Busy mama

Since the day we found out we were having another boy, I've been hard at work preparing and decorating the nursery. I wasn't sure how I wanted it at first but had found a certain fabric that I loved, so I decided to base the room around it. It had lots of bright colors and circles all over it so really, it could be turned into any theme I wanted. With the help of many hours on Pinterest, searching for ideas, I finally came up with this:

 Mobile I made for above the rocking chair...

 Hand painted all of these for the wall...

 Name sign above his crib...

 Bumper pads and bed skirt made by hand, with the help of my dear mother in law... The bumper pad fabric is what inspired the whole room.

 We found this rocking chair on Craigslist for $25 bucks and were able to recover it for another $12. Thank you again to my mother in law for sewing the covers for the cushions!!

 Pillow I made from the scraps of fabric throughout the room...

 Another pillow...

 Curtains made with the help from my mother in law, Jill...

 Frame I made at Super Saturday for Relief Society...

 Changing pad cover from the same fabric that inspired the room...

 Eric and I bought this picture before we were married and have just had it unframed in storage since then. We finally had it framed this year and decided to add it to the nursery...

 We had such a hard time conceiving this baby that we feel we were truly blessed and helped along the way to get him. Eric's father passed away in '06 and when I saw this quote, I knew I wanted to add it to the nursery because I feel it applies to the blessing this baby is bringing to our home, with the help from Eric's dad.

 Eric repainted the night stand a light silvery blue color. Eventually, he'll paint the rocking chair to match...

 Graham helped me with a little art for the room by water coloring on a poster board. I then repainted a cheap black frame that we had and added a wooden letter H in the middle. I think it turned out really cute and I like the idea of having a little bit of Graham in the room.

 We replaced the ceiling fan because the old one was HUGE!!! This one turned out to be the perfect size...

 View from walking into his room...

 We had so many clothes from Graham. I ended up giving away/selling probably two totes full of clothes and still had more than enough for the baby. This is just the beginning of what we have...

 Some other projects I did were some carseat covers (the red Husker one was actually made by my aunt Lisa for Graham and was my pattern for the other 3 that I made)

 An extra changing pad cover...

 The fabric that inspired it all...

I am pretty proud of it all. It took me almost 5 months to accomplish but it turned out to be one of my favorite rooms in the house, which is good since I'll probably be spending a lot of time in there very soon!

I also had one other project I have been furiously working on to get up for the Christmas season. I started Graham's last January and it took me nearly a year to finish. The baby's, however, was a last minute decision of mine. I knew I wanted to have it done for Christmas but they take FOREVER to do. I ended up finishing his in about 4 months. Thanks to the excellent sewing skills of my mother in law, Jill, we were able to finish these up in time to hang on the fireplace. I cross-stitched them all and she turned them into the wonderful stockings that they are now. I'm very happy with them.

December 2012

We haven't made it to Christmas yet but we've had a lot of fun preparing for it. Graham has loved the holiday lights and festivities and loves Santa Clause. We've watched many Christmas movies and seen Santa more than a few times. Each time he sees him, he asks for his "brother Holden, who is a boy" to come for Christmas. He then decided to add a trumpet to that list, which I have no idea where he came up with that. We have loved getting ready for the baby and enjoying all of the time we can with Graham. We can't wait for the baby to get here, making this the best Christmas we'll ever have.

 We saw Santa at the Children's Museum, where Graham was sure to ham it up for the camera.

 Graham and I were invited to Bass Pro Shop with some people in our ward to see Santa and get a free picture with him. Graham had a blast playing with all of his friends. They had a bunch of toys set up as demos and lots of stuffed bears and animals to look at. He was loving it!

When we tried to get all of the kids to gather together for a picture, Graham decided to play model and was posing for everyone while the other kids ran away or screamed. He is such a clown sometimes.

 Graham with Frosty

 Graham with Rudolph

The shopping center by our house lights up their tree every year with a big festival. There is a parade for the kids, characters to get pictures with and Santa is led in on his sleigh. This year, they added a huge fireworks display. Eric had to work so Graham and I went and he loved every single second of it!

November 2012

November, as always, was super busy for us. Eric and I celebrated 5 years of marriage and couldn't be happier. Graham turned 3!! I can't believe he is that old already and I turned 25. Not to mention a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with Eric's family.

Graham had a birthday party with all of his friends. He chose a pirate theme for his party and wanted a pirate ship cake. My mom and sisters came to Nebraska to help me out with the party and ended up being a lifesaver in getting everything together. We had pirate ship hotdogs and chips, pirate ship cake and ice cream, lots of games and a little treasure box for the kids to paint. Graham got lots of presents and had a great time playing with all of his friends. (Pictures are on Eric's camera which is impossible for me to load onto the computer, so I will have to put them on here later.)

His party was a couple days before his actual birthday so Eric and I decided that on his actual day, we would do something as a family. When we asked him what he wanted to do, he said "go see the dinosaurs at the museum!" So, we made the 45 min trip to Lincoln, NE and went to the dinosaur museum. He loved seeing the skeletons and all of the other animals they had set up there. They also have a play room for the kids to explore in. They had a ton of rubber snakes and sensory activities that Graham had a blast doing. I think Eric enjoyed that room just as much as Graham did. He is such a kid at heart. After the museum, we asked Graham what he wanted for dinner and he chose his favorite restaurant, Noodles and Company. Because it was his birthday, the manager gave him his very own rice krispie treat to go with his mac and cheese. He was one happy 3 year old! (again, pictures are on Eric's camera.)

Eric and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary, though we didn't do anything special since I'm super pregnant and we are super broke. We did get some dinner and see a movie together and got all of Graham's Christmas shopping done. It was nice to just be away and we are thankful that grandma Jill is here to watch Graham for us.

I turned 25 and got to have my favorite dinner at Cheesecake factory, see the new Twilight movie and received a very appreciated pedicure. Eric sure spoiled me this year. I couldn't ask for a better husband!!

Every year, our great city of Papillion throws a winter wonderland festival to ring in the upcoming holiday season. They light up the city, have carriage rides, and Santa Clause. We love the magic it gives to the holiday season, so we try to go every year. This year was freezing so we didn't stay long but were able to see Santa and the live reindeer they had there. Graham was in heaven and told Santa he wanted his brother Holden for Christmas. He didn't even ask for a toy, just his brother. What a sweetheart. :)

 They also had the Grinch there which Graham is obsessed with, even though he has never seen the movie, only the commercials for it on tv. He was very happy to get a picture with him though.

 Horrible picture but he really was very excited to see Santa.

Graham was more concerned about getting into those Skittles than smiling for another picture.