my sweet, funny, sometimes rotten little boy!

having a two year old is, in my opinion, one of the best things ever! he is 100% turning into a little man which kind of breaks this mama's heart, but it's so fun to see him learn & grow, that i don't stay too depressed for long! lately, holden has been doing some seriously hilarious things and i just so badly want to put these months and years in a box that i can pull out and relive any time i want! yes, i'm aware that sounds really odd... but they really do "grow up so fast".

my sweet boy is still a cuddler like no other. every morning, i get him up (he's still in a crib & will stay in a crib until when the baby comes, as far as i can tell), change his dipe and we have almost the same conversation every. single. day. while i'm changing him.

"mama sit."
"oh, you wanna sit with mama?"
"yeah. on da couch."
"ok, you can sit with mama on the couch."
"i watch show. i wanna watch do-wa (dora)."
"ok, we can watch some dora."
"and we cuddle."
"yes, baby, we will cuddle."

it's heart-melting and tender in every possible way! he's also become slightly bossy these days telling me where to sit, what to eat, what to play with (if we are playing together), etc. it must be a pretty common toddler-ism because my niece did the same thing a year ago. it's pretty funny!

one thing that is blowing my mind lately is how much stinkin stuff this kid remembers! he wakes up from his nap talking about something we saw 3 days ago or will tell me who and what he played with at church, whether or not they went to the play place and one time he told me he cried during class at church (which never happens and then the teacher confirmed that it happened that day). he has also been telling me how to get places while we're driving. if i tell him we are going to grandma's house, he tells me where to turn & such. and he constantly points out places we go regularly (grandpa's car lot, target, chick fil a, etc).

"yesh" is holden's fav response to things these days. "do you want a snack?" "yesh". grant & i are getting a big kick out of that!

at this point, i doubt that holden has any clue what the baby in mama's belly is going to mean for him or what i am even talking about when i say that. i will ask him where the baby is and he will lift up my shirt and find my belly and has even kissed my belly (with prompting), but his world is gonna be flipped upside down and he has no idea! we are on the hunt for names for baby 2.0 and the other day, i asked holden to say one of the names and my heart melted into a puddle when he said it. it was seriously the cutest thing ever!

the other night, while driving, grant asked holden "are you a baby?" and holden sharply responded with "no, i'm a boy!"! what? how does he even know that??? and why would he break my heart like that?

another thing that h says regularly is 'hey!' with major umph. as in, every time he says it, I can't help but start singing 'I don't think you're right for him... hey... look at what might have been' (the lumineers song)! i totally crack myself up. whatever! but recently, holden will say 'hey' if we're tickling him, if he's pouting and we look at him, pretty much anytime it'd be funny to say it, he says it. and it's always in the right context! something that he's been saying that isn't quite right is when he says 'because' or 'because why?'. "holden, why aren't you going night night?" "because why?"... it's amusing, to say the least!

it's possible that my urge to jot these things down is stemmed from the reality that my baby isn't going to be the only baby in a few short months. we are beyond overjoyed to be adding to our family, but part of me feels like i will never have enough one on one time with my sweet holden crew! mamas of two, three, four... please tell me this is normal!

my sweet love's bday!

my sweet holden turned the big two yesterday and my heart has been overflowing for days! he's simply the best thing that ever happened to me and is a constant reminder of the lord's goodness. but how does it seem he was this little yesterday?

and by little, of course i mean all 10lbs 4oz of him at birth... ha!

i know these first years go by so quickly that i'm consciously trying to soak it all in. i'm attempting to store every funny phrase and silly face in my proverbial memory box, but still the days, months and now years are passing before my eyes. 

i don't want to forget...

-how he says "cuuudddlllle" in the morning when he's sitting on my lap on the couch, but wants under the covers, too. 

-how when he knows he's doing something dangerous he will say "carefulllll" to himself. 

-that the first thing he wants to do in the morning when he sees daddy is get ok the bed and jump. he asks for this by saying "daddy bed, daddy bed". 

-his love for walks and saying "big jump" over the sidewalk cracks. 

-how observant he is. doesn't miss a beat when it comes to mommy eating something, his bunny missing or the scarecrow fall decoration i set out during naptime. 

-when i realized he really does know his colors (although he tells me a random color every time). all it took was some m&m's and me requiring him to tell me the color before he could have one. little stinker!

yesterday, we had a pretty low key day which is perfect for holden's personality! we started the day w birthday pancakes. i added sprinkles and choc chips and let him dip in syrup. all things that i typically wouldn't do, but felt was completely necessary yesterday! :)

since he'd been up half the night before, we stayed home and played for the majority of the day. i started some of the baking for his bday party this weekend and asked him to help! he is such a good helper and it's obvious how special it makes him feel! 

 we met up w grant's family for dinner and gma brought a little surprise! h loves surprises, to say the least! he kept saying 'prize' and couldn't get it open quick enough! 

i tried to get a pic w the birthday boy, but that wasn't happening. typical toddler pic! 

we chose texas roadhouse for dinner so that h could ride the saddle. well, as expected, he hated it... my sweet boy kept saying 'i scared' and all done. poor buddy! gpa eventually sat on the saddle and held holden while they sang.

he wanted everyone to wear his cowboy hat besides him...

 

like most people, i had a laundry list of things i swore i'd never do/say as a parent (all said before i was actually a parent, obviously). once you step into the journey of parenthood, loving that baby ultimately is waaay more important than not eating cheerios off the kitchen floor or giving your baby a paci. and for that, i'm grateful. 

yesterday, we celebrated the last two years of being this sweet babe's parents and learning what unconditional love really feels like. my heart is full thinking about the friends & family who love holden like their own. it takes an army to raise a child and i personally think our army is the best...

life around here.

too often, i find myself wanting to freeze my hours. you know... make time stand still so i can accomplish just a few more things. and if i'm being honest, most of my dreams to stop time take place during nap time (go figure). there are just too many toys to pick up, too many emails to return, too many dishes to wash, too many loads of laundry staring at me... and sometimes just too many things on the dvr to catch up on.

i've tried to be intentional about truly participating in life w holden (and grant, too). engaging in conversations, sitting on the floor when he (holden) asks me to, not being too busy to take a walk when it's beautiful out, etc. but, let's be honest... some of the toys, emails, dishes & laundry wiggle their way into a top priority spot. today, i'm having one of those days where i sit and think 'holy cow, how did my almost two year old become an almost two year old???'. i know every mom has had moments of panic like this, so i know i'm not alone... but it definitely makes me long for my baby to still be a baby.

as we move into fall, i have lofty plans of seeing all of my pinterest crafts come to fruition and for my house to smell like fresh pumpkiny goodness at all times. and in all honesty, even if i had all the time in the world, this still wouldn't be the case. i would still need more time. but, i can say, having children makes you painfully aware of how quickly time really does go. and it makes me want to spend any extra hours i find myself with pouring them into my boy.

so, on this beautiful fall day... the reality is that as soon as h gets up from his nap, we will be off on a handful of errands. but, i plan to make these errands memorable and time that i cherish rather than just "getting through it". and maybe we will have a little starbucks date or something while we're at it. memories don't have to be some fancy vacation or buying expensive toys... memories are the day-to-day quality time.

holden saying 'mama sit' in the middle of the sidewalk just because.

the secret to dressing little boys!

before i had holden, i naturally found myself in the little girl's department at stores instead of the little boys! i didn't do it on purpose and there truly wasn't any part of me that wished i was having a daughter instead of a son, but the frills, lace, leopard print and bows just made my heart melt so much quicker than polo shirts and khaki cargo shorts! i know i'm not alone in this!!!

a friend of mine (who is prego w her 3rd babe, but first boy) recently posted something on facebook about how much harder it is to find cute baby boy stuff and it seems more expensive, too. i feel like that is a completely accurate statement... but once you find out where to shop, what to stay away from, it's easy as pie! i may pay a little more per item with holden, but i don't buy near as many things as my friends who have girls, so it probably balances out!!

my goal w dressing holden is to mainly buy pieces that i absolutely love. for now, we aren't big into the 'traditional' little boy attire: baseballs, fire trucks & monkeys. since those are the typical type of boy clothes, it can be tricky to find cute clothes! i try to focus on buying pieces that i can dress up or down, mix & match and he can wear many, many times. so, this means, that i will pay $15ish dollars for his skinny jeans at h&m. but, those $15 jeans will literally be worn for months. h&m jeans have adjustable waists, so he wears them on the tightest setting until he doesn't need them tightened at all. when they are on the tightest setting, we have had to roll them at times (which is totally in style & not lame, fyi!!). i literally cannot rave about the pants from h&m enough! holden is 21 mos and we just put away his yellow pair of pants that are size 6-9mos (h&m does run big, but not that big!).

since people comment on h's clothes all. the. time... i though it'd be fun to do a post some pics & tell you where i snagged the pieces from! i do buy some stuff second hand, but the pieces i always prefer to dress him in are things i've bought recently cause they are trendy!!

it prob goes without saying, but my number one store for little boy clothes is h&m. hands down. no competition. and, if you aren't lucky enough to have an h&m in your mall, they just opened their online store! after h&m, target & old navy are probably tied. and then i occasionally pick up pieces at kohl's, children's place & gymboree. we also have a store here called crazy 8 (a sister company of gymboree) that i've gotten a few things from. 

here's some examples of little boy outfits that are still totally boy without being lame (in my opinion!)!!

shirt: old navy, jeans (relaxed style): h&m

hat: crazy 8, shirt: old navy, pants: h&m, flip flops: babies r us 

shirt: carter's (got at kohl's), cardigan & skinny jeans: h&m, shoes: converse 

shirt: old navy, pants: h&m, soft shoes: ministar brand (target)

onesie: old navy, shorts (they have fishbones on them): children's place, dino shoes: target

shirt: children's place, bow tie: target (was $2.50!!), jeans: h&m, flip flops: babies r us

shirt, cardigan & jeans: h&m, dino shoes: target

bow ties are HUGE right now for little boys of all ages. my fav company to buy them from is on etsy: little gentlemen. they are spendy, so i don't get them often. however, i fully plan on him wearing them for years to come & on any future sons we may have!

moral of the story: little boy clothes may not initially be as cute or fun to buy, but i promise that everyone loves a well-dressed little boy! people comment on holden's clothes almost everywhere we go and i assume it's because i put a little bit of thought into dressing him! have fun with dressing your boys, mamas!! and splurge on a few key pieces that you love! it'll make all the difference!! :)

little bit of sweet with a side of rotton!

i've said it before, but holden really is at the best age right now! sure, theres plenty of rotton in him to keep me on my toes, but he's also the sweetest he's ever been. he hands out loves like they're candy & is so smart. so smart. i am trying with all of my might to soak up this stage... his giggles, hugs & inquisitive personality. these past (almost) two years have literally flown by. i wish i could make time stand still, but i also know that what's to come will be perfect & wonderful all in its own way! today, though, i just want to remember the little moments w my boy!

falling asleep during our walk the other day. 

my happy lil shopper!

the famous spitting face right now...

he's obsessed w bunnies & i'm obsessed w him. it works! 

hope you have a great wednesday... full of soaking up the sweet (and sometimes rotton!) moments!

stuff can wait.

some days just don't go as planned. actually, make that most days. especially if you're a mama!

today, i had all sorts of ideas for how i wanted to spend the day... shopping at target (alone!), going to the gym, pedicure (or at least painting my nails), maybe the mall, maybe the pool, cleaning my house that got destroyed under daddy's watch yesterday (ugh)! BUT... as you can probably guess. that's not how my day has unfolded. in fact, it's quite the opposite. 

grant had a last minute project get dropped in his lap today, so immediately after church, he headed to his office. womp womp. so, i'm on mama duty all day. which means no target, no gym, no pedicure. 

we got home from church and i laid my non-paci baby down for his nap. he's been doing SO good with just putting himself  to sleep after i lay him down, so i wasn't expecting much different. after an hour of him just talking in there, i checked on him (thinking he had pooped or something). no poop... he was just havin a one man party in there. after i checked on him, he pretty much made up his mind that he wasn't taking a nap. cue my excitement. so, after getting him to sleep in my arms THREE different times and laying him down, he would immediately start crying when i walked out. after the 4th time of getting him to sleep, i decided to just forget my lofty plans for the day.

at the moment, we are having a great snuggle sesh on the couch and i am overwhelmed with how good god has been to me. i could not have dreamed of a more perfect child for us than holden! he's seriously my best friend and my heart is so full just holding him. sure, I've got stuff i could be doing... but stuff will be there tomorrow and stuff doesn't require their mama quite like my little love. 

take time today to thank god for his perfect gifts and for his hand that is over your life!

on the road.

we are off to the land of 10,000 lakes today to spend a week w my family!!! i live for this week each summer! it's full of a huge family reunion, mustang rides, bonfires, seeing old friends and spending some great time with my family! love!

it's 7:08 and my alarm is set for 7:30. annoying! holden was awake at 6 just jibber jabbering and then fell back asleep. i tried w all my might to go back to sleep, but it wasn't happening! so, i'm embracing this early (for me) morning and took a shower while i had the chance (ie no baby trying to peek in on me or bringing every toy he owns to play on the bathroom floor... i know-barf!)!

i pray you have a great holiday weekend! eat some tasty treats, embrace the fabulous weather, take a nap! 

oh, and i just snapped a few pics of holden the other night. he's so at the age that he won't give you a good smile for free! oh no... you gotta work for that sucker!!! we got a lot of good ones, but have been too busy to edit any others! here's my sweet lil love! his ummm 20 month pics... haha! they may just be his really delayed 18 mos pics or they might be his 18 mos AND 24 mos pics if i don't get around to it again in nov! yikes! life of a photographer!!!

he's reaching for the stick that he was playing with! it was my tickling stick! yes... tickling his belly with a stick all while trying to snap a few decent pics!!! i'm exhausted just thinkin about it!! ha

have a great day!! :)

he still needs his mama.

i have had a lot of moments here lately where i think to myself that my baby is almost not a baby. and then i have to hold back the tears. where, oh where, has the time gone???

holden is now a year and a half and acting more and more like a little boy and less and less like a baby. i know it's natural. if this wasn't happening, i would be concerned... but that doesn't make it any easier!!

i am in LOVE with the stage that holden is in. he is curious, adventurous, full of communication and a little ornery at times. he challenges my patience and reminds me often that motherhood is not for the faint at heart. and that's even more why i love him. he makes me more like jesus. he sharpens my attitude, my outlook on life and reminds me to have a little zeal in each day.

now that summer is here, we are getting outside more. lots of walks, lots of playing on grandma & grandpa's putting green, lots of playdates at parks... and lots of knee scrapes. it's an unfortunate part of toddlerhood. holden is a walker, for sure, but he's still a little unsteady and concrete isn't forgiving. so... with summer comes lots of boo boo kisses, too. i don't wish for boo boos, but i can't help but soak up every moment afterwards when all he wants is his mama. 

i dream of the woman he will marry, his future kids, his future job, where he'll live, what ministries he will be leading. his future is bright and it's hard to not want him to be my baby forever. 

the good news is... he's still my baby. and he still needs his mama. and, i'm hoping, he always will.

easter fun!

i've been meaning to give a lil easter recap since sunday night, but i've had a lame fever off & on and dizzy spells. not sure what i caught, but i'm just now starting to feel better!

we had a great easter! we got up and went to the 2nd service at our church and then headed to my in-laws' house for a good home cooked lunch! we also had a lil easter egg hunt for holden and his only cousin, roslyn! too fun!

here's my dear friend, erica, and her precious emmy. this was after church and holden was due for a nap hence the no cooperation for a smile!

daddy & holden. still due for a nap and the smile factory was shut down. :(

the one pic we kinda got a smile out of him! and this was like 1 of 20 pics we snapped! isn't he the cutest, though??

i desperately tried to get a good shot of his outfit and the lil rascal wouldn't stay still! here he is being dora the explorer and checking out the dead plants! whatever... he was still!

getting the hang of the egg search! he didn't care that there was even anything in them... he just liked to hold onto them! maybe next year...

opening his many easter baskets. gma & gpa thompson got him one, gma & gpa abbott got him one AND we got him one! lots of goodies!!! can you hear him making his vrooom sound??? 

mama & holden. love the patterns & colors in this one. love his lil dino shoes!! 

the best of the best! love my sweet sister & brother!!!

we ended the day on a good note with some strawberry jello poke cake! it was my first time making it and i will def be saving the recipe for later use!!!

check back tomorrow for my fav monster cookie recipe, as promised! you will seriously want to run out and make these after you see them! oh yum!

holden's first bday party!

my sweet holden crew turned one back in november. such a fun day to think back to exactly 365 days prior and where i was, what i was doing and the craziness that changed my life that day. november 7th will always be one of my best memories. the day i met my sweet boy.

i scoured pinterest for months gathering ideas and then i got my diy on. i didn't go crazy and certainly don't think my party was the best of the best, but i had fun getting everything ready. having our closest friends and fam all in one room to celebrate the most important lil guy in my life was overwhelmingly fab.

ok, on to the fun stuff!

for the front door, i wanted people to get an idea of the theme right off the bat! i made a little life preserver wreath from a tutorial i found online. i hung it with a navy blue ribbon since it was a beefy wreath and wouldn't fit on the hanger. simple balloons, the O N E letters are from michael's (spray painted them white) and the framed anchor is just a couple pieces of scrapbook paper. i used a cricut for all of the shapes & letters!

the food spread! i wanted to keep everything festive with red, white & blue! i found the sailboat fabric at wal mart & just threw it down (rough edges & all - who cares?!)! 

i loved the idea of having a personalized fancy smash cake for holden and then i thought about spending serious cash on something like that & decided it was craze. opted for a giant homemade funfetti cupcake instead! borrowed the cupcake pan from a friend & went to town! i also made the regular cupcakes in the back (funfetti & red velvet). i ordered the cupcakes picks online & they made it so fun! i also made some simple white choc covered pretzels & threw on some fun sprinkles!

these brownies were such a hit! found the recipe on pinterest, but it's a betty crocker (old faithful). they were so yummy and even better leftover (kept them in the fridge). have this recipe saved in my 'pinned & tried' board for quick reference! :)

i thought it'd be fun to have a newborn pic and a recent pic of holden since many friends of ours didn't meet holden til he was a couple months old. got the frames at faithful target - nate berkus, my fav!! the crate that the one pic is sitting on is from michael's. was just raw wood and i spray painted it. wouldn't recommend this project cause it was a pain in the butt!!!!

the 'holden is one' banner is one of my fav details! it took some time, but the cricut made it SO easy. i found a tutorial online & searched high and low for good scrapbook paper. if i ever make a banner in the future, i plan on buying the paper online. WAY more options!! it's all hanging on a navy blue ribbon. how perf that my MIL's kitchen was red, huh? 

the OCD part of me hated that his high chair didn't match the theme, but i slapped a lil banner on it and it was fine! thought this would be cute for all his smash pics!!

like a week before the party, i was racking my brain on what i wanted holden to wear. one night, we stopped at a restaurant by the mall for dinner. there was like a 45 min wait, so we ran over to h & m and then this shirt called my name! :) it was the only one and it was just his size. said 'above board' on the back and had anchors on the front. i was in love!

up until this point, holden really hadn't had much sugar. no cookies, ice cream, nothin! i don't think he knew what to think of it! ps-can you see just how big that cupcake is! it's like the size of his head! also... hello, thighs!!!!!

here's holden, his bff ben & his future wifey emersyn! 3 pees in a pod! also, this pic shows their personalities to a T!!!!

i'll end with one of my fav pics! my parents drove the 9 hours to come be here for his party and they brought all sorts of goodies, including this trike! holden was IN LOVE with this thing! i'm hoping his legs will be long enough for him to ride it this summer!

holden's party was such a day of blessings. standing in a room with people that i love and that love my baby... what more could i ask for?