pinkalicious

Some days you just need to be the princess you really are... It's no secret Grace loves pink so it was no surprise that after naptime yesterday she only wanted to wear her "pink princess ballet tutu" (her words) and twirl. "I need to be pink and I NEED to twirl, mama". Funny our definition of "need" when we're two :)

Ready, mama??? To get the show started you must clap! Practicing my ballerina pose There, that's better! You must act silly and pose like this Then laugh hysterically like this Before getting shy and declaring the talent show over Time to cuddle with Lily, the dollie Pick out a few books and read to dollie I need a break now. Being a pink princess is tiring after all! Mama: Are you ready to change, pumpkin?
Grace: Noooo, mama - I'm going to be a princess FOREVER!

Indeed, my darling, indeed :)

monkey business

It's no secret the little pumpkin is crrrrazzzy about Curious George. She loves to watch him on tv, play with her two little stuffed georges, and even "bring him along" on our daily adventures. There's even been a time or two that poor George has gotten blamed for all the mischief around our house. That monkey, I tell you.

But this past Saturday it was ME who was going bananas over a special treasure left on our doorsteps by the postman. Imagine my delight when I opened a package to find this: Yes, an authentic vintage Curious George lunchbox!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wait. It gets even better. It belonged to my SIL Heather's grandma. Now you all know how close I am to my own grandma, so to know it came from her grandma was icing on the cake. Heather~ you have NO IDEA how touched I was that you would give something with such sentimental value to us. It has found a very special place in Hudson's room...and in my heart. To boot, the lunchbox was filled with the sweetest little baby items. Thank you so much Herman, Heather, Emerson, & Marshall!!! Grace loved her outfit and especially the stickers that adorned the package :) We love you and miss you! XOXO

Back to School...little pumpkin style - Part I

Do you remember going back to school shopping? When I was in elememtary school and jr. high, I LOVED picking out school supplies, especially my backpack, pencil case, and trapper keeper - remember those?? I think I'm dating myself :) I went to Catholic school through the seventh grade and we wore traditional plaid jumper uniforms so backpack, trapper keeper, and shoes were your primary ways of creating your own look, LOL! And even the shoes had restrictions!

So I've been super excited picking out back to school (mother's day out, really) stuff for Grace. She has quite an opinion for a two and a half year old, I tell ya. The pinkier and twirlier, the better according to Grace. And if she really dislikes an outfit, she is quick to let her opinion be known. I pick my battles these days :)

So check out this cute little crayon tote I recently got for Grace. Isn't it so cute?!?

It's from hapa girl boutique on ebay. I love her fabric choices, especially the little red riding hood import.

Here's a view from the inside: It fits 8 crayons and has 2 little pockets for drawing pads, little books, stickers and other little treasures to keep your tot entertained. And although this post is about back-to-school, we use ours at church, in the car, and in restaurants.

It works especially well when we're waiting for Lance to join us after work for a dinner out - Grace likes to draw something special to show her daddy when he walks through the door :) And while we're on the subject of supplies, I LOVE these twistable crayons from Crayola. They're like a cross between a crayon and a coloring pencil and since the color is in its own little plastic tube they don't get so messy when left sitting in a hot car. Thanks Lexi for introducing us to them and good luck with your classroom full of little ones this year!

More to come on back to school style, but for now check out these tutorials if you're crafty and would like to make your own, and if you're not, pay Cynthia of hapa girl boutique a visit and tell her I sent ya!

On a Roll by Skip to my Lou

Crayon Roll by Chocolate on my Cranium

Notebook & Pencil Holder by One Red Robin

goody, goody gumdrop

Stumbling upon a fab vintage find makes me as excited as a 2 year old in a candy store. Make that MORE excited! Check out this sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet chair painted the most beautiful shade of robin's egg blue. I loooooooooooove it!

Wondering how I came to be the proud owner of this beauty? My dear friend Michelle had it for a long time sitting in her garage since she couldn't find the right spot for it in her house. She remembered I had once said I loved the shade of blue on that chair. That was a couple of years ago and I had forgotten all about it. Well, this past week when we came over for a playdate, she GAVE it to me!!! THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU!!! Michelle~ we need more playdates that end like that - ha, ha, ha!

These pictures do not do it justice. I took them at the end of the day with my old point-n-shoot camera and working with Grace's 2-second attention span :) but you can already tell the potential this chair has! I'm envisioning fall pictures using this chair as a prop. Parking it in a leaf covered patch along with big, plump pumpkins and of course the little pumpkin and baby Hudson in their matchy matchy fall outfits! I love the juxtaposition of the aqua blue against all the golden fall hues. Love it. In the meantime, once I get some wood glue after it (I realize now why Grace was scared when standing on it...one of those legs is REALLY wobbly), it's going to become the sweetest little nightstand in Grace's room...it's going to look so sweet with her favorite dollie and some of these on there!

Pure eye candy to my old soul. Thank you, Michelle...I love it!!!

baby fever?

Yes, indeed!

Some of Hudson's many expressions...and the running commentary of a sleep deprived, but oh so grateful, mama of two sweet kiddos (all to say these may only be funny to me)

Deep in thought...OR Do I smell something stinky?...Oh, yea - that's me. Happy, content baby Chipmunk cheeks Intrigued by something (by the way, he looks so much like Grace in this picture. I need to upload some of her baby pictures and put them side by side with Hudson's.) My sweet boy I love you so much, Hudson!
XOXO, Mama

anything for a smile

Hudson likes to fight sleep...A LOT! After a while, he gets so desperate his little arms get just a going and he often ends up punching himself in the nose which makes him MAD. The only way to calm him down is to feed him (again) or walk around showing him something new, which defeats the whole purpose of soothing him down to a drowsy stage OR set him up for a mini photo shoot - ha, ha, ha! Stumbled upon this one by coincidence, so guess which one I pick now??? And yea, you won't find this one in the Babywise book :)

Unless it's the middle of the night and then no walking, no pictures, just good ole fashion baby asleep on mama's chest in mama & daddy's bed (a bad habit to break I know, but hey it's 2 am and mama needs her 3 hrs. of sleep).

So for a little fun...

Yea, I'm tired, but I'm NOT giving in.
I'm stubborn...just like my daddy (ha, ha, hon - just kidding, I know he gets it from both of us :) In case you didn't notice, I'm ignoring you mama. Wait a minute, what is that? You tricked me! But I'm not giving in...I'm not giving...I'm not... Okay, you win! You are very silly, mama! He's so much fun!

she looks so grown up

You know how when you see someone every day and they put on a bit of weight you don't really notice?? Where is this going, you say. Stay with me, okay?

Well today I had my 6 week post partum appointment and no babysitter so off we headed the little pumpkin, baby Hudson and I to my doctor's office. I was really nervous about how this would go. What would happen if I was feeding Hudson and Grace decided to explore her surroundings? After all if she ran out of the exam room, what was I supposed to do - run after her paper gown and all????!!!! I had (bribed) promised Grace that if she behaved at Dr. T's office, we would go to Barnes & Noble and not only read books, but get a cookie as well, as a reward. She did great (portable DVD of Curious George and all) so we headed there right after. And this is where my analogy comes in...
We were the only ones in the kids section which is a miracle all on its own, so I decided to snap a few pictures of Grace doing one of the activities she loves - reading. When I downloaded them to my computer my heart sank. Where did my little baby go? To me, she looks so grown up in these pictures. Maybe it's the big bows and the piggy tails, but she looks like a preschooler and not a little baby anymore - sniff, sniff. Why, oh why must they grow up so quickly? I'm so glad I'm a photo fanatic (loved one's term :) because I want to remember every single stage of my little ones' lives. One day, they will enjoy looking back and seeing what they were doing, say on an ordinary Wednesday afternoon. Now if I can only get better about actually developing photos rather than storing them on my computer! At least I have that sweet, silly face to remind me that there's still plenty of "baby" in there.

Grace~ I love you with all my heart!
XOXO, Mama