graham: six months old

Let's not talk about the fact that you actually turn seven months old next week and I'm just now getting your six month post up. I promise I'll try to get it together this time. Maybe. Ha!

Six months old. Half a year. Third time around and it's still just as amazing! Mommy stinks and can't remember what all actually happened in your sixth month and what has happened this last month on your way to seven months old. I'll save a lot of those updates for next week because several of them are pretty huge!

You're still an awesome sleeper. Very rarely do we need to come into your room before 6:30 in the a.m. On occasion, there are random nights that something bothers you and you can't settle back down. A quick nursing session usually solves that problem and you're out again until morning.

You and I made mommy's first breastfeeding goal! Six months in and we're still going strong. We both still are enjoying it, and that makes this mommy super happy. We'll discuss this again when you finally get some teeth.

Speaking of, you have none. I don't think they're even close to breaking through. You're going to be one of those adorable babies who doesn't get teeth until you're a year old and then all of a sudden, they're all going to come in at the same time. I'm sure that'll be, um, fun?

Sometime between six and eight every night you like to talk. And loudly. It doesn't really matter where we are, that's your vocal time. I think that the sound of your voice still surprises you sometimes. You seem very pleased that you can reach pitches that no one should have to hear. But, it usually makes us all laugh, so we deal with the ear piercing as long as it keeps you happy.

At your sixth month check-up, Dr. C seemed concerned with your head growth. We're still not entirely sure what's going on with that – we'll have your head remeasured next week and go from there. In my heart, I feel like everything is fine. I even went back and looked at your brothers' head measurements and you seem right on track with them. But we'll see what happens and take it as it comes.

Likes: your brothers, mommy's milk, your feet, when daddy walks into the room, your exersaucer
Dislikes: someone leaving the room, being in your carseat for too long, oh, and when someone leaves the room

weeks twenty-two through twenty-six

a little hike.

Apparently we like to go hiking in the fall as the last time we went was about this time last year too. It really can't be helped. The temperature is dropping to the perfect degree, the sun shines beautifully and the leaves are changing into that awesome fall background that everyone loves.

So we decided to go hiking this past weekend. Jeremy told me about what trail he wanted to try out with the kids. He estimated it to be about three miles. I asked if that was a little ambitious knowing that we would be carrying Graham. He repeatedly told me, "No! It's an easy hike! We'll be fine!"

Remind me if those words come out of his mouth that it is untruth. Untruth, I tell you! What ended up happening was close to a five mile hike for almost four hours. But, but! It was beautiful. And when we got to the top of our destination, and had a snack break, Cayden excitedly said, "This is fun!" And that right there made it all worth it. The view when a huge rock was climbed wasn't too shabby either.

On the way back down, I ended up wearing Graham so that Jeremy could carry Sawyer. Just that little bit of extra weight made me so sore in my legs. I can't even imagine wearing Sawyer on my back – Graham's 15 extra pounds was nothing compared to Sawyer's 33, I'm sure. But we survived! And had fun!

And the boys fell asleep in the car around 4ish, made the transfer to their beds, another transfer to our bed when we tried to wake them for dinner and a bath, ANOTHER transfer back to their beds and then slept until 5:30 the next morning. I ::think:: we might have tired them out. Maybe.

i just shake it a little bit.

Apparently I can't stop sharing things from this past weekend. But I'm pretty sure this is it. It's already been shared how much Sawyer enjoyed his hot chocolate, but I couldn't get over how he would say it, so I asked Jeremy to film him. I think having these little snippets of their lives in motion will be priceless in years to come.

brothers.

I would make this a wordless Wednesday entry. But words. I've got them. I was flipping through the photo Jeremy took at Cayden's last soccer game and ran across this one. It was after the game; Cayden and Sawyer were running around kicking the ball together. And apparently being super-sweet. There's something about this photo that just warms my heart. As much as they pick at and fight with each other, they do still love each other with a passion I'm sure I'll never quite understand. These two... the sweetest, meanest, cutest, silliest, fighting-est best friends I know.

hot chocolate.

Cayden had his final soccer game of the season this past Saturday. At his game the week before, I'm pretty sure I was wearing shorts and flip flops. At this particular game though? Not so much. We had a cold front come in the night before, so layering and bundling up was a requirement. When my mom called and let us know she was making a stop at Starbucks on her way to the game, we quickly took her up on an offer to bring coffee. And knowing that Sawyer always wants to drink our coffee, she bought him his very own hot chocolate. Little dude has a sweet tooth like woah, so it was no surprise that he enjoyed every last drop of his "hot chocklit." As evidenced by his new goatee.

happy halloween, y'all.

From the smallest Allen who is most excited about trick or treating tonight and stocking up on some candy. Ok, fine, the largest Allen's are excited about the itty bitties stocking up on candy tonight. Happy Halloween, y'all!

biggest and littlest.

Sometimes you forget that you had more beach photos to go through. And those little moments, when you find sweet shots like this are the best. While the middle child may have been completely disagreeable to having his photo taken that night (hey, days at the beach without a nap can be rough!), the oldest obliged and the youngest had no choice. Not the best photos by any means, but the best photos for this mama to look back on.

And yes, Graham ate sand. And Cayden's hands. And Cayden wasn't super-thrilled with that, ha!

graham: first food.

I took a few photos of Graham trying out food for the first time. But y'all, the video, although poor quality, is so much better because you get to see Cayden and Sawyer react to it. And that makes it worth it. First food reactions? I think Graham loves it. His tongue thrust is still pretty strong, but he's slowly figuring it out. This stage is so much fun. New things to discover every day...

puppy.

Every so often, we'll wake up to Cayden walking in our bedroom in the middle of the night. Usually he's either scared of something in his room or complaining of his leg hurting. We try to get him to go back to his room, but sometimes, there's a hint of real fear in his voice and we let him crawl in bed and sleep. I'll admit that sometimes I sleep through these moments. Both of our boys like to go to Jeremy's side of the bed; I think maybe they know I'll make them get back in bed, ha!

Anyway,  I was making up our bed the other morning (as one does when their house is on the market) and found Cayden's puppy hanging out in our bed. My big boys had already left for church, so it was just me and the tiniest Allen still at home. I thought Puppy (as he's called) needed a little time in front of the camera. This sweet pup has been with Cayden since he was born and is so, so loved. And for a split moment, I got all melodramatic thinking about the future and the mornings that we won't find Cayden (or puppy) in bed with us.

And you know what? I think I'll encourage those middle of the night rendezvous for a little bit longer.

a beach weekend.

This past weekend we took a small vacation. Cayden had school off on Monday, so we took advantage of that time. And when one is on vacation, they certainly should not expect the oldest boys to sleep in. In fact, they should expect that they'll wake up even earlier due to excitement. Jeremy took them down to the ocean while everyone else tried to sleep in a bit.

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We weren't entirely sure how all our kiddos would do with the ocean. Cayden and Sawyer have been once before, but Sawyer wasn't even a year old. Thankfully they both loved it. The smallest Allen? Not so much. Hopefully we can give it a try again next year. I should note that he was perfectly happy sitting in laps under umbrellas. So we did at least have that. He was not a fan of the water though.

My mama had the best floppy hat. She was standing right in front of me looking so pretty, so I had to snap a photo. (Notes to self: Self, buy a cute floppy hat. Your nose will appreciate it.)

And, to prove that I was there. Jeremy was testing out the photo settings and I shoved my face right in front of the camera. RIGHT in front of the camera. You're welcome.

letting go of one dream for another.

About a week and a half ago we put our much loved home on the market. We envisioned living here until the boys were in high school – maybe even college. We have enough rooms, the kitchen really couldn't be any fancier and the back yard is the perfect size.

So why are we trying to sell this home that we're completely happy with? Another dream. A dream that's been in the back of my head for oh, about five and a half years. If you're any kind of whiz with math, you'll quickly figure out that our oldest child is almost five and a half years old. And those two things kind of correlate. Because you see, I've wanted to be a stay at home mama.

After every boy we've brought home, I would look at our finances and try to figure out how to make it work. And every time, I'd be so disappointed to see that there was no way to make it work. We let cable go years ago. We could sell a car, but with the hectic schedule of sports and whatnot, only having one car just wasn't going to work for us anymore. So I continued to work, praying all the while that someday, it would work out for us.

We were blessed about a year and a half ago for my mama to watch our kiddos. While not free, it was a much discounted price. And that discounted price kept us comfortable with having a third child and not stressing about finances. In the last few months, some things have changed with that situation and the need to put our children back in full-time daycare was staring us in the face. At the price of close to $1800 a month.

Jeremy and I always said that if sending our kids to childcare ever equaled my paycheck (or close to it), then we would make the decision for me to stay home. Y'all, that decision has come. So while we were thinking me staying at home with the kiddos would look a little differently, God is leading us on a different path. One that still has the same outcome, but it's requiring a little sacrifice on our part.

Which leads to us selling our home. We're trying to lessen our mortgage to keep from stressing over finances. It seems weird to be walking away from a perfectly good job (and income stream) to make this happen. But nothing has ever felt so right.

We've had three showings so far. Of the two that have left feedback, they've said it shows really well. One realtor even went so far as to say that it looks like it's from a Pottery Barn catalog (thanks realtor, but you might be a little crazy). Great feedback, just need to find that one buyer.

Come the end of November I'll be getting my dream. Stay at home mama to some pretty cute little boys. And I can't wait.

eating feet.

Weird little tidbit? I have always wanted a child that would snack on their toes. But only when they're an infant. Because when they get older, that would just be weird. Both Cayden and Sawyer enjoyed their feet. They never actually snacked on them though. Graham? Graham has mastered the technique. And I'm so happy for it. And it's just as cute as I always imagined it would be. I'm guessing since he's still not a super-huge fan of a paci, that this is why he chews on his toes. Or his fingers. Or anything else he can get in his mouth. It'll be cute until he starts walking. Or going to school. And then we might have to put a stop to it.

graham: five months old.

Only about two weeks behind on this update. Good news? Only two weeks to wait before the six month update. #thirdchildproblems

Your months are starting to blend together to me, Graham. The older you get, the more you are starting to look like Cayden. But no worries, your eyes still look like Sawyer's.  It's amazing really, how much the three of you look alike. Personality-wise? The three of you couldn't be more different. And that's awesome and keeps mommy and daddy on their toes every minute of your waking days.

We decided to stop swaddling you sometime this month. One night you were crying and crying. Daddy came in to find you on your belly while swaddled (that's right, you mastered rolling over this month!). You had no arms free to help you flip back over. We figured it was time to stop after that for sure. And you are still sleeping awesome. So, win! Although, it is starting to get a bit chilly at night now. We might have to break out the sleep blankets, but at least you'll have access to your arms.

You are still nursing great, and mommy is still managing to keep up with your demands by pumping at work. You are starting to show a lot of interest in big people food. I imagine we'll start with something like avocado soon. That was both Cayden and Sawyer's first food and it seemed to go over well with them. Mommy is considering trying baby-led weaning with you. We'll see how that goes.

You still love talking. And laughing at Sawyer is still one of your favorite things. Perhaps it's because he's not worried about getting RIGHT in your face to provoke the laughs. We love the way your brothers adore you, and by your eyes, we can see that the feeling is mutual.

Likes: mommy's milk, your brothers, your bouncer, talking, smiling, your feet, riding in your carseat
Dislikes: being overly tired, not being in someone's arms, being fastened into your carseat

weeks eighteen through twenty-one

let's play a game.

It's a game of which kid is this? Because one of our children didn't even know who it was. I ::guess:: we do make the same model over and over. Fun!

But for real, there's no denying our kiddos all resemble each other. And I have a feeling that sometime in the future even I am going to have think really hard about which child I'm looking at. Well, except for Sawyer. Sawyer was born with a head full of hair, so he's easily distinguishable. I'm looking at you, Cayden and Graham. I mean, even down to the knee dimple. It's a little ridiculous, don't you think?

sawyer: fall photos, twenty fourteen.

We're doing pretty good keeping up with Cayden's daily kindergarten activities. We are not doing so well checking up on Sawyer's two-days-a-week 3k activities. I know. It doesn't make sense. So, on Wednesday night when I got an email from Sawyer's teacher reminding us about fall photos the next day, I got a little panicked. We haven't exactly gotten fall clothes out of the attic yet thanks to the always warmer than necessary Alabama "fall." Jeremy and I made a mental note to climb up in the attic the next morning to find something for Sawyer to wear.

But then, I walked into the boys closet the next morning and saw something I forgot we had purchased earlier in the summer on mega-sale. The cutest little hooded sweater in a great oatmeal color. And I knew that it would look adorable paired with a darker pair of shorts. Jeremy had left early for a bible study, but when he got home and saw Sawyer, he agreed: adorable.

Now, let's just hope he didn't smile for the photo like he told me he did. It involved an open mouth and lots of tongue. Yay?

the master bedroom.

I guess we'll just continue on a little home tour here, friends. Last week I shared Cayden and Sawyer's shared room, and I've posted plenty of Graham's nursery as it slowly gets transformed. But today? Today I'm sharing our little retreat in the house.

Our bedroom is finally exactly how we want it. I mean, sure, we'd probably hang some artwork, but since we plan on listing the house this weekend, there's really no point. When I was pregnant with Graham, and we had two boys crashing in our bed on weekend mornings, we decided it was time to upgrade to a king-sized bed. Best decision ever. Except somehow, with all three boys in the bed, it still doesn't seem to be big enough. Weird. Ha!

But the way that tufted headboard pops off our light blue walls? It makes me all swoony. And the sun rises on this side of the house. Jeremy and I have watched some really pretty sunrises because of this. Also, it keeps our room bright and airy. Bright and airy is definitely a home requirement for me.

jamberry launch party.

When I signed up to be a consultant for Jamberry, I was a little anxious about hosting parties. It is completely out of my comfort zone to stand up in front of people and be the center of attention. But y'all, something magical happened this past Sunday. I enjoyed myself. Like, I really had a great time talking about the product, playing games and trying on samples. And now I'm wondering if perhaps my thirty-five year old self might be outgrowing her social anxieties? Yeah, maybe not, but it's a start.

Anyway, the party was a blast. It seemed like everyone enjoyed it, and for that I'm grateful. It's true when people say the product sells itself. It really does. I booked five parties and can't wait to see where this leads. Also? I can't wait to pick out some more wraps. Cause, cute.

If you want to place an order for my launch party, just click here. Try to get your orders in by this Friday (Sept. 26). I'm going to close the party down this weekend. You can order anytime though by following that same link!

doctor who.

Any Doctor Who fans out there? Jeremy and I were a little late to the game, but once we started watching it, we couldn't get enough. Since we don't have cable, we currently cannot find a way to watch the newest season. If anyone has any pointers, we'd be glad to take them.

But anywho (haha!), Graham was starting to get tired of only his flat floormat. When my nephew as an itty bitty, my sister got this great exersaucer for him. Before Gage, we'd all been using the same one since my oldest nephew was a baby. He's about to be nine.

Since Graham has total head control and is REALLY working on trying to sit up (stop that, kiddo!), we decided it was time to bring out the exersaucer. Depending on his mood, Graham will sit in this thing playing for up to 20 minutes. And hey, I'll take that! As I was watching him play in it one day last week, it hit me why I liked this new-to-us exersaucer so much. And just to make sure I wasn't crazy, I posed the question to Jeremy.

"Hey babe, you know what this exersaucer reminds me of?"
"Yep. Doctor Who."

And that, my friends, is how I know I married the right guy. Ok, there ::are:: a few other reasons, but the fact that he was right there with me was awesome. And to explain myself, see those little rectangle shaped thingies over his right arm area? Those are totally little Tardis'. And that little building thing that has fallen over on the far left? Reminds me of the hospital that disappeared that one time. And the school house looking thing behind Graham? Reminds me of Amy and Rory's town in that alternate world episode.

Ahem, dork. Right here. And thankfully the man that shares our children is one as well.

cayden and sawyer's room.

It recently dawned on me that I've never shared Cayden and Sawyer's bedroom. And well, to let a secret out of the bag – or is it cat? cat would be SO much more appropriate considering the amount of cats we have – we're planning on listing our home in the next week or so. We finally got the boys' room organized the way we like it, and the way it works best for two wild boys. And since it was clean, I decided to snap a few photos of their shared space.

The bunk beds have worked really well for us. There have been a couple of incidents where we thought we would have to separate the beds (um, a certain four year old jumping from the top bunk to his bean bag and another where a certain two year old decided he should climb down from the top NOT using the ladder), but no problems recently, so bunked they've stayed. We recently moved this six drawer dresser in here from our bedroom. Both boys having three drawers of storage has been awesome.

The closet in this room is a really nice walk-in. It holds all of their shirts on hangers and also houses a bookshelf with most of their toys and all of their books on it. It can start looking a little cluttered, so having it in the closet helps my OCD by not actually being able to see the mess going on.

We picked up a toy box on a semi-recent trip to Ikea. It holds all their big toys that used to sit along the walls of their room. Again, not being able to see a mess when we walk into their room is awesome, so yay toy boxes!

fall soccer, twenty fourteen.

Cayden had his first soccer game this past weekend. I missed it due to another obligation, but word on the street is that he's mostly stopped orbiting the ball. In fact, there might have even been a goal scored. To say that I'm excited about watching him play this weekend would be an understatement. After the past couple of seasons, I feel like he might actually be understanding it and enjoying the game part of soccer. And to see him enjoying it makes it so much more enjoyable for us too.

vendor fun.

It's been months since I've sat at my sewing machine. Months. The last thing I think I sewed were Graham's crib sheets? Or maybe there was a little gift I whipped up for a friend? But otherwise? Nothing. So when a friend asked me if I wanted to participate in a vendor event that benefits a sweet two year old girl, I was all game! This was about two weeks ago. And, um, I had nothing in my stock of baby items to sell.

SO! To the sewing machine I went. I've whipped out some crib sheets, paci clips, coffee cuffs, bibs and sweet little headbands for babies. I'm still not done and the show is tomorrow morning at 9. Eek! Probably going to be a late night tonight. If I see you tomorrow, forgive me if I call you the wrong name. ::wink::

There are a lot of crazy things going on behind the scenes at our house right now. Choosing to jump in on this vendor event may have been poor timing, but it's for a great reason. Also, let's not discuss the fact that our upstairs air unit is broken. Which just happens to be where my sewing machine is. It was a comfy 93º up there a couple of nights ago. So that's fun?

But for real, it's my first vendor event and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. It will probably be a smaller event, and I think that will be a great way for me to dip my toes in the water. I'm also silly-stupid excited about it. That could have something to do with my lack of sleep (Fitbit tells me I got four whole hours and one minute last night!), but I think it also has to do a little something with stepping out of my comfort zone and trying something new. Trying new things seems to be what I do lately...

packpack.

At Sawyer's school, they carry tote bags. Each class' tote bag is decorated according to who their teacher/room is. Sawyer's is decorated like a puppy and is really super-cute. Thankfully they are more geared to the itty bitty's size rather than the bag being as large as they are. But they ARE tote bags. Both straps SHOULD go on one shoulder. Not for Sawyer though. Nope. He likes to wear his like a packpack. And so we let him. Because it's cute. And really not worth the argument with a three year old.

that's my jam.

Perhaps you've seen the term Jamberry floating around? On your Facebook page maybe. Or perhaps in your Instagram feed. Or maybe it's a brand new term to you. If that's the case, let me introduce you!

Jamberry, friends. Friends, Jamberry. These little guys are heat-activated nail wraps that you can apply in the comfort of your own home. And they're also super durable (lasting up to 10 days on your hands with no chipping). I've recently become a consultant for Jamberry and I received my starter kit in the mail yesterday. We had a long day and didn't get home until almost 8 p.m. I had a few other things I needed to take care of (like feed the baby and sew a few things for an upcoming vendor show), so it was close to 10 before I was able to dive in and check out my new goodies.

That didn't stop me from applying my jams though. Nope! It was super easy to apply them myself; even my right hand looks good. Y'all know how hard it can be to apply something with your "wrong" hand, right? Anyway, applied my jams and was good to go. Best thing? I didn't have to wait for my nails to dry before I got in bed. That's right! They were done, I jumped in bed, tucked my hands up under my pillows and this morning, they still look perfect. No sheet marks or texture to be found (tell me you know what I'm talking about!).

So yeah, I'm kind of in love. Showed my nails off to the boys this morning and Sawyer was all, "Wow, those are purty," and Cayden was all, "Um, how did you do that?!?!" Even little boys are impressed. Ha! I have my launch party coming up at the end of the month. If anyone is interested in coming, let me know and I'll shoot you my address.

(Also, Lego movie reference, but I can't get "That's my jam!" out of my head. These nail wraps? They're totally my jam.)