Our Favorite Infant Gifts

Both of our boys celebrated their first Christmas at a very young age. Grayson was only 3 months old & Griffin was almost 5 months old. It seems kind of hard to buy presents for babies that young, but there are a lot of great things out there! Here are some things that both of our boys loved & got a lot of use out of. Some of these things are STILL being used! 

1. B. Zany Zoo Activity Cube (both of the boys still play with this!)

2. Bright Baby First 100 Words book (we love these books & they have a bunch to choose from. Our boys both love the First 100 Animals & First 100 Machines) 

3. Fisher Price Rock-a-Stack

4.  Lakeshore Soft Photobook (my aunt got this for Grayson when he was a baby & it has all the family pictures and it is labeled. This is so great...especially since we don't live near our family!)

5. Oball Rollin' Rainstick

6. Vtech Move and Crawl Bawl

Our Favorite Toddler {BOY} Gifts

Have you all started your Christmas shopping? I'm sure a few of you are done with your Christmas shopping. That will never be me. You won't even find me in the stores on Black Friday; Cyber Monday is more my speed! Shopping from the comfort of my couch without the crazy crowds. I love picking out the boys' Christmas gifts. Having little kids makes it so much fun! Boy gifts are what I know best & I wanted to share some of our favorites around here!

1. KidKraft Everyday Heroes Set

2. Black & Decker Tool Box

3. Playmobil Ladder Firetruck

4. Little Tikes Gas 'n Go Mower

5. Little Blue Truck

6. Lego Duplo My First Construction Site

7. Stackadoos

Five on Friday {Thankful Edition}

 

a little throwback to our newlywed days;)

 ONE. I am so thankful to get to share this life with my very best friend. Ben and I have been together for NINE years now. We've been through a lot together & there is nobody I would rather have by my side. He's a great husband, the hardest worker I know, & the best daddy to our little boys!

TWO. I am so thankful I also get to share this life with my best sidekicks, Grayson & Griffin! Those little boys keep life interesting & make us laugh daily. I am so blessed that I get to be their mama!

THREE. Even though they drive me CRAZY, I am thankful that our house is full of dogs. Our 3 pups were our first babies & they are definitely a big part of our family. They may bark all the time & shed like crazy, but I sure do love their puppy snuggles!

FOUR. The first 3 were obvious. NOW, let's get to the real deal mama stuff. I am so very thankful for my Keurig. Can I get an amen?? For real. I get to have the perfect cup of coffee every morning. Without that perfect cup of coffee, I have no brain. Seriously.

 

FIVE. Friendships. I'm not sure how people get by in life without a strong group of friends. I have friends from all different stages in my life & each one plays a key role in my life. I love them all dearly & I am so happy I get to "do life" with a great group of people.

Go link up with Darci & share your Five on Friday!

Differences

Do you ever have those moments where you just look at your kids and it hits you like a ton of bricks that they are actually yours? Not only are they yours, but you get to keep them! I have those moments every so often.

Last night Ben and Grayson were in Alabama watching my brother in law play basketball. Griffin and I had a little one on one time--something that is hard to come by as the second child. Throughout our afternoon & night together, I could tell he was looking for Grayson. He was missing him. As soon as I showed him some videos on my phone of the two of them playing, he busted out his fantastic belly laugh. That boy loves his Grayson.

I can't believe that they belong to us. I can't believe that these two boys who looked identical when they were newborns look so different from one another now. I can't believe that these boys who came from the exact same parents can have such polar opposite personalities.

Grayson is our cautious, timid, observant child. I mean observant in every sense of the word. That boy watches EVERYTHING you do & listens to EVERYTHING you say. G hates to get in trouble & from what his teachers tell me is the almost perfect preschool student. He is a sensitive little soul & cares deeply for his friends. oh, and he's hysterical. He keeps us laughing!

Griffin is our wild & carefree child. He is a fiery spirit trapped in a tiny little body. He is adventurous, fearless, & can be somewhat of a troublemaker. He definitely keeps me on my toes! But, boy, he can work those big blue eyes! Those will be probably get him into trouble later in life! 

I just love watching our boys develop personalities all their own. I love that even though they are so different, they love each other so much. I know that they can use their strong personalities to do big things in this world. It's just such a privilege getting to watch these sweet boys grow up.

Menu Monday

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Monday: Slow Cooked Chicken Gyros

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Tuesday: Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

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Wednesday: Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

Thursday: Oven Baked Tacos -- ground beef, beans, and cheese & then bake until cheese is all melted. EASY and so good!

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Friday: Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Saturday: Leftovers

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Sunday: Warm Asparagus, Steak, & Gorgonzola salad

Five on Friday

 

It's FRIDAY! I'm linking up with Darci & Natasha again. Today is not just any other Friday. Want to know why?

 

ONE.  We are going to see JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE tonight!!!!! Need I say more?! No? Well, I'm going to anyway. JT was my very first love in 8th grade. I saw him during 'NSYNC's "No Strings Attached" Tour when I was 14. You won't find a fair weather fan here....nope, I loved him when he wore overalls and had curly hair with frosted tips! I. Can't. Wait. 

TWO.  Speaking of JT, my whole Jazzercise studio is also obsessed. I went to class on Tuesday and it was a surprise circuit class to ALL Justin music. Both heavenly and HARD. It was a repeat class on Thursday and I can barely move my legs. Justin got me through it--ha!

THREE. Grayson's school pictures came back this week. Look at the comparison from last fall. I cannot get over how grown up he looks now! That handsome 3 year old is now hanging on our gallery wall!

......my brain isn't working so I am stopping at 3. Three on Friday. It works, right? 

A Trip to Georgia

Last Thursday I picked up Grayson early from preschool so that we could venture down to Georgia for a long weekend. Ben had to work all weekend so it was just me & my favorite little boys! Road trips with just the boys can always get interesting. I feel like I am constantly handing things to Griffin & trying to keep both of them entertained. Forget cell phones; toddlers are just as distracting! We got to eat dinner with my Papa and Carol on Thursday night & it was so good to see them. I wish we lived closer to my family!

We spent Friday at my Granddaddy's house. It was the first time I have been back since my Grandmother passed away in September. It didn't feel quite the same, but I loved seeing my sweet Granddaddy enjoy some time with my boys. It doesn't happen often enough!

I love watching my own kids have fun in a place that I loved when I was their age. My cousins and I spent so many hours in this basement playing with all of our grandparents treasures. It is a kid's dream basement. There are so many things to explore. Grayson and Griffin had SO much fun with the mowers, tools, & antique toy trucks. They would have stayed all weekend I bet!

It was nice to get away for the weekend & spend time with my family...and let the boys do yard work all weekend:)

Menu Monday (on Tuesday)

We have been in Georgia since Thursday so I am behind on menu planning & grocery shopping. I plan on getting back in the swing of things today! I'm trying some new recipes for breakfast & lunch this week. I'll be making these overnight oats for the first time. Have you ever made these? I love oatmeal & these sound so easy.

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 I'll also be making this creamy tomato soup for my lunch this week. It is supposed to be freezing here all week which means it is perfect soup weather!

Here's what is on our menu this week:

Tuesday: Tortellini with marinara & garlic bread

Wednesday: General Tso's chicken with steamed white rice & broccoli (sauce from Trader Joe's)

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Thursday: Beef Stew with mashed potatoes

Friday: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE CONCERT!!! We will be eating at Prime 108 before the show. Excited for a date night!

Saturday: out

Sunday: Homemade Pizza Rolls

The Brave Fireman & his Trusty Dalmatian (Halloween 2013)

The title of my post may have sent you back to last Halloween. If you recall, our boys were, wait for it, a fireman & dalmatian!

and they were mighty cute, were they not?!

Well, we have been asking Grayson for a couple months what he wanted to be for Halloween this year. He was adamant about being a fireman...again. I fought it for a while but eventually gave in. It is his costume, after all.

Well, the actual night of Halloween was a big bust. We had 45mph winds and a tornado watch. We went to the mall to trick or treat and it was SLAMMED. I'm talking Black Friday crowds. It was awful. We did run into some friends but we weren't there very long! Luckily our neighborhood rescheduled trick or treating for Friday night. Grayson was so excited to walk around and trick or treat with this friends!

The 2013 version of my fireman and dalmatian. Can we talk about Griffin's dalmatian head? SO HUGE and makes me laugh SO HARD. I can't handle it. Grayson looked so grown up!

This was our 3rd year going trick or treating with our neighbors! We have added 2 kids and grown up A LOT in the last couple of years! 

We lasted almost 2 hours trick or treating...these boys were all over collecting candy! Griff doesn't say much but he does say "cheeeeeeese." He walked up to the doors with Grayson, held out his bag, & said "cheeeeeese!" It was pretty cute. Halloween was so much fun this year!