Happy Easter!

Beckett's First Valentine's Day

I will admit that Valentine's Day is not my favorite holiday.  Gift-giving is my love language, although I wish it was something cheaper, and I think any time is the right time for gifts.  Isn't Daniel so lucky?  

Something about Valentine's Day just rubs me the wrong way.  Maybe it's the fact that every year I get flowers from one of the florists in town and they usually are dead the next day.  Plus they have glitter on them.  You read that right.  Glitter.  The herpes of craft products.  It is tacky and I don't need glitter all over my dining room table but thank you for adding to my list of chores.  

I got worked up just typing that.

Anyway, I decided that I don't need to pass my glittery flower-hating attitude on to Beckett so for his sake I embraced the day.  We didn't do anything extravagant.  He got a couple gifts from me and Daniel and some money for his college fund from his Grammie and Pop Pop.  I would like to go on record that money for  college fund may be the best gift ever.  Beckett's sweet friend Emma also brought him a goodie basket.  Her mom and I decided that next year we should do a small party since our kids are too young for pre-school and aren't in daycare.

I think Beckett definitely felt the love.

One of the only pictures that isn't a blurry mess

Beckett's very practical gifts from his parents

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day photoshoot

My name is Heather and I have problem.  I have fallen in love with holiday-themed cards.  I found an amazing site when I was looking for Beckett's birth announcements and stumbled upon their holiday cards.  Say what?  You mean I could be sending out cards for holidays like Valentine's Day and Easter.  Count me in.

That being said, I needed pictures for said card.  I had wanted to get three month pictures taken and use one of the pictures for the card but his three month photoshoot had to be scheduled for just after he turns four months.  That meant that I would have to take the pictures myself.

It wasn't our best photo session.  Beckett is in that lovely in-between stage where isn't going to sleep through pictures and he can't sit up yet.  However, we got a couple good pictures and were able to make our card.

Side bar: Daniel made me tap the breaks on sending out 100+ cards like I did for birth announcements and Christmas cards.  Rude.

Beckett's first Christmas

I am finally blogging about Christmas!  I would say I've been busy but I'm not sure what I've been doing.  Beckett is really good at making the day go by super fast and leaving me wondering what exactly I've accomplished.

We had such a relaxing Christmas.  My family came to town which means that there was no traveling involved.  Beckett and I decided to stay home and let Daniel go to his family's celebrations solo.  Beckett is one of eight grandchildren which means there are lots of germs to be shared.  We still had NICU on the brain and he hadn't had any shots yet so we decided to avoid anywhere that could get us sick.  We are still avoiding children since flu is so bad in our area.

Staying at home meant we spent most of the day in our pajamas, which is pretty much our new normal. One day I will get it together and start dressing like an adult again.

Our celebrations started with a steak and crab legs dinner and midnight mass.  Beckett was a pro.  He fell asleep before mass started and stayed asleep until it was over.

Post-mass

Beckett's super cute outfit (Which was size 6 months.  They boy is long.)

We slept in on Christmas Day thanks to my parents and sister.  It is so nice to know that we will get a few extra hours thanks to my family.  They are often very needed.  My mom made blueberry muffins and I made a breakfast casserole.  Then it was time to open gifts.

All the presents

So big in his Bumba

We all made out pretty well.  Beckett had no idea what was going on but he got lots of fun presents that will hopefully bring him hours of enjoyment preferably not while being held.  We are still having issues with him wanting to be held.  All.  The.  Time.  

Some of Beckett's gifts.  Spoiled.

After lunch my mom started cooking and Daniel went over to his family's house.  This is what it looked like outside.

Miserable.

Beckett's first snow experience

I was definitely happy that we were staying inside.  I am all in for a white Christmas but I could have done without the 30 mph gusts.  However, we did take Beckett into our much less windy backyard for a photo op.

We had a late lunch and got to eat all our favorite things.  This lunch and the leftover that followed were my catalyst for Weight Watchers but it was worth every single calorie.

Then we had a post-dinner photo shoot.  The things you do when you have a baby.

The Browns

He loves a good photoshoot

And his aunt Shannon

I love this picture.  There is a funnier one but I thought I shouldn't post it.

I think Beckett had a pretty good first Christmas.  He may have had no idea what was going on but we have pictures to show him when he gets older.  We are so excited for next year when he can participate a little more.

Christmas at the Browns

It's Christmas Eve so I thought I would share some pictures of our decorations from this year.  I am a slow and steady type of gal when it comes to most things.  It took me about two weeks to get all of our decorations up and will probably take longer to take them down.  I also try to buy a few new decorations each year.  As much fun as Christmas decorations are, who wants to spend thousands of dollars on items you'll only have out for a month or so?  Not I.

I decided to display our Christmas cards in a new, Pinterest-inspired way this year.  I love getting Christmas cards and thankfully we get a lot.  I decided to hang ribbon and clothespin the cards to our kitchen cabinets.  I love how it turned out.  It's so fun to come into the kitchen and see all of our friends and family's faces!  After Christmas I plan on making a card album like I did with last year's cards.

Our new decoration for the kitchen was a Christmas-inspired floral arrangement that I commissioned.  Okay, I had it made but I have always wanted to commission something and it sounds fancier than saying I went to a local shop and had them throw it together. 

The family room is decorated the same as last year with garlands on the table and console.  I bought a painting of Santa Claus last year but I was never brave enough to face Hobby Lobby so it didn't get put out.  My goal for post-Christmas sale shopping is to find Christmas china.  I don't want anything too cute or too traditional so I have had a hard time.  Hopefully this year is the year that I succeed.

We decorated the living room a lot like last year as well.  The tree is different because I did it myself.  I am super proud of how it turned out.  It was my first year decorating my tree on my own because my friend Jennifer had a newborn.  We added a driftwood nativity.  A good, traditional nativity is also on my wishlist.  I would love a hand-carved one.  Maybe a Christmas market cruise is in order?  A final idea I stole from Pinterest was doing initials instead of gift tags.  I love a monogram in any form so I liked bringing that into our decor.  

Our tree at night

So that is our home this year.  I am so excited to see how it evolves over the years.  I have a feeling that next year's decor will be much more child-friendly since Beckett should be up and moving.  

Merry Christmas Eve from the Browns!

fill in the blank friday

It's Friday, which means I am hours away from the weekend, which means that Daniel will be home to help with the baby.  I have quickly realized that being a stay-at-home mom is a lot of work.  I am so thankful that I am able to stay at home but it is nice to have help in the evenings and on the weekends.  Plus, my mom will be back next week, so I will have help during the day.  Maybe I will be able to shower before 9pm.  That would be nice.

1.  When it comes to holiday shopping, I   do all of my shopping online, specifically at Amazon.  For the past two years, I have not bought a single gift in a store.  It is so much easier and I get two free-day shipping since I am Prime    .

2.  A few things on my Chritmas wish list are...  a baby food maker, a Le Creuset french oven, and season 3 of Downton Abbey     .

3.  An intangible gift I would like to receive is   a full night's sleep. That would be amaze-fest USA  .

4. A gift I would like to give this year is   to find the perfect gift for Daniel.  He is the hardest person to shop for.  No kidding, Today Show did a segment on technology-related gifts and he already owned every single item.  Maybe I'll just slap a bow on the baby and call it good  .

5. My Christmas will be spent  at our home with my family.  We are so excited that they are coming and even more excited to start some new traditions with Beckett. .

6. My most favorite Christmas gift of all time was  a Coach purse that my parents got me.  I wanted it so bad and I thought that there was no way I would ever get it.  It was the beginning of my love affair with handbags.  I also love my DSLR camera  .

7.  The best thing about the holidays is  the decorations and the general sense of goodwill among people .

Insta-update

We have a new nickname for Beckett. The Dictator. He calls the shots.

His newest passion is being held. He won't sleep unless he is being held. We let him "cry it out" for 30 minutes last night before I cracked.

It's hard to blog while holding a baby. Trust me, I'm doing it right now. So I thought I would share some of my recent Instagram photos.

Beckett had his first photo shoot

After two weeks of procrastinating, I decorated our tree

Beckett met Santa for the first time

And joined the Texas Tech legacy program.  Wreck 'em!

I mail merged, labeled, and mailed out birth announcements

And Beckett slept (while being held)

Thankful

We have so much to be thankful for this year.  We have been blessed with the most precious baby boy. We are all happy and healthy.  My family is here to celebrate Beckett's birth and Thanksgiving with us. Our dogs have been amazing with the baby.  Daniel's business continues to grow and he works so hard to make sure our family wants for nothing.  We sure are lucky.

We hope that you all take time to count your blessings and wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings!

happy memorial day

happy memorial day!

I am so proud to be from a family full of veterans.  My grandfathers served in World War II and the Korean War.  My grandmother was a WAVE during World War II.  Both of my parents are veterans and I have aunt, uncles, and cousins who have served our country.  People do not realize how much not only they sacrifice but their families as well.  I am so thankful for all our men and women serving and hope everyone takes time to say thank you.

A belated Christmas craft (#27)

I started this project two months ago but you cannot rush greatness. I saw this idea on Pinterest, shocker I know, and I thought that it was the perfect way to make a keepsake out of all the Christmas cards we get. I always feel awful throwing away Christmas cards because I know how much money people spend on them. This is a perfect and super easy solution.

Begin by punching two holes in all of the cards. I did horizontal cards first and then the vertical cards, but it doesn't really matter. I am super OCD but even I didn't get too crazy about punching the holes symmetrically. Honestly, you can't really tell if they are perfectly straight so calm down.



After you get holes punched in all of your cards, stack them so that the holes line up. I didn't place my cards in any real order but you can. You could do family and then friends. You could even do favorite to least favorite friends but I guess that wouldn't be keeping with the holiday spirit.

So after you've finished ranking your friends, place a binder ring through each hole. It is seriously that easy. I made a cover for our little book with the year on it and then laminated it so it wouldn't tear. The plan is to the set the books out every year at the holidays. This is such a fun way to look back on how your friends and family have changed over the years and save some trees in the process.


The finished product


Ta da!