{Happy One Month}

It's hard to believe, but Bayler is 1 month old today! I truly feel like he was just born last week. It has gone by so fast, too fast. I know I have said it before, but every day he just gets easier and easier. He is so laid back and calm, it is amazing. Happy One Month Bayler!



On a side note, my mom is amazing! She got me a gift certificate to Ann Taylor Loft after I had Bayler, and I was going to wait until I got back to my normal size to buy anything, until I saw this dress. It was beautiful!! Since the Men of the Club program is coming up, I thought it would be appropriate to buy a new dress for the occasion...



Weird story, so I get to Ann Taylor Loft and see the dress ... unfortunately at the time, I did not have the gift certificate on me. I just thought I would go home and purchase the dress online. I look online as soon as I get home and find the dress, only this time I didn't have my credit card on hand (for the shipping.) I thought I would be ok just buying the dress the next day. NEWS FLASH ::: News to me, I get on the next day and the dress is GONE. As in - not online anymore, can't find it anywhere! I freak out and call the store near my house (it's 45 mins away.) They have two left, and they just happen to have my size. Holy Cow, it was a close one! But I am so glad to say that I got the dress, I love it, and I can't wait to where it to Men of the Club! Thanks Mom!!

{Show us your Dress}

Over at Kelly's Corner, she is hosting a blog party called "Show us your Dress." Of course I wanted in on the action, because I LOVEEEEEEEEED my dress! My two favorite decor items from my wedding was my dress and my cake ... Love Love Love.

So here is my dress!

{A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That}

It Friday! We are still patiently waiting for our proofs from last Saturday of little Bayler. I can't wait to get them back, and put them up around the house. I LOVE newborn pictures, and I think everyone who has a baby should do this, because you can never get that time back. This picture of Bayler and I was taken a few moments before our photographer arrived ... hopefully her's will be better :)



In the meantime, I captured a few pictures from this morning. The first is for the Grandpas, and the second is a picture of Braeden getting ready to give Bayler a big juicy kiss :)




I mentioned in a couple posts back that I am going to be "painting our counter tops." Yesterday I grabbed the kids and piled them in the car for a fun trip to Lowe's! I ended up taking this picture of the granite I like, hopefully I will be able to recreate this... what do you think? My goal is to start on this project in August.



Another project I am going to try to get done in August is this door. Now, a black door will not look so good at our house, but I am going to do this on the front door so it faces the street. I haven't picked a color yet, but I am hoping it turns out something like this ...



And finally, many of you know that this has been a LONG year. First year of marriage, being pregnant the whole time, exhausted all the time ... yeah, I'm craving a Vacay ... BAD. Although we don't have any planned at the moment, I am thinking that I could just spend a couple of afternoons/evenings on something like this ... with sweet tea and book in my hands! My kids would never leave me alone out there for course, but it's a nice thought ... and looks "oh so relaxing!" You can see more pictures of these hanging porch beds here.

{Couldn't Resist}

Thought I would share with you a couple of pictures I have taken this week of little Bayler ... I couldn't resist!

{Meeting George}

Curious George that is! Braeden has become obsessed with George, or in his word, "George George." It's been really fun to see him get into something and get excited every time you mention his name. So you can imagine how surprised I was to find out that Curious George was coming to town!

When we got to the YOUzeum, there were a ton of mom's and their children leaving, which led me to believe we would get right in ... WRONG! Apparently, George decided to go on a 45 minute break right before we arrived. So you can imagine all the screaming 3 year old's upset that he wasn't there. Braeden waited so patiently in line, and FINALLY it was our turn to meet George. OMG, you should have seen his face. His eyes were wide open, and the grin alone, made everything worth it! He was giving George Hi-Fives, hugs, kisses, you name it. But when it was our turn to leave, well, let's just say I did not have a happy little boy. Braeden started crying and running to George. Poor guy just didn't understand that once you got your picture taken, you moved aside for the rest of the line. He finally stopped crying after I asked him what George eats, and he quickly said 'nana's?!?' (Bananas for the rest of you!) It was so cute, the back room was set up for snacks for the kids, and of course, they were serving bananas!!

All-in-all, it was a great morning, and I am SO SO SO glad that I was able to take him. He still talks about meeting 'George George!' Love it!

{What I'm Loving Lately}

First and for most, I am LOVING this new little addition to our family. He is pretty much the best baby in the world ... yep, the world. He never cries, he loves to cuddle, and get this ... he sleeps through the night ... umm, yeah ... beat that! :) I should clarify, I feed at 1:00 am until he is REALLY full, and then just let him sleep until 6 or 7 am. LOVE IT!



I am also so excited to tell you that we are getting some professional pictures taken of Bayler this coming week. We did the same thing with Braeden, and although we have limited funds right now, I would kick myself later in life if I didn't do the same thing for him. They are precious times that I will never get back. Plus, if this is my last, I want to enjoy every last minute!

Throughout the week, there have been so many inspiring blog posts, that I just can't help but share them with you all ...

First being from A Girls Guide to Shoes. They are called Unicorn shoes by Jeffrey Campbell Michelle ... I just feel in love with the ruffle! Got to add these to my dream shoe list :)



Secondly, I found this post on Everyday Celebrating. I am loving the idea of having a "Sip & See Party." I only wish I would have seen this post before I had Bayler. What a great idea! I am constantly trying to make time for a million people to meet the little guy, so why not just have a small get together? Brilliant!
Although I am a little late, maybe I can throw one for some of my close friends. LOVE!

Thirdly, have you been to Kelly's Korner Blog? Each Friday she has a "Show Us Where You Live" tour. People sign up, and each week there is a different part of the house featured, this week it was the guest room. So you are able to click on her followers and see what their guests rooms look like. What a great way to share and get inspiration! Hurry up and get on the list for next week, it's "Children's Parties Week!" I think I will share Braeden's!

Alright, I have saved the best for last. Here is my inspiration for the summer. I WILL do this in my home, and I am SOO eager to start/try it. I guess my only hesitation would be I am afraid I will mess up, and then have to spend $1000.00 just to replace my mistake ... a little costly. Check out the before and after pictures, but be sure to go to her blog to check out how she did this awesome transformation!

{The 4th with 2 Kids}

This year the 4th of July was nothing short of interesting. With little sleep, I scrambled to get everything together and pack bags for both kids. By the time I have everything packed for our day downtown, it looked as if I had packed for a week's worth of vacation.

2 diaper bags
1 food bag
2 blankets
1 bobby
nursing bag
diapers
wipes
2 strollers
2 kids

WHOA! By the time I got myself ready, everyone else was in the car ready to go. Jeff City has a lot of offer families downtown. There is a petting zoo area, pony and camel rides, plus good food, balloons, etc. We decided to go a little early this year and scope things out. We got both kids in the strollers and after a long walk through the streets of Jeff, we found a nice shady area to sit down and have a picnic. Picnic = good place for Braeden to stretch his legs, eat some food, and not get into trouble :)

After our picnic we headed home to put the kids down for a nap (maybe nap ourselves) and gear up for the evening. We headed back downtown to walk the streets again, see some people we knew, mingle, and most importantly, find a good place to watch the fireworks over the capital. Sorry for the lack of pictures that evening, but Ryan was holding Braeden, and I was holding Bayler, so no firework pictures! Maybe next year!

All-in-all it was a good day. A different day then what Ryan and I are used to. Ryan and I are used to hanging out in the beer garden with all our friends, and this year, obviously we were not there. All our friends were there though, and it was weird not being apart of it. What was even harder for us, is that we don't really have friends with kids, so we were kind of alone. We would have loved to hang out with other families, bbq, and just relax. Maybe next year will be different.

Happy Fourth of July!