Fall Boy Style.

As I've mentioned twenty thousand million times before. I am so excited for Fall! With that said (again), I am triple excited about baby boy clothes! I've been browsing around and found some pretty cute stuff that is, again, affordable and stylish. I can't wait to put Button in some of these picks!

 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

These are honestly not even half of all the stuff I'm loving right now, but for now they will do. I love pairing subtle, neutral tones with a pop of color, this way I can make the most out of his clothes without having to buy everything to match. I'm loving that fox hat and who doesn't need a pair of Freshly Picked moccs?! There's nothing like snuggling up with your warm, cozy baby. And with this Texas weather, these are perfect to handle the small amount of cold we get although it looks like this one will be a cold one! (I'm already thinking scarves and boots!)

To make your day even better, Old Navy is having a 20% off sale, just type ONTREAT and Baby Gap is having 25% off on their clearance AND regular priced items, GAPNEW for regular and GAPEXTRA for stuff on sale. Go!!

Happy Tuesday!

Weekend Fun-ness.

Naturally, with Fall weather and Fall almost here, the weekend began with a little bit of decorating. Now that we have our very own home, I told Jack there will be an explosion of decorations for every season there is. Tastefully done of course ;)

I couldn't have been more excited to see all the things that stores are coming out with for this season and I couldn't wait to snag a few of them. If you follow me on IG (@shadiabrown) I posted a pic of how I started. I've added a couple more things to it but wanted to keep it simple and somewhat neutral to be able to transition this into Halloween and eventually Christmas.

You know I had to add a button in there somehow. :)



I purchased most of this stuff at Hobby Lobby and Marshalls and used items I already owned as well. I made the banner with tags and twine I got at Hobby Lobby and wrote the letters with a white marker. I also added some dead branches from one of our trees to the white pitcher vase in the dining room. I still need to add a few more things but I'm sure a trip to Target will solve this.

Saturday was a shopping and relaxing day and we really didn't do much since we had to wake up bright and early on Sunday to go to The Color Run. It's a 5k untimed race that is done just for fun while getting showered with colored powder at different stations. It is so much fun. The only downside was that it started right at the time Elliot takes his first nap and he was not a happy camper since there was a guy with a microphone cheering the enormous crowd and there was a lot of noise. He just wasn't having it. Once we were able to move past the start line he fell asleep and was so good during the entire thing. He was happy, looking at everything although we did have to cover him good at every color station but he still got his white onesie along with his toes and hands full of color. He looked so cute. This is the first year I've done this (thanks to Jack's company for paying for it!) and I'm sold. Definitely doing this from now on.

I do have to say that I need to invest in a better stroller, one made for actual walks or for running (hint hint Jack)



I was a little bit bummed because we had to wear Jack's company's shirts and not the actual shirts they gave us for this but I got over it. I can wear it to the gym around the house ;)

It was hotter than a mother that day (after such beautiful weather we had been having) and Elliot ended up with no socks, no head band and ultimately in diapers for the ride home. We still stopped by to get groceries and I was more than exhausted. 5k is no joke. Who am I kidding, we walked most of the way but ran through the color stations to avoid so much color on us but ended up really dirty and not planning ahead. We didn't bring towels for the aftermath (as most people did) so we sat on Elliot's swaddles, changed our shirts and took showers as soon as we got home. After scrubbing for about ten million hours, we were finally clean and relaxed the rest of the day. We even got to watch a movie and have a beer to close the weekend.

Oh and I almost forgot to say that Button can now text ;) Send him your number for a cute duck face selfie! 

Have a great week!

Good Read-ance.

It's been raining all day long for the past three days here in Texas. How crazy is that? This is a very rare occurrence and I feel like we need to make the most of it! It is so nice. Although being stuck in an office all day isn't a good way of enjoying it, I am sipping on some green tea while going through emails and starting my work.

This rain and my tea make me think of being at home in bed reading a really good book with the curtains drawn and the blinds open looking outside listening to the rain with a baby playing by your side. Can you picture that? I know I can.

With Fall almost here, I'm already looking forward to good books to read in bed, although I already do that, but it just seems so much better when it's cold out. Good read-ance to this hot weather! I hope we finally start heading into cooler days because I am over the sun beating down on us.

Jack and I (before I had Elliot) would always and I mean always go to bed and read for a little bit. He's also an avid reader but he is more into the mystery/horror/suspense kind of genre. He's a huge fan of Stephen King and I like him as well, but I would just rather watch the movies (ha!). I did read Dolores Clairborne (a suggestion he made) and I absolutely loved it. It's a great book that I didn't include in this mix but definitely a good one to pick up. I'm more of the good, real life plot, girly, makes you laugh and cry kind of books and all these are great authors in that genre.

I am always on the lookout for a good book and what I've found (as a graphic designer) is that most of the time, if a book has a good cover then it's more than likely a good read, it attracts me to it and you know they spent time planning for it. If they invested in that then it means it must be good right? I usually skim through the summary on the flap and it has to catch my attention right away. If it doesn't, I put it back and move on. My favorite ones are always the ones that seems to have a good, original plot. If they're too cliché, or too predictable then I definitely put it back. I also buy two or three at a time because sometimes I start reading a book and decide it would be better for another time and grab the next one to read. I don't know what it is, but I guess it depends on my reading mood.

If there is a book that I really enjoy, I try to stick to that author to read a couple more of theirs. Kristin Hannah is a great author. Her books are so easy to read and her content is deep. Emily Giffin is one of my favorites. I've read all of her books and her next one is in the works, I can't wait. There's a movie out for Something Borrowed and I haven't watched it! Because you know what they say, the book is always better than the movie (Harry Potter may be an exception since the movies are awesome). If you've never read one of hers go buy one right now! Or as I do, go to Barnes & Noble and head straight to the clearance section. I've found most of my favorite ones there (though I did order all her books online) or head to Amazon and you should be able to find a good deal on them. I'm currently reading The Island by Elin Hilderbrand and I'm liking it so far. I guarantee you all of these are page-turners. I have a lot more suggestions but I'll write a post on those later and for now, I'll leave you with these as some of my favorites. Some of these I guarantee will have you wanting to read the entire thing in one sitting. Now go get yourself some beer tea and start reading!

Happy almost Friday!

Our Weekend in Pictures.

Ugh, Monday. I hate you. It doesn't fail. I get the crazy blues every.single.Monday. Is this normal? I feel empty on Mondays.

You know that scene in SATC when Miranda quits her job because her boss is a jerk to her and she finally makes Brady's science fair and she says something like, "I made it, I never make it." Well, I don't want to be like that! I want to be able to make all of my son's activities so that is something I always think about. I've also just been wanting to be with Jack and Elliot as much as possible. I think that instead of Elliot dealing with separation anxiety I am the one going through it. Weird. I'm not being clingy, or needy I just love my family so much and I love spending time with them.

I also think it's a combination of missing Jack and Elliot and hearing and seeing so much bullshit and hypocrisy from people. Do you ever get that? You're almost at that breaking point but you decide you will be the bigger and better person and you hold on to that for dear life? I'm almost there. But I won't let it get to me. I won't.

I can't complain about the weekend though. College football season finally started for us and Elliot got to go to his first game with us. They are always so much fun and this year we get to enjoy them as a family. Besides, we get to go back to our old college stomping grounds and Jack and I always talk about how we met and how things were back then and how far we have come. We loved it there and still do.

Elliot did great, but after a while the later it got and as the crowd got louder he just wasn't having it. He cried every time we screamed poor thing. We ended up having to leave at the end of the third quarter but it was so much fun nonetheless.

 I know his looks are deceiving but I swear he had fun! (Ha!)

Our football field is in the middle of the mountains and the weather and view are perfect! I love being there. It's so pretty and peaceful despite the awesome, loud crowd. The sky was overcast and it rained for a couple of minutes before we even got there but it cooled us down. There was a fan of the opposing team among our team fans and if his team made a good play he would get up and start cheering and asking for high fives and we all just stared at him. It was hilarious.



My entire world.

Then of course some mama and baby fun the next morning. His first bottom tooth is finally coming in and he is getting whatever he can in his mouth to help the itching. He hasn't been complaining, yet. We can't wait to see his smile with his little tooth!

I found this beer while grocery shopping and with Fall here I couldn't pass it up! It's delicious! This will definitely be my go-to beer for the season.

This little one is almost officially crawling now. We have been practicing with him as much as we can. I say officially because he slithers and gets to where he needs to that way, but he's already getting on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. So damn cute!

Happy-not-so-happy Monday! Go Miners!

Weekend Recap.

So, it happened again...I cried on my way to work after leaving Button at daycare. How many times will this happen before it stops? Never? And he's only seven and a half months old. I'm in for it.

Wasn't this the most amazing weekend of weekends? It was. Until yesterday. We went out to eat with the family and we put Elliot with his car seat in a high chair, you know how you flip it over and it's wide enough to put the seat in there? But then the bottom is now narrow making it so unbalanced? This is something we NEVER EVER do. It just seems so dangerous. We always use a chair and put it against the table so that the car seat doesn't move at all. Well for some reason, against our better judgement, we just did it. We thought Elliot would be okay. I got up for only a second and that's all it took for me to hear a loud crash and Jack screaming "oh shit!" and find Elliot under the table face down. The Best Mama Award goes to...not me. Everyone was staring! I felt terrible!

Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as I thought and after only crying for about 30.2 seconds he calmed down and only had a little bruise above his eyebrow. Not that this makes it okay but it's certainly much better than him splitting his head open. Never again, lesson learned. Whew, what a freaking scare. None of us could even finish our dinner. After that when we got home it took lots of kisses and snuggles with a full checkup from my mom and he was back to his normal little self. My poor little Monkey.

Okay, besides that, the weekend was great. It was so relaxing. Knowing that we wouldn't have to go to work on Monday was the best feeling.

We started Saturday night with beer and crossword puzzles. You know how I told you I recently discovered that Jack shares my obsession? Yup, call us nerds. They're just so much fun to figure out. Every time we complete one, we date it and write our names on it. So dramatic.



Saturday we started late and it felt damn good. No rushing out of the house early, no pressure getting ready, no projects to start or finish, we just let time make the calls. A quick trip to Target also happened ;)

Sunday we had a little cookout for ourselves. Burgers, brats and homemade guacamole. We completely stuffed ourselves. There's nothing like the sun coming in through your window, your hubby on the grill, and you preparing everything else with a beer in hand, a happy baby in his high chair, and some good food cooking waiting to be demolished. I love days like these.

With these in hand :)

And this baby boy was there too. Because playing requires so much concentration.

Then Monday rolled around and we got that feeling of, oh-shit-we-gotta-get-ready-for-work-and-daycare and it just sucks. You know what I'm talking about?  Our only consolation was that at least it would be a four day week and we will get to the weekend soon again. Till then, we work.

Yup, I know the feeling Button.

Also, I ended up ordering this crib in this espresso color in case you were wondering :) Finally Elliot will have an actual little bed to sleep in.

Hope your Labor Day weekend was great!



No-Bed Baby.

I always thought that by the time Elliot was born that I would have his room completely set up. Crib, glider, decorations, toys, books, etc. All is true except for the glider and crib. The TWO main important items. It was hard when you think about the fact that we had just moved in and needed actual things to survive like a washer & dryer, a fridge, sofas, you get the deal. The crib kind of got put on the back burner and now I feel like it's been time. Of course I wasn't comfortable putting Elliot in one when he was born and he had his own little bed, meaning, his play pen. As he grows and grows I feel like he should already have a more formal place to sleep in and not a play pen. I think I should only use that now for actual play time. This is kind of a big deal because I feel like Button doesn't sleep comfortably in there anymore. I feel like I'm a bad mama for not thinking about this sooner!

However, I have been doing my research for a while now looking for the perfect crib to match his room (although I'm planning to have it in our room for a while) yes, I'm THAT mom. I just feel like he will be so far away from us in his room since our bedroom is downstairs and his is upstairs. Great thinking when we bought the house!

I also reaaaally wanted this Jenny Lind crib (and still could be a contender) I mean, look at it, what's not to love? It's vintage, it's beautiful, and the most inexpensive of the three but I read both good and bad reviews on it so now I'm over thinking it. Jack wasn't crazy in love with it either which makes it harder.

Anyway, I have found the perfect two and I'm having a hard time deciding. I'm also wondering if white is the way to go since it's usually a crib color picked for girls (I think?). As I said, I have been trying to decide between these two and I just love them both. Help!

I have no idea which one to get! I better decide soon or one of us will have to end up sleeping on the floor so that Button can sleep on the bed ;) 

Yay for Thursday!

Seven Months.

Sorry guys I've been crazy busy these past few days and I'm posting Button's update a little late. It's just beyond crazy to me how smart and amazing this little creature is. He's learning so much at such a fast rate. I know as mamas we say that about our kids all the time and to everyone but seriously, how can we hold back such information about our little ones when they're so awesome!

Excuse the half erased board. This kid could not get his hands off of it.

Weight: About 18lb. Your next appointment is not until nine months.

Clothing size: 6-12 the six month stuff I got you is going out the door pretty soon. 

Diaper size: 3 I seriously think we will be getting 4's in no time.

Feeding: Your schedule is pretty much the same as last time but you don't drink as much formula as you used to because you like your solids a lot more. And you drink water now too. I'm not going to let you drink juice until you're older.

Milestones: You are literally days away from crawling. I also love to stand you up on my legs because you push yourself up and down. I love that!

Loves: We recently got you a baby remote control. You crawl (or slither rather) your way to it and you press the buttons changing channels left and right. While all that is cute, we opted for one just for you. It plays songs, numbers and it lights up, you love it. We also bought you a Glow Worm and you are mesmerized by the way it lights up. I give it to you when I lay you down and you lay on your side touching its lit face. Your absolute most favorite toy is a monkey your auntie Yams bought you when you were born. We hang it from your car seat and you ALWAYS hold on to it when you're in it. Even if you're asleep. If we forget it (cause grandma takes it out so you can play with it) you look for it and you give me a look as if you want to ask me "where the hell is it mama?" It's the cutest thing.

Dislikes: You're starting to give us a hard time with diaper changes. You don't complain but you are so squirmy and try to get your hands on everything you can find on the bed while we are changing you. I think you just don't like not being able to do what you want during that time. When you're congested, you hate saline and the bulb. You already know when we get close to your nose and you start swinging your hands and turning your body away from us. I don't blame you on this one, it probably sucks. You also have never liked ANY teething toys. This has given us a hard time because although you love your hand, it's not enough to calm the itchiness of your gums.

Adventures: Everyday is an adventure with you! You did hit your head on the high chair because since you want to grab and touch everything, you were looking down on your little safety belt and you were slouching and hit your head. You cried for about 2.5 seconds and went about your business. You also love leaning all the way to the edge of the tray and biting it with your gums. It probably feels good since you're teething. 

Mommy and Daddy could not get through the month without: Still your paci but mostly all your toys. You can play with anything and you stay occupied for a good while.

I am also loving the stuff that Old Navy is coming out with and seeing that Fall and Halloween is almost here and reading other blogs it seems like everyone is in the spirit already! So why not join them?

The toys were purchased at Target and the PJ's and onesie from Old Navy.

More on ON. Seriously, I snagged this onesie as soon as I saw it. I love it!

Happy Wednesday!