Where does G shop??

I've said before that I am picky when it comes to Grayson's clothes. I want him to look like a little boy instead of a little man. Sweet little girl clothes are everywhere and I would be in big trouble if there was a baby girl in our house! However, if you look in the right places, you can find really cute boy clothes! Seriously, I promise...you can:) 

I like boutique brands for Grayson's clothes but I have only paid boutique prices for 2 items in his closet...and that is ranging from his newborn clothes all the way up to 18 month clothes! Not to toot my own horn, but I think that is pretty impressive. I love jon jons, longalls, and bubbles but I am just not willing to pay $40+ for an outfit I know my kid will grow out of in just a few months...I mean, I rarely spend $40 on my own clothes! 

Probably 75% of Grayson's closet is from eBay. I have an addiction to eBay. My husband just made fun of me for all the Pay Pal charges he sees on our credit card statement. He doesn't get that I'm actually saving him hundreds of dollars! ;) These are my favorite brands of clothes for G:

• Bailey Boys
• Kelly's Kids
• Rags Land
• Funtasia Too
• Rosalina
• Castles and Crowns
• Chez Ami
• Vive le Fete

I search these brands on eBay every few days to see what they have listed in Grayson's size. I always set a limit in my head of what I am willing to spend with shipping combined. I have gotten SO many great deals on eBay and have had nothing but great experiences. There are also a lot of monogrammed items that you can get dirt cheap...I bought a monogrammed bubble from Kelly's Kids-brand new with tags-for $15. Great deal! 

I also love Zulily! They have great deals on clothes, shoes, & toys. The only problem with with Zulily is you have to be fast because some of their stuff sells out SO fast. The sale begins at 8am every morning so be sure you check early! 

Consignment sales/shops are also my go-to places for his clothes. I have a harder time finding his jon jons and longalls at consignments but that is where almost all of his "play clothes" (turning into my mom when I say that) come from. Right now they have tons of Halloween costumes, too!

Okay...that's all I've got. One thing I have realized in the past year is that it is so much more fun to buy baby/kid clothes than my clothes! Where do you buy kid clothes? Go link up with Kelly to see where everyone shops!

Grayson's party {the SMASH cake}

It's no secret that Grayson has always been a messy eater. I had a feeling how the smash cake would turn out & after we had a test run on his actual birthday...

...I knew he would dig in. Don't worry...G didn't disappoint the crowd!

 This one is my favorite. Cracks me up!

Sugar shocked.

A party is not a party without a sink bath!

So What! Wednesday

As always, I am linking up with Shannon at Life After I Dew for a little So What! Wednesday! 

This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• I am kind of glad I had to stay home this morning with a feverish boy so that I could get stuff done while he napped. Note: not happy about a sick baby but happy about a cleanish house!
• I have already purchased 3 pumpkins, have plans to purchase more, and it is still only September.
• I am still annoyed by the new "rear-facing until 2" recommendation for carseats. I will do it. BUT, I will not be happy about it. (and neither will G)
• I am watching The New Girl even though I don't find it very funny. I really want it to be awesome just because I love Zooey Deschanel. I'll keep trying.
• I tuck my 2 big dogs into {their} bed every night. Yep. I'm that fur mama.
• I have a sewing machine & can't sew. 
• it drives me CRAZY that our neighbors park their cars in front of our house all day/all night. I know I don't own the street but in the words on Bon Qui Qui...RUDE! oh, btw? Their driveway is empty. 
• I'm afraid to get G a haircut even though he needs one bad. I know those baby curls will be gone forever when they get chopped!

What are you saying "so what" to this week??

Grayson's party {the fun!}

 I am warning you: I'm about to overwhelm you with picture vomit. Here are some of the pictures with *gasp* people in them from G's birthday party!

Our little family of 3 before the party started. G spotted the nugget tray on the table and went nuts!

...thus leading to quick bite to eat before his guests arrived! Boy loves him some Chik-Fil-A nuggets!

Me, Mary (cupcake baker extraordinaire) , and Kristy. G loves his aunts!

my boy. He is seriously looking so big and old all of a sudden!

Ben's fam: Mimi, Pops, and Uncle Tom Tom. Grayson loves his Uncle Thomas!

My parents: Poppy & Nana

This picture melts my mama heart. It is SO sweet! This is my friend Alex's little boy, Hutson. He is about 6 months younger than G. They will be lifelong friends!

The ball pit was a popular hangout! G, Molly Cate, and Gray playing with each other.

Birthday boy! Can't handle the seersucker shorts...so cute!

Alex & Hutson

This picture cracks me up! Ruby was so happy and smiley & Molly Cate and Grayson just weren't having it.

Friends and babies! Caron & Molly Cate, me & G, Jen & Ruby

Ben showing Grayson & Riley how to work the new toys.

The VM's:) Caron, me, Mary, & Kristy

The Morris fam...how cute is Ruby Jane?!

G loves his new tunnel! Please notice the new hammer in his hand, as well. He enjoys hammering everything. Literally. everything.

He got a new man chair. Ben is pretty jealous. It even has a cupholder!

Sorry for the picture overload! It was such a fun day and I want to remember it. G is so lucky to have so many people who love him! I'll be back tomorrow for the smash cake! ...and smashing it was:)

Grayson's party {the decorations}

The birthday invitation was made by Oh My Gluestick. I loved how they turned out! Obviously the address is hidden because the last thing I need is some nutso stalking us.

Grayson's 1st birthday party was on Saturday! I felt like a crazy person all week trying to get everything ready & I am happy to say that I think the party was a success! While party planning is not my favorite thing, it was fun to see all the ideas in my head come to life. Since we did G's monthly pictures with Sammy the GIANT sock monkey, I felt like it only seemed natural to have a sock monkey party! Sammy is pretty much a legit member of our family. I used all of his fun colors as my inspiration.

 

I made a yarn wreath for the front door that was inspired by many different yarn wreaths on Pinterest. Yarn wreaths take f o r e v e r....but they turn out so cute! I bought felt letters and hot glued them on. Super easy! I also bought the buttons at Michael's, glued a push pin on the back of them, and stuck them on. The "1" is also just push pinned on so that I can change out the number every year. I love how it turned out!

I made a birthday banner using different scrapbook papers & cardboard letters I bought at Hobby Lobby. I love all of the fun scrapbook papers I was able to find that matched our Sammy Sock Monkey theme! I hung them up with the Command hooks...whoever invented those was a genius!

This is the cute red table in my foyer. We bought the cookies from a local bakery. I took a picture of some monogrammed cookies I found on Pinterest and they copied them for me. They turned out perfect! Melissa emailed me the sign that she had used at her Grayson's party & I just modge podged it to that wooden stand I painted.  It's a shame we had some cookies left over...nom nom.

I am SO glad that we took monthly pictures of Grayson. It is so fun to see how much he changed! This banner I made was probably my favorite part & I hated taking it down last night!

I used all of the sock monkeys we already had for decorations. It's a good thing we have quite the collection!

I had to include the Ole Miss sock monkey since they were playing Georgia during the party. They lost:( typical. The monkey in the middle -ha!-is actually to put on a wine bottle. It always hangs out in my kitchen. It cracks me up!

 The Spread: bbq sliders, Chik-Fil-A nuggets, cupcakes, twizzlers...

..sock monkey bread muffins, chips & salsa, and spinach artichoke dip.

 I loved the little highchair banner! I just cut out scrapbook paper and hot glued it to some leftover red ribbon. I used goop (yep, real name) to get the ribbon to stay on the highchair.

 

Cupcakes made by my friend Mary. Delicious as always! I got the sock monkey designs from a seller on eBay for $3.00 and then glued them to scrapbook paper & a lollipop stick to make the cupcake toppers. 

 

Smash cake made by Publix to match the birthday hat. That hat was so easy to make and I love how it turned out! I will probably do this for all of his little kid parties! 

 The play area for the kids...the ball pit was a hit!

 

I will leave you today with a glimpse at the man of the hour. The birthday boy! He looked extra handsome in his seersucker shorts & birthday shirt made by SheSheMade. 

I love how everything turned out & I really was sad to take all the decorations down! Now on to the 2nd birthday party...I kid, I kid. 

letting go

I have become a control freak. I'm not sure how this happened. Pre-G days I was a discombobulated mess. (piles of laundry, crap all over our bar area, frazzled) Post-G days I feel like I need to be superwoman and get everything done without giving myself a break. I mean, I even ordered a Life Planner...you know, so I could plan my life. {that Life Planner by the way? is AMAZING. love it.}

Some days I like that I have become more organized & feel that desire to make sure my family has a clean house to live in. Other days, this new Type A-control freak-personality stresses me out. I have the hardest time asking for help. I hate to feel like I am inconveniencing someone. My solution? Do everything myself. This wouldn't be a problem if I could be in 5 places at once and/or I had 6 arms. 

I have been really convicted of this lately. I get myself so stressed out & my poor husband ends up in the line of fire. God is really teaching me to let go. Letting go of the things that cause me stress in my life. Learning to just roll with the punches. 

It's okay if Grayson's birthday party isn't Pinterest Perfect. 

It's okay if I go to bed one night without sweeping the kitchen. 

It's okay if I spend some couch time with Ben instead of running around like a chicken with its head cut off making tissue poms. and hey, guess what? That birthday wreath I almost cried over last night? People will only see it for 5 seconds when they walk in.

It's okay if I didn't get around to making the bed this morning. {eep. this one is hard for me to let go of}

I'm learning that I am only one person. One person who also has a very small person to look after all day. I can't be superwoman and I can't do it all. But guess what? That's okay. 

My goal for this weekend is to just enjoy everything. Worry less about the party & more about why we are celebrating.

..just in case there is any confusion, here is who we are celebrating. happy, happy boy!

So What! Wednesday

 

First of all, can I say how much I love the new So What! Wednesday logo?! Love me a banner. Cute, cute. This week I am saying SO WHAT if...

• my DVR is about to explode now that all my fall shows are on. Yeah, I like tv. A lot. 
• I have a girl crush on Zooey Deschanel. I want to be her when I grow up. She is darling. And have you heard her voice?! A-mazing. 
• I was supposed to be doing a 30 Day Shred with some bloggy/twitter girls and I have royally sucked at it. I need to start over. For the love, someone motivate me!!
• I take it personally when some bloggers n e v e r respond to comments. ever. what gives?
• I have had 2 spicy Chik-Fil-A sandwiches this week for lunch. Me & G love Chik-Fil-A!
• I have always wanted a gbff (gay best friend) -- think Carrie Bradshaw and Stanford. I want a shopping partner. My top 2 picks would be Christian Siriano or Carson  Kressley.
• I want to repaint my whole house. That would be a lot of paint. 
• I have major anxiety about leaving G during MOPS this morning. Separation anxiety sucks. Don't want my baby sad for 2 hours.

Go link up with Shannon @ Life After I Dew for some So What! Wednesday fun! 

I am not a party planner.

Grayson's birthday party is on Saturday. If there is one thing I have learned about the process of planning a birthday party, it's that I am NOT cut out to be a party planner. Nope. Not at all. Here are some other things I have learned along the way:

• I am a huge scatterbrain. I have about 10 projects started and only 2 things complete. 
• Modge Podge is a pretty fun invention. I'd never used it before until a couple weeks ago. It's great!
• DIY-ing can still be expensive. Michael's & Hob Lob will steal your money right out of your wallet!
• Speaking of Hobby Lobby, am I the only one that almost always has to buy a random treat (ie: circus peanuts or poppycock) when I am in the check out line? 
• Hot glue is a dangerous, dangerous thing. I should know this since I used it all.the.time in the classroom...but, alas, I forgot. I have burned myself approximately 14 times this week. 
• Monogrammed sugar cookies are SO cute! However, I will have to use G's future college tuition to buy them. Note to self: become a baker.
• Apparently I like to add more stress to situations. For example, I thought this week would be the perfect time to finally make drop-cloth curtains for our big kitchen window. Um, those took 3 hours on Sunday. That also meant getting Ben to hang a curtain rod and hooks on each side of the window. As if we have nothing else to do!
• lastly, I need to win the lottery so I can hire a party planner. the end.

12 months {1 year}

Grayson is 12 months old today! I can't believe my baby is 1 year old. That is so hard for me to believe. He is looking so much like a little boy lately & less like a baby!

Look at how much G has grown! 

 

That is just plain crazy. Look how teeny he was! 

Here are the stats:

Weight: 20.3 lbs - 10th percentile

Height: 29 5/8 in - 50th percentile

Clothing: He is wearing all 12 month clothes right now. Most of his fall & winter longalls and pants are 18 months. He is long and skinny...we have a problem finding pants that fit around his waist that aren't too short!

Diaper: 4

Shoe Size: His toes are at the end of his size 3 sandals we bought in early August...moving on up to size 4! 

 I feel like this month Grayson grew and changed so much. Here are some of the milestones we hit:

• Grayson is now running! He is SO fast and spends lots of time running circles around our downstairs. 
• Grayson has gotten 6 new teeth this month. 2 are on the bottom front & then 4 molars. He now has 12 teeth!
• He is such a talker! I can't wait until he can really talk so we know what he is telling us! He is saying mum mum (mama), dada, bu bu (bye), and he says ba & da all the time! I can't believe he can't say "dog" yet...he talks to them all day long!
• He waves when you say hello & bye and he claps when he gets excited!
• Grayson has started dancing to "The Hot Dog Song" on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He will stop whatever he is doing when that song comes on the TV and will start bouncing around and clapping. It's so funny!
• Grayson is also sleeping later! Hallelujah!!! He has been sleeping in until 6:30 and sometimes even 7:00 for the past few weeks. I hope that lasts!

 Grayson is still taking 3 bottles a day but I plan on stopping those this week. He will also be saying goodbye to formula! Grayson is the pickiest eater ever. The only substantial meal he will eat is chicken nuggets. It is so frustrating. I will keep trying to branch this boy out! Wish me luck! For breakfast he eats cinnamon raisin toast/waffle with fruit and yogurt. He will have chicken nuggets and fruit for lunch. I always give him what we eat for dinner but it usually ends up on the floor. He throws it if he is not interested! We introduced whole milk this month thinking he would drink it without a problem from his sippy cup. Well, he hates it. Shocking, right?! Right now his favorite foods are: veggie sticks, chicken nuggets, goldfish, yogurt covered raisins, grapes, and strawberries.

 This past month we traveled to Oxford for the 3rd time since Grayson was born. He had so much fun tailgating in the Grove! He loves going to see Matt & Whitney because they have a giant goldendoodle and Grayson loves him. He followed Ruger around the whole weekend!

 We have spent so much time playing with new friends this month! I joined a playgroup in early August & it has kept us busy. There are a quite a few little boys that are the same age as G and we've had fun getting them together to play! Grayson loves going to the park with his buddies Reed & Riley!

 The one downside to this age is the separation anxiety. We are battling that big time right now. Grayson has always done just fine in the church nursery until recently. He cries pretty much the whole time. He also did the same thing for 2 hours last week during my morning bible study! It is so hard for me to leave him when I know how upset he gets. I know it's just a phase and he won't be like this forever...but I wish it would just end! Makes me sad, too!

 Some of Grayson's favorite things right now are:

• Jack's tiny tennis balls--he loves throwing them to the dogs!
  
• opening and shutting cabinets/doors
• any kind of ball
• Hudson
• His "Five Little Ladybugs" book
• getting into everything.
• Being outside! 
• Drinking out of a straw
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

 I can't believe that it has been 1 whole year since our lives were changed forever by this fun little boy!

Happy FIRST birthday, G!!