Friday Favorites {Graham turns one!}

Happy Friday! What a great day for our little family. Today my sweet Graham turns one! I can't believe it.

I thought that the first year with Jack flew by, but it was nothing compared to how quickly this first year with Graham has gone. I still feel like he is a newborn and can't figure out how 365 days have already come and gone. As I was putting him to bed last night I gave him some extra long snuggles and kisses. I have such a happy sad feeling going on right now. I love watching my boys grow up. I love seeing what stage they are in and new things they are learning. But I also love the baby stage. Maybe not while I'm in it but looking back I think about how much I love it. I wish so badly that I had taken time to really enjoy it with Graham but with 2 boys two and under this past year has been quite a blur.

If you have not ready my birth story you can check out part 1 here and part 2 here.  While looking back at the pictures of the first days of Grahams life bring back all kinds of emotions for me I love seeing them and how far he has come! My tiny baby has turned into a cruising, crawling, chatty one year old!

Sweet Graham,
You surprised us all by coming into this world 3 weeks early, and you haven't stopped surprising me since! You are absolutely the happiest baby! It's hard to remember what life was like before you were born. You always know how to make us smile and you give the sweetest and best kisses. I love when you want to hold my hand and snuggle, while these moments are rare they are sure cherished! You love your brother and find him to be the funniest! Watching your bond with him over this year has been nothing short of amazing. The two of you have been best friends since we brought you home from the hospital. No one makes you light up more than when he walks into the room. You love your daddy fierce! So much so that Dada is what comes out of your mouth 99% of the time.  I have yet to hear mama more than once or twice but I know it's coming! You have grown so much over this past month. Going from my tiny babe to looking like a toddler. Your curly red hair is something everyone talks about. We can't get through the grocery store without a comment or a smile about it! I adore it. I am so glad that is something you got from your daddy! Although you have his hair you look just like me, and I am more than happy about that!! Your laughs are contagious and your gummy smiles melt my heart. There are so many more things that we love about you that I could go on for days! Your first year of life has been nothing short of amazing and I cannot wait to see what year 2 holds! We love you to the moon and back precious boy!!

I had some one year pictures taken of him last week and I am in love with them! We will be celebrating this boy all weekend and will have a small party for him Sunday!

Happy First Birthday Graham, we love you!!

*linking up with Andrea, April, and Karli

Thursday Confessions

I love how quickly a week goes by when Monday is still part of your weekend! Since we didn't get home from Charlotte until Monday this week seriously has flown. I'm back for another round of confessions and thoughts!

I confess....

// That Graham is going to be ONE tomorrow and I am having all the feels. I could cry at the drop of a hat right now just thinking about how fast this year went by. I am especially thinking a lot about his first week of life and spending it in the hospital. I thought Jacks first year flew by, but Grahams went at lightening speed!

// That I'm not sure why I thought it was a good idea to have both boys birthday parties on back to back weekends. I'm already exhausted thinking about it and they haven't even started.

// Speaking of birthday parties...I've hardly done a thing to get ready for Grahams! It's on Sunday and I really need to get my act together.

// My house is always in a constant state of disaster. Seriously, how do you stay on top of it? I am constantly picking up and by the end of the day its a wreck again.

// To go along with the one above, I wish I had a mudroom. Somewhere that I could put things. It all ends up in my dining room or kitchen because we have no where to just lay anything..shoes, bags, anything!!

// That I posted a picture on instagram of this sweatshirt tunic and I really think everyone needs it! I just ordered it in two more colors because I will wear it all winter!

// That I'm overly excited for  Gilmore Girls to make a come back on netflix! I really want to start from season one before the new episodes start.

// That we are having all of the trim on the outside of our house painted and I feel like it's been a revolving door all week. People coming and going, cars parked all over. I'm ready for them to be done. However, I know it's going to look so much better than it did so I am excited about that!

Ok, that's enough of my ranting for now! I am going to have a fun friday favorites post up tomorrow all about sweet Graham turning one! I still can't believe it...I may be sobbing the entire time I try to write the post!

*linking up with Danielle and Annie

Finding Your Mom Tribe

Hey friends! Sorry for my lack of post yesterday. Friday we left for Charlotte to spend the weekend with my family and we didn't get back until yesterday afternoon. It was a great weekend. We had a surprise 40th birthday dinner for my sweet sister and all the cousins had the best time playing. This was the first time that I have been comfortable with Jack being able to go and do without needing constant supervision. It was SO nice not worrying about him going up and down the stairs and what he was getting in to.. I can't wait until that happens with Graham {in like 2 years!} It was definitely too short of a trip but very fun nonetheless!


Today I want to talk about something that I think every new mom {or even non mom!} has struggled with....finding your tribe. That group of women that you can turn to during the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. If you aren't a mom then its those girls that you can call up and go out for drinks or a night on the town with, the ones you gossip to about you boyfriend or husband. If you are a mom then it's the women that you can call up when your new baby won't stop crying and you are about to lose your mind if you don't get some sort of help. The ones that you can cry to on the phone because your baby won't stop spitting up and your toddler has had his fifth meltdown of the day and it's not even 10 am. {These all may or may not have happened to me!}

When I met my husband and moved to his small town I was automatically thrown into his group of friends. They were all sweet and welcoming and we had a great time. The problem was, they were all 7 years older than me and had been married for years and had children. I was newly married without children. I had a great time with them and loved their children but it was still hard because we were not always in the same stage of life. Fast forward 2 years later and I had a newborn baby boy. While I was dealing with diapers, formula and spit up they were getting their children ready for elementary school. While I have maintained great friendships with these girls and they were awesome to learn how to "be a mom" from it was hard at the same time. I often felt lonely.

This is when I decided I had to take matters into my own hands. I began reaching out to other moms who had babies Jacks age. I got involved in this local moms group and we had play dates and I met some great girls. I am still friends with them today and Jack's best friend Charlotte has been his best friend since they were 6 months old.

Preschool was a great way to meet other moms. Jack had a great mothers morning out class last year and I was able to form great relationships with these mamas. Our kids loved hanging out and we quickly went from seeing each other at drop off to spending weekends together for cookouts and play dates.

 I even met one of my closest friends in target! I shared that story awhile ago. Our boys are great friends and I love that I can call on her for anything!  I have formed great relationships with these girls and know that I can text them anytime with any question. We often bounce ideas off each other especially about sleep and eating habits...two things that are a big topic these days! Oh, and potty training! All the potty training questions!!

I then started this little blog of mine almost a year ago! I have met so many awesome mamas and non-mamas along the way! I have loved connecting with each of them and truly feel like I'm beginning to make some great friendships! It's funny how you can never have met someone but just through reading a blog and being instagram friends feel like you know so much!

I am writing this for any of you that may feel like you haven't found your tribe yet! Or those of you that have you know exactly what I"m talking about. It's so important to have women in your life that you can count on. Being a mom is hard, really hard! And as much as my sweet husband cares for me it's just not the same sometimes as talking to my girlfriends. So, find your tribe and love them hard!!

Thanks for sticking with me through all that. This post definitely lacked in pictures which doesn't happen often but it was something I've been wanting to share about!

I would love to hear about your tribe! What are some things that y'all love to do or talk about!

*Linking up with Our Pretty Little Girls

Friday Favorites!

It's Fri-YAY! So glad the weekend is finally here. This week has dragged..We are headed to Charlotte today to see my family! I haven't seen any of them since our trip to Michigan in July so I'm super excited! 

My top favorites from the week! 

O N E | I shared on instagram the other day that my favorite jeggings from Old Navy are back in stock! They have been sold out in almost every size for weeks. If you don't have them I can't say enough how much I love them! 

T W O | This book arrived at my doorstep yesterday. I just finished reading Andi Dorfmans book which was so good! I can't wait to start reading about Chip and JoJo..if you don't know them or don't love them I'm not sure we can be friends! 

T H R E E | I also got these tops from Old Navy in the mail the other day. After Sweet Southern Prep posted about them I just knew I had to order. They are great! So soft and long enough to wear with leggings! 

F O U R | I snapped this picture of sweet Graham yesterday. I can't believe he will be one next week!!  How did a year already fly by? 

F I V E | My last favorite this week is of Jack. He was watching Room On The Broom on Netflix and I turned around and loved how he was laying. Looks like such a teenager to me. 

A bit of a random five things but all favorites. Also, I am being featured on Annie's blog today. If you want to learn more about me and why I'm blogging hop over to her cute space to check it out! 

Have a great weekend!! 

linking up with Andrea, April, and Karli

Thursday Confessions

Well here we are Thursday, I am happy to see you! This week is kicking my butt! Tuesday I had to go to Chapel Hill for a dermatologist appointment which took forever and then took me 2 hours to get home, thanks to rush hour traffic! Yesterday I took Graham to the doctor to have something looked at and didn't have a sitter for Jack so I had to schlep both boys! Thankfully all is fine and it was a pointless trip. Better safe than sorry!

I haven't posted Thursday confessions in forever! Every week I have intentions to do so and then it comes and goes and the post didn't get written! I've been keeping a running list on my phone though.

I confess...

// That lately I find myself tearing up sometimes when I hear Jack talking. He is growing up so much and will sit there and play with his action figure "guys" and have a full on conversation with them! It's amazing to me what a little person he is becoming!

// That I HATE to workout...I wish that I was one of those girls that loved it. Who had no problem getting up in the morning and getting a workout in {I'm looking at you sister} but I am far from that. I can easily find every excuse in the book as to why I didn't work out that day and can be persuaded to not go to the gym at the drop of a hat! I love my barre class but am only able to go twice a week right now.

// I keep seeing people talking about canceling their cable and I look at them like they have 5 heads. I don't understand why anyone would want to do that! I know there are so many shows on netflix and on demand but no..we just can't do it in our house. Our DVR is constantly full of shows we like to watch and the fact that I wouldn't have Disney Jr. at the ready is enough to never make me cancel it!

//  I am beyond sick of the follow/unfollow game on Instagram. I've said it before, I know. It's such a pointless thing. I follow the people I want to, not just because I want to get a follower! The whole thing is dumb and if you want to play that game with me I'll play it right back to you!

//  I have found myself on many occasions listening to whatever movie or kids music is playing in my car well after I don't have any children in my car. This especially happens after drop off to school. I will get 10 minutes down the road and realize that I have been listening to Mickey or Zootopia and there are no little eyes in my backseat!

// That potty training is a huge topic of conversation within my mom friend circle and we all have the same consensus. We don't want to do it. We want there to be a boot camp we can send our littles to who will come home and be trained! I just can't bring myself to do it. At this point Jack can go to Kindergarten in diapers!

// That we are still having sleep issues with Jack. He will do great sleeping in his bed for several nights and then the next several he is in our bed by 1 or 2 am. It is killing me. I am so sick of sharing a bed with him! He's such a bed hog and if he's not on top of me he's kicking me. I try to remind myself that its just a phase and one day I will want him to sleep with me.

//  Graham has been beyond fussy lately and it's driving me mad. Yesterday he whined/cried the entire time we were in the car. I know he's teething and it probably just has to do with that but man, it's exhausting!!

// I attempted to have Grahams one year pictures made the other day and it was a disaster. I found myself getting over frustrated with both boys and was certain we didn't get a single good one. I lost my cool and I was embarrassed about it. I'm thankful my babysitter was taking the pictures and she already knows that I am crazy! Luckily, she's the best and got some awesome shots! I can't wait to share them soon!

// That we are headed to Charlotte this weekend to see my family and while I am super excited {I haven't seen them since July!} I also know it's going to be exhausting. My parents house is not kid friendly and I will spend the whole time chasing after Graham making sure he doesn't put something in his mouth that he shouldn't! I'm already tired just thinking about it! I know it will be a fun weekend regardless.

Whew, are you tired of hearing me complain? What confessions do you have this week?

*Linking up with Danielle and Annie

Vollmer Farms

On Sunday we took an impromptu trip to Vollmer Farms. I had been wanting to take the boys to a pumpkin patch/farm for awhile but just couldn't find the right time. So when Megan told me they were headed there that morning I quickly jump at the opportunity to go {invited myself}. Back when the fall first started we went to our local farms fall festival. It was fun, but it was H-O-T and Graham didn't want to be strapped into the wearable contraption so it was miserable for all...minus Jack, who had an awesome time!  We stayed probably 20 minutes and left.

So, Sunday morning I got every dressed and out the door to meet our friends at 10 am when it opened. We have had a random heat wave of sorts come through so I was happy that it hadn't gotten too hot yet. Jack had lots of fun playing on the different activities and Graham happily rode in his stroller taking all the sights in.

Thanks for sticking your tongue out Patrick..the only family picture we got! 

I will say the only draw back to this particular farm was that you don't get a pumpkin included with your ticket! Say what? I didn't realize this until after we got there. It really annoyed me, who has a pumpkin patch/farm and doesn't give out a pumpkin with the admission? It was still a great time had by all!

*linking up with Our Pretty Little Girls

Scenes From Our Weekend

This weekend went from having no plans to being somewhat of a fun filled few days! I have not done a scenes from my weekend post in awhile so I thought that since we actually did something I would share! 

In my post Friday I said that Jack had come down with a random fever on Wednesday and that I had thought he was doing better that morning...thought being the key word. I was oh so wrong! He woke up totally fine Friday, seemed happy and his fever was gone. About 45 minutes after he woke up he started saying his tummy hurt, and he was getting warmer and warmer. He was definitely not acting himself and I knew that I didn't want to wait until 8 to  call and get an appointment with the ped for later in the day. Our ped has a walk in hour from 8-9 so at 7:20 I decided that we were going to head there. Our ped is 40ish minutes away and I needed to get all 3 of us dressed, drop Graham at my MIL's and head on. We surprisingly made it by about 8:20, and there was only one person waiting in front of us! 

By this time Jack was beyond miserable. The whole way there he was crying, and whining, and I could tell he felt horrible. He sat in my lap at the office and just laid his head down, which is so unlike him. This was by far the sickest I have seen him and it broke my heart. The nurse said that she had seen 4 cases of strep just within the past 24 hours and she would go ahead and swab him to be sure. He has only had strep one time before this and showed no symptoms so I didn't think it was out of the realm of possibility, and sure enough, it came back positive! I was actually quite glad it was this vs just a fever virus that had to run its course. Within a few hours of taking his first dose of antibiotics he was back to his usual self! Fever was gone and he was happy and playing! 

Aside from Jack being sick and pitiful, I had spent the previous 2 days waiting on Fed Ex to deliver my new iPhone. It kept saying that it was to be delivered by the end of day and each day it was bumped to the next day. Finally by Friday I was beyond annoyed and did not want to have to wait at home all day for a delivery. As I was leaving to take Graham to have his silhouette made I spotted the fed ex deliver truck. Y'all...I actually chased him down in my neighborhood to get my package. I was snapping the whole even to my friend Daphne. I was definitely the crazy girl, thankfully we have a sweet delivery driver and he knew exactly what it was that I wanted! I felt so much satisfaction after finding him and getting it! 

Graham and I headed to the store in town where Clay Rice was for his silhouette appointment. Thankfully it only takes him less than 5 minutes and there is the cutest picture of my baby to sit next to Jacks. 

We ordered pizza and just hung out the rest of the night. 

As if Jack hadn't been through enough the day before with his strep diagnosis he was 'helping' me make eggs for breakfast and I turned to put the hot pan in the sink and no sooner than I turned around he put his hand on the hot burner. I felt so bad!! He was a trooper and after the initial pain wore off he really hasn't complained much. It could have been so much worse, there are minimal blisters and it is just red. 

After breakfast  Patrick, Jack and I headed to his brothers to check on the damage from the flood and to see if they needed help. Jack had fun driving Davids truck and siting on the tractor. 

 All of this area in front of our car was completely under water. My brother in law drove a boat with a motor down this road!

We all came home and took good afternoon naps and then met my in laws for dinner. 

Sunday morning my friend Megan said they were headed to a farm and so we tagged along and met them there! I plan to share more details about this on Wednesday's halloween link up but here is a cute picture of my boys!! 

The rest of the day was spent watching football and hanging out. We enjoyed some outside time before dinner and baths! 

Whew, this turned into a much longer post than I had thought. Thanks for hanging with me until the end {if you made it that far!} 

I hope you had a great weekend! It's supposed to get back up into the 80's this week and I am not thrilled about it! 

*linking up with B Loved Boston