School Room

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We Are Moving

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The Best Mother’s Day Gift

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Corinne’s Monthly Updates

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Corinne – Two Months

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Corinne – One Month

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Siblings

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Pregnancy Update

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Painted Easter Eggs

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Our Family is Growing!

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Five Years

May 16, 2014

Today, Corey and I are celebrating our 5th anniversary.  It is amazing to me how much our lives have changed over these last five years.


Five years ago, our family looked like this.

And now our little family is a little bigger and even more in love.


I love this man more and more every day, and I could never have imagined a better husband or father for our son. He is my best friend, my encourager, my bug killer, the talkative to my quiet, the bold to my shy.  I look forward to growing old with him (but not too soon!) and  seeing what God has planned for our future.


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Mother’s Day

May 13, 2014

It is so hard to believe that two years ago, we found out that we were expecting, and just last year I was celebrating my first Mother’s Day! I got so much love from my little man this year, that my second Mother’s Day was absolutely wonderful!

After church, we had lunch at my parent’s house complete with naps, playing outside, and sno cones at our favorite shaved ice stand.

Once we were home, the three of us took advantage of the gorgeous weather and spent some time together outside. I got to relax and sip on iced tea while Corey did yard work and Cullen flitted back and forth between trying to help Corey and playing in his pool. We stayed outside until the sun went down, and it was perfect.

It melted my heart to see Cullen chase Corey around the yard. He already wants to be just like his Daddy. He followed Corey back and forth row after row and kept begging to help push the mower. Nothing makes me happier than watching these two together and seeing how much they love each other.



I could not have asked for a better day. I got to relax and enjoy time with my two favorite boys. It may not sound like much, but a laid back day filled with giggles and kisses was all I needed. I wish we had more days like this, with less concern about getting things crossed off a list and more focus on taking advantage of every moment we have together. It’s the little things, like bare feet on freshly cut grass and backyard pool parties that build the memories we share for a lifetime. I love this little boy so much and feel so blessed to be his Mommy.



I hope you had a great Mother’s Day as well! What was the best part of your day?



Monthly Update

Fifteen Months

May 6, 2014

This update is almost three weeks late. Oops! Cullen has changed a bit over the past few weeks, but here is a little bit about him at fifteen months.



This growing boy is now 32.5″ tall (90th percentile) and weighs 24.4 lbs (73rd percentile). He took quite a jump in the weight department; it looks like his weight may be catching up with his height. I’m not surprised though. He eats All. Day. Long. If only I could get him to eat a vegetable.


In addition to the words he was able to say last month, he has recently added
        bebe (‘baby’)
        idoit (‘i do it’, usually when he is climbing in a chair)
        cheechos (‘cheerios’)
        doggie
        juice
        bye (very rarely and only when prompted)
        peas (‘please’, again very rarely and only when prompted)
        nononono (his way of saying no…when he really means it)
        uh-oh

He doesn’t really say ‘yes’, but he will nod yes to just about any question you ask him.  At first it was any time he was asked something…even if the answer was no.  He is starting to get better about only nodding when he means it. 

I have noticed recently a big desire on his part to be more independent. He wants to spoon-feed himself yogurt. Which is adorable, but messy. He wants to sit in a kitchen chair instead of his high chair. (It might be time to invest in a booster seat. Any recommendations?) He also wants to walk down the stairs instead of being carried.  He reaches up for my hand, my heart melts, and we walk down the steps together.  It is the sweetest, and I don’t mind one bit that it takes five times longer to make it down our stairs!

I am blown away every day at how smart he is and at what he can do. Over the past month, I’ve watched him go from pulling all of his toys apart to actually putting things together. He knows how to put the animals in Noah’s Ark, and he knows how to put most of the shapes back into his shape sorter.

While there are some days where Cullen pushes my buttons and wears me out (there are moments when I feel like he is hitting the Terrible Twos a little early), I wouldn’t trade it for anything! I love spending time with him and getting to know the little boy he is growing into. This is an incredibly fun age. He keeps us laughing and amazes us every day!


Easter Holidays

Our Easter Weekend

April 22, 2014

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! I have been excited about this Easter for quite a while, and it by far exceeded my expectations! 


We started Saturday with a huge Easter Egg Bash at our church complete with three egg huts, interactive story time, crafts, food, and inflatables. We played and hunted eggs with Cullen for the first half of the event, and then Cullen went home with his Gigi to nap while Corey and I worked the registration table for the second half. Even with all of the rain we got that day, we registered over 1,700 people and hid over 15,000 eggs (they only planned to hide 6,000 eggs)! It was incredible! Cullen had a great time hunting eggs and we loved getting to meet so many new people from the community. We are truly blessed to be a part of a church with such a heart for sharing the gospel! I am always amazed at how God can take our plans and, even on the rainiest of days, go beyond what any of us expected to reach so many people! 

I stayed up late Saturday night playing Easter Bunny for Cullen and Corey. I probably have more fun filling baskets than they do opening them. Corey and I helped Cullen dig through his basket, but he was clearly more concerned with getting breakfast.  

After church we went to my parents’ house for lunch and another egg hunt. Before digging into the delicious array of goodies, we attempted a family photo. We got one pretty good picture and the rest looked like this, which pretty much sums up life with our little man.

After stuffing our faces, and after Cullen ate an entire adult size piece of cake, we headed out back for the highlight of the day. Being the only little one, Cullen had an entire area to hunt for eggs by himself. And he took full advantage of it. His egg hunting strategy goes something like this: Find an egg. Shake the egg. Open egg. Dump candy or money on the ground. Put egg in basket or throw it on the ground. Repeat. He had an entourage of people following him around picking up the contents of his eggs and taking pictures. And since this whole process was pretty much the cutest thing ever, we may have put some of the eggs back on the ground for him to find again. Cullen was in heaven!

I love how much fun holidays are as Cullen gets older. I think he had THE BEST Easter! And because I can’t resist a few more adorable pictures, here is Cullen’s reaction to an empty egg.


Easter

Happy Easter

April 20, 2014

Friday Jesus was crucified and buried. Three days later he rose from the grave. Today we are rejoicing that our God lives! That He has conquered death so that we can have a personal relationship and spend eternity with Him. 

We are taking time today to be with family and celebrate the hope that Easter brings.

HAPPY EASTER!
Easter

Good Friday

April 18, 2014

As we gear up for Easter weekend, it’s easy to get lost in the excitement of dying eggs, filling baskets, new outfits, and hunting candy-filled eggs. But I want to take a moment to branch out from my typical posts and reflect on the reason we celebrating at all.

What we call Good Friday is the day Christ was tried and crucified. The day that God sacrificed his Son so that we would be free from the eternal consequences of our sins. As a mother,  I can understand a little what kind of sacrifice that actually is. It is difficult to wrap my mind around the idea that God could love us so much! That He would do so much for people so undeserving!

Sunday, the story gets even better…

Easter Holidays Home Decor

Bunny Rabbits & Baskets

April 17, 2014

Things have been a little crazy around here lately (I’m currently recovering from having my wisdom teeth removed!), but I’ve finally gotten some Easter and Spring decorating done. I didn’t go overboard this year, but added a few things that will last through the spring.  


I think the mantle needs a cute garland for every holiday, so I made this egg garland by spray painting plastic eggs and stringing them together. And found this cute bunny at Hobby Lobby.


The buffet is displaying an adorable ceramic bunny, an egg crate, a wooden heart, and eggs of course.



I found these super sweet bunny tea light holders (from Target, I can’t find them online) and paired them with a galvanized watering can, and a floral bowl filled with eggs.

I really love the way this DIY wreath turned out. Simple and cheerful!


After putting the finishing touches on the spring decorating, I was motivated to play Easter Bunny and get Cullen’s basket ready. Is it just me, or is filling an Easter Basket for a little boy really difficult? Especially for a little boy too young for Peeps and Cadbury Creme Eggs?! But I’ve finally gotten Cullen’s basket together, and I really think he is going to love it!


I didn’t go with traditional Easter basket goodies.  Instead, I filled Cullen’s basket with things he will enjoy over the summer.  A cute sippy cup (Target), bubbles, sunglasses (Target), sidewalk chalk, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, and giant eggs filled with much needed and adorable socks. I may add some jammies like these or these. Psst…If you see Cullen before Sunday, don’t tell him what the Easter Bunny is bringing!

Are you ready for Easter? It’s almost here! I beyond excited to watch Cullen hunt eggs, especially after how much he loved dying them! 
Easter Holidays The Little Things

Easter Eggs

April 16, 2014

Last year was Cullen’s first Easter, but at only three months old, egg dying was out of the question.  So I was super excited about the opportunity to get him in on the egg dying action this year.  To be honest, I expected it to be a disaster, but as it turns out, he had blast and we made very little mess!


I decided we would attempt Kool-Aid dyed eggs, following this tutorial. I don’t know that we did everything quite right, and I would probably do a few things differently next time, but I really love how our eggs turned out.  And Cullen was thrilled with the entire process, so not much else matters.




The only supplies needed are eggs, Kool-Aid, water, and obviously something to actually dye the eggs in (we used plastic cups). When planning this, I kept picturing Cullen trying to drink the dye (he will drink anything in a cup) so I liked the idea of no icky dye or vinegar.



I mixed the Kool-Aid with the water and we got to dying. I just knew that this was going to end up with me dying all the eggs and Cullen screaming to get down and knocking everything off the table, but it turns out he was really into it and helped a lot! After seeing me put the first egg in, Cullen knew exactly what to do.  He couldn’t wait to dunk each egg into a cup of dye.



The eggs only had to sit in their Kool-Aid bath for a few minutes (it seemed much shorter than traditional egg dye) which was good for our impatient little boy.  I love the way his face lit up with excitement when he saw the dyed eggs.  He wanted to hold and ooh and aah over each one.

  

I kind of like the marbled look we ended up with, and obviously Cullen was impressed, but making sure your eggs are completely dry and rotating them in the dye more would probably help ensure a more even color.

No matter what our finished product looked like, starting this Easter tradition with Cullen will be a lasting memory.  Dying eggs has always been one of my favorite parts of Easter, and I am so glad I get to share it with Cullen for years to come!


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Backyard Fun

April 14, 2014

After a crazy long winter, especially for us southerners, we have been blessed with some gorgeous spring weather over the past couple of weeks. I am enjoying it because it gives Cullen a chance to use up some of his little boy energy that wears me out when we are stuck inside. And he is really starting to love being outside.


Maybe love is an understatement. It is pretty obvious that Cullen would spend every minute of every day outside if he could. If Macey has to go out, he wants to go with her. As soon as we get home and I get him out of the car, he takes off running for the front yard. And he quite frequently taps on the back door to let us know that he would like to explore the great outdoors.

If we do not go outside as soon as he demands it, the meltdown starts. Dramatic tears and puppy dog eyes. This isn’t usually a problem, like I said, I jump at the chance to let him get some fresh air and run around. But sometimes it rains, or it’s dark, or it’s time for bed. It is so difficult to tell him we can’t play outside, especially when I see how much fun he has out there.

It melts my heart to see how his little face lights up when he gets to walk out the back door.  He runs like a wild man, pulls grass and weeds, chases Macey, and belly-laughs the whole time. He likes to carry sticks around the yard, steal my sunglasses, and recently we have started making wishes on dandelions.  It is so funny to watch him try to blow and then get frustrated and try to eat the dandelion.  

We have a few parks nearby and a playground in our neighborhood that we are going to have to start taking advantage of.  I am so excited about the possibilities for outdoor fun that await us over the next few months!

The Little Things

Lessons From Life With A Toddler

April 1, 2014

Last Saturday was supposed to be a busy day for me and Cullen. We had a ton of errands to run and a bridal shower that afternoon. But he had other plans. Cullen was a Mr. Cranky Pants all morning. From the moment he woke up, he refused to eat, nap, or listen to anything I said. Needless to say, we did not make it out of the house and did not make it to the bridal shower.  


I am sure that new molars were to blame. After fighting with him all morning, Cullen finally wore himself out and fell asleep on the couch.

After almost two hours, he woke up as a whole new person.  He was my sweet, happy little boy again.  Nothing had been crossed off my to-do list and we missed the shower, but instead of counting the day as a loss, we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous late-afternoon weather.


Cullen, Macey and I headed out to the backyard to play.  Macey sun-bathed, I pulled weeds, and Cullen ran circles around the yard.  Seeing him so happy definitely made up for the rough morning.


Cullen also got to enjoy the slide he got for his birthday. Side note: slides are good inside, but way more fun outside!

I think Saturday was a lesson in flexibility for me. When you have a toddler, there are days when the plan and to-do list go out the window. And that is okay! Sticking to my original plan for Saturday would have made our Mr. Cranky Pants even crankier, and I would have missed making this wonderful memory with him! I will give up errands for playing with Cullen any day!