Daxton is 4

Dax turned 4-years-old on Valentine's Day.  He was insistent upon receiving a garbage truck for his birthday...I'm not sure where he got the thought in his head why a garbage truck would be so exciting.  So I found some construction vehicles and tried to tie in a garbage truck of the same scale to go along with them.  Throw a big can of beans in a tupperware box and the diggers and beans now have a permanent home that is so much fun to dig around in and the mess of stray beans are no longer a problem...well, at least not as MUCH of a problem.

 The night before his birthday, I decorated with crepe paper and cut out a bunch of 4s and hung them around the house.  I wrapped the banister in crepe paper and hung streamers from the ceiling in the hallway downstairs leading to Dax's bedroom.

 I got this idea from Pinterest to "wrap up" the birthday person's bedroom door so that they get to bust out on their birthday.  I thought it would be kind of fun, but Dax ended up getting up in the night to go potty, couldn't get out of his room, peed his pants while trying, and then got upset with me the next morning saying that I "trapped" him in his room.  So needless to say, I didn't get to catch the "busting out of his room" on video.  I appologized to him and tried to explain to him that his room was like a present and I wanted him to unwrap the door.  So while I was in the shower, he "unwrapped" ALL of the decorations and came and told me all proud afterward that he did it, he unwrapped his door as well as the rest of the house.  What a waste of a late night...I was really bummed, but couldn't get mad since it was for his birthday.

 Then we made some valentines for his friends and went and delivered them.  Dax was so excited to get to ring the doorbell and run away.  He wanted to do it all by himself and was so excited about it that he asked if we could do this for his birthday every year.  Lucky him, it will be something we can do every year on his birthday with it being on Valentine's Day.  He got so into the "don't get caught" of it all that when we delivered valentines to my parents' house, there wasn't really anywhere nearby to "hide" the car since my parents and neighbors recently had all of their trees removed from their front yards.  We parked in the neighbor's driveway and were hurrying to get in the car to drive away, but my mom came out of her door and was looking around for us and saw us.  Dax was pretty upset about that and said, "Nana cheated!"  Later he told Greg that it was my fault that we got caught cause, "Mom didn't hide good and she was LOUD!"  He cracks me up.

Later that night we made individual pizzas for dinner and then afterward Nana, Papa, Aunt Court, Uncle Joe, Peyton, Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Kim came over for presents and cake and ice cream.  Greg once again did a great job with the cake decorating.  We found some construction vehicle candles and used a bunch of signs and cones from Dax's train set to make a city/landfill scene on top.  The "landfill" area looked so disgusting because of the color that it didn't hardly get touched!  It sure was delicious though thanks to Aunt Karianne's yummy frosting recipe:

Ingredients

1 package powdered sugar (16 ounces)

1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)

3 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

Beat sugar, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer at low speed until well blended and smooth. If frosting becomes too thick, beat in additional milk by teaspoonfuls until the frostingis of spreading consistency.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups frosting.

Works great for coloring frosting.

It was a great day and Dax seemed to have a ton of fun.  

Happy Birthday little buddy.  It's hard to believe that you're 4 and will be going to school next year.  I know you can't wait for the big 5!  We love you Dax.

Cloth Diapers

Due to a recent interest I have with cloth diapers, and also to help answer others' questions and to help introduce them to cloth diapering, I have started a cloth diaper blog. Feel free to follow along and spread the word to others who may be interested.

crazyaboutcloth.blogspot.com

-Brit

Our Newest Addition

Isn't he adorable?! True, I am biased.

So on March 7th I went to my doc appt (being just a couple days over 38 weeks) around 2:30pm. I was dilated to a 3 the week prior so hoping that our little guy would be coming soon. But I did not expect my doc to walk in to my room and say, "Well you were at a 3 last week so I'll check you and if you're at a 4 or more we'll just send you over to the hospital to be induced because I don't want you walking around dilated that much." He checked me and I was at a 4+ and having some good contractions. So his nurse called to see if they could induce me the following day, but the hospital was completely booked. My doc was headed out of town in the next couple days and didn't want me to end up having the baby while he was gone, so the hospital asked if I could be there in an hour. I definitely was NOT expecting that! So we did it! I called Greg and told him we would be having a baby that night. He met me at my parents (where my Mom and sister Court were watching Dax) and we put Dax in his carseat. Greg dropped me off at the hospital and dropped Dax off at his parents house then met me back at the hospital.

I told my Mom and Court they were welcome to join us in the delivery room so they headed on over after dropping Peyton at her aunt's house. It was a party! (Wish you could have been there to join us, Chantel!)

I got my IV put in and finally an hour later they started me on the pitocin and penicillin cause I was GBS positive this go around. That stuff is nasty and burns your arm!

I got my epidural at 6:30pm and then come 10pm it was time to start pushing.

Boston Samuel arrived at 10:08pm after only one push!

He came out with only one short little cry so the doc waited a minute to have Greg cut the umbilical cord. He let out another little cry and that was about it. He opened his eyes and looked around and was sucking on everything from the get-go. He has been a champ at eating!

He weighed in at 6 lbs 6 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long.

Daddy giving him his first bath.

Check out those LONG rabbit feet!

What a good big brother Dax is. He was so excited to come to the hospital to see me and loved holding his little brother.

We only had to stay one day and then were able to leave the next. The birth this time around was so much easier and went so much smoother than the first. My labor was only about 6-7hrs vs 14 with Dax.

Boston is such a sweetheart and so mellow. It has been such a blessing!

We sure love him and find it hard to remember him not being in our home.

36 weeks...The count down begins!

Today I am 36 weeks and 4 days along in this pregnancy. The plan is to be induced on Thurs March 17th, St. Patrick's Day. That's only 3 weeks from tomorrow and 22 days to be exact. Eek! Everything is ready and now we are just playing the waiting game.

I went to the Doc a week ago Monday and was told baby's head is definitely down and all these Braxton Hicks contractions I have been having have been doing some good, cause I was dilated to a 1+. They scheduled the induction date and I have another appt this coming Monday. Dax came about 8 days early, and bets are that this little guy won't wait til St. Patty's. I would love for him to come early cause I can hardly wait to see his face, snuggle him, and breathe in that new baby smell. What are your bets? When do you think he'll arrive?

Here are some of the projects that have been completed and chilling in Boston's drawers.

Above are the "baby legs" leg warmers I made using the easiest tutorial online. They were made out of knee-high socks. I'd post the link, but don't remember it and didn't write it down. But I do have the instructions if anyone wants to copy them :) Also, some appliqued kimono tops, a couple binky clips/chains/leashes (whatever you like to call them), a newborn knit beanie, some burp cloths, and a nursing cape (which I was so excited about how it turned out! Recognize that fabric? It was leftover from Daxton's bedding when he was a baby).

Burp cloths up close...don't you love the fabrics?!

And this is what baby B will wear home from the hospital with a gray diaper and the cutest black and white skater shoes I found. So cute! I can't wait to see him in it :)

...come on time! Pass by quicker!

The Boys' Bedroom Makeover...Finished!!

So I finally finished Daxton's and Boston's bedroom. They will be sharing. I came across this color scheme a little while ago and if you know me, you know I'm a nut for Turquoise. I love it complimented with Navy Blue, orange, and tan. So here goes....

This is what you see as you walk straight into the bedroom.

I practically spray-painted everything. Except I was able to find the cute little baskets under the changing table at the Dollar Store! Score! I tried to keep everything low cost, but still look cute. I did pretty well, aside from the fabric.

I spray-painted the frames orange (they used to be a rusty bronze color) and the "D" is just a large chipboard letter that I spray-painted Navy Blue. I heart spray-paint...in case ya didn't notice. You can do so many things with it!! I wasn't able to find the exact turquoise color I wanted in the spraypaint, but this was close enough. So I went with it :) The hooks I found at Taipan for a couple bucks each. They were black rod iron, so yes once again, I spray painted them to match.

To the left of the door is Daxton's side of the room with his bunkbed. I found this car fabric and that's where everything stemmed from. I love it! His bedspread was this tan on the flip side of the stripes (perfect!) and I was able to find turquoise twin-sized sheets, the whole set, at Target on clearance for $7. Again, Score! All the fabrics I purchased at this fabric store called Elaine's by my house that is just like Pine Needles at Gardner Village, only it's bigger!! Let's just say that Greg was not thrilled about this find of mine ;) I could do some major damage in that store!

Daxton's favorite blanket is Navy blue, so once again, it all worked perfect with the color scheme. I found all the chipboard letters up on his wall at Hobby Lobby at 2 for $1. So I picked out the entire alphabet, and the letters that spelled out his name I swapped out for larger letters. Then I wanted the numbers 0-9 to add as well, but they didn't have them. I was able to find them at JoAnn's. I spray-painted everything and then Mom and Court helped me arrange them and hang them using this awesome stuff called "Command Strips" that is like double-sided tape, only really strong and removable too! So I can take them with us when we leave. Not only do I love how this collage turned out, but it is also serving another function at helping Dax to learn his alphabet (he already has his numbers down). He thinks it's fun having his name on the wall too.

To the right of the rocking chair is Boston's armoire and I definitely needed something to go on top. I found this picture frame at DI and the back was broken and it had no glass, so I scored it for $1.

I've wanted to do this saying in Daxton's room for quite a while, but didn't have the moola to fork out to put it into vinyl and have it on the wall. Plus since we are renting, I didn't want to have to leave it behind. So I popped out the matting on the frame, spray-painted the frame, then printed the saying up on my computer onto cardstock and glued it all back together. Voila!

And here is Boston's side of the room.

The lighting is funny so the frames look reddish, but they are really orange.

The "B" I spray-painted navy blue (just a large chunky cardboard letter from JoAnn), and the clock used to be a rusty bronze. I just unscrewed the face and then spray-painted it turquoise. But I'm not loving the tannish color of the face with the blue. It will have to do until I can figure out something else. But I love the shape of the clock and it being turquoise :)

I found some navy blue crib sheets at Target on clearance for $4 (yes!) and then got an all white bumper pad at IKEA for $12. Then I sewed orange fabric onto it alternating with the white. It was originally supposed to be all orange, but the lady who helped me figure out how much fabric I'd need for the bumper pad estimated very wrong, so I didn't have enough and couldn't spend more on fabric. So this is my make-shift attempt at making it still work. For the blanket I sewed the car fabric

and the pillow fabric back to back (both of these are flannel, so they don't need to be quilted cause they cling to each other). For all the pillows I just used a fat quarter or two and sewed them together and stuffed them. So easy!

And there ya have it. I really love having it all done.

Now I just need to fill the frames with pictures and it will be complete!

Celebrating # 3

For Daxton's birthday we made him a chocolate Thomas the Train cake. I did the easy part and baked the cake in the Thomas pan that used to be Greg's brother's when he was little. Greg cleverly frosted it to look like Thomas. He did an awesome job and we had to improvise with the Green frosting because we were out of red food coloring. Dax was thrilled at Greg's cake decorating! Mr. Ace of Cakes right there!! ;)

On Daxton's big day, he and I went over to my parents' house during the day and my Mom watched him while I went to the doctor. He got a Thomas card...

The game Candy Land, and a puzzle with Diggers on it from my

parents. We can always use activities!!

Then we headed home and Greg's parents and siblings met us at our house and gave Dax

presents too. He received Bulstrode the boat that goes in the bathtub and carries Thomas the Train on him. Dax is begging to take a bath now!

When Greg got home from work, the 3 of us headed to McDonald's and had dinner and Dax

played in the playland for a while. Then we headed to Home Depot and got a big piece of smoothe particle board and had it cut to fit on Daxton's bottom bunk of his bed (we recently moved his bed up top as a reward for several dry nights in his bed). Then we went and he picked out the train Hiro (one of Thomas' friends).

We came home and put the particle board on, with his train

mat on top and then Greg built him a train track. Now he has his own "train table" and it's out of the way. Perfect! Dax loves it!

Then we sang Happy Birthday and blew out candles and went to bed.

Happy Birthday Lil Cupid!

Daxton turned 3 yrs old on February 14th, Valentine's Day. Courtney took these pictures for me and I will fill some of the frames in his bedroom with them. I love how they turned out! Thanks Court! You did such a great job :)

This is Dax whining cause he is ready to be done taking pictures. We were definitely able to capture all of his personality in these pictures.

We love you buddy! You have sure grown this past year. You are getting so smart...too smart for your own good sometimes. You are so inquisitive about everything and ask so many questions that Mommy gets so frustrated with you sometimes. Especially all the "Why?"s that have started recently. I simply don't always know "Why", but that isn't good enough for you. You even asked me, at 2 yrs old, "How is Boston gonna come out of your tummy?" I told him we'll go to the hospital and the doctor will take him out. That wasn't clear enough for you because then you persisted with, "But HOW??" I gave up and just said the doc will cut him out and then you said, "But that will hurt you! You'll get bleed!" I have assured you time and time again that Mommy will be okay. I love how concerned you are.

You are still fascinated, entrigued, obsessed with, and loving trains. Anything to do with trains. You're always first to spot a train in a store, on billboards, in a book, or a movie. If there's one in a movie, you automatically love that movie and want to watch it over and over again. But usually just that ONE part with the train in it. You love Thomas and all his friends and know all their names. If I call one by the wrong name, you're sure to correct me. Even if they are the same color, you know whether or not they are the same train. I don't know how you do it.

You got a big tricycle at Christmas time and are doing really well at riding it. You love to ride around on it and every time the sun is shining outside while eating your breakfast you ask me if it's a nice day and if you can ride your bike.

You are so excited for your little brother to arrive and daily you flip up the calendar on the fridge and show me what day Boston is coming on. Now that you have turned 3, you know that's the next big thing to happen. We are set to be induced on March 17th, St Patrick's Day, so we'll see if Boston hangs out until then or comes early. You love babies and are so sweet with them. You love to hold them and kiss their heads, and give them a binky when they cry while saying, "It's ok, don't cry." You will be such a sweet big brother.

You are such a sweetheart and tell Mommy almost every day after I get ready, "You look pretty, Mom." Makes me feel so good :) You'll always agree with me when I show you something I like that is cute or small or pretty. Like when Boston's teeny cloth diapers came in the mail and I had nobody else at that moment to show how little they were. I said, "Look Dax, these are for Boston." You said, "Aw, that's cute." I love it!

You sure love your Daddy and love to wrestle (which you call "fight"), play hide and seek, and build things with. You ask everyday when Daddy is gonna come home. You love to play "hide from the Dragons" or "the dinosaurs are coming! Run Dad." You always want Daddy to tell you stories about trains at bedtime. One time Daddy was telling you a "scary" story about Thomas and his friends and there was a noise in the woods. But it turned out to be just a beaver gnawing on a tree. You still didn't interpret that as not being scary after all, and will sometimes say, "The beaver's coming! It's gonna get you! Run!" So I think that you think beavers are another scary creature. So funny.

You are sure tall and everyone thinks that you are older than you really are. You have been mistaken for being 5 twice now. Which is a huge jump from 2 or 3.

You have never been a good eater and still aren't. You could care less about mealtime and would rather just munch throughout the day while on the run. A lot like your Daddy. Meal time is always a battle with you to "eat one more bite" or "take 3 more bites." You have started even saying, "I ate too much, I'm sick" to try and get out of finishing your meal so that you can go play. You often do this after only 3 bites!

Another thing you do that Mom is not thrilled about, is you have started talking with your hands when you are very adamant about something or I've asked you "What?" 3 times because you mumbled. You'll then start explaining loudly, again, but with your hands. Also you like to argue quite a bit lately too, and with your hands. Often times you won't repeat your whole question, so I have no idea what you are saying. Like one day you asked if you could watch a specific movie after you ate breakfast and I said, "What?" and then you'd repeat, "Movie!" I'd then say, "What about a movie?" Then you'd get frustrated and start waving your hand saying, "I didn't say lots of words I only said one word, I said MOVIE!" It frustrates Mom just as much as it does you.

You sure crack us up and can definitely be a stinker at times, but we love you so much and can't imagine life without you.

Happy Birthday, Bug!

Love, Mom

An Angel Among Us

My cousin and friend, Tiffany, found out last Spring that she was expecting their first child. She was very sick during her pregnancy, unfortunately, but she tried to stay positive despite it all as

she and her husband, Jeff, were very excited about having a child. As her pregnancy progressed, she found out that she would be having a sweet baby girl, but she was measuring smaller than expected, so the due date was pushed back. This happened again and again until the doctors looked further into the situation to figure out why this was and that something was definitely wrong.

After many ultrasounds and testing, the doctors discovered that one of the major arteries in the baby's umbilical cord had either not developed correctly, or had clotted over. Thus leaving sweet Lily to only receive nourishment from two arteries vs. the three that should have been there. Although she continued to develop, this left Lily exceptionally small.

Doctors hoped Lily would stay in the womb as long as possible so that her organs could develop, even if this meant she would be small. They figured once she was born, then she would catch up quickly with her growth outside of the womb with the help of modern medicine.

On Nov 20th 2010, at 36 weeks, Tiffany went into labor and Lily was brought into this world via C-section as distress during contractions prevented her from arriving naturally. She was 3lbs 6oz and 15 inches long, but arrived breathing on her own and looked healthy and happy. The doctors were very pleased.

This little angel stayed in the NICU for 3 1/2 weeks while she continued to develop, grow and learn to eat and breathe on her own without the aid of oxygen and was able to be taken home by her loving parents just before Christmas. Greg and I were able to go visit and meet her in the NICU prior to her coming home. I couldn't believe how tiny she was!

Lily has been gaining weight and doing well while staying in her new home. The doctors continued to track her progress and growth after leaving the NICU and Lily had many appointments to attend so that the doctors were able to do this. With the doctors tracking Lily's weight they noticed Lily wasn't growing as quickly as she should.

On January 17th Tiffany and Jeff took Lily to Primary Children's Medical Center to meet with a specialist. The specialist was concerned about her growth and, even though she had continually gained weight, said she should have been growing more. The doctor wanted to perform a CT scan with contrast of Lily's gastrointestinal system to make sure everything was functioning properly. Shortly after Lily drank the barium contrast and the testing was complete, Tiffany and Jeff were informed that the barium was going places it shouldn't have and the doctors wanted to take Lily in to surgery immediately to repair the problem with her intestines.

Tiffany and Jeff trustingly handed their little miracle over to the doctors so that the surgery could be performed. After many long hours of waiting and not knowing, Jeff and Tiffany were approached by the surgeon who reported that the surgery was successful and they would be able to see their little girl in about 20 more min. Apparently a pic-line IV needed to be placed and then she would be transferred over to a recovery room.

Those 20 min turned into 40 min. Then an hour. Then, over an hour and a half someone finally came out to inform Tiffany and Jeff that there were some unexpected complications and Lily

went into cardiac arrest. She had received chest compressions for over 20 min. They were able to revive her and stabilize her, but because of her being without oxygen for so long, they suspected brain damage, but to what extent was not yet known.

Lily's devastated parents were ushered to her room back in Intensive Care where their little girl was being sustained by means of a ventilator and so swollen that it appeared her earlobes rested on her shoulders.

This little one has been a fighter through all of this and after many difficult weeks of battling in the ICU, Lily was able to return home with her parents on Feb 1st 2011.

Shortly before taking Lily to Primary Children's to meet with the specialist, Tiffany and Jeff received the hospital bill for Lily's birth and NICU stay. They have been overwhelmed and stressed about this debt and after this unexpected surgery and the complications resulting from it, they have many more medical expenses.

In an effort to help them out, Greg's business, Tungsten Rings For Men, will be donating all proceeds made, up until Valentine's Day, to Tiffany and Jeff. Please join in this cause by spreading the word to others who may be looking for a men's Tungsten ring, Demascus steel ring, or Rockwell watches, or by making a purchase through www.tungstenringsformen.com. Greg will be offering a 15% discount that you are able to use by entering the promotional code "LILY" at checkout.

Your help and support is gratefully appreciated.

With love,

Greg and Britney

30 Weeks

So here I am at 30 weeks...getting bigger and bigger! I am really feeling uncomfortable now and really looking forward to mid March when this little guy will make his appearance. I'm feeling good other than my burning, aching, trying to expand ribs and not being able to sleep good at night. As soon as I lay down Boston thinks it's time to swim a marathon and kicks and rolls and moves like you wouldn't believe. I think Greg thought I was exaggerating until the other night I made him lay there with his hand on my belly for a good 5 minutes and Boston moved the ENTIRE time! Greg was really surprised and said, "Man, I don't know how you can sleep with that," and then rolled over and went to sleep. No fair! Two nights ago I laid in bed for an HOUR, no joke, while Boston rolled around and kicked and moved. I love feeling him move, but not when I'm trying to go to sleep!

I have finished my "Baby Legs" leggings for him, appliqued some tops, made a nursing cover, and finished the pillows for the boys' room. I will post pics of all my projects together as soon as I am finished :) I started spray painting a bunch of things for their room yesterday (no worries, I wore a mask, opened windows and had fans blowing and then I closed doors and shoved towels underneath to keep the fumes out of the rest of the house while it dried) and have just a bit more to do and then I can start hanging things up. Eek! I have been having a craft fiasco lately with all the projects I want to complete. It's so much fun!

I have to share this story, cause it is just ridiculous if you ask me. About a week and a half ago, probably 2 days after Christmas, I woke up with THIS:

"Whoa!" "Are you for real?", "Yeah, that's pretty bad!" These are all comments made to me that morning. This picture doesn't do it justice. It felt like my lip was swollen when I woke up so I went and looked in the mirror and and AHH! It looked like I grew a beak over night! What the heck is this thing you ask? The nastiest cold sore I have ever had or seen, apparently. It was literally the size of a marble and swollen all the way through the inside of my lip. It was very sore and the next morning it had doubled in size, so I called my family doc and asked if there was anything I could take. I had never had this happen before and don't recall getting cold sores ever, really, so I didn't know I had one coming on and was supposed to take something at that point. I told them I was 7 months pregnant and they said they'd check with the doc and see if there was a prescription they could call in for me and they'd call me back. A couple hours later I got a call back from the office saying the doc wanted to see me that day and could squeeze me in 30 min later. So off to the doc I went...really? For a cold sore? Well it turns out that the doc wanted me to come in because I was so far in my pregnancy and just got this and didn't recall ever having a cold sore. He said the herpes virus could affect the baby and wanted to take a culture of this lump to make sure it was indeed a cold sore (YIKES that hurt!) and also draw my blood to see if I had the Herpes virus in my system already, or if this indeed was a new thing, because if the virus was passed on to my little guy, it could stunt his growth, cause him to have low birth weight, cause me to miscarry, or even have a stillborn. Ahh! I had no idea! He put me on a medication and I took it faithfully and waited the long New Year's holiday weekend to hear back about blood results. Fortunately I had previously built up a strong immunity to the virus and it would not be of any threat or risk to my baby. Phew! But I had to share that...

I didn't want to leave the house and you should have seen the looks I got from people when I DID have to leave the house. Seriously on day two it looked like I had previously had surgery for cleft lip. Awful! And I didn't even get a New Year's kiss this year ;(

But all is well now and the swelling went down, made a nasty scab, and that scab finally fell off yesterday. I had no idea cold sores could swell up like that!

Dax is getting so excited for Boston to come and share his bed with him. I have to keep correcting him by saying Boston will be sharing his bedROOM, not his bed. So funny. Dax even asked me a couple days ago how the baby is gonna come out. Ahh! What 2 yr old thinks of those things already?! I told him he'll just come out of my tummy at the hospital and then Dax responded, "Are they gonna cut him out?" I was very surprised by this question and just nodded my head in response. Oh Dax, you are so inquisitive.

10 more weeks to go...I can't wait to meet this little one!

27 Weeks

It's crazy to believe that I'm already 27 weeks along with this pregnancy. Things are going pretty good. Just a couple days ago my hips started really aching and feel like they are coming out of the sockets at times. I got up a couple nights ago with Dax and could barely walk to his room! I definitely don't remember dealing with this with Dax. My ribs burn all the time and I have reflux (yuck), but overall I feel pretty good. It's definitely harder being pregnant the second time around when you've got a 2 yr old to entertain, chase, and discipline while already feeling exhausted!

It's so exciting to me that I'm in my 3rd trimester already! I have a doc appt at the beginning of Jan and then my doc said we'll be starting our appts every 2 weeks. Wow! That came really quickly! It's all sneaking up so fast! I have so many projects lined up that I have been working on and I am enjoying every minute of it.

Last night I took a bath and the little guy was moving and rolling around so much that it reminded me of that scene from the movie "Alien". I love how much he moves and the constant reminder of events to come. We finally decided on a name for this boy...Boston Samuel. I can't wait to see what he looks like!

My latest project is getting the boys' room put together. Dax and Boston will share a room...I'm a little nervous to see how that goes. My parents gave us my little brothers' old bunk bed and we got a mattress for it the other day. Dax is so thrilled about having a ladder on his bed and being able to climb up to his bed to sleep in at night. Tonight I converted the toddler bed back into a crib and it made me giddy! Daxton's bed is on the left of the room and the crib is on the right side of the room. I am doing their room in tan, navy blue, a turqoise-green blue color, and orange. I found the cutest fabric and have been making pillows, a blanket for the baby's bed, and will start on curtains soon. Plus a changing pad cover to match. Oh, and bumper pads. Don't worry, I will be sure to post it all when it is complete and put together. I love decorating....Eek!

The Stockings were hung...2010

This is something I wish I would have done in years past and saw on somebody else's blog. They will take pictures around their house of their Christmas decor and compare it to previous years. It's fun to see what Christmas looked like in your home during specific years. So I am doing this for myself, but feel free to take a peek at what our home looks like at Christmas time this year :)

Here is my Christmas quilt that I started last year. I love it and am so proud of it!! It's pretty simple, but I love the fabrics and the way it turned out. This is my second quilt. Sitting next to my pillow I made at Thanksgiving time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!