The Mommy Diaries

Grayson Sings and Talks

2012-01-23T19:59:00.000-05:00

Grayson has been learning more and more words every day. It is so fun to watch him take everything in and just grow so fast.

He says lots of words like:
treat
no
yes
bye bye
hi
go
quack
cracker
cat
octopus
hat
duck
car
moon
Elmo
Mom
Dad
Boop {my sister's nickname}
nana {banana and Nana}
Kyky {Kyla}
Pa {Grandpa}
apple
cheese
all done
play
one
two
three
five
six
eight
nine {we're working on counting}

I'm sure I'm forgetting a few, but that's most of them. Recently he started saying yes or yeah when we ask him questions. It's pretty cute. :) Here is a video of him singing and then saying yes.

WIWW #5 {My New Boots+Lipstick}

2012-01-11T00:49:00.003-05:00

Yay, I'm back for another What I Wore Wednesday...

featuring my main Christmas present- these fabulous boots!

Yep, my very own Hunter Wellies. In high gloss purple.

I'd been dying for an excuse to wear them. Snow or rain, either one. Finally it rained one night and the ground was still a little wet in the morning. Good enough for me. :)

button-up shirt & jeans- Target, undershirt- American Eagle, boots- Hunter, necklace & earrings- the vintage pearl

oh yes. I love them.

Is it too matchy matchy with the purple in the shirt? I wasn't sure. I think I like it.

I tried to step out my comfort zone a bit with the orange shirt underneath. My normal go-to would have been a white tank top.

Hubby took the pictures. I must say, he did a great job. I was very pleasantly surprised. I think I'll keep him. ;)

I also have been trying the red lipstick thing a lot of my fashion blogger icons {ie sydney, cori, emily who happen to have Hunter boots too} have been doing. I feel like it looks so good on them, but it's weird for me to do it. Like, "what is she thinking, she can't pull that off." Emily put it well when she posted about feeling like you stick out like a sore thumb here. But she looks fab. Looking back at the pictures though makes me feel better. A little. What do YOU think of bold lips? Have you noticed the trend? Have you tried it?

Linking up here.

Grayon's Surgery

2012-01-08T15:00:00.004-05:00

My sweet little boy had to have surgery on Friday. His tear ducts were not fully open. When he was 9 months old I noticed one of his eyes got a little goopey most days. Also they both watered a lot. So at his next doctor's appointment I asked his doctor about it. She wasn't quite sure what the cause of it was since he hadn't had it since birth. Apparently it's pretty common in babies. But almost all of them have the symptoms right away. Not months and months after being born. We went to see an ophthalmologist and she said it was in fact the same thing, not fully open tear ducts. She recommended he have the surgery to open them up.

It was a very simple procedure, nothing to really worry about. Unless you're a mom. And you don't want anything to hurt your baby ever!

waiting and waiting

They checked his vitals before and after with this little thing wrapped around his big toe. Grayson was NOT a fan of that! He kept trying to take it off.

I was SO very grateful Josh was able to come. He went to school first and had to ask if he could take a few hours to come. Thankfully they let him.

watching tv in a waiting room

We had to wait a long time before Gray actually went to have the surgery. We got to the hospital at 7:45 and he didn't get taken back for the surgery until 10:30. There was some stuff going on in between, but mostly waiting.

After he was bored with the tv, we watch Blue's Clues on the iPad. So glad I thought to bring that! It was a lifesaver during all the waiting. And the hospital had free wi-fi.

The moment finally came where the doctor came to get my baby and take him to the operating room. Oh, it just broke my heart! Handing my baby over and watching him leave... *sniff* After about 45 minutes it was done and he was awake again. The anesthesia made him very fussy.

good thing he had paci and blanky!

"I just want to leave this place Daddy."

We went home and he had a nice long nap. After that, he was good as new. Playing outside in his pajamas and everything!

I'm so grateful everything went smoothly and for the great care by the nurses and doctors. Boy do I love this little guy!

Delicious Chocolate Cake {from scratch}

2012-01-07T21:05:00.002-05:00

Over Christmas break I got the urge to bake something yummy. That happens every once in awhile. :) I had to make something my mom had all the ingredients for cause someone else was out with the car. And this is what I made!

This cake was heavenly. So moist. So delicious. So perfectly chocoately.

My family ate it all in no time flat. It was that good.
I had to restrain myself from eating it all on my own!

I found the recipe from this blog. Who got it from Hershey.

Here is the recipe.

hershey's "perfectly chocolate"
chocolate cake

ingredients:

2 c sugar
1 3/4 c flour
3/4 c hershey's cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. boiling water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9 in. baking pans. 2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on med speed 2 min. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour into pans. 3. Bake 30-35 min or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 min/ remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "perfectly chocolate" chocolate frosting.
10-12 servings.

"perfectly chocolate" chocolate frosting

ingredients:

1 stick butter
2/3 c hershey's cocoa
3 c powdered sugar
1/3 c milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

directions:

1. Melt butter, stir in cocoa. 2. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on med. speed to spreading consistency. Add more milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Use every last bit of frosting on the cake, trust me. And serve yourself up a big slice. Try to eat just one piece, I dare you!

linking up the deliciousness here!

Christmas Break {in Florida}

2012-01-06T20:31:00.000-05:00

Here come a whole bunch of pictures from our Christmas in Florida. ;)

We had a blast and Josh and I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in. My parents took care of Gray in the mornings.
Biggest. Blessing. Ever.

It was warm enough to go swimming. Oh yeah!

Look at the gorgeous water behind us. We {heart} Rainbow Springs.

He was laughing during this, I promise.

Gray was one spoiled little boy! He is the only grandchild on my side, so all the attention was on him. And he loved it.

Christmas Eve- Grayson quickly figured out the whole un-wrapping presents thing. He was basically a pro.

Aunt Holly and Uncle Bryan got him this sweet car that has tools to "fix" it when it breaks down.

Waiting patiently for Grandpa to put the batteries in his car.

Auntie Angelyn and her poor razor cut leg.

We're so excited for Christmas morning!

Playing with his jungle from Nana and Grandpa.

Going to church Christmas morning.

So many girls! 3 sisters + 2 friends= one lucky lil' boy

Gussy!

It's now a tradition for my mom to take her grandchildren {ie Grayson} to Dockside Ice Cream when they come visit.

We all like this tradition too. :)

"Touchdown!"

Family is the best.

Shabby Apple Winner!

2011-12-25T14:30:00.001-05:00

Hope everyone is having a very merry Christmas! I'll get right to the winner of my Shabby Apple giveaway. This girl is one lucky duck and will get her choice of one of these necklaces.

I chose the winner via random.org and it is comment #15.

The winner is...

{image via stolen from their blog}

Amber!

Congrats Amber, I'm so excited for you!
Email me at mommydiaries at hotmail dot com and tell me which necklace you want. :)

Here was the winning comment-
Amber said...

I like Shabby Apple on facebook.

December 11, 2011 2:19 PM

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T13:53:00.002-05:00

Josh has been waiting for this moment since I was pregnant with Grayson.

We bought this cute little red sweater, in size 18 months, on clearance at Gymboree about 2 years ago. It matched a sweater we already had and used at a tacky Christmas sweater party. We couldn't resist. Josh wanted to be able to wear the matching sweaters with his son.

And they finally can! Happy day. :)

Merry Christmas from our lil' family to you and yours!

I'm going to be taking a little bloggy break.
I'll be back after lots of Florida family time and the Christmas festivities have been properly soaked in.
Yes. I am in Florida for Christmas. You may proceed being jelaous. ;)

P.S. There are only 2 more days to enter my giveaway! I'll announce the winner sometime next week.

WIWW #4 {Shabby Apple Edition}

2011-12-16T21:40:00.002-05:00

It's been awhile since my last outfit post but I'm excited to share this one with you! I know it's not Wednesday. I had everything planned out perfectly to post this on Wednesday. But then my pictures disappeared. I had my photographer {aka sister} take pictures outside for me. Big step up from the ones I take in the bathroom {although, there is still one of those}. There was great weather and light. I uploaded them to my computer, deleted them off my camera like always, and when I went to look at them, they were ALL completely black! Ughhh! I was super bummed.

So we took pictures again today {when it was freezing} and now I can post my What I Wore Wednesday- Shabby Apple Edition! Don't forget to enter my Shabby Apple giveaway! It ends Saturday {the 24th} at midnight.

This first one is what I wore this past Sunday to church. And I obviously took them myself.

I love love love the giraffe print, so fun!

I love this dress. I promise it looks way better than these crappy pictures show, haha.

Here is a pic from their site to show you!

This was my first and probably favorite Shabby Apple dress.

I love the colors and the stripes and the fit. It's great!

I've worn this to church and to a wedding this past summer.

Finally, dress #3. Comfy and classic. The top part is jersey knit, so super comfy and fits well.

It has pockets too!

The cut of this one is really similar to the first except this has an A-line on the bottom. The first was a pencil skirt. {except in a dress}

So what do you think of Shabby Apple? Have any of their dresses? I want way too many... :)

They can seem a little pricey, but I've never been disappointed. Plus, I've always used some sort of discount code to get a % off or free shipping or both one time! {You can use mommydiaries10 for 10% off now} And you have to remember it's all-in-one. No buying a skirt, top, and cardigan or what have you. By the time you put that all together it adds up. That's another reason I love dresses. One thing and you're done planning your outfit; simple and easy!

I'll be linking this up to The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday and Real Momma Real Style!

Remember- enter the giveaway if you haven't yet!

Hat

2011-12-13T16:20:00.000-05:00

During dinner this little boy decided to put his cup of yogurt on his head like a hat. He even said "hat" as he was doing it. Afterward, he wasn't too happy with the cold yogurt dripping down his face. Being the good ~~mommy~~ blogger that I am, I told Josh to wait a minute before cleaning him up while I ran upstairs to get the camera first! Gray wasn't too thrilled, haha.

Shabby Apple Giveaway!

2011-12-11T07:17:00.002-05:00

Have you heard of Shabby Apple? Probably yes, unless you've been living under a rock! ;) {I love that Geico commercial!}

Well I seriously was so excited when Shabby Apple contacted me about doing a giveaway!!! I may have squealed out loud. I love Shabby Apple, they have the most fabulous women's dresses ever! for. real. I currently own 3. {I just bought my 3rd and can't wait to wear it soon!} Maybe I'll show off my dresses in another post... if anyone is interested in that??? Let me know!

Ok, back to the giveaway! Their women's dresses are to die for. Here are a couple that I love:

With Honors

This simple green dress is so pretty and sassy!

Confidential

I would love this elegant, all white {mostly} dress!

Going Steady
This gray polka dot dress had me at hello!

They have such a HUGE selection that you're sure to find something you love. But if you knew all that, did you know they also have a gorgeous collection of vintage inspired jewelry?! Well they do. And it is fabulous just like their women's dresses. And lucky you, you could win a beautiful Shabby Apple necklace! When browsing their selection I couldn't pick just one, so they are letting me give you the choice between 2, yay!

The winner gets to choose between...

Unlock the Queen's Castle

Key to Wonderland

I love both of them, but I'm kind of drawn towards Unlock the Queen's Castle. Too bad I can't enter my own giveaway!

Also I have an exclusive discount code for you, the readers of The Mommy Diaries! Use code "mommydiaries10off" for 10% off any order. Sa-weet! Code is good for 30 days.

The Giveaway:

Required Entry-

1. Be a follower of this blog and leave a comment stating that you are. :)

Optional entries-

2. Like Shabby Apple on Facebook and leave a comment telling you do. By liking them you'll get in on special promotions and exclusive discounts, woo-hoo!

3. Go visit their website and tell me in a comment which dress is your favorite!

4. Follow me on Twitter! And leave a comment stating you did.

5. Tweet about this giveaway and tag me in it so I can see! @jennaer Then leave a comment telling me you did.

You can copy and paste this tweet if you like- Giveaway: "Win a choice between two Shabby Apple necklaces at The Mommy Diaries @jennaer http://bit.ly/thAoPz"

The Fine Print- You must have a US shipping address to eligible to win this giveaway. No exchanges for the winning piece of jewelry. The giveaway will end in 2 weeks, Saturday the 24th at midnight.

Good luck!

Santa Bum

2011-12-10T10:40:00.000-05:00

Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen?!

Oh I love that Santa bum!

Thank you Huggies for having the cutest diapers ever! Have you seen these diapers around?

I found them on sale at my local grocery store and paired with a coupon I was able to get them for around $4! I couldn't resist at that price. :)

Here are few more random pictures I wanted to post-

Helping Daddy get out the Christmas decorations.

Bedtime stories.

I love his elf PJs!

Come back tomorrow for an awesome giveaway!

Here's a hint ;)

Ruffle Tree Skirt {plus a peek at my Christmas tree!}

2011-12-07T23:37:00.000-05:00

Oh yes, I did! I made something I stumbled on and then pinned to help me remember to make it. And I actually did. I've probably only made like 1% of all the things I've pinned. But this was too great to just sit on my Pinterest board and never get around.

What is it you ask? Why a gorgeous ruffly tree skirt!

It was inspired by this one from Miss Mustard Seed. Oh my, so beautiful! I needed it.

So I followed her tutorial. Which was super simple and easy. You wouldn't think so by looking at that gorgeousness. But it is!

I used some scrap white fabric I had that was big enough for the base. Miss Mustard Seed used drop cloth. Great idea if you don't already have something big enough on hand since it's cheap for the amount you get. It doesn't really matter too much. Just something big and neutral. Lucky for me we only have a small tree so I halved the amount she recommends.

Here's my base piece. {and you can see the tutorial I was referencing on my iPad, haha} It ended up being about 5 feet in diameter.

Then I cut out tons of strips of fabric. I bought the cheapie muslin for $2 a yard at JoAnns. And I got 3 yards of it. I didn't quite use all of it, 2.5 yards might have been enough. But remember, I did a baby tree skirt. A real size tree would need a whole lot more!

My first ruffly ring. It took the longest, obviously. I like that it gets faster as you work your way in.

And then after tons of glue sticks, a couple hot glue gun burns, and a few hours...

The fabric will fray, which adds to the beauty of it.

I'm in love with it!

After I finished I was kinda glad we don't have a full size tree. Phew, that would have taken way longer to make.

And for fun, here are a few of my ornaments that I love.

We got that horse one last year. I HAD to get it. I mean, we live in Lexington, KY- the horse capital of the world! Is there a better way to remember and document our few years here?! ;) I always get an ornament each year that has the year on it. That's what my mom did. And now I love picking one out for my family tree.

Now that my tree has a skirt it looks so complete and perfect, I'm just so happy! {Plus she's modest, so that's a bonus;)}

So whaddaya think? Did it turn out almost as good as the original?!

linking here :)

Dish Towel Apron

2011-12-05T13:50:00.000-05:00

I participated in the Craftaholics Anonymous Handmade Gift Exchange this year again. It's so much fun to make someone a surprise gift and receive one in return! I had emailed my partner a few times back and forth before deciding what to make her.

My partner was Tracy from Tennessee and she is super nice! We became friends on Facebook and Pinterest. So I decided to browse her Pinterest boards to get an idea of something to make her. I figured if she had pinned it, she'd for sure like it. Brilliant, no? She had pinned a couple dish towel aprons. I loved the idea of it and figured that was something I could do.

Here are my results.

This was the tutorial I used. I had to improvise at the end because I didn't understand the tutorial. But I think it turned out well!

And then I decided to model it for you all, lucky you!

Pretty cute huh?

Made me want one for myself. It's a pretty handy thing to have a dish towel as an apron if you ask me.

In fact, I may or may not have already started one for myself...

And this is what Tracy made me!

A darling memo board. I just love the fabric she chose, it's perfect.

And I've already put it to good use. :)

Hanging right by my calendar- the perfect spot.

Thanks Tracy!

I'm linking this up to the Gift Exchange Linky Party and a few others too. :)

Florida Trip

2011-12-04T21:35:00.000-05:00

My dad has practically been begging for me to post some pictures of Grayson and him during our trip to visit them Thanksgiving week. I could also post about Christmas decorating or some funny pictures but I'll put those on hold for now. So Daddy, this is especially for you!

Oh, and we did a few other things while Grandpa was at work.

Like go to a couple parks.

And Gray liked to have other people dance with him and Elmo.

His loved his Elmo that Nana bought him.

Nana took great care of Grayson, especially in the mornings while his mommy slept in. He he.

Play with Nana's bowls was especially fun.

There was a big tractor thing just sitting at the end of the street that Grayson loved to play on.

Look how little he looks next to it!

With Uncle Bryan and Aunt Holly.

All of us girls. Even Skittles puppy got in the picture.

{Holly, Me, Mom, and Kyla}

Gray LOVES to play in the front seat of cars. He's a great driver.

Yum. Ice cream!

As you can see, we had a blast. See you in 2 weeks family! And this time Josh will be with us, YAY!

We Survived!

2011-11-23T15:30:00.000-05:00

Gray and I are here in sunny Florida for the week. We arrived on Monday and stay for a whole week! I was seriously super nervous for our flight. I worried and asked for advice and researched online for ideas on flying with a small, active child.

Grayson is getting older and moving faster everyday! I was worried he would not stand for sitting in a small space for 2 hours. Luckily, 2 hours isn't too long as some flights go. AND it was a non-stop, direct flight. So that helped a ton!

With that said here is what I planned to help us make it! (my friend posted her tips on her blog, and it was really helpful for me, so I hope this will help someone else!)

Stroller in the airport! My friend Rachel mentioned this one. Seriously so great for when you're waiting for your flight. Grayson loves his stroller and was happy to be pushed around as we waited in line to check in and through security to our gate. Once we were at the gate I let him out and followed him around so he could walk and get some energy out. Lucky for us, we were at a small airport and there were lots of empty gates where he could wander without bothering people. And when I needed him too, he was back in the stroller happy as a clam.
{some} New snacks! I got pretzels which was something he'd only had once before from a friend at church. So I knew he liked them but it wasn't something he had everyday. In addition, I also had many of his tried and true snacks I knew he liked.
New toys! I bought a couple small toys and hid them from him until we on the plane. I thought this was a great idea. It didn't work out stellar for me, he didn't really play with too much. But he still liked them. It still provided a little bit of time taken up of those 2 hours. So a plus in my book. Maybe I just need to pick a better toy next time!
Movie/show! Grayson really enjoys watching his movies- Baby Signing Time and Elmo. Now we don't have a personal DVD player like a lot of our friends have and use for their kids on an airplane. But we have an iPad. I downloaded an episode of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues for him before our trip. Sadly, this one didn't work out. at. all. The noise of the plane was too loud and we couldn't hear the iPad even at full volume. Maybe when he's older and will wear headphones this will work. There is no way in Hades he's keeping something in his ears at this age, lol.
Check to see if the flight is full! If not, make sure you get to sit by an empty seat. Luckily our flight wasn't full and I just plopped Gray down by the window and I sat in the middle while everyone behind us finished boarding. I held him in my lap during take off and landing. But other than that he mostly sat on his own. It gave us so much extra wiggle room and less chance to bother other passengers. This turned out to be the MOST helpful thing! Which was fortunate since the movie and toys weren't too successful.

The hardest part of the flight turned out to be as we were boarding. I was walking down the aisle and heard someone say something about a bloody nose. Sure enough, I look down and Grayson has blood all over his face and hands! What the! Of all the times for him to get one... I quickly sat down and frantically got out some wipes. He did not like me wiping his nose. Thankfully it stopped after a few minutes. And not too much blood got on our clothes. After that it was pretty smooth sailing. He was pretty wiggly and active, but we had room to move and lots of snacks.

Success!

{Jayna (friend of Kyla), Mom, and my sister Kyla came to the airport to get us!}

Grayson has been having lots of fun here!

{We miss you Josh! Love you bunches sweetie! Gray and I can't wait to see you soon.}

Gray Baby

2011-11-19T11:57:00.000-05:00

We tried to take some family pictures recently. They didn't really turn out. {Bad lighting + crappy point and shoot camera. One day I'll get a dslr!} Here is the only one that turned out ok.

Momma and her baby

I realized I haven't done an update on my lil' Gray in awhile. So here we go!

Things our 15 month old (in a few days) is up to:

He's getting lots of teeth lately! There are 2-3 molars coming in.
Grayson is a champion at going to bed! For reals. Josh or I, usually Josh, does his bedtime routine every night- bath (most nights), books, songs, and prayer. Then we put him in his crib. He just smiles at us and lays right down all happy. He snuggles with his blankie and puts his paci in (we've been only giving it to him in his crib or when we're out and I don't want him screaming at the store). Then we close the door and he goes right to sleep. No crying. Just a happy boy who goes to bed like a dream. I know. Lucky us! He sleeps from about 7:30 pm to 7:30 am.
Grayson loves to watch movies! He asks for them multiple times a day. {And no, I don't always say yes. Although I'd like to, it's so hard to say no to that sweet face!} He loves Elmo and Baby Signing Time.

{helping Dad with his tools}

He is saying lots of things and trying to say more all the time. He can say Mama, Dada, cracker, car, bath (sounds like bap), paci (sounds like pap), hat, and that's all I can think of right now. He also repeats a lot of what we say.
Gray is still signing too. Not as much but I think that's because he's trying to talk more. He signs please whenever he wants something and signs "signing" when he wants a movie. That's because we'd always ask him if he wanted to watch Baby Signing Time. So now he associates signing with a movie.
He loves to go outside. He be out there all day if we let him. Too bad it's getting cold. :(
He gives high fives!

{playing Wii with Daddy}

He is a pro at going up AND down stairs.
He is a pretty picky eater. He will like something for a few days and then refuse to eat it. Most recently that was bananas. He will consistently eat crackers, cheerios, cheese, yogurt melts, and apples {usually}.
Grayson claps and says "yah!" really loud when he likes something or wants you to clap for him too.
He will play music on his toys and then dance. He moves his feet really fast or moves his hands up and down.
When we're eating dinner he will almost always ask for a "bap, bap" while signing bath. He loves his baths!

That's our lil' boy and we love him to pieces!

Signing with Your Baby

2011-11-16T10:38:00.000-05:00

Here is a guest post I did about a month ago on another blog. I just realized I never re-posted it here. So if you missed it before, here it is! :)

Thanks Jana for letting me guest post today! I'm way excited to be here and talking with you all today. :) My name is Jenna and I blog over at the The Mommy Diaries. I'm a mom to an adorable little boy, Grayson, who just turned one. I blog about my crafty adventures, my family, furniture makeovers, and anything else that strikes my fancy.

I'm going to share with you guys something that has helped me and my baby communicate even though he can't talk yet- sign language! Yep. My hubby and I started signing with him when was about 6-7 months. We did it just a little bit here and there to start with. As he got older we did it more and more.

We started with some basic signs- eat, more, and all done. Those signs are mostly helpful for meal times. We would ask Grayson the question while signing at the same time. "Do you want some more?" "Are you all done?" When he got a little older, probably around 9-10 months, we would help him do the signs so he could feel how to do them. We did this so eventually he would be able to tell us what he wanted even before he could talk. Each time we signed we also helped him sign the word. Other signs we've done are- please, milk, cracker, water, juice, mom, dad, and a few others.

{This video shows him signing "eat"}

Around 12 months Grayson started signing on his own. It is so fun and exciting! He can do more, all done, please, eat, and a few more. And he's learning more all the time! It's such a great feeling to know you can communicate with your baby and know what he wants. I love it!

{This video shows him signing "eat" (on accident) and "more."}

Something else that has been a big help in teaching Grayson to sign {and us as well!} are the Baby Signing Time dvds. I found them at a second hand children's clothing store for $10 for the set of 4 dvds. That was a sweet deal! I already knew about and had seen parts of the them before because my sister-in-law had some of them and used them with her kids. So I knew that she really liked them and they had worked for her. Grayson loves his Baby Signing Time movies and I'm starting to see that he is really learning from them too. He recently started signing "shoes" and we hadn't done that sign with him before. He'd only seen it on the movie. Check out the website for more information. There is also a video on their main page which show you a clip of one of the dvds. {I'm not affiliated or anything with them, I just really love the dvds.}

{This video shows me helping him sign "please" and then him doing it on his own right after.}

Honestly though, if you want to teach your baby to sign, you don't need dvds or anything special. You just need to take the time to learn some signs and then consistently do them with your baby. Help him/her do them each time you sign. And eventually they will be able to sign and tell you what they want. It takes awhile before they start doing them on their own, so be patient. But it's oh so worth it! You will have less crying on their part and less frustration on yours because you will be able to communicate and know what your baby wants. My hubby and I are so happy we've taken the time to teach our baby to sign. He has just recently started signing back and is doing more and more everyday. It is so exciting and fun and helpful!

I'd love for to come visit me at The Mommy Diaries. And if you have questions or anything about teaching your child to sign, please let me know. I'd love to answer them and help you out! :)

**Since I wrote this post, Grayson has learned tons more signs and is doing so well using them to tell us what he wants. It's so fun and we love it!**

Lunch Bag {reuseable & washable!}

2011-11-11T11:11:00.017-05:00

Happy Veterans Day and 11/11/11 people!

What a fun date. Also, I'm posting this at 11:11 am {EST} so double whammy! :) Haha, I crack myself up. Anyone else? *crickets* Grace? ;)

One night I suddenly decided I wanted to make my hubby a lunch bag. That man is so frugal and doesn't like to spend money ever. {Which is great, cause it helps balance me, ahem...} So much to the fact that he reuses the brown paper lunch sacks. You know the ones, the ones I would use once and then throw away like most people. Josh uses one until it's unusable, completely wrinkly, and has a big rip. I figured if he's already going through the trouble of reusing his lunch bag I may as well make him a nice, sturdy one. One that's meant to be reusable!

It was a simple and fast project. Got in done in under an hour.

I can't for the life of me find the tutorial I used to make this. :( But I did find one here, which is the exact same process as the tutorial I used. Well, actually, the one I used didn't have a lining. I added one myself. This one does include the lining too. Which is super nice I think. Helps it be a little more sturdier and look nicer, in my opinion.

I used a canvas fabric for the outside because I thought 2 cotton fabric would be a little flimsy. SO glad I did. It turned out great and stands up nicely. And it fits everything my hubby needs. :) My favorite part probably is the fact that you can just throw it in the washing machine to clean it. No wiping out daily like the plastic ones you buy at the store. That just sounds like too much work and I know Josh wouldn't do it. Or me.

I made Josh pose for pictures with his lunch bag in action, haha. He was pretty thrilled about it.

"Bye Daddy, have fun at school!"

linking to some of these parties

Meet the Flintstones!

2011-10-31T13:30:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween!

Flintstones, meet the Flintstones. We're a modern stone age family. From the town of Bedrock, it's a place right out of history.
{Anyone else singing that with me?!}

We got to dress up in our costumes for our church's trunk or treat on Saturday. It was so much fun to have a family theme for our costumes. We almost didn't include Grayson in our ensemble because as you may know, the Flintstones had the little girl- Pebbles. Their friends Barney and Betty had the boy- Bam Bam. But then I thought it'd be just as weird/sad not to include Gray in the fun. So he's our little Bam Bam! If I'd thought this through properly, I'd have just done Barney and Betty from the beginning. Oh well. I like Fred and Wilma's costumes better anyway!

Our friends decorated their car with these cool teeth! I love idea and had seen on Pinterest too. So glad they did it! It made Gray laugh.

I made the Fred and Bam Bam costumes from scratch {Can you say that when not talking about food...?}, even the tie! I'm pretty proud of that. I made my necklace from scratch but the shirt and skirt I already had and just altered them. I tried making the Wilma dress from scratch, but the tutorial I used was very confusing, poorly written, and I totally messed it up. Luckily I had these white items in my closet that I didn't wear anymore. And a big thanks to Josh for inspiring me to use them instead of giving up after the first failed attempt! He's amazing.

And for those of you who are new to this blog in the last year, this was our family last year. Pretty great costumes if I do say so myself!

Quite a few people had asked me how I was going to top my Flo costume. Well, I couldn't, Flo was probably my best costume ever! But I think I still did a good job with the Flintstones and upheld my reputation for another year, haha. :)

Gray also had one other costume- an otter! He wore this to a fall festival we went to on Friday.

He didn't the love the hood too much

I did NOT make this costume, in case you had that crazy idea in your head. I got it awhile back for an amazing deal online. It was only $10 shipped! Amazing, right?! I just checked the site I got it from and they don't have it anymore. Probably because it was on clearance when I bought it. There's a bunch on ebay though.

"I don't want this on my head!"

Otter tantrum!

He's so cute even mid-tantrum. :)

We sure do love our otter baby! This is what he'll wear if we go trick-or-treating tonight because it's so warm. I haven't decided for sure if we will or not yet though.

Have a fun and safe Halloween!

Linking up to Funky Polkadot Giraffe's Costume Party! Check it out and get some great ideas for next year's costumes. :)

Pumpkins

2011-10-30T22:08:00.000-04:00

We finally carved pumpkins with our friends Bart and Emily a few days ago. We've carved with them the last 2 years as well and it's been a fun tradition! They are so nice and we always have fun together.

Before the real carving they made a little pumpkin bumbo for Abigail. Isn't she darling?! Love her sweet little face!

Me working hard...

Before I reveal our results, I'm going to show you the carving pictures from 2009 and 2010. :)

2009

Love their Goofy pumpkin!

and we did Tigger!

2010

Now we have a little almost 2 month old Grayson and a spooky faced pumpkin.

They did a cute Frankenstein pumpkin and needed Grayson in their picture too, who wouldn't?! ;)

2011

Now for this year's amazing Reynolds/Sloan pumpkin extravaganza!

Can anyone tell who is on our pumpkin???

{sadly no Grayson in this year's picture. He was already in bed for the night.}

Bart and Emily did a cute little baby face and carved their daughter's name on the side.

There's our pumpkin sitting proudly on our front step!

BTW, our pumpkin face was Ferb, from the Disney cartoon Phineas and Ferb. Josh LOVES the show and if he had it his way, Grayson would have been named Phineas. HA!

Halloween Decor

2011-10-21T15:35:00.000-04:00

I just love decorating for Halloween! Anyone else with me?! I wasn't always that way, but I have become so in the last couple years. Anyways, so here's a look into my home all decorated for Fall/Halloween.

Bookshelf #1

I made this last year and I just love it!

Bookshelf #2

This is my favorite one. I also made these last year.

see that super cute little bunting? My friend Ali made it, she's awesome. She sells way cute stuff like that in her etsy shop.

End Tables

On the Dresser

that has a huge, old tv on it in the middle

Dining Room

yep, that's another cutie bunting from Ali!

Front Door

And of course, the all important wreath! Made this one last year too. :)

I started out with Fall decor in September, then added the Halloween in October. I didn't take any of the Fall stuff down. How do you decorate when the seasons overlap?

BTW, if anyone wants to know where something came from, let me know in a comment and I'll tell you!

Baby Sign Language

2011-10-17T11:15:00.000-04:00

Guess what? Today I'm guest posting over at Giggles, Glitz, and Glam! I'm so excited to be part of Jana's Mommy Mondays series. Come over and check it out. I'm talking about using sign language with your baby.

Here's a little preview for you of Grayson signing "eat". :)

Keeneland

2011-10-16T13:51:00.000-04:00

These past 2 weekends our family has gone to Keeneland, which is a horse racing track. Keeneland is only open for about 3 weeks in Fall and 3 weeks in Spring and it's a must-do for us locals. Even though we don't gamble, it's still fun to get out and watch the races and be out in the nice Fall weather.

2 Saturdays ago, we loaded up the family and drove down to watch a few races and show G the pretty horses. We'd only been one other time and that was before we had Gray. While we weren't too fond of the smoking and drinking going on all around us, we had a good time picking out our favorite horses and cheering them on. G especially loved watching the horses running so fast when they were close enough for him to see.

{Josh and G- just to the left of the middle}

The horses just after crossing the finish line.

Between races we walked around and watched the horses in this little area that were about to race.

Back at the track.

I just love his sweet little face in this picture. It makes me smile.

Trying to give him a good view. G liked to ride on our shoulders.

Then one short week later we were back at Keeneland for totally different experience! Our good friends the Dickens invited to come with them in the morning to Keeneland. You don't have to pay to get in then and you can watch the horses exercising, getting ready for the races to come that afternoon. There's also a breakfast buffet you can get if you want. We did want! And it was yummy and super fun.

It was quite a bit colder early in the morning. And I mean early, we got there around 7:30. But it was worth the loss in sleep! :) This was a much more family friendly atmosphere. I didn't see anyone smoking or drinking and there were lots of kiddos running around. And it was not jam packed like during the races.

It was fun to watch the horses exercising and some people even bring up their horses for you to pet. Well, it was mainly kids, but I wanted to pet them too. So I did! And G too, of course.

This sweet horse was named Oreo. He was very nice and gave big, slobbery horsey kisses. :)

We had so much fun! Thanks friends for telling us about this. {I can't believe I didn't think to get a picture with them, lame.} We will definitely do it again next year!

{I got Josh and I those UK hoodies at a yard sale last week for $2 each, score!}

Did anyone notice anything different from the first Saturday at Keeneland to the next? I'll give you a hint, it has to do with me. :)

Halloween Crafting

2011-10-15T11:27:00.002-04:00

I've been doing some Halloween crafting lately but haven't shown any of it yet. Lame, I know. I had great plans of a post for each one, but that didn't happen. I've been having too much fun with my family and soaking up all the gorgeous Fall weather! We've been trying to get out and do as much as we can before the cold and snowy weather starts. Brrrrrr! I do NOT like winter.

Anyways so here are some things I've made this past month.

Felted Acorns

I didn't actually do the felting or anything, I don't know how to. I bought the balls and then hot glued on the acorn caps that I collected from outside. Easy, fast, and super cute. I luuurve them! I really want to get/make a cute apothecary jar to display them in. But this works for now. I got the idea from here.

And on the dresser near those lovely little acorns is a stuffed burlap candy corn. I'm really lovin' the candy corn this year I guess, since I already made the yarn ones! I got together with my good friend Erin and we both made 2 of these cuties. We used this tutorial from Oopsey Daisy. I'll show you the other one when I share my full on Halloween decor. :)

Burlap Candy Corn

Fabric Pumpkins

These were inspired from the always creative Jen of Tatertots and Jello. I just loved her choices in bright, colorful, and patterned fabric and wanted to make some too. These aren't your normal pumpkins. They are wonderfully non-traditional and ruffly! Love them.

Here are hers, aren't they gorgeous! I can't get the link to work for her tutorial, but here is the link to my pin.

Spooky Bunting

I've been wanting to make a cute little bunting for ages. But for some reason new things I've never done scare me. I buy the supplies, and then they sit there. For. evah. Well, I finally made one and it wasn't hard at all. And I'm so happy with how it turned out.

I just used some scrap fabric from thrift store curtains, green double fold bias tape, and purple acrylic paint. And I cut the stencils for the letters with my Silhouette. Fun and not too spooky! I'm more into cutesy Halloween. :)

Oh and want to see a project FAIL? Yeah, I have plenty of those. I wanted to make these pillows I'd pinned on Pinterest.

via Pinterest

See? Pretty huh? and cute and I love the glitter!

Well, they DID turn out pretty much just like that. Pretty, cute, and glittery. I loved them. Unfortunately, so did my 13 month old cutie pie. I didn't even get a good picture of them before they were, well.... see for yourself

Look closer!

My sweet little G got to them multiple times and that was that. I should of put them up high, but I loved how they looked on the bench. My fault in thinking he'd stop noticing them. So for now I turned them around and it looks like this.

Any ideas for what I can do to upcycle these pillows?!?! It's not a cover. I sewed them and stuffed them and sewed them shut. I can't bear to waste 3 perfectly good pillows. I'm thinking about trying to stencil them again with non-glitter orange paint, but I don't know if that would work since it won't be a flat surface.

So those are recent additions to the Halloween decor! Whaddaya think? Soon {hopefully} I'll show you all of it! Happy Saturday!

Linking up here

What's In a Name?

2011-10-09T18:06:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about changing my blog name lately. I like the name fine, but I want my name to match the web address. jjreynoldsfamily isn't even close! and The Mommy Diaries isn't available, not even a close variation! Something like Little Reynolds or Family Reynolds... idk.

I've also been pondering going back to just family blogging {as you can tell my name ideas}. I haven't been enjoying blogging as much and it more feels like work to me at times. I don't want to spend a lot of time doing something I don't LOVE. I love crafting and sewing and pinning and reading all of your blogs though! LOVE IT. I'm thinking my time might be better spent on other things. I didn't set out to write this post. I was going to do something else. This just came out. Anyone have advice, opinions, or have felt something similar before? I'd love your input! One thing I'd be way sad about is losing so many of you fabulous readers if I switch back to just family blogging. I've loved getting to know so many people through blogging!

Apple Picking

2011-09-30T08:57:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we got to go to Boyd's Orchard for some apple picking! I'd never been before and it was really neat. We went with some friends and had a lot of fun.

Yes, it was an apple orchard, but they also had pumpkins too. We might go back later to pick our own pumpkin!

Amanda and Camden. Isn't he a doll?!

Our friends Amanda, Mat, and little Camden baby. :)

Then we thought, "hey that's a good idea, let's copy!"

Grayson just loved having Daddy pull him around in the wagons they have there. They are supposed to be for hauling your apples/pumpkins. We did that too.

"No, this way Auntie Angelyn!"

Grayson knew what to do with those apples.

He picked some really good ones for us!

I helped a little too. ;)

The men were excellent apple pickers, as you can see.

Josh- "Honey, do I have to do this?"

Me- "Yes."

What little cutie pies! {the babies, haha}

I think Gray really wanted a pumpkin.

Me and my baby :)

We put this cute candy corn hat on the little boys. I loved it! Mom, can you make one for Gray please?!

I might of liked it more than Grayson...

We had a great day at the orchard! We are definitely going again. :)

WIWW #3

2011-09-28T07:00:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since my last outfit post. Mostly because I usually forget to take pictures of what I'm wearing. Doing these posts does help me to be more accountable for what I wear. I definitely put more effort into getting dressed when I know I'll be taking a picture for WIWW. {What I Wore Wednesday}

Outfit #1

I wore this to church a little bit ago. I loved this one! It was inspired by a pin from my style board on Pinterest. I'd never thought to tuck in a cardigan before. But I was surprised how much I liked it. What do you think?

{shirt, cardi, & necklace- target, skirt- yesstyle, shoes- plato's coset, headband- just.lovely.things.}

Here is my inspiration picture on the right {just in case you weren't sure haha}. How do they compare? Did I pull it off?

Outfit #2

I wore this the other day. It was rainy {it's been rainy a lot lately} and a blah day. I felt like just wearing neutrals.

{shirt- Target, cardi- Hollister, jeans- Buckle, shoes- gray canvas TOMS, necklace- Lovestitched}

Can I just say that I l.o.v.e. my new TOMS?! I was quite a doubter at first. But I'd heard nothing but awesomely great things about them. So I finally caved and got me some TOMS. Love. Them. Lots. They really are way comfy. I'm already thinking about which ones I want next, hehe. And here's the icing on the cake- they give a pair of shoes to a kid in need for each one sold, one for one. How awesome is that? Way awesome, that's what.

Behind the scenes! Trying to wrangle this lil' guy and take pictures, not an easy task. He did not want to be wrangled.

Outfit #3

Just one picture of this one. We went to an apple orchard this day. Super fun and more to come on that later! I wanted to wear red for apples. Yes. I sometimes think like a kid.

{shirt- downeast, cardi- target, jeans- buckle, shoes- TOMS, headband you can't really see- just.lovely.things.}

Outfit #4

At the duck pond by our house. Grayson loves him some ducks! Those are well fed ducks too, let me tell you. Well fed.

Another pretty simple one, but I like it. The necklace really helps step it up I think. And it was windy this day, the necklace doesn't just do that, haha.

{undershirt, shoes- target, shirt- Shade, jeans- buckle, necklace- downeast}

And look what my little sissy helped me do- glitter toes! Yay, I love them. I chose orange for Fall. I have happy toes. :)

Thoughts? Opinions? What'd ya think?!

I'll be linking up to The Pleated Poppy and Real Momma, Real Style

Quick and Easy Pumpkin

2011-09-27T12:15:00.001-04:00

Here's a nice quick and easy project! If you have something you don't totally love or that's just kinda blah, add glitter.

I had this boring ol' pumpkin that I didn't really like. I almost just got rid of it a few times. But then didn't, knowing I could do something to make it cuter.

First I covered the stem with foil. {thanks for the idea Pinterest}

I had some orange glitter spray paint from a previous project. So I used the rest on my lil' punkin and voila!

So much better!

Before- blah, After- fabulous

Then I put him in my cloche to live next to some other pumpkins. So he can have friends. :)

{BTW, this isn't really a decorated space. It's just kinda where I've put things that don't have a place yet}

I'll be linking to some of these parties.

Estate Sales

2011-09-25T19:14:00.001-04:00

One blog {of the many} that I read is Maple and Magnolia. The woman who writes it has often mentioned going to estate sales. I'd never been to one but was getting curious. One post she mentioned how you could find estate sales in your area. So I did and went to my first one a few months ago. It was put on by a company and held in their warehouse. It was so cool! It was filled with all kinds of vintage goodies. I got my mom's birthday present, a vintage washboard, and I don't remember what else.

Since then I've been to 2 more. One a few weekends ago with my best friend who was in town visiting. This one was at house. I didn't get anything super exciting, but I did find a wreath box to store my growing wreath collection in.

This last weekend I went to my 3rd one. My favorite yet! It was in the warehouse again. I found lots of goodies and remembered to take pictures this time. Here are my treasures!

There was a huge jar of vintage thread and I snatched it up. And they are all on wooden spools! {with the exception of like 2}

I love all the colors. It makes me happy to look at all my pretty thread.

I loved looking at the labels and reading the old prices on them. I wish thread was still 15 cents!

For $15 I snagged 100 spools of gorgeous vintage thread! That's only 15 cents a spool- vintage prices. A steal! If you know what a spool of thread costs now, then you know. A couple are still wrapped in plastic, never used at all. And lots of them still have a ton of thread left. I plan on using it too. I won't have to buy thread for a long time now hopefully. I should have most any color I could ever want.

I also got these 3 spools in the mix. 2 of them are empty. Anyone know why someone would put nails like this in a spool of thread???
**UPADTED- someone kindly told me that these are used for spool knitting. Interesting! I knew there had to be a purpose for them.**

My next find was this little aqua Ball mason jar. I love these and collect them. It was $5 which is a little more that I'd usually pay, but I'd never seen one this small before and couldn't resist the little cutie!

I got this set of 10 vintage napkins for $1.60. I can't wait to decide what to do with all fabric. Maybe some Spring pillows? A bunting? What would you do/sew with it?!?!

This isn't really vintage, but I am SO excited about this find! I've been wanting a cake pan with a lid for-evah. I have a cupcake pan that has a lid and it's sooo nice. But whenever I make a cake we have to cover it with foil. It gets ripped and eventually sags and messes up the cake. Plus someone indefinitely doesn't cover it properly. It's just a mess and annoying. I got this bad boy for only $3!!! It is in amazing condition. It doesn't look like it had even been used. Score. It's a little ridiculous has excited I am about cake pan and lid, but man, it's the little things I tell ya!

Plus, it's the exact same pan and lid that my mom has had for years. Now we're matching Mom! :)

Have you ever been to an estate sale? Any good thrifty finds lately?

I Have a Toddler!

2011-09-22T18:06:00.001-04:00

Since my baby turned one I'm having a hard time not saying "my baby" anymore. He is an energetic and full of life toddler now. I can't really believe it. I love him to bits and pieces. And he is giving me a huge grin while playing with Daddy that melts my heart as I type this.

{I love this picture. It is a very rare moment that my boy will cuddle with me. This was right after his nap.}

{L- sticking out his tongue R- clapping}

Here are some of Grayson's newest tricks:
clapping
dancing
signing lots! such as- more, eat, all done, please, shoes, and wash hands {He picked up those last 2 on his own by watching his Baby Signing Time movies. The other ones we've also practiced a lot as well as being on the movies.}
he folded his arms for prayers for the first time yesterday!

{he loves to drink out of big people cups}

On a less happy note, he's pretty much stopped taking his second nap so he's down to just 1 nap a day. Which wouldn't be so bad if it was long like everyone says happens when they switch to 1 nap. Nope, not for him. Sometimes it's even shorter than when he had 2, ugh! I'm having a hard time getting things done lately. I have lots of things I'd love to blog about, but I can't find the time. I don't know how all you other moms do it. Anyways, not complaining, just sayin'! I love my little Gray so much and am so happy to get to be his mommy. :)

{when clapping he usually he has his mouth open while doing it, funny kid!}

Grayson absolutely LOVES the ducks that live near our house. He can "say" quack quack. It's really cute. He will run to the door and say quack quack. That means he wants to go see the ducks. We probably go to the duck pond at least once a day most every day to feed the ducks. I love that my ~~baby~~ toddler loves something so much and that it makes him so happy!

{looking for the ducks}

He can also "say" cracker. But it doesn't sound like cracker. It kinda sounds like "cak cak" lol.

I love my toddler!

I'll end with a few recent Grayson movies for your enjoyment. I know my family has been wanting to see some. :)

{laughing at Daddy}

{dancing}

{clapping}

{in the pantry}

Candy Corn Decor {a tutorial!}

2011-09-18T07:00:00.008-04:00

The other day I was totally pinspired. {pinterst + inspired = pinspired} And yes, that's a word, because I just made it up! Pinterest is amazing. I love it. I don't know what it is about Fall/Halloween, but I'm extra excited about making decor for this season. Other than Christmas, I have more decorations for Fall/Halloween than all the other seasonal decor combined. For reals. Anyways, so I decided to make some of the things I've recently pinned.

Here is my pinspiration-

Pretty darn cute, no?

Aaaannnnddd, here are mine!

Yay, I love them. They make me happy when I look at them. And they were surprisingly fast {and easy} to make. I mean, I knew they'd be easy, but double bonus for being fast too!

Wanna see how I made them? Well, ok, if you insist. I'll do a lil' tutorial for ya! The picture I pinned didn't link back to a blog or site or anything, so this is just the way I made up to do them.

1. Get your supplies- foam cones, orange, yellow, and white yarn, and a hot glue gun {not pictured}. I got the thick, soft yarn because I liked that is was thicker and it looked prettier {in my opinion}. But any kind will work fine. And those cones were actually bought a year ago for a Halloween project I never did. I'm sad to say I have a quite a few supplies like that. It worked out this time though!

And if one of your cones breaks, don't worry! Just hot glue it back together, easy peasy.

{I just love the pretty colors and soft yarn}

2. Get your first color- yellow and tie it around near the bottom of the cone. You don't want to go right at the bottom because then it can slide off easily.

3. Snip off the extra piece of yarn from tying your knot.

4. Start wrapping the yarn around your cone over and over. It doesn't have to perfect! In fact, myself the perfectionist, loved the look of yarn wrapped all different directions. Plus guess what?! It's much faster that way too. ;)

5. Just keep going and wrapping the yarn around and around and up and down until it's the height and look you want. Cut the yarn and glue the end down with a teeny dab of hot glue.

**Also very important, make sure you have a super helper to unwrap all the yarn for you. ;)

One more tip for you, make sure you start out with the correct color. Save yourself some unraveling and look at a candy corn first to see the color order. I mean, not that I would know from experience or anything...

6. Now start again with orange!

Here's a picture where you can see how I glued down the end of the orange yarn. I know it looks ugly, but you will cover it up with the next color.

7. Lookin' good, almost there! White is the last one.

8. To finish it off, you need to use more hot glue. I continued to wrap up and over the top using lots of small dabs of hot glue. Be careful! You can't cover up mistakes too well on the top. Just go slowly and spiral the yarn until you get to the center. And use small amounts of hot glue so it doesn't seep up and on top of the yarn. Then you'll see it and it won't look as pretty.

Finished!

Then make another one if you want.

And admire them.

And have your helper do some tests to make sure they are in proper order.

You likey?

I do. :)

Some of you super clever peoples may have noticed a small difference from the picture I pinned and mine.

No? See it now?

The other one finished the top with a white button. While it was cute, I wanted to keep an all yarn look. The button would have been a little easier, but I like mine better. :)

Have you been inspired by Pinterest lately?

I'll be linking so some of these parties.

And to- Home Stories A to Z

Life in the Motherhood

Lacking...

2011-09-15T07:00:00.009-04:00

I had the best of intentions to update you with what my projects were a couple weekends ago... Yeah that didn't' happen. And sorry to tell you it's not to happen right now either. That would require me actually taking the pictures and then uploading them and all. Which sounds too hard right now, haha.

I've been quite the slacking blogger lately. I think I'm lacking inspiration. Or motivation. Or BOTH. Yeah, I think it's probably both. Anyone have some good advice?! What do you do to kickstart a good post? I'm tired. That's all for now. Here are some recent pictures for your viewing pleasure. :)

At 12 months Grayson is quite the busy boy! {I'm sure I've said that before, but it's very true and worth repeating.} These are the kind of shots I get half the time because he's moving too fast for me to catch him looking at the camera.

Along with that, as you see above, comes a nakey boy running around the house because he won't sit still long enough for a diaper change, let alone putting his clothes on.

A rare quiet moment watching one of his Baby Einstein movies. He looks so big and grown up sitting there on the couch. Aghh, stop growing Grayson!

Cudding with his lovey- Growler bear.

I just love this picture. So much.

me and my sweet baby boy :)

What I'm Up To

2011-09-03T14:24:00.000-04:00

I've had a busy day so far. I hit up the yard sales this morning {found some great stuff too} and this afternoon is going to be filled with rearranging decor and much more. I've enlisted the hubby's help and he is thrilled about that, haha. ;) As long as he's done in time for him to watch the BYU football game he's good. So much fun! Here's a sneak peak for ya. I'll have a real update soon to show you what we accomplished. :)

{Just a few of tools we'll be needing.}

{any guesses people?!}

{a glimpse of my best thrifty find today, eeek!}

Have a fantastic Labor Day Weekend!!! Anyone have some fun plans for it?

Do share.

Grayson's Very Hungry Caterpillar 1st Birthday {Part 2- the party}

2011-08-31T14:29:00.000-04:00

Alrighty folks, here are the promised pictures of The Very Hungry Caterpillar party in action!
{captions at the tops of pics}

The birthday boy going for the pinata

Talon's and Hailey's turn!

Awwwww, this sweet boy did NOT like it when the pinata broke open. He cried, haha {am I a bad mom for laughing?}

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Grayson, happy birthday to you!"

Gray and Evan digging in to their cupcakes. These two are buddies even though Evan is 2 years older {today actually, happy birthday Evan!} Evan loves to make Gray laugh and Gray tries his best to keep up with Evan.

"Now I'm really going for it!"

Present time. Gray got some awesome stuff, thanks everyone!

And here are all our lovely, wonderful friends who came! Love you guys!

Ashley, Chad, and Hailey Jackson {and baby #2 due in December :)}

Toni, Jonathan, and Talon Topham

Brandon, Erin, Evan, and Ashtyn Hadfield

Emily and Rudger Hubbard

We had a great time and more importantly, so did Grayson!

Grayson's Very Hungry Caterpillar 1st Birthday {Part 1- the decor}

2011-08-29T19:05:00.001-04:00

FYI- There will be tons, no really, a LOT of pictures! Brace yourselves. :)

I started planning this party about a month before Grayson turned 1. I got my basic idea for a Very Hungry Caterpillar birthday from this pin I saw on Pinterest.

I just loved the caterpillar made from paper lanterns and went from there. Grayson also has a Very Hungry Caterpillar baby book, so it just made the theme even better. But man, it was a lot of work! I told my mom later I had a greater appreciation for all her work throwing us birthday parties when we were kids. She said, "now you understand why we had alternated each year between friend and family parties!" Oh boy do I!

Anyways, all the hard work and effort paid off. It was so fun and Grayson had a blast. Here are the details! Come back tomorrow for the pictures of everyone enjoying the party.

The Cake

Decorations

Pull string pinata

This was a great pinata for little kids. There were a bunch of ribbons hanging down and you take turns pulling one off. One of them releases all the candy.

Caterpillar plate art

My sis had this idea and Grayson "decorated" the green plates with shaving cream dyed green.

Caterpillar name

I used my silhouette to cut out the circles (from cardstock) and vinyl letters.

Birthday Balloon Wreath

I made it from this tutorial. I'm especially excited about it as it's going to be the wreath we bring out the week of any family member's birthday. So fun!

Hanging Caterpillar

And my very own lovely caterpillar lantern.

Colorful Circle Garland

I spent a couple days watching Love in the Wild and cutting out a TON of 2" circles from my scrapbook paper stash. Then I sewed a lot of them together into 2 garlands. The rest used throughout the other areas of the party to sprinkle on the tables like really big confetti. I don't have a picture of the other garland that was above the food table, whoops.

Stations

Write a note to the birthday boy! There was a section in his baby book for notes from friends and family, so it was a prefect addition for the party.

I love the caterpillar plushie!

Guess How Many Jar

I used Skittles for "caterpillar food" and filled a jar with them. Then guest wrote down how many they thought were in there. Closest guess won the jar.

The coffee table has 2 stations...

Caterpillar coloring!

Pretty self-explanatory. Coloring pages and crayons- easy, simple, fun. I downloaded the coloring sheet here.

Caterpillar Bookmarks

I loved these, they are so cute. The kids use their thumb and red and green ink pads to make a caterpillar. I got washable ink (super great for these little kids) and had baby wipes on the table for quick and easy cleaning. Oh, and I cut out the plain bookmarks with holes with my silhouette. Super handy!

too cute, no?!

Table Runner

I used some of the cut circles as a table runner for the food table. :)

Food

I l.o.v.e.d. the way the food table turned out. It was my favorite part!

I used all the food the caterpillar ate in the first 5 days of the book. Plus a few other things. :)

How cute are those caterpillar kabobs?!

So, what do you think?!

Stay tuned for more pictures of the party in action. :)

linking to some of these parties

Pink! {it's my favorite color}

2011-08-25T11:38:00.002-04:00

If you know me pretty well, then you know that my all time most favoritest color is pink! It's such a happy color. It makes me smile. I love it. Here are some lovely pink pretties that are inspiring me right now mostly from pinterest.

via

I need, yes need, a bike like this one.

via

who knew mushrooms could be pink?! Not me, and I don't like mushrooms, but these are just so pretty. I'd love a framed picture of this in my house.

via

How can I convince Josh to get a couch like this one? Hmmmmm...

via

such a pretty necklace

via

This cake is almost too pretty to eat!

via

Ahhh, pink and eiffel tower, so romantic and beautiful.

via

OK, I really need this in my house! Love it.

via

I don't know what it is about ferris wheels, but I love 'em. And I'd wait longer in line to ride in the pink car! :)

via

An upcycled vintage necklace, love the pink and aqua combo.

What is your favorite color? What color(s) are inspiring you right now?

Go on over here to see other people's color inspiration.

The Little Boy is ONE!

2011-08-24T13:42:00.000-04:00

I've been a lazy, slacking blogger lately. Sorry. :( I should have lots to blog about soon. But big news...

My little guy turned 1 year old on Monday!!!

Wow, I can't believe I have been a mom for a whole year now and have had the privilege of raising this precious baby boy. I feel so lucky and blessed.

We've gone from this-

To this-

And this-

To this-

From this-
a teeny baby in your bouncer

To this-
almost too big for the bouncer

Just look at you today, I couldn't love you more or be a happier momma.

My dear Grayson,

I love you so much.
You can always bring a smile to my face.
You are such a sweet and happy boy.
I can't imagine our family without you.
You bring us so much joy!
I love the growling noises you make when you play with your lion, tigers, or cars.
I love how you giggle and run to the fridge or dishwasher when you see them open.
You love to go on walks and be outside and climb the stairs outside our house.
I love your 4 little teeth.
You make the funniest sounds and love to play "repeat the sounds I'm making with Mommy."
You are quite the curious little guy and get into lots of things.
You are quick at climbing the stairs!
Your fake laugh makes me laugh.
I love how you love to chill and watch your Baby Einsteins when Mommy needs a break.
You are NOT shy with strangers which is nice when we drop you off to a baby-sitter. :)
You are great at sleeping through the night.
You can sign "eat" "more" and "all done."
You do not sit still for a diaper change to save your life unless we put on a Baby Einstein for you to watch during it.
You are the BEST baby in the world and I love you so much!

Love,
your mommy

So I'm in the process of planning a party for Grayson this Saturday. Which is keeping me pretty busy. I'll give you a hint at the end of this post though... ;)

However, we did have a family celebration about a month ago while my mom and youngest sister were here. Here are some pictures from then.

My mom made some cupcakes for the celebration, cute huh?!

Something good is about to come...

{man look at the scraggly hair!}

Digging in! He quickly just stuck his head right down to the cupcake instead of picking it up at first. It was hilarious.

...aaaaand now we need a bath!

Like I said, this was a month ago. But the big party is coming up! Here's a hint and the pin that started it all. :)

via pinterest

WIWW #2

2011-08-03T12:09:00.001-04:00

Alright, I really enjoyed my first outfit post that I did 2 weeks ago. So I'm going to do another one! Here are a few outfits I've worn in the past week.

I loved this one! I wore this when Josh and I went out to celebrate our anniversary. Yes, it was over a month ago. But for various reasons, we had to celebrate it much later.

top, skirt, belt, cami- Downeast; shoes- a small mall store in Cali that I can't remember the name of

I thought I looked ok when I wore this, but looking back I'm not so sure. Something just looks off... I don't know. Any ideas?

shirt, shorts, cardi- Target; belt, cami- Downeast; necklace- Lovestitched; shoes- don't remember

So yeah, I know I wear the same 3 shorts all the time. But guess what? It's HOT here. Very hot. And I'm not wearing jeans, no way. So yeah, shorts and skirts it is!

shirt, cami- Downeast; shorts, shoes- Target; headband- just.lovely.things.; wristlet- won in a Sewchatty giveaway; belt- Forever 21

Just going out for errands.

shirt, cami- Downeast; shorts, shoes- Target; headband- won from a just.lovely.things. giveaway

ok, last one! I was sick of the shorts, so out came a skirt. A few people said, "why are you dressed up?" or "where are you going?" Well no reason and nowhere, haha! I just didn't want to wear shorts again.

I cropped my head out because I was making a weird face but it showed my outfit well, hehe.

shirt- Target; skirt, cami- Downeast; belt- Forever 21; shoes- random mall store; necklace- Lovestitched

So that's it folks. How did I do for round 2??? Thanks for all your comments on my first outfit post, I really appreciate all of them. Lets face it, we bloggers all love comments right?!

Linking to-
The Pleated Poppy

4 Days, 3 Makeovers

2011-07-31T18:25:00.003-04:00

I don't know if I ever mentioned it on here, but one of my sisters just moved in with us temporarily. My almost 20 yr. old sister Angelyn is now living with us and I'm so excited! She is going to be so great to have around. Josh will be super busy starting his 3rd year of med school {TOMORROW, ack!} and I'm glad to have the extra company. PLUS, she absolutely adores Grayson and will be our own personal, live-in baby-sitter. Woot woot!

So in preparation for her coming, I wanted to paint some things for her room. I got this headboard at a yard sale for $10 and the end table was given to us by my wonderful in-laws 3 yrs. ago when Josh and I got married. {so free, yay!} Also, I wanted to paint a coffee table turned bench seat that has been at the end of our bed for the last year. I got it at a thrift store for $25 I think? The bench seat also lifts up for some awesome storage space, you know I love that!

Here are the before shots.

bench

In great shape, solid wood, but too dark and gloomy for me! Our bedroom is pretty dark as it is, so I wanted it a light color to help brighten up the space.

end table

same story, too dark and boring. But in great shape and look at the beautiful, curvy legs!

headboard

I didn't like the shade of green and wanted it be a more neutral color and match the end table

I knew I didn't have a week or two {or, let's be honest, 3 or 4 at my pace} to slowly work on these and let all the primer and paint cure properly. We had just got back from California and my sister, and Mom and other sister who drove up with her, were coming soon. So I finally gave in a ordered some chalk paint. It was every bit as wonderful as I'd heard! The paint dries SO fast and you really don't need to sand or prime, amazing!!! I got 2 colors, old white and paris gray. I figured some basic neutrals would be a good first choice. That way I could use them on future pieces too.

As the title implies, I was able to do these 3 pieces in 4 days total! That includes the protective coat of wax I did after painting and distressing.

Now for the afters!

I did the top white and the rest gray. Sorry for the poor lighting. This thing is awkward to move around, so I didn't want to move it just for a picture.

And here is the bench

{already stuffed with goodies- seasonal decor and scrap wood}

And my favorite transformation to date, my "new" cute little french end table!

oh man oh man, I'm in love

so pretty

I wish it got to be in my room instead of my sister's room, kidding kidding!

mostly

I LURVE it!

Now for the dramatic, side-by-side, before and afters!

Pretty good for 4 days, huh?

Linking here
and here-

California

2011-07-30T11:25:00.001-04:00

I've been busy this past week enjoying my family visiting from Florida. Hence the lack of posting lately. But I wanted to finish posting about our California trip and my SIL's wedding.

First up, 4th of July. Gray was pretty tired by the time we went outside for sparklers. So he didn't last too long. But it was fun. :)

Boy, we sure do miss the other Reynolds family. :( They used to live right next door to us. Come back you guys!!!

We went to a small local zoo another day, the Orange County Zoo I believe. Josh's sister Lindsey and our nephew Drew came with us and it was really fun.

Drew loved to point at all the animals. Gray just sat there the whole time. I like to think he was just relaxing and enjoying everything. :)

a coyote

Lindsey and Grayson, she was so helpful!

There was a petting zoo part where you could go inside and pet the goats.

The bears were the coolest animals. They were awake and walking around. It was fun to watch them. Doesn't it look like the one bear is playing a drum?!

This is my favorite picture! On the drive back, Grayson and Drew kept reaching out their hands toward each other. So sweet. I know Grayson misses his cousins!

And the last day we were in California was Courtney (another of Josh's sisters) and Bobby's wedding. It was such a great day and a gorgeous wedding!

4 generations- Josh's grandparents, his dad, Josh, and Grayson

Our little family with the beautiful bride.

Dancing

The newlyweds with all the nephews!

4 generations again- Josh's {other} grandparents, his mom, Josh, and Grayson

What a great trip!

From Drab to Fab {End Tables}

2011-07-20T23:20:00.002-04:00

I have finally finally finished these end tables that I started who knows how long ago.

Actually it was exactly 4 months, I started sanding on March 19 and finished July 19.

Here are the ever important before pictures.

Not too bad when you step back, but on closer inspection...

There was a lot of damage like this. Nothing a good sanding and painting wouldn't fix though.

I loved the look of them, the detail on the doors, and all the storage these babies would provide. Hidden storage, perfect to store Grayson's toys, my paint supplies, whatever. I love it, extra storage space always makes me giddy!

Now I wasn't working on them the whole time, obviously. First I sanded ~~them~~ one of them down and then they sat there for. ev. er.

Finally, we {well, mostly Josh} got sick of them sitting around in the way, so I really started to get down to business. Now these end tables aren't wood sadly, they're laminate. But I got them for only $30 at a thrift store so the price was right! And like I said before, I LOVED the look and storage space they had. I sanded the other down, primed, and painted. I followed the steps from this blog about painting laminate furniture and it worked great.

Priming

Painting

I was really worried with the first and second layers, it looked so neon! But it got better after the 3rd coat. :)

Then I spray painted all the hardware with my favorite Krylon ORB {oil rubbed bronze}. I finished by sanding lots more to distress them, used some Minwax Finishing Paste for a protective coat, and here they are now.

I just love how they turned out.

I was nervous about sanding them, but I love how it makes all the details pop.

Side note, I decorated these with thrift stores/garage sale finds. I love my vintage globe. I know it's old because look.

It has the USSR instead of Russia, haha.

And my most favoritest picture-

They are brightening up my living room and I've already utilized some of that storage, woo-hoo!

Linking here and also these places-
The Shabby Chic Cottage

WIWW #1 {Help me out!}

2011-07-20T08:16:00.004-04:00

So I decided to just jump right in and do my first What I Wore Wednesday {WIWW} post. I'd been wanting to jump on this bandwagon for awhile but it's pretty out of my comfort zone. Luckily I had a nice encouraging comment {Thanks Jamie!} so I'm just going for it.

This is to help me be more accountable with what I'm wearing. As a stay-at-home momma it's easy to stay in pjs, sweats, or my not-so-pretty comfy clothes. I'm going to take pictures of my outfits, share them on here, and make more of an effort to get dressed and look good! I'm sure my hubby will appreciate it.

Please help me out, I'd love to hear your opinions, tips, and nice constructive criticism!

Thankssomuch!

Here's my first outfit. I wore this Saturday. We went downtown to walk around and enjoy being outside. There was a festival thing going on with music and booths. It was fun.

{cardi, tank top, shorts, & shoes- Target; undershirt- Downeast; belt- local peddler's mall; headband- Gussy Sews}

So this was a little of a stretch for me adding the belt. I've seen it lots of you stylish people do it and love how cute it looks. For some reason, I never think these things will look as good on me. I had to ask Josh multiple times, "are you sure this looks ok?!" Well, he said yes of course. So now tell me, can I do the whole belting a cardigan thing? Did I do it right?

Here is my Sunday church outfit. Sorry for the poor quality. Hubby wasn't home yet and I wanted to change and nap. So I took them myself in the bathroom. haha.

{shirt- target, undershirt- Downeast, skirt- la vie petite, belt- local peddler's mall, heels- payless}

So here is another thing that was out of my comfort zone, a high waisted skirt! Again, I've seen it around blogland, pinterest, real life, and love how other people look. But I felt a little uncomfortable. What do you think? Should I have added more accessories? {there is a necklace, but you can't really see it, it's small} A more interesting top?

This is more of what I wear most of the time. A top, jeans, and a cute accessory. I wore this going to the gorcery store with my hubby and baby.

{shirt- Old Navy, undershirt- Downeast, shorts- Target, shoes- Bealls, headband- Gussy Sews}

I love my cute crushed ruffle tote bag from See Kate Sew. Perfect for running errands. And of course my most favorite accessory is my baby Grayson. The cutest thing I have! ;) What do you think about my normal, go-to kind of outfit? How can I step it up a little?

Ok, phew, I'm done now... yikes!

Linking here-

A Marvelous and Modest Link Party

Real Momma. Real Style.

Silhouette Project #2

2011-07-19T13:12:00.000-04:00

Here it is folks, I know you've been dying to see!

I wanted to add some Summer to my decor. So I made a simple seashell banner and attached it to our entryway bench.

The Silhouette made it so easy. I picked the shapes and it cut them out for me. Then I quickly sewed them all together. And that's it!

It makes me happy when i see it sitting there all bright and cheerful.

What do you think?

Do you have any fun, simple summer projects going on? Do share!

Linking up here!

My very first silhoutte project + Gray baby videos

2011-07-17T21:53:00.001-04:00

It's only taken me 2 months. I've been wanting this super fancy cutting machine for awhile. I finally got it on Mother's Day. And then I got scared of it. It seemed overwhelming to learn how to use my beloved Silhouette. So it sat there. I sewed a pretty dust cover for it. But I didn't touch it! haha.

Well, I finally got up my nerve, pulled out the manual, and guess what?! It wasn't too bad. For my project I wanted to cut out some vinyl numbers for the monthly pictures of Grayson on my fridge. I wanted them labeled for how many months old he was.

And here are all of them nice and labeled so prettily!

Nothing super impressive, I know. But it was something I'd been wanting to do. So I'm happy. :) And yeah, I know there is no 4 month picture up there. {gold star if you noticed} That was the only month I didn't take him to a portrait studio. My SIL took them and I just haven't remembered to print out the right size for one of these clear frame magnets yet.

And were going to end with some Gray videos which have been requested by my sisters!

I love this one. It's Grayson doing his happy screaming game. He does this high pitched scream. And if you scream back, he will scream again. And then he waits for you to do it again. And then he does it. It's so funny.

While we were at the beach house I got a really bad sun burn. So I was putting lots of aloe on. Whenever I shook the bottle or squeezed it, Grayson would laugh and giggle. I don't know why, but he thought it was so funny. Here is a video of it.

This one is at the pool in California. The first time we went to the pool here in KY he hated it. This time he had fun, yay!

And here is one that shows how well he is walking now.

And if you're still reading, I have a second Silhouette project to share with you too! Maybe tomorrow. :) Also, I've been thinking about participating in the WIWW posts that all of you cool bloggers do. If you know what that is, do you think I should? It kinda scares me. Totally out of my comfort zone. Any of you do it?! I need some advice/encouragement please!

K that's all for now, bye.

Beach House Vacay Part 2

2011-07-13T16:30:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I'm just now getting around to part 2. I know. It's taken me awhile. But hey, I was on vacation. :) We just got back a few days ago and I'm finally recovered. You know how it takes you a couple days or more to get back in the swing of things after a trip? Yeah.

So here is part 1 if you missed it. The second half of our beach house vacation was a family reunion. And boy was there a LOT of family there. It was Josh's mom's parents, her 5 kids, all of their kids and spouses {me!}, and their kids {Grayson}. Here is our family picture we took while at the beach house so you can see how big our group was.

The Little Family Reunion

{not little as in small, Little as in that's the last name}

And the proud great grandparents with the 4 great grandkids.

{yes, that was the best shot we could get for 4 kids ages 3 and under}

Josh's talented sister Julie was the photographer and she was nice enough to snap a few of our little family as well. Well, there are actually a bunch but it's so hard to pick my favorite... She did an amazing job! Help me and tell me which one(s) you like and why! I want to print one and put it in a big frame.

Just us Reynolds (and Chubbucks)

On a walk, what a sweet face.

Gray's first time at the beach!

Josh and I went kayaking and it was really fun. We saw a seal when were out real far in a seaweed patch!

There was a bridal shower for Courtney while we were at the beach house. I'll tell you about the wedding in another post!

Court and Lindsey with Grayson. Betcha you'd never guess these girls are twins! They were so sweet with Gray. :)

David had to stay home to work so Julie was a single mom for the week. No wonder I found her sleeping like this! I'd be exhausted too. You're a star Julie, love you!

And this was one of Grayson's favorite activities. Playing with this box. He loved it. Seriously, I'm considering buying one he loved it so much!

I can't believe I don't have pictures with more of the extended family. Boo. I was bad at getting the camera out. But we had a blast. Other than the obvious beach, we did s'mores, a family jeopardy game, Cupcake Wars, played games, crafts for the girls, and enjoyed being together. It was a great week.

Guest Blogger

2011-07-05T05:00:00.001-04:00

Guess what friends?! I'm guest blogging again. My 2nd time! And it's over a the amazing House of Hepworths! You can check it out here. And while your there look around, Allison has some amazing posts. Like this one or this one or this one which is my fav.

I Heart Chalk Paint

2011-06-30T17:52:00.000-04:00

So I've been seeing paint projects all over blogland using the famous Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. And I've been dying to try some. But you can't just buy it in a store. And it's kind of expensive.

BUT the cool thing is that:
1. It requires NO sanding.
2. It requires NO priming.
3. It dries super-dee-duper fast!
4. I've heard nothing but good things about it.

So yeah. I really want some. Bad. I've been doing a lot of painting lately and this paint would be such a huge time saver. No waiting for a few days for the paint cure and buying sand paper and primer and blah blah. And The Shabby Chic Cottage is doing a giveaway right now. So if you want some too, go here and enter. That's what I'm doing. :)

Beach House Vacay Part 1

2011-06-26T23:37:00.001-04:00

Today is our 3rd day at the beach house and it has been absolutely wonderful. These first 3 days it has been my hubby's immediate family and friends. Starting tomorrow and the rest of the time will be the family reunion part. So lots of extended family will be coming in.

The first day we spent some time at Serra Cross Park to eat and kill time waiting to check into the beach house. It was a way pretty park and had a beautiful view.

Once we got there we just relaxed, played games, went grocery shopping for the week, and just enjoyed each others company.

Day 2 was surfing for the hubby and beach time for everyone!

The beach is literally in the back yard. You walk down some steps and there is the water.

Pretty cool huh?!

The day started out cloudy but the sun came out it was great. We did some boogie boarding and the waves were huge. I also got sun burned. Should've used sunscreen I guess. :) We also went into the hot tub with the little boys. Don't worry, it wasn't actually hot. It was more like bath water.

Day 3, today, is Sunday. So no swimming or surfing. But lots of fun, hanging out, and playing games. We also went to church this morning.

My good lookin' boys.

Look at all those handsome fellas!

{Josh and Gray, and my nephews Drew and Jackson.}

We have been having lots of fun and there are still 4 more days. Family Reunion, here we come!