Winter Wonderland

We really had fun decorating the porch this year.  Jonathan did too good of a job when I asked him to take care of it for the Fall.  So I handed him another picture I liked and he went to work.  He grabbed sticks from my parents yard and sprayed them white.  When he didn't find the rustic ornaments he was looking for the bag of potpourri caught his eye.  He used some twine and hung the potpourri from the sticks.  The spray snow helped a lot too.  I never would of thought I'd like that but it was really what made it I think.  

Here is the picture I handed him from the Pottery Barn magazine.

 Here is what he did.

View from Door.

Looking up at ceiling.

I made us polka dotted stockings this year!

The kids on the porch.

The kids with their Momma. :)

Weston was surprised we were letting him "blow out the fire."  :)

I love this time of year!

Field Trip to Durham

We had such a great time Sunday in Durham.  Lunch at Maggiano's is the perfect way to start the day at The Streets at Southpoint.  Well, not if you want to go shopping and try on clothes later but that is never going to stop this girl from enjoying delicious scratch-made Italian goodness.  I mean really.  

We went into the store Free People for the first time.  Stopped in Anthropology(spent 1 hour) and purchased two dish towels that I later turned into a splendid pillow cover.  

 

 I have to give my Mom credit for this because she suggested I get them to "make something."  Jonathan was able entertain  the kids by going to the water fountain and Kid Zone there while my parents and I did some more shopping.  By the way, Cinnabon isn't there anymore and that's a shame! 

Headed back to Greenville late afternoon and some of my cousins came over to my parents house that night.  We had so much fun together!  Turned out to be a great Labor Day weekend.

Uh Ohhhh

This is one thing I didn't see coming.  The transition from crib to bed went so smoothly a few months ago.  Weston was having his "nap time" and whining for me.  Then it seemed like the whining turned into more of a scream so I decided to go in there and check on him.  Once I saw him in this position I had to get Jonathan and couldn't help but laugh a little.  Oh, and grab the camera.  Honestly I tried to get him out and thought, "Oh my gosh I can't! Get Jonathan quick!"  

Poor guy won't be sliding off the bed at the foot of it anymore.  I guess that's what he was doing when he got in this pickle?

Nashville

I am leaving my husband and kids this weekend to drive to Nashville for my cousins wedding. Every time I go anywhere without them I come back saying, "Jonathan, don't let me ever do that again!" Wishing I had gone with my family or just skipped the trip altogether.

Nashville, TN sounds like an awesome place and this will be my first visit. My cousin getting married is my age and lived within an hour of me most of my life, so we have grown up together. I can't imagine missing her wedding so I'm going to go against my word and leave my family again! :) Just hoping the days are very busy and fly by so I don't have time to miss them or wonder what they are doing while mommy is away.

One funny/scary thing is that no matter how organized I am about laying out their outfits for when I am gone, Jonathan feels the need to do his own thing. It never works out for him. Once he put a shirt and tights on EG thinking it was a dress and sent her to church like that. Not that their clothes are what's important, but come on babe, this is why I take the time to plan their outfits.

As I think about leaving for the trip, I'm trying to remember how fun it will be to see my cousins and visit a new city. I just keep telling myself that.

Now, onto the to-do list so that I can actually leave.

Eyes of a Child

I was always the one in the group that didn't find putt putt, animated movies, the aquarium or museums all that exciting. Now that I have children I see everything through their eyes and all the things that used to bore me are so much fun to experience with them. I find myself using every cliche when telling stories about my kids. They all make so much sense to me now!

Watching their face light up when they see something for the first time...I swear my heart smiles. Isn't it the best? The difficulties of parenthood are far outweighed by the rewards.

Oh, Weston!

Every night before we hit the hay, we go peek at the kids. Most of the time we re-situate them and cover them up. I can't resist kissing them and even pick Elliott up out of the crib to get a good one some nights. It makes Jonathan mad and he tells me to leave them alone but I really can't help it. It's just such a sweet time to get a sniff of that baby smell (yes, they are babies!).

We've been letting Weston take a toy to bed because he will play with it in the morning when he wakes up and let us all sleep a little longer. He wakes up an entire hour and a half before EG every morning. The other night Jonathan came and told me to go look at Weston as he grabbed the camera. He had fallen asleep with his hand still in his Lego box and with toys surrounding his head. Oh, Weston!

One, Two, Three, Five...

I'll be the first one to admit I don't work with my kids on their number's and abc's like I should. You probably would guess that I wouldn't based on my grammar in every blog post. Thankfully Weston's three hours a week in preschool last year and Nick Jr. being like "preschool on TV" he knows a few things. :) Ok, I'm going to work on being better at it. He was interested in counting today and it was cute to his momma!

Check this video out.

Beach Time!

We got the kids down to the beach for the first time since last summer! Elli was unsure about all the sand at first but by the end of the day she was loving it. Weston loved it from the start and didn't stop saying, "I like water." The way he says "beach" is pretty entertaining as well.

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We learned Weston stays busy at the beach like his dad. Works hard with the tongue out usually.

The love birds John & Grey

Uncle Justin and Weston

Carter & Alex

Elli Grey & dada

Weston loved to jump the waves

Haven't you heard of the Ikea bag pool?

Dad & Jonathan

Mama & Elli

Grey & Dad

Mom & Dad

They were so funny

Resting in the shade

ElliGrey Style

Ever since Jonathan surprised me with a sewing machine in December I've been getting to know that thing. I've made gifts and plenty of clothes for Weston and Elliott. I've even done some clothes for me! I really have been enjoying the challenge and trying new things all the time.

With some encouragement from my friends I decided to make a few pieces and list them on Etsy. Check out my new shop, Elli Grey Style.

Momma's Birthday

I celebrated my 27th birthday on Tuesday. 27 does feel much closer to 30. I thought about getting depressed for about 10 seconds and then quickly remembered how blessed I am. I really can't ever feel sorry for myself for anything because somehow I have Jonathan. Now I also have Weston and Elliott. Holy moly God is good.

Jonathan took a work call/meeting in the car so that he could be at B's early enough to get us an amazing lunch. Oh Em Gee. Once Jonathan got off that evening he had Weston run into our bedroom saying something about Momma and present.(Oh man, just the memory of that makes me giggle.) So Weston handed me my gift which was a nice, new flat iron for my hair. I reckon these are the things you get as gifts when you "grow up". It is the gift that keeps on giving after all. I had had my old one 7 years and it's pretty amazing how far those things have come in the meantime. :)

Mom and Dad came over to babysit and Jonathan took me to see the movie Bridesmaids. It was HILARIOUS and we both really enjoyed it. It had been a very long time since we'd been to a movie together. We even got popcorn! It's so exciting.

JB had gotten me a mini-cake that was absolutely precious. I am so very thankful for another year with my healthy family. I have to remind myself not to take these things for granted.

Here are a few pictures from the massive party we had.

(I must add that some of my dear friends and sissy surprised me last weekend and we celebrated then.)

The mint popped back up in the garden this year and it's looking so purdy! I can see a lot of mintiness in our future. Tonight: Grilled chicken marinated in mint, lime juice, and EVOO. Oh yeah, and mojito's (because for some reason I have 8 limes?)! Maybe Jonathan needs to find a mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe to try too.

It smells so good that I might just sprinkle some around the house for air freshener...or get Bentlie to chew on some to help her breath.

Cuteness

Life gets so busy and I don't take the time to write down all the sweet things the kids are doing. Weston and Elliott have been doing some funny things here lately.

Yesterday I saw Weston fall down and he was laying on his back. I told Elliott to help brother by grabbing his hand and pulling him up. Well she actually did it and Weston liked it so much he started falling down on purpose and saying, "Help, Sissy!" She obviously isn't strong enough to actually help him get up so he just holds her hand and stands up. It was good entertainment for me.

They are able to communicate more and more everyday. I don't know how this happened but if you know my kids then you know they say "thank you" and "sorry" more than necessary. Well, for the past few days when they are playing and Elli says her version of thank you, Weston answers with "You're welcome Sissy." When I first heard that interaction it hit me how fast they're growing up! He has a lot of one-sided conversations with her since she can't say as much yet. He'll say, "You want juice Sissy? Ohey here's your juice." They're buddies...sometimes. :)

It's also strange to me that Weston is old enough to eat cereal with milk. He is actually really good at feeding it to himself and he loves the stuff! When he wants some he ask for, "Cheermillllk." Yep, that's exactly how you'd spell it. We are out of milk today and I'm actually scared. Jonathan called me yesterday trying to see if I knew what Weston was asking for. Jonathan said, "He's saying something with milk in it."

When these kids aren't driving me crazy they do make me laugh. It's hard to remember the days before them.

Snack

Turns out Elliott enjoys eating a lot. I have no clue where she could have gotten that from. Dad stopped by with some Hostess cakes the other day and the kids were so excited. Weston was really too excited that Poppy was there to be able to eat his treat. Elli was more into the treat of course. The first thing Weston ask Dad to do is take them outside. On the way out Elli quickly turns around and grabs her treat to take with her.