to Seattle with love.

i know, i know, i haven't even written about my trip to africa yet and here i am jabbering about seattle. forgive me, i'll get there i promise. this trip was definitely easier to process than my trip to africa so yeah, this post first.

actually, i'm considering making a few posts for this trip, like possibly tips on things to eat, wear and do or if you guys have any other questions i'd be happy to answer them! but first, let me just tell you, i loved seattle and the pacific north west! like LOVED. first timer right here and yes, mind blown, thank you very much.

we got a little taste of both the city and the outdoors just how we like it. rialto beach and olympic national park are at the top of my list and pike place market was definitely my favorite seattle thing. more on those later though. but yeah we had the best time and tried to squeeze as much as we possibly could into those 7 days and i'm mighty proud of how we did! i think we only had one wrong turn the entire time! go team travelers!

anyway, i have no earthly idea why i never realized how much of a fishy watery city seattle is, i mean tom hanks lived on a houseboat in sleepless in seattle for crying out loud and the baseball team's mascot is the mariner...i knew these things. so yeah, fishy and watery, she definitely is that, but she's also so so many other things. i'm talking surprises around every corner, right along with a starbucks. you know, i'm just wondering who DOESN'T want to hit up a starbucks every other block? oh and the hills, can't forget the hills. i worked muscles in my legs that i've never used in my entire life. you know the ones you city walking people you, i tip my hat friends.

the place was, sing it with me now,  "a whole new world! DON'T you DARE close your eyes!". seriously though, the trees were too much and the mysterious way that the water and the city looked perfect together was just...meh ;). i think you get the point. seattle, you are a little stunner aren't you? and you know it!

until next time my love.

sincerely,

the one in boots and jacket. always.

the in-betweens.

sometimes, when i'm least expecting it, i get caught up in the most beautiful moments. there's nothing really special about them. it's just a regular night, you know, the in-betweens. there's no special celebration or birthday or highlight of the day and heck, it was probably most likely a long and rather tedious non-memorable day, but for some reason time just seems to slow down almost like i'm looking in on our life from someone else's perspective, like someone holding a snow globe of my little family looking in on our little home and something becomes special in these tiny fleeting moments as i step away from myself.

just the other night before the kids' bedtime we had a mini pow wow in tenley's bedroom. we went into her tiny dark room and turned on the christmas lights that drape one of the walls and just talked about random things and watched the kids play. we closed out our mini pow wow session as we always do in traditional baker fashion with music and dancing with the babies. nothing seemingly special, oh, but it was!

i really love when these moments happen. when i feel sort of out of my body and i slow down and take it all in. i can really see tenley's fuzzy baby hair and how it's starting to fill in in the back and the way she looks at her brother. i can really hear rylan's voice and feel how tightly he hugs me. and then when i really look at the man in front of me and i'm overwhelmed at how much he loves me and our babies and this life we have made together. these are the moments that i live for. the in-betweens. the regular days. with these regular people. who are far from regular.

last minute valentine's day gift guide for him. it's not too late! i hope...

// 1 // i don't know about the man in your life, but for mine a skinny tie is a great find! we stumbled upon this one at target and it was perfect! nicely priced too. we've also found some good ones at banana republic, gap, and perry ellis.

// 2 // the boys can never have enough comfy shirts, right? #targetdoesitagain

// 3 // chukka boots. the ones pictured here are calvin klein, but i've seen tons of nice ones at j. crew. they're comfy and more appealing to the eye than tennis shoes, in my opinion.

// 4 // wallet. they never leave home without this so make it a good one!

// 5 // nike sports watch GPS. this watch has so many cool features! it has a run reminder, tracks your distance, pace, location, and calories burned! it also helps you set goals and check your progress along the way. great gift for all the "runner" hubbies out there.

hope you all have a wonderful valentine's day! i think we'll be keeping it simple again this year, but that's how we like it. :)

6 years, my love.

seriously? it's been 6 years since the day we got married. i remember it like it was yesterday.

the chill in the air, the ice on the ground, how you ran to me during our "first look", the shake in my voice while saying our vows, the moment we turned and looked at each other with our "i can't believe it-we're married!" faces, the crimson rose petals, and the feeling as we drove away from the reception as Mr. and Mrs. still gives me butterflies!

the past 6 years have been undefyingly beautiful and overwhelmingly abundant in all things. the spiritual growth that has occurred, the day-in-day-out sacrifice you've given, the tears, the laughs and the joy, oh and the love, the love runneth over.

i love raising babies with you, our dance offs, how you can fix anything, watching you and rylan wrestle, road-tripping with you, the way you roll tortillas, how you put tenley to bed at night, sharing "snackies" with you and how you always sing the wrong words to songs. i will always be jealous of your swaddling skills and the way you can back a truck up into the tiniest of spaces, but most of all i love figuring out how to do this life in a way that glories Him with you.

these past few years have only solidified "our verse" Philippians 1:6,
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect in until the day of Christ Jesus".

to say that it has all been easy would be a tall tale, but having you by my side on this journey has been the delight of my life.

i pray that tenley marries a man as good as you and that rylan walks tall in your footsteps.

i love you Mr. Baker,

-the Mrs.

5 years.

on this day 5 years ago we were saying i do's.

there was ice all around, but our hearts were warm.

we were praying for power at the church, but we'd settle for candlelight. 

nothing was stopping this day, not even an ice storm.

it was finals week and your graduation day, but you wanted to marry me instead.

we could wait no longer.

the day had come,
we'd finally be joined as one.
i walked down the aisle to you and we vowed our lives,
together forever, for better or for worse,
before our God.

my voice was shaky, but not in fear.
my heart was strong because i know who holds yours.

an eternity with you is not even enough, but i'm thankful for it and for you and every breath we have together. you are my person. my very best friend. and i am yours. i love you with all that i have and am thankful that He loved us first.

thank you for the past 5 years. you have led well. my love for you is stronger and we have grown so much. i pray for many more years of worshipping our God side by side on earth and for eternity in heaven!

praise Him from whom all blessings flow!
happy anniversary babe, i love you.

Phil. 1: 6
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."

oh my dear.

that sweet face-bah! i can't get enough of him. we did good Mr. Baker ;)

we got some great shots during ry's one year photo session with Oh My Dear Photography! If you remember Courtney did our maternity and newborn sessions as well and it seems like that was just yesterday. seriously, where did the time go?

and since ry isn't technically one yet i'm going to hold off on showing too much, but, you guys, i died over his smash cake pics. 

more to come.

like old times.

you ever have one of those days that just feels like the old days? you know the ones where you decide at 8 pm to load up the pups, hop in your little car and go for some starbucks? the ones where you just go for a drive with the windows down, sun streaming in on your face, and the radio up. the ones where you have nothing to do so you most always end up cuddling on the couch to a movie. sometimes, every once in a while, we catch a small glimpse of our life before we were mommy and daddy. sometimes, most of the time, we can't even remember what life was like before you. and most of the time that's perfectly fine by us. but give us a day with crisp fall air like the brink of winter, rosy cheeks and a side of extra cheesy flirting and we're back in that college town and our hearts feel full again :)

it's my party and i'll cry if i want to.

seriously i cried yesterday, on my birthday, but in a good way.

my birthday hijacking post from the Mr. brought tears to my eyes. it was so sweet and i was so surprised! made. my. day. thank you Lord for such a godly, godly man.

annnnd...

 this is what 27 feels like...i guess...

it's not too bad, although thinking about being a mere 3 years away from the big 3-0 gives me slight heebie jeebies.

i remember when i thought i would never see my high school graduation year, 2004.

i mean, come on, the year 2004 sounds so futuristic right?

or when i was 6 and thrilled about my teenage mutant ninja turtle birthday cake (yes, i was a total tomboy).

and now.

i've graduated from college, been married to the love of my life for almost 5 years, and am a momma to the most amazing 10 month old.

yes, my childhood MASH games were a little off, but i'm so thankful.

especially to not be living in that shack ;)

here's to many more years of full abundant life!

he knows the way to my heart: sugar cookies and flowers.

singing: "you would cry too if it happened to you"

it's that time of the year.

birthday season.
october.
it's a busy time for us.
the mister kicked it off already with his birthday on the 4th.
mine's up next on the 16th.
then the brother-in-law, my mom, and nephew.

with the holidays following shortly after birthday season, the end of the year gets pretty crazy.
so here's to hoping we make it out alive!

and to eating lots of cake! ;)

to the love of my life.

happy birthday.
you are the best husband and daddy we could have ever asked for, and
we are so glad you were born.

our first ALONE date night since baby boy

(chambray: Target similar here, top: Gap similar here, shorts: Gap similar here, watch: Fossil, bracelet: gift similar here)

this past weekend husband and i got to go on our first alone date in 7 months!

can you believe it?! S-E-V-E-N months!

it was so nice to get some time to ourselves.

even as we drove away from the house it was like everything just fell back into place-just me and him.

we had dinner and talked and talked.

then we went on to play some putt-putt.

you can size me up for my green jacket-WINNER by a stroke right here!

also, i'm part of a group giveaway over at Pencilled Daydream-check it out!

Meet the Fockers & the Griswolds

ever have those days, you know the ones where everything seems to go wrong?

the baby won't eat his big boy food. he just tightens his lips when momma's "spoon  airplane" comes in for landing and if you ever do happen to get food into his mouth he just spits it out or somehow manages to fling some onto the carpet and you go to clean it, but end up just basically mushing it in more.

yeah, me neither.

or you try all the usual things to get the baby to sleep, but nothing works. nada. baby turns into a blubbering mess and you want to pull all your hair out.

yeah, me neither.

or when you've played with every toy in the house, but nothing satisfies and you can't help but wonder if baby is teething. then you realize your probably wrong about that too.

me neither.

i can't stand movies like Meet the Fockers or National Lampoon's Vacation where everything goes wrong. seriously, i get so frustrated i want to jump through the screen and punch Clark Griswold and Ben Stiller's character, Greg, in the face!

i'm just thankful that my Mr. is always there to rescue me during my "everything goes wrong" days.

thanks babe. i'm glad you're not Clark Griswold.

dress like a grown up, but don't get all serious.

this past weekend the Mr. and I didn't have a lot going on which was kind of a relief for us since we've been pretty busy here lately.

we ended up at the outlet mall in the city due to a case of cabin fever and 100 degree temps. it's too dang hot out there you guys, where's my pool and shade tree? better yet, where's my friend Mr. Fall? don't get me wrong I love summer, but sheesh!

anywho, we landed ourselves at the mall on a mission to dress the Mr. like a grown up. hubs has always been pretty laid back when it comes to style. he's all about comfort, which i like. who wants their man to be more into style and fashion than themselves? not i.

since the Mr. has to dress at least business casual and sometimes even coat and tie for work, he's most likely to be found sporting basketball shorts and a t-shirt on weekends out or around the house. so i pretended like i was some fancy-schmancy fashion know-it-all, which i'm not, and steered hubs towards items that offered the same feel but with a grown up touch.

i'm proud to say that our mission was a success and the little one and i may have ended up with a few things ourselves. just call me the next Stacy London and give me my own show! style consultant cards are in the works ;)

Here's my pretty

A few of the Mr.'s things

don't go thinking we're a bunch of grown ups now or something,
you'll still find us playing Candyland and "I spy".

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there!

Special thanks to my two favorite dads-my husband and my father.

Thanks for everything you do! 

Piggy-backs, snuggles, and all!

Love you!