The Perfect Duo: An Aspiring Kennedy's Love Story

You know how blogs always 

have contests and giveaways

to win this or do that

and we run you around the interwebs

liking and tweeting 

like it's going out of style?

Well, today

I'm that girl.

I've been drooling over DUO's boots 

the last few weeks

and when I saw 

their giveaway for a free pair,

I decided to join the fun

and enter the giveaway...

Which requires me to tell our love story

here on this little blog.

Have you ever heard ours?

Guys... 

it's good.

We have one that would make

Cinderella and her shoe-toting tale

feel a little insecure.

Okay, fine...

maybe not.

Maybe it's not universally perfect,

but it was the perfect fit for the two of us.

Kinda like DUO,

because you can custom size

your boots to fit

in the ankle & calf...

and honestly, how amazing is that?

Their new collection
has me dreaming of tromping
through wet London streets
without the fear of frozen toes & wet feet.

(Editor's Note: My current boots are cheap and terribly made.)

It's almost as good of news

as the day I told my family

I had broken up with my boyfriend

and was going to marry Tyler.

To which they practically replied

"Tyler... who?"

So go get a cup of tea or coffee

and find a place that's really cozy...

this might take a while.

The Prologue.

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Happy Ending

Plus, you'll get to see awkward pictures of me from college.

*    *   * 

If you want to enter the contest

(and I can't really blame you),

check out the details here.

Happy/Sad Mother's Day.

Mother's Day is this weekend. 

I can't believe how much has changed in a year.

This time last year, 

we were just two kids 

having fun living between Paris & London.

And then, I got pregnant.

{This was the video I took to record the moment- live from the bathroom of a Chinese massage parlor- ha!}

We began to dream of new our life with the three of us.

Until we found out it would actually be the four of us.

Our hearts swelled with anticipation

of the two sweet girls headed our way.

We felt like we had won the lottery.

For those nine months, we both glowed.

Dreams of walking the streets of London

each holding a little girl

amused our every thought.

We'd see little girls plodding along the sidewalk

and give each other side glances and smiles.

Life was never so sweet.

And then everything changed.

Tyler became a father.

I became a mother.

But life looked different than we thought it would.

Our world has changed from so much.

Even thought we feel so much joy,
we aren't those careless kids anymore.

In the course of a year,

we've gone from having zero kids 

to two girls 

to one.

Even though it hurt

-both emotionally & physically, I might add-

I'd do it all again.

In a heartbeat.

It was worth it all

to become a mother to both of my beautiful girls

even if it was for so much shorter than we wanted.

And while our dreams 
of holding both of our sweet daughters

throughout life's adventures are now gone,

I'm so thankful for those months I was lucky enough to carry them both.

Happy Mother's Day 

to all of us...

Those of us who raise babies.

Those of us who once raised babies.

Those of us who still wait for their turn to hold their baby.

And those of us who will always miss our babies.

xoxo-

Lots of love from my {aching/joyful} heart to yours.

*PS Me & Blogger are in a fight over this wonky formatting. 

My Baby Daddy

Often times lately, I've felt overwhelmed with love

from our friends & family

during the start of our little family.

Other times, I feel so tired from crazy newborn sleep

that the world around me seems a bit like a blur.

And, maybe more than I'd like to admit,

I feel like pulling the curtains closed

and crying my eyes out.

But amidst all the up & downs,

I'm constantly finding myself on the high 

watching Tyler become a dad to my baby girl.

Even though you've probably heard it a thousand times

from a thousand other girls, 

I'm going to say it again:

Watching your man love your baby

is one of the most attractive things he'll ever do.

Check out that sexy baby-wearing-man at the Oxford v. Cambridge Boat Race.

You heart will inflate so big

you might worry it will pop out of your body

and land on the pile of baby clothes 

sitting on the couch cushion next to you

waiting for two free hands to fold it.

Weekend stroll through Notting Hill

You'll stop & stare all googley-eyed at them

and feel like you are the luckiest girl in the world. 

Just a few days old eating dinner at the Prince Bonaparte Pub

Because even though he may be showering another person

 with his love & attention

and giving up a piece of his heart to them...

...you'll also kinda feel like 

he couldn't show his love to you in a better way.

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

*instagram username: aspiringkennedy

Official Documentation- Bebes on Board!

Here's a confession:

I've always felt really uncomfortable

looking at people's maternity pictures.

Something about the belly showing

with ribbons wrapping around inverted belly-buttons

and fluffy layers of tuille draped over lady parts

always left me feeling... a little weird.

So when people asked who/what/when

I was going to do for ours maternity pics,

I kinda shrugged it off

as "not really my thing."

However, after going through

this amazing miracle of growing a human (or two) 

inside of my body,

I kinda softened up on the concept

and realized that, yes, it is a special time

and I will want to remember in the years to come.

Plus, the idea that the talented Liz Denfeld could distract

the awkwardness typically associated

with maternity pictures

with the gorgeous surroundings

of Notting Hill really helped.

{Warning: There are quite a few here, apologies.}

When I look at these pictures,

I can't help but smile.

I was released from the hospital 

the evening before

after a pre-eclampsia scare 

that left me with puffy eyes and swollen legs...

and as much as part of me cringes

looking at myself looking so... well, pregnant,

the other part of me is actually pretty proud

of all that my body is doing.

Having a face that looks like I've been crying

and two chubby legs

in exchange for being 8.5 months pregnant

with two healthy girls

growing well inside me?

It's an easy swap.

It's amazing that God made our bodies to pull this feat off...

and I'm thankful for Liz 

for snapping up this special time in our life.

*all images by Liz Denfeld. 

A Royal Baby Shower

While I may have anticipated pregnancy including

 blowing out of my clothes,

flares of emotional absurdity,

and a slew of other unwelcome aspects,

one thing beautiful about pregnancy I never anticipated

was the outpouring of LOVE that I would experience.

 I have been blown away

by the amount of love and support 

that has been gifted to us during this time.

Not only does it remind me 

of how lucky we are to have such great people in our life,

but it's also been a good reminder

of how important it is

to gift that sort of love and attention to others...

{Because being treated like a princess feels amazing.}

While in the States in December,

I was spoiled absolutely rotten 

with beautiful showers 

in Dallas & Oklahoma City....

So when my friends in London

hosted a THIRD shower for me this weekend,

it almost felt like too much.

Almost. :)

The afternoon was intimate,

attended by a handful of girls I adore,

and prettier than a Pinterest dream...

It was a "Royal Baby Shower"

completely decked out in gold & glitter

for our two princesses. 

{Kate Middleton only wishes 

her sister threw parties this adorable.}

Homemade Tahitian Vanilla & Coconut Cake? I ate an enormously huge wedge of this. Recipe here. 

Sparkly sugar cookies that tasted like a dream and flaky palmiers.

________________

Thank you Amber & Helena 

for hosting this gorgeous day for

me and my little girls...

I can't believe all the work and love 

you both put into making this day so special.

***

Thanks to all my blogging friends

who sent in your secret videos for the day.

Oh my goodness...

it was fantastic to see all of your sweet faces

make a surprise appearance at the shower.

***

And a special shout out to Liz  for flying in from Amsterdam

for the weekend to celebrate & take maternity pics for us...

what an amazing gift!

*images original to A Diary of Lovely.

Their Daddy's Mouth

Alright.

I'm doing it.

I'm blogging about being pregnant.

Well actually,

I'm going to talk about 

Tyler and my pregnancy.

While each child and pregnancy is special,

there has to be something extra lovely

about a man & woman

going through this process together 

for the first time...

...because as much as I want to remember the feeling of my babies kicking,

the way I felt when I first found out I was pregnant

or the way they bounce around on the sonogram screen,

there is no way in heck I want to forget these gems

that have come out of my husband's mouth.

What I saw when I walked out to the car after we found out we were having twins.

When I showed him my pregnancy test,

I said "Look! Two lines!"

To which he replied...

"Woah. What does that mean??"

To which I laughed:

"Just that I'm pregnant... 

not that there are two babies."

{That joke was on me.}

_________________

While waiting at the Doctor's office:

Lauren: Hey babe, look.

Remind me to tell our midwife that we want a home birth.

{Sarcastically points to flyer on wall about elective home births.}

Tyler: What? We can't do a home birth...

Lauren: Well, duh. I know...

but why do you say that?

Tyler: Because our bath tub isn't big enough 

for both of us and the nurse to fit in it at the same time.

Lauren: What?
 Oh babe, no.

No, that's not what happens.

It's not always in the bath tub.

Tyler: Huh? Where is it?

Lauren: It's like, on the bed, babe.

Tyler: You do what?

{Gags.}

Do they make trashbags that big?

_______________

You know babe, 

now that your stomach is so big

it makes your butt look smaller.

________________

While looking through racks of baby clothes,

I held up two outfits 

and suggested them for their coming home outfits.

Tyler looked at me like I was an alien

and asked why we needed to buy outfits 

to bring them home from the hospital.

I replied that we would have to bring them home in something.

To which he just rolled his eyes and said: 

Why can't we just wrap them up in blankets over their diapers?

______________

So there we have it.

Straight from the mouth of man 

who has given me two offspring...

and I can only hope they are just like him.

In The Moment.

I had one of those moments tonight

where the gravity of how good things are

falls on your heart

and life just seems so precious.

I was sitting in a bubble bath

{pretty much my favorite time of day}

and suddenly got worked up.

Maybe it's the increase in hormones

or the big changes closing in on us...

but having this man beside me,

these crazy babies inside me

and family & friends that lavish us with support

makes me feel like a really lucky lady.

photo by Victoria Wall Harris

I know, I know

we aren't guaranteed what tomorrow will look like,

it could really suck.

But I don't like to live  

preparing for the worst-case scenario...

because it robs today of all it's goodness.

For this small window of time

...in this tiny flat 

that is gets increasingly crowded

with baby stuff, Tyler & I both working from home

and my ever-expanding stomach,

life is sweet.

Getting loved on by my friends at my Dallas baby shower.

Ok, now it's your turn to get all Pollyanna 

and look at this phase of your life 

through some rose colored glasses.

How will you look back 

on what is great 

about this stage of your life?

Go.

_________________________


PS. Congratulations, Heather Moore! 
Number #65 was the lucky winner for the giveaway
from Sunglasses Shop... and that was you!

Six Years Down.

Today marks six years of marital bliss for us.

{Editor's Note: Yes, I just said "marital bliss."}

Our love story started out pretty heavy

and the excitement hasn't slowed down yet.

There have been some hard times on this road, 

but we're lucky enough to be each other's best friend...

so somehow, even the tough times seem kinda sweet

when you look back on them and see that we grew closer.

{Sorry, did I just hear you gag?}

Tyler always keeps me on my toes

by making it a point to celebrate our anniversary

someway... and somewhere special.

January 6, 2007

Our wedding...

with a honeymoon in Prague to follow

that took Tyler overseas for the first time...

2008

Tyler surprised me with a trip to NYC for our first anniversary...

we had so little money

but had the best time together

walking around the city, eating pizza & hot dogs

and feeling so cool and grown up.

2009

For our second anniversary,

it was off to Victoria, BC for a cozy weekend 

somewhere random & exciting.

We felt very swanky because our Luxury Link package

gave us free massages & dinner at our hotel.

2010

Back to NYC for our 3rd anniversary,

but this time- we brought our friends, Anthony & Kellee 

to join along in the festivities

kicking off the first of many trips together.

2011

This was our first year living in England

and we celebrated our fourth anniversary 

by wandering lonely canals in Venice

and windy hillside towns in Tuscany.

PS. January is a great month to have an anniversary

because traveling to cool places is so much cheaper.

2012

Last year was our fifth...

and somehow, NYC seemed to be the right decision

officially making it our "every other anniversary" destination.

I'm so thankful we had pictures taken to celebrate,

thank you Victoria for capturing this special day in our marriage.

And this year?

With two babies on the way

and an abdomen quickly nearing the size of a glacier?

Well, tonight we are headed to pizza & a movie.

So would we call this the end of an era?

Hardly.

Tyler's taking me to Venice 

later this month to celebrate

with our friends, Tyler & Amber.

It's a combined Christmas/Anniversary/Babymoon present

since we are exceptionally poor this year...

but we couldn't miss the chance to squeeze in

another adventure before these girls arrive.

So if you happen to be in Venice

and notice a slow-moving gondola

chugging down a canal at an angle that eerily resembles the sinking Titanic,

just wave to this 8-mth pregnant woman

sitting in the back with the giant cone of gelato in hand.

I really can't wait...

and I can't wait to see where this adventurous life

takes the two (four?) of us next.

Happy Anniversary, Love.

Homeward Bound- The AK Movie

Today I'm flying to the States

for a short visit home

to be pampered by some really amazing women

who are spoiling our babies with showers.

{We feel pretty loved.}

I'm flying solo on this leg

until Tyler arrives later next week.

While that may seem pretty standard,

it's actually a thought that is rocking my world.

I've flown these long-hauls flights so many times alone over the years.

Whether I was flying home from a summer in Africa in college,

flying to/from a trade show in Italy for work,

or heading to the States while Tyler was in classes at Oxford,

I'm pretty used to doing this on my own.

So the idea that this will probably be the last time I do this journey alone 

for the unforeseeable future 

is kinda rocking my world.

I made this video last year 

for an American Airlines promo last year

and, for some silly reason,

it still gets me when I watch it.

Something about traveling, family, heading home, Coldplay...

well, it just combines so many things that I love in one short little clip.

Bon Voyage!

Is it bad luck to wish that for yourself? 

Oh well! 

With as much as my back aches while sitting these days, 
I'm taking all the self-prescribed well wishes I can get. :)