What I'm Loving Wednesday

Oh it's Wednesday again - time to share what I'm loving today!

So this Merona Ultimate Tee from Target is probably one of my favorite fall finds - I have two in white, and one in this gray stripe, and also in orange and teal - for $8 each!! I seriously love these shirts - I hate getting "dressed up" to clean and do housework all day, but I can't stand wearing old ratty t-shirts either.  These are great!

I am seriously obsessed with peppermint mocha creamer right now.  I was all about pumpkin pie creamer through October - but I've officially made the switch.  My coffee tastes SO good every morning now.  It's almost as good as one from Starbucks - except this is better because the creamer costs much less than a cup of coffee there!

I check on daily deal sites almost every day (and only buy if I can get a great deal) - and I found these hair clips yesterday on Very Jane for $2.50!  I got Reese the penguin and the gingerbread girl for $7 with shipping.  These will look super cute with her Christmas shirts this year!

Augh!  These two!  I know that they will be beyond excited to find out that we're going back to Disney World, and I can't wait to tell them - but we're keeping it a secret for now!  I got really excited when I saw Wyatt's progress report at his parent teacher conference yesterday and saw that he said that he likes it when we take him to Disney World!  I was less excited when I saw that Reese told her teacher that it makes her happy when I give her food.  Seriously?!?  Kids say the silliest things!

Y'all - I'm not even going to lie.  My skin is awful.  Like, I would show you pictures of how bad it is sometimes, but I would be so embarrassed (although it was its worst when I was a junior in high school).  I tried every medication in high school, and I wash my face morning and night, but nothing has ever worked.  I find myself wanting to smack people who complain about getting a pimple once a month. I'm also terribly afraid that my kids could end up with my skin. I'm not kidding - I would be so much happier to be dealing with wrinkles than dealing with acne at 29.  Proactiv is the only thing that works for my skin - if I follow all three steps, twice a day.  I stopped using it for awhile, but I couldn't take it anymore - sometimes I need to do what's right for me, too! 

My Erin Condren address book came this week (mine is mocha/multi though), and I am so excited!  I have about a gazillion Excel files with all the addresses I need in it - but it is such a pain.  I am so happy to have all my contacts in one place!

This candle is on its last leg - but I am still in love!  Fortunately we'll be making the switch to a Christmas scent in the near future so I won't be scentless - but I LOVE this one!

So that's kind of a long list - but that's what I'm loving today y'all!

Visiting with Mason: Halloween Edition

Last weekend Marc, April, and Mason came to town for a visit.  And the ODU/JMU game (Go Dukes).  The Dukes lost the game but we still got to see each other, so it was worth their long trip! 

We dressed the kids up in their costumes for a little Halloween "party." Yoda and Froggy got to hang out together.

 And they had very important things to discuss!

 While Mason got to hang out with Uncle Brian...

 Wyatt and Reese spent some time being thrown up in the air by Uncle Marc!

 

 They absolutely loved it!

We can't wait to visit again for Christmas!

Hudson's First Birthday Party: Part 3 - The Decor!

When I was first planning Hudson's party, I had two goals: to make as much of the food and decor as possible, and also to have it be completely stress free.  I tend to be a ball of stress on birthday party days!

When I found this invitation on Pinterest, I knew that it was the one I was looking for!

Source: peartreegreetings.com via Brittney on Pinterest

I pinned the instructions for this balloon wreath from How Does She and was really excited to try it out!  I LOVED how it turned out - and it's actually still on my door!  I like the Thanksgiving colors :)  Mine is a little fuller than the one in the tutorial - but I was kind of obsessive about it!

I liked this idea - but wanted to do it with something I already had. I created this magnetic board for another Pinterest project (make up storage), so I just attached an adhesive magnet to the back of Hudson's monthly pictures and put them on the frame.  I added the mat for guests to sign, a framed invitation, and the favors (chocolate covered pretzel rods) to the table with it - and I was in love!

The food table was easy enough - cupcakes, smash cake, and all the food.  Buffalo chicken balls, Pizza dip, pigs in a blanket, and a veggie tray are on the table.  I actually found the actual "tray" at Target in the $1 section, and got all the veggies myself!  We also had meatballs, chicken nuggets for the kids, and Brian's 7 layer dip but those weren't out yet :)

And quite possibly one of my very favorite things -

I got all the ribbon on clearance at Michael's.  I cut all the ribbon while we watched the X Factor one night, and then hot glued them later that week while Brian and Wyatt went to a hockey game.  You wouldn't think that spending a Saturday night with ribbon and a hot glue gun would be that fun, but when you add in a glass of Moscato and The American President, it's really not that bad!

I have to say that I just loved how Hudson's birthday party turned out, and I kind of can't wait to plan the next party - but we have until March to worry about that!

Hudson is a ONE YEAR OLD!

Hudson is a one year old big boy!  This year has flown by, and I really can't believe that this big boy is the same tiny baby that I held for the first time a year ago!  He is such a joy and his smile just lights up my world!

Here is what he is up to this month:

• He is about 25 pounds now! I can barely carry him - I usually pass him off to Daddy when we're out and about!
• He wears a size 4 diaper.
• He wears his 12 month sleepers and 12 and 18 month clothes. 
• He has now completely transitioned to cow's milk, and he eats whatever we eat (cut up into small pieces of course!).
• He is getting to be a better sleeper.   He usually goes to sleep at night somewhere between 6:30 and 7 and wakes up somewhere between 7 and 8.  Daylight savings didn't mess him up too much, thankfully!  I do sometimes wonder if he even naps though!  I usually put him down between 12:30 and 1 and he starts crying about an hour later.  I'm just not sure he sleeps during that hour - I think he might just stare at his crib toy the whole time.
• He says Uh oh, Mama, Dada, touchdown, hi, Baba, Pop Pop, yes, up, thank you, hey and bye.  He also sometimes says "ee-ee" which I think might mean Reesie.  He signs "all done," and "up," and waves hi and bye. 
• He has a cute little tongue wiggle that he does when he's thirsty!
• He has 6 teeth!  The four in the front up top and the bottom two.  More are cutting right now.  He's not so happy about that.
• He'll be getting his third hair cut next week!
• He is still sleeping in his sleep sacks.  He LOVES them.
• He is walking all over the place now.  It's so funny to see him walk everywhere.  He took his first steps on October 6th and gradually worked his way up to using walking as his preferred method of getting around.  We gate off the hallway that leads to the kids' rooms and the stairs, and keep the doors to our room and the half bath closed.  That way he can have the run of the playroom, living room and kitchen!
• He loves the new Elmo at Target and dances to it in the store.  He will probably get it for Christmas!
• He actually loves to dance to any music!  He looks so cute jamming.
• He really seems like a toddler now.  I can't believe how big he is getting!
• Expect two more detailed posts about his first birthday :).  We had a lot of fun celebrating with him!

Happy First Birthday Mr. H!

Hudson at 11 months

10 months

9 months

8 months

7 months

6 months

5 months

4 months

3 months

2 months

1 month/ 6 weeks

Brand New!

Thankful Thursdays!

I will totally admit to getting wrapped up in Christmas the day after Halloween.  I'm trying really hard not to, but I've started a list of everything I need to complete before Christmas - starting with a deep clean/ organizational purge of the house before decorating starts!

So on that note, I figured I would link up with Samantha at Adventures with Gwen to focus on being thankful...even if my house will be decorated for Christmas before Thanksgiving!

• I am thankful to be married to Brian.  He completes me :).  And he makes me laugh everyday. 
• I am thankful for Wyatt.  He also makes me laugh every day.  And he drives me crazy sometimes.  He's a lot like his Daddy.  Funny, charming and in need of very little sleep. I am grateful everyday that he was "the first to come out of my belly," as he would say!
• I am thankful for my Reesie.  She is the funniest, sweetest, silliest, most talkative person I know.  Besides me (on the talkative part anyway) :)
• I am thankful for Hudson.  My baby is the cutest, happiest little person I know!  I melt when he leans in for an open mouthed kiss when I ask for one!  I can not believe that he is going to one in two days. 
• I am thankful that I survived my first year with three kids with my sanity intact!  I suppose that also leads to me be thankful that my little guy is such a good sleeper when my oldest's sleep habits leave something to be desired (like sleeping until the sun is up).
• Which leads to being thankful for my Keurig.  Seriously? Seriously!

If you'd care to share why you're thankful, head over to Samantha's blog and link up!

Hudson's Birthday Party: Part 2!

So I just realized that Hudson still had cake up his nose during the present opening portion of his party - oops!  He didn't seem to mind!

He loves this Thomas ball!  He really loves any ball, and will gladly roll the ball back and forth with is big brother for a long time - if Wyatt participates.  Sometimes he just takes off with the ball!

 Reesie was very eager to see what her baby brother got for his birthday!

 Taking a moment to ponder the importance of life?

 Digging into a present!

 Our crazy kids!

We had such a fun day surrounded by our families and close friends!  We're very lucky to have so many people who come out to the kids birthday parties and we always have such a fun time - even if it gets a little loud around here!

Trick or Treat!

We had a lot of fun trick or treating this year!  When it came time to choose costumes, Wyatt was pretty much set on being Captain America.  We actually bought his costume from the Disney Store at the beginning of September!  Reese was not nearly as emphatic about her costume this year as she was last year.  She went back and forth between wanting to dress up as Ariel, Jessie, and Darby from My Friends Tigger and Pooh.  At least she narrowed her options down to red heads!  We finally settled on Jessie last week, and we were able to get it on sale at the Disney Store!  There is no way I would have paid as much as they wanted for the complete costume.

Hudson dressed up as Yoda for his first Halloween. Yes, it's a "recycled" costume, but he really suited it perfectly!  Especially with his little walk - he looks just like Yoda from behind.  Too cute!

 We went trick or treating with our neighbors this year!  Wyatt and Reese were very excited to go around the neighborhood with Gavin and Mady - I was a little worried that the two Captain America's might not be happy to see someone else in their costume - but they actually had a blast together!

 Reese's typical response to everything is "eyeball."  So she was very excited to find out that she got a piece of chocolate that actually looked like an eyeball.

 Hudson had a blast people watching!

 And he went to a few doors as well :)!

While we were out in the neighborhood, Brian spent a lot of time calling Wyatt's name.  At one point Brian called him and then we heard, "Wyatt?  Hi Wyatt!," followed by "Hi Natalie!"  One of the little girl's from his class was trick or treating in our neighborhood, and she turned around and immediately recognized Wyatt.  This is not shocking.  When Wyatt talks about school he talks about Isabella and Natalie more than anything else.  Natalie's mom came up and introduced herself and said that she has the same problem - all she hears about is "Wyatt, Wyatt, Wyatt!"

We got home and found out that these kids scored some serious candy - so much that I immediately threw away the gross stuff, and I am sneaking some into the trash each night!  Last year they almost immediately forgot about the candy, but they both asked me for some tonight.  I think it would be best for all of us if we just threw it out!