Hi from rainy, rainy Houston. What a surreal and devastating few days it has been in the Bayou City. I have many friends whose houses have already flooded, and they’re saying that the rain won’t stop for a few more days. I can’t even wrap my head around this fact, but when I do, it makes me cry. So far, we have been so lucky and have avoided any flooding – we just have a few minor leaks in our playroom ceiling. My little sister is trapped at the hospital where she works, my older sister is stuck in NYC (not a bad place to be stranded, may I add?), my parents are safe in Colorado (but their neighborhood is currently being evacuated by the Coast Guard – can’t think about it!), my sister-in-law and her family are still okay, and my mother-and-father-in-law are both in Serbia (their spouses are both fine here in Houston!). There are so many people who are not okay – turn on the news to see heartbreaking and terrifying videos of people being saved by boats, stranded atop their roofs, stuck in cars on flooded roads, etc. Please, please pray for the rain to stop!

Before the chaos of hurricane prep came on Thursday, we had a relatively low-key week, mainly filled with preparations for the girls’ school (parent orientations and individual teacher orientations). Emi and Isla both met their new teachers, and they seem so sweet. Emi is in a class with only one other baby girl (for now at least), and they have two teachers! You can’t beat that ratio. It makes my mama-heart feel much more relaxed. And Isla’s teacher seems so sweet (she’s legit the cutest) – we have a few mutual friends, one of who has been raving about how much we’ll love her. So yeah, we’re ready for school to start. With the hurricane, the start date has understandably been pushed back a week.

Some highlights from the week included:

• Taking Meredith’s photos for an event that actually got canceled (postponed, perhaps?) – fortunately, we snapped one other one as well AND we got to see our favorite Mimicita, so it wasn’t a waste!!
• Signing up for dance class and ordering Isla’s leotard, tights and ballet shoes. They arrived in the mail a day or two later (what would I do without Amazon Prime?) and as you can see from the photos below, she is ready.
• Fixing some glitches in the matrix on my website with the help of my amazing future brother-in-law, Kevin. (gah, Sasha’s terrible sense of humor is rubbing off on me apparently!)
• Organizing the entire house thanks to a major trip to The Container Store. I feel so much better mentally. Now to organize my desk. Hmm.
• Catching up with Amanda at Ivana’s house when we went to look at her countertops, which I’ll totally be copying. Twinning is winning, am I right?
• Meeting our interior designer, Lindsey Herod, at our new house and meeting to discuss plumbing fixtures! She made some really great observations and I’m so glad to be working with her.

Anyone catch the solar eclipse today? My sister-in-law, Ivana, and I were cracking each other up with our mutual stupidity at our attempts to quickly glance at the sun… despite all of the millions of warnings not to. I wasn’t prepared enough to order glasses, but we did manage to see it via the iPhone camera as the sun went behind a cloud. I’m not going to lie – it was ever-so-slightly underwhelming (here in Houston at least!).

The past week, Sasha worked from home, which was so nice! We love having him here so much. We got to go and walk through the new house together – they are finishing framing this week (thank goodness!). I’m meeting with our designer, Lindsey Herod, on Wednesday at the lot to walk through it and discuss plumbing fixtures.

Some highlights from the past week include:

• Celebrating Isla’s cousin’s 6th birthday party at a nearby stable – she rode a horse for the first time and was literally on Cloud Nine! Happiest gal around.
• Emi’s crawling went from slow and shaky to speedy, and I went from being able to leave her for 30 seconds to having to tote her around with me everywhere we go. Isla is not the most reliable when it comes to leaving small items around, so Emi is constantly on my hip again.
• Baking with my ‘mother’s helper’ – Riley – who is my friend, Monica’s daughter. She has been such a huge blessing to us the past month – helping out with both girls so I can get some work done during the day, not just in the evening!
• Taking Milly’s four month photos! Ah, isn’t she a living doll?! I’m obsessed.
• Photographing an outdoor dinner party for Caroline Harper with florals by Maria Maxit and calligraphy by Nancy of Natalie Gene Calligraphy.
• Capturing the sweetest motherhood moments for my dear friend, Courtney Brown! Her son, Beau, is too handsome to handle! I shared photos here yesterday.
• Taking blog photos for Lyndsey Zorich on Friday at this kind-of secluded Galleria condo building – it was such a fun place to shoot and I love photography Lyndsey because she’s got all the moves!
• Going to church at Bayou City Fellowship! We’re jumping into a new series, which I’m excited for – plus, the speaker said that it will transition from this series to the Advent series and ohmygosh that made me excited for Christmas! Ha.

One of the first things Isla asked me when she woke up this morning was, “Is it Friday yet?” But seriously. We recently got a Nest camera (one IQ and one Indoor) for each of the girls’ rooms, and one of my favorite things about it is that you can play back video footage that it captures. So I’ve re-listened to prayers, like when Isla said on Thursday night, “Dear God, I pray for everyone and Bob… close your eyes!!!… everyone and Bob. And thank you for sleepovers at Mimis, because she always brings me home in the morning! The end.” Ha.  I’ll share more information about the cameras soon, but in short: we are loving them.

Some highlights from the past week include: 

• Playdate with our friends at Levy Park
• Cupcakes at Crave as a treat for way too many errands
• Playing with Isla’s new Baking Kit from Young + Wild & Friedman
• Photographing Nina of The Baby Chick‘s baby shower at Ouisie’s Table
• Girls Night Out with a few friends to North Italia and Creamistry
• Taking baby Eden Marie’s newborn photos
• Photographing a new cuteheads blogger collab with Veronica Romeis of Veronika’s Blushing
• Booking a trip for me and the girls to Chicago in October
• Swimming at my parent’s house on Saturday
• Pizza night on Friday and getting to catch up with one of my favorite people – Brooke
• Photographing Carrie’s adorable daughter, Elle, in celebration of her second month-iversary

I’m sure I’m missing something obvious like lunch with my best friend (ha), but can’t think of anything else! Hope y’all are having a wonderful week already! xo