Fall Happenings

A little look at what we have been doing so far this fall season!

Adding some fall touches to the house...

Are those pink pumpkins not awesome?  My mom and I spotted them while at Kroger last week and she got a few for the house.  I LOVE them! 

hello cute, pink pumpkin! ;)

Call me crazy but I'm keeping some seeds from these guys in hopes that I will be able to grow some for next year...we shall see how that adventure goes!!!

Speaking of my mom, she surprised us with a visit this past wednesday!  The doorbell rang and there was a pumpkin sitting on my doormat.  Hayden was pretty excited about the pumpkin that came out of nowhere but then grandma came around the corner!  She stayed till Sunday and we had a great visit!

And of course it's not fall without some festive treats...

Mom brought a recipe for these pumpkin cheesecake bites so we had fun making (and eating) those!  Then sunday I made these chocolate covered marshmallows to share.  The hubs made quick work of the ones I kept!

Baby girl was loving the pink pumpkin atop the kitchen table, it was too cute. 

Now before you start thinking I'm a bad mommy leaving her on the table, you should know my mom was sitting right next to her in a chair, see? ;)

I just can't get enough of all things fall!  Got my fall-ish scented candles burning daily now, hope they last till after Thanksgiving when it's time to get out the Christmas stuff.  What?  Can't believe it's almost time for THAT! 


All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

Fall Mantel

My mantel was in need of some fall decor and yesterday it was dreary and rainy so I thought it was a perfect day to create a simple fall-themed mantel. 

The wreath I have had for years but I find a place for it every year it seems!  The window is a reoccurring part of my mantel decor...  Basically the only things I purchased for this fall mantel were the gourds which all came in one bag and the decorative wheat stems I used as vase fillers.  I picked both of those up at my local grocery store. 

I wanted to add a 'garland' of colored indian corn to the front of the mantel but I didn't want to spend the extra money so I left it alone. I may go back and add that later...we will see ;)

Anyway, it's simple but it adds a touch of fall to the room.  I love decorating for fall since it's probably my favorite season.  I'm still gathering things to add to the front porch and I've got ceramic pumpkins and fall-scented candles/air fresheners scattered through the rest of the house.  Can't wait to take the littles to the pumpkin patch (a favorite fall activity of ours!)  Happy Fall!


p.s. I'm linking up (suuuuper late) to Centsational Girl's mantel linky party!

And, here!
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All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

Made with Love

Yesterday I made a batch of baby food for Ava Kate.  Since she started solids a few weeks ago, I have just been mashing up things like avacado and sweet potatoes, although I did blend up a quick batch of peas and those were quickly rejected...I also blended up some peaches to go with her breakfast.   Anyway, I knew that I needed to just make up a big batch of a few different foods and freeze them so I spent the better part of my Sunday afternoon doing just that!

If you are interested in making your own baby food, a great webiste and my favorite resource is Wholesome Baby Food.  It has recipes, tips and lots more! 

I made carrots, butternut squash, peaches and apples.  The peaches I purchased frozen since they are out of season.  For the carrots, I used organic baby carrots. 

 I like to use fruit in her oatmeal for breakfast and veggies for dinner (she isn't eating 3 meals a day yet, just breakfast and dinner.) 

I hope baby girl likes all of her new food :)  She had the squash for dinner last night and seemed to like it! 

All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

1/2 a year

So...my baby girl is 6 months old.  I can't believe it!  It's amazing to me how fast time flies after the baby is born but seems to crawl when you are pregnant.  As much as I hate to admit it, my baby is growing into a big girl.  She is sitting up, eating solid foods, talking baby talk and getting sweeter by the minute! 
Speaking of solids, here is a look at her trying her very first food for the first time, avacado!  Believe it or not, she really does like it now even though she made some pretty crazy faces the first time ;) I waited till she was 'officially' 6 months to start solids and so far we have tried avacado, banana, sweet potatoes and peaches.  I make all of her food but I haven't made a huge batch yet since most of it is stuff that doesn't freeze well and mashes easily.  She didn't like the bananas but I think it was the texture.  And the peaches, I have just added them to oatmeal and sweet potatoes so she hasn't had them by themselves yet.   

Daddy giving her the first bite of avacado...

The reaction...

Ha!  And here is big brother trying his hand at feeding her

I just love the way he loves her :)  Melts my heart. 

 

So baby girl is about 15 1/2 lbs of pure preciousness.  I honestly cannot get enough of her.  I can't even remember how life was without her.  She fits so perfectly into our little family. 

(she refuses to smile for me whenever the camera is in front of my face. It drives me CRAZY!)

But she makes the cutest faces....

And she is the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen.

Idea I saw on pinterest (where else?)

Ok, there's a little smile. 

Daddy got that one out of her and usually when I take her pictures he isn't home, so I have tons of pictures of her not smiling...

like this

I had no idea the wonderful gift we were in for when they told us we were having a little girl.  It was so hard for me to imagine loving another child and looking back I think, what a silly thought!  I am so in love with this girl, more than I ever could have even imagined!!!  I tell people that she is the 'perfect baby.'  I'm really not exaggerating, she is wonderful.  I also say that she makes me want 20 babies.  If I knew that every baby I had would be just like her, I probably would have that many (well, maybe not since I'm not a huge fan of being pregnant and they grow up and turn into ornry 3 year olds....)

 

She's always happy and easy to please.  She looooooves to sleep (girl after my own heart) and when it's time for bed (or nap) I just lay her down, turn her sound machine on and she is good to go. If she does fuss, it's just for a few seconds, literally, and then she is asleep.  If she really cries, I know she is needing to eat some more or she just isn't sleepy.  And she does love her mama.  She doesn't really like for me to be out of sight during the day, or out of 'touch' rather....she likes to be held.  But, I don't mind it :)  There are times when it is inconvenient because I am trying to get things done but I just put her in the carrier and continue on.  I stay home with my kids to be there for them, not clean and do other things so if she wants to be held, I will hold her.  Soon she will be a busy toddler and she won't want me to hold her.  I cherish these days.  There isn't a day that goes by I don't consider myself the luckiest woman in the whole universe for getting to be this little girl's mommy. 

 

All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

Nursery Additions

First off, I can't believe how terrible I have been at blogging lately!  Finding the time is just a little harder with two little ones.  I do need to try to make time for it more, though, so my blog isn't so sad. :p

Anyway, back to today's post...when I first posted Ava Kate's nursery, there wasn't much on the walls.  There was a reason for that, I wanted to use photos of her to decorate.  I was planning on a large newborn photo of her to go above the crib and I wasn't sure what else I would do.  Well, five months later it is coming together :) 

We put this 16x20 print up above her bed a few months ago.

(don't worry, it's safely secured with a french cleat that will hold 100lbs ;) I wanted to make sure it was not gonna come down since it was right above the crib...safety first when decorating your nursery!!)

I love this image of baby girl captured by the popular and talented newborn photographer, Laura Brett. 

 It's one of my favorite things in her room.  I found the frame at Hobby Lobby for half off at only $25!  I painted and distressed it a bit to coordinate with the crib and dresser (it was originally gold.) 

This past weekend I found these white frames at Hobby Lobby for 1/2 off as well!  I decided I liked them without pictures in them and I love the look of them on the wall :)

Right now the frames are white and I haven't decided if I will paint them off-white to match the dresser and mirror on that wall.  I think there is enough 'regualr' white in the room to make it fine to leave them the way they are but I may break down and paint them to match anyway :p

They show up on the wall much better than in the photos, I promise ;)

Another picture we hung above her shelves (made by my hubby) is actually her birth announcement. 

 I love her birth announcement and am so glad that we have a copy of it hanging on the wall in her nursery.  For anyone wondering, I ordered it from Shutterfly (where I ordered the paper announcements.) 

I took this image of my precious girl at just six days old.  I didn't take enough photos of her at this tiny age and it makes me sad.  They are newborns for such a short time!

Her very full bow holder in the corner there!  I think we will be needing a bigger one soon! :p

I finished this post just in time...I hear my little one waking up from her nap now!  Here's to hoping that I can be better at posting from now on....  ;)


All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!

A day in the life...

I have seen moms and photographers do something called "A day in the life" where they photograph the kids throughout the day (all day) doing the ordinary things they do.  I love the idea and wanted to do it with my kids.  Our days are nothing out of the ordinary but I cherish our days together and want to remember 'the little things.'  If I remember, I want to try to do this at least once a month so I can have it to look back on.  I definitely want to do it again since I missed a few things when I did it yesterday (Hayden brushing his teeth, etc..and he fell asleep before daddy could read to him.)  Anyway, I didn't do the best job of capturing everything I wanted but like I said, I hope to do this often so I will have other opportunities. :)

::Morning::

She was just being so cute I had to take several photos...

"Mommy, take my picture."

::Lunch::

(it's not easy for me to get a candid photo of Hayden...he sees my camera and wants to pose...)

::Quiet/nap time::

(Ignore the half-big-boy-room/half nursery...we are slowly but surely re-decorating...the hubs has a nice built-in project planned and we need to paint.)  I'm hoping it will happen soon!

Brother woke her up while mommy was trying to sneak a few shots...  :(

::Play::

Couldn't have posed a shot like this if I tried!  Precious.

Hayden refuses to wear anything but pj's when we are home.  He may change his clothes but he stays in pj's :)

::Evening::

::Bedtime::

All photos taken by Kristen (blog author) unless otherwise stated. Do not copy/save or print without permission. Thank you!