feeding the reindeer

in order for santa to come to one's home, you must lay out some food for the reindeer, no? turn up the volume on this one, friends. cayden had a great time spreading the reindeer food around. and santa? he most definitely came to visit! hoping to have photos from the big day up tonight!

too cool for santa

for real. way too cool for santa this year. our chill little dude from last year's santa photo is no more. but i swear i read something on the interwebs just yesterday that said something along the lines of showing fear of santa is a sign of intelligence. so we'll just go with that. (& according to this photo, my kid? is going to be a genius!)

also, can we please note that santa must now use a cell phone. it's clearly too important to leave his side! (i was going to photoshop it out, but it made me laugh when i saw it. so go ahead, you can laugh too!)

there's a thief among us

& he likes to steal baby jesus. a lot.

(sorry for the darkness, but you gotta be sneaky when catching a thief on film.)

{not so} wordless wednesday: busy, busy

guys? i've been the worst at updating the blog lately. i know this. you know this. we all know this. & i apologize. things have been super crazy with the holidays and travel and whatnot. and well, other things have kept me a little bit busy too.

things like chasing around a one and a half year old (toddler mamas, i think we can all agree that this alone tires one out, right?). and we've had a sick cat who still happens to be at the vet this morning. (we think it's just a uti, so nothing really serious, but still, it's a mess to deal with.)

but i would guess the biggest thing that's kept me busy (and no, it's not the shop. but hoping to change that soon.) would be the whole growing a baby thing. pause. rewind. read that sentence again. yes! i'm pregnant. cayden will be a big brother next summer and we couldn't be more excited! sure, cayden really has no idea what that means yet, but he will soon enough!

we had an appointment this past friday to check for a heartbeat. it seems i have a tilted uterus, so rather than make us wait another four weeks to hear the heartbeat, they squeezed us in for an ultrasound. (already? this kiddo is taking after big brother. the exact same thing happened with cayden!) so we got to see lil bit. and lil bit? is a wiggle-worm. with a heart rate of 171 at the moment.

words can't even describe how excited we are! oh, and for those interested, i'm 12 weeks today. and keeping this secret since we found out at 5 weeks? has. been. torture. which may explain the lack of blogging. but now that it's out in the open? more blogging should be able to happen without worry of me letting our secret out. cause, duh, cat's out of the bag now...

and it wouldn't be a {not so} wordless wednesday without a photo:

a first for hugs & kisses designs

hugs & kisses designs had its first request for a wholesale order, and while not a super-huge order, i was thrilled at the opportunity. four of my diaper knitting bags will be for sale in a knitting shop in connecticut! how cool is that? the usual two pockets now have one smaller pocket, er, sleeve, added for knitting needles to slip into. cool, right?

and since this was my first wholesale order, it taught me a few things about preparing multiple items. and how i'll handle this type of transaction in the future. yay! i love learning new things!

doppelganger

since cayden joined our family, jeremy and i have spent hours upon hours just staring at him and observing him.

"he has your lips and my ears."

you know the kind of conversations i'm talking about right? we were pretty much convinced that he looked more like me as a child than jeremy. until last week, when this photo surfaced. short of the brown eyes, could cayden look any more like jeremy circa the 1970s? no, i think not...

eighteen months

sweetest cayden,
you are a jibbering-jabbering fool lately! we say a new word, and you immediately repeat it. you might forget the same word in the next five minutes, but it's still adorable while you repeat it over and over for a little bit. your language seems to be exploding, and it's most likely only a matter of time before the made-up sentences turn into real words.

you have a mouth full of teeth (16!) at the moment. and while we were at your check-up yesterday, we got to see that all your two year molars are swollen, so it's only a matter of time before those start making their way in too.

you are getting much better at communicating with us. when you're hungry, you now sign and say "eat! eat!" and while most people don't care to know this, when you're poopy, you point at your rear end and say "poopy, poopy." which i suppose is the beginning signs that we might need to start thinking about potty training (yikes!).

you love exploring everything. from climbing into small spaces that you barely fit, to climbing things that are ten times larger than you are. and? just yesterday you finally jumped! i mean, your feet barely left the ground, but your daddy and i heard them both slap back down when you hit the ground. perhaps we were a little over-excited about this, but you've been trying to jump for months... so we were very happy for you!

we continue to be amazed and overjoyed with you. your personality has exploded over the last month and we love seeing what new thing you'll bring us each day.

18-month stats:
{weight} 24 pounds, 8 ounces
{height} 33.50 inches
{head} still large

the coolest thing? you only had one shot yesterday – a flu shot... and we don't have to go back to see dr. c until you're two (fingers crossed that we have no sicknesses in between).

wordless wednesday: new best friend

(not entirely sure our kitty whisper feels the same way)

monkeying around

i think you guys will all recognize the little monkey here... but the cow? the cow is mr. reese. he's about three months younger than cayden and my friend beth's little guy. & since beth and i work together, that means we got to be pregnant together (for the most part). and that? was completely awesome. so it's kind of really cool to see these two little dudes growing up together.

bigger boy bed

we haven't swapped cayden over to a toddler bed (mostly because we don't have one). but we did convert the side of his crib to the toddler rail. he sleeps in it just fine at night – hasn't fallen out yet (it's only a matter of time though, right?). nap time however? he doesn't want to lay down and rest. but we're working on it.

here's the little stinker checking out his "new" bed. do you think he likes it? ha!

another shop update!

there are now three {sposie diaper clutches} available in the hugs & kisses designs shop!

such a big boy

when we went to dinner the other night, we decided it was time to try out the booster seat. and while we might not be entirely ready for it, cayden looked adorably cute sitting next to his daddy drinking out of a straw.

also adorably cute? watching your almost one and a half year old (gasp!) dip his fries in ketchup. he's just so dainty with it. never mind that he stuffs the entire fry in his mouth at the end of the video... that part isn't so dainty now is it?

twilight

because i missed wordless wednesday yesterday, can this count as almost no words thursday?

{introducing a new shop item}

ok, i have to admit that i'm REALLY excited about this new item. and i'm also really, really proud of it. without further ado, something that's been brewing in the back of my head for, well, forever. and it's finally come to fruition (after many trials and some tears too)!

introducing the hugs & kisses designs {diaper bag}

would you like to see the inside too? duh, of course you want to!

isn't it beautiful? are you drooling yet? be sure to check it out in the shop. most of these diaper bags will be one of a kind, so if see one you like, be sure to grab while it's still there. more to come soon!

a halloween tease...

... of the cutest lil sock monkey that ever lived. expect to see a few more photos like this over the next week or so. this one is from boo at the zoo (a few more of those to come). the costume seemed to be well received as we kept overhearing people comment on its cuteness. i mean, duh, look who's wearing it :-)

seventeen months

my dearest cayden,

i have no idea where to begin. this month? this month has been incredible. and trying too. to say that you've found your independence might be a slight understatement, but that's ok. we'll consider some of the fits that you're throwing just a way to test us. and most of the time, if we ignore them, you stop. which is awesome. is this an early sign of your terrible twos? or maybe you'll just have the terrible one-and-a-halves? and year two will be truly divine. we'll just have to wait and see.

your vocabulary has pretty much exploded this month. you love "talking" all the time. usually jibber-jabber still, but the more real words you throw in, the more your daddy and i look at each other in shock. earlier this month everything was, "mine." and you couldn't simply just say it; you whined it. and pointed at everything yelling, "mine." we still have no idea where you learned that word... but after repeatedly telling you to just say "please" instead, you quit that habit pretty quickly. you love trucks at the moment (tuk!). you question when we forget to put your shoes on (chooz?). you can't go anywhere without your bear (which admittedly, sounds more like beer, but we understand what you're saying)...

you run like the wind. and when something trips you up, instead of crying about it, you now pick yourself up and keep on your way. you love climbing right now. whether it be the stairs, a ladder, a slide or up into mine or daddy's car. you get to the top of anything and look back at us with this huge, proud grin on your face.

you're still not much of a fan of having your hair rinsed in the bathtub, and for the life of me, we can't figure out how to make you understand how this could be avoided. but mostly you love bath time. and bubbles? omg, you love bubbles in your bath. (and yes, you still love eating them.)

you dance like a fool. arms are your newest addition; pumping them both up and down. it's hilarious and we laugh out loud every time you start busting a move.

we obviously both think you're brilliant. you still love balls! (ball! ball!) and you can kick a soccer ball like no other one year old i've ever seen. you continually surprise with things you learn on your own. oh, and mickey mouse clubhouse? is officially the ONLY thing you watch on tv. and you love toodles (doodle!).

we can't wait to see what this next month brings. and i'm pretty sure we're going to have a small one-and-a-half year old celebration next month.

i could eat you to pieces, i love you so...
mama

{wordless wednesday} in the car

pumpkin patching

over the weekend, we went to tennessee to visit my parents. the cool thing? my in-laws were there visiting my sis-in-law, so we were all able to pumpkin patch together! we headed to gentry's farm. and it was fabulous. acres and acres of things to do and see. cayden could hardly wait to get through the entrance.

there were all sorts of things to discover: from tee-pees, to slides, to chickens, to whatever, this place had it. my favorite shot from the day? jeremy and cayden in this tee-pee together.

gentry's farm has been in operation for years. i can't remember exactly how long, but i want to say the sign at the house said 1849? seriously, the original house was gorgeous (and of course i have no photos of it). but the bricks that were used on the exterior were all made on the property. and to put that into perspective, it was a two-story house.

it was one of those days where we probably stayed longer than we should have. cayden got all sorts of grumpy. mostly because we wouldn't let him get in the pond that was on the property. i know, i know. we're awful parents for not letting him just walk right in... but whatevs. even though he got all grumpy, he was still adorable.

overall? a great experience. i was a little disappointed that all the pumpkins had already been removed from the actual patch and were grouped together in tents to be purchased. in my head there were great shots to be taken there in the patch. but i guess the awesomeness of the rest of the day kind of made up for it.

{and if this wasn't enough photos for you, more can be found here.}

when life gives you lemons...

you eat them, of course. duh.

steppin' out saturday

my friend mandy over at harper's happenings has started a fun saturday blog link-up. it's simple really – just take a photo of what you, your significant other, your kid (seriously, anyone!) are wearing, post that photo, and then tell people a little about your outfit. this week? i decided it was time for us to participate. so, without further ado, mine and cayden's steppin' out premiere:

cayden
halloween t-shirt: target
cute toddler jeans: old navy (hand-me-downs from cousin ethan!)
one-star sneakers: target

mama
floral thermal: target
denim jeggings: target
gray boots: target

hmmm... i think someone might have a slight obsession with target. but just a little one. ok, that's not right. a HUGE obsession with target. i'm working on it. believe me.

good friday? why yes, yes it is.

seriously. this friday has been wonderful so far. not sure that it could get any better... but hey, there's still quite a few hours in the day, so i'll leave it open.

we have this award here at work called "park it forward." basically, the previous winner passes the award on to another individual. and this week? it was me! i get an up close and personal parking space for all next week. and then i get to pass it on to someone else. it really made my day to get this, and some very sweet things were said about me. so fun!

then, while i was in a meeting this morning, someone "boo'd" me. apparently we have a new thing going on at work right now. i had a bag of sweet treats and now i have to "boo" two more people. pretty cool, and hey, chocolate!

and most recently, my friend beth and i were able to meet lisa leonard! she was having a meet and greet at a gallery here in birmingham. she's just as cute in person and seems very gracious. i felt a little star-struck. i mean, she's a big-time blogger/crafter... someone i could only aspire to be. and she has this gorgeous little family. if you don't read her blog, you should. it's moving. and beautiful.

and one day? i'll own this necklace (obviously, with different names). but only when we're finished having itty bitties and i can get all their names done at once. cause it's simply divine. so perfect in every little way.

thanks for coming to the south, lisa. we really enjoyed getting to meet you!

giveaways galore

guys, in case you've somehow missed it, yellow songbird has a HUGE mess of giveaways going on at her place. 24 different shops! one every hour for the next two days. and, there might just be a $20 credit to hugs & kisses being offered over there. so get to it and enter you some giveaways. and, go!

silhouette fun

so i had the pleasure of doing a custom silhouette for a twitter friend this past week. and? i have to admit that it's probably one of my favorites. i mean, look at that hair! the wind had blown it up and i think it gives the photo a ton of personality and movement, right? this one was ordered for christmas gifts for family. if you're looking to purchase one for your family for christmas, just visit the hugs & kisses shop for more details!

wordless wednesday: cute consignment find

so i'm playing in a box. big deal.

what? you don't squeeze your way into small spaces just to play with toys? um, duh, it's all the rage right now. bonus points if the small space is bright green and matches your jammies.

race for the cure

can i mention that the guy that took this photo for us was australian? ::swoon::

we survived! but barely. the day? was absolutely gorgeous. it was also a record-breaking heat wave. even for alabama. seriously? in the 90s? i mean, it's freakin' october people. ugh. but again, we made it. us and about 14,998 other participants. yep, you read that right. 15,000 people registered for the race this year. amazing if you ask me!

not so amazing? the awful football game on saturday afternoon. i'm pretty sure you know the game i'm talking about, right? i looked at jeremy when it was over and said, "what do we do? we don't lose. i have no idea how to even comprehend this." i'm not a sore loser though. south carolina probably played the game of their life. and as much as i like to poke fun at mr. spurrier (i mean, watching visors fly is always a highlight of those games!), he was super-gracious at the end when he spoke to the reporter lady. bama screwed up. over and over again. just hoping it doesn't ruffle our feathers too much and that we can move on from this and still have a stellar season!

{new} in the shop!

three more cloth diaper clutches have been added to the hugs & kisses designs shop!

{shaking it}

while tailgating this past weekend, we ran across some people who had some great music blaring. the music was so awesome, that cayden just HAD to dance. as in, he physically could NOT stand still. if you don't laugh out loud at least once at this little clip, i'm pretty certain that you have no heart. or soul. cause seriously? i cry every time i watch it. it's that good. you're welcome!

wordless wednesday: crazy hair & smiles

{tailgating} tuscaloosa, al

and to think that i was worried about this game! ha! honestly though? i think florida pretty much killed themselves. i mean, plenty of opportunities to score, but they didn't carry through. and for that? i'm very thankful!

we didn't actually attend the game, but with tuscaloosa only being an hour away, it's easy to tailgate and still make it home for the game (hello private bathrooms and sofas!).

the day was gorgeous. nice and clear with no humidity. there was, however, still plenty of heat. but not unbearable heat, so i'll take it.

i made myself and cayden shirts just for the day. neither of us is looking too great in these photos. bad shot of me. and the little dude? was dancing with the bottle opener from the cooler so he wouldn't stand still. but you get the gist, no?

we ran into several friends while there. some we'd recently seen... and some we hadn't see in quite some time. overall? the day was full of awesome. if you want to see more photos from the day, just hop on over to my flickr page and view away...

{new} in the shop!

you guys? i am so excited to introduce a new item to the hugs & kisses shop. and all you cloth diaper mamas? get ready for your brain to explode!

i introduce the new {cloth diaper clutch}. created just for cloth diapers (cause let's face it, they're a little bulkier than 'sposies). they hold at least two cloth diapers – we use bum genius, so if you're cloths are slightly less bulky, it might hold three. it'll also hold a travel wipes case. or, if you use cloth wipes, it'll hold a couple of those as well.

the photos don't show it, but there's also a credit card size pocket on the interior. so you really could just throw a couple of your essentials in and this cute clutch is all you need! there are currently three listed in the shop at the moment! get one while they're here!

i have a couple of confessions

first up? i bought jeggings.

gasp! horror! shock!

i know, i know. the word alone makes my skin crawl. but y'all? they're like the most comfortable thing ever. and if my husband is any indication, they actually look kind of cute too. i got mine from target for $20... which is really a price that i can't argue with.

second confession of the day? i'm leaving etsy.

more gasp? more horror? more shock?

never fear, my friends! i'm only leaving etsy to go to big cartel. promise. so you can keep buying those hand-made goods for the itty bitties. there are several reasons i've switched shops, and if you're really curious (like can't sleep) as to why i'm switching over, then i'm open to sharing it with you... things will slowly start to show up over there more than at etsy and i'll continue to post updates here.

{the etsy site will stay open though and i'll still offer a few things from it. but for now, big cartel is the place to go to find your hugs & kisses designs stuff! for now, you can click the o&x button to the right OR the link in my menu bar to get to big cartel.}

gettin' down!

so cayden's dance moves are getting a little more advanced. check out the hand/arm twirls. he just needs a couple of glowsticks, no? (sorry the video's a little vomit-inducing; it's hard to catch this act. oh, and once again, jeremy's featuring his beat-boxing skillz. he's just cool like that.)

working wednesday: bonus room update

and i'm back with working wednesday! (sorry for skipping last week's post; i didn't have time to take photos or pick up. not that anyone really missed it... but i digress...)

today's feature is the entertainment area. we purchased some shelving units from target and arranged them how we needed them to create our own version of an entertainment center. they're perfect for storing our dvds on one side, and on the other side? fabric!

and those cute little black totes? yeah, they hold even more crafting materials that just didn't look as pretty sitting on a shelf. (yes, i'm giving you a small peek into my unorganized side! pretty messy, huh? and honestly, it does drive me nuts that things are just thrown in some of those totes, but i guess that's how it has to be sometimes.)

when this room becomes a full-time entertainment room, we do plan on upgrading the size of the tv just a bit and mounting it on the wall. and this all sits across from where our sofa will go. i love the look of these shelves against our gray walls. and the fabric and dvds add a nice pop of color!

cayden says "hi!"

cayden would like you to excuse his milky mouth and chin please

no really, cayden says hi to EVERYONE now. or he stares at them. which is just impolite, so we taught him to at least wave. so now he waves and says hi. and bye. it doesn't really matter who you are. if he sees you, you'll be greeted in one way or another.

random guy at old navy? loved his "hi!" so much that he then proceeded to ask cayden for a high five. and a high five he got. such a social little guy... he definitely got that from his dad. me? i'm the shy one standing behind everyone. most likely blushing.

lookin' cool

it was a little cooler out this morning (lovely!), so here's cayden's look for school today. i have to admit that he looks pretty cute here. and you can see his new 'do. um, one day his hair might lay flat? or at least look like he hasn't just crawled out of bed? eh, i kinda hope it stays like this forever.