Friday I’m in Love {with Halloween}

Posted in Friday I'm in Love by Kendra G.

Happy Halloween!
Don’t forget to hop on over to see what these lovely ladies are loving as well: Misha // Mary Beth // Amanda.
We’d love for you to share what you’re loving too, link up or comment below!

o n e

I have been thinking about putting the Cricut Explore on my Christmas list this year and this may have just sealed the deal. How cute are these DIY candy corn sprinkle pumpkins?!

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t w o

I just learned about The Teal Pumpkin Project this week. How awesome? We have already purchased our candy but I’m definitely doing this next year.

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t h r e e

I missed the boat on making these this year, but I’m keeping these in mind for next year. How cute and yummy?

Healthy Halloween Snack Candy Corn Fruit Cocktail - Family Fresh Meals

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f o u r

I posted a sneak peek of the kids as Sully and Mike Wazowski over on Instagram. They are super excited for a fun day at school and Trick or Treating tonight!

***

Hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween!

30Oct2014

Fall Y’all

Posted in Family, Photography by Kendra G.

Happy Fall, y’all!

29Oct2014

Kenley’s Colorful Third Birthday Party

Posted in Party Time by Kendra G.

We celebrated Kenley’s third birthday in a colorful way. I had so much fun looking for decorations and planning this party. I cannot tell you how many times I said “ROY G BIV” in my head over the course of the process.

Paper lanterns and tissue poms are from Just Artifacts.

I made the confetti with card stock and a circle punch, super easy!

The rainbow fruit platter was one of my favorite things to do.
Food cards and the invitation were made by Michelle at This Grey House.

I made the chocolate covered pretzels with rainbow sprinkles.

All of the paper products and party hats are from Wal-Mart. I ordered everything online with free shipping.

The frames are TOLSBY from IKEA and I made the garland from felt balls from Brickyard Buffalo.

The birthday girl!

I am very impressed with ourselves for pulling off the rainbow cake. I got very specific instructions from Heather on how to go about the cake and her instructions were spot on. It was a joint effort, but Greg did most of the work. I just love how pretty is looks and how yummy it was!

We had such a fun time celebrating Kenley’s third birthday! Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us!

27Oct2014

One Year Old

Posted in Baby G by Kendra G.

Crosby Martin is one year old!

I am not quite sure how this is possible, but we now have two toddlers! Wow. Crosby is typically very happy and very go with the flow. He rarely gets upset, aside from those bumps and bruises, then he is quickly over it. He makes it easy to tell when he’s not feeling well because he’s very chill at all other times. He likes to cuddle more than Kenley did and he gives great big bear hugs around your neck.

There haven’t been many changes from last month. He follows a very good schedule that works for him. He’s drinking about 15 ounces of breast milk throughout the day from a sippy cup for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and at bed time. He eats three meals a day and has one or two snacks. The boy loves food! The only thing he doesn’t care for still is bananas. He could leave the green veggies behind, but when they are mixed with other foods, he will eat them. We figured we wouldn’t get lucky twice since Kenley has always loved her green veggies. Crosby is eating “adult” food just like the rest of us for dinner rather than having his own meal made for him, which helps out immensely. We are at the point now where there really isn’t much that is off limits, though we will probably hold off on peanuts for a little while longer.

Crosby is definitely down to one nap a day from 12pm – 2pm (or 1pm at home… figures). He goes to bed around 7:15-7:30pm and is up around 6:15am. He usually is good with just one nap, unless he’s not feeling well or we’re riding in the car, then he decides he could go for a cat nap (I don’t blame him). He will begin sleeping on a cot at school now that he’s one, so no more crib during the day! He will be in the crib as long as possible at home though.

He is quite the explorer. His teacher jokes that it’s not a day until Crosby is in something, under something, or has gotten hurt. He goes from one thing to the next and when he’s done with it, he usually throws it. Now that he’s walking, he is literally into everything. He goes from room to room, then back again once he’s had enough. You always have to keep one eye on him to make sure he’s not eating cords or trying to pull things down. He also will get going fast and not have time to catch himself, so he goes head first into everything. In two days, he got a nice goose egg on his forehead from the wall, then a cut on his eye from a trash can.

He and Kenley have a ball playing on the Anywhere Chair and the couch. It’s turned into somewhat of an obstacle course in our living room and Crosby has been known to do a somersault over the side. I am frequently reminding them (Kenley) to be careful, stop jumping on the couch, no pushing, etc. I don’t think this will be ending any time soon. It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt (usually Crosby).

Twelve month notes:

Weight – 22 pounds 4 ounces
Height – 29 1/2 inches
Head – 18.23 inches
Hair – Brown, thick, and a little bit curly in the back
Teeth – Seven and working on some more
Eyes – Brown
Clothes – 12-18 months, size 4 shoes
Diapers – Cloth by day and disposables at night, we just finished size 3 and are now into size 4.
Likes – Walking, almost running, climbing on furniture, cabinets, bath, push toys, trying to keep up with his big sister
Dislikes – Laying on the changing table, getting his clothes changed, getting his diaper changed, being forced to sit still

Happy birthday sweet boy. It’s been one fun year, that’s for sure.

26Oct2014

my weekend in photos

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

saturday’s weather was amazing so i gladly hung my ‘fall y’all’ banner from my meet + make swag bag.

we are getting pumped for halloween around here.

we headed down to our community’s block party on saturday night for a little picnic with with kiddos.

my alarm went off at 3:45am this morning and i was done with 13.1 miles by 8:30am.
full race recap to come!

we had another community event tonight, complete with a little petting zoo!

posing with the pumpkins.

***

we had a good and busy weekend and we’re looking forward to yet another fun-filled week coming up.
i can’t believe october is almost over!

how was your weekend?

24Oct2014

Friday I’m in Love

Posted in Friday I'm in Love by Kendra G.

Happy Friday!
Don’t forget to hop on over to see what these lovely ladies are loving as well: Misha // Mary Beth // Amanda.
We’d love for you to share what you’re loving too, link up or comment below!

o n e

If ya’ll need a new show to watch (or even if you don’t), you must watch How To Get Away With Murder (<– I felt really awkward typing that into Google, by the way). This is the first season, so there is still time to catch up. We got caught up this week (with exception of last night) and it is SO good. Seriously, go watch it. Now.

t w o

I came across a good and thought-provoking article this week on the direction of youth sports today, which also references how college lacrosse coaches are looking for multi-sport athletes even in high school. More and more of these articles are popping up and I don’t anticipate that to slow down. It’s definitely some food for thought.

t h r e e

I attended my first Meet + Make last night with Sarah Hearts! Sally, Lindsey, and I had a great time and I’m already looking forward to the holiday workshop. We made a doormat. Cute, right?

Have a good weekend friends!

23Oct2014

Chicago {Part II}

Posted in Travel by Kendra G.

We left the city on Friday to head out to Oak Park for the wedding festivities. My baby brother was getting married! We started seeing family and friends as soon as we got off the train. The hotel was located just a couple blocks from downtown Oak Park so we were able to walk most of the weekend. We laid low Friday afternoon and the boys went out on Friday night for the bachelor party.

Since the kids were sharing a room, our mornings started very early while we were on vacation. Saturday was Greg’s birthday, so we walked to Starbucks for breakfast. More family and friends were getting in on Saturday and Kenley was anxiously awaiting Jack & KP’s arrival. The three of them had a ball all weekend. I was so happy to see them together, but also sad that it doesn’t happen more often.

Saturday night we headed over to Cheney Mansion for the wedding rehearsal. During the rehearsal, Kenley wore the flower girl basket around her neck and walked down the imaginary aisle (since the chairs weren’t set up yet). After her performance at the rehearsal, I really wasn’t sure what to expect the next day at the wedding. After the rehearsal we headed to Winberies for a delicious dinner!

Sunday was wedding day! After another trip to Starbucks and a couple games of euchre with the fam, the girls started getting ready around 11:00am at the hotel. We enjoyed mimosas, food, and music while we got our hair and make-up done. Kenley enjoyed the food and is still talking about the chocolate covered strawberries. She also got her hair done right before it was time to go. Meanwhile, the guys were hanging out in Michael’s room watching football and I would imagine drinking beer. After a nice relaxing morning, I was rushing out of the hotel to get over to the mansion without packing a thing for the rest of the day. I was texting poor Greg anything and everything I could think of for him to pack and bring to the mansion when he came over with the kids.

I was more relaxed once we got to the mansion and saw everything coming together and saw how beautiful it was. The girls headed upstairs to help Rachel finish getting ready before it was time for she and Michael to see each other.

We were able to see Michael walking out to their meeting spot, so I caught Rachel trying to get a glimpse of her groom. I may have shed a few tears. After Michael and Rachel had their moment together, the rest of us headed outside for pictures.

This was my first chance to see the groom too. He was so handsome.

Following pictures (and more pictures), the ceremony was set to begin! The guests started arriving and the wedding party took their place.

Kenley was the last to walk down the aisle and she did a great job. She dropped a few petals on her way down then proceeded to drop the rest of the petals where we were standing.

The ceremony was beautiful. Michael’s good friend Alex was the officiant and did a great job. Of course, no wedding is complete without the first married selfie down the aisle.

Kenley and Jack soon stole the show and the party began!

We sent the couple off with sparklers and headed to the after party at Bar Louie. Greg took the kids back to the hotel around 8:30pm after Crosby slept in the stroller at the reception for a little bit. Both of the kids were great most of the day and we all had such a great time.

Monday morning we were able to hang around for a little bit and watch the happy couple open their gifts. We said our goodbyes as everyone started to head out of town. We took a cab to Midway for our flight and the airport was packed! Apparently TSA doesn’t like you having about 50 bobby pins in you hair either. For the first time, I had to take Crosby out of the Ergo in order to go through security. I had to do the extra screening and get a pat down since I couldn’t get through the metal detector without setting it off. But, at least my hair still looked good! We were lucky to be able to have lunch and wait for our flights with Maggi & Greg. It was good to have two extra sets of hands and Kenley was obsessed with GiGi all weekend. Finally, it was time to head back to Orlando. We had a great vacation, but there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed!

Congratulations to happy couple, Michael & Rachel! We love you!

22Oct2014

Chicago {Part I}

Posted in Travel by Kendra G.

We spent a couple days in downtown Chicago last week before heading out to Oak Park for the wedding festivities for my brother. We had obviously been planning this trip for a while and it started a little earlier than expected on Wednesday morning when Kenley was up at 4am throwing up. We made it to our 9:05am flight and thankfully it wasn’t a full flight. Kenley proceeded to get sick the whole rest of the day. I felt so so so terrible for her, but she honestly was such a champ. I know if that was me, I would be in the fetal position bawling my eyes out all day.

We flew into Midway and took a cab to our hotel which was conveniently located right across from a Trader Joe’s and a Starbucks. After getting settled into the hotel, getting some groceries, and taking naps, we started our food crawl through Chicago. We met up Mary Beth & Jon at Portillo’s for dinner. It was so good to catch up with them since we hadn’t seen them since Labor Day of last year.

Kenley woke up feeling much better on Thursday so we decided to hit the town. We started with breakfast at Eggsperience Pancakes & Cafe, which was delicious.

We walked down to Navy Pier to go to the Children’s Museum. It was great for the kids, very reasonably priced, and it wasn’t crowded at all. We ended up playing for a couple hours before it was time to head back for lunch and naps. We made a point to get in good naps since we knew we would be staying up late most of the nights we were there. On the walk back to the hotel, we made sure to stop by Garrett’s Popcorn for the Chicago mix, which was amazing.

After nap time, we took a cab down to Millennium Park to see the giant bean and Michael took the train in and met us there. Since we took a cab, we didn’t take the stroller and I wore Crosby in the Ergo.

We walked a couple blocks to have dinner at Giordano’s.

After dinner, Michael headed back to the train and we walked back to the hotel. Mind you, we didn’t have the stroller so Kenley was riding on Greg’s shoulders and Crosby was in the Ergo. It was definitely colder than what we were used to as the sun was quickly setting, but we did our best to take in the scenery through the city as we crossed over the Chicago River.

Lucky for us, the Colts played Thursday night that week so we were able to watch some of the game after the kids went to bed. Unlucky for us, we couldn’t stay up to watch the end of the game, but the Colts won! Friday morning, Michael, Eric, and Alex rode the train in to the city to pick us up. We wanted to get the full experience in the city, so riding the train was a must. However, we could not have done it without the three boys helping with the kids and all of our luggage. On the way out of the city we stopped at Glazed and Infused for some monster donuts. I think we successfully hit up all of the great food stops while we were in the city.

Travel wise, I think we did a pretty good job for our first trip as a family of four, especially traveling with a sick toddler. We brought the stroller and could not have lived without it. We used it as a double stroller most of the time except when we were getting on the train because it doesn’t fold as easy when there are two seats on it. We did not bring car seats since, by law, the kids can ride in the cab without one. That’s not to say I was thrilled with that decision, it just wasn’t feasible to bring them along. I was a nervous wreck riding in the cabs without their seats. Once again, the Ergo saved the day multiple times. Crosby took several naps in it throughout our trip. We also checked a cooler with dry ice and frozen breast milk with our luggage. The whole process was smooth from start to finish. We had no problems at the airport and our first hotel kept the breast milk in their freezer. We had a mini fridge with a freezer at our second hotel, so we got to keep it in our room. The things we do for our kids! Both of the kids slept on both flights, so that gave Greg and I a short amount of time to rejuvenate ourselves. Once we arrived back to Orlando, Greg and Kenley went to pick up our car while I had Crosby in the Ergo. I am pretty proud to say that I successfully loaded two 50 pound suitcases and our double stroller in the travel bag off of the carousel and onto the cart.

Stay tuned for part two which is the whole reason we were in Chicago to begin with!

21Oct2014

Fifty + Fifty-One Weeks

Posted in Baby G by Kendra G.

We are inching closer to the end of Crosby’s weekly photo project and I have to say that I’m not too upset about it. It’s very difficult to get a picture of this one not moving, let alone laying down. That also means that he’s almost one year old. Not possible! He has been on the move the past two weeks. While we were at the hotel, every time the door would open, he would speed crawl to try to get out. When we let him in the hall, he just walked and walked as far as his little feet could take him. He’s fully committed to walking now and crawling is a thing of the past. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s running in the next week. He wants to keep up with Kenley so bad.

The next update will be a big one, just like our little guy.

20Oct2014

my weekend in photos

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

kenley celebrated her birthday on friday at school then we met up with her old teacher who was back in town for dinner.
it was great catching up with her and we were excited her trip coincided with kenley’s birthday.