just one more trip

this one.

2012-02-01T13:01:00.000-06:00

oh, for sure that look in his eyes is exactly what you're thinking! this little guy, he's mischievous. but so smart. and witty. this morning he had a nice pee on the toilet. (what? we're potty training so it's perfectly acceptable to speak of pee on this here blog, ok?)

me: "good job on the potty, kiddo."
him: "i not kiddo. my name cayden allen."
me: "oh, well then good job, cayden allen."
him: "thanks."

and then he hops in the shower. like a big boy. the end.

seven months old

2012-01-29T19:40:00.001-06:00

oh, sawyer, not only did we celebrate a new month this time 'round, we also celebrated a new year! no worries though. you didn't really miss anything big. we were all asleep! but that's ok. beauty rest is important. for both you and daddy and i.

this month you decided that solids were good. you've continued to eat them like a champ and here's hoping that you have a little weight gain to show for it! you're also still nursing (five times a day on the weekends!); during the week, we've had to start supplementing with formula to keep up. we mix formula with breast milk and it doesn't seem like you even noticed a difference.

you still absolutely hate tummy time. i'm pretty sure you're quite alright with just sitting still for the time being. in fact, daddy and i have convinced ourselves that you're just not going to crawl. you show no interest in it at all. and that's fine. maybe you'll just skip on to walking. as a side note, daddy and i would be fine if you waited a while to do that, ok?

you are more and more aware of things going on around you. especially your brother. the two of you have played together quite a few times this month. and when cayden decides to be uber-hyper, you think it's pretty much the funniest thing ever.

and speaking of, we found your tickle spot this month. under your arms! you take after daddy in that respect. i'm ticklish pretty much anywhere... but your tickle spots are just like daddy's. your laugh is like none other. it's most definitely more of a chuckle. it brings big smiles to my face.

we continue to fall more in love with you with every passing day. you are our little nugget. we love you so.

a trip to the ENT

2012-01-26T13:36:00.002-06:00

the morning started off early. the kiddo was up at 4:30. in the morning. jeremy put him back to bed while i contemplated going ahead and getting up for the day. and so i did. at 4:55. i did my best to make things seem normal, but on the inside, i had huge knots growing in my belly.

we left the house around 5:40, dropped sawyer off at school and realized that we'd be early to the doctor's office. since the sun wasn't even up yet, we drove past the doctors's office to the top of a hill and waited for the sun to rise. around 6:30, we made our way to our appointment.

the lobby was full of other kiddos having various surgeries done. thankfully there were two TVs to help keep the kiddos distracted. mickey mouse clubhouse? you bet. cayden was in TV heaven for sure. we heard our name called and walked back. then realized they'd called out hayden, not cayden. so back to the lobby we went.

they eventually did call our name and we went back to have cayden's vitals taken. they weigh the kiddos in kilograms there. he was approximately 11.9 kilos. weird. but all looked well so they took us back to cayden's recovery room.

they had toys EVERYWHERE. tons of cozy coupes and other ride-on-car type things. it really was great having all those distractions. they even had a "playroom" with movies showing. cayden picked a car and rode around for a while. then he found the movie room. and well, cayden loves the movies.

a nurse came back to get him and told us to follow her. so we did. then we got to the big, closed double-doors. she looked back at us, said, "this is as far as you're allowed to go," took cayden from jeremy and disappeared. i looked at jeremy and said, "i'm not alright." he looked at me, "that's ok."

we walked back to the recovery room to wait on our sweet boy. he was back before we really got a chance to miss him! maybe 10 minutes? poor thing. so, so groggy. but we were relieved that he wasn't crying. and actually never cried once. and the whines were most definitely kept to a minimum.

the nurse brought him a sprite. i bet it was the best thing he'd ever had. it was gone in a matter of minutes. we went over a few more pieces of paperwork and were told we could go. it wasn't even 9.

cayden took a monster nap – three hours! when he woke up, he was ready to conquer the world! while he was finishing some lunch, the refrigerator made a weird sound. cayden looked over at jeremy and said, "did you hear that?" jeremy and i just looked at each other. apparently it was a sound he'd never heard before. which can only mean that the tubes were already helping his hearing to recover!

before we left the doctor's office, they told us to keep him calm for the day. and we did. for a little while. after that monster nap and a very hearty lunch, little man was ready to go.

those are stickers all over his face. when you ask him where he wants a sticker, i'd say there's a 50/50 chance he's going to ask for it to be placed on his face. tell me that's normal? also, this dog goes with him pretty much everywhere. i'm not entirely sure when the attachment began, but it's entirely too cute.

drips of drool

2012-01-24T12:01:00.000-06:00

jeremy snapped this shot of sawyer at school this morning. it literally takes my breath away. and it wouldn't be a photo of sawyer without the drip of drool on his chin. i double-checked last night and there doesn't seem to be any more teeth trying to cut through. he's just a drooler these days i suppose. oh, and if you look closely enough, you might see a sneak peek of a brand new bib design hopefully coming to the shop soon! (and i say hopefully because it's taken me forever to get things done lately. mama of two is a busy mama.)

and now that sawyer is totally hogging the blog this week, look for an update on cayden tomorrow. he has his tubes surgery tomorrow morning. we have to be at the doctor at 6:45. please keep us in your prayers tomorrow morning if you don't mind. pray that everything goes smoothly and that cayden has no anxiety tomorrow morning. also pray that this helps with his insistent ear infections and that it also helps his hearing recover. thank you so much!

sweet sawyer

2012-01-23T15:47:00.001-06:00

i'm not even sure what i want to say here. it's just, i can't get over the adorableness (yes, that's a word!) that is sawyer at almost seven months old. the cheeks. the lashes. the insane amounts of drool. i love it all. and love every moment we get to spend together. these moments of him depending completely on us are fleeting at best so i'm trying to savor them as long as i can. stay our itty bitty for just a while longer, please?

playing together

2012-01-19T15:51:00.000-06:00

yes, cayden got in his cube all by himself. yes, sawyer had help. (duh.)

yes, i have a slight obsession with the buffy series. no, i never did get season 7. it's still on my list.

yes, i have a few workout videos. and yes, some of them do get used. sometimes.

no, that's not me in the background. it's the boys' aunt "jimmy."
her actual name is jenny but cayden calls her "jimmy" and we all think it's adorable.

yes, that's snot running down both of the boys' faces. it's gross i know, but the point is the cuteness of playing together, right?

i know this is only one of many times that cayden and sawyer will play together... but this is the first time that they've actually really played/interacted together. it touches my heart in ways i didn't even know was possible. so i can only imagine how my heart will feel when they start rumbling and tumbling together. and i can't wait to see how their relationship develops over the next few years.

::sigh::

pieces of my heart

2012-01-18T13:42:00.001-06:00

oh, my boys. there aren't many photos of me with both of them in it together. and when i see them, they make me stop. and gasp. i hold a piece of my heart in my arms. while another piece of my heart walks behind me. this photo was taken a week before christmas and i just discovered it last night. it might possibly be one of my all-time favorites.

(speaking of christmas photos... they got downloaded to the computer last night. i might possibly have the slowest christmas recap out there. but hey, it's fun to relive those moments, right?)

swag swap week!

2012-01-16T13:01:00.001-06:00

we.are.HERE

the long awaited swag swap week is going on right now :)Cliff Notes: All shops participating in the swap get to trade their swag with swag in other shops too!

Not participating in the swap? No Worries! Our shop owners have graciously offered you fine folks COUPON CODES so you too can go all "click, add to cart" crazy on these awesome handmade shops!

Are you participating in swag swap week? Make sure to re-read all the rules and contact your swapper via email! Please make sure your swapper is actually participating in swag swap week by referring to this list :)

Now what are you waiting for? Browse our shops, go swapping, use their coupon codes, and check back later in the week at YellowHeartArt.blogspot.com for group giveaways from some participating shops happening this Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday!

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]

COUPON CODE: homegirl is giving 15% off ALL items in her shop with the code "CELEBRATE", works worldwide too! Go on our friends in Europe and Canada, get shopping!

[shop] [blog] [twitter]

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: enter SWAPLOVE at checkout for 15% off!

[shop] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: enter SWAGER at checkout for 20% off!

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: score yourselves 20% off EVERYTHING in the shop with SWAG20 at check out

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: Enter SWAG20 to get 20% off all these hair lovelies! GO GO GO!

[shop] [blog] [facebook]COUPON CODE: Enter SWAGSWAP20 to nab yourself 20% off! (WOOT!)

[shop] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: If you enter SWAGSWAP12 at checkout you get 15% off on ANYTHING in the shop! ((US & Canada only please)) ((good till end of swap Jan 21st, 2012))

[shop] [blog]

COUPON CODE: Enter SWAG10 at checkout for 10% off! ((US only please))

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: Enter SWAPWEEK for 30% off (WOWZAS!)

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]

COUPON CODE: Enter SWAPWEEK and get 10% off anything your heart desires

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: Enter SWAGSWAP at checkout for 10% off ANYTHING! (holla)

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: Enter SWAGSWAP10 and get 10% off any and all items in the shop!

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]PROMOTION: Free Shipping on all prints until December 20th. No coupon code necessary- all print shipping is already discounted. Free shipping available on U.S. print orders only with discounted shipping rates internationally.

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]

COUPON CODE: Enter "SWAGSHOP" at check out for FREE domestic shipping!

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: Enter SWAGWEEK for 20% off anything in the shop! (she also has items for big people too! Fun iPad sleeves and purses)

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]***IMPORTANT NOTICE*** Kristina had to put her shop in vacation mode during this week, please visit her "sold" section to see what items she has. She will be available for contact. She apologizes for any inconveniences!

[shop] [blog] [twitter]COUPON CODE: Enter SWAG15 for 15% off these ADORABLE purses! (I should know I own 4)

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: Enter "SAVE10" at checkout for 10% off anything you want!

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: Enter "SWAPIT" for 15% off these hand stamped lovelies

[shop] [blog] [twitter]COUPON CODE: Enter "SWAPWEEKLOVE" for 20% off ANYTHING in her shop! (aww yeah!)

[shop] [blog] [twitter] [facebook]COUPON CODE: Enter SWAGSWAP20 for 20% off these lovely rosies!

[blog] [twitter] [facebook]

[blog] [twitter] [facebook] [shop]

Swag Swap Week is going on from January 16th 2012 - January 21st 2012. Coupon codes will expire once the week is over.

we likes the applesauce

2012-01-11T11:46:00.003-06:00

we've had the hardest time convincing sawyer that eating food is cool and exciting. we've tried purees and little bitty chunks of banana. almost always they come back out with the thrusting of his tongue. until last night. little dude decided that applesauce was pretty much the best. thing. ever. here's hoping he continues to explore some new foods and enjoys them as much as he did the applesauce!

p.s. yes, that's a bib with cayden's name on it. what? you'd reuse it too!

better late than never....Top Songs of 2011

2012-01-11T09:38:00.000-06:00

2011 was a wild ride of a year. Started the year off with the passing of my Dad (still tough to swallow sometimes) on the 23rd of January. I was blessed with the chance to go to Cali for his memorial service and see friends and family that I haven't seen in a while. (Isaiah 40:28-31).

Cayden turned two in May and well....our second son Sawyer was born in June. Both have been a joy and absolute blessing. Cayden, you are our little man! You are brave and smart and amaze mommy and I every day! Sawyer...slow down and stop blasting through life so quick..geez. You are precious in so many ways and have a wonderful personality! And Rebecca, oh my sweet wife. Thank you....thank you, thank you...I love you so much. You make heart burst with joy when I see you. You are a great mother and balance me in ways I never knew I needed. I know my mom prayed for you when I was just a young boy to come into my life and I thank God everyday that he picked you.

OK...enough with the crying....Music, music. I could listen all day to music, (I pretty much did when I was a kid, thanks mom!) but then I might look like one of those kids with headphones on that's trying to shut out the world around them when music should enhance the world around us. (Psalms 98:4) This list is what I found myself coming back to and listening to over and over again the past year. Both the boys love good music and Cayden helped me pick some of the songs for this list. Please enjoy my favs of 2011 and I look forward to all the wonderful new music and new bands that 2012 holds. Enjoy and God bless!

Jeremy

Circuital | My Morning Jacket | www.mymorningjacket.com

Somebody that I Used to Know | Gotye | www.gotye.com

Never Tear Us Apart | The Great Book of John | www.thegreatbookofjohn.com
(Representing Alabama)

King of Diamonds | Motopony | www.motoponymusic.com

Second Chance | Peter, Bjorn & John | www.peterbjornandjohn.com

Burn It Down | Sims | www.doomtree.net/sims

Ethiopia | Red Hot Chili Peppers | www.redhotchilipeppers.com

Civilian | Wye Oak | www.wyeoakmusic.com

Barton Hollow | The Civil Wars | www.thecivilwars.com

Lost in My Mind | The Head And The Heart | www.theheadandtheheart.com

Raindrops on the Kitchen Floor | Mason Jennings | www.masonjennings.com

Make Some Noise | Beastie Boys | www.beastieboys.com

Helena Beat | Foster the People | www.fosterthepeople.com

Lament | Mount Moriah | www.mountmoriahband.com

Baby Missiles | The War on Drugs | www.thewarondrugs.net

Warm Shadow | Fink | www.finkworld.co.uk

Settling It Off | Peter Wolf Crier | www.peterwolfcrier.com

Will Do | TV on the Radio | www.tvontheradio.com

Up Up Up | GIVERS | www.giversband.com

Wandering Star | POLIÇA | www.thisispolica.com

Hold On | Alabama Shakes | alabamashakes.bandcamp.com
(Representing Alabama)

ENT

2012-01-05T12:18:00.000-06:00

we had our first meeting with the ENT doctor yesterday. to say that i was a bit anxious about the appointment would most definitely be an understatement. but it went well. the outcome of the appointment was pretty much what we expected. tubes will be put in his ears on january 25.

what we weren't expecting was to hear that our little boy has some hearing loss. poor thing! one ear was worse than the other, but of course i can't remember which was which any more. he constantly has fluid on his ears which is what is causing the hearing loss. the hearing-tester-lady (technical term, promise!) that worked with us seemed pretty confident that what loss he does have should come back, but she also wouldn't guarantee that it wasn't permanent. so we'll see about it all once his tubes are in. i guess all the "huh's?" we've been getting seem a little more warranted now. we're still working on a nicer response than "huh?" though. that? doesn't seem to be going so well. ha.

six months old

2011-12-29T08:26:00.005-06:00

i know. i can't believe it either. sweet sawyer, you're already half a year old. even though we've begged for time to slow down, it hasn't listened and keeps flying by. but that's ok. seeing you grow and watching you learn is well worth it.

you celebrated your first christmas this month. and while you didn't really understand what was going on, you most definitely got a kick out of watching big brother play with all the new toys – both his and yours! you also experienced your first real sickness this month. you developed a nasty cough and mama and daddy thought we should have it checked out. seems as though you're following in big brother's footsteps – double ear infection! ugh. but with some antibiotics, your cough cleared up. you're a trooper though; never once did you act like you felt bad. you looked pretty pitiful, but that's a whole other story!

while you were on your antibiotics, mama felt the syringe hit something pretty hard on your lower gum. and sure enough, we discovered your first tooth the week before christmas. not to be out shown, your second tooth popped through just days before christmas. so two teefs for you so far!

you've found your love for sitting up this month. you're managing pretty well with sitting without support. no worries though, mama and daddy are always close to catch you if you start to fall. your interest in big brother has grown substantially this month. just this morning, the two of you were "playing" together.

while you're still exclusively breastfed, we have tried a couple of solids. first was oatmeal. you didn't much care for it and shoved it all back out with your tongue. we tried applesauce next (suggested by dr. c to help the antibiotics be easier on your tummy). and well, that went about as well as the oatmeal. during christmas we tried itty bitty chunks of banana. and score! you didn't want a ton of it, but you did mash it all up in your mouth and swallow it. so this mama considers that success. maybe we'll try out sweet potatoes tonight to celebrate your six months!

sawyer, this next month is sure to be full of all sorts of surprises. we can't wait to discover them with you.

merry christmas, y'all!

2011-12-25T06:15:00.001-06:00

teacher's gifts

2011-12-22T08:40:00.002-06:00

when i talked about getting crafty earlier this month, i had no idea what i was really getting myself into. i finished up our tree skirt; it turned out quite lovely.

::reminds self to take final photos so that i can post them at some point::

and i got the grandmother's scarves made. they loved them! so that was fun. then, at some point this weekend, i decided that i needed to craft up cayden & sawyer's teachers a little something. by the time i added up all the teachers/helpers/directors/chefs, it equaled 12 gifts. no big deal. i can do this! and i did do it. and, of course, it took me a lot longer to finish them than i thought it would.

but guess what? those teachers? they love the handmade items too. it all pays off in the end. and you know what's awesome? i was able to make myself a little coffee cuff too. and my coffee? it looks happier than it's ever looked before!

candy cane cookies

2011-12-19T15:18:00.004-06:00

as soon as we received the calendar for cayden's class for december, i told jeremy to be on the look-out for holiday party sign-ups. i'm all about signing up for the special treat line now that we had a successful go at halloween. and oh, baby, we snagged it again. (and now that i think about it, i wonder if we're really snagging it? most likely, all the other parents are like, "whew! that cayden kid took that again. i don't have to worry about making something special...")

but i digress. of course i turned to the one place that knows all things about making special treats: pinterest! in particular, i used this recipe. and you know, we bought the extra large bag of the candy cane kisses. those things are so good.

the cookies turned out fabulous. we weren't super-patient when we plopped the kisses onto the second batch that came out of the oven. sure, they looked fine, but as i snagged a cookie for us to test out, the second i tilted it, the kiss melted and ran all over the place. and while it looked a mess, OMG, candy cane icing spread across the whole cookie? to die for good. seriously.

so my suggestion, should you decide to try these out... let the kisses melt some. so. good.

look what we did last night!

2011-12-14T11:48:00.003-06:00

oh, no big deal. sawyer's just sitting up. ON HIS OWN. sure, the curve of the changing pad helped him out a bit. but i promise that i put him on the floor a little bit later and he did several sittings of 15-30 seconds at a time before wobbling over. so exciting! i bet the world looks much more interesting from a sitting position. right, kiddo?

holiday photo fun

2011-12-13T12:34:00.004-06:00

we ordered a new lens for our camera a couple of weeks ago. it came in last thursday and we've pretty much been shooting with it non-stop. it's a 50mm for our nikon that we've talked about getting for-ev-er. and now that we have it, we're not entirely sure what took us so long to finally just do it. but we did, and we're just so excited.

and now that we've declared ourselves PHOTOGRAPHERS (ha!) and that we must shoot ALL THE THINGS (ha, again!), we had a little photoshoot on saturday morning. since we have two cuties now, we absolutely have to send out cards this year. (we did it when cayden was a baby too. last year? not so much!) you know, and since christmas is um, less than two weeks away, why not just now order the prints? last minute, i tell ya.

the photo that made the cut for the card is cute! but you won't see it in the this mix. instead, here are some other very cute options that we'll cherish forever. and we'd like to thank our whisper kitty for being the model while we got everything set up. also? many thanks to sawyer. he put up with a lot while big brother joked around. it was actually pretty funny. these two? they are most definitely going to be the best of friends. oh, and trouble. they're definitely going to be trouble.

poor fella

2011-12-12T21:10:00.003-06:00

i suppose we knew it was only a matter of time before sawyer had his first real sickness. sure, about a week after he started daycare, he got a bit of a runny nose. but that was super easy. this past weekend, he developed a cough that sounded like he'd been smoking for years. his eyes were so watery that he'd just keep them closed rather than open them at all...

so this morning, we made a trip to see his pediatrician. i was about 90% sure that we were dealing with an ear infection. (and oh, how i had hoped that maybe we wouldn't have to deal with ear infections with sawyer.) got him in the room and bam! he was running a fever. um, jeremy and i hadn't even thought to check that. doh. anyway, his doctor took a peek in his left ear and in a matter of seconds said, "yep, there's a mess in there. let me check the other one." and, sure enough, a double ear infection. ugh.

i'm glad we went in and got it checked out. antibiotics have been prescribed, so we're already on our way to getting better. even though i hate that the nugget has been so pitiful, i'll admit that i didn't mind staying home today and squeezing in as much snuggle time as i could. i mean, the snuggles can only make him better that much faster, right?

getting crafty

2011-12-09T08:24:00.004-06:00

with the holiday season coming up quickly (um, two weeks away people. TWO WEEKS!), i've decided that i should just make ALL THE THINGS right now. and by ALL THE THINGS, i mean a tree skirt, christmas presents for all the grandmother's, stockings (that one is SO not happening this year) and other odds and ends that might come up. i have gotten the fabric for the tree skirt and i'm really excited to start on it this weekend. we'll see how that goes...

and then, there are precious moments that spring up that require some things to be made quickly. precious moments like the birth of a baby boy to one of our very dear friends. and if you knew our friends, you'd really understand how precious sweet baby lowen's (cool name, right?) birth was yesterday. i cannot wait to go meet him tonight! with that being said, last night, i whipped up a pretty cool diaper clutch for lowen's mama to carry around.

i think if i could live with chevron-printed everything around me, i might. of course then, i'd probably get really tired of the design and end up hating it all. so that's a bad idea. i'll just relish in the moments that i can create with it. and the blues and greens in this chevron get me every time. (after all, this babe looked really cute wearing it!)

i also grabbed some newborn diapers. (and oh my goodness, even though it was only five months ago, i forgot how good those itty bitty diapers smell!) and picked up some long-sleeved sleepers. i remember going through at least two sleepers a day when sawyer was brand-spanking new. oh, and wipes to fit in the clutch of course. but the cool part? i could fit one of the sleepers, the wipes, and SIX newborn diapers in the clutch. grab a blanket and you're set for at least a few hours with a newborn, right?

santa! i KNOW him!

2011-12-08T09:30:00.004-06:00

oh, santa photos. they're always a gamble, aren't they? last year we were blessed with an epic screaming photo (and the introduction to the fact that santa has a cell phone). our very first year is most likely the best. and while sawyer IS smiling (somewhat) in the photo this year, i'm not much of a fan of cayden's deer-in-the-headlights look. ha! plusalso? the quality of this year's photos was a little lacking. a too-hot flash and lackluster prints have me a little grumbly... but, i am excited to add it to our growing santa photo collection...

on being "home"

2011-12-06T09:17:00.003-06:00

why yes, we do wear halloween jammies in december! and since they're sized for 6-12 months, i'm guessing we might be wearing them in march too. ha!

we attempted to give sawyer oatmeal this weekend. and he seemed like he wanted to like it. but his tongue thrust is still really strong; he doesn't quite get how to keep it in his mouth and swallow. that's all good though. we'll try again in a couple of weeks. with him only being a little over five months old, i'm happy to keep him exclusively breastfed for a while longer.

sunday afternoon was met with both of us holding a sleeping boy in our arms. sprawled across the couch, there were pillows thrown in all directions for us to try and get comfortable. there was a cat somewhere draped across one of my legs. and our sweet, sweet boys... sawyer in my arms and cayden sprawling across his daddy's lap.

that little moment? it took my breath away. and i whispered to jeremy, "these are the moments i want to remember. i wish we had a photographer standing in the corner to freeze this moment in time for us." he just looked at me with a look that said, "yep, i agree."

eventually the sleeping babes woke and chaos ensued. that's just the normal for us these days though. and i think if it had stayed quiet for much longer, jeremy and i wouldn't have known what to do with ourselves. but oh, being with my little family... it's just home.

wordless wednesday: my boys in their bama gear

2011-11-30T16:55:00.001-06:00

five months old

2011-11-29T20:26:00.003-06:00

sawyer, this month has been such a great month! you celebrated your first halloween. you were able to dress up as a skeleton to go trick-or-treating at mama's office. and then on halloween night, you dressed up like a fireman. we ::may:: have recycled your brother's first halloween costumes, but they were just too cute to pass up!

we also celebrated your first thanksgiving. we did it twice! the weekend before the holiday, we spent with your nana and pop. on actual thanksgiving day, we spent the day with your granna and poppa. both places included a lot of food and family. you weren't quite old enough to enjoy the food this year, but you definitely enjoyed all the family.

you found your feet this month too. and it's completely ridiculous. your big brother was never fascinated with his feet, so it's fun for all of us to get to experience something new. if you don't have a hand shoved in your mouth, you're most definitely trying to get your toes in there.

while you aren't quite ready to sit up on your own, you prefer to be sitting rather than laying now. i'm guessing that during this next month you'll most likely master this skill of sitting all on your own. oh, and we pulled out the exersaucer. i'm pretty sure that cayden still enjoys it more than you, but you'll figure it all out soon enough.

sawyer, we all fall in love with you more every day. there's something special about you. and we thank the good Lord for all that he's given us in you (and your brother!) every single day.

chatterbox

2011-11-21T15:00:00.003-06:00

i don't really have any photos to share from the weekend quite yet, but the weekend involved a santa visit and a visit to ice. so, in the meantime, enjoy this little video of sawyer. especially his expression at about 30 seconds in. it's awesome and makes me laugh every time i see it.

new shop update & a few random things

2011-11-17T12:00:00.004-06:00

there are most definitely a few new items in the shop today. yay!

oh, and did i ever tell you that the night before we left for the beach to shoot a wedding, jeremy kind of broke our dSLR? (just the lens, but still. yikes.) yeah, that's cool right? luckily i have an awesome sister who let us borrow hers and its two lenses. otherwise, we'd have been in a bind (to say the least).

and because said sister is so awesome, she let me borrow a lens to shoot the new products. i tried to with my point and click... and yuck! with it being dark in the mornings, and dark at night, there's just no time to shoot them during daylight anymore. and that measly little flash on the point and click was KILLIN' me. too bright. too dark. too, too, too. you name it and it was bad. so yay for sisters!

and then this one time last month, i decided i was crazy and would see if i could get my shop listed on heartsy. luckily the board that reviews everything wanted to work with me (yay!). my sell went live this morning. um, it's sold out. someone's got a lot of work to do over the next month. gulp. wish me luck?

wordless wednesday: pretty much, i'm gonna eat your camera

2011-11-16T11:43:00.001-06:00

wordless wednesday: things that make my heart go pitter-patter

2011-11-09T12:44:00.005-06:00

over the weekend...

2011-11-08T08:41:00.009-06:00

... we went to orange beach (alabama) for a wedding! i'd never been to orange beach, but with it being on the gulf coast, i knew that it would be just as beautiful as the florida beaches i grew up enjoying. and i was right!

only problem was the wind. good grief! we took the boys down to the beach to play in the sand and the wind kept taking sawyer's breath away. poor little guy. thankfully by the time of the wedding, the wind had died down.

the place we stayed was fabulous. we were in a penthouse. a four bedroom penthouse, to be exact. and we tried to pretend we were all fancy, but really, we weren't. we shared the place with jeremy's sister, parents and aunt and uncle.

this place was HUGE though. and even with that many people, it didn't feel tight or overcrowded. we didn't remember to take photos of the place. (except for the freakin' bathroom. and even our bathroom wasn't the largest in the condo!) there is however a video tour of sorts. ahem, please enjoy. (if you get motion sickness, you might want to skip it...)

but back to the reason we were there. jeremy's cousin was getting married and asked him to be the photographer. you want us to come to the beach and take photos of you? um, ok! so here's a sneak peek of a few photos. shot by jeremy, edited by me. (and holly, if you're peeking, these are filters i added to these shots; the original ones will still be on the disk you receive!)

we get excited...

2011-11-02T08:43:00.002-05:00

... around here sometimes. and arms start flapping. and random noises come out. and sometimes big brother makes even louder noises in the background. these little moments are so fleeting. so, so happy to have caught it on film to be able to remember forever.

he definitely received some treats!

2011-11-01T14:49:00.002-05:00

halloween this year was a new experience. cayden understood it. and after hitting up the first house, he was a pro. thankfully, he had his older cousin to show him the ropes. (p.s. they were both so polite. my sister and i were very proud mamas.)

neither of them quite understood the idea of ringing the doorbell once. but that was ok. i'm sure when our lovely neighbors opened their doors to these two cuties, it made up for the fact that their doorbell had been rung three times and the knocking was pretty much non-stop.

cayden very much was in charge of his candy. while his pumpkin was getting quite heavy, he was not a happy camper when daddy tried to carry it for him. and now that i think about it, i wish we had take a little video of him walking around. honestly? with the way he was walking, a penguin costume would've been much more appropriate. we'll just say that he's got waddling down to a tee.

the night was awesome. plenty of other little trick or treaters. and a few older ones who hadn't even bothered to dress up. had i been home handing out candy, i'm not sure that the teens without costume would've gotten any treats. i mean, come on, at least put a little effort into something.

we got home and all of our cheeks were a little pink. cayden was all about his candy stash... but with it being so close to bedtime, we only allowed one indulgence last night. (although thinking back, about eight houses in, cayden was getting pretty slow... so jeremy gave him some whoppers for a little pick-me-up. what? he needed some energy!)

it was a great night and perfect first time trick-or-treating experience in our neighborhood. and this mama is looking forward to seeing what goodies she might be able to indulge in tonight after our little shark goes to bed.

halloween treat

2011-10-31T14:41:00.002-05:00

for years (ok, just a couple of years), i've been itching to be able to create the "special treat" for one of cayden's class parties. there was one year where we made sandwiches for fourth of july. we made the most of it. and then there was another time where we got to take, um, sandwiches again. so. boring.

but this halloween? the hubby was able to sign us up for special treat. (yay!) i couldn't decide if i wanted to make mummy oreos or frankenstein mallows. in the end, this cutie won out. and i think they turned out fabulously. idea first seen on pinterest (where else?) and adapted for a peanut-free classroom. (eyes and nose are skittles. i saw on friday that plain m&m's can actually have a trace of peanuts in the shell. crazy, right?) hope those kiddos are enjoying them. and i bet the teachers are loving all the sugar in them. ha. (sorry teachers!)

four months old

2011-10-29T20:13:00.002-05:00

little dude, today you turned four months old. and you're totally rocking at this life thing. your personality is really starting to shine and you constantly make all of us smile – your brother included! this month we had to visit the pediatrician for your first sick visit. somehow you managed to get a viral rash. and of course, two days after we took you, it cleared up completely.

you want to sit up so badly but have no control whatsoever. it's still fun to watch you try. you love looking at the world around you. your laugh is most definitely contagious. and when you see me or daddy, your entire body recognizes us – from the huge smile to the kicks to the almost jumping, you let us know that you're happy to see us. speaking of jumping, you tried your jumper this month. you don't jump in it yet, but you still dig it.

we have your fourth month well check-up on monday. we can't wait to see how much you've grown since we last went. and we're sorry in advance for the shots the nurse is going to give you. we love you so very much, sweet boy.

then & now: boo jammies

2011-10-28T09:09:00.002-05:00

these jammies were given to cayden by his granna... and while they might be a touch too big on sawyer still, we couldn't resist snapping some photos of him in it to compare them to cayden's photos. to me, i think they're looking less like each other every day. but then others say that sawyer looks just like cayden. i dunno. i can't figure it out.

while we were shooting some photos of sawyer, cayden took a little interest in the camera. that pretty much never happens anymore. i asked if he'd like to sit next to his brother and take a picture and he actually said, "yeah!" so, yay!

then cayden asked to hold sawyer. i'm not entirely sure he understands what that means really. we got sawyer settled in between cayden's lap and then cayden would just go limp, causing sawyer to go this way and that. it's actually a comical little series. yes, that's spit-up in sawyer's mouth in the second photo. and yes, it's being wiped away in the third. these boys. they crack me up.

a celebration of fall

2011-10-27T12:25:00.003-05:00

there's something exciting about the weather turning cooler and going to get pumpkins. while the weather didn't necessarily want to cooperate with us, we pretended it was fall-like and visited a new pumpkin patch this year.

it was a really great place with tons of fun things for the kiddos to do. we went with my family to celebrate my nephew's sixth (6!) birthday. there was a great bouncy area that was awesome to let the littles just run around. two big slides, two bounce houses and an obstacle course. the bouncy house that cayden jumped in was a horse on his back. um, it was strange. but cayden jumped and jumped. until he decided he was done. then he slid on outta that horse's belly.

the hayride to the patch was pretty awesome. the best part? it was pulled by a tractor. cayden stared and stared at that tractor with his mouth wide open. oh, and he tried eating hay. that didn't last long, but hey (hay?), you gotta try it at least once, right?

speaking of hay, over at the patch, there were quite a few hay bales for jumping. and you know, as much as i was afraid the hay would make our little guy itchy, we just embraced it and let him be a boy. (side note: when i took his pull-up off later, he had hay all up in his business. but no itchies. so we'll call it a win.)

and because big brother is totally hogging most of the photos opps in this post, here's one of sawyer. waiting on some cake. (just kidding! we didn't feed sawyer any cake. but we definitely fed our faces some cake. thank you publix for making some good stuff.) and for funsies, here's a look back at pumpkin patch fun last year and then in 2009.

our little guy

2011-10-26T09:35:00.002-05:00

he ::thinks:: he's big enough to sit up or something. totally assisted, of course. laying back and relaxing is totally for the weak. sigh. four months old this saturday, and already searching for his independence.

(please forgive the iphone photos. i apparently really need to upgrade seeing as how the 4s is supposed to have a kick-ass camera on it. or, you know, maybe i could just use a real camera...)

[wordless wednesday] a few things i've worked on recently

2011-10-19T13:28:00.002-05:00

the ruffled burp cloths? i'm in love with. expect to see those in the shop sometime soon!

some sawyer time

2011-10-17T11:02:00.003-05:00

while changing sawyer's diaper yesterday, i realized how amazing the lighting in his room is during the middle part of the day. the sunlight was catching in his eyes just right and i KNEW i had to capture the moment. sawyer was such a good sport too. and in the midst of everything, he decided that he'd roll over for us. quick cheers were given, and then right back to taking more photos.

it's bizarre because while i know i snap tons of photos of this little guy, we've rarely brought out the "good" camera to capture his sweet little life. looking back at our photos of cayden when he was this age made me realize how many things we weren't photographing of our new itty bitty. this? is being remedied starting yesterday.

a little family time

2011-10-12T08:55:00.004-05:00

we took to nature this past weekend to get a little family time in. it's always nice to be able to just get away for a few hours and reconnect with each other and with the world around you.

at our local state park, they have a pretty cool petting farm. having the animals walk right up to you is pretty fascinating.

cayden might have to disagree; he seemed to have a small fear of the goats. they really liked him though. i think it's because they were the same height.

we were able to take a small hike. there's a really cool trail that includes some caged birds that are being rehabilitated (owls and vultures and whatnot). while hiking, sticks became snakes! and acorns were a brand new discovery. being able to see all these things through the eyes of our two year old was a wonder in itself.

at the end of our exploration, we spread out the quilt my grandmother made for me and relaxed for a few minutes. while cayden and jeremy played soccer, sawyer and i sat and watched. it's in those little moments that i stop and really reflect on what my life has become. i have a beautiful family. and as stressful as the world can be, we are so very blessed with what we have.

shop update

2011-10-11T09:42:00.003-05:00

i've been working on a new diaper clutch design and i'm over the moon about how it's turned out. i've been using one of the new styles around town for the last few weeks just to make sure it's everything that i wanted:

• pocket for wipes? check!
• room for four diapers (two for cayden & two for sawyer)? check!
• extra room to hold other essentials? check!
• and a strap to make carrying easier? check!

it's been perfect for dropping the kids off in the nursery at church. and great for quick trips around town too! when we haven't needed a diaper for cayden, this clutch will hold three diapers for sawyer, one (or two) burp cloths and then there's still room to throw an extra onesie in there for those "just in case" moments.

and if you're not a mom, these do make great shower gifts. or you know, they'd also make a cute wristlet to carry around town to hold all your essentials!

tgif

2011-10-07T11:31:00.002-05:00

i can't even being to describe how happy i am about today being friday. (sawyer's really happy about it too!) i'm looking forward to a weekend with my little family and taking time to reconnect with each other. it'll be nice to sleep in (haha, yeah right!) and relax. i'm thinking a trip to our local state park tomorrow might be just the thing we need. (a petting zoo, hiking trails, picnic tables, etc.!)

our boys

2011-10-06T09:15:00.004-05:00

remember how i said that cayden was a little wild this past weekend? yeah, it's stuck around for a bit. and all of this happened BEFORE 7 a.m. this kiddo is go go go. but i honestly wouldn't have it any other way. his energy keeps us moving. and it really keeps us on the edge of our seat. i'm sure we're about to enter into a whole new world of booboos soon. yikes.

as for the little guy, sawyer most definitely has found his voice. last night he wouldn't stop cooing, and this morning it continued on. in the background you'll hear our usual morning routines. talks about what kind of shoes cayden's wearing. and how he got some random owie that he can't tell where it is. you know, the norm. but try to focus on the cute babe making his cute sounds. (it takes a few second to get to the sounds, so just be patient.)

[wordless wednesday] one dollar fun

2011-10-05T10:45:00.001-05:00

p.s. these lasted that one afternoon. that night? they were in itty bitty pieces. but hey, for $1 i can't really complain. & they entertained him for probably an hour. not too bad.

we stepped out.

2011-10-03T11:45:00.004-05:00

... to a wedding, that is! on saturday evening, my second cousin (i think that's right?) was married to a lovely lady. it was neat because it was a second wedding for both of them and very fun to see all their kids involved. we were encouraged to bring our little ones. there were a few moments of tenseness (just for me) while the boys weren't perfect wedding guests. (cue cayden burping out loud. cue sawyer almost crying during vows. cue cayden finding crawling UNDER the pews very exciting. etc.)

but the reception was grand. both boys could be loud. and while sawyer chose to sleep in my arms for most of the time, cayden was a wild man. wild. like we couldn't control him. and that was BEFORE he had a cupcake. looking back, we're pretty sure he was delirious. he'd only had a short nap earlier in the day...

... or maybe it's just because he's two. who knows?

anyway, we got to hang out with family and friends that we don't see very often. and sawyer and cayden both got to meet cousins they'd never met before. and the four of us? we got ourselves another family photo. fun, huh?

[on jeremy] hat, shirt & pants: target; shoes: natha studio (DSW); glasses: runway couture (pelham eye care)
[on cayden] shirt & pants: target; sneakers: consignment find (brand new NB for $6!)
[on becca] shirt & boots: target; skirt: handmade (using this tutorial)
[on sawyer] shirt & pants: baby gap (cayden hand-me-downs)

for i know the plans...

2011-09-30T13:42:00.003-05:00

another new print! in one of my absolute favorite color combinations – gray & mustard! sometimes i have to stop and remind myself of this verse because i get so overwhelmed. and i want things to happen right! now! and this verse? it helps keep me centered and reminds me that as much as i think i'm in control, i'm simply not.

three months old

2011-09-29T08:45:00.002-05:00

three months old! that's crazy talk. but it's all so true, unfortunately. and i say unfortunately because really? i just don't want to believe it. you finally laughed for us last night while we were taking your photos. maybe it's because mama was acting like a crazy-lady trying to get you to look at the camera. it's such a fun laugh. just a short little "ha!" like thing. nothing like your big brother's belly laugh (maybe it'll turn into a fun belly laugh at some point)...

you've decided to have a growth spurt and eat more while you're at school. you made all the daycare ladies think you hated them for a day... until we realized you were just a little bit hungrier. but yay for an appetite and a growing boy!

you're gaining better control of your noggin every day. and LOVE looking around to see what's going on. your favorite things to watch right now are the ceiling light/fan (so! exciting!) and your brother. and your brother? he loves you like crazy. wants to play with you so desperately. no worries, we gently remind him that you're still a teensy bit fragile.

you light up our lives with your silly grins. and we can't wait to see where this next month takes you!

[wordless wednesday] we love the babylegs at our house

2011-09-28T09:01:00.002-05:00

(we put the legs on sawyer & cayden wanted some. cayden decided arms were better than legs. adorable? um, yes.)

one more print...

2011-09-27T13:21:00.002-05:00

... in two different color choices – lemon or coral! this is the day the Lord has made prints available now!

potty training fun!

2011-09-27T10:50:00.005-05:00

big boy underwear + a new bike helmet + tennis shoes + no pants = adorable

can i get an amen? cause, amen! potty training cayden is actually going really well. except for that small tidbit of him not telling us when he actually needs to go to the bathroom. but otherwise? it's going exceptional. he's even got this face he makes and we just KNOW it's time to sit him on the toilet. and he gets so! excited! every time he gets to flush something away.

and i promise we don't let him run around without pants on all the time. in fact? he usually screams until we put pants on him. but not this day. this day he let the adorable shine. and the bike helmet was a consignment sale find on saturday. i'm not even kidding when i say that it has to be on his head when he's at home. at all times.

and p.s. what's more fun than things to play with in the garage? apparently nothing. as shown in this little clip.

etsy additions!

2011-09-23T15:22:00.004-05:00

you guys have noticed that i have an etsy shop, right? and that you can see the latest and greatest right over there in that column (to the right), yes? if so, you'll probably notice something that looks a little new.

it's an idea that's been brewing in my mind for, um, ever. i started toying around with the idea of adding prints to my shop sometime last year. for some reason, the inspiration wasn't quite there yet. and my designs were lacking.

something happened in the last few weeks though. these ideas kept popping up in my head randomly. some of them i was able to hash out. some of them? not so much and they got t-rashed immediately.

i'm really happy with how these three designs have turned out so far and can't wait to start adding more items as the ideas keep coming. (fingers crossed that they DO keep coming.)

coffee & elmo

2011-09-23T09:47:00.004-05:00

the work week can be hard sometimes. it's easy to lose perspective on the things that are important. and it's even easier to lose sight of the small things. the little things that make you smile. or make you relax. or just make you, well, you.

things like coffee. and the smell that fills my car when my coffee mug goes from being unopened to opened. it's like breathing in relaxation for me. all the stress that was sitting in my body just goes away as that warm smell takes over my body. big sigh.

or you know, when you're trying to get this perfect shot of the boys in their matching elmo shirts. the infant screams for most of the shoot and the toddler can't. sit. still. so honestly? there's not a photo worth framing. but then i step back and really look at the photos that didn't turn out how i wanted. and there's definitely something there. that little smile the toddler gives. and the way the light is captured in his bright blue eyes. and the all-knowing look the infant gives at just the right moment... it turns out the photo is just. perfect.

today i'm linking up with lindsay over at from the aisle to aloha:

[wordless wednesday] bath & glow sticks

2011-09-21T12:09:00.002-05:00

saturday morning iphone fun

2011-09-19T11:38:00.004-05:00

we did a little this [eating breakfast & snoozing]:

then a little this [snoozing & "makin' copee"]:

some of this [swinging & nursing]:

and this [watching cousin ethan play soccer]:

also a little video of "makin' copee." please forgive the puke-worthiness of the clip. we go over railroad tracks (which you'll hear me say cause, duh, obvious). but it's worth the memory. for us.

totally & completely random thoughts

2011-09-15T13:04:00.006-05:00

• i had the weirdest dream about pumping last night. i was at work and the room i had to use was really nice. with a tv and everything (in real life? it's a supply closet. neat, right?). the weird thing though? there were tons of windows to the outside world. and they weren't covered in any way. this didn't seem to bother me. nor did all the co-workers that kept walking in on me. what did bother me? the fact that i forgot to attach the bottle to the horn so i was pumping breast milk into nothingness. it was going everywhere. woke up to the sads about all my wasted milk. luckily nothing like this has happened today. because, woah, that'd just be very strange.

• i have a habit of checking my teeth after lunch with my web cam. hey, it's convenient. and i bet some of you might start doing this yourselves. way easier than walking to a mirror. now that i do it every day, i'll usually snap a photo to send to my husband of me being ridiculous (cause that's what i'm best at). today? realizing that if my arms are super-close to the camera, they look HUGE. ha!

• the missoni hype at target? some of it was cute. some of it wasn't. but for reals, why in the world were people buying ALL of it just to list on ebay and make money off it later? completely beyond my comprehension. it's selfish, y'all. if you're not going to use, leave it for someone who does want it, ok? geez.

• favorite toddler moment this week so far: telling cayden i'm tired. cayden responds with, "yeah mommy. i tire. RRRAAAWWWWRRRR." oh sweetie, that's so cute and funny, but i'm tired, not a tiger. love that kid.

• oh, and i got my hair cut. see ridiculous photo above for reference.

[wordless wednesday] cayden wants to hold sawyer

2011-09-14T08:41:00.001-05:00

i remember

2011-09-11T19:38:00.002-05:00

i remember that day. i remember being at work. i remember being annoyed that my cubbie mate listened to her radio too loudly every day. i remember hearing snippets of the first tower being hit. i remember hearing on that radio about the second tower being hit. i remember thinking it must be some sick joke the radio station was playing.

i remember realizing that it wasn't a joke.

i remember calling my sister, urging her to wake up and turn on a tv. i remember trying to get in touch with recent college friends in new york. i remember frantically searching the internet for the most recent news.

i remember going to lunch for a colleague who was leaving our company. i remember watching the tv in that italian restaurant. i remember president bush addressing the nation while we all looked around at each other in disbelief.

i remember not doing any work that afternoon. i remember crowding around a tiny tv in the editorial offices. i remember not closing my mouth and repeatedly saying "oh my gosh."

i remember watching both towers fall. i remember crying for the thousands of people i didn't know. i remember crying for all the people that lost members of their family that day.

i remember being terrified for our nation. i remember not knowing how to feel.

i still remember how that day made me feel. and how my heart aches for the loss of those innocent people. and how my heart aches for all those still affected by that day. and how my heart aches any time i see a photo or video clip from that day.

i remember.

we. are. family.

2011-09-09T11:40:00.003-05:00

anyone got a song stuck in their head after that title? no? just me? let me repeat it then: we. are. family. and we so are! not just a little family of three. but a family of four. jeremy and i have kids. plural. children. not just child. however, that's so not the point of this...

cayden's starting his 2k program at school and they sent a request home for us to send in a photo of our child all by himself, a photo of the our home and a photo of our child's family. short of a couple of photos in the hospital when sawyer was born, we really didn't have a photo of just the four of us together. and because we're not normal people around these parts, we decided to not have someone snap a shot of us. we decided to try a fun approach to a family photo. sure, we could've all just stared at the camera, but where's the energy in that?

and to try to keep things from being stale, we gave cayden the remote for the camera. so we weren't really sure when he was going to press it... some of the photos did turn out a little staged. in the end, we ended up going with this lovely one. more natural of everyone. and while it's not the best photo, i think it ended up showing our family more than a staged photo would have. and it made it to our wall-of-photos that we're constantly adding to in the family room.

tuscaloosa

2011-09-08T10:41:00.003-05:00

tuscaloosa. where do i even begin? we had a great trip. major traffic on the way to the game. and tons of cars flying their alabama flags. cayden couldn't say "roll tide" enough! every where he looked there was some form of roll tide. poor kid. i don't think he really got why there was so much roll tide everywhere. good stuff for sure.

but getting off the interstate and rolling into town? was a completely eye-opening experience. mcfarland doesn't look the same because of the tornados that came through in april. it was just weird. and going down 15th street? i got lost. seriously. my landmarks weren't there. there was simply nothing. tears welled up in my eyes despite my best effort to keep them at bay. my old apartment that i thought made it through ok? must have had awful damage because it wasn't there anymore. i couldn't even tell you where it would've been. it was just that desolate.

anyway, back to happier things! the game was so fun. we sat down and pointed out the field to cayden and he was all about it. we got him a ginormous hot dog (which he ate almost all of; little dude can take down a hot dog).

it was hot. and sawyer for sure let us know that he was uncomfortable. thankfully the stadium is huge and loud so a baby crying is far from distracting. but once he was fed and a little more comfortable he was all good. and let me tell you, despite the fact that the ergo we bought is the "performance" one, it was still hot. breathable material had nothing on the heat and humidity that day. sawyer and i were both soaked from sweat.

while cayden ran around and watched football, sawyer took quite a different approach to the game. an older man walked behind me and paused, looked at sawyer sleeping on the ground, smiled, look confused and then walked off. pretty awesome that he was able to sleep through the game.

by the time halftime rolled around, we had to head on out. the two year old was no longer controllable. i'm so thankful that jeremy's boss gifted us those tickets and that the area we were sitting in was much larger than regular seating. otherwise? i'm not sure we would've made it to halftime. we were able to listen to the rest of the game on our way home. and best of all, we were able to avoid the after-game traffic. (we fought traffic the whole way there, so fair enough that we were able to miss it on the way back.)

sick day turned craft day

2011-09-02T12:44:00.002-05:00

i don't do well with sick days. i have a hard time sitting still and not doing anything. but with a stuffy (very stuffy) head, there isn't a lot i can do without feeling like complete crap in about 2.8 seconds. by the way, me and my neti pot? we're like BFFs this week. it's such a disturbing, but completely can't-turn-away-from-it, experience.

but i digress. so i needed something to do. last weekend i bought buttons to make us an A monogram ala these on pinterest. simple enough, right? no really, it was really simple. and fun. and no one got hurt or out of breath in making this. yay!

here's how i made mine... i had these little canvases that i had purchased to do some art project with. and of course, i never got around to doing it. but hey, this little canvas just happens to be the perfect size to fit in an area that needed some help on our photo wall (that's still a work in progress). so i gathered my canvas and buttons, printed out an A that i liked and then lightly traced it onto my canvas.

hey, look, some of these buttons are fastened by staple thingies. not. cool. after trying my best to pry them open with my fingernails (it didn't work), i got smart(er) and found a small flat head screwdriver to pry them open. and a big thanks to my sweet husband who brought me a sweet tea. without that tea, i may have given up on button removal until he got home. sugar helps everything.

once buttons were ready to go, i started laying them out in a pattern that i thought would work. be patient with this process and don't glue first. i'm glad i was patient because i ended up rearranging several of the buttons – especially when i stepped back and took a photo. the first couple of arrangements had entirely too much gray in them. so yeah. be patient.

and ta-da! see how it fits so nicely in that little area there? oh, and please ignore our poop colored walls. that's the color that the contractors painted it. picture this wall with a soft gray behind it. ahhhh, that's better, right? if the room weren't huge with like 18 foot high walls (i'm for serious!) it would already be painted. i actually think we might hire someone to paint this room at some point. but that's not the point of this post. look – crafty!

roll tide, people!

2011-09-02T08:21:00.002-05:00

it's that time of year again. the weather starts to cool off and you can just smell fall in the air. oh, what's that? it's still mid-90s every day and no hint of fall? yeah, that's right. but let's just pretend. either way, it's september which means the beginning of football season. yay!

we have plans to actually take both boys to the alabama game tomorrow. first game for both of them. sure, sawyer isn't going to remember it, but we literally can't wait to see the excitement on cayden's face when he realizes what we're doing. he loves watching football on tv, so we're hoping he's just as excited when he sees his beloved "roll tide" take the field.

it's a really early game tomorrow (11ish), so tailgating will be a little calmer than previous years. after the game? i imagine it'll be party city. we'll be long gone before that party gets started. getting stuck in that traffic is never fun. add in people drinking and trying to drive. yeah, no thanks.

we're looking forward to getting cayden some shakers and some overpriced stadium food. i'm only kind of worried about all this going on during his naptime. but i'm guessing the excitement will win out and we'll get an awesome nap out of him on our way home.

we have a few other plans for the labor day weekend. here's hoping the weather will hold out for them. although honestly? some rain would be nice. and maybe, just maybe, it'll bring that fall weather we're all longing for. hope everyone else has a fabulous labor day weekend!

two months old

2011-08-29T08:56:00.004-05:00

sawyer, this was a big month of changes. daddy and i moved you to your crib a few weeks ago. you had been sleeping in our room. but guess what? we all sleep better. in fact, you started sleeping through the night as soon as we moved you! you go to bed between 7-8 and sleep until 6. thank you so much for being a great sleeper! you also started daycare this month. it's only your second week, but you most definitely seem to love it. this mama is very thankful for that. let's see... you also met all of your great-grandmothers this month. and? you took your first road trips. the first one was to jasper (right around an hour trip). and the very next weekend we made the trip to tennessee (three hours)! you don't really love your car seat, but you manage ok.

you're already trying to laugh and the sounds you're making are so much fun! you surprise yourself all the time with your sounds. which just makes me laugh. hard. your brother loves you to pieces and he can't wait for you to be big enough to really play with him. we all are so in love with you. just, you know, quit getting older so fast, ok?

[wordless wednesday] sawyer's first day

2011-08-24T10:27:00.000-05:00

cayden sings

2011-08-23T08:36:00.002-05:00

he doesn't quite have all the words down. and twinkle, twinkle and the abc's kind of run into the same song most of the time... but it's just oh so cute. and when we help him finish the song, he always stops and then says, "yay!" oh, and please ignore the boogie he's digging for and then is obviously studying for a few minutes. boys.

dog days

2011-08-22T13:48:00.003-05:00

it's hot. it's been really hot. and i'm not sure that it's going to cool off any time soon. we were finally able to get to a pool this summer. sure, it's basically the end of august, but hey, we'll take what we can get.

we were visiting my parents and their neighborhood has a pool. speaking of, our neighborhood is supposed to have a pool. it doesn't. but, BUT, we did happen to find out last night that once 17 more homes are occupied in our neighborhood, then the pool will be built. so that's actually pretty exciting. especially considering there's a new builder in the 'hood and currently there are six new homes being built. so maybe we'll have a pool by next summer. or the one after that. either way, we plan on staying in this home until our kids are out of high school, so we should be able to enjoy it for a while.

anyway, it was cayden's first dip since last summer so we weren't entirely sure how he'd like it. kids are weird like that. last year he absolutely loved it and had no fear of the water whatsoever. this year he still loved it, but he was for sure a little more wary of it. he didn't want his head going under much. once we were in the water for a while, he did gain some confidence and tried to swim to jeremy. which was awesome. except for the teeny fact that he swallowed half the pool.

it was also sawyer's first dip ever! we felt comfortable with it because it's a saltwater pool. no worries, we only had him in the sun for maybe five minutes? and not a full on dip into the water; just his toes. and why don't the little swimmers people make infant sized swimmers? a size small has a 16 pound minimum. not cool people. (as for a side note, cayden calls the swimmers "movie diapers." cause nemo is on them. duh.)

then & now: cloth diaper edition

2011-08-19T10:32:00.003-05:00

we started using cloth diapers on sawyer this week. we knew it'd be a little different than with cayden since cayden was formula-fed. i'm talkin' going through diapers like they're going out of style here! but the cool thing about sawyer's diapers? because he's breastfed, we don't have to wash out his diapers first. i was a little leery leaving that poop in the diapers until we washed them, but it was like magic. with a cool rinse before washing, they came out perfectly clean. not one stain on them! now, if we could just get cayden out of diapers, we might have enough to last us an entire two days... one day.

and for fun, here's cayden and sawyer in the first few days of cloth diapering. obviously sawyer's a bit happier in his photo... but for the most part, these two are starting to look more and more different. sure, in the first comparison i did, they had very similar looks. but now? sawyer's most definitely starting to look like, well, sawyer. so fun to be able to compare how they look at similar times in their lives...

[new product] baby kimono shoes

2011-08-19T10:09:00.002-05:00

take a look at these! aren't they adorable? little bitty kimono shoes for your itty bitty! available in four different sizes and several different color options. all made out of soft cotton in fun colors and patterns.

[new product] medium wet bags

2011-08-18T13:52:00.002-05:00

ok, you got me. not necessarily a new item, but it's been months since i've had any in the shop so it's kind of like they're new, right? no? eh, new[ish] it'll have to be then.

these wet bags are just the right size for when i'm out running errands. i can easily fit two soiled cloth diapers in them. and with the snap handle, i can attach them to the diaper bag or the stroller. that way i can always see them and i never run the risk of leaving these dirty guys in the diaper bag. (i mean, not that that's ever happened. and you know, i've never left a sippy cup of milk in my car for a few days, or weeks, either. nope, never. cause gross.)

whenever i use our wet bags, i just throw them in with my cloth diaper laundry. and because i'm usually totally lazy, i throw them in the dryer too. (as with anything, i'm sure they'd last a lot longer if i didn't dry them, but i do.)

so that leaves one more day of new product. and it's definitely one that you guys haven't seen from me yet. i'm a little excited about it and how cute it is! yay for fridays!

ten little piggies

2011-08-17T15:37:00.003-05:00

the little man had his six week check-up this past monday (he's seven weeks old today!). and while weight was a concern at his two week check-up, both the nurse and our doctor commented that he definitely had gained the weight that he needed to. whew! and plus also? he's getting fat rolls! too, too cute!

[weight] 10 pounds, 15 ounces
[height] 23.50"
[head] 15.50"

he's grown two inches in less than two months. at this rate, i'm afraid he might actually grow out of his infant car seat way before cayden grew out of his. gulp. we might have a tall fella on our hands. oh well, it'll be a fun reason to buy a new convertible car seat!

anyway, as sawyer napped in the swing last night, his little feet were sticking out of his blanket and i couldn't resist shooting this photo real quick-like. he's such a sweetheart. i'm having a difficult time thinking that i'll be back at work this time next week. boo.

[new product] infant rosette headband

2011-08-17T11:09:00.002-05:00

and day three of new products is here! be sure to check out monday and tuesday's new products when you get a chance. today is another infant headband in which i torture my infant son for the sake of photography one last time.

this sweet single rosette headband won't overwhelm your itty bitty's head and will add a perfect little pop of color to an already adorable outfit. like the felt headbands, this one will also fit toddlers and adults.

[new product] fabric rosette pendant

2011-08-16T08:24:00.002-05:00

rosettes are everywhere these days, but you hardly ever see them hanging out by themselves! clusters of rosettes are beautiful, but i wanted to simplify the look with a rosette pendant. it's a great piece to wear with a t-shirt or dress. and gives just a little splash of color to wake up your outfit.

the rosette hangs on a silver 24" ball chain and comes in a variety of seven colors. (apparently i have a thing for seven color options. not intentional, but isn't it nice to have options?)

[new product] infant felt headbands

2011-08-15T15:55:00.004-05:00

since it's my last full week at home, what better way to celebrate than to introduce some brand new products this week. yep, every single day this week, i'll be introducing a new product to the shop (ok, fine, one of them is a re-introduction, but they haven't been in the shop in months, so it's like new).

up first? this adorable felt headband. and no, i swear that's not my son modeling it! promise. but shhh! it totally is. i figure by the time he's old enough to know any better, these photos will be long gone. it just so happened that i wanted to do an infant headband and ta-da!, i have an infant at home. so see, they look equally as precious on little boys... although i'd suggest buying them for itty bitty girls unless you want to get weird looks.

they come in a variety of seven colors – just enough options to wear a different one every day of the week. and if you just can't stand the itty bitties having all the cute fun, the headband will stretch to fit adults too. so fun!

peace & quiet

2011-08-14T17:48:00.002-05:00

some days, peace and quiet are a hard thing to find in our home. between an infant that relies on us for everything and a toddler that's going through all sorts of two year old issues, it really can be quite chaotic around here sometimes. for example, let's say that said toddler all of a sudden needs his tennis ball (what tennis ball? who knows!?!?) and he doesn't get it, something like this might ensue:

when i showed the video back to cayden, he actually laughed at it. so maybe he understands that it was a little ridiculous? maybe? yeah, ok, probably not.

but you know what? at the end of the day, everything is just right in our world. we say a little prayer and thank the lord above for the precious gifts he's given us. even if they drive us a little crazy sometimes...

future stylist?

2011-08-12T13:23:00.002-05:00

methinks probably not. this is how we went to the farmers market. you've got to love the boots and the "bracelets." (we attached some to sawyer's car seat, so cayden wanted some "bracelets" too.) i will admit, he looked so ridiculous that it was adorable. and the comments we got from different people was a lot of fun.

favorite comment of the day? older lady oohhh-ing at sawyer, then she sees cayden. looks back and forth and then asks, "are these two brothers?" um, "yes ma'am." older lady then points out the obvious, "but he's blonde and this one has such dark hair." really lady? i hadn't noticed that. but thanks. should we have a discussion on how genetics can work? i mean i'm a redhead and my sister's a brunette. our parents have different color hair... isn't that how it's supposed to work? different outcome probably almost every time one has a child i would guess... wow, um, tangent what?

anyway, this is how cayden frolicked after we shopped. there was some creek-wading first which somewhat explains the lack of footwear and rolled up shorts. i hope.

it was hot, so we weren't able to play very long. but a good time was had by all and cayden was asleep before we were able to get very far from the market. operation have fun and wear out the kiddos was a success!

on breastfeeding

2011-08-10T07:34:00.003-05:00

when i was pregnant with cayden, i was looking forward to breastfeeding him. i bought the pump, knowing i would need it when i went back to work. i read all sorts of books and asked questions on message boards. i felt like i was as prepared as i could be. cayden arrived and latched on perfectly. when we left the hospital, he was down some weight... just as every newborn is. the bad news came two days later when we went in for a weight check at the pediatrician's office. his weight had dropped even lower and when the words "supplement with formula" were uttered, i was devastated. i cried the whole way home.

the doctor we saw suggested pumping just to try and get my supply up. so i did. anything to be able to enjoy that time with my little guy. i'd pump for half an hour and come up with one ounce of milk – that's only half an ounce per breast. after two weeks, and that was still all i was getting, we moved on to formula. cayden was healthy, and in the end, that's all that mattered to us.

so, while pregnant with sawyer, my anxiety about breastfeeding was slightly raised i suppose. people would ask if we were going to breastfeed. and i'd say, "yes!" with my fingers crossed, hoping for luck in that department this time 'round. i'd kept my pump from my days with cayden. after all, it was practically brand new.

sawyer arrived and again, latched on easily. then the second day in the hospital, he was a sleepyhead. wouldn't wake up for anything. and went five hours without nursing. the nurse we had that day "encouraged" us to try formula. and by encouraged, i mean she pretty much told us that if we didn't get him to eat and soon, that she'd have to call in the pediatrician. we got sawyer awake enough and he choked (quite literally) down some formula. enough for the nurse to be satisfied at least. about thirty minutes later, the lactation consultant came back in and asked how things were going. we told her about the formula situation and you could see that even she was irritated. she told me that sawyer would've most likely been fine and to still try to nurse him. and yay! he nursed perfectly at his next feeding.

anyway, sawyer dropped the normal amount of weight while in the hospital, but we still had to go for the two-day check for his bilirubin levels. while there, they weighed him and he'd dropped even more weight. and i saw our problems starting all over again. born at 8 pounds, 12 ounces, he weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces at that check-up. almost a full pound lost. the pediatrician we saw that day (not ours, it was a sunday so our regular guy wasn't there), encouraged me to keep trying with the breastfeeding. that my milk was probably still trying to establish itself. no mention of formula at all.

and i. was. relieved.

at sawyer's two-week check-up, he was back up to 8 pounds, 4 ounces. which wasn't exactly where he should be; he was supposed to be back up to birth weight. after talking things over with our pediatrician (and formula still not mentioned), he just wanted us to keep an eye on his weight over the next week or so and make sure that sawyer was putting weight on.

i kept an eye on it (and am still weighing him every few days). and guess what? he currently weighs around 11.5 pounds and is gaining every day! and by the grace of god, it's all been through breastfeeding! i mean, my body has been able to work properly this time and i've been able to feed him only breast milk (save for that one time in the hospital; grr!) for the last six weeks. i'm so, so, so happy that i'm able to experience this with one of my children. my first goal is to hopefully make it until at least six months. i go back to work in two weeks, so i'm sure pumping every day will get old fast... but i'm just so proud and excited. and i just want other mamas to know that if it didn't work the first time for you guys, it CAN work the next time!

new things

2011-08-05T14:41:00.003-05:00

yep, a couple of new things going on in the allen household. first off? cayden got these awesome new sneakers last weekend and has pretty much refused to take them off – with bathing and sleeping being the only exceptions. that's ok though cause they're ridiculously cute. i mean, converse combined with dinosaurs? what two year old ISN'T going to love these? and hello, small human being-sized converse? it's just really hard to go wrong. (also on the plus side? velcro. cayden's already sort of learning how to put them on by himself. with the way velcro opens though, he keeps wanting to put them on the wrong feet.)

sorry for the poor quality/iphone photo

the other new thing? oh, you know, it's no big deal really. it's just that our big boy pooped on the big boy potty wednesday night! ok, so it's a HUGE deal! there's actually a photo of the poop, but i can't imagine anyone other than me and jeremy would want to look at that. if you really want to see it, just ask and i'm sure we'll share it with you. anyway, it was super exciting and here's hoping that he continues to want to go potty. (and yes, my twenty year old self would die if she were reading this today. how far have i fallen to be excited about poop? but for real. it's exciting stuff!)

one month old

2011-07-29T20:14:00.003-05:00

huh, what?!?! a month old? geez. with a second child, time is flying by even faster. for reals. sawyer is such a delight for us. and as much as we feared this child would be the complete opposite of cayden, we've been blessed with another great sleeper and overall even-tempered infant. whew. if we have a third child, they're bound to be wild, right? but we won't dwell on that right now.

sawyer, you're a dream come true for this mama. and just today, you gave me the best open-mouthed grins anyone could ask for. i look forward to the day you coo back to me in response. but for now? i'll take the sweet little noises you make and the awesome grunts too... even though those are usually accompanied by some other noises too. (which as a completely mature adult [ahem!] still make me giggle. even better? when the two year old tells sawyer to say "muse me." too funny.)

gettin' dirty

2011-07-28T14:01:00.002-05:00

jeremy and cayden had another little adventure. they went across the street where the neighborhood hasn't been developed yet and got a little dirty. it rains almost every afternoon right now (a nice little addition to our humidity problem; ugh), so it was a little bit muddy. jeremy and cayden both wore their boots. and after seeing them walk back home, i'm glad they had boots on for sure; their feet were dirty enough as it was.

cayden actually took a face plant at some point apparently. he had mud/dirt from the top of his face into his socks! straight to the bath for that little guy. anyway, they apparently had a great time. jeremy tried to teach him to climb hills. for a two year old that still falls quite frequently on flat ground, jeremy said he did pretty well. apparently we're "training" him for some future hikes. or something like that...

wordless wednesday: booboos before 7:30 a.m.

2011-07-27T16:26:00.001-05:00

rolling over

2011-07-20T14:31:00.004-05:00

so, yesterday, i tweeted this:

and yes, i for sure thought it was a fluke. until he rolled over again last night when jeremy got home. and just now, i caught this little clip. at first i thought he was going to get stuck on his arm (i think we all know getting over the arms are the major issues when trying to roll over), but then? he just plopped on over to his back! crazy. (and no, he doesn't really enjoy tummy time. but that's ok too. )

after looking back through the blog, cayden first rolled over at almost four months old! what the heck? is sawyer some genius kid, or is it really all still a fluke? i mean, he was lifting his head up the afternoon he was born, so i'm not sure i should expect anything different. i knew he was going to be feisty. i think i was right.

cayden's silhouette

2011-07-19T09:59:00.002-05:00

{original image}

{finished silhouette}

it's about time, right? i make these for other people all the time but had never made one for cayden. i even have one for me and jeremy already hanging in the family room (and they've been there for months and months). why hadn't i done one for cayden yet? the biggest reason? trying to get a toddler to stand still to get a good profile shot! but i had jeremy shoot it while i had cayden look at me and it worked perfectly. the best part? i also got about a gazillion kisses during the shoot because i was down on his level for so long. made this mama's heart melt just a bit.

sweet boys

2011-07-15T11:33:00.002-05:00

finding time to post gets a little tricky these days, but trust that all is going well! we tried a photo shoot with the boys. and this is about all we managed to get. by the time we were about to get just the right shot, cayden was "all done" holding sawyer. but we got a couple. that top shot though? love it.

little adventures

2011-07-09T14:00:00.002-05:00

admittedly, we weren't entirely sure how bringing home a newborn would change cayden's world. i think jeremy and i probably both prepared ourselves for the worst... cause really, if you're expecting the worst, there's only room to be surprised, right? and surprised we were! cayden loves his little brother. gives him kisses all the time. wants to crawl up on him and hug him. and always says "hi!" to baby sawyer first thing in the mornings.

of course, we have those moments where sawyer's crying and cayden tells him to "shhhh!" (complete with finger to his nose [?] – it's close enough to his mouth, right?). and if cayden runs into something, or hurts something, he's much quicker to climb into someone's lap now. the whining from cayden has gotten a little worse, but we can't decide if it's the fact that he's two. that his two year molars are coming in. or that we brought home a new itty bitty. my best guess? all three.

so the other night, after we'd put cayden to bed, jeremy was out in the garage working while i was feeding sawyer. i heard cayden's bedroom door open and then close. about 20 seconds later, jeremy came in running for his camera (apparently the clouds from sunset needed to be captured). i mentioned that cayden had opened his door, so jeremy went to look. the sweet kiddo was laying in the hallway outside of his room listening to what was going on. instead of putting him directly back in bed, jeremy scooped him up and took him outside with him. a little adventure – especially since it was way past bedtime! i think these little adventures are something that our sweet cayden is going to need more of. because while it's important to pay attention to the newborn's needs, it's also important for us to give cayden some individual attention too. and these little adventures? are something i'm looking forward to.

then & now: bath edition

2011-07-07T13:15:00.002-05:00

just a little side-by-side comparison of our two itty bitties. they most definitely resemble each other, but are so very different all at the same time. and yes, we tried to recreate the original photo of cayden with sawyer so we'd be able to do this just for fun. and hey, maybe one day the boys will like being able to look at photos like these.

fourth of july

2011-07-06T10:21:00.002-05:00

having a holiday weekend right after giving birth kind of rocked. i mean, i was off work anyway (as was jeremy), but school was closed. so we got to all spend an extra long weekend together. just the four of us. the four of us. we have children. as in plural. crazy. and so very awesome.

we took it easy. generally we spend the holiday in tennessee with my parents and watch awesome fireworks (that are super close to their house and HUGE), but obviously, this year the traditions had to change a bit. i don't think we got out of jammies until mid-morning, which was really nice.

when we were younger, and my dad's parents were alive, we used to go to their house in the country. we'd all sit outside and eat watermelon out of pie plates and wait (not so) patiently for the 4-5 different types of homemade ice cream that were churning. i can still hear the sounds of those ice cream makers cranking out the goodness.

while we didn't enjoy homemade ice cream, we did continue with the watermelon tradition. the toddler screamed when we tried to take his shirt off, so a watermelon covered shirt and face it was. the watermelon was very juicy and perfect for the hot and humid day we had.

sawyer wasn't quite ready to enjoy the watermelon (duh), but we most definitely wanted to get a photo of our boys (!) in their red, white and blue together. unfortunately, it rained mid-afternoon so all our good light disappeared before we were ready. but hey, we'll take what we can get. cayden's never looked SO. BIG. but what a great big brother he already is. sigh. we're so blessed.

meet sawyer wray

2011-07-05T12:05:00.003-05:00

our sweet boy joined the family last wednesday. i had a scheduled induction and it went beautifully. we showed up to the hospital around 5:45 that morning. we were quickly informed by our nurse that we were in a "competition" with the next door neighbors to see who could have their baby first. haha! (it was their fourth baby, so we were pretty sure we were already losers. but we won. by a long shot, apparently!)

my water was broken around around 7 am, and by 8:45 am, i had my epidural. when the anesthesiologist came in, i was sure to mention the leak and blood patch from last time. when i say the man took his time inserting my epidural to ensure that i wouldn't have a leak this time, i'm not kidding. it took so long that my back started cramping up and i was shaking uncontrollably. luckily, he finished up right as i was about to lose my cool. whew. (and best thing? no killer headache the next day. so no leak. yay!)

anyway, epidural in! and i kept the feeling in my lower legs this time. it was nice being able to still move my own legs and feel things. best. epidural. ever. in less than an hour, i'd progressed to 6 cm. and by 11:15, we were ready to push!

sawyer was born at 11:40 am, weighing 8 pounds, 12 ounces and measuring 21 inches long. i'm still not entirely sure where this kiddo was in my belly. it definitely explains the bruised ribs and general uncomfortableness that i just couldn't shake those last few days. we're all so in love (cayden included!) that we can barely stand it. he's a beautiful baby and is treating this mama and his daddy very well.

these are just a few photos from the day. if you want to see more, visit my flickr page!

sawyer's nursery

2011-06-27T11:13:00.002-05:00

i think it's important that we take a small peek as to what this room used to look like. i don't have any photos from the day we moved in (although i wish i did), but here it is right before it got that lovely coat of gray.

i think i'll let photos speak here rather than list everything that's going on. i found inspirations from pretty much everywhere online. there are still a couple of areas that need some artwork. above the bed there will be a pretty large canvas featuring our new itty bitty – kind of hard to do until he gets here, ya know? and then above the crib? i plan to do his birth information with a couple of other photos. again, kind of have to wait until he shows up. but otherwise? pretty much done. just need a sweet baby to place in it!

moobee (that's movie in cayden)

2011-06-26T13:42:00.003-05:00

we did it! we took cayden to a big movie at the theatre. but let's back up and start this story at the beginning. because really? it begins the night before.

jeremy and i thought it would be fun to get cayden psyched up about going to see cars at the theatre. friday night, we pulled up the movie trailer and watched several different clips of the new movie and told him repeatedly that we would go see it tomorrow... after he went to sleep. he was all good with it until we told him it was bedtime.

cue epic. toddler. meltdown.

screaming. wailing. tears the size of a crocodile's. all of this interspersed with: lite (hiccup) mah (hiccup) keen (hiccup). oh my goodness. he obviously did NOT understand that we'd be seeing the movie the next day. so note to all parents of toddlers: maybe don't show a preview the night before. in fact, maybe don't show them anything or let them know that they're going until you're already there. cause, wow. we so weren't expecting that.

but, day of? went brilliantly! we got to the theatre and people were there promoting talledega. so cayden got to see a real race car and they were handing out all sorts of fun things like stress balls and beach balls. we were one happy camper!

when we walked into the lobby, you could just see the awe on his face. it may have been slightly overwhelming, but he soaked it up quickly and started yelling and pointing at everything going on around him.

and oh, the inside of the lobby with all the teebees! little dude was in heaven. he loved all the teebees so much that he had a hard time standing in line with us to get snacks. he kept backing up so he could still see them. so cute.

we were thankful the theatre had booster seats for the itty bitties. it helped keep the chair in place. and? they had their own cupholders! so cute. so he sat there with his popcorn and drink (it had 'mater truck on top!) and looked like this little-big kid.

unfortunately, we only made it about half-way through the movie. after 20-ish minutes of previews and an hour of the movie, cayden was up and down, climbing the stairs. so we left. i still don't know if lightning mcqueen won the overall race or not. but all in all? it was an awesome time. our little guy still just doesn't have the attention span to watch a full-length film. and that's ok with us. we'll try again sometime soon i'm sure!

just some thoughts of random

2011-06-24T15:26:00.003-05:00

completely random? this photo jeremy sent me a couple of weeks ago. maybe it was his sweet way of reminding me that i used to have a cute body? more than likely it's just a sweet reminder of what a dork i am. and let's also note that this photo was taken about, um, four years ago? and i haven't been on a lawnmower since then. i suppose i'm not much of a lawn-mowing person.

to any curious, this sweet babe in my belly will meet us no later than wednesday, june 29. we go in that morning for an induction. but if he happens to come before then, we'd all be thrilled. well, i'm not sure that cayden knows what he's in for, so thrilled might not be the right word for him. oh, and i had a dream that he showed up with black hair. it'd be really weird if that actually happened...

speaking of cayden... how 'bout our first busted lip AND nose all on the same day? cause that's what yesterday involved. apparently he took a tumble on a bench at school and busted his lip. are busted lips supposed to be cute? because it kind of is. in a pitiful way. and then last night, right before bed, in a moment of trying to get away from daddy, he lunged face first into a window sill (they sit about eight inches off the ground) and busted the skin right under his nose. i was pretty sure we'd wake up to blood soaked sheets and black eyes this morning... but nope. just a little red and swollen. someone is making sure to look good in family photos next wednesday at this point me thinks.

here's to a random weekend. and our last as a family of three. i think we'll try the movies with cayden this weekend and see that little movie coming out. cars, or something? :-)

wordless wednesday: lightning storms

2011-06-22T16:30:00.002-05:00

{photos courtesy of my talented husband}

inspiration workshop #3 > green

2011-06-16T11:19:00.002-05:00

i'm linking up with gussy sews on a fun new adventure she's taking on inspiration. this week, the inspiration prompt was green. there are so many things to choose from when one thinks "green," but i was able to finally decide on the direction i want to take.

{via}

jeremy and i have talked and talked about trying to be more green in our everyday life. we'd love to get a rain barrel and start recycling our water. and we really need to set up a compost area. but most of all? we really want to have our own little garden. we had big plans to get a raised garden going this year, but those plans sort of sizzled out when we realized what we wanted to do was just a little over our budget for this year (and with new baby coming any day now, who could blame us?).

but next spring? you guys better watch out. we're going to plant all sorts of veggies. and who knows... by then maybe we'll have our compost pile rockin' and our rain barrel would be a fabulous way to keep that garden watered (if it would ever rain – anyone else experiencing a bit of a drought in their area?). our gardens won't really look a thing like the above photo... but i love everything about the way that photo feels. so we'll tweak it and make it work for us.

sewing beauty

2011-06-14T11:30:00.003-05:00

i was over at my friend beth's house the other night and stumbled across this beauty. it's her great-grandmother's (who is 102!) and you somehow use your knee, rather than your foot, to operate it. isn't it a beauty? if it weren't so big and obvious that i was trying to steal it, it probably would've come home with me ;-)

inspiration workshop #2 > kitchen

2011-06-09T09:39:00.005-05:00

i'm linking up with gussy sews on a fun new adventure she's taking on inspiration. this week, the inspiration prompt was kitchen. and oh, do i have a dream kitchen in mind!

{via}

i seriously found this photo years ago and have drooled over it ever since. when i originally found it, we were still in our starter home and the only thing in common we had with this kitchen was white cabinets. no black granite. no hardwood floors. nothing.

now that we're in our newer home, we still only have one thing in common with this kitchen. but it's a big one. our granite is currently black, so this kitchen is now a lot more doable for us. i love the clean lines of it and the simple, serene colors. the bright cabinets paired with those dark floors have me drooling. we would probably do our hardware a little differently. but that subway tile! ::swoon:: and i only wish we had an island area like this one, but i think we can make it work. it's most definitely on our list to get to. (after a deck, fence, the family room and the master bedroom... but we'll get there!)

because one day...

2011-06-07T14:38:00.003-05:00

... all too soon, you won't want to walk out the door with epic bedhead any more. you'll take a look in the mirror and ask me to help you smooth it out. and while i'll wet your head down, i'll never ever forget the days when your hair would just bounce around. and you had no care in the world.

cayden, you're amazing. seriously. i don't know how many times i can type it or tell you or scream it to the world. i doubt you'll ever realize what a delight you are to me and your daddy. you're the funniest thing. with these quirks that might be inherited from one of us, but mostly, they're your own special thing.

i can't wait to introduce you to your baby brother and see just what kind of awesome bond you two will form (and i'll admit, i'm looking forward to the bedhead that he'll create too). sure, i expect you to have an "allergic" reaction to him at first. but you know what? you've surprised me with so many other things that you do, that maybe you'll surprise me with how you welcome your new sibling.

for the time being, keep being your sweet, silly, little self. how i wish that there were better ways to capture moments in time than a photo. or even a video. i wish these memories would stay fresh in my mind forever. but these photos will help reawaken memories we feel might have faded over the years. you rock our world, my precious itty bitty.

another shop update?

2011-06-06T20:28:00.002-05:00

yep, you bet. another shop update indeed. introducing a new product from hugs & kisses: adorable pinafore dresses!

these beauties are versatile. designed to fit as a dress for your 6-12 month old, they can also be paired with leggings and grow with your itty bitty. and yes, i'll admit to ::trying:: it on cayden – i had to see if it would still fit as a shirt/tunic on a two year old! and it does... oh, if only i had a little girl to put in these cute lined dresses.

mamas to little girls, check these out for sure! happy shopping!

shop update

2011-06-05T20:30:00.002-05:00

and about time, right? haha, yeah, i know. but look! six pretty new diaper clutches for you to choose from. they make a perfect shower gift, or, if you're a new mom, they make a perfect little present for you! visit the shop and get one while they last...

a small peek into the nursery

2011-06-01T12:25:00.004-05:00

like i mentioned yesterday, we're not quite finished with the nursery, but we're definitely making progress. i've been making a lot for this little nursery, and i'm loving all the handmade touches. (of course, this has caused my poor little shop to be neglected for a bit. but honestly? it's been fun to take a break and make things for our home.)

i've seen embroidery hoops everywhere lately. and with this room already using a ton of different fabrics, it seemed like the perfect way to put them all together. and? pretty much free artwork! i think all the hoops together were probably about $6? they were a natural wood color, which may have worked okay in this room, but i wanted the crispness of the white and am more than happy with my decision to paint them.

as for the reading corner, i fell in love with these fabric bookshelves when i ran across this nursery. (it's gorgeous, right?) there are all sorts of tutorials out there for how to make them. and because we didn't have a super-wide space to put our bookshelves, it was nice to see just how customizable these little guys are. poor sawyer; he doesn't actually have any books of his own yet, so i had to ~~steal~~ borrow some of cayden's. he wasn't the happiest two year old regarding that decision, but he agreed to let mama use them as a photo prop for the time being.

jeremy's still working on a big art piece for over the bed. i still need to decide what to hang above the bookshelves. (i'm thinking some custom art from my shop along with some other knick-knacks.) we have to hang up the new window decorations. yes, new. i totally changed my mind on what i wanted in there so now new things need to be installed.

but overall? i'd say we're coming along nicely. probably 85% there. and it's definitely livable, so if this little guy decides to come early? we're ready for him!

wrapping a few things up

2011-05-31T10:20:00.004-05:00

with the long weekend, we were able to knock out quite a few to-dos. and it felt awesome to go through that list and delete things from it. several new additions to the nursery were made and i ::think:: we're almost done. just a few pieces of artwork to add (still have to decide on what exactly needs to be done) and we should be good to go! updated photos should come soon.

and while we did spend a lot of time getting things done this weekend, we still spent a lot of time outside having fun and trying our best to stay cool...

bust a move

2011-05-26T13:22:00.000-05:00

wordless wednesday: bulldozer love

2011-05-25T10:41:00.006-05:00

and he parties like a rockstar...

2011-05-24T16:38:00.004-05:00

... or, more like a two year old. but whatevs. photo overload to follow of uber-cute kiddos and a fun time had by friends and family alike. overall? a great evening spent with those we love...

cayden turns two

2011-05-24T12:37:00.002-05:00

dearest cayden:

on friday, you turned two years old. and every time that daddy or i told you about it, you would shake your head and say, "no." we thought it was quite humorous. only two and you were already denying your birthday. but you caught on very quickly that having a birthday only means good things.

surprisingly enough, we had to wake you up that morning so that we could be the first people to sing you happy birthday. you were in such a deep sleep that it took us a few minutes to stir you, but once we started singing, your face broke into the biggest grin. and you just KNEW it was going to be a good day.

we treated you to a breakfast cupcake. which was really just a banana muffin, but you insisted on calling it a cupcake. and you know, it was your day, so why not? plus, calling it a cupcake seems so much more festive than calling it a muffin.

while me and daddy got ready for work, you ripped into a couple of cards that some great-grandmothers had sent your way and showed off your loot to the camera. since we had to work that day, you went to school like any other day and shared some white chocolate suckers with your classmates.

daddy took you on a little trip across the street when you got home to see the bulldozer that's been living over there for a couple of weeks (our neighborhood is a new one so there's always some sort of construction going on). i definitely have a favorite photo from your little adventure, but i'm saving it to post tomorrow.

once i finally got home from work, we took you to dinner at buffalo wild wings where you inhaled your mini corn dogs and yelled at all the tvs in there. you really liked watching the race cars and hopkey (hockey). we kept you up well past your bedtime and treated you to a real cupcake – a strawberry one with pink icing. and then we even let you stay up to watch aminals (that's madagascar for all of you).

all in all, i'd say you had a pretty fabulous second birthday. your party though? you rocked your party. but that's a whole 'nother post my sweet heart. you're a fabulous toddler that me and daddy are thrilled to know. you continually surprise us with all you can say and do. and we can't really imagine our life before you came to us anymore. it's just that awesome. so continue to grow and shine and make us smile. we love it all.

oh, and we had your two year check-up this morning!
height: 34.5" (50th percentile)
weight: 26 lbs. (25th percentile)
head: 20" (i think you finally grew into it!)

could eat you to pieces, we love you so,
mama & daddy