the little things

23 days

23 days.

That's all we have left (max) until sweet Liam's arrival!

I simply can't even believe it.

This time has gone by SO fast. It's surreal.

I've made a list of to-do's before he arrives. My, how different this time is compared to when it was Grayson just one short year ago! (gulp. haha).

-Clean out our room (clothes to Goodwill, dust, sweep, especially corners)

-Move rocker from Grayson's room to our room

-Move most toys from living room to corner in Grayson's room

-Organize Liam and Grayson's clothes in dresser and closet

-Put diapers, wipes, baby goods, etc in basket for our room

-Make up a basket for some of Liam's onesies and pj's for a quick grab in the middle of the day/night

-Make freezer meals (for the most part. Made 8 in the last day)

-Clean out car

-Pack Grayson's overnight bag

-Pack my hospital bag-don't forget Liam's schtuff!

-Clean carpets

-PURGE more JUNK! this is always continuing! Haha.

-Clean off stairs

-Mow yard/take garbage out before leaving for hospital

-Grocery shop for pantry and quick-grab foods for us and Grayson

-Get transfers onto t-shirt and onesie for the boys

It feels sooo good to see so many things already crossed off! The planner in me is SO happy about it.

My feet/ankles and hips Not so much! ;)

Thankful as always for Nate's help...and even Grayson, because he is already such a good helper! ;)

Getting There

I'm pretty disappointed that I will now be 2 weeks behind on Project Life, but I'm out of ink and to be honest, just do not have the energy to plan it all out right now. :(

We have been so busy these past few days. I just can't seem to catch my breath (literally-thank you, Liam! haha).

I wanted to share some things we've bene up to lately.

First, after several requests to do it, I decided to start a wee, little "business" for mom-to-be's/baby gifts. I'm having a blast and am feeling awfully blessed with each order!

The name is BabyCakes and you can find us here on Facebook if you'd like! :)

Grayson is proving to be quite the little helper these days. He decided to help daddy mow the lawn the other day. It was precious!

Grayson got to attend his first-ever Easter egg hunt this past Saturday!  He did awesome and had so much fun!

After the egg hunt Saturday, we spent the whole rest of the day as a family (afterall, we only have a handful of them left to spend as "3!") and went shopping for some necessities and then grabbed a sweet treat on our way home.

We couldn't head home before venturing to the park for some fun on the swings and slides! Oh, and dirt/sand! Gotta enjoy that, too!

We had a terrific Easter, too! Grayson had lots of fun pulling each little thing from his basket. This ball for his pool this summer had him puzzled, though! haha

After church we spent some time with family, enjoying the special day and a very good meal. After lunch, we all ventured outside for some fun! Grayson loved running with Craemer!

Mom and Phil had an egg hunt for Grayson and Roman. They did awesome!

The boys took turns riding in the "new" car mamaw and papaw found at a flea market over the weekend!

I realize more and more every day just how blessed I am. Amazing, funny, smart, supportive, helpful hubby...handsome, smart, sweet, friendly, silly little boy...and strong, healthy baby on the way. 

After a busy, but amazing weekend, I barely made it back home before realizing I could barely walk because my feet and ankles were so swollen! I had a headache all afternoon (plus, I'm SUPER emotional lately) and just didn't feel well.

A text to my mom later, she was concerned that maybe my blood pressure was a bit high. And issue I've been thankful to NEVER have dealt with before.

She came over and took my blood pressure as I laid on the couch with my feet propped up. Thankfully, it was just fine. Turns out, I've just been overdoing it a bit. Okay, a lot.

I don't really stop these days. And I've been feeling it! My body is SO ready for this baby to come! 4 more weeks. I can do it! I need every single minute I can get.

Still have SO much to do. I'll get there. :)

Grayson's 1st Birthday Party!

Welp, it happened. The first week in months of doing Project Life that I didn't even get the week's spread started, let alone completed.

It was bound to happen sometime, I suppose.

Just had a super busy week and I'm almost out of ink. Looks like I'll have to double up for this coming week!

We were busy celebrating our sweet Grayson and that to me is more important than anything. What a wonderful first birthday he had!

His party was a "If you give a mouse a cookie" themed and we had lots of fun with family and friends Saturday.

Here's some snapshots from his party day!

He was ready to party! Waiting for guests...

His 'monthly photos' banner I whipped up the day before!

The sweet side of the food table. :)

I baked up some chocolate chip cookies and sugar cookies. The cupcakes were made by my mom's friend who's starting a new business and they were deeelish! Grayson enjoyed chocolate! 

Can't have cookies and cupcakes without milk! ;)

My sweet boy waiting on his lunch with his party hat and shirt all decked out for #1!

His cake. Poor guy was not a fan of having so many people crowding him while he tried to enjoy it.

Slight meltdown.

And then he was on a ROLL!

He got so messy (yesss!) that there was no choice but to put the cute boy in the sink for a scrub down!

Then, presents!

Oh, and some little favors for the kiddos that were there!

I think it was a success! :)

month 12.

Dear Grayson,

One year old. My sweet boy, how can it be? These last 365 days have truly flown. It goes without saying you are our pride and absolute joy. We have loved watching you grow and change so much these last 12 months.

I admit, I totally cried and cried last night as you played in the tub and as I put your pj's on and as I let you fall asleep on my chest before bed. It's totally bittersweet, little man. It feels like yesterday that you were born and that we were celebrating that joyous day.  Now, it's time to celebrate you-as a one year old!

You seemed to have hit a growth spurt this past month. I didn't notice as much day to day, but when I look back at even last month's photo, my do you look different from even just then!

This morning when you first woke up I gave you a treat-chocolate milk! It was a BIG hit!

Later, daddy and I took you to breakfast at Buehler's where you had a Mickey Mouse shaped pancake and some bacon. You loved the pancake, but wanted my eggs instead of the bacon.

Then, we let you pick out a balloon of your very own just for this very special day. Of course, you chose Thomas! You have carried it around with you ALL day and even delayed your nap by a couple hours because you just couldn't part with your "ball!"

You are still pretty tiny for a 1 year old. People often comment on "petite" you are. I agree. And I love how little you are! ;)

You are so friendly and sweet. You took to your new buddy, Jackson coming every day like a pro and oooh and ahhh over him every morning when he's dropped off.

You love, love, love Super Why! Bubble Guppies, anything Thomas, anything round that even looks close to a ball, baths, dunking under the spout of the tub to get a drink or wash your face, swimming and floating in the tub, going for a drive, being outside and anything to do with puzzles and books.

You have really gotten friendly with other kids and are a big "talker!" Your new words this month were, "ourple" and "blue" No joke. You say purple a LOT more than blue and it's so clear!

When we ask you what sound the elephant makes you make a wet, blowing sound! Yey. It's so precious!

You are more special than you will ever, ever know. I am so absolutely blessed that the Lord chose me to be YOUR mama. You mean everything to me, sweet boy. 

You will always be my baby. Always.

I am so very excited to see what you do in this coming year! It's sure to be amazing!

We love you so very much!

Happy 1st Birthday baby boy!

Love,

Mama and Daddy

project life. week eleven.

Well, I have to be honest. This isn't my favorite week completed, but what's important is that another week of my precious family is recorded and in the books book!

I didn't even open the album once this week. Let alone, plan pages or print photos. Thankfully, I did write down little things up until Thursday and then just got too busy/tired/forgetful to continue.

It was still a wonderful week around here. Music class. Hitting week #32. Grayson saying 2 new words; "blue" and "purple!" Enjoying the beeeeeautiful weather in Ohio nearly everyday. I could go on.

I used some fun stuff that my friend Alex sent me from our PL swap! It was fun to include some new things, since I pretty much use the same papers, alphas and stickers every week! Haha.

I didn't even get around to rinting photos until yesterday and had a busy day even then, so I just had to do it all as quickly as I could while Grayson napped in the afternoon. I am just happy to have it done!

Again, I'm linking up with The Mom Creative this week. :)

Liam: 32 weeks.

He's growwwwwing!

Size of baby: a squash. about 3ish lbs. according to Dr. M-A he's really growing and trust me, I FEEL it!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +4 (lost a pound this week-why can't I lose weight this "easy" when I'm NOT pregnant?!)

 Maternity Clothes: Same as with Grayson. Some maternity, some my usual wardrobe.

Movement: Lots. and all. the. time. Hard jabs and big waves. My whole belly rolls when I sit at times!

Sleep: Not too shabby. I miss sleeping on my belly though!

What I miss: being able to make it through the day without heartburn. :/

What I'm Looking Forward to: meeting him!

Cravings: smoothies!!  i want them alllll the time!

Symptoms: bad cramping. lots and lots of pressure. saw my Dr. today but nothing to be worried about, thank goodness!

Best Moment this Week: seeing my belly just roll and Nate getting to see it too!

Had my 32 week visit today and Liam's heart rate is 145 bpm. Faster than Grayson's and she said it's because he's so active in there!

We're both doing great. I made the rest of my appointments until my 2 week post-partum visit. It's a bit unreal to see just 4 more appointments on there! Whoa.

Excited to meet him!!

project life. week ten.

 

Happy Week #10 of PL!

I kept things pretty simple this week. Just not much time this weekend to put it all together, but am so happy I did it! 

We had a hectic week, almost making it more difficult to take photos and remember what the heck even happened most days! Haha.

We did make LOTS of time for hanging out, playing and relaxing out back on the sun porch which was a blast! I even did these pages on that porch Sunday evening! We love it out there!

Nate and I both had some Photobooth fun with Grayson and I had him journal on their photo. He's part of this album just as much as anyone and I love having his "guywriting" in there! :)

Another good week in the books! :)

I'm linking up with The Mom Creative and my bestie, One Happy Mama this week!

yum.

Grayson is a big, big fan of popsicles. Can't say I blame him one bit! This was mine and I just let him have the last third of it to gobble up.

And gobble it up he did! He sat so peacefully on the kitchen floor just sucking the juice and chewing the cold pieces, enjoying every, single second!

It was precious. And the sticky mess he left on the floor was totally worth it! ;)

Yey for yummy, sugar-free treats from time to time to soothe the ol' gums! 

Liam: 31 weeks

I've had a few people ask me if I am doing the weekly pregnancy updates with Liam like I did with Grayson. The short answer is no. Not because I don't want to, or because I haven't been recording snippets here in there in my Project Life , but because it's simply slipped my mind so often.

This pregnancy has been so different the whole journey. I mean, I was 12 weeks along before I even KNEW I was pregnant! Ha. The time is flying even without having a VERY busy 11.5 month old and I am just exhausted these days!

BUT, I decided Liam deserves to be recorded too, so I've decided to try and start documenting here a bit more at week 31. (yesterday) :)

(Please forgive the no make up,lounge clothes and hair thrown into a messy bun! I forgot to get a photo during the day like I normally do, so I had to take what I could get at 6 last night! LOL!)

Size of baby: 4 navel oranges. Awww so sweet!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: +5

 Maternity Clothes: Same as with Grayson. Some maternity, some my usual wardrobe.

Movement: He's quite the mover! Feeling big, swift gifts under my boobs and on my sides. He also manages to get a "wave" in there every so often too!

Sleep: I am usually so beyond tired by the end of the day, I don't even remember my head hitting the pillow most nights!  I sleep pretty decent, thanks to my pregancy pillow-the same one I had with Grayson-my hips hurt quite often, but I usually just put the pillow between my legs and feel much better.

What I miss: Being able to walk without feeling like I'm gonna pee my pants! ;)

What I'm Looking Forward to: seeing his sweet face for the first time and having Grayson meet him.

Cravings: whole milk. chocolate milk. vinegar. and as of this morning, a big, cheesy burger!

Symptoms: lots of pressure down low. cramping a smidge.

Best Moment this Week: seeing that little heel kick at the top of my belly. I melt. :)

Side note: the weather here in Ohio has been gorgeous lately and we are soaking up all the sun we can!  Grayson and I ventured outside last night and played on the sun porch and in the back yard. It was so much fun! I love my sweet boy!

project life. week nine.

Why, hello there week 9!

Aside from the date card, I pretty much didn't work on this all week. Instead, it had to wait until I had some free time and energy on Sunday to get completed.

I was able to print many of my photos on Saturday, so that helped a bunch. I always get a bit overwhelmed at that part-the photo printing. Choosing, selecting size, and the worst part-sneaking away from Grayson to print them because he is obsessed with the printer!

I had a really hard time photographing the pages today. Thank you, gloomy Ohio weather. ;) But, am really happy with this week's spread.

I used more cards from Kristina and Crystal's kit, as well as the daily card freebies Crystal shared on her blog last week. How sweet are those gals? Love! I also cut out some numbers and such from a piece of American Crafts paper. That was fun to do, too!

I enjoyed adding lots of little bits from this week-like the Rite Aid receipt (where I scored two Playtex sippies for Grayson for a whopping $1.05 after tax and such!) and the printout from my doctor's appointment last week.

I am really loving these busy, hectic days. Even though they are just that; busy and hectic. But, I've only been given one life and I'm gonna take it and make it the best one I can!

Not perfect. Nope. No way. But, mine. :)

Happy Tuesday! Happy 31 weeks of pregnancy! (whoa.) Happy Project Life Day!