The Floral Fabric Saga

I have not written a post about it yet, because I want to be completely finished with her room before I do the grand reveal. But, Lan has the coolest bed EVER!!! I'm serious! Come on, what little girl wouldn't want a playhouse bed!!!  It's like every girl's dream. I found plans for the bed online and fell in love with it, because it was extremely functional and, not to mention, absolutely DARLING.  Landry and I sweet talked PawPaw into coming one weekend to build it.  He was amazing, and built it in a day!  I'm so blessed with such wonderful parents.

After we got the bed up, it was my job to sand, paint, and dress the bed up bit.  Here's what it looked like when I was completely finished:

So Cool, Right??!

Now, just a little back story.  This bed was built when I was 8 months pregnant.  I was GINORMOUS!    However, I was determined to get her bed finished before Cooper's arrival.  I had a sweet friend who came and helped me to paint every last inch of that tedious trim.  Then I stayed up to the wee hours of a few nights finishing it.  May I draw your attention to the pretty floral window treatments in the playhouse?  When I saw the fabric, I was drawn to it.  I adore anything that shouts bright and cheery, and this fabric shouted it loudly.  I bought just enough to make window treatments for her play house and her room.  To my delight, when Landry saw the fabric she had the exact same reaction as me.   She was in love.  She went around the house draping it on various things, she carried it in the car with her to school, she even slept with the fabric (for crying out loud).  I explained to her that this was the fabric I was going to use to make curtains in her house.  But she wasn't all that pleased with that idea.  She wanted a dress with the fabric, and one for Emily, Belle, and Addison (her favorite dolls).  I kindly told her that she'd have to take that up with GiGi.  I can do curtains, but I leave the clothes to GiGi. 

Ok, so back to the "wee hours of the night" I stayed up till 3:00 a.m., the night I finished her house.  She was sleeping soundly in my bed, while I scurried around to get the job done.  Remember, I'm 8 months pregnant.  I kept playing what her reaction might be, over and over again in my head, making all this diligence SO worth it.  The next morning, I did not allow her in her room, because I wanted to have everything back into place when she saw it for the first time.  My plan, to surprise her when she came home from school.  I shared my excitement with a friend, who suggested I get a picture of her face when she saw it for the first time.

The moment she arrived home from school, I could hardly contain myself.  I urged her to throw down her bag and hurry to her room.  I snuck in first so I could be in place to capture that moment I had dreamt about.  I instructed her to keep her eyes closed until I counted to three

1....2....3...OPEN YOUR EYES!!!!

Wait for it....

(Zoom in to get a good picture of the reaction) Wait for it....

SERIOUSLY??!!!!!

All that hard work, and I get tears?!  Did I mention I was 8 months pregnant?!  And don't you go thinking those were tears of joy.  The first words out of her mouth: "I didn't want you to make curtains with that material.  I wanted a dress." Let's just say we had a real quick chat about entitlement and thankfulness and appreciation and....and....AND!!

Of course, she did finally warm up to the idea of the pretty floral window treatments.  She spends lots of time playing in her house and has grown quite fond of them.  And since she did learn from her mistake and has learned to show much more appreciation for things, she got a little surprise in the mail for her birthday...

Now that's the reaction I like to see :)

I have a confession...

I have a confession. I am a nerd. I'm sure most of you were already aware of that. But in case you had any doubt, I am confirming it. I like cheesy things, and not just a little cheese, I like the cheese poured on really thick. Case in point: This picture. As cheesy as it gets, but I couldn't rest until I made it. Admit it. You like it. You're a nerd too ;)

And while we are on the subject of Super Cooper, I should announce that he rolled back to belly today.  I laid him on his back, stepped out of the room and came back to find him on his belly!  He showed off several more times after that.  He is just full of surprises.

This Boy...

100% Boy

100% Mess

 100% Mommy's Sweetheart

Cooper - 3 months

Cooper turned 3 months old on January 9th!  He is such a beautiful and sweet baby!  He loves to cuddle up with us.  And my favorite is when he stops, right in the middle of a bottle just to smile at me.

 Cooper doesn't have a well visit this month, so I'm not sure what his measurements are.  But since I forgot to post at 2 months, I will do that now.  At his 2-month well visit he weighed 10 lbs. 10 oz. and he measured 24 inches long.  That is 5 inches longer since birth!  He's growing super fast.  I think he is trying to keep up with his big brother.

I guess he thought he was big stuff turning 3 months.  That very day he rolled over for the first time, and the next day he laughed!!  Here is a picture after her rolled and a video of him cracking up at Cory

Here are a few pictures I took of all three kids the day he turned 3 months:

They're awesome.

Letting Her Creative Spirit Live

L: Mom, I need some white paper
M: Ok, sure go get some.  It's with the art supplies.
L: Mom, can I get the crayons and scissors out.
M: Ok, but please make sure you put it back when you are finished
L: Mom, can I cut this little foam letter in half.  I need it because I'm making something

Next thing I know, I walk into the kitchen and Lan is sprawled out on the floor with art supplies and little pieces of paper everywhere.  I think about making a fuss about the mess, but then I bite my tongue.  Her little tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth proves she is concentrating awfully hard on this project, and I wouldn't dare ruin it for her.  I just have to remember: Creativity is MESSY.  I should know.  It's the reason I can never seem to have a perfectly tidy house.  Projects, Projects, Projects.  But how boring would life be without them?

She pops up off the floor and says, "Mommy, I'm finished!  Look what I made!!"  She holds out her hand and shows me the tiniest little book I've ever seen, with a "fun foam" shaped "B" as the cover. She has even made a little paper "L" to go inside of it.  She was beyond satisfied with her work.  She prances around the house, showing it off.  Then she tucks it inside her little change purse for safe keeping.

Cory then calls out to her that it is time for them to go.  She had been eager to spend her allowance money, and he was taking her to the place where a dollar would stretch the furthest, Dollar Tree.  She runs into her room, then proudly reappears wearing her outfit of choice.  Cory and I could not help chuckling at the awkward mismatched attire, we quickly glance in the opposite direction so she could not see us laughing. Then Cory bends down and sweetly said, "You're so cute."  Upon hearing her daddy's words, she clasps her hands, tilts her head and flutters her eyelashes.  She whispers to him, "You know why I'm wearing black socks?  Because it's dark outside," a statement only logical to a 5-year-old.

Another thing I have to remember about creativity: It can be a little HUMBLING

But who would want to stifle that little spirit of hers?  She's only a little girl once, right?  I want to let her live, no matter how messy and embarrassing, or inconvenient it may be.  Soon enough, she'll have to deal with the stresses of this world and be the one who is way too concerned with what others think about her.  Why burden her with that now?

I want that sweet, creative spirit to stick around as long as possible....

Finding Joy in The Details

Have you heard of Ann Voskamp?  I was introduced to her recently through this blog post of hers.  A friend of mine shared it on Facebook, and I was literally speechless by the end.  She has such a way with words, such eloquent speech.  She describes things and feelings with such detail.  It is obvious that she looks through such a wise and appreciative eye.  It makes sense that her campaign is: Find Joy, Reflections on Finding Everyday Grace.  She offers a challenge to find 3 things daily that are reflections of God's wonderful grace.  This forces one to look at all the details of life and find joy in the simplest of things.  

I don't know about you, but I rush through life entirely too fast.  I don't stop enough to enjoy life, to enjoy my husband, my children.  Why on earth would I consider housework more important than spending time on the floor playing with my children?  However, I am so guilty of just that.  God help me to focus on what is most important.  Help me to live life to its fullest.  Help me to be the parent you've called me to be.  And help me to cherish the details.

iPads....

Bringing siblings together since 2010

My. Kids. Are. Amazing.

Rewind....

Rewind to June 17, 2012.  That's when I put up this post. I said that I would continue the post at a later date, and...well...it's a later day.  I am finally getting around to editing pictures I had been missing and catching up on blog posts.  So finally, here are the rest of the pictures from our wonderful visit at Nana and Poppy's :)

We stopped by to visit MawMaw Dell on the way back home.  The kids really enjoyed her and all her sweet little doggies!