Life in Technicolor.

Embrace the Camera: January 26.

2012-01-26T17:54:00.000-06:00

I love her smile- that tiny mouthful of teeth! She seriously is 13 months old with 13 teeth. How we got lucky with all the teething at once... I don't know ;)

She is funny, sweet, loving, and smart all rolled into one. I can't get enough of her. My little peanut.

Linking up with Emily today...

We {almost} have a walker.

2012-01-25T11:02:00.001-06:00

She's been cruising on everything for months now, and she'd stand alone for a total of a few seconds.

Then, the night of my birthday party, she took a few wobbly steps.

This video was taken on Christmas Eve- you can see what I mean about wobbly. But she's moving, and that's progress. Then, she would only walk to one of us.

These days, she has started to push off things, like her play kitchen, and launching herself into a half walk, half run. It's pretty funny. She still only moves a few steps and then sits carefully or falls onto her hands, but she's getting better. I think we'll have a walker soon.

I tried to get a picture of her walking last night, but getting a picture of her in action is impossible. She's a toddler now, and a constant blur of blue eyes and blonde tangly curls. Can't slow her down for a second with a posed picture, am I right?

I'll do my best to get another video, because she's getting fast.

me right now | january

2012-01-24T18:06:00.001-06:00

Listening to: my current favorites are Mumford & Sons and Florence + The Machine. Selah loves them too. She's always tapping her feet, dancing or singing "ooooh" when either artist is on.

Watching: as always, current favorites are Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill... I never miss an episode. Caleb and I's favorites to watch together are Modern Family and Parenthood (soooo, soooo good.) Now that we've watched every Kardashian episode Netflix offers, including 2 seasons of K&K take Miami, we have to find something else to watch. Which has been a lot of Cake Boss episodes. Seriously, that show is interesting.

Reading: Bossypants by Tina Fey. So dang funny.

Eating: I have been a vegetarian for almost a year now! I mention this to say I've been drinking a lot of protein smoothies, which are delicious. Yesterday I made a killer veggie pizza and I can't wait to make another one. We've also been doing a lot of subs. Mine are simply cheese, tomato, lettuce and mayo. Occasionally I'll fry an egg with tomato and mayo. Yum.

Wearing: a bunch of cardigans paired with skinny jeans and boots whenever possible. At work, it's skirts, leggings and cardigans.

Enjoying: project life, blogging, and ohmygosh INSTAGRAM.

Loving: the fact that Selah is beginning to become such a chatterbox. Her current words of choice are look, that, oooh, hey and whoa. It's so fitting because she's crawling all around the house exploring and learning new things. She's figuring out how her toys and other objects work. She just cracks me up when she makes a discovery. It's also funny that she points at things while she talks.

Thinking about: how fast 2012 is flying. It's almost February and I feel like we just rang in the New Year.

Your turn! Share your currents on your blog or in the comments.

project 1 of 25: clothespin magnets.

2012-01-23T12:24:00.001-06:00

Things are constantly falling off our fridge and I wanted a more effective way of clipping papers and photos, so that was the goal for this project. Though function was the main priority, I like that the magnets had a bit of style to them too. Win win.

I wish there was some sort of complicated process going on here so I could brag about it and throw together a tutorial for you all, but basically, I painted some rubber cement on some clothespins, cut paper and a magnet to fit, and hot glued the magnet strip to the back. Voila. Instant clothespin magnet. I will admit though, I did make about 30 magnets, and it's pretty time consuming, even if it's easy.

I made a few extras and packaged them up for my in-laws' fridge, which was a great little project too.

Onward to the other projects.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This is project 1 of 25.
I am attempting to complete 25 craft projects before I turn 25 on 12/15/12.
You can follow along here on the blog or on Flickr.
See the full explanation here.

25 (projects) before 26.

2012-01-20T09:52:00.000-06:00

This year for my birthday project I've decided to do something a little different. I got the idea from Elise Blaha Cripe ... (do you read her blog? She is a creative genius, I tell you!) and thought it was fantastic. Basically, I attempt to accomplish 25 medium to large craft projects before I turn 26. These have to be personal projects or gifts, which means a lot of sewing, painting, decor projects. Anything I made for my Etsy shop doesn't count as well as recipes or scrapbooking. I've already done 2, so I think I have a handle on this thing. I'm making stuff all the time, but forgetting to blog about it, so this will hold me accountable. It will also give me a deadline to finish those projects that I've started and that have been lingering, waiting to be finished. I'm loving this already. I've always liked the idea of "25 before 26" lists or what have you, but I've never really stuck to them. This 25 project thing is something I'm really looking forward to. And without having a set list in mind, it gives me creative freedom, which is perfect. I love dreaming up things to do next. So, I will try to post the first project I've completed since my birthday tomorrow morning. I'll see you then. I'm excited to keep you all updated.

If any of you are doing birthday lists or other similar projects, please tell me about it!

Roller skatin' and a good luck wish.

2012-01-17T16:24:00.001-06:00

Two weeks ago, Amy (AmySchmamey) and decided to go roller skating one Wednesday night. I honestly haven't been on skates (ice skates, but they're similar) since before I was pregnant, and Amy hadn't been on skates since before she was pregnant either, so we made a plan to SKATE! Our husbands watched our kids (and played Xbox, am I right?) so we could have ourselves a girls night.

I forgot how much I loved roller skating when I was in middle and high school. I pretty much lived at the rink. When I was in elementary school, I wore roller blades all around the house. And in preschool, I had those red, yellow and blue Fisher Price skates that buckled onto your high tops and I would clank and stomp all over the driveway in them. The joys of being an 80s kid. :)

Also, Amy and I both wore our Chuck Taylors without planning it. TWINSIES! Haha.

We decided to give it another go last week, except we went to the good rink this time, and Liz came with us! It was lots of fun, although the place was crowded, and now I'm officially re-hooked on roller skating. I can't wait to go roller skating again with these two.

(pictures courtesy of mine and Amy's instagram feed)

And now that I've been re-initiated into the skating world, I really need to get back on the ice. If you didn't know, two years ago this January I took a basic figure skating class at my local ice skating rink and am a Level 3 skater. I really miss it.

What about you? Do you roller skate or ice skate?

Oh, and speaking of Amyschmamey...

She's going back to school, and tonight is her first class. I know she is freaking out about starting classes! (I would be too!) Be a dear and go wish her good luck, will you?

project life | week two.

2012-01-16T16:23:00.000-06:00

Here we go, week two. Still, can't, can't, can't get enough of this project. Freakin' love it and wish I would have done this in previous years.

(Supply list here)

I like the idea of using quotes every week and I want to try to keep that up. I also like how the four small spaces in the middle allow for a sequence of shots if I'd like to use them, like above. One of my favorite things to do is combine two photos in the large spaces and use stitching to distinguish between the two.

(Supply list here)

The part I look forward to the most when creating these? Assembling them and seeing them come together, yes. But the journaling. Oh, the journaling card. Love that thing. It's the journalist in me.

I'm struggling with Instagrams since I do use those a lot and love the square format, but its a little tricky to place those somewhere. I'm trying to get a better handle on it. For now I'm sticking to miniature scrapbook layouts in the large space.

Want in? It's not too late to start. You can learn more about Project Life, created by Becky Higgins, here.

See other Project Life layouts I've done: title page, week one.

My 25th Birthday {'Stache} Bash!

2012-01-15T19:43:00.002-06:00

*I'm still playing catchup from December, it's such a busy month!

I turned 25 on December 15 (five days after Selah's birthday, see what I mean about craziness in December?) and we had a low key party at our house. I wanted to have fun with it since I was kind of dreading turning 25, haha, so we threw a 'Stache Bash! My favorite part was the mustaches I made from felt and bamboo skewers for a photo booth. We'll get to those in a minute ;)

And now for the photo booth!

project life | week one

2012-01-09T16:21:00.000-06:00

Here we go. Let me repeat how much I am loving this project already. It really is so inspiring for me and I am going crazy over here pinning, scanning scraps, saving quotes, taking pictures of mundane things to get them into my album.

I will say that I've changed the layout up a few times because I'm one of those annoying people that like repetition and consistency in my creativity (another reason this project speaks to me). For example. I started by putting the week in randomly and then I knew I wanted every single week to be in the top left hand corner with the exact dates. I am crazy, no? So from now on every left side layout will have Sunday-Saturday's dates in the top left. The thing is, even though I am a control freak about these little things, the big picture is really stretching me and inspiring my every day life.

I also decided every week I am going to use the same page protector (you can find it here) and rounded mat template that I created. I told you I'm a sucker for consistency!

Trucking on. Here are this week's layouts.

(Supplies used are here).

(Supplies used are here).
Want in? It's not too late to start. You can learn more about Project Life, created by Becky Higgins, here.

See other Project Life layouts I've done: title page.

Selah's 1 year session.

2012-01-06T10:17:00.000-06:00

Another incredible photo session with Heather Cherie Photography. We met at Heather's house back in November to get photos of Selah at 12 months old, including a little cake smash and Christmas outfits for our Christmas card. I loved putting together all the little details- coordinating Christmas outfits, gathering accessories here and there ... (outfit details are at the bottom of each segment, since I know a few of you will ask) and we had fun just hanging out in the backyard for some amazing photos. I already have them all over the house.

This first photo is the one we used for our Christmas card this year ...:)

On Selah: Velvet dress, from a local consignment. Tights, Target. Sweater, Target. Shoes, Target.
On Becca: Velvet dress, Express. Leggings, Forever 21. Belt, Forever 21. Cardigan, Target. Shoes, Target (kids section). Headband, Target (baby section).
On Caleb: Button down, Target. Argyle Sweater, Target. Black skinny jeans, Target. Shoes, TOMS.

On Selah: Petti Romper, SummerInspirations on Etsy. Headband, Target. Pearls, borrowed. Earrings (mine, from Forever 21). Headband, Target (I had to sew it a little bit, it was from the juniors section). Cupcake by Reds Cupcakes.

On Selah: Sailor dress, from a local consignment. Bow, Target.

You can view Selah's newborn session and 3 month session here, 6 month session here, and 9 month session here.

Also, did you notice that the chair she was in for her newborn pictures also made a reappearance in her 1 year session? I have both a newborn picture and a 1 year picture blown up to an 11x14 photo and framed next to each other on my staircase. I. LOVE. THEM.

The start of Project Life.

2012-01-05T15:55:00.000-06:00

For the past two years, I've compiled a digital collage of photos and a little journaling from every month to sum up our year. I thought for sure I'd go the monthly route again, and even sketched out ideas for the collage.

However, I wanted to take the basic concept and create something different for this year. So after some contemplation, I decided to give Project Life a go in 2012. The concept is the same - but instead of summing up our months, this is a weekly thing. I've decided to use two pages per week, with an insert here and there for big things like anniversaries, birthdays and vacations. I've decided to stick with my tried and true method of Photoshop, with a little twist- digital scrapbooking. I've been scrapping in Photoshop with digital products for about 6 months now and I'm pretty much addicted. Although I've been a traditional scrapbooker for years and years now, there is so much versatility when creating digital layouts.

So here we are. This is the title page I created for the project:

(For supplies used, click here.)

I love the fact that I am using page protectors just like a traditional Project Life binder. I also love that I can utilize clipping masks for everything to make it easy to just drop things in and go.

A few days in, and I am just loving this project. 52 weeks are going to fly by.
Want in? It's not too late to start. You can learn more about Project Life, created by Becky Higgins, here.

2011 recap, 2012 one little word, new year's resolutions, and project 365 of sorts.

2012-01-04T13:51:00.000-06:00

In January, we spent a lot of time with newborn baby Selah. Selah spent a lot of time with her new blanket, which quickly became her favorite. She and I dressed up in our Steelers gear for the playoff game. One afternoon it was close to 70 degrees, so we went to the park. I reached my goal of collecting 100 Pez dispensers. We broke out our new Moby wrap and Selah loved hanging out with me all day. We took Selah to her first church service.

We spent our first Valentine's Day together in February. I've never had a date for Valentine's Day before. Selah was dedicated at church and wore the dress I wore to my dedication 24 years ago. I started putting little clips in Selah's hair because her hair had gotten so long. She started sitting in the Bumbo but didn't really like it. Selah has her two month checkup and her nickname Peanut is confirmed. My sisters Sarah and Bethy came to visit. Sarah stayed for a few days and we went to Incredible Pizza. We experienced Snowmaggedon 2011 and were snowed inside for a few days.

March brought even nicer weather and we spent our evenings and weekends outdoors, at the park or on a blanket in the yard. The whole family went to the circus with our friends Savannah, Kacey and their daughter Braylin. Selah and Braylin are a few weeks apart, and we dressed them in matching outfits for life group one night. I painted Selah's toes hot pink and they were a hit since she can reach them. Selah got very strong and started holding herself up and learning to roll over from her stomach. She also found her bottom lip and makes the funniest faces. We graduated her to a convertible seat because she cried in the infant carrier- she didn't like being flat on her back.

Our Anniversary month is April! We celebrated one year on the 23rd. We went to Firehouse Pottery and painted mugs for each other. We took Selah to the Easter Express and to see the Easter Bunny. We got her all dressed up for Easter in a big poofy dress and celebrated at great grandma and grandpas. We tye dyed Easter Eggs. Heather and Hona held their annual tea party (I think this is year 4 or 5?) and Selah loved being around all the girls. Selah's favorite thing this month was the exersaucer - she learned how to turn around and play the piano keys. I made a big batch of rainbow cupcakes for the first time and Selah started eating rice cereal and bananas.

May is a fun month! I put Selah's hair in pigtails for the first time (can you believe she has so much hair?) and they looked so cute. She loves swimming! We bought her a baby pool and she loves to lay there and splash all over the place. Selah also learned how to roll over back to tummy and can roll both ways now. We spent our first Mother's Day together and went to the park. Selah had a play date with her friend Brody (they are a few days apart) and also hung out with Braylin at the lake. Caleb went camping overnight. Selah learned to stick out her tongue. We celebrated Caleb's 21 birthday. We took Selah to a Springfield Cardinals game with our life group. We got all dressed up for a wedding in Branson.

Selah turned 6 months and we threw a little half birthday party for her in June. We gave Selah a little taste of ice cream as part of our half birthday tradition. We also celebrated Father's Day with a picnic at the park after church. Selah painted her feet in Sunday School to give to Caleb. We had family movie night, and everyone camped out in the living room. Selah made her first Build-A-Bear with a gift card from Auntie Sarah. We went to the First Friday Art Walk and Selah loved hanging out in her Moby Wrap. Selah learned how to sit up just in time for her 6 month photos. Selah and I went swimming at an actual pool and she liked being in a float. We had to lower Selah's crib rails since she learned how to pull herself up to standing.

We traveled to Pittsburgh the first week of July and spent 4th of July weekend with my family. Selah loved being with our family, especially hanging out with my sisters. My stepbrother and his wife traveled from Florida as well, so it was great to see them and my nephew Julian, who is a few weeks older than Selah. My sister Rachel was also in town with my nephew Dylan who is a little over a year older than Selah. The cousins were so cute together. It was the first time I didn't have to fly by myself and Selah/Caleb's first time on a plane. Selah did great. We spent a lot of time at Rita's Italian Ice down the road from my parent's houses. Selah enjoyed sparklers on the 4th. Moonshine Beach in Branson finally opened for the year and we took Selah there for the day. She loves the beach! She couldn't get enough of sitting in the sand and playing in the water. She is cutting 4 teeth this month, her first ones. Her new sleeping position is on her tummy with her knees tucked in and an arm behind her head. She is very mobile now and started scooting around. Caleb and I volunteered for Project Partnership at our church and painted a few classrooms.

August was a great month! The most important thing was that Selah can say dada and mama now. She loves to feed herself and actually demands to, and her favorite food is rice. She also enjoys puffs, crunchies and yogurt bites. One Saturday morning we went to the zoo. Selah liked to pet the animals. She got her first pair of real jeans and started wearing her hair in a ponytail at only 8 months old. We found vintage outfits for us at Decades, to wear at Chloe and Thomas's vintage inspired wedding.

We had an unplugged day on Labor Day this September and took photos every hour. We did a lot of family activities together instead of watching TV. Selah and I laid in the hammock at my in-law's house. We skyped a lot with family. Selah is starting to recognize people on the screen and gets excited. Selah has about 8 or 9 teeth now. Selah and I went to the Evangel homecoming game and hung out with Caleb's cousins.

In October we painted monogrammed pumpkins for our front porch. We went to the pumpkin patch and picked pumpkins, went on a hayride, and saw animals. We carved pumpkins at the Amer's pumpkin carving party. Selah started to stand and cruise along furniture. We went to the women's conference at church and Selah wore a tutu. I made our Halloween costumes and we took Selah to the 10.31 party at our church.

We kicked off Birthday Month 2011 the second week of November with Heather's birthday. Selah played in the leaves. We celebrated Thanksgiving and spent time with family. We made hot chocolate and I started crocheting. We went black Friday shopping and put our Christmas tree and decorations up. Caleb got a new android phone and I finally got an iPhone and was instantly hooked to Instagram. We spent a lot of time at Dave and Amy's house. Amy and I walked around Walmart A LOT to try to get baby Avery to make her appearance. We drank coffee and found peppermint marshmallows. I made water break cookies.

We celebrated Hona's birthday and Brody's birthday first thing in December. Selah wore a lot of pigtails. I went overboard preparing for Selah's birthday party. It was a success! Our sweet girl turned 1. Avery was born the day before her birthday. We went to the hospital to visit Amy and Avery and were able to see the room where I gave birth to Selah the year before. We had lots of taco nights. Selah had her 1 year checkup and was big enough to sit at the kids table in the waiting room. We had a mommy daughter Starbucks date. We celebrated my birthday with a mustache party. Caleb got me a polaroid camera. Selah started taking steps and walking for a few seconds on my birthday. We had an awesome date night- dinner, movie and fro-yo. We celebrated Christmas. I traveled to PA with Selah to see my family. We celebrated New Year's with Amy and Dave, Liz and Anthony. Selah stayed with Meemaw and Pawpaw overnight for the first time.

It was a busy, fulfilling year and I know that 2012 will be even better.

You may have heard of the "one little word" project - it was started by Ali Edwards a few years ago and has soared. She is a fantastic blogger and designer and I am not only inspired by her projects (digital scrapbooking, especially) but by her creativity and photography.

My little word for this year is capable and I plan to keep it at the forefront of my mind as I tick away at my little goals list for this year. Looking back at 2011, I realized just how much I wanted to apply that word to my own life in 2012. I'm looking forward to a a year of taking risks and living adventurously because I know I am capable of living a full, rewarding life. I think I owe it to myself to take more time to push myself to do things I would usually write off, big or small. Most of the time I live life mundanely and get things done that need done, without setting aside time for myself to grow and thrive. I know I am strong and capable of being a wife and a mama and having a clean house, and can also find time to relax and push myself to do things I enjoy.

I'm excited to be moving forward with 2012 and welcoming in new opportunities, new projects and new goals that I am capable of achieving.

I love that I can feel enabled and capable of starting fresh — there are certainly some things in 2011 that didn’t go as I planned or hoped they might, but I have the power to change that in 2012. Proverbs 16:9: In their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

Through Him, I am capable — and I know He is doing a mighty work in my life this year. I'm looking to Him with every step.

Are you participating in One Little Word? If so, I’d love to know what you’ve chosen to focus on in 2012.

Moving right along...

I've decided to do something a little different this year as far as resolutions. I like tackling things a little at a time, and having a big to do list, but it can get overwhelming. So I wanted to stick to something small and accomplish it bit by bit.

I wanted something more manageable that I knew I would stick with rather than starting out strong with something while it had momentum, then messing up and forgetting about it.

This year I wanted to do 12 in 2012 with a twist. I have 12 resolutions, but I am focusing on one at a time throughout the course of 1 month. January's resolution is to take more time for myself. I need more girl time, I need long relaxing showers, I need to paint my nails while the baby is sleeping, I need to put the dishes down and do something I enjoy. I need to learn to ask for help or to delegate some housework so I can sit on the couch and watch TV. I know it sounds selfish, but I've been caught up in mommyhood for the past year and I need to get back to my normal self. I can still be a mom, but I can also take time to have fun. It's all about the balance. I'm looking forward to the rest of the month.

One more thing... are you on Instagram? Because I am (look me up- beccanicole05) and I'm obsessed. I'm currently participating in this fun little challenge called #janphotoaday and absolutely loving it. It's like a quick little 365 project and I hope to keep it up all year. Join in! Follow this link to learn more.

Progress.

2012-01-04T12:00:00.000-06:00

When New Year's Day rolled around last year, I had just gave birth to a baby three weeks prior, and I was completely unmotivated to make any sort of resolutions.

One thing I knew I wanted to do, though, was lose 60 pounds. I had gained 60 pounds while pregnant with Selah, from the first ob appointment to the day I gave birth, and wanted to be back to myself again.

I guess you could count that as a resolution? ;)

On NYE I weighed myself, and I have successfully lost 61 pounds. So I am 1 pound under my pre-baby weight. My driver's license is accurate again. So proud. :)

Another thing I wanted to do is complete my "23 before 24 list" instead of starting a "24 before 25 list" I knew I couldn't finish. Since I had gotten pregnant in my 23rd year, a lot of the things on my list were off-limits or unattainable. I finished my list!

As I mentioned before, I have a few resolutions and goals for this year swirling around in my head, but I haven't committed to anything quite yet. Also, I have chosen a little word for 2012. As for the 25 before 26 list, I am planning on doing something a little different. I am looking forward to actually cracking down on these things this year rather than overlook them.

I plan on hammering these things out this weekend and will update you on my plans for 2012 on Tuesday. Looking forward to starting a fresh new year.

Selah's nautical first Birthday Party! {part 2}

2012-01-04T11:21:00.000-06:00

I absolutely loved planning this party! I honestly starting thinking of ideas a short while after Selah was born. I'm a planner and I love to think ahead. Like I mentioned before, a lot of the stuff was found, made and purchased months in advance. 4th of July decor was a big help for me. A lot of the props and decorations were used in Selah's 1 year photo session too, so it was smart for me to prepare them ahead of time.

The bunting above was one of the things used in Selah's photo shoot. I designed it in Photoshop and Caleb punched holes in the sides of each triangle and threaded it through leather cord for me. The framed photo on the left is one from Selah's newborn session, and the one on the left is one of her 1 year photos. I wanted them to be taken in the same chair so they could coordinate and we could frame them side by side for the party and use them for the front and back covers of her first year scrapbook. (See, PLANNER.) They turned out better than I could have imagined.

We put pictures around the room from her session. You might recognize the suitcase and life preserver if you scroll down a few photos.

I made the invitation above to look like a boarding pass. I created in in Photoshop and used the polka dot and checkered pattern on the rest of the printables to coordinate. Since we frequently call Selah our little "Sailor," I capitalized on that and ran with a nautical/cruise ship theme. We used red, dark blue, light blue and white for our colors which proved helpful when planning early since I found a lot of Memorial Day, Flag Day and 4th of July things on sale (see the patriotic bunting I found at Hobby Lobby, below?).

I made the backdrop from a tri-fold display board and square paper plates from Target. I just hot-glued them to stay in place. I got the idea from Buggie & Jellybean. I also adapted her idea for cake/cookie stands. I used formula containers, wrapped them with coordinating paper, and hot glued them to trays I picked up from the dollar store. I also laid a piece of coordinating paper on top. The little pom poms were made from tissue paper ... another Martha Stewart how-to.

The suitcases were thrifted and loaned to me by my friend Heather, the red trays were from Walmart (another 4th of July item) as well as the buckets holding the water bottles (again, 4th of July). I found the 1st birthday items (tablecloth, plates, highchair drop cloth and bunting) at Walmart and they were perfect since the red, blue and stars matched our theme.

This monthly photo clothesline is also a favorite. It's still hanging in our living room because I love it so much. I printed out all of Selah's monthly photos and attached them to a strand of hemp with a clothespin. I created the tags in Photoshop, used a 2'' scallop punch to cut them out, and hot glued them to the clothespins. I cut up pieces of leftover straws and strung them in between the clothespins so they wouldn't slide. To see all of the monthly photos, click here.

For the cookies, I used Martha Stewart's Sand Dollar cookie recipe, here. A friend ordered the cake for us (I'll get back to you on where it's from). I found the toothpick candles at the dollar store.

I made the cupcakes. I bought the "Red, White and Blue funfetti cupcake mix" back in July, made white frosting, and found the cupcake liners in the Patriotic section of Hobby Lobby. I designed the cupcake toppers in Photoshop and hot glued them to lollipop sticks.

The crabs were Oreo truffles (a bag of Oreos and a package of cream cheese thrown in a blender) topped with red Wilton's melting candy and black frosting eyes, and the pinchers my friend Katie and I made from fondant. Covering things in chocolate neatly isn't my strong suit and the fondant sort of melted but they were delicious anyway.

For the kids, we had goldfish crackers and Capri suns.

We also had water. Again, I designed the wrapper and straw flags in Photoshop. Caleb removed the original wrappers from the bottles and secured the new ones with a piece of tape. Same with the straw flags- folded them in half and attached them with tape. I found the red and white striped straws at Walmart.

This sign was hanging in the kitchen. I saw the concept on Pinterest and Etsy (where else, right?) and decided to recreate my own in Photoshop and personalize it for Selah. I love how it turned out and it's now hanging in Selah's room.

I made signs for around the party that said "arrivals/departures," "baggage check-in," "baggage claim" and "customs and currency exchange" to tie in the cruise ship theme. We had another little table set up with chocolate coins (currency exchange) and cards where all the party guests could write a message to Selah (customs). I made the notes in Photoshop. The photos are from her 1 year session and the little S we found at a flea market before she was born. I borrowed it from her room. The star tablecloth is another 4th of July Walmart find. The welcome life preserver was hanging in her room as well, we found that at a garage sale this spring.

The party favors were probably my favorite thing to assemble.

The main favors were Swedish Fish Candies- I put them in snack size bags and stapled a treat bag tag that I made in Photoshop to the top.

The littles got suitcases filled with goodies. I made them from Kraft bags, construction paper, country stickers and blank tags. I printed the tags with coordinating paper and each little's name. Inside they were filled with fish related items to relate to the theme. The older kids got a magnetic fishing kit and a sea animal that grew in water. The babies got fish teethers and a stuffed fish. Everyone got bubbles with a fish wand and a sea animal loofa. I am a sucker for sticking to the theme through and through, even the favors. I couldn't bring myself to get anything that wasn't related to the theme. Haha.

This technically isn't DIY or related to decor, but we got Selah this kitchen set and play food for her birthday. We found it at a garage sale, in the box, unopened, for $10 way back in April. I snatched it up because I already knew we wanted to get her one for her birthday. It was a steal because when I was buying some ingredients for party food a few days before I saw it at Walmart for close to $50. YES. The night before the party we pulled it out of the garage and Caleb assembled the play kitchen for the party while I assembled the real kitchen for the party. We worked for four hours. It was all worth it. She plays with her play kitchen everyday. She had a blast at her party.

Any questions, need a tutorial, or see something I didn't talk about? Let me know in the comments.

Selah's nautical first birthday party! {part 1}

2012-01-03T13:57:00.001-06:00

Selah's was born on December 10, and since that fell on a Saturday this year, that's when we decided to hold her party. We originally wanted to have it at a frozen yogurt place, but I realized we actually did have the space to make it work, especially since we wanted to do a cake smash and I went a little overboard on the decorations, so it would be a hassle to drag those out and maybe not use them. So, we texted everyone and held the party at our house. So glad we made the last minute change.

Since we call Selah our little "Sailor," I went ahead and ran with the nautical theme. Selah wore a Sailor dress that we actually bought her about 8 months before. I saw that dress, had to have it, and started planning her party theme from there. A few weeks ago I found a crab onesie with an anchor and with a little sweater and tutu to coordinate, there was her second outfit to debut after the cake smash.

My dear friend Heather took all the photos of the party (and also the framed photos you will see of Selah in the party details) and it was so nice for me to take a break after all the prep work and just enjoy the afternoon with my birthday girl. :) We had about 20 of our close friends and family members join us for snacks, presents and a cake smash. It was a blast. I couldn't have anticipated a better afternoon. Selah had the time of her life ... she knew everyone was there for her and she loved all the attention (and the entire cake to herself, not to mention playing with the massive amount of balloons we threw all over the floor. Ha!)

Warning: photo heavy post ahead!

I'll be back tomorrow with the second half of pictures from her party ... since about 95% of the party was DIY I thought the details deserved another post! :)

January.

2012-01-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

December seems to have flown by, and I kind of miss it — but I'm so optimistic for the month of January. December's always pretty crazy with all the Christmas activities and holiday hustle and bustle, plus Selah's and my birthday.

We had a great month and I have so much to share with you, so be ready for a handful of posts coming your way in the next few days. I love January because it inspires me to look back on all the things we've been enjoying and have been blessed with in the last few weeks. Now that life is settling down I have high hopes for the blog this month.

January will be for sharing:

- a recap of our month of December

- Selah's birthday photos

- my birthday photos
- a video of Selah's first steps

- the reveal of my one little word for 2012

- my year in review post, it's taking me a while to assemble...

- photos of my 2011 year in photos book

- a sneak peek of Selah's first year scrapbook (It's 120 pages and I created that thing solely through Photoshop with the help of Design House Digital scrapbooking products... a labor of love, I tell you

- our Christmas/Christmas card

- Selah and I's last minute trip to PA

- New Year's Eve in instagrams

It was a good month, and I'm still holding on ... our decorations and tree are still up along with our advent calendar, which we didn't even use. (Proof that we were busy). Though, this weekend we will be taking down December and Christmas decorations and making 3D snowflakes (I'll post a tutorial, no worries) to ring in the New Year. I'm excited for all January has to bring.

I have a lot of little goals and blog posts to go along with them partly assembled in my head but just need to write them out, so I will be sharing all of this soon and I can't wait!

Life in Technicolor turns 2.

2011-12-22T16:03:00.001-06:00

A little over two years ago (December 14, 2009) I started this wee little blog, Life in Technicolor. At first, it was a way for me to document my musings as a twenty-something artist and editor — then it slowly grew to fit my life milestones, incorporating more and more of my personal life — graduating from college, landing my first "big girl" job, getting engaged and eloping (!), settling in my new role as a wife, navigating through pregnancy and adjusting to the life of a working full time, first time mama.

I'm so thankful for all my readers here, even when I fall off the blogging wagon every once in a while (AHEM, sorry I've been missing most of December...) and look forward to hearing from all of you in the next blogging year!

Meeting miss Avery!

2011-12-12T11:11:00.003-06:00

I normally don't post back to back, but for this, I haddddd to. Amyschmamey had her baby this weekend! Little Avery Claire. She and Selah were born almost exactly a year apart, which is pretty neat. Avery was born on December 9 and Selah's birthday is the 10.

SHE IS SO ADORABLE. I love love love her sweet little face.

Meeting little Avery. She was fast asleep.

After awhile, our husbands ran to the store and took Selah with them so, I got to enjoy holding sweet Avery and catching up with Amy for a little bit. Avery was awake for a while and I loved that she just stared at me while I talked. She is such a sweetheart. If I didn't have baby fever before, I definitely do now. Haha.

This one's my favorite. :)
While we were at the hospital, we stopped by the labor and delivery ward. Since it was Selah's birthday, I was able to talk the nurses into letting us get a picture of the birthing room where Selah was born last year. I love that they let us do this. :)

Head to Amy's blog to see Avery's birth story and ridiculously cute pictures of Avery! Eeeeek! They really are cute.

Happy Birthday, Selah!

2011-12-12T10:36:00.001-06:00

Saturday was Selah's birthday, and we had a blast at her birthday party (photos & details to come) celebrating her first year with family and friends. One of my favorite details of the party was the garland I made that held Selah's monthly photos. As I mentioned, I'll share that later, but I just wanted to post the monthlies here in collage form. It's so cool to be able to look at this from month 1 to month 12 and see subtle differences along the way. I'm so glad I did this. My favorite is the last photo- I snapped it a few hours before her party and quickly uploaded all 12 to be printed within the hour. I said, Selah, today's your birthday! And she threw her arms in the air. She gets excited about every little thing these days.

Happy Birthday to Selah, my sailor, my little peanut, my tiny cubby bear. Love you baby.

"Water Break" Cookies {recipe} for Amyschmamey

2011-12-07T09:21:00.001-06:00

Last week I made these "water break cookies" for my good friend Amy whom I know in real life and in blog-land. Those are the best kind of friends, by the way! If you follow her blog, Amyschmamey, you will know that she is pregnant (SURPRISE, AMY! Ha ha.) and was due to have sweet miss Avery Claire on December 1. Making her 6 days overdue this morning. Can you say uncomfortable? :(

She's tried a bunch of self induction methods including eating spicy foods, pineapple, chinese food ... and I'll let you read the rest from last night's blog post. We've also done a lot of walking together which has been fun, even if Avery was not encouraged to come out! I think she's nice and warm and cozy in there!

Hopefully Avery will come on her own today or tomorrow (*crosses fingers*) otherwise she will make her appearance Friday following induction.

Anyways, I told her last week that I would bring her these cookies, which resemble spicy ginger cookies or gingersnap cookies. The pepper gives it an extra kick that you don't notice until after you've eaten a few. I tried a few... they were pretty good! Even Amy's kids ate some.

Here's the recipe! Enjoy! And be sure to head over to Amy's blog to send her some well wishes and love :)

Oh and ps, while you are at the store getting cookie ingredients...

Be sure to pick up some peppermint marshmellows! We found these while walking/browsing Walmart the other day and OMG they are so amazing in *DARK* hot chocolate. Get some of that too. By the way, Amy makes the best hot chocolate ... she just knows the perfect combination of boiling water and chocolate powder! Ha ha!

DIY: Christmas Projects

2011-11-30T08:39:00.001-06:00

Last year, I went on a blog maternity leave and through blogsitting, had a plethora of Christmas activities posted by my guest bloggers. These were some really great ideas and I wanted to post a few of them again in case you missed them last year!

Kam from Campfire Chic shared an adorable origami advent calendar. You still have time to make this tonight in order to start your countdown tomorrow!

The lovely girls from eighteen25 shared an incredibly useful Christmas Planner. That one was specifically from 2010, but here is a link to this year's planner. (Free download! You just have to assemble)

This felt Merry Christmas banner was shared by Courtney from Box Full of Hobbies and is sure to get you in the Christmas spirit.

Happy Crafting!

Our thanksgiving in Instagrams

2011-11-28T09:22:00.001-06:00

This Thanksgiving was Selah's first, and as Caleb pointed out, it's also her last "first" holiday, unless you count her birthday. She is turning a year old next week and then a few days later (I am turning 25, yikes, and then) Christmas is upon us and it will be her second. It's kind of sad and kind of exciting that our little girl is growing up. She has definitely grown and matured so much over the past few weeks and I can tell that she's really understanding what we say to her. She's been mimicking every movement we make and has picked up quite a few words this month. My favorites are whass dat? (what's that) and iss da/ma? (where's dad? or where's mom?) followed by her pointing or putting her arms in the air. So cute.

Anyway, back to Thanksgiving. We go to Caleb's great grandparents house and family from all over the country stays for the weekend. It varies how many can come each year. I think last year we had 40-50 adults and kids. This year we had 33. We had lots of great food and sang Christmas carols and the boys played football and we played Scattegories and chased the kids around and played darts and games on our phones and crocheted and talked and laughed and it was a great time. Selah LOVED turkey and ate mashed potatoes and stuffing and crackers and rice and a few bites of mommy's green bean casserole and homemade pumpkin pie.

We did go Black Friday shopping and found an amazing deal on a Christmas tree and got a few things for each of us. We went to Target and Walmart. After that we went to Jordan Valley Park for a family photo session. The last time there was a family photo was when Caleb and Koree were babies/toddlers, so it was overdue for one. We put up our tree and did some decorating and had dinner with family at Nonna's that night. After Selah went to sleep we finished decorating the tree and the house.

It was a fun and relaxing weekend and it was great to see family and spend time with them. I am so ready for Christmas now! :)

Okay, so, that last one wasn't an instagram. But I wanted you to see our entire tree! ;)

Ps. Can you tell my iPhone came in the mail this weekend and I LOVEEEEEE it?

Selah's wish list :)

2011-11-22T20:54:00.001-06:00

Somebody's birthday is coming up (two weeks!) and I can hardly believe it. And of course, Christmas is right around the corner. I am so excited for December this year. Selah is old enough to get excited about toys and I have seen some cute things out this year that I know she will love! She's really into bright, colorful, musical toys and those aren't hard to come by. And a girl's gotta have her accessories, too! ;)

Here's a little peek at her wish list this year :

+ Playskool Poppin' Park Elefun Busy Ball Popper + Playskool Step Start Walk N Ride +

+ Yo Gabba Gabba Toddler Blanket + Yo Gabba Gabba: New Friends DVD +

+ Fisher Price Twirlin' Whirlin' Fun Park + Fisher Price Lil' Zoomers Sweet Speedsters +

+ Circo Wooden Bead Maze + Colored Building Blocks +

+ Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Apptivity Case + Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Pretty Please Tea Set +

+ Pat the Bunny Board Book + Goodnight, Moon Board Book +

+ If You Give A Mouse A Cookie + Giraffes Can't Dance +

+ Multicolor Short-Sleeve Dress 12 months + Short-Sleeve Dot Corduroy Dress Purple 12 months +

+ Girls Jeggings-Blue 12 months + Girls Pant - Pink 12 months +

+ Ruffle Front Cardigan- Pink 9 months + Ruffled Bottom Pink Top 9 months +

+ Sleeveless Print Romper-Brown 12 months + Sleeveless Print Romper-Green 12 months +

+ Heart Print Tights 6 to 12 months + Thin Stripe Tights 6 to 12 months +

+ Baby Girls Aggy Fleece Boot- Fuschia Size 2 + Pink Canvas Tiny Toms Size 2 +

+Tiered Ribbon Trim Dress 12 to 18 months + Patterned Drop Waist 12 to 18 months +

+ Metallic Stitch Cardigan 12 to 18 months + Shawl Neck Cocoon Sweaters 12 to 18 months +

+ Printed Waffle Knit Tee 12 to 18 months + Long Sleeve Graphic Tee 12 to 18 months +

+ 2 in 1 NFL Team Tees for Toddler Girls 6 to 12 months-Broncos + 2 in 1 NFL Team Tees for Toddler Girls 6 to 12 months- Steelers +

+ Floral Top 12 to 18 months + Foil Stripe Raglan Tees 12 to 18 months +

+ Printed Performance Fleece Sleeper 6 to 12 months + Printed Zip Front Sleeper 6 to 12 months +

+ Graphic Sleep Set 6 to 12 months + Butterfly-Print Sleep Set 6 to 12 months +

Our Halloween {2011}

2011-11-02T21:43:00.001-05:00

Our church throws an annual 10.31 party every year for the kiddos, so we decided to go to that. They pass out candy and popcorn/cider and have games, inflatables, a skit, crafts, and other things for everyone to enjoy. It was more fun than I expected ... they made it exciting for adults, too! My favorite part was the glow in the dark dance party! It was unexpected, but such a great idea. We donned our costumes that I made a few days ago (and threw last minute touches on a few minutes before) and headed over there in lieu of trick-or-treating on our street. I absolutely loved our costumes!!! Seriously. There were only a handful of adults that dressed up besides the volunteers (we actually ran into an entire family of Incredibles) so everyone kept coming up to us and telling us how much they loved our costumes. Selah was excited because we saw a little boy dressed up as DJ Lance Rock from Yo Gabba Gabba. We also ran into our friends Kacey and Savannah and Selah's friend Braylin, who was dressed as a lion.We were so excited the whole night and had so much fun. I'm already thinking of costumes for next year.

Halloween.

2011-11-01T12:43:00.002-05:00

I decided to make our costumes this year and I was so excited to put them together. It was extra special that we had coordinating costumes. We went to a 10.31 party at our church and everyone recognized us! One little girl actually told us that she loved our show. HA! Also, Selah didn't touch her hair bone once, which I was worried she'd try to pull out all night. Costumes were a success and we had such a fun time!!I'll be back with a full post (and pictures!) of our Halloween tomorrow.Ps. Tonight we are going to Amyschmamey's house and I'm pretty excited! We've only met once (probably have *almost* met a dozen times) but have never spent time together. Rumor is she is making Pumpkin Ooey Gooey Cake. YUM! I'm a sucker for pumpkin-flavored ANYTHING. :)

Annah + Jared's wedding.

2011-10-31T12:32:00.000-05:00

This weekend we traveled to Ash Grove, MO to The Loft at Keith Farms, where one of my best friends Annah + her fiance Jared were getting married. It was an amazing location. Everything was just perfect - short and sweet ceremony, the crisp, autumn air and bright sunlight, delicious food, lots of family friendly dancing ... the best part was that there was no boring or awkward waiting times. Right after the ceremony we moved to the loft for the reception, found our seats, and were able to enjoy snack type foods and refreshments while we waited for the bridal party. I don't know how many times I've been to a wedding where I've thought, "Can we go now?" and breathed a sigh of relief and frustration once we were in the car. On Saturday, it was the opposite; we were enjoying ourselves do much that we were kind of disappointed when we had to leave.

I loved all of the little touches Annah made for her special day. Everything was DIY and very woodsy themed with a hint of vintage. She made tutus for her flower girls and her friend made all of the bridal party dresses, which were slightly different, with coordinating fabrics. She made scrabble tile placeholders for all the guests, chalkboards were written for the program and drink table, I could go on. I just loved it all. We had such a fun time, from the ceremony to the reception to the firework farewell. Selah was a good trooper through the ceremony, had a blast through the reception (she LOVES music, lights, clapping and dancing!) and fell asleep through the final songs. She was so very tired but didn't want to miss a thing, so she fought to stay awake. She was snoring the whole way home!

Everything Pumpkin.

2011-10-28T11:44:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year where our weekends are booked full. This October has been filled with weddings, wedding showers, fall parties, baby showers, pumpkin picking, pumpkin carving. I've barely had a chance to regroup after the busy weekend! Has your October been like that?
We've done lots of pumpkin-related activities this month, as tradition holds.

Two weekends ago, we went to Rutledge-Wilson Farm. Admission is free and they have a barn full of animals, a corn maze, hayride, pumpkin patch, etc. We had never been there but were told it was a beautiful location and was very family friendly. It turned out to be way better than the patch we visited last year, and we only spent $10 for the hayride and two medium size pumpkins that we planned to carve the next week!
This past weekend, we joined our friends Heather and Hona for their 5th Annual Pumpkin Carving party. It was a lot of fun, as always. Most of us knew each other from church, but the ironic thing is that I work with a handful of the party-goers, as well. It's always great when you have friends that travel to different settings.

^ the original pumpkin carving crew :)

Selah: 9 months old.

2011-10-27T12:21:00.002-05:00

(I am a month behind. Oops.)
Selah, I can't believe you are 9 months old already.You have become such a big girl this month! You are standing, cruising, climbing stairs, feeding yourself bites of food, learning new words, signing for things, to name a few. You have been crawling for a while but are getting to be really fast! You've learned how to swing your arms in front of you to have a more effective army crawl.

It amazes me how well you share toys with your friends, too. You are so active and certainly looking to get into trouble, but you're so cute that we don't mind. You have six or seven teeth right now. You constantly have your fingers in the back of your mouth and chew on absolutely everything, so I'm sure you're working on more teeth back there. You have been very hungry lately and absolutely love your puffs, crunchies, and crackers. You eat a lot of rice and I don't have to fight with you at all to eat your vegetables. You love turkey/chicken and sweet potatoes/squash. You still eat baby food but are so independent and would rather feed yourself.

You still have a big love for music and often we catch you singing or dancing along to music or your musical shows. Your new word is "hey!" and you love saying it when you want us to pay attention to you. You love to yell and scream out loud and make funny sounds.

You say "dada" over and over about a million times a day. You say "mama" to get my attention but when daddy is at work, you sit by the door and yell "dada" and look all over for him. Also, Gama sent you a stuffed ghost that you absolutely love. We named him "Boo" and you carry him around with you constantly. You know how to say "boo" now and ask for him frequently. You hold him out in the air and say "ahhhh" to make ghost noises. You saw us do that a few times and are a pro at it now. You finally wave hello and goodbye to anyone. We've been working on this for awhile and you know how to do it but when we tell you to wave, you laugh at us. You know how to give us a high five and a low five. You're so clever and smart. Also, the other day out of the blue I saw you cross your arms when someone asked you for a high five. It was pretty funny. You can be a mixture of stubborn and shy sometimes. You are very ticklish - especially the front of your chest, thighs, and under your arms! You are fascinated by ceiling fans and lights and are starting point at things and say "uh?" You have always been so curious, and I love explaining things to you and watch you try to process what I am describing.You are becoming more of a little lady and less of a baby each day. It makes me sad, but you still love to cuddle with your momma, so that makes it okay. I love you, my big, independent girl.

Selah: 9 months {video}

2011-10-25T11:18:00.001-05:00

Unlike the past two videos where she laid still for the most part and let me take as much footage as I wanted, she was all over the place for this one. She is so active. I can't imagine what her 12 month video will look like... most likely her walking in and out of frame! Haha. Enjoy our little sailor at 9 months old. (Sorry for taking so long to edit this... she is 10.5 months old now... ALSO, Flickr only allows 90 second videos so it is cut a few seconds short.)

See other video collages here:
Selah: 6 months {video}
Selah: 3 months {video}

How'd you find me?

2011-10-21T11:01:00.002-05:00

It makes me laugh when I see how people found my blog. Some of the search terms are relevant, like my blog url, blog name, or by using blogspot. Even searching for "baby selah" works, I guess. Several of these things I've talked about, even.

But 37 searches for iron man this month led people to my page. Six searches for "detail of the last supper." Have I ever mentioned that in a post? How about the "beach boys endless summer?"

I think my favorite is "ralley,s new strawberry cheese cake cup..."

If you are curious about the search terms regarding your blog, check your stats page. Pass along any funny ones, because I'd love to hear them.

How did you find my blog? If you found me through google, what did you search for?

So You Think You Can... Coupon?

2011-10-20T13:54:00.003-05:00

Recently I've picked up a new little hobby. It's quite time-consuming, yes, but there is a reason why it's called a hobby — because it's something I enjoy doing. And, it comes with it's own set of benefits along the lines of free or cheap groceries and necessities — and sometimes, they aren't so necessary... just something-i-had-to-have-because-it-was-on-sale-and-looked-cool —but we'll leave that for another time.

If you happen to be my facebook friend... {want to be friends? just click on the "facebook" button on the left sidebar.} then you have seen a few of my mobile uploads, bragging about my latest deals. Once you start couponing you have a sense of pride when you show your family what you brought home and how much you saved! It's especially worthwhile when you look at the bottom of the receipt and it says "you saved x amount." or "you saved x percent." (Psst. Did you know you could save anywhere from 50 percent to 90 percent off your grocery bill simply by clipping and using coupons?)

Here are a few of my latest finds:

If you have never couponed before or are a beginning couponer, the question is, HOW DO YOU DO THIS?

1. Purchase your local Sunday newspaper each week, including a newspaper for a surrounding area that may have better savings.

In my area, there is the Springfield News-leader and the Kansas City Star (which tends to have more coupons, like I mentioned). I usually buy 2-3 copies, or sometimes 4 if there is a large amount of savings and hot coupons that I know of beforehand.

The role of thumb I go by is one paper per family member and adjust accordingly on sales weeks.

2. Ask co-workers and family members for ad inserts or coupons that they aren't using, and feel free to swap the ones you aren't using with them. It's also a good idea to set up a bin or have an envelope passed around with unwanted coupons to take or trade with.

You can also leave unwanted coupons in aisles at the store close to related items. That way, someone else might use them. I have found coupons that I needed this way, because others have left coupons.

3. Don't forget online resources. Search websites such as smartsource.com, redplum.com, and coupons.com for printable coupons. Look for coupons on your local store's websites, as well! Go ahead and bookmark these pages: walgreens.com, walmart.com and target.com. Visit these websites weekly for new coupons.

4. Stack coupons and double coupons when possible. Stores such as Walgreens and Target allow you to use one store coupon and one manufacturer coupon together for maximum savings. Grocery stores such as Price Cutter and Dillons in the Springfield area allow you to double coupons up to a certain price. Ask your store about their couponing policy or print one from their website if you're unsure.

5. Utilize social networking! On Facebook, you are able to "like" certain pages of the products that you enjoy using and they have coupons available for you to print simply by doing this. A lot of companies give away discount codes or host giveaways on Facebook and Twitter.

Also, there are many, many blogs specifically devoted to couponing tips and deals. Several that I follow will walk you through a deal step by step and alert you of potential free and moneymaker items. Take a hint from extreme couponers that know what they are doing and provide resources for you to use. My favorite is thekrazycouponlady.com.

6. Organize your coupons. A great way to organize is by purchasing a binder and baseball card inserts.

I organize my binder by categories: refrigerated, frozen, dairy, hair care, baby items, etc. and have a labeled section for each. My mother-in-law also organizes her coupons by where they are placed in the store. A friend of mine has a separate binder for food, one for target, and one for other. I know of a blogger that organizes them by expiration date. Find a system that you like best and stick to it. Be sure to keep your binder in your car so it's there when you need it.

It's best to have the coupons presented where you can see them all for easy access, so I suggest not keeping them in an envelope, where they can get lost, ripped, wet, or where they will expire before you get to them.

7. Begin slowly. Start with a single store while you are getting familiar with couponing and store policies. You can always acquire a few more stores as you get used to the process. Also, don't be tempted to buy things just because they are on sale or because you have a coupon. Don't go for every single deal you find or you will not stick to your budget and will not save money this way.

8. Find a couple of cashiers to frequent who don't mind working with you. Make sure to thank those cashiers and compliment them often. Be sure to warn people who get behind you in line that you are planning to use a lot of coupons and suggest that they may want to choose another aisle. A smile goes a long way in a situation where others are frustrated with you.

9. Avoid shopping during peak hours and trips to the store will tend to go a lot more smoothly. Remember, while you're learning a new hobby and are saving money for your family, other people are just hungry and trying to pick up a few things for dinner after a long day at work.

10. Be smart and savvy - do your research before you shop. You don't want to come home with two containers of ice cream that were $2.99 each with a coupon, and realize later that the same ice cream is on sale at another store for $1.99 without a coupon.

Hope these tips will encourage you to give couponing a try! How many of you already clip coupons?

Pumpkin muffins, holla.

2011-10-13T15:04:00.003-05:00

Behold.

I give you the easiest pumpkin muffin recipe, EVA. I'm sure you already saw this all up on Pinterest and what not, but let's ignore that for now and pretend you heard it here first. Alrighty.

Basically, you throw pumpkin and a cake mix (white, carrot, spice, chocolate are the ones I've tried but you can use whatever suits your fancy) in a bowl, mix, slap into cupcake liners (one time I ran out of liners and used squares of foil... MAKE IT WORK!) and bake.

Then NOM NOM NOM.

So basically I'm just going to drop these pictures in front of you and run. And you're going to be like, this is so easy, I'm going to stop by the store and pumpkin and cake mix rightthissecond. And once they're cooked you're going to be all, dangggg these are moist and delicious (did I just say the m-word? I can't think of a synonym...) and Becca is a genius for her ~~recipe that she found online~~ original creation. You're welcome.

Selah's 9 month session

2011-10-06T16:16:00.000-05:00

Been a little busy the past few weeks, if you've been wondering where I wandered off to :) We recently got Selah's 9 month pictures taken and got pictures back from the session, so just wanted to pop in, say hello, and share these with you (I'll be back to a regular blogging routine soon when our family is rid of sinus infections, coughs and colds (and when my event calendar settles back down, haha.)

As always, all photography is courtesy of Heather Cherie Photography. :)

Selah: 9 month checkup.

2011-09-23T15:20:00.000-05:00

>At this appointment, Selah, you weighed 16.8 pounds and measured 26.5 inches long, which puts you in the 20th percentile for weight and 40th percentile for height. We don’t call you our peanut for nothing! You were so active this appointment. You loved ripping the paper on the table and we read books over and over while waiting for the doctor. You were such a good girl! We didn’t need any shots, but we went ahead and got the flu shot. You didn’t even notice it happened and wouldn’t stop smiling the whole appointment. Nurses love you!

Seize the day.

2011-09-18T20:56:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, Netflix updated its queue and now season 7 of Grey's Anatomy is available for instant streaming. I'm so psyched. I love Grey's and I've been missing it ... I'm never home in time to watch, so I haven't seen the past season at all. I have watched 6 episodes in the past two days, haha.

Meredith Grey is my favorite character (it used to be Addison Montgomery-Shepherd, but she's off the show) and she always has the best quotes. This is one of my favorite ones, from the first season of the show.

source.

Selah: 8 months old.

2011-09-14T14:48:00.001-05:00

I'd like to preface this by saying, "I tried to take her 8 month pictures 3 separate times, 3 varieties of outfits, 3 different days."

Also, "my child refuses to sit still."
And. "she is now too mobile to cooperate for monthly pictures."
Haha. So 1342342 of the pictures I took, she is a blur of blue eyes, a little smirk, and curly hair. On the third try, I snapped pictures for 30 minutes and gave up. She is a little comedian, and this round of photos, you are witnessing that. Closed eyes, hands in mouth, trying to escape, leaning in too close ... that is all part of the funny game where mommy takes out a camera, sits Selah in a chair once a month and tells her not to move for five minutes, and two seconds later, Selah tries to dive off the side of the couch. It's frustrating, but we made it work.
I decided to take a video during the second try session, and it was hilarious, I tell you. Selah laughed and tried to escape the entire time, and now I'm cracking up watching it. (Sorry its sideways, I don't know how to fix it).

So yeah... four more months of monthly sessions. We moms are crazy. :)

Onto her 8 month...

Dear Selah, You are such a big girl now. At the beginning of the month, we saw little slivers of white in your mouth! You started out with the tooth to the left of your front ones, and a week or so later, the bottom left one started peeking through. Now you have seven little chompers, five on the top and two on the bottom. It's crazy how fast those came in! You love to grind them together and constantly have your fingers in your mouth to give your gums some relief.You have been movin' and groovin' nonstop this month. You have been pulling up on anything you can get your hands on. You're even starting to try and take steps while holding onto your crib. Sometimes you try to stand with no hands, but you don't have the balance down quite yet.It's so funny to watch you crawl. You dive onto the floor from a kneeling or sitting position, arms outstretched, belly sliding, back foot pushing off the floor for some speed. You are the master of the army crawl, girl. And you are getting super quick at it. These days you just crawl, roll, scoot and cruise all over the living room, and it's not uncommon to see you over by your toy basket, pulling yourself up to pick out a toy to play with, or dumping the whole thing out and laughing. You are so good at playing independently.You say "dada," "baba," and "mama" all the time now. You started with dada last month and say it constantly when you see your daddy or when he's at work and you're wondering where he is. You know when you're hungry to say baba and sign the word milk for us. A few weeks ago, you started saying mama and we're so excited you can finally call and ask for both of us. Mama sounds funny sometimes and you don't say it consistently, but you have dada down pat! You also call your stuffed lion "na na." I'm not sure where that comes from, but when we say na na you get really excited and start looking for the lion. You are buddies.As far as sleeping goes, you've wanted to go to bed earlier, and like to start your bedtime process around 7 pm. That seems SO early to me, but it's naturally when you get tired and no matter what we are doing, you start asking for a ba ba. Rubbing your eyes and small fussing cries is always an indicator of nap time. It's almost like clockwork. For the past few weeks you've woken up in the middle of the night, which is unusual, but mostly it's your teeth and gums bothering you and you just want to be held and comforted.
Recently, you've wanted mama to comfort you and have been going through a bit of a cling to mama stage. You love to be carried on my hip all the time. When I get you out of your crib in the morning or pick you up from daycare, you get so excited and give me the biggest hugs. At night sometimes you just cling to my neck when I try to put you in your bed because you just want mama to hold you for a little while. Sometimes it's frustrating when I need a break and you don't want anyone else, but for the most part it's cute, and I'm soaking it all up without spoiling you.Like I say every month, your little personality is shining though more and more. You are so happy and are smiling and laughing all the time. You are so well-behaved and although you love to be going and going and playing all the time, you sit still and quietly play when we are out. You have also become so much of a helper. I love involving you in everything we are doing. I can definitely notice some traits you've gotten from me and some that you've gotten from daddy, and it makes me smile the different things that you've picked up. In ways you are just like us. But in other ways, you are special and unique and make it clear to us that you are your own little person. You are so independent these days and don't want us helping you with anything sometimes, and it makes me laugh.
We love you little sailor, and we can't believe how these months are flying by. I can't help but look forward to your birthday in a few short months.

Featured on Campfire Chic

2011-09-14T08:25:00.001-05:00

Kam of Campfire Chic hosted a blog party all day yesterday (for those who don't know, a blog party runs 24 hours and there is a new post up every hour on the hour) called Across the Campfire. There were so many great posts related to camping, and I enjoyed reading them all!

My post includes a recipe for Campfire Cookies and a gift tag printable. It was featured in the 7:00 hour, Kam's time (I was so confused because I forgot we were in different time zones!) and in case you missed it, you can view it here, as well as see a recap of the other posts here.

Our Labor Day: {unplugged day} + {a photo an hour}

2011-09-08T14:36:00.000-05:00

We soaked up all Labor Day had to offer this weekend. We decided a few days before that Monday would be our first "unplugged day," so we could take the opportunity to spend some extra time together as a family instead of being distracted. No computers/internet, television/netflix, or phone calls (replying to important text messages was okay, since we had plans later that day with friends). It was so refreshing to relax at home without unnecessary noise, and I enjoyed coming up with fun things for us to do. I decided to combine unplugged day with "a photo an hour" post, which was fun and helped us to think of activities to do that would be picture worthy. Sometime during the day, Caleb mentioned that time seemed to be going by slower, which made it feel like we spent tons more time together than we actually thought, which was nice. How many times do you get to the end of the weekend and think, where did the weekend go? I can't wait to do a day like this again. I'm thinking once a month! :)

Here's a glimpse at our labor day:

A month in photos: August 2011.

2011-09-07T13:45:00.000-05:00

Details: {Template: Simple as That | Fonts: Fashion Compressed, Thinking of You | Action: Seventies Action, Pioneer Woman Set 2}

1. Selah playing with her friend Brody.
2. Selah loves to feed herself, and her favorite finger food is rice. She also enjoys eating puffs, crunchies, and yogurt bites.
3. One Saturday morning we went to the zoo.
4. Selah wasn't too sure about Ronald McDonald but she liked petting the animals.

5. Selah gets her first pair of real jeans (she usually wears jeggings).
6. Selah started out the month with zero teeth and now she has seven. She wore this dress to Chloe's wedding.
7. The wedding was vintage-inspired, so we found some fun outfit pieces at Decades.
8.8 months old and rocking a ponytail
9. Selah has been saying "da da" and "ba ba" for a month, but she finally learned the word "ma ma."
10. Selah loves the water and can't get enough of swimming.

See the rest of the year in my Flickr group, here, or click the "A month in photos" button on the sidebar.
I'm linking up here:

30 Days of Lists: #1-5.

2011-09-06T18:58:00.003-05:00

I absolutely love to make lists, and I couldn't be happier when making a list involves designing, digital scrapping, and Photoshop. In March, I took part in the 30 Days of Lists project and now it's being offered again as an e-course at a fantastic price. I took a sneak peek at all the prompts, and I can't wait to create my take on them. It's going to be a fun month. (To see all of my 30 Days of Lists projects, this round and last, click on the 30 Days of Lists button on my sidebar).

Here's a look at my first 5 lists.

What Selah wore: vintage wedding.

2011-09-01T14:59:00.000-05:00

Selah was asleep when we took our photos, so she got her own little photo session!
There's the debut of those teeth... she started out with zero in August and now she has six! She never lets me see them, let alone get a picture, so I was lucky ;)

The dress is a little big ... but I added a wire ribbon to make it more fitted for her. Had it not been almost 100 degrees I might have added a cute little cardigan so you didn't notice the long armholes as much. Oh well. She'll grow into it, and we'll have the dress for a while :)

On Selah: flower dress, *almost* vintage from baby gap. amber teething necklace, tweet baby designs. bow, target.

What we wore: vintage-inspired wedding.

2011-08-30T13:48:00.000-05:00

We went to a vintage-inspired wedding this weekend, and I am so excited to share with you what we wore to the event! My camera had gone missing on Saturday (the day of the wedding) so we weren't able to take any pictures before and during the wedding. Selah was there too and wore a cute little vintage dress, but she fell asleep before our photo session. I'll post hers later. I love all of our outfits...On Caleb: white button down, Target. red suspenders, vintage from Decades. plaid pants, vintage from Decades. dress shoes, vintage/gifted from great-grandpa. ;)On Becca: flower dress, vintage from Decades. red belt, vintage from Decades. purple tights, betsey johnson. TOMS wrap boots, thrifted/gifted.

Our PA trip: polaroids.

2011-08-29T16:09:00.000-05:00

I have a strand of yarn, threaded with cut up pieces of colored straws and interspersed with clothespins strung from our stairwell, and it holds polaroids from our recent trip to Pittsburgh in July. We used up 2 cartridges of instax film while we were there, and I love all of the little moments we captured. It makes me smile every time I pass them.

A magical place...

2011-08-25T15:38:00.002-05:00

We did a little shopping on historic C-street this weekend. I was so excited to finally step inside the store that I've been oogling over online for the past few months! Everything inside was so magical. I loved all of the displays and the vintage feel. It was fun to be able to see every sneak peek I've seen online in real life. The dressing rooms were the cutest! And had I been there by myself I might have gotten into some trouble over buying some of the baby vintage clothing. Elsie + Emma happened to be at a wedding on Saturday, so I didn't get to meet them, but we were able to say hi to sweet little Kinsey working at the desk. What a dreamy little shop.

A day at the zoo.

2011-08-15T11:29:00.002-05:00

Saturday was McDonald's $1 day at the zoo, so we figured why not go? We had a free morning, it was cheap, and we hadn't taken Selah to the zoo yet. Her room is done in zoo animals and I can't tell you how many things we have that have something to do with elephants, giraffes, leopard print, monkeys, and lions. She has a little heart for puppies so I figured she would love anything we could get her close to. A lot of the animals were far away so she didn't really notice them.
I think the giraffes, goats, zebras and snakes were Selah's favorite because she got to see those up close and personal. The giraffes are my personal favorite along with elephants, and I was so excited to meet Stretch, Jr., the baby giraffe. See him below? He's adorable! I took a ton of shots with my film camera because it has a decent zoom lens, so I am excited to get those prints developed. Caleb enjoys looking at the snakes, and his favorite part of the zoo is the reptile house. We put Selah right up to the glass and she was putting her hand over the snakes and laughing. She is such a ham for the camera ... she recently started doing this really cheesy smile and I think it's adorable. And hilarious. Speaking of hilarious, see the tortoise eating a pear, below. It was a great morning and we loved the quality family time. Ours is a small little zoo ... we were in and out in 90 minutes or so, but we still like to visit. Do you have a zoo that you like to frequent?
See Caleb and I's post about last year's trip to the zoo, in July. Remember Flat Stanley came along with us?

A week's peek at Goodbyn lunches: July.

2011-08-12T14:40:00.002-05:00

There was a lot going on in July and for the life of me I couldn't remember to photograph my lunches when I actually had time to sit down and enjoy them! This month I need to be better about taking a lunch break instead of nibbling throughout the day at my desk.

June and July Roundup: my favorite posts!

2011-08-10T09:29:00.001-05:00

Memorial day weekend.

Weekend recap: the perfect mix.

Selah: 5 months old.

Embrace the Camera, June 9. {+pretty shoes}

Selah's half birthday gathering.

DIY: Selah's loud blanket.

Getting to know us: a v-log // it's a video! how fun.

Caleb's first Father's Day {+Embrace the Camera, June 23}

Selah, 6 months {video}

Our PA trip // click here to view the series. There's a total of 5 posts.

Selah: 6 months old.

Selah's 6 month session.

Polaroids.

Selah: 7 months old

2011-08-10T08:34:00.001-05:00

Selah, my little girl has grown up so much this past month. You're no longer a tiny baby, more like a pre-toddler. You're sitting up like a pro and moving all over the place. You scoot around the living room and drag your body around the floor with your arms and elbows like you're in the army.You are fascinated by remotes, cell phones, the wii, and cups, so we try to keep those off the floor. You are pretty good at sitting on a blanket and playing with your toys. We've started putting a little toy box in front of you while we're making dinner or getting ready to go somewhere and you will watch one of your shows and pull toys out a little at a time.You still can't get enough of books. You love "reading" them and looking at them and will sit in our laps and look at every page when we read. I am looking forward to the day when we can spend hours in a library together. :) You love standing, too. When you're in your crib you hold onto the rails and rock back and forth and get really excited. You are in the process of cutting 4 teeth and you've been pretty miserable the past few days, which is sad (but we love the cuddle time, though!) You babble lots of sounds to yourself and can say two words: "dada" and "ba ba". (We're working on saying mama soon, right kiddo?)
You absolutely love swimming and being in the water. Since you can sit on your own we've done away with the baby bathtub and just let you have at it in the big tub. As soon as I sit you down, you flip onto your belly and smack your hands on the water over and over. You flip onto your back and kick your arms and legs repeatedly and babble to yourself. You are quite the splasher and think it's really funny to slip and slide all over the bathtub. You dive into the water like it's nothing whether its a pool or bath.
You are eating and loving solid food, and have started yelling out and putting your hand in the air when you want another puff. You sometimes eat finger foods with us, like rice, bits of bread, chopped up bananas, little cubes of potatoes. You also drink from a sippy cup and really love juice every once in a while. It must be the sugar! We've been watching you eat recently and noticed how you're changed your style. Before, you would spend minutes swirling your hand around your tray, trying to grab something, and then would try to put the whole thing in your mouth. Now when I put a bite of food on your tray, you pick it up instantly with two fingers and drop it into your mouth. It's so interesting that you can pick up skills like that in a matter of days or weeks.
I've also noticed that you are starting to have preferences and have no trouble voicing them. If I put you in your exersaucer and you'd rather play on the floor, you whine a little and put your arms up in the air so I'll pick you back up. Then you lean over and try to get down. You also know how to sign for your bottle all by yourself, and when we say ba ba and sign it to you, you will sign back and whine if you want your bottle. If you don't want one, you don't sign and just stare at us. It's so amazing that you have picked up signing and I love being able to tell when you need to eat instead of guessing.
Another thing we love is your preferences for mommy or daddy in certain situations. The other night I was rocking you and feeding you your nighttime bottle, and you kept pulling away, trying to get down and wouldn't stop looking at the door and saying da da da da. I called for daddy and when he came in, you put your arms up in the air and got really excited. As soon as daddy started rocking you and feeding you your bottle, you cuddled up and went right to sleep. You just wanted your daddy to do your nighttime routine that night. The other day, too, daddy was holding you while your teeth hurt, and you kept whining. He asked you if you wanted mommy and you looked over at me and put your hand out. You wanted mommy to hold you right then. I love how you let us know when you need one of us. You are becoming more and more independent and more like a little girl every single day, and although I want to cherish my little baby forever, I treasure the fact that as you are getting older, it opens up more possibilities of things we can do together. I love that we are understanding you more each day as you learn to sign, talk, and voice your needs. I love your preferences for mommy and daddy when you need one of us the most. You are such a happy and loving baby all the time (yes, even through teething) and we love you to pieces.

Our PA trip: 4th of July + trip wrap up {photo heavy}

2011-08-09T16:07:00.005-05:00

Let me start out by saying, Selah loves hanging out with her aunts. (top photo, Aunt Bethy, 14. middle photo, Aunt Sarah, 17. bottom photo, Aunt Rachel, 22. For those who are going to ask, I am 24. Also, fun facts: 1. Sarah and Bethy were born in June, Rachel and I were born in December. 2. Selah was born on Rachel's birthday. She arrived 6 minutes before midnight... I kept telling the nurses, hurry up! hurry up! It's my sister's birthday!

Back to the story ...

Our 4th of July was pretty exciting. There was lots of things to do during the day. I ended up taking a nap in the afternoon because I was so exhausted from all the busy-ness!

We spent the day out at dads, meeting EVERYONE for breakfast: Dad, my stepmom Nancy; my sister Rachel, her boyfriend Scott, their son Dylan; my sister Sarah; my sister Bethy; my stepsister Emily; my stepsister Sarah, her fiance Nic; my stepbrother Bryan, his wife Dana, their son Julian; Caleb, Selah, me ... a few dogs and cats. WHOA.

I was happy that there were a couple other vegetarians there, because there were separate omelets for us and I didn't go hungry. Score.

On Selah: bow, handmade by me. tee, children's place, gifted by mom. jeggings, children's place. mary janes, handmade by me.

from bottom left:Emily, Sarah, Dylan, Rachel, Dana, Julian, Selah, me, Sarah, Bethy.
top row:Scott, Bryan, Caleb.

my hand is in the air because i was trying to get selah to look. it worked, but i look dumb. haha.

Then, Caleb and I went back to moms with Bethy. Rachel and Scott and Dylan came over later, and Sarah stopped by that night. My grandma and her boyfriend came by for lunch, and my mom's friend and his dad came over too. I helped mom make food in the kitchen ... last year i made a fruit pizza and wanted to make it again in a different variation. It was yummy. My mom made her famous macaroni salad. We had watermelon too... Selah loved it.

selah's first sparkler... love how she's clapping.
We went back to dad's in search of fireworks, but since it had rained the previous night and most of the day, they were canceled. Instead my sister's friend Mike, who worked at a fireworks stand, brought over a ton of sparkler type fireworks to shoot off. The babies slept inside, the boys stood on the porch and lit everything on fire and the girls all sat on a blanket in the field and squealed. They did let us do some sparklers though. I only got two pictures of Sarah and Bethy because it was so dark.

It was a seriously busy long weekend, but it was great to see everyone and experience a trip with a baby. She was such a good traveler, which is good to know, because we don't have to worry when we are planning our next trip. The only problem was her sleep schedule, she was thrown off with the time change, excitement, and different place. She also was teething and had a respiratory infection and double ear infection upon returning home. All in all it was a fun trip and we loved spending time with family and introducing Selah to everyone.

Here are some shots of July 5, our ride back home.

Our PA trip: Meeting little Julian.

2011-08-08T10:58:00.001-05:00

This cute little guy is my nephew Julian. Isn't he adorable? He is my stepbrother/stepsister-in-law's baby and he's about 3 weeks older than Selah. Bryan, Dana and Julian live in Tampa, Florida, and were staying with my dad and stepmom for the week. So it was cool that we were all able to visit at the same time!

I am holding Julian, and Dana is holding Selah in this next picture. We put the babies in the grass to play, and they were so funny, just staring at each other, patting each other's back, trying to eat the grass... haha. It was so sweet.
I think these two will have so much fun together when they're older. I'm sure next time we visit they will be chasing each other around the yard instead of just sitting there!

Our PA trip: Selah and cousin Dilly + 5 generation photo.

2011-08-06T18:22:00.001-05:00

My nephew Dylan is 1 1/2 years old, and the last time we saw him he was about Selah's age. He has grown up so much! I was really excited for the babies to meet and be able to play together. I'm sure they will be friends when they are older. We went to the mall on Saturday when we were there and Selah and Dylan sat in the strollers while we looked around.

Sunday we went to visit my great-grandma, Selah's great, great-grandma. She's 94 years old. We are so lucky that Selah has five generations on each side of her family. I was glad we were able to get a 5 generation picture while we were there of me, my mom, her mom, and her mom. My sister got one too with Dylan.

Pssst. Don't tell anyone that you saw this picture. Both grandmas yelled at me for putting their pictures on "the face book," so I don't know if this classifies as me getting in trouble or not. Haha.

Selah and her great great grandma.Selah and her great grandma. We wanted a picture of Selah and Dilly together and it took like ten tries before we finally got one where they were both looking. In most of them, they are just staring at each other!

Polaroids.

2011-08-03T08:24:00.000-05:00

Back in December I used my birthday money to purchase an Instax 7 mini polaroid camera that I had been drooling over for months. When I was younger we had a polaroid camera and I was fascinated with how the whole thing worked. I love the idea of taking a picture and seeing it on film instantly. I, however, am a huge fan of "touch-ups." Even if it's just a little brighten and contrast in Photoshop, I love polishing my pictures before I post them instead of sending them SOTC. The polaroid stretches me since even if I mess up and overexpose or don't line up the frame correctly, I still have to keep the picture ;)

Here are some polaroids I've taken since I've gotten my little camera. I finally got around to taking the photos to my in-laws to scan since we don't have access to one. :) Photos are from most recent to least recent ... the first one was taken in June and the last one was taken the day I got the camera (Selah was probably 10 days old).

I have a billion more from our July 4th trip and the last few weeks that I need to scan soon. Stay tuned!

A month in photos: July 2011.

2011-08-02T14:55:00.000-05:00

We did so many things that go hand in hand with summer this month. Going on vacation, enjoying gelatis, spending time with family, waving sparklers, volunteering, going to the beach, playing in the sand, splashing in the water, having our fair share of watermelon. It's definitely getting hotter the past few days, but I can't help but think that summer is almost over! Thinking of all the things we need to squeeze into next month. :)

Details: {Template: Simple as That | Fonts: Fashion Compressed, Thinking of You | Action: Seventies Action, Pioneer Woman Set 2}

1. We traveled to Pittsburgh for 4th of July weekend and Selah loved being with family, especially her aunts.
2. Selah hanging out with her cousins, Dylan, 18 months, and Julian, 7 months.
3. It was the first time that Caleb and Selah had flown on a plane. It was fun!
4. Caleb and Becca enjoyed Rita’s Italian Ice while in Pittsburgh.
5. Selah loved sparklers on the 4th.
6. Moonshine Beach finally opened and we spent the day there. Selah loved sitting in the sand and couldn’t get enough of the water.
7. Selah is cutting 4 teeth at once!
8. Selah’s new sleeping position is on her stomach with legs tucked in and arm behind her head. Cute little froggy!
9. Caleb and Becca helped out at James River’s Project Partnership painting classrooms at Jarrett Middle School.
10. Selah is very mobile at 7 months and scoots around to get into everything.

See the rest of the year in my flickr group, here.

I'm linking up here:

Selah's 6 month session.

2011-08-02T13:48:00.000-05:00

Hey. It's me.

Yep, still here.

Life has been stressful lately ... I've been swamped at work with General Council coming up (it's happening right now, actually) so I have not had enough energy at the end of my day to even think about writing anything else that doesn't have to do with work. Ha! I'm hoping to have some posts up in a few days (need to finish up that PA trip recap, along with Selah's 7 month post, June and July roundup, etc.) once I feel up to it. Sometimes it's nice to take a little unannounced blog vacation, you know? I've just been reading along with posts and not feeling any pressure to write. Kinda nice, but I miss the routine.

To hold you over for a few more days, I have some pretty (cute!) pictures for you. We recently got our pictures back from Selah's 6 month session with Heather Cherie Photography and they are amazing as usual:

You can see her newborn and 3 month sessions here.
Hope you are having a good week! :)

Our PA trip: Rita's.

2011-07-13T14:04:00.001-05:00

Man oh man oh man.

I was just reminiscing a few weeks ago about Rita's Italian Ice back East. I love love love that place, and it's such a bummer that we don't have one anywhere near Missouri (although Andy's Frozen Custard is pretty amazing). Whenever we landed in PA it was seriously all I thought of. I researched online and they had added a few locations since I visited last year ... well there so happened to be a Rita's a few blocks away from where both my parents live (they live maybe a mile apart) so we went there twice during our trip. So. Worth. It.
On Friday night, my friend Amy (we've been friends since 6th grade) drove up from Columbus to visit with us, and we talked her into going with us to Rita's. My sister Sarah came with us too. My baby sister was sleeping and baby Selah stayed at home with grandma for a little while.

I love the cherry ice and vanilla custard gelati ... it's seriously to die for! Amy got one of those and we brought one home for my mom. Caleb and I decided to try the 4th of Gelati that they were advertising. It was absolutely delicious, of course. It's a cup with custard of your choice on the bottom (I always get the vanilla), topped with fresh Italian ice (in this case, blue raspberry and Swedish Fish), then topped with more custard. It's so, so, so good. The Swedish Fish flavor and tasted just like the name suggests. Sarah got the Fudge Brownie gelati. Holy cow. All were beyond delicious and so refreshing.

It was so fantastic, in fact, that we decided to go back for a second night on Saturday.
My sister Sarah and her friend Mike shared an orange cream gelati and Bethy got the fudge brownie gelati. I decided to try a reese's cup blendini, which is essentially a DQ Blizzard with flavored italian ice in it (I just got vanilla ice and vanilla custard ... could you imagine something like blue raspberry ice with reese's cups and chocolate custard? HAHA). I believe Caleb tried the pina colada gelati. We gave Sailor a little bite here and there too. ;)

You can bet we'll be stopping by Rita's any and every time we make it over to Pittsburgh! See all their locations here.

Selah: 6 months old

2011-07-10T12:12:00.000-05:00

Selah, this is my favorite age so far. You are turning into the biggest ham, the sweetest little girl, and more each day your personality emerges. You are incredibly curious and try to figure out how everything works. You’ve been rolling all over the place and getting into things. Now if I take my eyes off of you for just a second you’re across the room, it's pretty wild!

You raise your arms when we say "up?" and then give us the sweetest smile. You can pull yourself up and can stand without assistance. You’ve been babbling a lot. You love watching "Yo Gabba Gabba" and can’t get enough of the books "Brown bear brown bear" and "Hungry little caterpillar." In fact, you are very into “reading” and books.

You are fascinated by clapping hands and just started to clap yourself. You absolutely love when daddy tosses you in the air. Your favorite thing is still your blanket but you also love keys and stacking rings and your bear.

You love to laugh and smile and make the silliest faces. Your new sleeping position is either on your side or stomach, like a frog. It’s funny. Your new thing is sitting up! You just started doing it a few days before your session. So cute!

You are the best thing in our lives, Selah, and we love you so much. Can’t wait to see what is in store for the next six months! You are going to grow up to be a lovely lady!

Embrace the Camera: July 7.

2011-07-07T18:18:00.001-05:00

Here's a photo from the plane ride that I left out of the last post. I love this picture! Selah was sooooo tired and just wanted to cuddle up with me. I was so excited for her first plane ride.

I'm linking up here:

Our PA trip: the plane ride.

2011-07-07T08:56:00.001-05:00

This past weekend (well, Friday to Tuesday) we flew to Pennsylvania to visit my family. Which is why I've been a little MIA the past few days, ha. We left our house at 4:30 AM on Friday morning and drove 3 1/2 hours to St. Louis ... stopped by our cousins' house and left our car there, he floored it to the airport, we took forever to get through security with a baby, our plane was delayed due to overbooking, then we finally boarded the plane and were on our way to Pittsburgh. Woot. I've flown a million times by myself to get home in college, but this was the first time I had flown with someone else. I'm glad I knew the airport drill or we wouldn't have made it to our gate on time! It was Selah and Caleb's first plane ride.:)

Selah was an angel the whole plane ride. I kept her in the Moby wrap during takeoff and landing so she would be safe and during part of the flight so we were both more comfortable. to She just so happened to be hungry when the plane started down the runway, so I fed her a bottle on takeoff and that seemed to help prevent any ear pain. She was in a deep sleep the first 35 minutes of the flight, and just laid on my lap peacefully. And when she woke up, she was ridiculously happy. She kept leaning over my shoulder to look out the window, and happily played with toys I laid out on the tray table. She was smiling from ear to ear the rest of the flight (see next photo... one of my favorites from the trip.)

She wasn't hungry when we started taxiing down since she had just eaten only 45 minutes before, so I just gave her the binky to chew on to help her ears. She HATES her binky and refuses to take it unless she's absolutely exhausted, which is a good thing, I guess? It would be nice if it could calm her down at times, but we won't have to go through that binky-prying stage. :)

It was such a fun trip and we are so blessed to have such a happy and content baby to travel with. :) I'll be back later to tell you more about our adventures! I took a lot of pictures so there will be installments.

A month in photos: June 2011.

2011-07-04T18:22:00.000-05:00

We did a lot of fun things this month. Can't believe how fast it flew by!

In case you can't read the text...

1. Selah painted a picture at church for Daddy on Father's Day.
2. We had family movie night, and everyone camped out in the living room.
3. Selah made her first Build-A-Bear with a gift card from Auntie Sarah.
4. We went to the First Friday Art Walk. Selah loved hanging out in the Moby.
5. For Father's Day, we had a picnic lunch in the park. Little Sailor loved playing on the picnic blanket.
6. Selah's Half Birthday Party.
7. Heather took pictures of Selah for her 6 month session. We were so glad she learned how to sit up only a few days before.
8. We gave Selah a taste of ice cream, a half birthday tradition.
9. Mommy and Selah went swimming. Selah loved her first time in the pool.
10. Selah loves to stand and is learning to pull herself up by herself, so we had to lower her crib rails already.

I'm linking up here:

Embrace the Camera, June 30.

2011-06-30T11:11:00.000-05:00

I'm linking up here:

Week's peek {Goodbyn lunches}: June

2011-06-29T12:00:00.002-05:00

Hey there! Today I am bringing you a new feature on the blog. It's super colorful and fun, I'm really excited about it (obviously...) and I hope it will inspire you to pack more colorful and healthy lunches. I used to hate packing lunches every night or morning but it's become a fun little hobby now that I have my Goodbyn.

Basically, I will feature a week's worth (a work week = 5 days, just to clarify) of Goodbyn lunches each month. It may be an actual week, or five random days from the month. You'll never know! Haha.

Without further ado, here's a week's peek at Goodbyn lunches in June.

Clearly I love salad, and enjoy packing lots of fruits and veggies. Those chocolate bunnies are a perfect little pick-me-up. A small dose of chocolate for dessert, and they are super healthy (and organic! hello!) ... they actually taste like Teddy Grahams, if you're wondering.

Also, those dip containers ... found those little gems at the Dollar Tree. 10 containers for a $1. Yes, .10 a piece ... what a steal!

I hope you enjoyed peeking into my lunchbox! Any questions about the Goodbyn or how to keep food items fresh and cold, ask away in the comments below. :)

*Disclaimer: I am not receiving any compensation or free merchandise to review Goodbyn products. I simply love the products and believe in the company and their mission. All positive feedback is simply from the bottom of my heart. Just had to throw that out there. ;)

Selah's 6 month checkup.

2011-06-26T18:37:00.000-05:00

Friday was Selah's 6 month checkup and since Caleb happened to have the day off work, he was able to take her to the doctor. It was the first time that I haven't gone to her appointment, so of course I sent him with a list of questions to ask the doctor and asked that he PLEASE take pictures for the blog and Selah's scrapbook. Haha. Yes. I am one of THOSE moms. :)

Caleb said Sailor had the time of her life playing with the crinkly paper on the table.
Selah's measuring in now at 15 3/4 pounds and is 25 1/2 inches tall. She's in the 25th percentile for everything, which is where she's been all along. She's our tall, skinny girl.
Oh! And have I mentioned that we have a sitter on our hands? Selah can sit for a minute or so unassisted. It's so exciting. We've been working with her on it, and she has been soooo close. Her 6 month pictures were on Saturday, and we were hoping she would be sitting by then for some good shots ... she sat all by herself for a few poses and we were thrilled. She's getting so smart.

Selah, 6 months {video}

2011-06-24T09:23:00.000-05:00

I love how she's just rolling around and blabbing through the entire thing.

See her 3 months video here.

Caleb's first Father's Day {+Embrace the Camera, June 23}

2011-06-23T09:38:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday was Caleb's first real Father's Day. We knew we were pregnant last year, but this year we actually got to celebrate with Selah. :)

We went to church that morning and Selah brought home a little painting of her feet from her Sunday school class. I didn't know they were doing that. It was so cute.

And after the photo was taken, in typical Selah fashion, she swiped it and started chewing on it. Haha.

After church, we packed up our picnic basket and blanket and little Sailor and headed to the park. It was a pretty hot day out but we managed to find a shady tree to eat our lunch and enjoy time together. A picnic is great when you have a roly-poly baby, by the way. She was in heaven rolling all over the blanket and eating her hat.

We packed a sandwich for Caleb, chips, grapes, cheese, crackers and lemonade. I had a big breakfast so I wasn't that hungry and it was grocery day so we didn't have many veggie options in the house anyway.

As you can see, she was going after my plate. I decided to just hand her a cracker. She licked it and gummed it and crumbled it to her hearts desire. I believe she actually gnawed a little piece and ate a few bites, and we gave her a sip of water. We're teaching her how to use her sippy cup... she constantly grabs our cups and will drink from them.

She sure does love her daddy. And the swings are her best friend. She squeals when you let go!

Hope your Father's Day was wonderful! It's so important to celebrate our daddies (and husbands!), on Father's Day, especially, but also throughout the entire year. :)

I'm linking up here:

Getting to know us: a vlog

2011-06-22T21:22:00.000-05:00

I've seen this floating around on the internet, particularly a few months back by The Quiet Life of Violet and The Veda House. I thought it would be fun to give it a try, since I have never done a vlog on here, and it was something the whole family could participate in. :)

[Originally there were 32 questions, but I was annoyed that it landed on a strange number, so I added a few. I didn't want to delete any! Haha. OCD, much? Maybe.]

To all my new readers: hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! You are lucky that you don't have to read 234234235345 posts to get to know me, my husband, my daughter, and my blog. Jump right in!

Alright, here it is! (It's in two parts because it was too long for YouTube.)

The Questions:
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
3. HOW OLD ARE YOU?
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
6. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
8. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
9. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
10. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
12. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
13. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
14. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
15. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
16. RED OR PINK?
17. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
18. HAIR COLOR?
19. EYE COLOR?
20. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
21. SUMMER OR WINTER?
22. FAVORITE DESSERT?
23. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?
24. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
25. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
26. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?
27. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?
28. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?
29. WHAT WOULD YOU NAME YOURSELF IF YOU COULD PICK YOUR NAME?
30. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM VEHICLE?
31. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP?
32. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE THAT YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE?
33. WHAT ARE YOU REALLY AFRAID OF?
34. DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS?
35. HOW DID YOU MEET?

So much fun. I plan on doing more of these soon, so if you have any ideas or topics, please e-mail me or leave them in the comments section. You can always ask me questions via formspring, on the left. Andddddd, let me know if you attempt your own "getting to know..." post. I would LOVE to see it! XO.

Embrace the Camera, June 16.

2011-06-21T13:16:00.001-05:00

I was sick with walking pneumonia (still am, just not disgusting-sounding and contagious) last week and slept most of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday away to get better since I couldn't come to work. So I apologize for slacking in blogging, ha.

Here's the Embrace post I missed last week.

On Saturday, I went swimming with my friend Heather at her neighborhood pool. This was Selah's first time in a big pool, although she has been in the lake once. We got her a little baby boat a few weeks ago and I was anxious to try it out. She sat in the boat for a while and kicked her legs but also loved it when I held her out and spun her in the water a little bit. Her favorite part was standing on the stairs in the pool and flailing her arms to splash water everywhere. She was so cute.

And before you say anything about my diva-fied outfit ... lets just say I am wearing a skirt coverup because nobody wants to see my collection of stretch marks and flabby post-baby belly, and the hat is because of the 6749569 pills I am currently on that say "avoid direct sunlight while taking this medication." So there's THAT.

I am anxious to get her to the pool again. :)

I'm linking up here:

Lunchtime is my new favorite.

2011-06-20T12:00:00.001-05:00

I ordered this amazing little lunchbox a few weeks ago, and it finally made it to my doorstep! (Sidenote: sometimes Amazon is cheaper, but more frustrating than ordering straight from the company ... ha)

Anyways, this cute and functional new lunchbox is a Blue Goodbyn Original Lunchbox, and I'm loving it.

No more plastic bags or a billion containers and an extra purse to carry it all, portion control, throw it in the dishwasher at the end of the day. Plus, its cute. And it's 100% recyclable, free of BPA's, phthalates and lead. Good deal.

Did I mention it was huge? The pictures don't do it justice, ha. It's actually really cool though, because you can fit an entire banana, apple, or salad at the top. Mine has 5 compartments, but there is also a smaller Bynto box with 3. You can see all of the other Goodbyn options here.

I enjoy meal planning, and thinking up healthy, filling lunches ... but I dread packing the lunch up and transporting it. I am so excited to start packing lunches in my Goodbyn everyday. I like the idea of perfect-sized little compartments to fit everything I need, even a water bottle.

I was home sick Friday (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, actually ... stupid walking pneumonia..) and I couldn't resist packing my lunch in my Goodbyn, although I was only eating on the couch. I really love this little container. :)

cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and ranch dip; water and string cheese; Annie's organic chocolate bunnies; Granny smith apple slices; egg salad sandwiches; peanut butter for apple dipping.

Do you have a Goodbyn? Or do you want to order one now that I've told you about it? :) Please tell.

DIY: Selah's Loud Blanket.

2011-06-18T00:38:00.002-05:00

I saw this post last April on Smile and Wave, and immediately fell in love. It's such a basic concept, and the end result is a simple toy. I bookmarked it to my favorites in hopes that I could make one for my baby someday. And here we are.

I tweaked Rachel's design a little bit, and made it more girly. I found this killer bright yellow and hot pink fabric the other day for half price, and there was only a 1/4 of a yard left ... enough to make 2 blankets and a pair of shoes for Selah. SCORE!

I just eyeballed the length. The mini ribbon is so that you can attach it to a plastic link and then to a carseat or stroller. I used one zebra ribbon on each side, two yellow ribbons on each side, and two pink ones on each side.

It's really up to you how many sides need ribbon. You can put them on one side, two sides, three sides or all four sides. I noticed Selah likes to hold things with two hands, so I put the ribbons on alternating sides so she could hold them simultaneously.

Selah likes to rub her fingers over the ribbons and chew on them. She's cutting teeth ... anything that can distract her and provide her with a chewing surface is a good thing :)

If you decide to make your own loud blanket using my tutorial, email me a photo (email contact button is on the left sidebar) or leave a link in the comments! I'd love to see the different variations.

Selah's half birthday gathering.

2011-06-13T16:34:00.001-05:00

We had a little get-together at our house yesterday to celebrate our 6-month old. We invited all of our friends but Sunday was kind of a busy day for everyone. It ended up being only us, Caleb's parents and our friend Katie in the end, but we had a lot of fun anyway.

My favorite part about putting this together was the food table. I love planning food, and it was great that I could go along with the "half" theme — everything was mini/baby/bite size or cut in half. My father-in-law even joked around and asked if he could have half a napkin.

The tubs and trays worked out great, and I'm saving them for Selah's birthday party because they go great with the theme I have picked out (not telling!).

I can't believe we have a 6-month old. Seriously.

sandwich halves, baby celery/carrots/tomatoes.

watermelon halves, mini cupcakes.


Sailor and MeeMaw.

Sailor and Pawpaw.

Ps. See that pretty little zebra print fabric there? It's a loud blanket I made for Selah ... I will be posting a tutorial tomorrow. :)

Embrace the Camera, June 9. {+pretty shoes}

2011-06-10T16:30:00.013-05:00

As far as Embrace the Camera, forgive me for forgetting to post this yesterday, I was distracted with lots of things. Better late than never, I suppose. :)
Oh! And I made her these shoes last night with scraps of fabric I had. First time I worked with interfacing, it was a dream. I had made her a pair of shoes before without it and they were so flimsy. I also used elastic on the first shoes and I love this velcro strap instead. I bought a stack of fabric and I have plans to make a handful of shoes for Selah (and my nephews!) Happy Weekend! I'm off to so some more crafting tonight. I'm linking up here:

Selah: 5 months old.

2011-06-10T12:34:00.000-05:00

Little miss Selah, you are a little peanut, but you sure are tall. You're about 14 1/2 pounds and is 27 inches tall now.

You’re eating about 10 kinds of baby food. Your favorite is sweet potatoes. You definitely hate rice cereal no matter what the consistency or what fruit I mix with it. You don’t really like peas either, but will eat them if mixed with other things. Mama's getting clever.

You are a mover, that’s for sure. You roll both ways with intention, scoot along and pivot around. You never stay on your blanket with your toys. You’re working on sitting up alone. You will sit up with a pillow, and can do the best sit ups, let me tell you.

You love standing and will stand for several seconds without support. You yell and make the funniest grunting and humming noises when you’re busy playing. You smack things and study them. You put everything in your hands and mouth.

You turn when we call you and focus your attention on things in front of you. Your favorite shows involve music and singing. We’re teaching you sign language ... right now you’re learning "milk" and "eat."

You just babble to yourself all the time and say ba ba ba. When we show you your bottle you get really excited. You’re such a smart cookie. I think you’ll be sitting, crawling and standing before we know it. We sure love you peanut.