Easter

Ballet Recital Head Shots

We chose this one for the program

Preston's Room

I showed you pictures of Preston's big boy furniture in a previous post, but we finally decided on bedding and decor. If you've met my husband, you know he's a big sports fan. He insisted that Preston's room have a sports theme.

I had been saving to get bedding from Pottery Barn Kids when I came across some really cute pieces at TJ Maxx that I liked just as much. The quality and stitching are so close to PBK, but at a huge cost savings. HUGE! I got 2 small decorative pillows from PBK, and the rest at TJ Maxx. I got accessories at Hobby Lobby. I have a couple of small projects remaining, but for the most part, Preston's room is complete.

We're still here!

It's been so long since I've posted. Sorry mom and dad! You're probably the only ones who ever look at this blog. We have been busy with friends birthday parties, sometimes two in a Saturday. Good thing the kids love birthday parties!!

We have been tackling some big projects around the house too. We built our house 3 years ago, and I've had the itch to change a few things. First up - paint. I actually still like the paint color that we chose for the majority of our house. However, our builder used flat paint, and it is not condusive to having small children. We have sticky little handprints all over the house. So my sweet, amazing husband has spent the last 4 weekends painting washable paint on our walls. He is maybe halfway done.

I decided to change our master bathroom color. Our bedroom is painted "silver sage" from Restoration Hardware. It's a soothing silvery blue, and I love it! I wanted our bathroom to be a shade or two darker, and well, it turned out brighter and looks like we should have a baby boys nursery in our bathroom. Marty doesn't like it either, but I feel terrible that he is going to repaint it. I'm just a little nervous to pick a new color.

We also changed the color in our dining room, and I just love it! We have ignored the dining room for three years, and it might be my favorite room now! We hung large prints of the kids and got a new rug, and it turned out exactly as I had hoped. The walls look orange in the picture, but it's more of a terra cotta color. I don't know how to change my camera settings to capture the true color.

An opposing wall.







We are getting ready to redo the landscaping outside, and I will try to take some before and after pictures. Well, maybe not before ones. I planted some azaleas last year, and they didn't make it. I honestly believe that plants and flowers cringe when I approach them. I have killed at least a dozen plants since Marty and I got married.

Our little punkins had to dress up for Dr. Seuss Day, and we chose Thing 1 and Thing 2 from "The Cat in the Hat". What do you think?

Our Sweet Valentine's!

Cupcakes and Monkeys

I had four little monkeys for a few hours the other day, so what better way to entertain than let them make cupcakes? They loved it! One of the little monkeys went around the table and ate everyone's leftovers, but I won't say who...





Maddie had a mouth full before she iced it!

Our other baby's birthday

Happy 7th birthday DJ!

A special visit

I took the kids to visit Ms. Linda today. She took care of Maddie Grace for the first 18 months of her life. She is so special to us! When Maddie was just a few weeks old, Ms. Linda and I came to the agreement that we wanted to call my sweet girl "Maddie Grace". Marty and I had never planned to call her by a double name, but Linda and I agreed that it suited her. It still does!

Big Boy Bed

During the Christmas craziness, Preston's big boy furniture came in. We weren't expecting it to arrive so quickly! I still haven't bought his bedding. I borrowed the mattress off of Maddie's trundle just so he could get used to sleeping on it. Guess who wants to sleep on the top bunk?

Christmas Morning

Our Christmas didn't quite work out as planned. My parents made it to our house a few days early, but my sister's family was supposed to come on Christmas Day. The crazy amount of snow at their house didn't allow them to make the trip. We were pretty bummed. We made the most of our day, and the kids loved thier new toys.

Preston and Maddie asked for guitars for Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, we learned that Preston told his class that he was getting a "big bike". That was the first Marty or I had heard about that, but thankfully Santa came through!
Bath robe and rain boots
We love Mamaw!

AND we love Papaw!!
I don't know why we keep buying ball pits. They don't last very long!
Mommy must have been good this year!

Greeting Tree

I found room for a 6th Christmas tree this year: our entry way. I took a skinny tree and decorated it with ornaments that Marty and I have collected since we got married. We filled in the rest of the tree with Christmas cards from family and friends. The kids loved getting cards in the mail then picking spots on the tree to place them. It was a fun way to display all the pictures!

We found our elf, Ho-ho, hiding in the tree.
My parents gave me the train that they used around our family tree when I was growing up. I was able to use just a few pieces of the track to fit this tree, and it was a hit!

Santa

Maddie's friend Koko had a surprise guest at her birthday party! Maddie ran to the door to look for Santa's sleigh and Rudolph.

A Party for Jesus

We had our annual Birthday Party for Jesus party before Christmas. Each family brings new unwrapped toys to donate in honor of Jesus' birth. We had lots of crafts, and we read the story of Jesus' birth to the kids. Their favorite part is singing "Happy Birthday" and eating the cake for Jesus! We hope this tradition will teach our children the real reason we celebrate Christmas.