Nursery

Hey Everyone!

Thought I would make a rare appearance and give you a peak of the nursery ;)



Can I tell you how excited we are getting?!?! We have been out of the baby stage for a while now, so all this feels so new and fun! I seriously cannot wait to have a newborn around to cuddle, and feed, and kiss on all day!





Its the "sitting room" right off the master, love that it's footsteps from our room!

While I'm sharing pics... here is a glimpse of the new den furniture that I have been dying to get for 3 years ;)



Hope your enjoying plenty of Christmas parties!

Courtney

Collins turned 3

I am a little late getting this out, but my sweet Collins turned 3!!!



My little love nugget is absolutely the sweetest thing. Don't get me wrong... he is a handful, and keeps me on my toes all the time. He can be completely exhausting. Period.



But I am so in love with him!!! He makes my heart melt and has us completely wrapped around his little finger.



He is the spitting image of his daddy in looks and in personality.



It has been an honor to be his mom the last three years! He is quite simply a blessing that I will never be able to adequately describe!

Courtney

October

October is my favorite time of year, and this year has been no exception!


( Wouldn't it be awesome if just once everyone smiled authentically at the same time!!! )

We have been to so many festivals, block parties, and pumpkin patches!! Unfortunately, my camera has had a dead battery for most of the month! However, it was up and functioning for one pumpkin patch ;)









I would like to take just a second and brag on my boys daddy! Can I tell you that I am the luckiest girl around?!?! He has been such a rock, supporter, and spiritual leader for this family! He has gotten up with the boys through the night and early in the morning so that I can sleep! He runs out and gets my every craving ( and I have lots this go around :). He is just the best husband I could have wished for. I love him so much!! Ohh, and did I mention he was a hottie :)

OK, Back to the patch... :) :) :) :)





Collins was very curious if baby Brooks would eat like the cow eats, I tried to explain in a very gentle way that he would be eating slightly differently from mommy. Turns out Jack remembers more than one would think about how Collins ate as a babe... he was more than willing to share his knowledge! Help me Lord!

Needless to say... C was slightly confused after that conversation.



Sorry I have been so absent from this blog. Blogging is just far from my priority list these days. I do want to keep it going for a journal for my boys though! Hopefully I will ;)

Courtney

Another Blue Egg

I am pretty sure everyone knows by now... We are having another boy in February!

This came as a much surprise and has been a roller coaster that one day I will share, but for now I will just share his name.

Brooks Grayson

Brooks : Because Brendan was certain that this had to be his name!

Grayson: Because, Grace :: defined is :: Getting something that you don't deserve.

We certainly feel this way and since Grace is much too girlie :) We went with Grayson.

He is already such a blessing and we just can't wait for him to get here!



We have been overwhelmed with friends that have supported us, and loved on us, and prayed for us. There is simply not words to express how we feel for these people.

We let everyone know it was a boy by filling cupcakes with blue icing, Jack was more than excited to see blue!!



Collins is super excited too! He understands more than I thought he would... however, I am not sure he completely grasps "the middle child" role ;)



Other than that we have been so busy doing life. The boys are continuing to thrive in school, which has given me time to invest in other things and people, and Bren is staying busy with us and work!

God is so good to us!

Courtney

Kindergarten

My sweet Jack is officially a kindergartner!



We are finishing up our first week and it is going great! I just cannot say enough wonderful things about his school and what a positive experience this has been for all of us. As Jack always does, he has won the hearts of all the teachers there!



He loves everything about kindergarten! His most favorite things are art class, library, music, recess, and fire drills ;)

When we took Jack his first day, Collins kept telling him how happy he was for him and how proud he was of him. It was so sweet! Jack held Collins by the hand and walked him around school... melted my heart.



Before his first day we went on a special date to Starbucks.



And we picked our teacher an apple...



And away we went, nothing but SMILES!



My favorite quote by the principle, "This is so much more than a school, its a family".

Although it is a huge change for our family, its a good change, a necessary change, a full on blessing!

Courtney

A Quick Getaway

Last Thursday we got a wild hair, thankful its not the kind that gets me to paint the house or rip down a wall, nope this wild hair caused us to pack our bags and leave for an adventure! Literally at 3:30 we decided on this adventure and by 4:00 we were pulling out. We knew we wanted to take the boys to the battleship USS Alabama and the rest we just decided as we went.

The Battleship did not disappoint!! Without a doubt the funnest thing the boys have ever done...









The memorial park also had a submarine to explore as well as an aircraft museum...





We stayed at the Renaissance Mobile Marriott which was right across from a children's museum, the mobile bay port, a park, downtown mobile ( which included a fun trip to a chocolatier and peanut depot ). After we had seen everything there we called and made reservations to our favorite place, The Grand Hotel in Fairhope.

Nothing but fun was had there...







We had such a great time with having no agenda! We just explored and had fun... and lots of room service! By far our most successful family vacation to date :)

Already looking forward to the next trip!

Courtney

Frozen Yogurt

It has been super crazy around here! There has literally been a parade of people coming through our door non-stop.

It can be exhausting...



...but we wouldn't have it any other way! We love having a house full of friends :)

Speaking of friends, I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't share my new found recipe. I am jumping on the internet for a rare second just to let you in on the best thing ever...

Homemade Frozen Yogurt

We love Yogurt Mountain and their Original Tart Yogurt and I was so excited when I came upon a recipe to make it myself. I was equally as excited to see it was easy to make!!

First you need an ice cream freezer ( either the old school style or the newer Cuisinart )



Next you need 32 oz container of PLAIN yogurt ( we found this brand to make the best )



Mix the yogurt with 3/4 cups of sugar, pour into the ice cream freezer, and proceed how your machine directs. With any luck you will be enjoying a taste of heaven in about 20 minutes!!!

Don't forget the toppings!




(p.s. This recipe will yield (4) 1 cup servings)


Hope you enjoy. Better go... got people coming over :)

Courtney

Sweet July - The kitchen is done!

It's been a long time coming, but the "after pictures" of the kitchen are now ready :)

Every project we do always seems to be so much more involved and more time consuming than planned!! I am so happy with the end result though!!!







My stools that I got on sale at Restoration Hardware that I absolutely love! Still waiting on the seat cushions to arrive.



If you can't remember the kitchen before, I took these right as we were knocking down walls.





The kitchen looks and feels a thousand times bigger! Much improved :)

Now on to other subjects... Is it me or is the summer flying by??

We are spending all of our time with friends and having so much fun! Isn't it true... Life is so much better shared with those you love.

We have been spending lots of time at the pool this summer and when we are not at the pool, we are still getting wet!





We've also been on a cooking kick. This little kitchen has turned gourmet!! Its been so much fun and yummy!





Hope you guys are having a great summer!

Courtney