From My Family To Yours...

Merry Christmas to all...





.. And to all a goodnight.



Xoxo Haley

Whatcha Chalkin About?

I have a minor obsession lately.. Chalk pens! @jenniferggreen posted about them on Twitter & I went out and grabbed some! She posted a picture of a 'Christmas Bucket List' and I made my Own version on our chalkboard.






Owen is only 14 months- so he is a spectator in a lot of things- the list is just for fun and mostly for mommy. :)

My mom and I visited Old Town Spring a few weeks ago & I fell in love with this little Santa Letter Chalkboard. This is also just for fun- I can't wait for when Owen is older & he can tell me what he wants for Christmas!





Hope everyone is having a great Monday morning! Owen's a little under the weather with a stuffy nose- so we're laying low.


Xoxo Haley

Owen is 14 months!

My BFF Ivy is preggers (yay) and although I was in her exact same shoes a little over 14 months ago, I find that I have forgotten most things about my pregnancy! I've heard this happens to a lot of people- but I want to start writing things down, so as not to forget the 'the little things'.






Jer and I were talking last night about what a joy Owen has been and just how much fun he is. Of course I have my days with him that I'm counting the minutes until Jer gets home from work so that I can pee in private (sorry if TMI). But lately, I find that once he goes to bed, I start to miss him. Sorry if this is coming off sappy or like I'm saying Owen is the most well behaved child, because I assure you, he isn't. But I am so in love with him. And I find myself falling more in love with him every day. He is my joy.


We had a lunch date yesterday. Just Owen and I. He loves to dip his food in 'di di' or dip dip. This day, he happened to have ketchup for his 'di di'...



He's also really into puppies. Every stuffed animal he sees is a 'puh-ay'!



Also, every single stranger he sees while we are out and about is 'dada'. Older women, teenage boys, cashier at Target, he does not discriminate. He loves his dada more than anything!
He also loves wearing Dada's shoes around the house.


He started walking at about 13 1/2 months, but started full on walking at 14 months. He's also talking all the time. It sounds like gibberish- but he says it with such purpose and determination, that I would love to know what he's saying.




Some not so nice things he's been doing are playing just a little rough, but I know that's normal for a 1-year-old boy. He pinches sometimes and hits, although most of the time it is just to get your attention. When he does it, we tell him 'no' and 'nice hands'. He knows what both of those mean and usually gets his feelings hurt and then lays his head on whatever or whoever he was pinching or 'love tapping' aka hitting. ;)

Well- we're off to celebrate a friends birthday over lunch, hope you have a nice Thursday!


Xoxo Haley

P.S.- Becky from 'Mrs to Mama' is having a great I-Like book giveaway over at her blog! Take a look! http://www.frommrstomama.com/2011/12/i-like-book-giveaway-8-win.html?m=1

Family Photos

Check out our family pictures! I am in love with each and every one of them!!

http://lindsayelizabethphotography.com/blog/

XOXO Haley

Twilight & Pajamas

Happy Hump Day! We had a great lunch today with our BFFs, but as Owen was showing off his new walking skills, he tripped & bit his lip. It swelled up & he had 'Angelina Jolie lips' for a few hours today...



He had just woken up from a nap- so he looks a little flushed.

This past Sunday, Jer & I had a little day date while my parents watched Owen. We went and saw 'Breaking Dawn' and it was disappointing. I've liked all of the other movies, but this one was slow. Anyways, it was cold that day, so I snuggled up in my cozy Old Navy poncho!




This is Owen's bathroom- in case you can't tell by the shower curtain! :)

Owen's on a pretty good schedule with sleeping these days, but I noticed he was a little fussier than normal on Monday morning. He still had a good hour before nap time, so I gave him a snack in his chair & two minutes later...




My mom said him & Pops (my dad) had played pretty hard he say before.

Just a little tip- I got some Carter's fleece jammies the other day at JCPenney for $1.07! JCPenney sends out $10 off anything in-store coupons every couple of months- so I took advantage of their $10.99 Pj sale and scored! Some people think It's an outdated store, but I find a lot of cute stuff for Owen & I there!

For my Owen 'bear' ;)





We're looking forward to Jer coming home tomorrow! Maybe once Owen sees Daddy, he'll stop calling every person that talks to him 'Dada'!


Xoxo Haley

Thanksgiving & Owen meets Santa

This Thanksgiving was a bittersweet one. The Monday before the holiday, my Granny (who lives with my parents) passed out on the kitchen floor (tile) and suffered some injuries. She's fine now, still in the hospital, but doing a lot better than she was. I can't remember a Thanksgiving without my Granny, so it was tough knowing she was in the hospital and not with us. But we visited her twice that day and are thankful she is strong and perseveres at the young age of 81.






Here's a picture of me, my husband and Owen, at my parents house before dinner.

This was the first year Owen could actually eat the food (he was about 8 weeks old last Thanksgiving) and he enjoyed himself! The mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie were his favorites!


Backtracking a little, we took Owen to meet Santa the day before Thanksgiving. Jer had the day off & we thought we'd go early to try & beat the crowds!
I made special 'Christmas' cinnamon rolls that morning to celebrate Owen meeting Santa for the very first time!







We took him to Bass Pro Shop, where they have a whole Santa's Wonderland set up. You can play games before/after you meet Santa, so it was more fun than just waiting in line.









We gave him a sucker before, in case Santa scared him... If you look closely, you can see Santa holding Owen's hand out so as not to get sucker drippings on his suit.

Hope everyone's having a great Tuesday!


XOXO Haley

Gift Bag Christmas Art

Good morning! It's been a while since I've posted on my blog- but what better time that Christmas time to jump back into it? Over the weekend, I made some Christmas 'art' from a gift bag and a frame!

I saw this gift bag at Target and thought it was too cute and went perfectly with my 'rustic chic' Christmas decor.



I took the bag to Hobby Lobby (or Hob Lob) as my BFF , Taylor calls it, and picked out a frame. I couldn't find an exact fit for the bag, but I didn't want to spend extra $$ to get it custom framed. The frame is a couple inches too wide for the bag, but you can't even tell with the cardboard behind it. Plus, the frame was 50% off!

First, I removed the handles from the bag, then folded it super flat.






I guess you could cut out the front of the bag, but it fit in the frame just fine without, so why fix what ain't broke? (I know that's not proper grammar, but it gets my point across better ;))

So, put the bag in the frame, put the back on the frame and voila!


Now, if you want to hang it on the wall, attach some hanging hardware on the back...



And there you have it! A piece of Christmas 'art' that cost a total of $15!

I can change the bag or 'art' as my decor changes over the years!

Hope everyone has a great Monday! Here's a picture of my little Owen passed out in his carseat after a successful Thanksgiving dinner!




Xoxo Haley