Fall Favorites

One of my favorite things about fall - besides the pumpkin patch at my church - is that we infuse pumpkin into every area of our lives. Candles, home decor, drinks and food. Because, why not overload ourselves with the spice of fall?

I love pumpkin bread, so tonight I tried my hand at a pumpkin bundt cake with homemade icing. It was yummy and looked pretty, too! Added bonus: it's on Parker's diet, so it's a food he isn't allergic too (the list is short, people).

This candy is my everything in the fall. I cannot get enough. And with only 70 calories a pop, they're easy on the diet, too. If you've never had one, do yourself a favor and get your hands on one immediately. It has a great caramel flavor, then tastes like a green jolly rancher. You can thank me later.

The sweet pumpkin Burt's Bees candle (bottom left) is my kind of candle. It's not too overwhelming, but gives my house a seasonal smell. And it costs less than $5. #winning

Even though the calendar says it's fall, I won't buy into it completely until I can wear my leggings and boots again. Because that's when it's really fall, y'all.

Star Spangled Kids

I'm participating in a fun link up I saw on Kristy and Chelsea's blogs today!

I've always loved the 4th of July. It's a simple holiday that I don't feel has been over commercialized (yet) and we all get time off work to spend with our families. Growing up, the fourth of July was a time our family got together to grill burgers, swim and then we would grab our lawn chairs and head to watch the city fireworks show. With my own family, we haven't really started any traditions because the boys aren't old enough yet. However, I am particularly excited for the holiday this year because we are headed down to Tiki Island for the weekend for swimming, fireworks and relaxation. If all goes well, we are planning to keep Connor awake so he can see the fireworks, too - and hopefully not be scared of them!

Here are a few snapshots of what my boys will be wearing this Fourth of July!

Connor (2.5) is wearing an Old Navy tank top. He calls it his Kaka Shirt, affectionately named for his Uncle Kevin, who wears this style of tank top all summer long. And Connor is holding a basketball...of course! Every picture needs a prop.

Parker (7 months) thankfully sat still long enough for a picture. He is so busy moving around these days. He's wearing a smocked Jon Jon I ordered from Smocked Auctions. Connor also wore it on his first Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July from our family to yours!

Hope everyone has a safe and fun Fourth!

Our Easter

Easter is probably my favorite holiday. I like it even more than Christmas. There, I said it. I've probably lost a few readers now. But to me, Christmas has become so rushed, commercialized and overbooked that it's just too much freaking work. For Easter, I don't have to decorate a tree, buy presents for everyone that interacts with me or my kids, and go to parties. My radio stations aren't hijacked for six weeks with holiday music, and I don't have to be politically correct when wishing folks a Happy Easter. And don't get me started about that Elf on the Shelf. Easter is simple, and on behalf of all the moms who don't live next door to Hobby Lobby -- let's keep it that way. 

Now, where was I? Oh yes, Easter. 

Connor had an egg hunt at school on Thursday. He is so methodical about egg hunting, and it cracks me up. He picks up an egg, opens it, surveys (or eats) the candy, hands me the egg and then moves on. In the time Connor hunted 4 eggs, the older kids had already collected their 12 allotted eggs and had moved on. 

Connor's class. E-tee (Ethan), Tess Mer Clr (Mary Claire) and their teacher, Ms. Chely

Pondering what he thinks about the jelly beans in the egg...

On Saturday, our neighborhood had an Easter Egg hunt that was a blast. We have 50 kids in our little neighborhood, many that are right around the ages of Connor and Parker. The dads went and hid all of the eggs at 8:30 and then at 9:00 the kids were free to hunt. The 0-3 year olds hunted eggs on the opposite side of the street than our house and this time, Connor got more in to it. We practiced picking up eggs, putting them in his basket and then opening all of them at the end. He caught on and would run to each egg and say, "Oh my egg!" So cute! After the egg hunt, there was an appearance by the Easter Bunny (one of the dads on the street was suckered in to wearing the costume). Connor wasn't sure at first, but then he finally wanted to take a picture with him and kept giving him high-fives!

That's Connor's cheese face!

After the neighborhood egg hunt, we spent the rest of our day out in Deer Park with Grammy and Paw Paw. My mom put together an over the top Easter basket for Connor. I wish I had a picture of it before Connor tore in to it. Mom puts a lot of effort in to the presentation of gifts and I love it. His basket was adorable and filled to the brim with sidewalk chalk, bubbles, books, Veggietales, and an ambulance and firetruck that both make noise (thanks, Mom!). He had a blast hunting for his eggs in their backyard and playing with his new bubble gun. Then while Parker napped, we took him to the park to play. It was fun for us to just do something with Connor and give him our undivided attention!

Hunting his eggs to put in his choo-choo basket!

He loved shooting Paw Paw with the bubble gun!

We had a blast with him at the park!

Parker was there, too! Parker Man...you'll get to run around with big brother and hunt eggs next year!

On Easter Sunday, we ended up at Urgent Care with Parker and missed church. This was heartbreaking for me, as this was my first Easter morning to not spend at church. There were tears. But, Parker was okay and that's all that matters. We had lunch with my family at Lupe Tortilla and then went to Tiki for a crawfish boil. Connor did his first crawfish races and went on a boat ride with Uncle Pete.

We had a great Easter weekend celebrating Jesus and celebrating our family. 

He is risen, indeed.

Houston Rodeo

To say that Connor had fun at the rodeo would be a gigantic understatement. He had a blast! It was one of my favorite days I've ever had with Connor, and I loved that my mom came along to share in the fun with us (and let's be honest...I needed all the help I could get with both boys in tow).

When we got there, Connor said he wanted to "ride horse"...but knowing him, I knew we would get up to the pony rides and he would refuse to do it. WRONG. He was game for it! He even let the worker pick him up and put him on the horse. All I could think was, "he is going to lose it at any moment!". But, he never did. He had the best time and kept smiling and saying, "My ride horse!' and petting the horse. And he also asked me where his cowboy hat was...sorry, buddy. I don't even have a cute rodeo shirt to put you in like baby brother. Next year, I'll be more prepared!

The Houston Rodeo does such a great job catering to little ones. We had fun wandering through their farmer's market, pretending to ride the tractor, and petting all of the animals at the petting zoo. Connor did this adorable squeal when he would pet one of the animals. He wasn't timid at all. He would get in their face and greet the animals. "Hi, goat, hi" he would say. This kid of mine is hilarious! The best part was when he was saying hi to the llama, he went ahead and gave it a kiss. Are   you kidding me? My mom and I about lost it!

Parker came with us, too, and was a champ. He stayed in his stroller most of the time and loved just looking around. This little one does not like to be bored, so he enjoyed being out and about. I love this picture below. Connor at his first rodeo in 2012 and Parker at his first rodeo. How cute is this outfit? (Parker had already kicked off his boots before the picture was snapped).

What a fun day with my boys! Can't wait to do it again in 2016!

Spring Break

This sums up our Spring Break so far.

Little man has had a fever for FIVE days. Basically since the clock struck "Spring Break" on Friday, he has had a fever of at least 102. The fever has slowed him down some, and he's also got what I call a day care cold - runny nose and cough. I'm hopeful that this week will end with two healthy babies.

Parker got his first ear infection last week (at four months old). He never ran a fever, just stopped sleeping well. Luckily some meds cleared his infection right up.

And all of the family - in laws included - have shared a tummy bug for the past few days. So, yes, our Spring Break can only go up from here!

Before you feel too sorry for us, we've had a fun Spring Break despite all of the ailments. We are in Baton Rouge and we went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Ya'll - this was an absolute blast! People in Louisiana make everything into a party, and I love it! We were at the family-friendly part of the parade and it was full of music (mostly "Uptown Funk"), beads, balls (see Connor's new football, pictured above), candy, cups and toys. Connor had a blast with his cousins. He also loved seeing the "march bands" going by - he's obsessed with marching bands! This was such a fun outing and I hope it wasn't our last St. Patrick's Day Parade in BR!

So, here's hoping the rest of our Spring Break is filled with more sleep, fewer "nose yucks" and lots of fun with my boys!

My 2014

My highlight of 2014 was this:

Meet Parker Henry Ford. Born on Wednesday, November 5th at 5:47 p.m. This little nugget weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces and he was 21 1/4th inches long. He came out kicking, crying and peeing!

We found out we were expecting Parker in March. This was a huge HUGE surprise to us. I feel like life just kind of happens to Jeremy and me. We don't really make a lot of big plans (besides a weekly dinner menu, if that). We go about our day to day routines and big things happen along the way -- a trip, new house, new car, babies. This is probably why we are so good together. We just take things as they come our way.

Here are some of my favorite memories from 2014:

This kid. He makes everyday fun. In the car, he loves for us to play "round and round and round and round" also known as "Wheels on the Bus." He does the motions to "Itsy, Bitsy Spider," "Happy and You Know It" (and taps his chin for "and your face will surely show it"...hilarious) and "Skinny Marinky." Never a dull moment in the car!

He was an LSU football player for Halloween (you aren't surprised). We had trunk or treat with our Sunday School class and our trunk tied for first place for the decorations. It was a fun tradition we started with our littles as they went from car to car getting candy and goodies!

Stop it. He's saying "cheese" and he's dressed like an Indian. Can't even handle this cuteness.

Connor and his baby Par-ka on Christmas Day. What a special Christmas we had in Baton Rouge with these two sweet ones.

This summer we took a trip to Hunt, TX, with friends and spent a long relaxing weekend on the Guadalupe. It was a fun vacation and we enjoyed playing outside, the Crider's rodeo and late night games! 

Love doing life with these people. This is our Sunday School class...and they have so richly blessed our lives.

Parker man at just 3 weeks old! Filling out his 3 month clothes already. I sure loved being home with him every day during maternity leave. 

LSU didn't have a remarkable season, but Connor loved tailgating and going to a game. His favorite part? The band performance at halftime! "More band" he kept saying!

Before pregnancy really kicked in (and the summer heat) I spent three mornings a week running with these girls. They were worth waking up at 5 a.m. for. We ran several 5K's and enjoyed pushing each other and staying in shape together. Hopefully I can get back in the running game again in 2015!

We moved! We have a bigger home in a darling neighborhood that is perfect for our growing family. We've really enjoyed making our new house into our home and settling in. We are enjoying the extra space and the YARD!

Connor turned 2 by doing his most favorite thing - riding the choo-choo! This year, he fell in love with choo-choo's! There's nothing sweeter than seeing your child get so excited for something! He had the best time at his birthday party riding the train at Hermann Park. He would move his arm up and down and say "choo-choo!" and say "Mama ride choo-choo; Dada ride choo-choo; I ride choo-choo!" 

This was definitely an unforgettable year! Here's to 2015!

Valentine's Dinner Party

We celebrated Valentine's Day at home this year, and had two of our favorite couples over for dinner! My husband is a fabulous chef and prepared an amazing meal for us. It was a great evening with friends, and allowed us to have meaningful conversations without the chaos that comes with dining out on the "most romantic night of the year."

Since we were just at home, I wanted to give the dinner an extra touch with a simple, but elegant tablescape. I pulled my grey chevron table runner I had made out of the drawer to start with. I knew I had to use red as my corresponding color versus pink, since red would pop more on the grey runner. Added in some votives, and we have the table ready to go!

For the silverware, I wrapped it up in red dinner napkins and then twisted a red and silver heart wire strand to keep it together. Very simple!

On the menu: homemade hush puppies with a side of creole butter, grilled veggies, salad, garlic mashed potatoes and flat iron steak topped with New Orleans style BBQ shrimp. It was as delicious as it looks!

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day!
B

Our Merry Christmas!

Whew - I need a vacation to recover from our Christmas. Or a spa day. Hubs, are you listening? Our little man is wild, let me tell you! But these are some pretty fun times, I must admit. Connor starting walking just after Thanksgiving and he hasn't slowed down. When he walks, he still kind of waddles like a penguin. He also squeals and screams and shrieks as he walks, and it's so cute. And so loud - we're going to be deaf here pretty soon! I need to get a video of this, but I swear he's camera shy. Every time I press record, he freezes up. We're going to have to work on that.

I digress. Christmas was fun and filled with lots of family and friends. We headed to North Louisiana to see my dad's side of the family, and then back home, and then off to BR to see the Fords'. Connor got more than we could have ever asked for or imagined. This is one spoiled rotten boy. The third carload of gifts are coming back to Houston from BR this weekend. And I'm not kidding.

So, here is an overload of pictures from Christmas.

A picture from his Christmas card.

Throwing his annual Christmas tantrum after the Christmas Eve service at church.  

Adams cousins in matching shirts! Beck (1), Elizabeth (1.5) and Connor.

Checking out his new chair from Santa on Christmas morning!

Look at all of his presents from Grammy and Paw Paw. Like I said - spoiled rotten. He was mildly interested in tearing the paper off of the gifts, and VERY interested in putting the paper in his mouth. 

The theme of Christmas for my family was tacky sweater!

The Ford cousins. Look at C's expression! So funny!

My favorite picture! Big boy is riding on his new Buzz Lightyear car! Thank you Nana & Pops!

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas!
Brittney

Connor's First Halloween

Connor dressed as a puppy dog for his first Halloween! We had a fun time celebrating with him, and he didn't seem to mind his costume too much. It was nearly impossible to draw a nose and freckles on him - of course! He doesn't stay still for much of anything these days!

The day before Halloween we joined our sweet Sunday School friends to trick-or-treat in a nearby neighborhood. Connor and Kate (his future bride) enjoyed riding around in the wagon while the bigger kids actually got to trick-or-treat! J took Connor up to one house so we can say he has officially trick-or-treated!

Connor and Kate!

So precious!

On Halloween day, he went to school wearing his cute new shirt from his Nana! He has so much fun playing at school!

He still loves clapping!

He's "talking" to me!

After school, we hurried home to get in costume! Grammy and PawPaw came over to see our cute little puppy dog. He had fun playing throw and catch with his grandparents!

So happy!

Looking at his PawPaw!

Love my boy!

This was Connor's last first holiday....sniff, sniff.
Happy Halloween to all!
Brittney