Newborn Photo's

A few days after Wes was born we had the very wonderful and talented Andrea Warden come to our home to take some pictures of our family and it's newest member. She did an amazing job capturing our boys and all the love between The Smith's. She was patient and so kind and I couldn't be happier with how our photo's turned out. I am so grateful to have these precious memories to keep forever. Thank you Andrea!

Lets Go For a Ride

I made my first baby purchase last week. I am patiently waiting for the arrival of this piece of art and inspiration for baby #3's nursery. I had a general idea of what I wanted and was pleasantly surprised when it didn't take too many hours of searching to find exactly what I was looking for. My search started and ended with one of my favorite sites, Etsy. I have bought a lot of things off of this site from cookies to party decorations. 

The specific shop was called pixieblossoms and it carried a variety of whimsical carnival prints. I found the most perfect shot of a ferris wheel with beautiful colors and character and instantly knew it was the one I wanted for our baby. Here's hoping that delivery won't take too long because I cannot wait to see what the final product looks like and get it hanging on the wall! Baby on the other hand can keep me waiting until July!

Change of Heart

I mentioned earlier this week that I've been anti Christmas this year. Little by little we've been decorating, baking, caroling, and slowly but surely adding some sparkle to our home. Besides the beauty that comes with this time of year, there is nothing more I love than experiencing it with our sweet little boys. The twinkle in their eyes, the excitement in their voices, and the happiness they get from the magic of this season. I'm beginning to think the closer we get to Christmas there could be a definite change around here, and just like that Grinch, my heart too will grow 3 sizes in one day!

Lately

Life has been pretty quiet lately for us around here which I am not complaining about at all! From April through just last week we went non stop every weekend with the holiday's, parties, T-Ball, and things that have us running around from one place to another. It's finally nice to sit back and relax. Though, if there's one thing you should know about me it's that I can't/don't relax. I'm always going and always doing something. Especially now that we have the house there is something that has to be done...always! It.never.ends. I'm fine with it all. Yard work, painting, projects, decorating...the list goes on. Sometimes it's overwhelming trying to figure out what to do next. I've made up my mind that this weekend seemed like a good time to start work on the boys room. We haven't touched it since we've moved in and I've been feeling a little guilty that they really don't have a fun and cool place of their own. I've gotten some great ideas thanks to my ever favorite Pinterest and look forward to getting this started. I can't wait to make this room extra special for those 2 extra awesome little boys of ours! Stay posted for an exciting before and after of their room!

Mantel Makeover

When I decided to start a blog I had a few intentions which I posted here. We are a good 8 months in and I can say that yes my photo taking has gotten better, though I use that term lightly and I have definately gotten to know how to use my computer a little better. It's a work in progress as is most things in life and pretty much everything in our house.

We have been living here for almost 4 months now. That's 4 months  of unpacking, moving furniture, painting, and decorating. Our house is finally feeling like a home and I happy to finally share one of our first projects.

If you look back to this you can see the walls were a light yellow when we moved in. We painted the room a sage green and off white. All the trim and mantel are true white. The fire place is at the center of our house. Right smack dab in the middle and one of the first things you would see if you walked in. It was really important to make this the focal point of the room and showcase or family as well as keeping it natural and able to flow with the rest of the room. Overall, I am really happy how it turned out but still need to add a few pictures to the frames and a few other pieces as I find them. Here it is from start to finish:

Center picture: Raymour and Flanigan. When we bought our couches we received a $100.00 gift card and put it towards the print. It ended up costing 65 cents out of pocket. Score

Picture Frames: A few I had, other's from Etsy, and Homegood's

Vase and flowers: Both from Pottery Barn

Letter S: From craft store which I plan to jazz up a little in the near future.

Candle sticks/Candles: We've had these for years. I bought them at Target. The sticks used to be a cherry color but I spray painted them black to match everything else

Lantern: From the Yankee Candle outlet

Living Room Wall Paint: Sherwin Williams:

Roman Column

Svelte Sage

Trim and Mantel: Lowe's Olympic

White

A Jill of all trades

I consider myself crafty...moderately good at art projects, painting, and such. I've done my fair share of DIY's and actually like doing them. 
Going into our new house I had about 1001 projects in mind thanks to Pinterest. So many things that I wanted to do to make our home beautiful. From paintings to crafts to decorating the ideas were endless. 
It didn't help that from the day we made settlement Christmas was only 39 days away, adding another 500 things to that same list. Between work, home, and the kids there isn't much time to complete these little extras but somehow over the past few weeks I've managed to start and finish a few. 

Before

After

Some new hardeware

Handpained bottles with holly and evergreens

Still needs some greens

End of November Re-Cap

November was a big month for us in so many ways. 

Besides the house there was just a lot going on which put this little space of internet on hold. 

Many apologies. I vow to make December much more exciting.

I...(scratch that)...we, are so thankful this year for so many things. 2011 has been a beautiful year. We have been blessed with so many wonderful things in our lives. Thanksgiving was wonderful. We spent the morning at home...our very own lovely home. I still have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. I organized rooms, put our belongings away, and started setting up Christmas decorations. Brian cleaned up the yard and the kids played. Later we went to Brian's mom's. It's so nice to be able to spend the day with family lounging in sweatpants. Dinner was delicious. That night we left the kids to sleep over while we went out for some black Friday door busters. I fell asleep but Brian made it out at 9 that night. We woke up bright and early the next day and did more shopping. 

Monday the 28th Brian turned the big 3-0. We had a tiny celebration at home and of course cake! Cole even decided to dive right in for his first taste.

December is here and we are down to 22 days until Christmas! I can't even believe it!

Just in time for turkey day

So long gummy smile hello pearly whites! Cole has his first tooth. I found it poking through this morning when I was feeling around to see if anything was going on. Braeden was a late bloomer when it came to teeth so I was really surprised to find one actually in there. I guess the little man knew that a delicious Thanksgiving feast was only a few days away and he was hoping to participate in all the food goodness. Next year for sure kiddo!
Oh, and in case you were wondering The Smith's are officially homeowners! It's been a crazy busy week around here but we couldn't be more happy . More to come about all that is home sweet home!!

Right now

Life is busy. We are a mere 6 days away from settlement and our new home. The house is filled with boxes of our belongings ready to make the move. I of course am going crazy with everything being so crowded and disorganized. Each room is worse than the next. Since the day our offer had been accepted the walls have been caving in on our little 2 bedroom apartment. As much as we loved it here we are ready to move on. Though, as it goes there's so much to do and so little time.

Just some big news

It's been over a week and I haven't posted. On top of September being a very exciting and stressful I still do not have my camera. It makes me sad to think I don't too many pictures of the kids from this past month minus a few crappy cell phone pics and some that I took with are older camera. Hopefully today or tomorrow should be it. 

September is coming to an end and with it comes something I am very excited to share. We bought a HOUSE! Our first real place that will be ours to own. Long story short Brian and I had started looking around just to see what was on the market and in our price range. We were hoping that come next Spring we would be ready to buy. Little did we know that within 1 week and having only gone through 2 houses we would find the one we would want to live in and raise our family. We are going through all the paperwork and other home buying steps and come November 15, 2011 we will finally be able to move in. The whole process is moving along really smooth thanks to the help of our awesome realtor and friend Karen.

I know having went through only 2 houses seems a little crazy but let me tell you when I say it has everything we could want and more. Not to mention the moment I stepped in that house knew I never wanted to leave, I knew I wanted my family there, I knew this was our home.

I am hoping the next weeks go quick and everything continues to work out and stay on track. I have so many ideas and decorating projects lined up I can't wait to share them with you. Happy Wednesday everyone, the weekend is almost here!

My new favorite

I have a thing for blankets. I am not sure where it came from but I do and I'm okay with it. Throws, comforters, baby blankets it really doesn't matter, the more the better. Maybe the appeal is that they are primarily used for keeping warm, snuggling, and sleeping...a few other things that I really like. Oh I almost forgot...also great for fort building.
Anyway, you can imagine my happiness when I found this beautiful chunky knit throw at Pottery Barn. Not only was it gorgeous but it was also $30 off! Score. This lovely in ivory was delivered at my doorstep earlier today. I am so ready to wrap myself and my boys up in all its goodness. Chilly fall nights...bring it!

Welcome home

We have a little pond in our backyard. It sits next to the patio and is one of my favorite things about our house.  I think it's pretty safe to say it's one of all of our favorite things here, though for different reasons...I love how peaceful it is, Braeden loves the fish, and Brian loves that it is a "body of water".

Last year we had a group of fish, Nemo, Patrick, George, and Goldie to name a few and those fish had babies. Our little pond was thriving with life and color. The winter came and went and so did all those fish. Sadly, they didn't survive the harsh snowy winter. Once the weather warmed up Brian and Braeden bought a new bunch of fish and they have been enjoying their little home ever since. 

These tiny 12 cent fish have tripled in size(most likely from Braeden giving them way too much food) and have recently welcomed a new friend.

Somehow, someway this cutie found his way to our little pond and has happily taken up residence. 

We aren't sure where he came from or the distance he traveled to find us but we're glad he's here! Welcome home froggy we know you'll love it here just as much as we do.