....but ava never did this!

I find myself saying this A LOT lately.

And here's why.

Grayson has decided that he no longer likes to sleep in his own bed. He'll pass out as soon as we get in the car to go somewhere....even if it's just 10 minutes down the road to get Ava from school. He has no problem falling asleep in my bed. And I seriously don't know what to do! Sunday night we put him to bed like we normally do and he wasn't having any of it! He actually flipped himself out of his crib. Yep. Right over the rails & on to the floor. He came walking into Ava's room with his blankies in hand like everything was all honkey dory. The hubs decided that it was time to change his bed into a toddler bed. So, there we were at 8pm on Sunday night changing out rails. Awesome. He HATES it. Like, really hates it. We put the child proof knob cover over the door. He got it off. We locked the door. He unlocked it. We put the gate at his door. He stands behind it and screams. And throws blankets, pacis, toys, and diapers over it.

Last night, the hubs had the brilliant idea to use some duct tape to keep the child proof knob cover on. G was less than thrilled with that idea. He must have stood at his door for at least two and a half hours crying. I felt terrible just leaving him in there. But, I THINK he eventually fell asleep....I know I did! I heard him crying again {louder than earlier in the night} around 3am and broke down and let him come in our bed. He must have slept some in his room last night because he's up and running around right now.

I'm praying this is some kind of weird phase he's going through and he gets over it soon. I'm trying my hardest to be tough and not cave in to him when he cries at bedtime & nap time.....but it's SO HARD!

I'm ready for a full nights sleep with no crying.

::photo recap of 2012:: pt. 2

JUNE:

this summer was INSANELY hot! we spent a LOT of time at my mom & dad's in their pool and playing in the sprinkler in the front yard!

JULY:

july was busy & exciting!! we celebrated the 4th at my mom & dad's....colin & molly even got to come home!! it was a blast!

*

we had our big family vacation to the beach!! it was beyond fun & relaxing!! i was ready to go back the day we left!! we were able to spend the week with one of our favorite families! i see another beach trip with them SOON!

 {we even snuck in some beach family pictures!!!}

and...the hubs & i celebrated our 4yr wedding anniversary.

AUGUST:

my baby girl started kindergarten!!!!

and i actually survived her first day!!!

SEPTEMBER:

september was a quiet & fairly calm month! we went to a few birthday parties & had lots of family time. it was nice to relax after the summer madness & before the holiday madness started!!

OCTOBER:

ava had her first REAL school field trip to the pumpkin patch. she had a blast!!

*

of course we had to take our pretty pirate & strong hulk trick-or-treating. grayson had SO much fun! 

*

instead of carving pumpkins.....the kids painted theirs! they had so much fun! 

NOVEMBER:

we celebrated thanksgiving. just the four of us. at our own house. it was nice....minus the two incredibly cranky kids.

*

ava turned six!!! she had a "lalaloopsy" birthday party. it couldn't have turned out any better! all of her friends came. the weather was awesome. and her cake was AMAZING!!!

DECEMBER:

christmas activities were in FULL BLOOM!! and. the hubby was gone most of the month. total awesomeness.

the highlight of my christmas.....getting to spend it with my brother before he left for deployment!! it's hard to believe that he'll be gone for TEN MONTHS. ugh. 

*

so. we went to a local thing they do every year called "santa's village". what.a.waste! the line to see santa was AT LEAST an hour long. it was packed. hot. smelly. gross. i highly doubt we'll be going again.

instead.....we'll go back to this neighborhood where there's a house with lights set to music. and a house FILLED with amazing decor. they had fake snow and SANTA!! the kids loved it. and the best part.....IT WAS FREE!! we were shocked when g hopped right up on santa's lap! 

*

chick was nice & offered to watch g one night so that ava & i could have a girls night. we had dinner at red robin {her favorite!!!} and went to see "rise of the guardians". we had a blast!!!

*

SANTA CAME!!! seeing their faces christmas morning was priceless!! 

2012 was a great year filled with great friends, family, and lots of amazing moments. I pray that 2013 is just the same!

::photo recap of 2012:: pt.1

I still can't believe that 2012 is pretty much over. This year has FLOWN by! I'm really needing for time to slow down. {i say this in almost EVERY blog post. but seriously......}

JANUARY:

grayson turned one!!

FEBRUARY:

february's are usually pretty laid back. we celebrated valentine's day & my the start of my last year in my 20's!

MARCH:

ava lost {and swallowed!!} her first tooth!

APRIL:

ava was OFFICIALLY registered for kindergarten!!

a lot of time was spent with our favorite family.  seriously. pretty much every weekend we did something together! it was great!

MAY:

the kids & i took a weekend trip to beaufort/charleston, sc to visit my sister in law with my mom.

Part two will be up later.......I must tend to my demanding children!! 

Happy New Year!

Living Room Re-do!

A few weeks ago....I finally got around to putting up our updated family pictures from our beach trip. It was SO hard to decide what prints to order!!! And finding frames....HA! That's nearly impossible....or so I thought!!! 

I was able to score an AMAZING frame at the new HomeGoods for a whopping $14.99!! Not too shabby for a matted frame to hold an 11 x 14!!! I found ONE frame at Hobby Lobby & the rest at WalMart(!!!!!!shocker!!!!!!). It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to arrange them. But, after moving them around a million times, I finally had the frames situated the way I liked them. Once that was done, I was able to get a few "filler" pieces! I got two crosses & a big "S" from Hobby Lobby for all of MAYBE $10!! My wall was fairly inexpensive! And I must say, I'm pretty proud of it! Here's the finished product......

I LOVE the way it turned out!! And how the "random" frames!! All I need is a little something to go above the black & white photo of the kids........

*

I did two more little updates in the living room this month. Zoe decided to leave us a pretty little present on the area rug. So, it had to be replaced since it wouldn't come clean. I have been DYING to get a "shag" rug for the living room....and this was the perfect excuse to finally get it! 

It looks SO much better & is a lot more comfortable of a rug!!! And, you can't see the dog hair...or the dog!!!!

*

Next, I had to break down & replace my living room pillows. The ones I had were SUPER old. Like, almost 8 years old. And were home made. I had to wash them about a week ago.....and in the process, they ripped. Well, the two big ones did. I tried to make them work as long as I could. But, we were having company over last weekend & I couldn't bare to have them any longer! So, off to WalMart I went! I was actually really surprised at what I found! I love the subtle pop's of color!!! The living room totally feels more "homey" now! 

*

OH! Before I forget....we FINALLY got our back door replaced! Here's a peek at the NEW door & window treatments!!

Sorry for the horrible picture! I'll post more on this lovely experience later!!!!

November is almost over!?

How can it be? Did I REALLY ignore this blog the entire month of October!? Goodness! So much has happened, I don't know where to begin!! I guess with a quick rundown of October's life events!!

: OCTOBER : 

*Ava had her first REAL kindergarten field trip to the local pumpkin patch & I was lucky enough to chaperone. All I can say is.....it takes a VERY special person to be a kindergarten etcher & I am BEYOND thankful that Ava has such an amazing one!

*The hubs spent a week in Phoenix for work. I swear, these week long trips feel like they take F.O.R.E.V.E.R!!!!

*We painted pumpkins this year instead of carving.....let me take that back....the KIDS painted pumpkins & the hubs carved his. It was fun watching Ava be so creative! That girl.....she's going to go FAR in life & that just makes my heart so happy!

*Halloween!!! We Trick-or-Treated in our neighborhood. Our little Hulk & pretty Pirate had a blast! They got entirely too much candy....as usual!!

: NOVEMBER :

*I started a new job at a local drug/alcohol rehab facility. It is definitely an eye opening experience. It makes me sad to see all of the young teenagers that are in there. 

*After spending a week working....the hubby & I decided that maybe it's time for me to look back into going to school. Originally, I wanted to go back for my RN.....but since working in the medical field the past 6+ years, I don't think that's really what I want to do! So, I decided to do what I originally wanted to do & go back to school for Dental Hygiene. Right now, I'm in the process of getting all transcripts, applications, and forms sent in! Fingers crossed all goes well & I'm able to start in the spring!! (well, really january! but whatever!!)

*Thanksgiving......we will be having our OWN Thanksgiving dinner at OUR house this year. Just the four of us. I'm nervous, sad, and excited all at the same time. My parents are going to Pennsylvania & my brother & sister in law will be in Nevada! It should be a good time......

*A few weekends ago we did our family pics for our Christmas card. Oh lord. Grayson wasn't having ANY of it! (of course!!) But, as usual, Jenny was able to produce some awesome pics!! Here's a peek.....

I guess that's it for now! There's been so much more......but I don't want to bore everyone with it!! So here's just a few more pictures of the past few weeks!!!

Enjoy!!