for ever

While we were in California, baby boy and I had time to visit with my dear friends that I had not seen in too long (love to you all). I didn't realize just how much I missed them all so much. All these girls truly inspire me and I am so grateful for their love and support! They are always so thoughtful and helpful and understanding! My dear friend d threw the sweetest party for her daughter while we were there. She is amazing! Please read her blog! I am always in awe by what she posts. The party had a Camping theme and we were asked that our gifts be themed as well... such a great idea! It was so fun to see what people came up with.

Baby boy and I decided to make a semi-homemade gift for this sweet little girl. My mother and I headed to Joann's, picked out some wood pieces and a few things in their summer section and headed home. This is what we came up with:

Some mini x's and o's, medium u's, a wooden dowel, fabric, net, wooden boards, a mason jar and lots and lots of soy paint!

And somehow it turned into this:

horseshoes

tic tac toe

butterfly jar (and a net that wasn't pictures)

and a camping chair.

Everything was wrapped in fabric and it seems that she liked it... or at least I hope so!

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

top to bottom, left to right

Another love in my life is reading. It is not much of a surprise for me to have such a love of stories and books growing up with my dad. He would take us to the library when we were little and let us pick out any book that we wanted. It was so fun to sit and choose but the best part to me was when we got to go home and read them and then write book reports on the book that we got to check out! Yes, I'm serious. I loved it. No joke. He owns a few bookstores and my parents house has slowly turned into a library over the years. I aspire to their collection.

I am trying to make sure that our Little One loves books as much as we do. I think it is really important for kids these days to read from an actualy piece of paper instead of playing on kindles or ipads (however I might reform in later years so don't hold that against me). I make a point to show Little One how fun books are by pointing out the colors and words slowly and I always have tons of books mixed in with toys so he can see how fun they are.

I just came across this link on Pinterest. It is a great list and perfect for all ages.

I also did a little printable for Little One's room that I wanted to share with you fine folks as well!

download                                                                  download

download                                                                     download

this is what falling off the wagon looks like

The other day I found this deal on craigslist. Ironically, the guy who I bought it from was a coworker of Mr. L. I didn't know until I showed up to their house! What are the odds...

Our family pictures are coming up, so I decided to do something fun with it! Here is a photo step by step of how to add new life to an old messed up wagon!

Before you prime, you definitely need to sand! These bad boys rust quite quickly so getting all of that off is a must. Sorry I'm lacking in the mid-sanding-picture department. Once you've sanded prime it up! I'm a huge lover of Killz brand primer. It is less toxic than any other primer and works amazingly. 

Tip: instead of priming and sanding, just shake the Killz bottle for 2 minutes (i swear this works)

and there are no lumps to sand down!

 Ready for paint and re-assembly!

oooh, It looks so good!

Baby boy is super sick so he snuggled on in and we went on a walk for some fresh air which made for a mini photo session.

I think he enjoyed it

boy girl

I took it as a sign that G was due for a highchair once I needed a second pair of hands to help me get him out of his bumbo. This kid is a super chunk! No one would ever guess that he was born so preemie! Miss lindsay had a greatidea and we both decided to try it out. We found these inexpensive old wooden highchairs off craigslist and repurposed them! If you decide to do this make sure that you use a low VOC finish for the safety of your child. I know that they are expensive but they are totally worth it!

before:

We did a boy and girl version for baby H and G and I think they turned out pretty cute! Of course our pictures turned into a mini photoshoot because our kids are just adorable! :)