Cheers to the Weekend: Family Wedding Edition

Hip, Hip Hooray!!! Only THREE more full weeks of school, followed by a half week, and then we're OUT for summer! That means, 17.5 more days of kindergarten to go, but who's counting?! I would be lying if I said I wasn't ECSTATIC to have all three of my babies home with me this summer. We are so close to the finish line I can taste it!

On that note, here are a few other things I'm saying CHEERS to this week/end:

Healthy 2-year well-checks. Harrison and I headed to the pediatrician Wednesday for his 2-year check up. He is doing great and is a healthy 26 pounds, 2 ounces and 35 inches tall. Although shorter than his older sibs were at this age, he is still at the 70th percentile for height (compared to his older sibs' consistent 90+ percentile for height, ha!). And bonus: no shots this go 'round. Yahoo! And now, his next well-check is not for another year-crazy!

Self promotion. :0 Three things to mention: (1) ebates. Y'all. Come ON. If you online shop, you MUST use ebates. Easy to use, no strings attached, and free money. For realz. (2) Rodan + Fields. Yes, it's everywhere. Yes, it's annoying. Yes, I'm a consultant. Yes, I refuse to post on social media. Yes, I'd love to help out you and your skin. (3) ibotta. A new app my girlfriend ('sup, Jenna!?) introduced me to as another way to get free money, no strings attached. Do you grocery shop? Seriously. Do you? Are you a human who eats food? Then, hello! Why aren't you using ibotta. I just started using it and am obsessed. I love free money! :) 

The great mascara debate. Talk about a #firstworldproblem. I know, I KNOW. This matters absolutely NONE in the grand scheme of things, but it's fine to have a little fun every now and then, right? Okay, so, a couple of weeks ago I asked for mascara recommendations on Facebook and was flooded with suggestions. One dear soul even sent me a couple of samples of different Lancome mascaras to try out. So, I did what any good woman would do for her girlfriends: I tried them all, snapped pics, and now, offer these comparison shots for you to see and judge. Let me know which you think is the winner! I have an opinion now but will hold off on sharing until I hear your feedback. I will also refrain on sharing which mascara is which until next week, to avoid any potential bias. :) So. Here we go:

And on that superficial note, it's time for the weekend to begin! We are THRILLED to have one of my sisters and her fam staying with us all weekend (since arriving last night-woot!). Tonight, we are taking the birthday girl (Happy Birthday, Jess!) out to eat. 

Tomorrow, we'll be heading to Pinehurst, North Carolina, for my cousin Matt's wedding. He is marrying a beautiful soul we all adore, and we cannot wait to welcome her to our big, happy, crazy family! 

 So, CHEERS to all of that and CHEERS to you, for following along with my lil' ol' blog. Thank you for reading and supporting this space. Have a great weekend, y'all! <3

Harrison Turns Two At The Zoo!

On Monday, our sweet baby boy turned the big 0-2. We started out the celebrations over the weekend, taking our boy to the same zoo I grew up going to throughout my childhood, Riverbanks Zoo! 

I made Harrison's "two/giraffe" shirt as well as Banks' and Raleigh's elephant and monkey shirts; so, they were decked out and ready to go! I also personalized the birthday boy's safari hat so that he would look the part. :)

 

I printed off some scavenger hunt sheets for the kiddos to use as we made our way around to the different exhibits. They loved it!

Harrison had never been to the zoo, and boy oh boy, did he love it! My hub's parents and aunt were able to join us for the afternoon, and I think it's safe to say that celebration-goers of all ages had a great time! Here, a photo tour of our day: 

 It was so fun having Nana and Pop there!

Checking out the first exhibit

 Fascinated by the birds

 Ha! Trying to smile for the camera while also trying to feed a bird without getting nipped :)

 Merry-Go-Round ride with Nana and Great Aunt Jane

 Petting zoo

 Loving petting the animals...but gripping Daddy's shirt just to be safe

 Oh nuffin'. Just checkin' out the zoo 'n stuff.

 Raleigh Jane and her namesake, Great Aunt Jane <3

 Someone loved the elephants!

 Taking a breather while taking in the sights with Pop :)

Make a wish, birthday boy!

On Harrison's actual birthday, we made sure the day was all about him! He awoke to streamers and balloons hanging down from his door and was so excited to see the decor. He then immediately opened his presents: a big boy water bottle (just like his big siblings'), a new book about the zoo, and a roller coaster! Oh man, y'all: to say he has an absolute blast on that roller coaster is such an understatement. He is obsessed! Actually, all three kids are, and I highly recommend this if you have young children! So fun!

Next up, he had sprinkled cinnamon rolls for breakfast (as per our birthday tradition). It's just too bad he wasn't excited about it ;)

He then spent the morning with his Momma, picking strawberries in the glorious Spring weather at the beautiful strawberry fields, right across from our neighborhood. 

After a nice lunch and nap, the birthday boy awoke to an afternoon of water play. Our three sweet neighbors joined us (who are the same ages as my trio!), and they all had so much fun soaking up the sun and cooling off in the refreshing pool. :) 

Dinner was one of the birthday boy's favorites, pancakes, only this time we used the fruits of our labor from earlier in the day to make STRAWBERRY pancakes--delish! 

We ended the day by serenading our birthday boy and watching him blow out the candles on his made-with-love-by-Momma zoo cake. :) And you guys, ohmygoodness, you should have seen his precious face light up as we sung and then clapped as he blew out his candles. He was SO proud to be the birthday boy! <3

And with that, we closed out a special day for our special baby boy. Now, we are ready to soar into Year 3 with our Harrison Robert. Happy Birthday, little light!

 

Two.

When I think of you, 
I think of JOY
Such a smiling, 
happy baby boy.

When I think of you,
I think of STRONG,
you like your way,
don't like to be wrong. 

When I think of you 
I think of LIGHT
you radiate warmth,
your soul shines bright. 

 

When I think of you 
I think of FUN
you laugh, you jump,
you flip, you run.

 

When I think of you 
I think of LOVE
my last baby boy
A gift from above.

Harrison Robert, there are not enough words in this world to express how very much I love you. Please know this: I don't know what I ever did without your beautiful, joyful soul in my life. You are my little light, and I absolutely adore you.

With All My Heart, 

Momma 

Cheers to the Weekend, 2nd Birthday Edition

If someone could be so kind as to tell me how my baby boy, the one who was just born yesterday, will be turning TWO in three short days, I would greatly appreciate it. 

Seriously. How did that happen?!

I guess time marches on, and with it, the weekend. Here's what I'm saying CHEERS to today...

...a super-duper fun weekend away with friends. Last Thursday, five of us couples headed down to Isle of Palms to stay in a beautiful house we won in a silent auction during the Greenway Gala we attended together. Although two of our couple friends couldn't make it (boo, Em and Jo!) and the weather prevented us from lounging in our swimsuits all day, er' day, we still had an absolute BLAST! Between fishing and shopping and beach walking and dining out and dining in and playing a few old school games, it was just too much fun! I have a feeling we'll be bidding on the same item next year... :) 

I made these fun cups for the girls to use throughout the weekend :)

One view of our beautiful rental home

 We had nasty weather the first day but still hit up the beach and had plenty of fun before 4 of the 5 couples headed to dinner later that night...

Ready for a delicious dinner out!

Such a fun night!

Starting off our Saturday with a beautiful run on the beach together

The boys fished (and caught and cooked some of the most DELICIOUS fish I've ever eaten--sheepshead--it was AMAZING!)

Meanwhile, us girls shopped and grabbed lunch in Charleston

Get down with IOP, 2016! A trip for the books!

...meanwhile, my three little chickadees had the BEST time at their aunt and uncle's house, who were so gracious and kind when I asked if they would mind hanging with my trio (on top of their own two sweet kiddos) for the long weekend, not hesitating for one second! Not only that, but they drove halfway to meet us for the kiddo exchange, kept all five kids entertained and happy all weekend, AND my sister "in law" washed and folded the clothes they wore before we met back up on Sunday. Chrissy and Grady, y'all are incredible! Thank you for taking such wonderful care of, loving, and spending such great quality time with my little circus.  

 ...our first lost tooth! After we got back on Sunday, Banks lost his first tooth. And by lost, I mean I yanked that sucker out (gasp! I still can't believe I did it--gives me the heebie jeebies). He was SO excited! And while the Tooth Fairy will be leaving silver dollars from here on out, as she did for me throughout my childhood, for the first tooth, she left him a glittery $5 bill and even made an appearance in a photo!

...new babies!!! The countdown is ON until my precious nephew arrives. It'll be any day now, and I cannot wait to meet and snuggle and spoil him. 

...haircuts. My boys were in need of getting some shaggy hair chopped, so we headed to our go-to children's salon for their cuts. I asked the stylist to give Harrison a spiked 'do once she was done cutting. Result? Cool dude overload. 

...good naps with plenty of "buddies." 'Nuff said. 

...we had a busy week this week with doctor plastic surgeon appointments, in-school field trips, playdates, football and dance practices, etc. You know, pretty much the usual for pretty much all families with pretty much any number of kids. Ha! But we still took time out to smell the roses...err...azaleas. :) I had to snap a shot before our pretty azaleas bite the dust:

...we have a fun weekend ahead, as we are hosting friends for dinner tonight (after having no school today--yahoo!!!), heading to Banks' flag football game tomorrow morning, and then spending tomorrow afternoon celebrating our birthday boy. <3

I hope you have a lot you are cheers-ing to, too, these days. Have a beautiful weekend!