Good bye tutu’s. Hello jon jons. . . . .

We are having a B-O-Y!!!!

January 10 has been a very memorable date for Dave and me the past two years.

January 10, 2011 – My AUsome Auburn Tigers won their first BCS National Title in 54 years!! Fortunately Dave and I were there in Phoenix in that very moment to celebrate a night I will put in the category as “one of the best moments of my life.”

Fast forward to this year.

January 10, 2012 – Dave and I found out that we are having a little BOY!!!! We are beyond thrilled and ecstatic. Since we plan for this to be our last child, we were hoping for a little guy but of course we would have been just as thrilled for another sweet little girl. Since I’m pretty much a girly girl, I’m not quite sure what to do with a little guy but I’m looking forward to learning. I wish I had a video of Dave’s reaction when the nurse informed us that the baby was a boy. It was extremely sweet. I’m happy that Dave will get the son he’s always dreamt of having! He is already looking forward to future Alaska trips with his son!

I also am happy for Lexie. I think she might have a hard time with a new baby in the house at first. She is definitely a Mama’s girl. She doesn’t like me holding anyone’s baby at any time. She gets very territorial of me. With having a little guy around, she still can be our baby girl and princess! She won’t have to feel the need to compete against her baby brother as she might with a little sister.

I think that having a boy will save Dave money. . . . .Not quite the selection of boy stuff compared to girl stuff. There is not even a quarter of cute boy stuff compared to girls. Most everything for boys is so cheesy. Even the bedding. I’m already frustrated with the bedding situation. But I think I’ve finally come up with an idea/colors. Stay tuned. . . .

Around this time last time I was pregnant with Lexie, I went crazy while shopping for her. I had a blast designing Lexie’s custom crib bedding, window panels, and bassinet bedding. Picking out nursery furniture, paint colors, and wall art was so much fun along with finding a chandelier to match.  The clothes were to die for. There are so many things out there for girls.

Dave and I are still playing the “name game.” Hopefully the little guy will have a name soon. As for now, we will just call him little guy.

Little guy seems to be doing great. He loves to have a jam session every night around 11 PM. I remember Lexie did the same thing. As she grew, her sessions began at 3 AM. I wonder if the same will happen with this one.

The day we found out we were having a boy. Everything looked great! But the nurse did say little guy was measuring a tad bit larger than normal. She said it wasn’t anything to worry about. But as you remember, Lexie was 8.13 lb TWO WEEKS EARLY! The doctors say:

1.your second baby is usually larger than the first

2. boys are usually larger than girls. . . .

3. the delivery usually happens faster the second time around. . . .(I only pushed for about 20-25 minutes with Lexie). I can’t really imagine something quicker than that. . . . .

I didn’t gain much weight with Lexie so no one expected Lexie to be so big. The doctors were astounded. The doctors said there is no way to really tell how big the baby is near full term. But they said that they’d watch me closer this time around. I’m not worried about the birth right now, considering I have 19 weeks to go but I’m sure I will start to as the end nears. Praying for a healthy baby boy but I’m also praying he’s not 10 lbs!

A Christmas Card Collage and Personalized Place Mats

We are extremely blessed to receive so many beautiful Christmas cards each holiday season from friends and family. For many years, I was always perplexed on where to display all the lovely cards. Usually the card racks found in the stores only hold about 15 cards or so. That wasn’t an option. I didn’t want to tape the cards to my wall or door possibly causing the tape to take paint off. Strike 2. I also needed something that Lexie couldn’t mess up. About three years ago, I came up with an idea that has worked out really well. A Christmas card hanging collage.

What you need:

• Any type of table runner
• Clothes hanger (preferably pant hanger – one with sticky arm)
• wire
• ribbon of your choice
• Decorative no nail wall/door hook 
• safety pins
• Wire cutting scissors

Hang the hook in desired place of collage (remember to hang it a little bit higher if you plan on using almost the entire runner). I placed it on the door to our kitchen pantry. That way, all the cards will be on full display for everyone to see them. Using wire cutting scissors, cut the wire from the hanger leaving just the white/sticky part. Thread wire through the inside of the hanger. Leave enough wire on both sides to make a knot around the wall/door hook. It should be in the form of a triangle. Don’t leave too much slack or the hanger will fold in the middle once the fabric is placed on it. Fold the table runner over the hanger to the length of preference. I nearly used the entire length of the runner leaving about an inch to inch and an half to pin on the back.  Pin each side using a safety pin. You could sew the sides together if you want to do something a little neater than safety pins. But once you have the cards on there, you won’t be able to see the pins. To hide the wire knot around the hook, I made a decorative bow. You can also attach the wire to the bow (to make it all one piece). That way after Christmas, all you have to do is fold the hanging runner with bow leaving the hook on the door for aprons, etc. Once you hang the runner in your desired place, start pinning your Christmas cards with a safety pin (you could use straight pins but with Lexie running around, I used safety pins to make sure there wouldn’t be any straight pins on the floor). I went from top to bottom. I tend to like things very neat and orderly, but this project is different and fun to just hang the cards in a “non orderly” way.

 

Decorative wall/door hook (I used the brand Command)

Here’s what it should look like before Christmas cards arrive. Just have a box of safety pins on hand. Every day during December is so much fun to get the mail. I love receiving all your Christmas cards!

After the Christmas cards arrived!

 

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Personalized Place Mats:

No what to do with the Christmas cards after Christmas/NY is over??? Like I said before, I love receiving all the beautiful cards and would hate to just throw them away. What about making Christmas card place mats for the next holiday season??

What you will need:

• 11x18 sheet of paper
• double stick tape
• Self adhesive laminating roll

Arrange cards on top of 11x18 paper. Once you do that, use double stick tape to securely place the cards to the paper. Peel the laminating paper back enough to cover both sides of the paper. Voila! Your very own personalized holiday place mats! For the 2011 cards, I will probably take the paper to have it professionally laminated. Trying to get each side completely straight with no air bubbles was quite the challenge. You could also make a collage but I chose to go the “neat and orderly” route. These also make quite bit. They are great not only for the kitchen table but for arts and crafts projects. BTW, if you have kids, they will enjoy eating off of these. Lexie loved to sit in a different chair each night for dinner just so she could point out the people she knew.

Christmas & NYE 2011

 

 

 

We had a wonderful and memorable Christmas! My parents along with Dave’s parents were able to come for Christmas. Both sets of grandparents got to be here as Lexie woke up on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought. After Christmas, my brother in law and his family were able to stay for a night. Amelia and Lexie had a fun time being princesses.

As for NYE, Dave and I like to keep it pretty simple.We aren’t too keen on going out on NYE. Too many crazies out there. For the past couple of years, we’ve had the Frerman’s over for a slumber party. Lexie and Ava get along so well. They put on a rock concert for us. We watched AU put the smack down on UVA, cooked a fabulous dinner, put the kids to bed, and watched the ball drop at midnight.

Hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas/New Years!

Christmas Fun

What to do over Christmas break? I was trying have some fun activities set up so that Lexie wouldn’t get too bored. We had a “build a gingerbread house”/dress up princess play date with our great friends, the Sapras. Lexie loves C’mas trees so we did a handprint C’mas tree similar to some she did at school. We baked cookies for Santa not once but twice. We made gingerbread and Santa homemade ornaments (failed to get a picture) along with teaching Lexie how to wrap presents (again no pic). I’m seeing a pattern here. Not very good at taking pictures obviously (that’s one of my new years resolutions – to take more pics. I used to be so good at taking them).

 

Attempting to make a gingerbread house. . . . .

Enjoying being princesses

Cookies for Santa round 1

Lexie’s Handprint Christmas tree

Cookies for Santa round 2