Here We Go: A Giveaway!

(please excuse the manly figure sporting this feminine apron...I asked Eric to be my model and he begrudgingly obliged :))

So, I know I've never done a giveaway before, but my friend Emily had me make these SUPER cute aprons for her to give as hostess gifts for one of her showers and I just HAD TO make an extra one for one lucky winner!

Here's how it'll work...You have until Wednesday at noon to enter and I'll announce the winner Thursday. To enter just leave me a comment! To get two entries either subscribe or follow our blog and leave me a comment letting me know!



And don't worry if you don't win...a tutorial will be coming soon! :)

Monday, already?!

Don't the weekends just FLY by! I used to get really sad on Sunday nights because that meant the weekend was over. I try not to get sad anymore, but Mondays are always here before I know it!

The weather here has been really nice and warm, which is so confusing for my wardrobe. Sunday morning it was 70 degrees and I couldn't figure out what to wear. I finally put on some sandals. I know, I know, it's still February, but I just couldn't take wearing boots in 70 degree weather.



We spent time at the park, went to a shower for Emily and had a little Oscar party at our house Sunday night.

Ok, I have some exciting things to share on the blog this week, so check back soon!

Happy Monday!

Phew

What a crazy fun weekend!! I would have blogged about it yesterday, but I was still in recovery.



Baby Olive decided to make her arrival on Thursday morning. We are all so excited about the new addition to the Hester family. She's super adorable!

PS- Can we talk about how super adorable Ryan looks MOMENTS after giving birth?!!











Then Scait got married! We were all busy Friday/Saturday trying to create the perfect space for their wedding. It turned out beautifully, however, I have no pictures to show for it. I did get a few at the rehearsal dinner, though.





These are Caitlin's best friends from college. They were SO fun! I loved getting to know them a little better.

I have to say, Scott and Caitlin's cermony was probably the sweetest wedding ceremony I've ever witnessed. I've never seen two people so evidently committed to each other and to the Lord. Caitlin walked down the aisle to Chad singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness." I wish everyone could have seen her face after she reached the alter and he sang the last chorus. It was a beautiful thing to be a part of.

Sunday morning we drove down to North Alabama to have lunch with my family and to celebrate 3 years of Campbell!







Can you tell that Laney loves Campbell?? :) She was about to jump out of her seat just to play with her.







Emily- Somehow my camera did end up with a decent picture of all of us? I mean, I look like I could use a nap, but everyone else looks fabulous!



I do feel like all of those events totally deserved their own post, but in an effort to try and catch up I had to capture it all in one.

Happy Tuesday peeps!

Love.

We had a lovely weekend. The weather was BEAUTIFUL here! Much like the rest of you, I'm sure, we just had to get out of the house and outside in the sunshine! We hit up the Dragon Park, because it's my favorite. It was Laney's first trip to the park and she loved it! Especially the swings.





Saturday night, thanks to our sweet friend Emily, Eric and I had a date night. It was much needed. We bought Laney a Valentine from one of our favorite baby shops Tweed. Then we ate dinner at a pizza place called Bella Napoli. We had so much fun.



I love my Valentines!





I hope you all feel very loved today!

"Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Ephesians 5:2

Snow Day!

I feel like by this point I could have MANY posts titled snow day. It's snowed a lot here this winter, and unfortunately TDOT is never quite ready to handle all the snow. The snow we got last night wasn't that bad, but we weren't prepared for it AT ALL. The roads are way slick because they didn't put down any salt. I'm not complaining though, it means I get to spend my day with my girl. Poor Eric had to get up and go to the hospital at 6am. He drove there verrrryyy slowly.



Ok, so, I never get to watch morning shows because I work, but Laney's asleep so I'm watching Kathie Lee & Hoda. When I was on maternity leave I watched them, and they got on my nerves, but somehow they've grown on me. They just showed a video clip of a boy who caught his dad dancing to Brittany Spear's "Toxic". It was hilarious. I think he was dancing with the Wii and some of the moves were SOOOOOO funny, especially when you see a grown man doing them.



Anyway, my boss asked me to make a strawberry cake for him to give his wife for valentines day. I use Paula Deen's recipe, and it's delicious, as are most things by Paula Deen. I think that's how I'll spend part of my snow day. Oh! Also Old Navy is having a big kids/baby sale. I ran out there yesterday and got a few things for Laney. She needed some clothes for school. The sale wasn't as great as I thought it would be, but I still managed to get a few things ($5 each).





I added a little something to the pink one just for fun.

Gosh, this has turned into such a random post. Ok, that's all I've got on this snow day.

owls and fireworks.

Baby Olive is due to arrive any day now! Ryan has done a great job on her nursery. It is adorable! Ryan is a FANTASTIC artist, so she painted an owl to go over her crib, and I couldn't help but jump on the owl bandwagon and make her a pillow to go in the nursery.



I browsed the creative pages of etsy for some inspiration. There are some really cute owl pillows out there (if any of you are looking), but this one was my favorite.



In other news Daddy is working late at the hospital tonight, so Laney and I watch last night Glee's episode when we got home from work. Which...side note...took 30 MINUTES and I live 2 MILES AWAY FROM WHERE I WORK! Nashville is in complete gridlock because of this snow storm. Ok, back on track, we really liked last nights episode. Especially when Lea Michele busted out Katy Perry's "Firework." We definitely had a dance party. Laney loved it. She was hilarious.



I hope you all stay warm and cozy!

Phone pics

Confession: I never delete the pictures off of my iphone. Therefore: I have A LOT of pictures on my phone.

Every once in a while (often), I scroll through them...It's like taking a walk down memory lane. I'll try not to bore you, but today you get to walk with me. I really could almost cry looking through these, so much has happened in the last two years.


This is us newly married and newly puppied. Max was probably only a few months old here. I'm sure he misses these days when we actually paid attention to him.


This is from our trip to Chicago (which I don't think I ever blogged about). This was about 2 months before I got pregnant with Laney. Oh the days when you could just skip off to Chicago for a few days.


A bald Campbell, who was just learning to walk. It's hard to remember her being that little (tear). Baby Jack's high school graduation.


Buddy running his marathon. He was so proud and so tired. That's a huge accomplishment, I could never and would never want to do that. :) He's so cute.


Laney's first picture. Look at that little peanut! Also, this is how we broke the news to Max. Tortured him by putting him in a shirt and said, "Congratulations, buddy! Your life is about to completely change!"


Awe...the day we found out we were having a girl. I was totally shocked and cried as I was laying on the ultrasound table.


The Nashville floods. Breaks my heart. I don't know how well you can see it in these pictures, but the highway that runs by our house was completely flooded. That wasn't even the worst of it, there were streams like rivers running down people's streets. Nashville is still in the process of recovering 9 months later.


Two completely unrelated things: 1- I just think this picture of Eric is funny. It's from our birthing class. 2- Emily got engaged! 3.26.11. Looking forward to the big day!


Ok, I feel really vulnerable sharing this picture with you all. This was the night before I went into labor with Laney. It was REALLY hot outside, and I was ready to have that baby! So Eric and I decided to go for a walk (like a power walking kind of walk) at the park. I couldn't find anything to wear (because I was SO HUGE!). So, I took this picture and sent it to my mom so she could tell me that I looked fine. She did because she's nice like that and she loves me. It's funny because the very next picture in my phone is this one...


Boom! There she is! The miracle of life. It's amazing, isn't it!? God is so good to allow us to experience this. I was just thinking about this yesterday at church. We were singing the David Crowder song, "How He Loves Us." Having Laney has completely changed my perspective when I sing that song. All I could picture was Laney's little smiling face and how much it delighted me, and how much more our Father loves us and delights in us. Ugh. Amazing.


The many faces of Laney-girl. She now dominates the photos on my phone. I love snapping pictures of that cute little face. She's growing so fast. I can hardly believe it (did you catch the shirtless daddy in there? He might kill me for that :)).



Well, happy Monday! I hope this has been as fun for you as it has for me. :)

Big Girl.

My baby is turning into a big girl.



She sits up, has two teeth and drinks from a sippy cup (kinda). Although she would rather drink out of mommy's cup that doesn't have a lid.



Anyway, besides my baby growing up, we went to Montgomery last weekend to help throw a shower for one of my longest and best friends, Erin.



I've known Erin since I was five, but we didn't become besties until we were 7. I think we bonded when we decided to sing "the Warrior is a Child" (remember that one?! we're old school) in our school's talent show. I'm sure I was much more unsure of the whole thing than Erin. She's always had a knack for the theater. She even lived in NYC for a while pursuing her acting career.



She's preggo with her first baby. Hudson is due at the end of April and Laney is very excited to meet her future suitor. :) Have I ever mentioned I have no problems with arranged marriages? Especially when they are between my daughter and my best friends son? I'm ok with that (phew, glad that's out there).





The shower was a really great time to see some old friends...





...and their sweet babies...





I hope every one's having a great week. Can you believe it's February!?!