2012: a year in photos

instaFriday 12.28.12

weeds in the sunset / old sink / cousins talking at the old farm

sawyer was a wee bit tired / snowmen at the nativity / christmas morning

the aftermath / enjoying christmas movies / mmm... eggrolls

my childhood stocking / pop with the boys / to infinity & beyond - with mary & baby jesus

linking up with jeannette

instaFriday 12.21.12

christmas in our home / sawyer's happiness with a beanbag / watching the last episode of gossip girl

these two / breakfast with my love / bama sock monkey

beer & bath / a little sparkle for a little party / our mcdonald's has been redecorated

linking up with jeannette

cayden's convos

our big guy is really tickling us with the things he says these days. to hopefully keep track of it and to remember forever, i'm going to start including these kinds of posts...

setting: cayden has a puzzle on the couch he's putting together. he's standing in front of the couch leaning over the couch cushions. jeremy notices that he's having some problems so he leans in to help him out.

cayden: daddy, you gotta get outta my face.

jeremy: o_O

and then jeremy comes and tells me and we bust into a fit of giggles and reflect on the hilarity that is our three year old. who has no idea that he's funny.

happiness

these little people that we've been blessed with sometimes steal our breath away in the sweet little everyday things they do.

monday, on the way to school, cayden said, "mommy... i'm big now." jeremy and i tried and tried to convince him that he was still small, but it didn't work. he was adamant about being a big. of course, we used it to our advantage by asking if big boys wet their underwear, or bite or don't listen to their teachers... cayden agreed that big boys do in fact NOT do any of those things. and so far? so good!

monday night when we were watching some of our friends' boys, sawyer fell in love with balin's beanbag. he just kept falling back into it and squealing with joy. i decided to grab my phone and try to get a shot of his happiness. and what i captured? pure joy. (as a side note, jeremy and i are VERY glad that santa decided to bring a beanbag to sawyer this year. it should go over well!)

we thank God every day for these sweet little boys. so glad that we can be blessed with the small and big joys they bring to our lives.

christmas lights

friday night, we loaded the boys up to go look at christmas lights. we thought it would be a fun tradition to start with them. perhaps they're still a little young? and we're not sure how much sawyer could actually see facing backwards, but we had a great time.

there was one awesome neighborhood that had the BEST lights. i mean, definitely borderline tacky. i took a few snapshots of the "winners." good stuff. every time we took a turn, there was another house. it was like the neighborhood had some unspoken competition going on.



and then for the grand finale, we'd read about a house close to ours that had programmed lights. we didn't get the best parking spot - it was crowded - but it was still awesome. please enjoy the video. complete with a coughing baby, whining child and laughing husband.

instaFriday 12.14.12

the BEST bedhead / matching christmas jammies = cutest things ever / little man & his sad face

trusting daddy to not let him fall / ice skating cheese / sick day for this nugget

bath time shenanigans / the chevron is strong with this one / colors & textures for the win

linking up with jeannette

the farmer & the dell

oh my goodness. this song. it gets sung ALL. THE. TIME. no lie. this is only a snippet, but little man will sing the whole thing by himself on any given whim. we have a routine at bedtime: we read one book of cayden's choice, then the bible, then say our prayers, then he lays down and gets to pick two songs to sing before he goes to sleep. and one of them is always farmer and the dell. this song makes absolutely no sense to me, but cayden loves it so. & i really love listening to his little voice singing it. such a sweet little voice!

ice skating!

jeremy is a small group leader for our church's middle school youth group. (wow, that was a lot of words.) anyway, our youth are a pretty cool group of kids and the youth ministers at our church couldn't possibly be any cooler either. and i'm not just saying that because we're friends with them. i can only hope that by the time cayden and sawyer (and any other children that might come our way) will have people they can look up to like our current youth leaders.

but i digress. it was a big weekend for the 6th-8th graders this weekend. friday night they had a lock-in. and it's honestly the coolest lock-in i've ever heard of. (there was lazer tag, scavenger hunts, some sort of zombie tag game, etc.) jeremy participated. stayed up all night with those kids. apparently there were close to 100 kids there — amazing, right? anyway, jeremy could have been cast in the walking dead on saturday (minus all of the creepy make-up). but he was so excited about how the night had gone and i got excited hearing him talk about it....

and last night, they had their christmas party at the local ice skating rink. usually when there are outings like that, we take both of the boys. (last time it was a back to school party at the bounce house. i mean, that's a win-win for everyone.) ice skates on the littlest allen boy just wasn't going to happen (andplusalso? he was feeling kind of puny), so i stayed home with sawyer while cayden got to go with jeremy. and oh, the cuteness that is a three year old with ice skates on. i love seeing all these new things that the boys get to do. it's just so awesome to experience it all through their eyes!

instaFriday 12.07.12

all the cousins / sweet pup silhouette / three little monkeys
sick day = craft day / perfect snack / result of craftiness

linking up with jeannette

santa 2012 style

santa went exactly how we expected this year. everyone was happy and all smiles while we stood in line. and then the moment came. is that not hilarious? yeah, we think so too!

cayden adored santa this year. even walked up to him and said, "i like you santa." and santa being the great guy that he is, responded with a hearty, "i like you, too." cayden climbed right up beside him on the bench and continued to talk to santa. jeremy carefully tried to back sawyer into santa's lap... but i think we can all see how that went. so while sawyer was screaming, cayden was smiling and talking. the photo? epic for sure. and sawyer closely resembles a one and a half year old cayden a couple of years ago. it was perfect. and even after we got sawyer off santa's lap, cayden continued to chat with santa... telling him about the 'vengers, 'vengers bicycle & 'vengers skateboard that he wants. too bad his interest in the avengers didn't come last year. you know, when everyone had avengers everything. santa's going to be getting creative this year for sure.

after santa, we hopped on over to the carousel - complete with reindeer! sawyer was very uninterested in the carousel at first. like busting eardrums-type of uninterested. but after it started going, he calmed down and enjoyed the ride. cayden was mesmerized and loved it. and jeremy? well, i think you can hear how he felt about it. it was a wonderful morning that was mostly enjoyed by the kiddos. and i can't wait to add this years photo to the previous ones! (2011, 2010, 2009)

instaFriday 11.23.12 & 11.30.12

baking / pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese icing / sawyer not eating

all the food / afternoons are for napping / cayden's first go at the wii

all my boys hiking / jeremy & sawyer on the cliff / me & sawyer walking

our little santa / 100+ inches of iron bowl / little nugget asleep before i could get jammies on

cayden's new way of bathing / roll tide / yes, please

linking up with jeannette

seventeen months

once the boys passed the one year mark, i wasn't as routine with posting monthly updates. but this month? this month felt like it needed a monthly update.

our little nugget is still small. but his personality? oh, his personality is big. huge, even. and oh-so-loud! he's not afraid to use his voice in any way he can to communicate. whether he's fighting with his brother or screaming for more milk, we definitely hear him. and while jeremy and i were concerned about his speech, it seems as though it's starting to expand daily. his voice is the cutest thing i've heard (since we first heard cayden's voice, of course). and when he uses the words he has, his eyes get real big too. it's adorable and hilarious all at once.

little brother likes to think that he's as big as cayden. tries to do everything he does. we went hiking with both boys for the first time this past weekend. we had sawyer in a backpack for the most part, but when we let him loose, people, watch out. he thought he could scale the rocks all by himself. we let him try for sure (but were most definitely close to catch him).

i think sawyer's going to be a very passionate kid. i don't think he does anything half-heartedly. it's all or nothing with him. oh, and don't try to get on to him for acting up. he'll look at you with his big brownish-green eyes and stick out his lower lip and cry this most pitiful cry. it's so sad, but also so unnecessary that we can't help but giggle.

it's hard to believe that he'll be a year and a half next month. half way to two. geez, we thought cayden as a two year old was scary; i'm not sure what to expect with sawyer. yikes! but so exciting all the same. oh, sweet nugget, you're keeping us on our toes... but i guess we kind of like it that way...

sometimes they do play together

StitchFix #2

monday? monday was a fabulous mail day for me. i had been expecting my next stitchfix in the mail on friday and was uber-sad when it didn't show up friday. or saturday. but hey, it showed up monday along with my birchbox, so all around, a good mail day for me!

this time around i'd requested to have some things sent that were a little dressier that i could use for all the holiday fun coming up. i had jeremy help me snap some quick photos this morning of the three things that were in the running to be kept. and sadly, we'd left our camera at the office, so phone pics will have to do.

i loved that navy dress. loved it. but then i started thinking about a navy dress i bought last year (admittedly, not nearly as cute as this one) and realized i never wore it. navy's a hard color for me. i don't know what kind of tight or boot to wear. and while it seemed perfect for church, it was a little too fancy for an every day type of thing after the holidays. it came with a matching belt, but i thought this belt looked really good with it too (cool story? it was jeremy's pawpaw's belt!). and the black tunic? i thought i was going to love it. but it was pretty boxy and quite possibly a size too big.

oh, this lace top though! so pretty and feminine and definitely able to dress up or down. and i'm pretty sure i can wear this year round (right fashionistas?). i think i'll dress it up for turkey day tomorrow. and by dress it up, i most likely mean wear a pair of flats rather than toms. ugh, seriously, so challenged in the fashion department. it's almost hysterical. anyway, so black lace top is the keeper this round!

(and please to be disregarding the mess that is our bedroom behind me. we're filthy. ok, not really. but the mornings are a whirlwind and we leave that place a wreck most days.)

-----

as a side note, if you're wondering what stitchfix is, it's this really cool company that will "style" you. you answer some questions honestly about your clothing preferences, size, etc. and a stylist will put you a box together. it's not a monthly things; it's a choose when you want it to come thing. if you're interested, sign up yourself! there might be a small wait list  but it's completely worth it to treat yourself to this every so often!

a lovely shower brunch

on saturday morning, my mom and i hosted a small shower for my sister. we made it a brunch because who doesn't love breakfast food? we went a little overboard and apparently thought we were cooking for 50 (rather than 20ish) and had tons left over. leftovers for breakfast on sunday morning for the win!

we all had a beautiful time. family came in for the festivity. old and new friends joined in on the fun. and a good time was had. we laughed. we ooh'd and ahh'd over the cutest little things. i played photographer and just had the biggest grin on my face all morning long.

i cannot wait to meet sweet gage. and i know there are plenty of others with my same thoughts. looking down on the face of another little nephew is just going to give me such joy that i'm not even sure how to put it into words. so while i can't wait to meet him, i'm ok with him staying put for just a bit longer. january 8 if we're going to be specific. so yay for a little bundle of joy coming shortly after christmas. it's going to be a good year.

instaFriday [11.16.12]

what a week friends! i've been so quiet around here this week. that's usually a sign of things going on at home and in life in general. and well? that would be the case for this week. you see, tomorrow we're celebrating my sister and the upcoming arrival of my newest nephew, gage. so i've been madly preparing things all week for her shower tomorrow morning. i'm thrilled that i'm getting to throw her this shower as i also helped throw her first shower for my now seven year old nephew. so many friends are having babies and i'm so excited to squish all their faces. eek!

but anyway, that explains my lack around here this week. hoping to correct that next week. so for now, i leave you with some fun grabs from the past week.

jade letting us know it's too bright without blinds / little gifts of toddlerhood we find around the house / finishing the master

little butts in the air while napping / nana found my old mouse ears, cayden approves / nugget had an ear infection

sawyer masters the cob / little gifts for sweet little nephews / coloring before dinner

linking up with jeannette

instaFriday [11.09.12]

nugget got stuck under the bed / his new favorite thing to do / happy about scarf weather

joy in a cup / big boy after bath / cute coffee cuffs 

baths morning & night when you poop so much / friday! / actually wanting his picture taken

linking up with jeannette

gangnam style

we took the jeep out on saturday. it'll probably be the last warm day of the year and we took advantage of it for sure. we don't usually make a habit of tuning in to the local pop/dance station, but for some reason we did on saturday. and i have to say, i'm so thankful we did! we caught this awesome/awkward angle of sawyer dancing (think phone held over a head and backwards). it makes me giggle every time i watch it! (oh, and apologies for the wind noise... but sawyer's hair blowing in the wind makes it worth it!)

a superhero, a ninja & a monkey, oh my

oh halloween. you're such a neat holiday for the kiddos. ok, and for the adults. we seem to have started a tradition last year of having my sister come over with our nephew. this year was no different EXCEPT that we got to start at my parents house (because they finally moved back to alabama!). we had some soup & grilled cheeses and went on our merry way. we got a bit of a late start i suppose as it was completely dark by the time we got going, but our boys were troopers and tried to hit up every house in the neighborhood.

sawyer even went up to a few doors, but then quickly became just as happy strapped in the stroller. he also had quite a little dance party in the stroller while my sister pushed him. it ::may:: have had something to do with the candy his daddy kept feeding him, but whatevs. everyone had a great time. & i'm most definitely looking forward to continuing this tradition again next year...

(also, someone please tell me why the 16 month old is the only one actually looking at the camera in the bottom set? these photos crack me up!)

instaFriday [11.02.12]

sawyer dancing in the kitchen / trunk or treat / naked piano playing

a sour & sweet afternoon treat / morning run before work / spiderman & a sock monkey

sick sawyer in brother's seat / taking a relaxing bath / passed out

linking up with jeannette

a little pumpkin carving

perhaps too many photos for one post? but i couldn't seem to narrow it down. this is actually the first year we've carved a pumpkin with the boys. cayden's reaction to the top coming off was priceless. and both of them reacting to the guts was silly and adorable. overall, we had a great time. upon lighting the jack-o-lantern up, cayden squeals, "he's so cute!" yep, buddy, definitely a cute pumpkin.

trunk or treat

there are moments where are our kids look absolutely adorable and i think about all the great photo opportunities i'm going to have. trunk or treat at our church with the itty bitties dressed up in costume? yes! photos will be taken. lots of them!

& then reality sets in and you realize that while your husband is helping to run one of the spooky trunks, you're left with the 3 and 1 year old. which honestly, both require a hand because the place is packed. which leaves zero room for a camera in any hand. i snapped one quick photo before we got started of the nugget. and i only got this one because jeremy helped us all get to the festival in one piece and he was adjusting cayden's spiderman mask.

but you know what? we had a blast. sawyer ended up being completely uninterested in the trick-or-treating and was thoroughly content to sit in the trunk where jeremy was working. i'm not entirely sure how many smarties and twizzlers he consumed, but i'm guessing it was a lot judging from his excitedness the rest of the night. cayden and i? we went around to most of the cars and then spent some time in the bouncy house area. little man loved it! and we shared some cotton candy. and i ate most of it. and then the whole way home cayden repeatedly told me how sad he was that the cotton candy was gone. i promised him more sometime soon. and all was well.