the beautiful mountains... and while the Smokies aren't quote the Rockies, it was just what we needed!

We spent most of an entire day driving through the mountains and stopping every once in a while to hike around, once up a gigantic hill that I thought was going to kill me - yes, pre-pregnant Janelle would have made fun of me. Ugh. But the hike was worth it for the views!

I'll stop talking now and just let the pictures finish...

Have you been to the Smoky Mountains?
Are you a mountain person like me?