THE RAINEY DAZE

Day 4- Comparison

2013-10-04T23:53:00.000-04:00

Yikes, I'm trying here. So yesterday I intended to blog after the kids got in bed but I was EXHAUSTED and had a terrible sinus headache so yeah, it didn't happen. And while it makes me cringe, I'm telling myself it is ok. GRACE!

So yeah, I started back to M.O.M.S (Making Our Mothering Significant)yesterday, and it was wonderful and so needed. Just to hear several Godly women speak and to sing some worship songs did my heart good. I had some anxiety about going, just because of Hadley's history of staying with anyone but me. :) Usually it is a lot of screaming but I prayed and prayed that she would stay and feel safe and secure and she did it! I was so proud of her!

One of the things that just really stuck out to me yesterday at MOMS that I have always struggled with and still do is comparison. The speaker described it as looking over other people's fences. I am always comparing myself to women I see as amazing moms, amazing wives, people who have kids who are always well behaved, people who just seem to have it all together, and the list could go on and on. I have always been hard on myself and all of this comparing only makes things worse.

I have seen the quote: "Comparison is the thief of joy" over and over on blogs, Facebook and Instagram here lately, and it is like God is knocking me upside the head with it. But, how true is that?! When we compare we become blind to the things we do have. We all struggle in some way or another, some more and some less, but when we compare ourselves or even our possessions it takes away from what we DO have. I will admit I have been having a hard time in finding joy in my life lately. I have been feeling overwhelmed and tired and just "not with it". I have a wonderful husband and wonderful kids and yet there are days when I miss the joy in them. The sad truth is that I spend so much time comparing that sometimes I miss IT.

Facebook and Instagram are wonderful things, and I love them (probably too much!) but I think a big reason and cause of all this comparison is social media. People post pictures of their cute kids, and families, and they write statuses about wonderful family outings and how their husbands do all these wonderful and romantic things for them. These are great, I mean I absolutely do this too and there is nothing wrong with it, but it paints a "false" picture. I think it just plays on our insecurities. I start thinking about how much better so and so has it, how cute and stylish they are or how lucky they are to have this or that. Ugly, ugly, ugly!

I saw a quote from the preacher of Elevation Church in Charlotte Steve Furtick where he said “One of the reasons we struggle with insecurity is because we are comparing our behind-the-scenes with others highlight reels.” Isn't this so true! Nobody is going to post about all the fights they have with their husband, or a video of them losing their patience with their kids and yelling at them. We just don't do that, and we shouldn't! But, we also shouldn't be comparing ourselves with all of our Facebook friends' statuses either. I'm working on this and I am a slow work in progress, but a work nonetheless. :)

So here I go with my really cute picture of my "perfect" family. :)

And here is one I didn't post. Two kids crying and one mad as a hornet. :)

Day 2 "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful"

2013-10-02T11:18:00.000-04:00

So here I am "doing it" and can I say only 2 days into this and I feel myself just wanting to retreat and say never mind. I have been reading other friends' posts and then of course the blogs I usually read as well and to be completely honest I just feel inadequate. I went back to The Nester to find some blogs to look at and I noticed for the first time her tag line: "it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful". So true and I so believe that for everybody else, it is just tough for me to allow that for myself.

My whole purpose in doing this is just to "revive" my blog, not to necessarily delve into anything terribly deep or serious, and I need to just let myself be ok with that. This was a very last minute, (read last night around 10:00pm) that I decided to do this whole thing. There was/is no plan and that is where this is a challenge for me.

Pinterest snag, but you can get a free printable of this HERE. Think I just might get this printed and post it somewhere in my house. :)

31 Days of "Just Doing It"

2013-10-01T22:28:00.000-04:00

So I have been a terrible blogger but have continued to read blogs and everybody seems to be doing The Nester's 31 Days so I figured what better time to jump back into blogging. In a weird way I kind of hope nobody reads this, I feel inadequate and so 2011 in this big blog world, but I honestly just want this space to be a journal for me and my family and really want to jump back in. I've read so many things about the mom being the memory keeper of the family and am sad to say I have been failing miserably at being the memory keeper. I'm hoping if I can stick with this 31 days it will be a jump start to me keeping up with my blog.

So why 31 days of "just doing it"? I have a terrible problem where I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I want to do things a certain way, and if I can't do something to the exact way that I think it should be then I would rather just not do it. I'm a black and white, all or nothing person. This is in all areas of my life including blogging, which is why I haven't kept up with it. I don't want to live this way anymore and really want to give myself enough grace to realize it doesn't have to be all or nothing. That God doesn't expect perfection from me and neither should I.

I'm hoping this 31 days is a spring board of change for myself to realize that I just need to do and be the best I can, and that doesn't mean being perfect at everything I do. During this 31 days I hope to revive/update my blog and to explore things that I haven't done because I'm "scared" of it not being 100%.

I'm Baaack!

2012-10-15T23:37:00.000-04:00

So....it has obviously been awhile since I have blogged. Over a year to be exact and what a year it has been. I guess the biggest change has been the new addition to our family, our sweet girl, Hadley Caroline. :) It is so bizarre to me how much has changed since the last time I wrote here. I got caught up reading old posts tonight and realized how badly I hate that I didnt' continue blogging so that I could go back and read what we have been doing and how my kids have grown and changed. I am making a commitment to blog at least once a week to try and keep up with our lives. That sounds doable, right? I do have 3 kids 3 and under though, which makes seemingly doable things a little difficult at times. So this is my jump back into blogging about our little family, hopefully it won't be a year before I make my next post. :) Here is a picture of our precious girl, who will be 3 months old in 3 days!

What is a Mother....

2011-05-09T02:02:00.004-04:00

For those of you who were expecting another great post from Brittany, I'm sorry to disappoint you. This is Jason, the husband to the wonderful woman who is usually posting on here. A mother is so many things I don't know if I can even begin to describe one. Brittany never ceases to amaze me when it comes to raising our two boys. She is completely devoted to them and gives all of her heart to them every day. I wanted Brittany to know how special she is to all of us and how irreplaceable she is to Caden and Mason. I also want Caden and Mason to look back at this one day to remind them just how awesome their mom is.

What is a Mother....

A mother is someone who unselfishly gives themselves to their kids 24/7 and only asks for a smile and hug every now and then.

A mother is someone who, if you ask nicely and give your cutest face, cannot say no when you want to eat most of your Easter candy in one sitting.

A mother is someone who will let you play outside in your underwear and cowboy boots if you want to, and she will love you just as much 20 years from now if you still decide to do so.

A mother is someone who wants you to take risks and try new things, win or fail, and she'll always be right behind you the whole way.

A mother is someone who gives the best hugs in the world and can make you feel safe and secure with a single touch.

A mother is someone who puts together the best Easter baskets and puts an enormous amount of care into something that their kids will tear through in a matter of minutes.

A mother is someone who loves their kids unconditionally and will always put them before herself (which is why I believe it's the dad's job to put their wife before him).

A mother is someone who will take their kids to Tweetsie Railroad for the day just to see them smile when they see and hear the train for the first time (or in Mason's case, stick his lip out and cry when the horn blows).

A mother is someone who can make a simple game like moving ice from the water in one bowl and putting it in another seem like the best thing since overnight diapers.

A mother is someone who instinctly knows exactly what to do as soon as their kids enter the world, and it's a good thing because I don't like their chances if it were up to the Dads.

A mother is someone who can still hold it together when they feel like the weight of the world is strapped to their back. (In this case, the weight is Mason)

A mother is someone who seldom receives the thanks and appreciation they deserve, yet they keep on keeping on and never stop being the most important person in their child's life.

So to Brittany, my mom, my sister, my mother-in-law, and all the moms who read this, not a day goes by that I don't appreciate everything you do for your kids and family. You're the bindings that holds your family together and keeps them strong through good times and bad. Even though we may not show it or express it as much as we should, you are loved and treasured more than you know.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Easter

2011-05-04T21:40:00.000-04:00

Yes I realize I'm a little late on the Easter train, but nevertheless here it is. :)

Caden's school had an Easter Egg hunt on the Wednesday before so Jason and I went to watch the madness. This was Caden's first real Easter egg hunt so I was interested how it would go and if he would get the concept. Well lets just say he was an Easter egg hunting machine. :) He was on a mission and wouldn't even look up for a picture...other kids would put an egg or two in their basket and then get distracted, not Caden. I ended up making him share some of his eggs with other kids who did not get as many. Here are a few pictures.

Cutie Pie. :)

A feeble attempt at a picture...he was having none of it.

Showing Ms. Elise all his eggs. :) He was so excited.

When we got home Mason decided to raid Caden's eggs. HA! Caden was having none of it.

Nothing like a chocolate goatee.

I'll do an Easter part II post shortly since there are so many pics. :)

Mason is 9 Months Old!

2011-05-04T14:11:00.000-04:00

Mase Mase is 9 months old! He weighs 21 pounds 11 ounces and is 29 inches long. Our little peanut is what I call him. :) He seems so small to us but apparently he really isn't. ;) This is seriously the most fun age to me. He is still the happiest baby, smiling and laughing all the time, and he has the cutest little personality. Even Dr. Spees said he's a little character and he certainly is.

The clingyness (is that a word?) has gotten so much better in these past couple of weeks and is such a relief to me! Don't get me wrong, he still is pretty stuck on me, but I can't actually sit him down for a little while and he is ok. YAY!

He said his first "real" word this month. "Uh-oh". I say real word because he actually uses it in context. He will purposely drop something and say Uh-oh. It's pretty cute. ;) He also says "No-No" and shakes his head no at the same time. I need to get this on camera because he looks hilarious when he does it. Think Stevie Wonder. HA! Of course he still babbles all sorts of things and we're beginning to think he knows who DaDa is because he will say it when Jason walks in the room. He also does this growl thing that is hilarious.

As far as walking goes, I think he is on the verge of taking his first steps. It depends on how brave he gets, he's a little bit of a chicken. ;) Of course I said that about crawling too and he proved me wrong. He is a pro at his wounded soldier crawl and he is FAST! He can sit himself up very easily now too. He will dance whenever he hears music, its this little squatting move and sometimes when he really gets into it he shakes his head too. It's hilarious. He cruises everywhere and makes his way around the room making his way with furniture. He also walks around the house with his little push walker. He's on the move that is for sure.

He has also started waving bye-bye and saying it at the same time. It is super cute! He has also mastered feeding himself small finger foods like puffs and cheerios. He's got that pincher grasp down! He's still a great sleeper and eater. He will eat pretty much anything. He still doesn't have any teeth...which I'm VERY happy about since he is still nursing.

Favorite toys are any kind of ball, car, or train. BOY BOY BOY! haha They start so young. He also LOVES paper and will eat it the first chance he gets. He is obsessed with my keys, the remote, the computer mouse and any kind of necklace. Basically anything that is not a toy is his favorite thing to play with.

I can't believe it is 3 months until he is 1. I guess I need to get on the birthday planning train. :) This little boy has blessed our lives even more than we could have ever imagined.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-20T11:07:00.000-04:00

Anatomy of a Fall:

**Disclaimer: No toddlers were injured in this demonstration. You can see in the last picture he is smiling. He landed just right to not hurt himself and he got up laughing. :)

Pamela's Baby Shower

2011-04-17T12:24:00.000-04:00

I'm determined to catch up with some important things that I've missed blogging about. One big thing I missed was my Bff4l's baby shower (translation for all of you that haven't taught middle school: Best Friend For Life). My mom, our friend Rebekah, and myself hosted a "Cookies & Milk" baby shower for Pamela on March 6. It was so much fun and we had a great turn-out despite the monsoon like weather we experienced that day.

The hostesses with the cute mommy. :)

Some details of the party. :)

The delicious cookie table! :)

The glass of choice for the day: Mason jars with the most adorable purple striped straws. :)

The drink of choice to go in the Mason jars: all kinds of milk; chocolate, strawberry and white.

Another view of the table.

More cute little details. The little bags were the favors for guests to take cookies home with them.

Sweet little girl clothes. :)

She got so many cute things, and isn't she the cutest pregnant lady ever?!

We had so much fun and I am so thankful that I get to share in this experience with my closest friend. Baby Kylie will be here anyday and I can not wait to meet her! I love you P!

Mason is 8 Months Old!

2011-04-11T11:05:00.000-04:00

Oh my sweet Mason. You are 8 months old and I can hardly believe it. You still have the sweetest little personality and do the cutest things. To say you are attached to me would be a HUGE understatement. If I'm in the room, I better be holding you or else you are not happy. Needless to say I don't get much done these days. :)

You started getting up on all fours and rocking last month so I just KNEW you would be crawling soon. But you had other plans little man. :) You figured out you could get where you wanted by dragging/army crawling yourself. It takes you a little while but you get where you want to go. I call it the wounded soldier crawl b/c that is exactly what you look like when you do it. ;) You can also get yourself into a sitting position from all fours. You are not still a single second of the day. :)

Another big milestone you have accomplished this month is pulling yourself to stand. I put you in your crib for a second while I was doing something and I came back into the room and there you stood. It was quite a shock! :) You have also started to cruise slowly around furniture and your toys. You seem way too small to be doing these things. ;)

You "talk" all the time and are rarely quite. :) "Da Da" is your word of choice, but you also finally say "Ma Ma" too. "Ba Ba", "Na Na", "Ya Ya" are also some favorites. :) You also mimic many sounds, especially ones that you hear Caden make. When he cries/screams you mimic him and it always makes me laugh. You are definitely a silly little boy.

You love to play pat-a-cake and "ride-a-horsey". You also LOVE to be upside down. Your favorite things to play with are your little Laugh and Learn table, your walker wagon toy and your giraffe toy. You watched me put the ball down the ramp on your giraffe once and then you started doing it like it was no big deal. Now as soon as you sit down at it you start putting whatever you can find on it. It's the cutest thing. :)

You still love to look in mirrors and you also still look at your brother like he hung the moon. It really is the cutest thing. If he is near you, you try to grab him and you will just look at him and laugh. You will do anything to try and get his attention. :)

You weigh around 21 pounds but you seem so little to me still. Like way smaller than Caden was at your age. You still seem like such a little baby to me, and I LOVE it. You wear size 3 diapers and 6-12 and 12-18 month clothes, depending on where they are from.

You nurse every 3-4 hours during the day and you eat oatmeal and a fruit in the morning and a vegetable in the evening. You like pretty much any fruit and you are warming up to green vegetables, you love sweet potatoes and squash. You are a great sleeper these days and go to bed around 7 and sleep until 7. During the day you usually take 3 naps, depending on how long you sleep for each one.

You had several "firsts" this month. You went to the park for the first time, had your first ride in a swing (you LOVED it!), stayed in the church nursery for the first time, had puffs and Mum Mums. You are getting too big. :)

We are so proud to call you our son and I feel so blessed to be your mommy. I love you sweet boy. :)

We're Alive...I Promise!

2011-04-04T16:45:00.000-04:00

I am SO behind and SO overwhelmed with how long is has been since I blogged...over a month! I have had a couple of gentle nudges from several people that I really need to update my blog so I'm doing it. We have been super busy and there have been a lot of things that I have missed blogging about, but I'm back and will be better, hopefully! ;)

I'm just going to do my best to put up a quick recap of all our goings-on so that I can look back and remember. I haven't been good about taking a lot of pictures either, which I always regret later, so I'm going to be better about that also!

Next post will be Mason's 8 month post, he turned 8 months on March 22nd and I still can't believe it. I missed his 7 month post (I did take his "7 month pictures" though) so I definitely don't want to miss this one, he's a busy little boy. :)

Caden seems to have gotten so much older in the past couple of months as well. He says the funniest things and is looking so much like a little boy these days. It makes me excited to see what he's going to become and also sad about how quick he is growing up.

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures to tide you over. :)

Caden looking cute before school one morning.

Sweet Mase. :)

Project 365 - Week 5

2011-02-17T10:51:00.000-05:00

January 29, 2011

YAY! Finally a pretty day...it was kind of chilly and very windy, but we all enjoyed getting out and going to the park! :)

January 30, 2011

This Christmas we had tickets in our stockings to go to the circus and today was the day! We had so much fun and Caden was in awe of everything. We had awesome seats so we had a great view of everything going on!

I had to include this picture too of Caden and Nini...they were watching the trapeze artists right above us...I think they were nervous. Also ignore the pizza all over Caden's face. :)

January 31, 2011

Sweet Mason fresh out of the bath loving on Sophie. :)

February 1, 2011

I was reading Caden his night-night story and I looked down and saw this. HA! I think it's time to toss those jammies. :)

February 2, 2011

I finished packing for my trip to Miami! :)

February 3, 2011

I left for Miami this day and Mason was left to fend for himself. :) Bless it, he was probably wondering where his mommy aka food source went. :)

February 4, 2011

Our first night in South Beach...out with the Bachelorette herself.

Project 365 - Week 4

2011-02-12T23:08:00.000-05:00

January 22, 2011

Mason turned 6 months old! He's such a cutie. :)

January 23, 2011

Good thing he's cute! HAHA! You've got to love a good blow-out. :)

January 24, 2011

I feel like this is the never-ending winter. Caden decided to practice some tricks to entertain us all. :)

January 25, 2011

Mason is always along for the ride. He loves to watch Caden in the playroom and he kept laying his head down and just looked so darn cute. :)

January 26, 2011

Along with this weather, I'm ready for all the sickness to go with it. This is what we are surviving on right now. The Chai Tea is mine. :)

January 27, 2011

You might be a redneck...Our lovely "backsplash" is coming unglued from the wall so Jason squirted some super glue in there and put his huge tool box on the counter to help it set. Don't mind that sink full of dirty dishes either. :)

January 28, 2011

This week has consisted of a lot of this. Sweet boy has felt awful. Lots of snuggling on the couch with doggy watching Toy Story. :)

Old School

2011-02-11T17:48:00.000-05:00

I recently read an article about things that babies born in 2011 will never know. It made me so sad, and made me feel so old! These things to me are like 8-tracks to my parents: they have been a part of my life and will never be a part of my children's lives. Some things they mentioned that our recently born children will never know about:

VHS tapes and VCR's were the first thing on the list. Obviously I know these things are obselete and DVD's are so much easier, but I still have a huge box of VHS tapes that I'm so sad I will never get to watch again. When we were in college, a long 6-10 years ago...which by the way sounds insane to me...Jason bought me tons of VHS of all my favorite movies like "Dirty Dancing", "Shag", "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken", and "Center Stage". I had a tv that had a VCR attached and we watched movies on it all the time.

Bookstores were another thing on the list, which I now feel guilty about because of my "new love." I just love a bookstore, especially ones that have Starbucks in them. :)

One thing on the list that I found surprising was watches. I mean who doesn't love a cute watch?! This sounds crazy to me but they cited a source from a college that said most incoming freshmen had never worn a wristwatch or knew how to write in cursive. Which by the way I saw on the news that some states are removing teaching cursive writing from the curriculum starting next year, and instead will spend that time working on computer skills. Interesting...I'm not sure how I feel about this, but honestly it's probably for the best, besides my signature I never use cursive.

Maps are also on the list. Which I can say I'm not too upset about. Reading maps and especially folding them have never been my forte. I'll stick to the GPS on my phone thankyouverymuch. :)

Dial-up internet will be something that Caden and Mason will never have to experience. Lucky them. I remember in high school when AIM came out my mom was always yelling at me to get off so she could use the phone. Speaking of AIM, trib024 was my username... the 024 was my birthday, 4-20, backwards...I didn't want people to think I was a pot head and "trib" because I thought it spelled Brit backwards and once I realized it didn't it was too late to change it because I already had my friend list. Ah, the good 'ol days. :)

CD's were on the list, but I think I must be behind the times on this one because I still have cd's and Caden has cd's that he likes to listen to. Also, I don't have and never have had an I-pod. I will never forget the first cd's I owned I got for Christmas. My parents got me a huge boom box and a subscription to one of those CD clubs where you got 10 free CD's and then you had to buy several through out the year. The only CD I remember from that collection was Boyz II Men. :)

And the one I'm probably most upset about is that movie stores will be no more. I mean honestly I'm suprised that there are still any around, with Netflix and Red Box who needs a movie store, but I used to love going to the movie store and getting to pick out something to watch. I remember when I was little every time we got to go pick out a movie I would choose "Troop Beverly Hills". In fact, Jason knew this and last Christmas he found me a DVD of Troop Beverly Hills. I was so excited! HA!

I'm sure there are many more things that my kids won't know about and when I mention them they will look at me like I'm crazy and I will realize just how old I am getting. Can't wait! HA!!

The Power of Baby Powder

2011-02-11T16:07:00.000-05:00

So if you know me at all you probably know about my love for baby powder (BP from here on out). This love began way before I had babies....speaking of, BP isn't even supposed to be used on babies anymore, who would've thought? Anyway, I honestly don't know what I would do without it. It is without a doubt my top "beauty secret"...actually it's probably my only beauty secret. I'm not really into "beauty" things...although I wish I was along with alot of other things, including but not limited to cleaning, crafting, and scrapbooking.

Not a day goes by that I don't use BP on my hair. I have very oily hair...I'm talking, if I wash it in the morning by the afternoon it is FLAT and greasy. It's awful. This is where BP saves me. I don't like to wash my hair daily but honestly if I don't it looks like an oil slick, but with just a little BP it looks SO much better!

I even use it right after I have washed and dried it, it gives it some body. If I don't use the BP I have serious flat head...although it does kind of "wear out" throughout the day, but if I just brush it, it spruces it right up. I have been using it as long as I can remember and a couple of years ago I even read in a magazine that Jessica Simpson uses BP on her hair...at that moment I knew that it was ok. :)

All I do is pour a little in my hand and rub them together, then flip my head upside down and rub it into the roots. I do this a couple of times, getting different parts of my head. Then I flip it back and brush it...simple as that. I have blonde hair...but I think I may have seen once at Sally's they have different colors of baby powder, like brown or something? Anyway...here is a before and after baby powder picture:

Ah, so much better. I don't feel complete until I have BP'd myself. :)

Southbeach Bringin' The Heat

2011-02-02T22:14:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been MIA for the last week or so...I'm behind on so many things...including Project 365 posts...but I promise I'll be catching up soon....after I return from MIAMI!!

We've all been super sick in this house...first Caden..who is still coughing after almost 2 weeks...then Mason...who is also still coughing, and currently myself. I had a wonderful combo of their virus along with a touch of the stomach bug...awesome! Anyways, I'm definitely still not 100% but I'm still hopping on a plane tomorrow to celebrate Alyson's bachelorette party...hoping I can keep up. :)

Needless to say it's been interesting trying to find "Miami" clothes...my wardrobe consists of yoga pants, pajama pants, and sweat pants. :) Anyway I'm definitely looking forward to it and hoping that my spray tan Liz has scheduled for me doesn't leave me looking like an Oompa Loompa. :)

Big props to Jason for keeping the boys for the long weekend and surprising me with this trip for Christmas...such a wonderful man. :)

Shoot and Edit - Good Night SOOC

2011-01-24T10:04:00.000-05:00

This week the prompt was "Good Night". I had a hard time deciding which photo to use but when I really thought about it nothing says good night like freshly bathed babies. :) To me there is nothing sweeter than the smell of Mason's sweet little head fresh out of the bath, and how his hair curls when it is wet makes my heart smile.

Here is my SOOC shot. I really hope to learn how to edit this so that the lighting looks much better.

Happy 1/2 Birthday Baby Boy!

2011-01-23T22:28:00.001-05:00

To my sweet Mason,

So here we are again, another month milestone, a whole half-year has gone by since you were born. Perhaps, the quickest 6 months of my life. In these 6 short months you have doubled the love in our family. Your sweet spirit is so obvious and was from the very beginning. You are such a sweet baby and you make everyone you come in contact with feel like the most important person in the world. With just a simple word spoken to you, you will flash that big, open-mouthed grin and you instantly have them wrapped around your finger. Just this week I've had two strangers come up and tell me how incredibly lucky I am to have you and I couldn't agree more.

I can tell already that you are going to be passionate: about life, about love, about anything and everything you encounter. You know what you want and when you want it, and watch out if you don't get it. Usually this thing that you want is me, if I'm in the room I pretty much have to be holding you. It makes it difficult to do much of anything because you always want me, but at the same time it makes my heart smile. I know this time is so fleeting, your big brother taught me that lesson!

You literally came flying into this world and you are still a little whirlwind. Your hands and arms go a mile a minute, trying to grab anything and everything within your reach. I call you octopus arms because you are so fast and grabby there's no way you only have two. I've tried to feed you a couple of times but I literally can't get the spoon to your mouth because you grab it before I can get anywhere close. I think you're going to be a little spit-fire and your brother is going to have somebody to keep him on his toes.

Speaking of brother you still LOVE him. If you're crying and you see him you stop and will usually start smiling. Forget about it if he actually talks to you or touches you, you look at him like he hung the moon. It really is the most precious thing. Now, if only we could get him to reciprocate that adoration. ;)

You have brought so much love into our lives these last 6 months. When I was pregnant with you I always wondered how it would be possible to love another child like I loved Caden, and quite honestly I was worried about it. As soon as they put you in my arms all those worries were erased and I realized that my heart just doubled in size. I can't imagine our lives without your little self and I know that you were placed in our family for a reason. Your daddy, brother, and I are so lucky that God chose us for each other.

Here are some things that you are up to this month:

You sit like a pro, I can actually leave you playing...you do fall occasionally but it's more like a roll.
You push all the way up on your arms and are thisclose to getting on all fours.
You grab anything and everything in sight.
You really love your toys, you will just play and play until you drop.
You love: me to sing to you, looking in mirrors, tags, watching your mobile, jumping in your door jumper, watching Caden, nursing, bath time, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and so many other things I can't list them all.
You babble DADA all the time, and GAGA sometimes...I really know you mean MAMA though. ;)
You blow raspberries ALL the time and you are constantly soaked because of it.
You have started cuddling with me a lot more and I LOVE it.

You do this funny thing where you will attack our faces and give big ole' kisses.
You're still not a fan of your carseat and I think we'll be moving to the convertible carseat soon.
You are sleeping better, usually only getting up once at night.
You still take naps in your swing, hopefully you'll be napping in your crib soon?!
I'm not sure how much you weigh and your length...I'll update this next week.

I know before we know it, it will be your 1st birthday and you will be running around and eating cake. I just want to remember to soak everything in with you and not to rush to the next stage. I would be fine with you staying my baby forever. I love you baby boy. :)

Here is a little look at how you've grown in these six months:

Project 365 - Week 3

2011-01-23T17:29:00.000-05:00

January 15, 2011

I've mentioned before how much Mason loves looking in the mirror. Jason was holding him up so he could smile and talk to himself and he was getting so excited. And just take a look at that dimple, I could just eat him up. :)

January 16, 2011

We were on our way up to Hickory and Caden just looked too cute and too old in his little vest. This may be one of my new favorite pictures of him. :)

January 17, 2011

This is my awesome bib that I made. You can read the story about my "squirrel bib" here. :)

January 18, 2011

This picture cracks me up! I was so excited because I actually got Caden to sit on the potty, usually he runs screaming "No, diaper on!" whenever I mention it. For some reason this day he decided he would sit on it and watch Toy Story 3. He didn't "produce" anything but it's progress. Too bad he has refused to sit on it since. :)

January 19, 2011

I was wearing Mason around in the sling trying to do some things since he refused to be put down this day. I looked down and noticed how precious his little feet and hands are. :)

January 20, 2011

We finally had some decent weather where we could actually get outside. So we took full advantage and Caden was able to ride his new John Deere around the neighborhood. :)

January 21, 2011

Friday, we took another trip down to Discovery Kids. Caden of course had such a good time again. Here he is in the grocery store, one of his favorite things to do. I had to remind him right after this picture to share, because a little girl came and was taking his groceries and he told her, "No! Mines!"...which is something I hear daily when Mason is touching any of his toys. :)

Shoot and Edit Part 2

2011-01-21T22:11:00.001-05:00

So here is my edited picture from the "Shoot and Edit". I tried to follow Ashley's edits the best I could. I am still completely lost on Photoshop though so I pretty much fumbled around trying to find the different edits that she did on hers and this is what I came up with:

Here is my SOOC shot again:

Basically I cropped it, which I'm still not crazy about, if I cropped it too much it looked like something was just blurred in front of Mason and so then I cropped the ball completely out but wasn't sure if I liked that either. So I just cropped a small portion of it out. I also adjusted the white balance, increased the brightness and contrast and sharpened it, just a bit. I played a bit with the levels adjustment and increased the blacks slightly.

So here is my edited version:

It's not a drastic difference by any means but it's just a very basic edit. Here they are side

by side:

I can't wait to learn more techniques and I LOVE looking at everyone's photos!

My New Love

2011-01-18T20:59:00.000-05:00

I have always loved books, I love the smell of them, the feel of them (except when I have just washed my hands...something about the texture of the paper on my soft fingers...ehhh I'm getting chills thinking about it). Ahem. What was I saying? Oh yes, I love books. Pre-mommy me was always reading a book, or a magazine, or even a cereal box, anything that had words I would read. Post-baby me doesn't have so much time for leisurely reading, but I still have a deep love for words (probably why I became an English teacher). Along with books, libraries have always held a special place in my heart, I probably look like a lunatic in the library because I LOVE the smell and I'm constantly sniffing while I'm in there.

The more I write the crazier I sound.

Anyway, I love that anyone can walk into a library and have access to thousands of books, movies, magazines, etc. I love that Caden can go in there and pick up any book he chooses off the shelf, although, I'm sure the librarian isn't crazy about that. All this is leading me to the fact that I am cheating on my beloved books and libraries with one of those fancy schmancy E-readers. The Kindle.

I remember when they first came out I always swore that I would never have one because I loved books so much. I got one for Christmas and I had no idea what I was missing! Downloading books instantly, reading one-handed while nursing without trying to figure out how to turn the page, no having to touch paper after my hands have been wet...the list could go on. :) Needless, to say I LOVE this thing! I have already read two books since Christmas, which is a lot considering I don't have a whole lot of time.

I read "Firefly Lane" by Kristin Hannah and "The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes" by Diane Chamberlain. They were both awesome and I highly recommend them!

I can't wait to download some more and if you are a Kindle owner I found a cool website where you can actually borrow and lend books, free of charge! It's called the Kindle Lending Club. I just requested "Water for Elephants" and I can't wait to read it before the movie comes out!

While I love my Kindle with all my heart it doesn't mean I won't ever pick up a book again and it certainly doesn't mean I will be giving up my library sniffing habit anytime soon. :)

What Says Good Morning to Me?

2011-01-17T08:51:00.001-05:00

I have really wanted to start learning how to edit my photos better. I have Photoshop Elements and I use it but I honestly have no idea what I'm doing with it. I am joining this link up to try and learn some tips and tricks. The theme this week is "What says good morning to you?"

When I read this I immediately thought of me and the boys and our early morning play time in front of the rising sun painted in their playroom. How perfect! :)

Here is my SOOC (straight out of camera) shot. I hate that the ball is in front of him. Also, the playroom is actually the back half of our garage that Jason walled in, so therefore there is no natural light in the room.

Just Call Me Martha...or Not

2011-01-16T12:49:00.001-05:00

So 2 Christmases ago, aka Christmas '09, aka just found out I was pregnant again, I decided I wanted a sewing machine. Jason passed along the message to his mom and on Christmas I opened up my sewing machine along with a cute basket filled with all sorts of fun sewing accessories. I was so excited and also SO tired at that point! Too tired and too busy keeping up with a 14 month old and being in my 1st trimester to find the time to even open my sewing machine much less actually sew with it. Anyway after sitting on our kitchen floor for a couple of months Jason put it in the closet, where it has sat ever since.

Since my addiction to Etsy and all things cute and homemade I have wanted to try to make some things myself, like cute burp cloths, bibs, shirts, etc. Things I thought should be easy enough to start with. So on a wild hair, one day last week I went and bought some fabric...I thought I would get home, get the machine out and start sewing...

A couple of hours and a few choice words later I still didn't have the machine threaded. Like seriously my head was getting hot I was so frustrated, I must have read that manual 10 times through trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. Finally the next day, yes seriously it took me essentially two days to get the thread in the machine, I'm crafty like that, I got it threaded correctly and I was ready to go!

Let me just say that I'm not the craftiest person in the world, I've always wanted to be but I'm just not. Anyway that first day I "made" two burp cloths and they were actually pretty cute, I mean we're not talking rocket science here...you just take a cloth diaper and a cute piece of fabric and sew it in the middle. I mean my line..or seam?...isn't exactly straight but no big deal it still works and I'm sure I can work on that. At this point I was feeling pretty good about my new crafty self.

So yesterday I decided to step it up a notch and sew a bib...Mason has reflux so burp cloths and bibs are things I use a lot. I googled and found a pattern for a bib and quickly realized this was a little more complicated and involved than the burp cloths but still seemed doable. I mean I did make a pair of boxer shorts in 9th grade Teen Living (Jason was in this class with me and we often reference the time when Mrs. Hass helped him with his crotch :). Anyway I cut out my fabric and started sewing and looking at it I realized that the actual sewing was awful, I'm talking where there were supposed to be curves I was making sharp angles.

I was still hopeful though that it would look ok, so I finished sewing and turned it inside out and I found myself looking at this:

Yes, it appears I made a bib for a squirrel. I have no idea what happened but the bib is so small it fits around my wrist...needless to say I didn't even attempt to put the snap on it, which by the way seems really complicated too.

For comparison, here is the bib beside another one of Mason's:

I'll just leave it at that. :)

Discovery Kids

2011-01-16T10:00:00.001-05:00

Last Friday I was looking for something to do...somewhere to get out of the house and I remembered seeing some things about how great Discovery Kids in Huntersville is. I can attest that it is awesome! Caden had the best time and I had so much fun too!

When I lived in Raleigh I was a nanny for a 3 year old little girl and downtown they had something very similar and I loved taking her there, but this was so much better! When we walked in the first thing we saw was a huge firetruck and Caden's eyes go so big and he was so excited....it was precious! Anyway the whole place is awesome and is a kid's dream and a mom's too. ;) My mom went with us and she bought us season passes so we can go as we please all year long! Thanks Nini! :)

I took a couple of pictures but they don't really do the place justice, plus I was so busy playing that I didn't take a whole lot of time to get my camera out.

Driving the firetruck.

Saving someone's life in the "amblance". :)

Driving a boat.

Learning to change a tire...also he just turned 2, why does he look 5?

Making Daddy jealous and driving a race car. :)

The huge water play, and how cute is that apron?

Caden the cashier. :)

He loved the cow, and he found a baby cow and kept running up to it and saying "Mommy cow, here's baby cow." So cute!

We can't wait to go back!

My Baby Has A Comb Over

2011-01-15T15:35:00.000-05:00

I really hope this doesn't offend anyone but I find it amazing how much babies and elderly people are similar. Honestly, think about it: they both wear diapers, they need help eating, they sleep alot, someone has to bathe them, and most obviously they develop crazy hairstyles. There are many more similarities, and clearly I realize that these behaviors don't apply to all elderly people...or all babies (elimination communication, anyone?...if you've never heard of this look it up...craziness) anyway, Mason is one who has developed what I like to call the baby comb over.

It all started innocently enough, he was born with tons of dark hair, oh and that thing about heartburn = lots of hair, so true! Anyway, he started slowly losing some and then it was obvious that he slept more on one side because that hair started falling out. Since then it has been a slow progression of all his hair on that side and on the back falling out and he has been left with a serious comb over. Honestly it looks like he is wearing a miniture toupee, or if you were in middle school in the mid-90's and remember the "skaters" or "alternative" kids who shaved their heads all around, only leaving hair on top. Bless his heart, luckily he is still as cute as can be.

I decided that maybe he needed a little trim to help out his hair situation, so mom trimmed some of the extra long pieces off but seriously nothing is going to resolve this short of shaving it all off. He could rock a serious mohawk...maybe that's what I will try next, although I'm not sure they make baby hair product. So some pictures of Mason's first haircut:

I mean do you see what we're working with here?

Haircuts are hard work.

Sweet baby blues.

Thanks Nini for the haircut!