over halfway through the year!

how are we over half way to Ward being one? 7 months and spending it up at the river is quite the adventure! He loves crawling faster than we can keep up with! He love his cousin, eating solid food, drinking from a sippy cup & standing up {while pushing down on your hands}...he also likes polar bear kisses and playing with his pups. He's babbling up a storm and the occasional "blah blah" or "da da" comes out of his little mouth!

6 months already!?

the last six months have been bursting at the seams with belly laughs and quiet giggles, sweet smiles and happy tears! I don't know where this time has gone but I do know that with every day that goes by there is more and more fun in store for us with this sweet baby boy.

six months ago it was a tuesday as well that Ward was born! how fun that this month it falls in the same cadence. this month ward is sitting up {without spitting up ha}, army man crawling around the den and eating "solid" food/purees! he giggles and squeals at himself in the mirror {as well as at the dogs} and has figured out how to cry when his mommy leaves the room! he still loves his puppies, going to school, and anything that makes music.

list of foods Ward has tried & loves:
sweet potatoes
sweet peas
butternut squash
avocados
carrots
green beans
yellow squash
lima beans
...but he's not the biggest fan of bananas or pears!

a few of our favorite {bath} things...

Ward loves his bath we'd love to share his favorite bath time products in hopes that they are helpful for others!

favorite cradle cap brush...our kid has some awesome hair! Part of the non-greasy, off the scalp look I give credit the to Bean b Clean brush. Its super soft and you use it in the tub! As you shampoo the hair, you scrub {gently} on the head counter clockwise and then clockwise.

favorite tub...we love this angel care tub! #1 benefit...baby boy Davis loves to go tee tee in the tub and I cannot imagine him sitting in water with that all around him. one thing that we do to take the chill off the tub is wash it down with warm water first so that its not super cold when he hops in! he loves relaxing in the tub!

favorite washcloths {for the face}...these are the best washcloths for baby's face. they are super soft on one side and have a little texture on the other in case you have some dry skin you'd like to work on with a washcloth. they wash up nicely and roll back up after they are washed and died.

favorite hooded towels & wash cloths {for the body}...three martha's hands down! these are adorable towels and large enough to cover up your whole baby. these will transition nicely into toddler years and of course I love that they leave a perfect place for a monogram! the washcloths have just enough scrub to help exfoliate the body!

favorite shampoo/body wash...noodle & boo 2-in-1 hands down is the best smelling shampoo around! it also is great for babies with sensitive skin and is dermatologically tested.

favorite bath luxury...we live in an old house and maybe new homes have this problem too but the water temp fluctuates some and what feels like perfect bath temp to me is in the red zone on this super helpful bath thermometer by 4 moms! no, it doesn't impede your normal tub/shower use. it also is super easy to read (both fahrenheit and celsius) reads/changes quickly. such a great treat and suggestion from one of my besties!

other fun bath items worth looking into...nail brush

new favorite journal

oh how wonderful are these new favorites of mine! my graphic image spiral notebooks that I typically love for my Bible study notes/prayer requests/other inspirational notes have been hard to find. I read more and more about the moleskine cahier notebooks and decided to try them out from Paper-Source. 

in typical "if you give a mouse a cookie" fashion, I immediately realized that they needed to be personalized...so I asked my sister for some help with that. she made me two cute stickers that I could slap right on the front of my moleskine notebooks and make them my own {she also sells these super inexpensive on Etsy}. 

after I realized how cute these notebooks looked, I decided I wanted a leather cover for them to be snuggled up in. I took to Etsy & Google in search of a cover. I stumbled somehow across this company, Old Church Works and fell in love! Mike from OCW was super helpful in determining what I needed for my notebooks to be at home. I chose the double moleskine notebook as opposed the the quad. I tell you what, I have never seen such a beautiful leather notebook in my life! I cannot wait to put this to good use! 

happy 3rd birthday wilson!!!

I cannot believe that wilson is three today!!! What a blessing this puppy has been! He brings us so much joy, excitement, and many, many good laughs!

Wilson turns 2!

Wilson turns 1!

two awesome new wines!

as part of Kate's bachelorette her sweet sister put together a private chef to cook for us! i'll post many of her suggestions and great tips she provided us with. first off though, the wine!!! Chef Melinda [affectionately "Chef Mel"] owner of Culinary Connection was amazing [see below for ways to contact her].

many of our girlfriends aren't too hot for white wine...especially sweet ones. This 2012 Riff Pinot Grigio was legit. an italian, drier, pinot grigio available was how we all classified this that almost drinks like a sav. blanc.  Chef Mel said she was able to get this at Whole Foods in South Carolina and I was able to get it through Tower Beer & Wine off Piedmont Rd in Atlanta. Additionally the distributor online was quick to respond with where to find this in my area! This retails for a great $9.99 a bottle at Tower in Atlanta. 

the other wine that we sampled was a merlot which again, many are predisposed to think this is going to be a less bulky cab or somewhat tangy. the Hyatt merlot that we had was amazing. This Washington State merlot drank like a great pinot noir and we were all big fans! I wish I could say I could have this again soon, however after contacting the distributor, this isn't distributed in Georgia. This is however available per Chef Mel's recommendation at Whole Foods in South Carolina. This wine also retails per Chef Mel's notes between $10-12/bottle. 

Chef Melinda Piercy, Owner of  Culinary Connection
chefmelinda@culinaryconnection.us.com
828.638.6766

Mel travels to you for you own customized in home chef experience. This can be as hands on as you'd like it to be. She can do anything from sushi classes to sit down dinners. We had a blast getting to know her and would highly recommend her to anyone interested in this great experience! Additionally she isn't available just in Charleston...I can't wait to find a reason to have her come to Atlanta in the future!

Follow her blog: http://chefmelindap.blogspot.com
Follow her Pinterest boards: http://pinterest.com/chefmelinda/?d
Like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theculinaryconnection

3 years & a lifetime in the making

its amazing how much can happen in 3 years...happy 3rd anniversary to the best hubby out there! 

summerour

almost nearly in time for our 3rd anniversary, we are headed to Summerour tonight for the first time since our own wedding to celebrate Patrick & Rachel's wedding! 

pam's "oatmeal" cookies

okay so i have to confess i hate oatmeal cookies...until of course, pam hurst gives me one and i have to ask multiple times about the ingredients, insistent upon the fact that there is no way that there is oatmeal in the cookies...there is [& lots of it]. see the great recipe below! the recipe yields about 3 dozen cookies which is awesome. I also just eye ball the chocolate chips so that may make it a little bit more.

PS Sorry the photo sort of stinks of these cookies...they are eaten WAY too quickly in our house to capture the true essence of them!  After all since these are oatmeal, I've been considering them a breakfast food.

by the way, don't you love "Pamma" as Pam's grandma name?! I do! 

Pamma's Chocolate Chip "Oatmeal" Cookies

what you need...3/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c margarine
1/2 c butter flavor Crisco
2 eggs
1 t water
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c flour (plus 1T)
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2-2 1/2 c oatmeal
12 oz. chocolate chips

what you do...

Cream together shortenings and sugars.  Add eggs and liquids. Add dry ingredients, then oatmeal to desired consistency. Throw in a couple of handfuls of chocolate chips to taste.
Cook for almost 10 minutes at 350° [mine cooked for 12 min in convection]

a collection of sorts

I have collected Bibles and other Christian texts and recently upon my grandmothers move to Atlanta discovered some amazing additions. Not only do I have my father's missal but I also the one of my paternal grandparents given by my great grandfather in 1950 as well as an 1870 book of poems. My maternal grandmother ensured that at my great grandfathers passing I received his German hymnal. the most amazing thing may have been the hidden treasures of notes and papers stuffed in them along the way. what an amazing gift...

i'll have to find out who this baby is! 

great grandfathers german hymnal

this may be my favorite piece!