"Cribs" -- Nursery addition

I took these pictures of Eliza's room today so I could put them in her baby book. I'm pretty pleased with how her room turned out, so I thought I'd share.

Thanks for the rug Grandma!

And thanks for making the brown curtains Happy Jo...

and the vinyl!

I love vinyl! {Surprised?} It's such a great way to decorate. It's cheap --or free since I have connections --and the littlest thing can totally finish off a room. Remember Mckinlay's cute room? Did I ever post those pictures? Sometimes I can't remember if I actually posted something or just thought about it... So fun having a Mama that can turn my requests into reality.

Frames will be filled shortly. I'm just waiting on getting Eliza's newborn pictures back and printed.

And I won't go into detail, but I have to mention the dresser because of all we went through to get it. Let me just say Mom and I are lucky we didn't die on the dark back roads of Kentucky.

"Why in the world would they build and IKEA out here!?"

Special thanks to Laura for the darling mobile.

The room is even cuter in person. Come check it out for yourself. Winter's gonna be long and we'd love to have visitors!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

It's snowing. Very lightly and not even sticking to the ground, but it's the first snowfall of winter.

Isn't there something magical about the first snow!? It makes me think of the first time I saw snow. I was in Jr. High and everyone was so excited because "the girl from Hawaii got to see snow for the first time." I remember my music teacher opened up her backdoor and let us go outside and stand in it. It was magical then and I still think it is today. There is something about snow from Thanksgiving until New Years. Any other time though--the magic is gone.

We're snuggled up inside enjoying our Christmasy house and listening to Christmas music. Pretty darn fun decorating my own house for Christmas!

{Sorry the pictures are dark and not so good. No time to retake 'em.}

I found this wreath tutorial and am so pleased with how it turned out.

I got the ornaments from Dollar Tree. Drive on over and pick some up.

I'm looking forward to Turkey Day leftovers and then snuggling up to a movie with some cocoa and some Ty.

Let the Holiday's begin!!

P.S. Will you pick up a movie on your way home Ty?

Thanks.

Wish me luck

Happy Jo left us this morning.

Other than Mckinlay waking up at 5:30 and balling because she couldn't find her Happy Jo, play dough all over the kitchen table and the fact that she is eating her 3rd Go-Gurt of the morning (the package of which was just thrown at me because "she's all done!"), we're doing fine.

Love you so much mom! Thanks for everything!! And can't wait to see you again in 3 1/2 weeks!

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And can I show off my mother's amazing sewing skills?

Is that not the cutest baby quilt!? Ever!?

And if you too want a darling car seat cover, check out her blog.

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{Oh and Mom, she just found the peppermint you left her in the Christmas tree. Thanks.}

Week 1.

& check out all that hair!

We're trying not to think about Happy Jo leaving in 4 days.

"Can I hold Baby Eliza?"

A tired Mama and her darling girls.

"My little sweetie"

The sisters have met! And they are quite in love with each other.

Is it just me or does Mckinlay seem like she's about 5 years older than she was when I left for the hospital!?

Because of the flues going around, the hospital was not allowing visitors under the age of 18, so Mckinlay didn't get to meet Eliza until Wednesday when we got home.

Mckinlay is so sweet {and "careful"} with her and wants to do everything for her. "I can change her!" "I can hold her all by myself." "I can get her blanket!" {Although she knows only mommy can feed her "from her milk cups" or her "milky moles".} And she is always stroking her head calling her "my little sweetie." It's just about the cutest thing.

She doesn't like it when Eliza cries, it kinda stresses her out and she always covers her ears. And Eliza's "owie" {umbilical chord} freaks her out every time she sees it. She is convinced she can't touch the baby until it's gone {or until she forgets about it -- about 2 mins after seeing it.}

We are loving our little chubby cheeked girl.

Eliza Mae Loveless

Eliza Mae is finally here....
Weighing in at 8 lbs 5 oz. and 21 inches long. The exact same as her older sister Mckinlay!! Looks like she's going to be a good sleeper too!

Funny Mckinlay.

A couple days ago while driving in the car:
Mckinlay: "Is your baby gonna be here soon Mama!?"

Me: "Yeah. She'll be here in a few days."

Mckinlay: "Oh fun!" Thinks for a sec... "Is she just gonna pop right out?"

Me: "Kind of."

Mckinlay: Thinks again... "Oh, is the Dr. gonna squeeze her and then she'll pop right out!?"

Me: "Ahhh yup. Just like that honey."

If only it were that simple.

She is super excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas. She has me tell her about what we do for the holidays and about the decorations and what we eat {a true Hallstrom or what?} all the time. Yesterday I explained to her about Santa Clause and how he comes down the chimney at night while we are sleeping and brings us presents. She was pretty thrilled about it.

This morning she woke up just as Ty was about to leave for work and you could hear him rattling around down stairs. She came bounding into my dark bedroom and said:

"Mommy! Santa Clause is here! I can Hear him!"

We sure love this gal and think she's gonna make a great big sister.

Fall cooking

I always love trying new recipes. I like finding new things that are yummy, but I LOVE when you stumble across something super-duper-yummy. I've made a few things lately that fall into that category, so I thought I'd share. Especially since this time of year seems to be the time to stay in your warm house and cook/bake.

Images and recipes via Little Mama and Co.:

Sugar Topped Banana Muffins

Chicken Fajita Tostadas
This is our new favorite dinner. Easy and delicious. I think we make it weekly.

Images and recipes via Picky Palate:

Chocolate Chip Cookie Stuffed Cupcakes

Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Breakfast Rolls
Ty loves these and he claims to not like pumpkin things.
{Really, I just think he hasn't been exposed to really good pumpkin delights.}

And this morning I made these:

Image and recipe via Bumbleberry CakesPumpkin Muffins With Crumb Topping

I used my left over pumpkin from the pumpkin cream cheese rolls for this recipe. It wasn't an entire can, like the recipe calls for, but close, and they turned out fabulous.

Happy cooking...and eating!

It's almost time.

Remember this little project I've been working on?

Well, I'm almost there. Only 10 more days to go.

Actually, no more than 11 days.

I'm due Sunday the 15th, but if the little darling hasn't made her grand entrance, I'll be induce on Monday the 16th. Ty has a week off work, so I need to have this little one during that window. Happy Jo gets here on the 13th and my dad is actually stopping in for 2 days on his way home from a business trip. He'll be here from the 14th until noon on the 16th. Chances are he'll fly out in the middle of my labor, but I promised him I do my best to "hatch" {his words, not mine} the little girl while he's here.

I'm fully expecting her to be born on the 16th because I was induced with Mckinlay about a million {or 8} days late, but we'll see. The end is in sight!! And it's about time. I have approximately 2 things that fit, one of which is my green dress, affectionately referred to as the "green monsta", pictured above. It's the closest thing I have to the muu-muu I've wanted, and much to Ty's pleasure never ended up with, throughout this pregnancy. The other is my "Target employee outfit" {red sweatshirt and tan pants}. I guess it's a good thing though, then I'll be excited to fit back into my other maternity clothes after the baby is born. How's that for a silver lining?

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P.S. OK, Since we're all friends here {right?}, I feel inclined to tell you I really can't see my feet. If you could see me taking that picture you'd see that my booty is sticking pretty far out so I could get a glimpse of those feet way down there.

You caught me.