Our Christmas Home 2011

 Whimsical Family Room Tree

  Guest Bathroom Tree

 Rhett's Tree (I had to include all of the pics of my little "helper")

 Gentry's Tree

1/2 a Year

Already?!?  It's going so fast!

Our baby girl turned 6 months old on Monday, December 5th.  

At 6 months, Gentry:

-Began eating solids.  So far she's tried cereal, sweet potatoes, peas, prunes, apples and bananas.  So far, her faves seem to be sweet potatoes, bananas and prunes.  Not a fan of peas.  In fact, she gags on them.  I really don't blame her on that one, though :)

- Is soooooooooooo close to sitting on her own.  Can do it for a few seconds before falling over.  So, we're not quite calling it sitting yet.

- Says mama, especially when she's upset.  Not sure she's associated it with me, but I'll take what I can get :)  Rhett said dada first.

- Really enjoys her baths.  In fact, when nothing else calms her down, a bath will.  We take lots of baths :)

- Has really taken an interest in her hand and how it turns back and forth (waving motion).  It's as if she is trying so very hard to wave.  She did it in front of her doctor the other day, and she even seemed to think it was a representation of waving.

- Really LOVES her brother and her dogs.  Has also taken a liking to falling asleep at night on her daddy. Which is something that he really enjoys too.  It brings back fond memories of Rhett :)

- Is a sweet, sweet baby and we love her to pieces!

Celebrating Baby Blayke

 My Sister In Law, Heather, is pregnant with her third baby, a girl named Blayke.  Her bible study group threw a small get together to celebrate, and asked me to help out with the decor.  I didn't get many pics of anything other than decor, but here are pictures celebrating Baby Blayke:

 The mommy to be and little Ms. G!

 

 I painted this canvas to match the baby's room.

I added red rosettes to this memo board, and used it to write notes of love to Baby Blayke.  After the shower was over, Heather took the board home to use in the baby's room.

 Since it was a "shower", I glued crystals at varying lengths all around this umbrella to look like raindrops.

 All the rosettes in the flower pot were hair clips or broaches that the guests could take as they left the party.

 This is my newest party decor and I just LOVE it!  We used it to tell people where to leave their belongings as they walked through the door.

A little Welcome sign at the front entrance.

So Very Thankful

 We are extra thankful this year

 Thankful for our first Thanksgiving as a family of 4

 Always thankful for this handsome, crazy mess!

 Thankful for a wonderful husband who is a FANTASTIC father!

 Thankful for good food

 Thankful for family who do so much for us

 Thankful for sweet moments

 Thankful that these two adore each other (he's kissing her)

Thankful for this beautiful addition to our family!

SO VERY THANKFUL!

Our Elf on the Shelf Breakfast

We had our Elf on the Shelf breakfast on Monday!  A certain three year old little boy kept needing verbal reminders about Santa watching, so we decided a little visual reminder couldn't hurt as well.

 The big guy knocked on our door late Sunday night to drop off our elf and a few special breakfast treats for Mr. Rhett!  He even left behind one of his boots!

 He left behind some reindeer and snowman donuts

 And a special poem for my little guy!

 He also brought some special Red Chocolate Milk!

 Rhett was so excited when he woke up!

And we named him, "Snow".

So far, we've had to have a few reminders that the elf is watching.  It has been really fun for Rhett to wake up in the morning and see where Snow is resting after his trip to the North Pole!

Love this tradition!

Paw Paw Turns 60

 My dad turned 60 on Saturday, November 12th.  We threw a small surprise party for him, and I was in charge of decorations.  He is a classic car enthusiast, hence the car theme decor:

 We like to call him Crusty because of his gruff exterior, so I made this sign as a backdrop/centerpiece for the cake table.  He loves antiques and classic cars, and he was born in 1951.

 I found a metal sign on clearance at Hobby Lobby and covered it with this speed limit sign that I printed from the internet.

 I brought this gas tank from Rhett's room and changed the sign to say, "Senior Citizen Use Only".

 I found these items both at Hobby Lobby, and they fit in to our car theme.

 I added the license plate (made up of his initials and age)

 I used an old tire of Jeremy's as the cake stand

 I used the centercaps from some wheels pulled off of my car as a banner for the table.

 This is a baby pic of my dad.  Looks a lot like Gentry in this pic!

Cutest little party guest in his mechanic shirt to match the party!

Happy 60th Dad!  I love you and wish you at least 60 more!

5 Months

Gentry Grace turned 5 whole months old today!  What a joy it's been these last five months!  Time sure has flown, and I know, that I'll blink and another 5+ months will have passed.  We love this little one to pieces.  She has a smile that could light up the night's sky!