happy thoughts.

just a few happy thoughts for today. some of these photos have been hanging around on my computer forever and i've finally found an excuse to share them!

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chillin' in a messy room. you know how so many bloggers post pictures of a super clean room with a small scattering of blocks on their super clean carpet and say something like, "this is real life!" and yeah, well this is my version of that because seriously the mess pictured here isn't as bad as it gets in that room...

deer sighting!

the beginnings of one of favorite prints from last semester... and you guys i'm kind of worried that all of my prints got thrown out because i forgot to pick them up after class ended - wish me luck there!

this, oh my goodness!! i'm obsessed with this picture of asher, his smile + that sunflare. :)

and this... heehee. <3

and THIS.

those moments where my little boys are getting along... all the heart eyes. <3

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( see my other "happy thoughts" posts here! )

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a minute with LifebankUSA.

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( eep, this baby photo of asher!!! )

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     I'm here with my sponsor, the cord blood bank LifebankUSA, once again to pop in and share a little bit about cord blood banking with my readers! Cord blood banking is one of the many, (many) options and decisions on the table for us when we become new parents and if it's something that you have been considering, here are a few facts about cord blood banking with LifebankUSA:

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++ LifebankUSA is a private cord blood bank and one of the few companies that additionally offer placental tissue banking.

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++ Collecting and storing stem cells from a newborn's umbilical cord and from the placenta at birth could one day be used to treat serious illness that may occur in your child or a family member.
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++ Stem cells from cord blood have been used to treat over 30,000 patients worldwide!
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++ Since 1988, transplanted stem cells have been used to treat 80 different diseases!

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++ Saving placenta blood in addition to cord blood preserves a significantly larger amount of stem cells.
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++ LifebankUSA offers many payment plans to help spread the cost of private cord blood banking and to make it more affordable for families.

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     Ultimately, we opted out of cord blood banking for financial reasons when our babies were born. However, I am incredibly fascinated by the science of storing your own babies stem cells to protect your family against disease and it is definitely something I will consider again in the future. 

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     Have any of you stored / or are planning to store your child's stem cells? I'd love to hear more!

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*I was compensated for this post. Thanks for supporting my family by reading along. I truly appreciate it!*
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summer visitors!

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my mom and littlest sister came and visited us in colorado! i'm usually the worst at documenting these types of occasions but since my mom is the best at it, i was able to grab a couple family photos! we were having lunch at a nice little restaurant on the river and it had a great little photo-op spot outside. then it started raining and my sister and i both one after the other accidentally jumped into someone else's car that was gray like mine... oops! i sure miss these ladies and can't wait for their next visit!

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of course my mom insisted that aaron take some solo photos of me...

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one that my sister grabbed of us on my backup camera that i let her use while she was here.
she got some great photos! :)

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happy monday, friends!

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happy friday!

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okay guys, i had to set aside some of these photos that i took while doing our fabkids shoot to share in a separate post, because oh man i love them so much! roman and asher were exceptionally agreeable to getting their pictures taken this day and it couldn't have made my heart happier. we opened up our mail and the boys were both pleased with their new outfits and then i surprised them with these shoes that i had stashed up in the closet to pull out for such an occasion. photographing my children is my passion and when they give in to their mama and let me take their photos, it fills me up.

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are my little boys twins, or what?!  they both have their own unique looks but make the same facial expressions and have so many similarites. man am i blessed.

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<3 

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happy friday ya'll and have a great and fun 4th!

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insta-june; part 1.

well, i'm going to have to spread this one out into 2 posts! we've had a busy month and a fun introduction to summer. i've been back to instagram like crazy now that i have my iphone6 which i'm in love with. i've never even had a smart phone before but i love having a nice camera phone! here are some of my fave iphone / instagram photos from june:
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playing with babies + dragons in the morning light // donuts at 7/11, a summer tradition so far 

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colorado sunsets; literally, they never get old

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we stayed in colorado springs for a week with aaron's family. i got some photos when i came for air from my constant-naptime-hibernation! hiking at the garden of the gods // a cute janky little ice cream place // view of the mountains from colo springs

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more colorado springs pics: another view from the top of pikes peak; can't get enough of these photos! // oh and this big foot sign. oh my gosh i couldn't believe my eyes! we are actually kind of obsessed with bigfoot in my family, sooo yeah, we had to get a picture of this. // cute photos of asher in front of these adorable painted walls at the playground

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two happy mail days for asher and a little sneak peak of two companies that i'll be working with this summer! ;)

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find me on instagram @bygillianclaire and leave me a comment so that i can follow back!

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to be continued ...

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little style / FabKids.

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We've been working with FabKids on my blog for over a year now and I can't believe how much my little boys are growing! I'm pretty pleased with our FabKids picks this month and they have already received a LOT of wear around our house. Well ok, besides the too-hot-for-summer long sleeved shirt that Asher insisted on, because: sharks, duh. These adorable little color blocked shorts that Asher is wearing actually made an appearance on Roman in my very first FabKids post and they are still one of my faves from their site. The green cargo shorts fit my super-hard-to-fit Roman and they are perfect for a little boy who loves to collect rocks and treasures on summer hikes.

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Be sure to check out FabKids, a fun and unique subscription clothing company for kids! Right now they are offering buy one get one free plus free shipping on your first purchase! I'm pretty in love with these pictures of my boys, I hope you enjoy them as well!

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Roman: pirate shirt + green cargo shorts: c/o FabKids, shoes: Old Navy clearance

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Asher: shark shirt + color block shorts: c/o FabKids, shoes: Old Navy

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*FabKids provides clothing for my children in exchange for my work as a Brand Ambassador. Thanks so much for supporting my blog and providing my family with these opportunities; I truly appreciate it!*

in the clouds.

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it's almost july and i'm finally trying to get back to blogging! ( knock on wood... ) i wanted to start off by sharing these misty magical mountain photos. we started off the summer by renting a house in colorado springs for a week and staying with a bunch of family. i pretty much slept the entire time, no joke, i napped and slept a LOT. i think that my body was just utterly exhausted from this year in general that once i actually took a break, i basically passed out. it was lovely.

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some of us drove up to pike's peak one day which is where i took these photos. the drive was absolutely terrifying but i'm glad i made it to the top. the clouds were the best part to me. becoming a part of the sky... such an absolutely wonderful freeing feeling.

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happy monday friends, enjoy!

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