Birthday Pickles

Look what Steven got in the mail today for his birthday.

You guessed it.  Fourteen-Day pickles or "Asbury Gold" as we like to call it.  I mean, let's be real for a minute...For his birthday, Steven got a few cards with money inside, a leaf blower, and a cute new shirt; however, none of the aforementioned gifts made him light up like the sight of those two jars. Asbury Gold pickles are truly one of life's little heavenly tastes. These were made by none other than the famous Mrs. Bridget Ipock.  Oh how I miss her laugh, warmth, and wisdom (not to mention her amazing culinary skills).  Thank you for thinking of Steven on his birthday.  It meant so much to him!

Sawyer's Lodge

Since I am pretty sure Sawyer will be an outdoorsman like his daddy, I decided to go in a completely different direction for his nursery in our new home.  I wanted it to feel cozy, like a hunter's lodge in the middle of the woods.  I have high hopes of adding old pallet board to one of the walls one day in order to make it even more worn in and cozy.  I hope he likes it as much as we do!

old "You been farmin' long?" poster from Steven's grandmother

The duck painting was done by Steven's grandmother and was also in Steven's childhood room.

What southerner doesn't enjoy a good Lynard Skynard quote now and then?  This was painted by my dear friend, Emily Buckner, in North Carolina.  I love the simplicity of it, which is pretty appropriate considering the quote. 

This AMAZING duck was painted by Brandon Buckner, who happens to be the husband of Emily Buckner.  This is one talented and artistic family, huh?  We got it framed and love it above Sawyer's changing table.

I'm a little rash.

I've never been a huge fan of peach, especially in large quantities. Unfortunately, our dining room was covered in two tones of this color. So, we had A LOT of paint left over from the powder room, so I went ahead and used the rest in our dining room...I know, it was a rash decision.  Steven always says "Why do you have to do everything with such haste, Ashley McCulloch?"  I know when he calls me by my maiden name that he is trying to make a point.  Again, I'm not exactly sold on the color, but it is much better than the previous unidentifiable peachy color.  Here's another before and after.

I'm a sucker for a before and after...

What a difference a little paint makes!

When we first moved into our new (to us) home, we knew we wanted to do some minor renovations as well as paint a few rooms.  The first room on the list was the powder room/ half bath that is located just off the den.  The reason we put this on the "Must-Do" list is because it was covered in the most hideous wallpaper of all time.  We called it our Asian-Fusion room because the paper was red and covered with tiny geisha girls emerging from little huts. Below are a couple before pictures so you can get a better visual of what I am talking about.

See what I mean?

I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do to revamp this room.  I have thoughts of rewallpapering the room with something modern and  textured, but then again, I'm a working mom.  I won't have time to breathe again until summer.  So, I finally decided to go ahead and throw a coat of paint on it for now (quick fix for this awfulness).  I chose the color after walking by the paint aisle a hundred times and picking up the same swatch every time. The powder room isn't huge, so I wanted to paint it with a light neutral to make it appear a little bigger.  I went with a color called Time Worn Stone.  I like it, but I don't love it.  Don't you hate that?  I mean, it's better than it was before, by far, but I'm not completely sold on it.  Anyway, below is the powder room after picture.

We still plan on tiling the floor and changing out the hardware, but for now this is much better.  Goodbye, Asian-fusion!

Amelia Grace Sewell

Baby Amelia made her entrance into the world on Saturday, October20th!  She weighed in at 7 lbs. 18 1/2 in.  She has a full head of hair and is absolutely adorable!!!

After a long, fun, and (at some points) stressful CCHS Homecoming week, Steven and I got everything packed and made our way to Tuscaloosa, AL late Friday night.  We stayed at Chris and Whitney's home with Mom, Dad, and Taylor.  Whitney and Chris checked in to the hospital on Friday night, and the doctor was going to start inducing early the following day. 

On Saturday morning, Mom, Dad, Taylor, Alaina, Steven, Sawyer, and I went to the hospital to visit with the Sewells (still a family of two at this point) before making our way to the lobby to wait for our little girl to arrive.  It was great to see Whitney one more time before her life gets a little crazy. The day seemingly went by super fast while we waited.  We passed the time by watching football games (i.e.  the Auburn fiasco), eating snacks, talking and laughing with each other, and chasing Sawyer around (he's on the move at full speed these days).  At about 2:00, the doctor and Whitney made the decision to opt for a c-section because she just wasn't progressing at all. 

waiting on Baby Amelia to arrive

After that everything happened at super speed. They prepped Whitney and had her back in surgery less than 15 minutes later.  Before I knew it, we got the message that Baby Amelia had arrived and they were wheeling her to the nursery for us to view.  There are no words to adequately describe her other than BEAUTIFUL!  The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent hanging out together and officially meeting our newest addition (Added bonus: Dinner at Mugshots--yummy!).  Everyone was thrilled with her, with the exception of Sawyer who was more than a little hesitant at first. However, he had warmed up to her by the end of the weekend. 

The next morning, Betsy surprised Whitney and Chris by showing up at the hospital.  Whitney thought that she had to work, but Betsy had requested off and made her way to Tuscaloosa.  When she walked in the room, Whitney immediately teared up, which was one of the sweetest parts of the entire weekend.  Betsy and Whitney have always had such a strong connection and I know Whitney was elated to see her there!

Welcome to the world, Amelia Grace!

10 Month Update

On October 22nd, Sawyer celebrated his 10 month birthday.  It was full of excitement because it was also the first day that he walked!  We had noticed that Sawyer loves to be outside, but hates the grass.  I think it's a texture thing because he refuses to get down and crawl on it.  However, he is definitely not afraid to crawl inside, so he reverts back to this anytime he wants to get around.  So, I put two and two together and took him outside to teach him how to walk.  By the end of the evening, he was taking multiple steps at each effort.  The only problem is that he still reverts back to crawling when we are inside, but I'm sure he will be walking steadily soon.

In other news this month:

- He FINALLY got a third tooth.  His top right incisor tooth pushed through after what feels like an eternity of waiting. 

- He became a big cousin on the 21st!  He is still getting used to her, but I know he will love her just as much as the rest of us soon!

- He has definitely learned the meaning of the word "no".  We have been working with him for a few months now, and he is actually pretty good about listening to us when we say it.  We usually sometimes have to say it more than once, but he is really good about following directions when asked (definitely a Steven trait).

- He went through a phase this month of throwing mini-temper tantrums (this may be an Ashley trait) when we change his clothes.  I'm really not sure why, but he really doesn't like it when I pull his shirt off or put another one on him, no matter how gentle or quick I try to do it.  However, his daddy gave him a good talkin' to (as we say it in the south) and he is doing MUCH better.  Every now and then he will whimper and act like he wants to cry out, but usually refrains. 

- Up until his 10-month birthday, he refused to take a step without holding on to something or someone. 

- Is starting to eat more and more table food, which in turn has caused him to turn up his nose to his bottle.  He will eventually drink it, but prefers "real" food. 

- His hair is FINALLY starting to come in!  He always had some hair, but it was very light and hardly noticeable.  This month, I can really see it coming in and getting a lot darker. 

- He no longer likes to be held unless it's bed time.  This makes me really sad. 

- I think he is beginning to really connect our names with our faces.  When I walk in the room in the morning, he will jump up and down and say "mama".  When Steven comes home from work, he will turn toward the door and say "dada".  Is it just me, or is hearing your baby say your name the best feeling in the world?

9 Month Update

What?!?  Where has the time gone? 

This month has literally flown by, but has by far been one of the most fun. Sometimes, I wish I could just hit the pause button on this age because he is so cute and cuddly.  I hope that he stays this way for a while!

9 Month Highlights:

- Sawyer is still really good about going to other people, but we are just beginning to experience a little taste of separation anxiety here and there.  For example, I can sit him down on the floor facing away from me at his daycare and he will never notice that I am gone.  However, he has started to nuzzle more closely to me when we are around strangers. 

- Still loves to smile.  He is really such a ham, and definitely plays it up for the camera.

Disregard my red eyes...

- He has started to recognize locations (especially those that he dislikes) such as his car seat and his room.  He know that both of these mean that he is going to be expected to be still or go to sleep, which he does not enjoy.

- Still teething, which has not been fun.  His top incisors have not broken through yet, but one is literally about to any day.  This has caused Sawyer to be more than a little irritable at times. 

- He is now the oldest baby is his class because the other two little boys have moved up to other classes.  Mrs. Kristin says that he is adjusting well.  She told that the other morning she looked up and Sawyer was crawling and the two little girls in his class were chasing him around the class.  I love it!

- Although at first he fought it, Sawyer will now eat almost anything I give him--even green vegetables. 

- Sawyer can stand by himself for multiple minutes without support, but he hasn't taken his first step yet.  I am positive that he will get up the courage soon!

- He is becoming a lot more verbal these days.  He will say "bye-bye" and wave, so even if he doesn't know what "bye" means at least he understands the wave goes with it.  De says "dada" all the time and lights up when Steven walks in the room.  He is still not saying "mama" anymore, which makes me sad, but I know he knows how to say it, so I can live with that for now. 

-  He loves bath time, but we are having a hard time keeping him seated.  He wants to stand up in the bath and jump around, which I know is going to end up getting him hurt one of these days.

Sawyer after bath time at his PawPaw and Mimi's house

- He still takes a long nap in the afternoon after I pick him up from daycare.  However, his teacher says that he rarely sleeps for long periods of time (or at all) while he is there.  He is way too social to spend his time sleeping...

- He is a BIG Auburn fan! He has been able to "watch" a few games with us and drools orange and blue.

- We took Sawyer to his first CCHS football game a few weeks ago, and he absolutely loved it.  He especially loved the band and the halftime show.  I'm hoping he loves music as much as I do!!!

It's been a crazy/beautiful/hectic/wonderful 9 months with our little Sawbaby!

CCHS Homecoming

This week, CCHS celebrated Homecoming week.  It was a really fun, hectic, and energetic week.  The kids got to dress out, which meant no uniforms.  I cannot explain to you how excited they were about that.  The dress up days we celebrated were Tacky Day, Breast Cancer Awareness day (wear pink), Halloween Costume Day, Twin Day, and Extreme Spirit Day. I am on the Homecoming committee, so I had to help with the attendant's float as well as sponsor a grade level.  Since I teach a lot of 9th graders, I volunteered to help with their float.  We had a lot of fun putting our float together and making our banners.  The theme of the parade this year was "Cover to Cover, We support the dogs!"  Each grade level had to choose a book, so the ninth graders picked The Hunger Games.  Our banner read, "May the odds be ever in OUR favor." On Thursday afternoon, we all stayed after to put the finishing touches on the float before the parade started at 4:30. 

 

There were A LOT of people out in the streets cheering and catching candy.  After the parade was over, we made our way back to the stadium for the Powder Puff football game.  It was really cute, and the students seemed to have a great time. 

Steven picked up Sawyer and brought him out to the game.  My husband is a good sport.

This picture cracks me up!  Sarah's daughter, Addie, wanted to hold "Baby Sawler" during the game.  I think Sawyer was a little unsure. 

On Friday, we had a big pep rally during fourth block, which was hilarious because the students played games and participated in relays.  That afternoon, I helped Sarah get all the attendants to their pictures and to the stadium.  At halftime we got all the girls lined up and ready to walk across the field.  They were all beautiful and everyone involved seemed to really enjoy themselves. 

I for one was so happy to see all the spirit and feel the fun and energetic atmosphere throughout the week!  Can't wait until next year!

Showering Whitney and Amelia

A few weekends ago, Whitney's sisters-in-law threw her a baby shower at The Chocolate Biscuit Tea Room in Trussville.  We had a great lunch and then opened gifts.  Whitney got a lot of really cute stuff for baby Amelia (enough to make me have a smidgen of baby girl fever).  We had a great time visiting with everyone and celebrating this beautiful little girl to be!

The next weekend, our family threw Whitney a shower which was at my cousin Kasey's house in Decatur.  She and her family live in a beautiful home (perfect for hosting parties) so I was so thankful that she offered it to us for the afternoon.  We had a great turnout at the party, and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time catching up and spending some time giving Whitney advise and helpful tips.  Whitney got a ton of stuff for Amelia and even a super cute monogrammed hospital gown (of course Betsy knows what is all the rage at the hospital these days).  We also ate way too really good "shower food" including a Snickers Salad.  Only southerners could turn Snickers into a salad. 

Little Amelia is due to arrive next Sunday (Oct. 21st).  We cannot wait to meet her!!!

First Bike Ride :)

Sawyer LOVES riding on the back of his daddy's bike!  We are so happy because we really love to ride bikes together, but haven't been able to since Sawyer was born because he was too little.  Now that he is a "big boy" we are venturing out more and more.  One Sunday afternoon, Steven said, "I sure would like to go for a bike ride this afternoon."  I agreed, so we headed over to Wal-Mart to purchase a child's seat.  We could tell Sawyer wasn't too sure about the whole thing at first, but he quickly warmed up to it almost immediately. 

The only thing that he doesn't seem to like is the helmet we put one him.  I can totally understand his dislike for the thing. It's big, bulky, and sort of dorky, but I think he can pull anything off.  We have spent a lot of time taking rides through our neighborhood over the past couple of weeks, and have enjoyed experiencing something new with our son!  I hope you are all having a great week!  

CCHS Football

Steven and I went to the CCHS football game this Saturday night to watch the Clarke County Bulldogs play the T.R. Miller (somethings-Tigers, I think).  We decided to eat beforehand at Gene & Ellen's in downtown Grove Hill, which is just this quaint little hamburger stand. It was greasy and delicious as was expected.  Sawyer loved watching all the people and looking at all the colors, but wasn't very interested in the action on the field.  He loves music though, so he was at full attention during the band's performance at half time. 



watching the band

He must have used up all his energy though because he fell asleep sitting up in my lap in the middle of the third quarter.  We had a great time, but left a little early due to our sleepy little one. So far, CCHS has won all of our regional games, which makes teaching on Friday really fun and exciting because everyone is generally in such a good mood.  Here's to making it to playoffs!