Wednesday Love: The Beard

Never in my life would I think I'd like a beard on my husband! There are some people that have beards and you couldn't ever picture them without them: Kevin Black, for one:)

Then there are some that try to grow beards and they look terrible and you desperately want them to shave them off!

Nick has always had a little 3-day shadow since right after we started dating. I really don't remember him with a smooth face! Well, he shaved everything off but a mustache for Halloween! Remember?



Well, I liked the stache, but he didn't, so he decided to shave it off and try out No Shave November! I absolutely love it:) It's so soft and I think he looks oh so handsome! I made him take a picture of himself and send it to me! Don't tell him I'm using it for the blog, okay?



I hope he keeps it:) Perfectly rugged. Perfect for winter, or all year long;)

The Halls are Decked

Everything is done! I'm all decorated and geared up for Christmas! I decorated really early this year because we were gone the whole weekend on Thanksgiving. I wanted to have it done and not have to worry about it when we got home!

Welcome to my home! Here are the first things you'll see when you step onto my porch. A cute rug and a snowman made out of grapevine wreaths. Don't ya just love Pinterest?





When you first walk in you'll see the mantle. I went really simple this year. Some garland, a wintery picture, some Mercury glass, a burlap bow, and our stockings:)



Here's a close-up of the stockings



And here's one of the bow



Here's the piano. Some raindeer, a cute frame (which will have a picture of Lucas in it very soon!) and a glass bowl full of ornaments and pinecones



Here's a close-up of the frame and bowl



One of the end tables has this Santa (along with a picture of my beautiful Grandma Marguerite that stays up all year long)



The other end table has this Santa picture and a little "Joy" block



And here's the tree!



It has burlap ribbon wrapped around, grapevine garland, some clusters of brown, shiny ornaments, and some glittery snowflakes! I just love it:) So simple and I want to keep it up all year long! Don't tell anyone? ;)

Here's a close-up of the top (a burlap bow)



And a close-up of the grapevine garland and a snowflake



And with the lights:)



If you walk into my kitchen, you'll see this buffet. It has my WillowTree nativity (I'm getting the wisemen for Christmas), an Advent calendar (filled with bells for Lucas to string on the piano bench), and a beautiful arrangement that was used for my sister Cassie's wedding!



And a close-up



If you take a left into my dining room, the table is set with cardinals. I had these plates last year, but I got the table runner, the Christmas tree and the reindeer this year!



And from a different angle



Well, that is the extent of my Christmas decor, except Lucas' tree which you've already seen! I absolutely love the simplicity of it and the neutral colors:) All the ornaments are shatter-proof and wired on the tree or hung by a string, so it won't hurt anything if Lucas pulls on them!!

Absolutely love this time of year and all it brings!!!

Hope you enjoyed! Can't wait to see all of yours:)

Thankful

I cannot even begin to express all I'm thankful for this year and every year!

God has given me an amazing family who loves the Lord and loves me more than I could ask for! He gave me an amazing husband who treats me like a princess and is a Godly leader in our home. And this year He gave me an amazing, healthy son who is happy and gentle and growing just perfectly!

Thank you Lord! How could I ask for more?

Now, if you have a tiny son like mine or a child/children of any age this is a great little craft to give to grandparents or any other family member on Thanksgiving!

It was very hard to do with Lucas because be kept wanting to squeeze his hands together so his paint got all mixed together, but it doesn't matter. Grandparents love it no matter what!!

Here is the end result!
The front of the card is a handprint turkey (you paint the palm and the thumb of the hand brown and the fingers all different colors for the feathers; I chose red, orange, yellow, and green)




Here is the inside (a cute poem I found on the Internet)








And I gave it to them with this fall picture!




A fun little project, but all to say

"happy thanksgiving and we are thankful for all of you!"

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday love

In actually doing this on Wednesday!! Aren't you proud of me??

This week it's solar nails. Every month I use part of my allowance to get my nails done. They want you to get them filled every 2 weeks but that's too expensive. I just do it once a month and they always really need them by the time it's payday:)

Well I love solar because they hold their color the longest and if you tan they won't yellow. Also, now they offer colored nails;)

I've gotten black, navy blue, gold and brown. Today I got green!! It looks so wintery:)

I just love it!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sneak Peek into Christmas

We got Lucas' little tree up and it's so cute!

It's so fun to watch his face when he sees it. His eyes just light up and he immediately smiles:) Got the big tree up and the house decorated this past weekend, so will be posting all those pictures tomorrow!!

This was always my tree growing up and every year it had different ornaments, depending on my taste.

The ornaments are mix-match. Some are painted by my lovely Aunt Terri and some were bought by my mom years ago when she was into the country style:)

It's so boyish and cute in his room:)



Here's a close-up of the top



And the bottom



Here it is with the lights off and no flash! It's so hard to get a good picture of a tree:)



Here he is looking at it this morning. I was getting ready and he was crawling around and we found him in his room looking:) So cute!

Wednesday Love (on Thursday)

I don't know why I can't remember to do this on Wednesday! Maybe I should just call it Thursday Love?! Hmmmm....

Anyway, my love this week is burlap!

I've decided to use a lot of burlap for Christmas this year;)

I got this in the mail this week:



It's going to be used for my tree and my mantle and I can't wait:)

And my mom is making me a tree skirt!



I don't know if it will look like this (just found this picture on the internet), but it will be cute no matter what! Can't wait to show you pictures of everything! I'm decorating this weekend!!!

10 Months

Lucas,

Seriously?! 10 months?! We cannot believe it! Your little life is just going by so fast:( It makes Mommy and Daddy so sad to think you're turning into a little boy, but you make it so fun at the same time! We are torn between wanting you to stay little and wanting you to learn and grow and progress. You just make life so fun!

You are still wearing 12 months clothes and size 3 diapers. We have bought you a lot of 12-18 months clothes and you'll definitely be in them by Christmas. I know it:) Oh, how much fun this holiday season will be?! We'll worry about that later, though.

You are eating 2 1/2 oz of oatmeal each morning and some yogurt. Your tastes have grown from just pear yogurt to blueberry, mixed berry and strawberry! It's so exciting to see you taste new things. You still eat 5 oz of formula for lunch, some fruit (baby food and/or table food) and usually whatever is being served at Mrs. Nicole's. You've had goulash, fish sticks, quesadillas (with ham and cheese), chicken breasts (baked and grilled), roast and carrots, and pieces of sandwiches. You seem to like all of it! For dinner, you have another 5 oz of formula, a jar of Level 3 baby food (your favorites are broccoli and cheese, turkey and rice, mixed vegetables and turkey, mixed vegetables and chicken, and sometimes spaghetti), and you usually have a piece of cheese when you're finished too. You love cheese! Just like mommy!! You are still having a night bottle around 7p after your bath, but we have gotten it down to 3 oz. I'm going to be sad when that nightly ritual comes to an end:(

You're still going to sleep at 7-7:30p every night, but since the time change you've woken up at 6a instead of 7-7:30a! This doesn't seem like a big difference, but on Saturday mornings, that hour and a half make a huge difference for Mommy and Daddy. I hear a lot of babies are struggling with it, too. We'll figure it out. You still seem happy and easy-going, so we'll adjust:)

You have started the transition to more "big boy" jammies now. Two pieces! They are so cute:)



You have also fully transitioned to crawling. No more army crawling! You are everywhere! You crawl up and down the stairs, into the kitchen when we're cooking, into my bathroom when I'm getting ready, and into the entry way to try and snatch Jovie's toys! It's so fun that you can find us now and you love when we chase you! You think it's hilarious and you really get moving! You are really fast!



You have also learned to pull up! You first did it on Halloween on your little toy from cousin Heidi, but now you do it on everything! You have figured out how to pull up to the TV stand and turn on the TV, so on Black Friday, we will be buying a new one we can put on the wall:) Sorry! A lot of times, you will start to pull up and just hang out on your knees for a little while! It's so cute, too:)





You have cruised along the loveseat once, but you'll get the hang of it very soon and we are anticipating the day when you let go and start walking! Wow! What a change that will be?! New adventures? Bring them on!!

You had several new adventures this month. You went to two pumpkin patches, went on vacation, stayed all night with Daddy, and celebrated Halloween! This month has been so busy and just flown by, but we've made so many great memories:)







One thing you've grown increasingly more interested in are books! We have been involved in a little book club since you were born that sends us 2-3 books every month. Also, Mommy, Mimi, Nana, and Grammy work at schools that bring books every month that we can buy, so you have quite the little collection going. I'm so glad you are interested in them. Oh the things you will learn from these books! You love this Elmo book and Daddy loves to read it to you:) You find it in your toy box and push it around until one of us grabs it and starts reading. You sit so still and are mesmerized by all the pictures! It makes Mommy's heart so happy when she sees you with your daddy. She just loves the special bond the two of you have!



We love the special bond we have as a family. We go everywhere together and have just the greatest time:) We love to teach you new things and watch you explore and learn on your own, as well. We love making you laugh, chasing you around the house, and showing you off! We just love YOU!!! Thank God He gave you to us:)

All our love,
Mommy and Daddy

Wednesday Love (2 days late) and Halloween (2 weeks late?)

Wednesday Love: Infinity Scarves



These are amazing! I have this one from Old Navy, but I'm sure there are a million out there to choose from:) They are so nice because they look cute, keep you warm, and you don't have to worry about how to tie them or having them blow off in the wind:) Amazing!

Now, on to Halloween!

On the Saturday night before, as per our annual ritual, Nick and I carved pumpkins:)

Here he is carving



And here's the finished product: a wolf



Here I am carving



And my finished product: a haunted house



The next day on Halloween, my little man was a cow and since he's still too young to Trick or Treat, we just took him to our church's Trunk 'n Treat:)

Mimi even came up to see him:)



We had a little photo session on the porch with our pumpkins





Then we went to church and all the kids go up on stage and our preacher announces what they are so everyone can see

Here's my little cow with his farmer Daddy (who even shaved his beard into a mustache for the event!)



And my little family of three:) Just can't get enough of these two boys!! (and proof that I have that scarf)



We then headed outside for a few treats from the rest of his grandparents

Grammy and Grampy (Nick's mom and step-dad)



And Papa and Nana (Nick's dad and step-mom)



We had a great time:) Next year will bring even more fun and treats and I can't wait to experience that with him, but until then...I'll just enjoy every second with my little moo cow!!