Teaching him early

I have always secretly (or not so secretly) wanted my children to follow in my footsteps and play the wonderful sport of soccer. I played from the time I was about 9 years old through high school and loved every minute of it.

So, M decided to take E out in the backyard earlier this week along with a small soccer ball and try to teach him how to kick. Lo and behold....we discovered we have a mini soccer star on our hands. He's a natural! (Can you sense the pride I have in my boy right now?!?!)

DIY Wreath

I have seen so many houses around our neighborhood with such cute wreaths and fall decorations. A little thing, like a wreath, can make a house look so festive that I began to search for one in stores. (Ok, ok....just Target....I haven't been many other places these days). The only ones I could find were smaller than the one I ended up purchasing and $29.99 on sale. I just couldn't justify spending that kind of money. Soooo...I made my way to good ole Wal-Mart and purchases this wreath for $2.97 and the hanger for $1.97!! Yay!

I spray painted the wreath hanger brown because I wasn't such a big fan of the gold. Then I needed some berries or leaves or something. I couldn't find anything I really liked at Wal-Mart or Target, so I decided to look at Pier 1. Granted, their stuff is always really cute but overpriced, I wanted something I was going to use for the fall holidays, Christmas, as well as next year. This justified my spending $4.99 each for two strands of berries. They are are a great red and orange color and I love them!

Then, I cut small sections of berries off and positioned them through the twigs on the wreath. Luckily I had some leftover fall ribbon from last year and just used that for the bow.

For a grand total of $15.00, I made a wreath that I really like and can use for years to come. It's much easier to change out the ribbon and berries on this one when I decide I want a change (for example, maybe a red or green bow when Christmas rolls around). Simple, but fun project!

Oxford

M, E and I made a trip down to Oxford this past Saturday to visit with J, K & P and give J & K a break so they could go out to dinner. It was a lot of fun and gave us a taste of what it's going to be like when my J comes (although I won't be pregnant which will help a little)

We sensed a little jealousy brewing in E as he watched HIS mom hold P and rock him in the glider. So, as soon as I got up he had to have a turn. Oh, if only he knew what is coming :)

Uncle M and baby P

So, I REALLY wanted to get a picture of M, P and E while we were there. After numerous failed attempts, this is the best we got. It's kind of hilarious to me....E was so intrigued by P and wouldn't stop trying to touch him. As you can see, this picture captures E picking P's nose :)

Me and my boy

E's 'emo' pose....haha

Our friends, the Harris', from church gave E a lion backpack this past Sunday for his birthday. He loves it so much that he wants it on ALL the time! He's too cute! (I know I'm partial, but who cares, right?!?)

Random Happenings

Mike and I took Eli to the Collierville Mall tonight, just to get out the house and walk around. As fall approaches, I have been trying to plan our Eli's wardrobe so that he has almost everything that he needs before Jude gets here. One thing he lacked was a pair of close-toed shoes. We have a lot of size 5 and up shoes but his feet aren't quite big enough to fit into them yet. So, we made a stop into Baby Gap. I love looking through their sale racks and sometimes you can find some really good deals. Although not on the sale rack (which usually is a veto on my part) I spotted these adorable converse shoes and I just HAD to get them. I'm probably way more excited than Mike or Eli will ever be about these sorts of things.

After a long day, I just happened to see all of our shoes arranged on the floor and thought they would make such a cute picture. Not too much longer and we will have one more pair of tiny shoes to add to the pile. :)

So, I FINALLY had Mike take a couple of pictures of me pregnant with Jude. I feel like I have totally jipped Jude in the picture area, at least compared to how many pictures I took of my pregnant body with Eli. Although, Mike keeps reminding me that he will not care in the least, I keep thinking that maybe his future wife or kids will appreciate my diligence in this area. Ok, ok....at least it will make ME feel good to have these pictures in an album for future reference. Nonetheless, I had some taken finally, and it makes me feel better in some weird way. So, here I am at almost 33 weeks pregnant...only 7 more to go!