Seriously???

Could he BE any more wonderful?? We have made the 2 month/9.5 week mark and I just love Elliott more and more. He is either eating, sleeping, or doing this! He's still not sleeping through the night...but there is always the hope of tonight! :)

Nolan's New BFF

Two weeks ago (I am really behind on blog-world and am going to try to get caught up over the next few days) my sweet friend Kelly came in town and brought Lucy. Lucy is 11 months older than Nolan but they were thick as thieves! It was so fun to watch them play together and he was super sad when they left (as was I!! :)), but it gave me a glimpse of how great life is going to be in a few years when my boys can play together! I can't wait!!

Somehow Kelly and I were unable to get a picture with both of us and all the kiddos. This will just have to do. Thanks for coming friend!

This was about 45 seconds after they arrived. Let the playing begin. Oh, and the booboo next to Nolan's eye is from when he was running in a dark room, tripped over a stool and landed on the rocker of the rocking chair. It was a rough one for sure!!!

Fireplace-DIY

As you know, I love almost everything about my house. However, I have not loved my fireplace. So thankful to have one...but it is just so big, plain, and dark. When we moved in Jerel promised me that I would have a mantle by Christmas. Our dilemma was whether or not to paint the brick, or cover it with sheetrock, but something had to happen to brighten up the room. And then we had to decide if we wanted a shelf or wrap around mantle. I wanted to whitewash the brick and Jerel finally conceded, even though he really didn't want to! :) We went to a salvage yard and found a old mantle that had been ripped out of another house. It had about 100 layers of OLD paint on it that was really cracked, so we had to strip it down to the raw wood and start over. My sweet husband spent many hours sanding and figuring out how to mount it onto the brick. I am really pleased with the outcome...just in time!!

UGLY

PRETTY!

Decorated...and really crooked. Apparently I need to learn to stand straight

Tree and Stuff

Every year we have been able to get our Christmas tree the saturday after thanksgiving. We found this farm about 20 minutes from here where we can cut the tree down. I wish that I could have gotten an action picture of it being cut, but I was too busy trying to balance Elliott while yelling at Nolan to stay out of the million different fire ant hills. I am sure I was really adding to the other families holiday moment by screaming at my child!! :) Needless to say, I was a little too busy to snap that perfect picture! At least I love our tree!!

Nolan was actually fairly helpful and has done a great job of leaving the tree alone. It is sparsely decorated from about 3 feet down, but still so pretty. I wish that it was socially acceptable to keep a tree up year round!

Elliott is still the sweetest baby. He has the best smile and coos all the time. I have tried to get a picture of him smiling and this is as close as I can get. I literally have been trying to will him to sleep through the night, but to no avail! I know that he is only 7 weeks old but I HATE getting up throughout the night! Oh well.

I know I have said it before, but this is one cute kid!! One Nolan update is that he is finally starting to say a few words. Speech therapy has been huge and it is so fun to hear his little voice.
Nolan loves, loves, loves his globe. It is also a light and he turns it on and off...all day! I was cracking up that he was standing on his bongos to get a closer look. Under the bookshelf is his CD player. I think this is his favorite toy. He has several different CDs and changes them out and listens to his music throughout the day. I am so thankful that he loves music.

Christmas Photo

I have been trying to get a picture of the boys for our card. Doesn't this one just scream MERRY CHRISTMAS?? :)