Thrifty Thursday

So I am obsessed with getting the best possible deals, repurposing things, making my own decor, ect.

So Thursday will be dedicated to the things I will be able to do myself affordably and which look fantastic! :) Cody says the stuff I make, makes our house feel more like a home (what a cornball, but you gotta love him!). I agree though, I like more rustic, imperfect, eclectic things. So these projects are perfect!

This one is also for those of you who recently welcomed a bundle, or are about to. :) It would be so cute for some wall art in your little one's room. I think I will do one for little E-Fizzy.

Click here for instructions. Enjoy! :)

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

I thought I would do themed days on my blog because 1) it will make me blog, 2) so I would never be daunted by the blank page staring me in the face. I use this as kind of my outlet, and I know people who read it. So I just wanted to do something worth reading, as well as do something that helps myself.

So here we go. Our first Words of Wisdom Wednesday.

This one is from President George Albert Smith. I think it is as meaningful today as it was back when he said it during WWI.

“Though the world may be filled with distress, and the heavens gather blackness, and the vivid lightnings flash, and the earth quake from center to circumference, if we know that God lives, and our lives are righteous, we will be happy, there will be peace unspeakable because we know our Father approves our lives” (George Albert Smith, in Conference Report, Oct. 1915, p. 28).

Gives us hope in the face of the adversity & uncertainty the world always provides. :)

Back to Business

There have been a few people giving me a hard time about not blogging for the last 5 months.

SORRY! But being a mom takes up a lot of my time as you can imagine. And I don't like taking time away from playing with Ezra to blog, because its not much of a necessity and he grows up so fast & I don't want to miss ANY of it. Plus between my Pinterest & Facebook I figured a lot of people knew what I was up to anyway :)

But with the new year I decided I would be better about it, and do it more while he was napping, or knocked out for the night.

So here is the deal...

Ezra is 8 months and 2 weeks old.

He has passed most of his first year milestones.

He has had teeth since he was 4 months old.

He started crawling around 6 months.

He started pulling himself up and standing at 7 months.

He started drinking out of a straw yesterday (guard your big gulps)

He has been sitting by himself since he was 6 months.

He has flown on an airplane I think about 8 times by now.

He has been on 2 road trips. (he is a travelling champ)

Oh dear he can do a lot of things....it seems like he learns a new one every single day.

He has been through all the major holidays. He had been alive for like a week when Easter hit. We did 4th of July in California (he slept through the fireworks). He dressed as a skeleton for Halloween (he glowed in the dark, it was great). He ate a lot at Thanksgiving, but hated stuffing. We did Christmas in Arizona which was awesome (more like the warm Christmases I know & love. White Christmases are HIGHLY overrated). He rang in the New Year driving home from AZ and then celebrating the countdown at home, and oh boy are we glad we spent it at home, this kid was DONE with people and any sort of noisiness.

Anyway. So that pretty much catches you up. We love our little dude, he has been so amazing to have around. Congratulations to those who also had additions to your family this year. As well as those who are awaiting the arrival in 2012, I know there are a lot of you.

Happy New Year. I hope 2012 is a great year. We have set some small goals, but even if nothing changed, I would still be one happy girl. I don't need more than I already have, and 2011 helped me realise that. Its been a good one, I hope things improve for those of you who could use some help wether it be jobs, homes, health, families etc. that you will find what you need this year. You will be in our thoughts & prayers this coming year. :)

Milestones

My little E is getting to be a big boy and its driving me crazy. I can't believe how much he grows and learns from week to week.

He rolls from his tummy to his back and often as he can, he does it the quickest when he is mad. He has started to make loud hollaring noises for no apparent reason. He loves to stand as often and as long as you will let him. (He has been doing it for about 3 or more weeks now, but he is getting too good at it). Ezra will stop crying if you give him a drop of lemonade or vitamin water ;), loves straws. His favorite thing to have in his mouth would have to be his hands, so yummy; paci is a close second.

Ezra usually only gets up once during the night. Daddy usually gets up with him. Its their special male bonding time. He loves to cuddle with mom, he nuzzles right up under my face, its the cutest thing ever, and I never want it to end. He has to fall asleep either hanging on my necklace or the neck of my shirt. :)

He talks a lot, just not sure what it is he is saying, but he is sure excited about it. My little Boogs is possibly the most smiley, and bright eyed 12 week old anyone has ever seen! I love my boy. I just can't believe how quickly he is growing up. It is bitter sweet. It makes my heart ache to see him grow, and to realize that these are phases that quickly pass, but he gets more fun every day. :) Lets hope he remains mommy's cuddle bug for a few years...I can't get enough of it!

Looking up...

So things haven't been super hard or taxing or anything like that. Its just now that things are starting to take on a schedule and I have more time to myself while Ezra naps and likes to sit in his Bumbo. I am actually really excited. I can paint things outside now that the weather is nice (consistently), set up my glue gun and craft table on the deck and enjoy the sun, the breeze....ugh! It sounds like heaven right now.

On Tuesdays I go to the park with the other moms in the ward that don't work. :) So there is a designated day, and time, that I get some adult interaction. We can talk about things that only we would understand. Like how much you love your child, but on some occasions when it just feels like you barely survived the day without pulling your hair out. :) And how many more of those you have to look forward to! I have friends in my ward, but this week I made a new friend. She is a transplant just like me, so that makes things nice, and we can relate on a lot of things. So naturally we have a lot to talk about, and she is a stay at home mom as well, so there is lots of time for that!

Cody and I have also started paying attention to the things here that we can take advantage of. Like the other day when went to the Gateway (the outdoor mall) for the Chalk Art Festival. It wasn't anything spectacular, we just got to walk around as a family, enjoy the art, and have day outside in nice weather. There are gorgeous places to hike near our house, there is the Farmer's Market in downtown SLC, the Hogle Zoo, Heritage Park, the Aquarium, Handcart Days in Bountiful, countless things that Cody would never think to do because he has lived here his whole life and barely done any of it. So I am looking forward to doing things here as a couple, a family, and hopefully being able to like living in Utah just a little bit. Because we all know I have a hard time even tolerating it a lot of the time. (Sorry, but its SO true)

So things are looking up.... I have read 3 books (since Sunday), I have had Ezra down for at least 2-3 naps a day for the last couple weeks (which usually last about 2-3 hours each), I have been planning my trip to California next week (and this time Cody is even coming with me!), and I have started making goals of things I want to learn how to do and a list of crafts I want to try and tackle. So all in all, its been one of the best weeks so far as mom, not mention my little man hit two months last Friday! Can you believe it? He's the best, not to mention the cutest! He is just growing way too fast. I love it so much, he is just getting to be more fun every day.

So here's to a good start of normalcy, and lets hope this keeps up! :)