Are we there yet…

Two birthdays, a trip the ER, and everything in between

Posted on March 17, 2011 by carly

“Great Aunt Sadie” turned ten last Friday. MR graciously loaned her a pink “church hat” to wear on her special day.

I’ve had sweet Sadie since my college days at UGA; two years before G came into my life. She’s one hell of a dog and thankfully, my kids love her as much as I do.

We’re also pretty enamored with this little messer.

I’m not sure what’s more surprising, the fact that he is 8 months old now (as of last Sunday) or the fact that he has a head full of shaggy brown hair. Most of the time, it’s neatly swept over to the side.

But sometimes, it takes on a life of its own.

And sometimes, it’s just plain out of control.

Unfortunately, Huttie had to ring in his 8 month birthday with a 3 am trip to the ER. The croup got the best of him and almost caused his mama to have a nervous breakdown. Thankfully, our boy seems to be on the mend. Despite having a terrible cough and a fever since Sunday, he continues to smile and make the best of the circumstances. His big sister has also been a trooper. She’s been out of school since last Friday and has had a number of sleepless nights due to coughing and wheezing.

While we pray that this will be the last of the winter germs for the Harvey household, we praise God for blessing us with two happy, growing kids. At eight months, Huttie has mastered sitting up (he started sitting up at 6 months, but can sit up straight without toppling over now). He interacts with his environment and loves to play with his big sisters toys. His favorite toy though is his red truck; it’s one heck of a babysitter too. I’m pretty sure he could sit and roll it for hours on end.

Although he’s not crawling, Hutson rocks on his knees and scoots backwards. As of this morning, he has the first signs of a tooth peaking through. If you spend any time with our growing boy, you may see him waive his hand and mouth out the words “bye bye”. He also says “mama”, but only when he’s frustrated or mad.

At eight months, Hutson continues to be all boy. His clothes are constantly stained with spit up; he has dirty diapers at the most inopportune times; he throws toys; laughs at funny noises; and eats fistfuls of grass when outside. He has the grip of a wrestler, especially when long hair and dangling earrings are involved. Thankfully, our big boy continues to be a good eater and an even better sleeper. He was more than happy to eat green beans for lunch today in honor of St Patrick’s Day. He seems to prefer vegetables just as much as fruits. Much like MR at his age, he refuses to hold his own bottle, even though I know he is more than capable. During bottle feedings, he loves to be held tight and close. He rarely gets through a bottle without stopping to laugh and smile. G and I both agree that he is a happy baby; rarely fussy; a little mischievous; a little loud; and a lot of joy!

Posted in Hutson, doctor visits, mary reese, milestones | 1 Comment

Little Man’s Baptism

Posted on March 7, 2011 by carly

Hutson, along with five other babies, got baptized this Sunday at church. Dressed in his white gown, he sat amongst seventeen family members, who all traveled to be a part of his special day. Huttie Cat seemed pleased with the family’s support. As he made his way down the church isle in the preachers arms, he grinned from ear to ear when he noticed his “Big Daddy” in the crowd. There were no tears. No blowouts. And no meltdowns. By the grace of God (and a few markers provided by Aunt Lynn), both kids were able to make it through the entire service without being escorted out. Their good behavior meant that they could stand with Garrett and I as we joined the church at the end of the service.

After church, we headed home to delight in a 9 pound Honey Baked Ham, warm biscuits, fruit salad, homemade mac-n-cheese, and green bean casserole. Just when we thought we were going to pop, Gran C brought out a Strawberry Pound Cake and Aunt B offered up a delicious Caramel Cake. We ate. Visited. And laughed. We celebrated family and thanked God for the opportunity to worship together in His name.

The only downfall of the morning occurred about 2o minutes before leaving the house, when I realized that my brand new dress had a faulty zipper and could not be worn. Starring at a closet full of clothes that I am still unable to fit in (oh yes, I still have 20 stubborn pounds of post baby weight to lose), I pulled the only dress that I knew would work; a summer dress, not quite suitable for overcast skies, high winds, and temperatures in the lower fifties.

The day was so busy that I barely got any pictures of the Little Man in his baptism gown.

Thick as thieves….only these two would choose Wendy’s chicken nuggets over good ole southern cooking.

Goodies for our guests

We finished up the curtain project Saturday afternoon, just in the nick of time! Here is the “before” shot…

This black and white lamp shade was my inspiration for the curtain panels.

For the project, I purchased cream colored taffeta panels at Bed Bath and Beyond. Next, G and I cut out 14 inch stripes from black twill fabric. We stitched witched the stripes on and finished the raw edges with satin ribbon (stitch witch was also used to secure the ribbon). To add length to the curtains (the hot iron made them draw up a a few inches), we added a braided trim. Even though there was no sewing involved and the panels were premade, the project required much more work than expected. We put at least 10 hours (on our knees) measuring and ironing down fabric.

Here is the “after” shot of the dining room…

And another shot of the before and after…

We’re on the hunt for a new dining room set, rug, and paint color for the walls. In the meantime, we’re happy to have a more complete look. To add a little more texture to the room, I made a burlap skirt for an old library table.

Before:
After:

Posted in Home improvement, Hutson, family, mary reese, memories | 1 Comment

An upcoming baptism, curtain project, and quest to fill the empty frames around the house

Posted on March 5, 2011 by carly

We’ve been busy preparing for Little Man’s baptism this weekend.

His sister wants to know why he is wearing a dress. I’ve tried to explain that it’s a baptism gown. Hutson is obviously man enough to pull off the look. Plus, I’m pretty sure this gown is the gateway to sibling princess parties with plastic heels, tutus, and tierras.

In our quest to whip the house into shape, we’re filling empty frames…

tackling a curtain project to dress up the dining room…

and getting ready to feed 17 people. Lord help us….

Prayers that I will not burn down the house.

And that Little Man will behave on his special day!

Posted in Home improvement, Hutson, mary reese, memories | 1 Comment

A weekend recap

Posted on February 23, 2011 by carly

Garrett and I have a tendency to limit our weekend activity so that we can enjoy a full 24 hours of “pajama day”. This was not the case this past weekend. We packed the weekend so full of activity, that we may need another weekend just to recover…

Friday: Friday night was spent eating Mexican with one of our favorite couples, Jamie and Ryan. MR adores their two girls and since they are all relatively close in age, they play wonderfully together. After dinner, we headed to Jamie and Ryan’s for drinks. The kids played while the grownups took a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about the good ole days at UGA. Four hours later, the littlest of the group let it be known that it was time to call it a night.

Saturday: Saturday morning I got to meet up with Jamie again at a Bloom Childrens trunk show. The spring line is absolutely fantastic! After much debate about what to buy, I walked away with a precious new smocked bathing suit for MR. If only swimsuit shopping could be so fun and easy for adults! Later that day, I headed to Little Five Points for a photography class. While I didn’t get a whole lot out of the class, I did learn one thing…if you ever want to experience life out side of suburbia, head to Little Five Points. There, you’ll find an eclectic mix of tattoos, piercings, fashions, and cultures. Right in the midst of it all, was yours truly; sporting a Lilly Pulitzer oxford, mom jeans, and a pair of Tory Burch flats.

The remainder of Saturday was spent outdoors, enjoying perfect weather. Once the kids went to bed, G fired up the grill for steaks. In typical suburbia fashion, I sat by the firepit, as I caught up on the latest edition of Southern Living In Touch magazine.

Sunday: On Sunday, we geared up for dinner with our neighbors Mitch and Velvet and John and Lori. Neither couple has kids, so MR and Huttie were prepped to be on their absolute best behavior. To say that it appeared that we (as a family) had never been out to a nice dinner would be a huge understatement. Upon arrival, Huttie had a serious blowout up his back, causing G to have to run back home to give him his second bath of the day. Shortly after his return, I sat on the tablecloth (twice), causing water to spill everywhere. Just as we got it cleaned up, MR had a spill of her own. While MR and I were on a “do not move, drink-restriction”, Huttie found it necessary to test his vocal cords. Never before has our sweet, mild mannered boy been that loud. Despite it all, we were able to laugh and enjoy our time together. We were also invited back for round two next month at John and Lori’s house!

Monday (President’s Day): Monday was a holiday for G and with the busy weekend behind us, it became a day of relaxing and running errands (a semi pajama day). While we caught up on some things around the house, MR headed out with Aunt B to watch Nomio and Juliet at the movie theater. The outing marked MR’s first trip to the theater and her first time seeing a movie in 3D. Since I am way to ADD to sit through an entire movie, I’m hoping Aunt B will be kind enough to continue this tradition for me.

I’m also hoping for a few rounds of “24 hour pajamas” in the days to come. MR is spending the next few days in Athens with her Gran C and Big Daddy, so Huttie Cat and I plan to take it easy until her return.

Posted in Hutson, mary reese, memories, places | 1 Comment

Huttie at 7 months

Posted on February 17, 2011 by carly

I am completely smitten with the little man of the house.

He’s noisy. Messy. And funny. He is without a doubt, all boy.

At seven months, Hutson drinks three 8 oz bottles a day and eats solids with every meal.

He’s doing his best to crawl. Getting to Sadie seems to be his biggest incentive.

Much to his mama and daddy’s delight, he continues to sleep like a champ. He wakes up every morning around 7 am and plays in his crib until 8 or 8:30. He takes two 3 hour naps a day and goes to bed by 7 each night. He’s an easy baby, so long as he gets his rest. Although he still won’t take a passy, he’ll suck his thumb when tired (mostly as night). Like his older sister, he sleeps and cuddles with an ever growing entourage of stuffed animals and blankies.

At seven months, our Huttie is still toothless. He babbles constantly and depending on who you ask, may or may not say “mama“. Whether he says it or not, he is his mama’s boy. And his daddy’s. And his big sisters. He flashes a toothless grin at just about everyone and everything.

Huttie still sports two different colored eyes (one blue and one brown). He also sports a pretty good head of hair for a seven month old. If he were a girl, he would already be in hairbow territory.

Without sounding too cheesy, Huttie completes us. It’s hard to remember life without him. He makes us laugh. And brings out the baby talk in all of us.

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Sweet, sweet Valentine’s

Posted on February 15, 2011 by carly

Valentine’s was extra special this year thanks to my little helper in the kitchen. We spent most of Friday afternoon baking goodies for our friends and neighbors.

Each goodie bag contained two chocolate cake pops and a white chocolate dipped Oreo cookie.

Huttie Cat supervised our time in the kitchen.

As usual, we ate more than we gave.

And because Mary Reese had noticed that “people don’t decorate for Valentine’s Day like they used to“, we decided to make a quick and easy Valentine’s burlap wreath. Ok, so it’s not really a Valentine’s wreath, but it did boast a red gingham bow and thankfully, that was enough to satisfy sweet MR.

Our Valentine’s festivities continued throughout the weekend.

On Saturday, G surprised me with a trip to Phipps to pick out a new pair of shoes. I’ve had my eyes on these for a while and was shocked when G agreed to the purchase.

Not to be outdone, sweet MR decided on a pair of red boots from Horsetown for her Valentine’s gift.

She brought along her new favorite stuffed animal, “Fluffy Puppy”, a Valentine’s gift from our sweet neighbors Lori and John.

Shoe shopping wasn’t the only highlight of our weekend. Thanks to Cupid and the good Lord above, we enjoyed temperatures in the sixties; perfect weather for an afternoon at Kennesaw National Battlefield.

The fun continued on Monday with MR’s Valentine’s party at school. MR passed out these cards to her buddies.

I wish I could take credit for the craftiness, but I stole the idea from a much hipper mama. I can however take credit for the store bought cupcakes that MR shared with her classmates.

And this shirt with an attached tulle tutu.

It’s MR’s all time favorite. She loves it so much that she almost refused to eat those store bought cupcakes for fear that it would ruin her “most beautiful, beautiful shirt“.

And while MR sat amongst 10 other hyper and over-sugared three year olds, little brother slept like a rock in his stroller. He’s saving up energy for his 7 month blog update that I have yet to post. I’ve promised him that I will get up by the end of the week…

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Vonnie and Huey’s surprise 50th Anniversary

Posted on February 10, 2011 by carly

It was quite the occasion. Certainly worthy of MR’s first manicure.

Last Friday, we headed down to Waycross to be a part of a surprise anniversary party for Garrett’s grandparents.

50 years of marriage.

Lots of friends and family.

And of course, lots of southern food (plate compliments of G).

Our journey down south also allowed us to spend time with Garrett’s mom. She lives in this beautiful home on the Satilla River.

The front porch is one of my favorite things about her house.

The Valentine’s tree is a favorite of MR’s.
Posing for pictures has become her least favorite pastime. She repeatedly asked me to wake “Hutsey” up from his nap so that she could be relieved from the madness.

Of course I ignored her requests and after hundreds of shots, managed to get a keeper of my sweet, growing girl. With warmer weather on the way, she can rest assured that the camera will return for a sister/brother photo shoot over weekend!