Monday, May 31, 2010

Where do I Begin???

So, as you can tell, I've been in a bit of a blogging slump here lately. I'm not quite sure why. In fact I haven't felt like taking many pictures either. So much has been going on though. I'm not even sure if I can remember everything I wanted to blog about. Most recently we enjoyed a visit from my parents and their dog, George. Brady had so much fun while they were here. He woke up every morning and after every nap clawing to get out of his crib to go see the "DA" (dog).


We had so much fun while they were here. I gained 2 pounds from all the yummy food we ate! We took another trip across the bay so Brady could play in the fountain at the Eastern Shore Centre. Then we ate lunch at one of our favorite BBQ joints, Moe's and then we drove down to Fairhope to do some shopping and look around. We went into my favorite toy store and Brady got a few goodies, courtesy of Grandma & Grandpa. Daddy also bought him a couple toys and I got a couple things for Brady's new buddy Noah, due this summer - Justin & Britni's baby!

My mom & dad also watched Brady for a few hours so we could have an impromptu date night one evening. We decided to go see a movie since we haven't been to a theater since I was pregnant. But of course there were no good adult movies playing so we ended up going to see the new Shrek movie. It was hilarious though, which made up for the theater full of kids we were trying to escape!

My mom also brought my birthday present a couple of months early - a new food processor! I've been wanting one of these for a while and was very excited to get it. We made some homemade bread using it during their visit and I just made another loaf a few days ago. Thank you mom!


This picture cracks me up. It's not at all what it looks like - George had gotten a tick stuck to his belly and my dad was trying to remove it. Brady was so interested in what he was doing. He hovered over Grandpa until the task was complete. Brady absolutely loved this dog. For those of you who don't know, George is completely blind. But he is so tolerant and mild mannered. Brady crawled all over him, sat on top of him, pulled his tail, pulled his lips and ears, stole his tennis ball and yet Geroge never once complained.

I also had a fabulous Mother's Day. Rob was so generous this year and bought me a new sewing machine. It's a really fancy one too. At least I think so, compared to what I had been sewing on. I haven't had too much time to play with it yet. But I did make these adorable "cowboy pants" for Brady. I'm going to try and whip up some new pillow covers for our couch pillows sometime in the next couple weeks.





On a more somber note, we experienced a loss of a pregnancy about a month ago. We were so excited when we found out that Brady was going to be a big brother. We had already started dreaming up big plans for turning our last bedroom into another nursery and all the preparations that needed to be made. Unfortunately our plans were squashed all too soon, with a very early miscarriage. I'm not writing any of this for sympathy. Far too many families experience much more tragic loss than ourselves. I'm writing this for myself because I never want to forget what happened and I want to be reminded that we have another sweet little life waiting for us in heaven. I had a couple of meltdowns and pity parties soon afterwards, but I know that God is faithful and has great plans in store for our family - both present and future members:)

Happy Memorial Day! I am so thankful to all of our service men and women who have given of themselves so that we can live freely. Please remember my cousin Joe in your prayers. Earlier this week he left for yet another deployment, this time to Afghanistan. He left behind his wife, Amy, their son, William, and a newborn son, Jaxson, who isn't even a month old yet. I can't imagine how hard this is for Amy. Please say a prayer for them as well as all the other military families.

Tomorrow is a big day for Brady. He is starting Mother's Day Out at our church! I'm am so nervous, yet so excited at the same time. I almost cancelled his spot in the program a few weeks ago, but after talking to another mom friend of mine who sent her oldest son to the program when he was Brady's age, I have changed my mind and decided to at least try it for a few days. He will only be going Tuesdays and Thursdays for 4 hours and it only lasts 8 weeks (he's only doing the summer program). Hopefully it will go well and Mama can finally have a few free hours!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

5.15.10


He was SO excited that I cut a Hydrangea for him to hold! I know I've been MIA for a while. I've got lots to write about, just not a lot of time lately. Hopefully soon though!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Playing in PSE

So now that I am finally starting to understand shooting in manual mode on my camera and how to get a "correct" exposure (at least according to my camera's meter) I realize how much more I need to learn and understand about PSE (the editing program I use). So today I played around with an image I took yesterday of Brady right after he woke up from his nap.

Here is the Before (SOOC):



And the After:

The steps I took to achieve this look include following PW directions for copying her "Fresh & Colorful" PS Action in PSE (here's the link) and then applying the Base Sharpen Action that I purchased from Heather Ward's Lolly's Actions.

The image looks a little grainy to me. Probably because I used an ISO of 800. My other settings are f/1.8 and 1/250ss.

I know I just totally lost most of you on this post, but I'm trying to record it for my own memory. One of my goals over the next few months/year is to improve my photography skills. I have absolutely NO DESIRE to ever become a professional photog, but I do want to be able to take some killer pics of my family. I think photos and preserving memories are so important. And I want to be able to remember this time when Brady is young for forever.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Only in Alabama....

is it appropriate to use a pop-up tailgating tent as a patio umbrella and allow your child to get in the baby pool naked!

While said child swims naked Daddy works on a construction project 20 feet in front of him.

Ahh, yes, my friends in Ohio are for sure making fun of us right now:) Brady does indeed own a swim suit, but I keep forgetting to buy him swim diapers. Thank goodness everyone down here has privacy fences, otherwise the neighbors might think we're from around here. Have I ever told you about our neighbors across the street who let their little boy run naked ALL OVER THE NEIGHBORHOOD? Actually, I just saw him this morning - naked - in our other neighbor's front yard.

The past few days have been busy for us. Friday I took Brady over to the Eastern Shore Centre to meet up with a few other moms/kiddos to play in the outdoor fountain. Brady had so much fun. He was a little timid at first and didn't like the water shooting out at him, but he finally eased up and had a blast. He played with so many other children (and of course stole all their toys). We only stayed about an hour and a half, but he was beat. Again, only in Alabama is it appropriate to take your kids to the outdoor shopping mall to play in the water fountain!

Saturday Rob and Justin left at 6:30 in the morning to go to Auburn for the A-day game. He didn't get home till 8:30 that night. I was exhausted from entertaining Brady by myself all day! And I get to do it again for the next two days - Rob is working TWO 14 hour shifts back to back Tues. and Wed. This is how he managed to get this past weekend off for the game.



I had to go to Goodwill last week to drop some items off and decided to walk around to see if they had anything good. I found this adorable child's school desk for $13 as well some books for Brady and a few other items. He loves this thing. He sits in it all the time - watching TV, eating snacks, playing with toys. I really want to paint it a funky color, but Rob thinks it should stay the way it is.

Isn't he the cutest?

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

4.13.10

Check out this blog - Knock-off Wood - HOW ON EARTH HAVE I NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE???? Ohhh, boy - I've got some big plans for Rob in the near future :) I only wish I had discovered this 3.5 years ago before we spent a small fortune on Pottery Barn furniture in our house. She even has plans for the exact Crate & Barrel Bookcase we have in our office. And nearly identical desk too. If you are a DIYer like I am you need to go check it out!

Speaking of DIY - I made myself a shirt to wear! This is the first time I've ever sewn actual clothing. First of all, I don't sew very often, and when I do it is always something for the house - usually curtains/drapes and sometimes pillows. I used this pattern and some cheap fabric I found spur of the moment at Hobby Lobby for $8.

(excuse my filthy bathroom)

It's pretty shapeless, but for $8 I figured it would be ok to run around and get sweaty in this summer :)




Also, I finally took Brady in for a real haircut. Up until this point I am the only one who has cut his hair. It was definitely lacking some shape. But after watching the lady doing the cutting I feel confident again in my abilities and will do it myself next time around. He had so much fun while we were there though. I took him to the kids "salon" here in town and he really didn't want to leave. He sat in the Hummer while getting his hair cut and then had to try out the Corvette before we left. The second half of the place was a mini toy store and a "spa" for little girls to have birthday parties at. I wish I would have brought my real camera. 




Monday, April 5, 2010

The Hunt


So here are my favorites from the Easter Egg Hunt we went to on Saturday. My friend Katrina hosted it at her beautiful home. She has two children, Noah (3) and Anna Lee (1). Brady and Anna Lee are in Kindermusik together. But Katrina and I also know each other from the Birth Stories More group that we attend. Anyway, we had a wonderful time at the hunt. Brady had so much fun playing with all the great toys. He especially loved these gigantic easter eggs that were laying around as decorations. He had a great time moving them around. Katrina's yard was beautiful. It was huge, and covered with all sorts of gorgeous trees with the most vibrant flowers I've ever seen. I may have been slightly obsessed with them :) Katrina is also an artist and she had such wonderful decorations, much of it handmade. I wish I had just a tiny portion of her creativity or talent!


I love this picture. It reminds me of an old black & white picture my mom recently gave to me of my dad when he was a little boy riding on a pony. They both have the same look on their face! 









I hope everyone had a great Easter. Ours didn't turn out as planned, but was still wonderful. Brady had another bad night Saturday night and everyone lost sleep again. Which led us to oversleep and miss church. So instead we headed for the beach! Brady had a great time and actually loved the sand and water. I have a few pictures I snapped on my small camera (I finally found my cord, yay!) which I still need to upload to the computer.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Thank YOU!


Brady got a fun little package in the mail today from Grandma & Grandpa Ayers - A new basketball hoop for the bath tub and Fizzy Tub Colors! He had so much fun playing with the basketball hoop/balls. Actually I don't think he even touched any of his other toys tonight! Thank you mom!

We went to a great Easter Egg Hunt this afternoon and I took a million pictures. I'm still trying to edit them. Hopefully I can get them up by tomorrow.

Happy Easter Everyone!