One Month

so I forgot a minor post....poor second child already gets the shaft...I'm sure most of you know by now but Jackson was born 2 weeks early on Nov 15....7lb 15oz and 21 1/4 in. We are so in love and all my fears of being able to love another child as much as Ryder are over(:

I was totally unprepared for a rough labor because Ryder's was a piece of cake...this one was just long and then my epidural wore off so I felt way more than I wanted to and was screaming like you see in the movies...not that I ever considered natural labor but I sure won't now.
8 days old on Thanksgiving Day (below)....so much to be thankful for!

first family of four photo...

Ryder is such a great big brother!

this sweet little newborn outfit is already too small! how sad!

Already got our bama gear of course! Has anyone noticed that I have a child every year we go to the Nat'l Champ game? I guess I better keep pushing these munchkins out for the sake of alabama football...(andy's dying for me to go the game with him but how could I leave this precious little face already?!!)

This Christmas......

3 awesome things to read/watch as we are in the midst of the Christmas Season! I PROMISE YOU IT'S WORTH YOUR TIME! Andy and I have been praying about what we want our family to look like during the holiday's and I confess ours looks much like the world most of the time....I find myself thinking way more about what I need to buy, cook, decorate etc than about Jesus........hope the following challenges and encourages you as much as it did us!

And if you do read, I would love to know your thoughts so leave a comment! it's kind of overwhelming and I know every family will take and leave things and follow as the Lord leads. I honestly I am not sure where to start....well, maybe I should ask Jesus...I think I'll start there...

"The Christmas Conundrum"

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2011/12/when-christmas-gets-radical-whose-birthday-is-it-really/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+HolyExperience+(Holy+Experience)

just click play on the promo video on this sight

Nesting........part one

The nesting kicked in hard core after the nausea became bearable at 23ish weeks...since we have only been in our house for a year I'm still trying to decorate all the rooms from scratch for the most part since we didn't have much furniture in our condo. I think the "nesting" has made me a little more urgent in my need to feel settled and organized...so this summer I literally started one room at a time and I'm finally almost done.

The master bedroom was first to get finished...after 8 years of marriage, I'm so excited to finally love my bedroom for the first time! We finished it a few months ago but I just now got around to taking some pics...

Here are some before and after pics although they aren't very good taken with the iphone but you can get the idea!

Before: old carpet, neutral color on the wall had a pink tint to it that always bothered me, a horrible light kit on the fan, bedding that I just couldn't figure out how to decorate around, no side tables, no lamps, no headboard (but a very comfy king bed that we invested in a few years ago !!)

After....the armoir was actually just a brown oak and I painted it cream and distressed it and sprayed the hardware with oil rubbed bronze...looks like a completely different piece of furniture..and to think I almost got rid of it!

we had the walls painted "Sail Cloth" by Benjamin Moore- it's my favorite neutral ever...it's creamy white with the slightest bit of gray undertones

So I here are my steals and splurges:

Steals:

-lamps $50 each at homegoods but did have to get new shades for $30 each but when you see the before pic of the lamp you'll see why I had to get new shades...

- side tables for $65 each at homegoods (before and after pics below)

- bedding- $120 from TJ Max...includes quilt 3 euro shams and 2 king shams

- Baskets with lid (which are hard to find unless you want to spend $25 at potter barn) in side table $7.99 each at Homegoods

- "headboard"...3 old iron gates from Yukatan (in Cahaba Heights) for $150

Splurges:

- 2 original egg drawings framed

- had the pillows made from Sew Sheri's in Mt Brook Village (they have awesome fabric if you live in Bham)

- hardwoods and plantation shutters which we got throughout the house but they have given the whole house "good bones" to start decorating on..plus they will last for a long time and be good for re-sale

We got hardwoods everywhere but the 4 bedrooms when we moved in...then this summer we decided we regretted not getting them in the bedrooms...and went ahead and got those done (note to self...get floors and walls the way you want them BEFORE you move in!!). The bedskirt looks sad in this pic because it hadn't been ironed or put on straight at the time..ha
the egg pics...love them and know I'll be able to keep them forever...my first of a few "real art" pieces that I got in hopes to have stuff I really love instead of cheap stuff I want to get rid of every 2 years...
small chest before....
painted gray and new knobs
side table...before..they actually only had one red one and one green one (of which I didn't like either color) so I painted them gray....
side table after
lamp before...see I told you it was bad!!!!
lamp after!

not much more time to nest.....don't worry, I did not wear this skin tight shirt in public..well I did but with a sweater over it!

belly's about to burst!!!!! 37.5 weeks.....inducing 2 weeks from Monday (40 wks) if he's not here before!!!!!
Title is nesting part one in hopes that there might be a part 2, 3, 4 etc...of nursery, Ry's room, living room, office etc if I can get around to taking pics before Mr. Jackson decides to arrive!

Quick Update

I never thought the end would come...and 4 weeks out is still sounding like a very long time!! ..there's really nothing I like about being pregnant...except the end result of course(: So, here I am in all my 36 week glory...I really don't know how my belly can get any bigger. I feel like Jackson might be bigger than Ryder but we'll see.
Ryder is SOOOO much fun these days....he talks a ton always keeps us laughing....and of course a sleeping child always melts a mother's heart....
School Days!! So incredibly thankful for Briarwood MDO....it's been such a blessing to know that he's in good hands and I'm able to get lot's of work done (and lately getting ready for baby)
If you get Southern Living Magazine, you might recognize yours truly in the November issue(: We shared several of our recipes from our Holiday Menu so if you like to cook you should try them out...they are some of my favorite! Anyways, we were excited to get our first recognition in something so widespread and we've already seen a bump up in new customers over the past few weeks so hopefully it will help get our name out there. But hopefully not too much though...seeing that I'm about to be out of pocket during our busiest season of the year!
Also you can check out Taste of the South in their December/January issue....I particuarly love this one because they put Ryder in it with me and he makes it extra cute(: I'm not a big Red Velvet Cake fan but I have to say this recipe is worth trying...our pastry chef came up with it and it is by far the best one I've ever had. We also have our White Chocolate Craisin cookies in here that are a fun holiday treat to bake(:

2 reason's to love fall....

1. Alabama Football!!!! Went to our first game of the season (and definitely my last...I am already uncomfortable which doesn't bode well for me considering I still have 9 more weeks!) Terrible pic of me in all my 31 week glory...not to mention sweating for 2 hours through the first half..thankfully the second half was a little cooler.

2. Fall decorating. Already got my white pumpkins and then I saw this little "craft" in a mag and figured it was one that I should attempt. I have no business blogging about anything "crafty" but I had to share this for anyone who is like me and doesn't like crafts that take more than 10 minutes...so here ya go..not to mention it was super cheap. Glass vases at the $1 store and the wheat for $3.50 a bundle at Publix. So the first pic took me a little over my 10 minute max..was planning on doing 15 of them for tables at Ashley Mac's...but decided to go with the second pic and throw them all in the vase

T-R-O-U-B-L-E...

That's what these two spell!!!!!!

We were SO excited when we found out they were in the same class at Briarwood MDO this year- their teachers said they were inseparable today....Kimmie and I are getting just what we've been pushing for(:

To our other buddies, when I asked Ry on the way to school if he wanted to go to school with Isaac today..he says "bout Caroline?" "bout Asher" (translation.."what about Caroline and Asher"). Those four kids have been in a "playgroup" since they were 6 months old so it's pretty cute how much they love eachother! So, there's a shout out to Caroline and Asher..wish y'all were in their class too!(:

For more pics of their first day check out Kimmie's blog

Ryder goes on Wednesday's too so he was showing Isaac where to go today..they held hands the whole walk in!!!! melt....

Two and Three

We finally got Ryder his 2 yr doc appt. I am so thankful to have a healthy child for now. I keep hearing of so many people that have children with health issues and I just can't imagine how hard that must be. Anyways, he is 30.5 lbs (80%) and 36in long (92%)...no shocker that we have a big boy. Although Andy's still convinced he needs to be in the 99% for both...I believe his comment when I told him the stats was "that's good...he's getting there" LOL

He looks like such a big boy here...funny to compare him to other pics I have of him the same week in a jon jon and his passy which he looks much more like a baby in!

showing me his "boo boo" from getting his finger pricked
Finger painting at my parents house (I let him do all the messy stuff over there!!)
And the "THREE" from my title is for....Happy third trimester to me! In some ways I can't believe i'm on the homestretch..in other ways I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER!!!! Unfortunately my belly is larger than it appears here...either Jackson is bigger or I forgot how gigantic I got with Ryder....

My favorite little boy.....

Here's my little wild man!!! He's talking a ton now and I love that we can carry on "conversations" that always leave me laughing. I have got to start writing stuff down because I have a horrible memory!

So, I was SO proud of myself and totally racked up at a consignment sale yesterday! (And I don't really do consignment sales bc they make me crazy but this one is really small and everything is super nice instead of lot's of junk) If you live in Bham, it's the Hope for Gabe sale hosted at a house in Mt Brook (English Village)- let me know if you want the details but it is today and tomorrow too. Anyways, I found these adorable cowboy boots for $9!!! Not to mention a brand new pair of Sperry's for $12, several Jon Jon's and some stuff for baby #2 also.
He likes the boots!!!!
McWane Center with Caroline.....he looked up at me and said "I wanna hold Caroline's hand" with no prompting! melt!!!

Cooking with Momma...he LOVES to cook- literally, I can't be in the kitchen without me....maybe he'll take over Ashley Mac's one day???!!!!
We've enjoyed the pool a lot during this HOT summer...he looks like such a big boy here!!
Ashley Mac's is going to be featured in Taste of the South magazine in their Holiday issue (Dec/Jan)....they are featuring our Red Velvet Cake recipe and our White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies. Ryder was the star and was in heaven as he licked icing and ate cookies for 45 minutes while they snapped pictures! I was supposed to be icing this Red Velvet Cake while looking at the camera and also trying to get Ryder to smile....that was hard work! Don't worry, this pic will not be in the mag! ha!
Lovin' on baby Jackson!
Sweet boy! I know he needs a haircut....but I can't bring myself to take him yet! Sometimes it curls up so cute and I kind of like the raggedy look....but we might be getting close to mulletish so I guess I should consider taking the plunge soon....