Yea, baby!

There are a handful of blogs I follow that make me have some SERIOUS photo envy. I always wonder, "How are their pictures so crisp? How did they get color like that? How did they get such good lighting? Why can't my pictures ever look like this?!"

Well, I am thrilled to say that I have figured out two of their secrets - at least two of the secrets from one of the blogs I envy the pictures on the most.

Secret one: a new lens for the camera. Happy to report that I have ditched my kit lens for an upgrade which I haven't gotten to try out nearly as much as I want to given our week with Little Man's sickness. But just you wait! Especially when Baby arrives! My camera will be working overtime. =)

Secret two: upload photos from an online photo storage sight like Flickr. I cannot believe the difference this makes in the photos that show up on the blog - just look at the shot below I took at the farmers market with my new lens last weekend. See how much better it looks from Flickr than uploading the image from my desktop? Plus the Flickr version is larger! Bonus!

From Flickr

From Desktop

Still need to learn some other photoshop secrets to figure out color and lighting and such, but that will come. In the meantime, I am totally celebrating the thought that I will have more crisp pictures to post by uploading from Flickr and using my new lens. Yea, baby!

"Floppy" Easter

I had it in my mind that this Easter was going to be fabulous.

 The weather is finally warm here. We had our egg-dying kit ready to go. We were going to attend early church service, followed by a small egg hunt and then brunch at Hotel Roanoke. And most importantly, Noni and Pop Pop were going to be here. What I hadn't accounted for was Little Man getting sick. What I thought would be a "hoppy" Easter, turned out to be more of a "floppy" Easter as Alex was just not up to too much activity.

Earlier in the week (before he got sick), Alex and I went to storytime in the park. It was hosted by the local library where we go for storytime. Here are the ladies who led the songs and stories for the kiddos. They were fantastic.

There was a little egg hunt afterward - Alex's first.

He had a great time gathering eggs into his little basket.

Here he is with his friend Wyatt. He loves playtime with Wyatt.

Little Man checking out the prizes inside his eggs...

Small furry chicks. So sweet.

As the week drew to an end, Alex came down with a fever and a terrible cough that sounded like a bark. Yesterday the doctor diagnosed him with the croup, so it was understandable why he wasn't up for too much Easter activity. We did manage to squeeze in a few fun events though.

Here he is with his very first egg dyeing venture with Noni and Pop Pop.

We donned this the "buck-wild egg dye." I wish I had taken a video of this because these pictures just can't tell the full story of how this all went down – although the picture above says a lot. First, please note that Noni is having to put on an apron. This was to shield her clothes from the splashes of the eggs being thrown with a "fwaack" into the dye cups. I think every egg ended up with a crack of some sort. Second, please note Pop Pop trying to explain to Alex to wait just a minute before stirring the dye cups with the unbridled vigor that caused the dye to go all over the table. Little Man seemed to be two steps ahead of us at all times. It was madness trying to keep up with him, and we all got such a kick out of it.

The finished result...

Here he is looking through his Easter basket goodies on Easter morning.

Once he found Mack and Sarge (from Cars), he lost total interest in all of his other goodies. I should have known that would be the case. He does love Cars these days.

We did a small egg hunt in our front yard after Little Man woke up from his afternoon nap.

He just kind of muddled through it because he was feeling so puny, but he did manage to collect all of his eggs. And then Noni made us some delicious deviled eggs afterward. Yum!!

Our weekend wasn't a total flop, but it sure was heartbreaking to all of us to watch Little Man suffer with the croup. =(

More than anything this Easter season, we are grateful for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us so that we might have eternal life with Him. What a gift!

Baby Bump - 33 weeks

The home stretch.
Just a few more weeks to go.

On one hand, I welcome these thoughts because they remind me that the swelling in my hands, feet and face is temporary and that the back pain and frequent trips to the bathroom will soon be gone. (Woohoo!) On the other hand, these thoughts are a stark reminder that the clock is ticking and we still need to figure out a name. (Uh, oh! Time to kick it into high gear!)

In other baby news, I'm fairly certain that baby has turned breach since my last doctor's appointment. I go back in one week for my next check up so we'll see if the doctor confirms. I'm praying that the baby would turn head down/face down if there are no umbilical cord issues that might cause complications. I'm also praying for a vaginal delivery without the tearing issues I faced last time around. I'd love if you'd join me in praying for the same.

Will keep you posted as we have more news.

XOXO for Cocoa O'Hare

Little Man has lots of love, hugs and kisses for Cocoa O'Hare!

Choo-Choo!

For the last few months, Alex has really taken to the train tables. Some of our friends in town have one in their play room, and that's the first thing he runs for. Same is true at the library, Barnes & Noble, and Toys R Us. He could stand there for hours and play.

Jerry and I thought that a train table and wooden track pieces would be a great gift for Alex's birthday this summer. So I've been on the lookout for train tables to see what I could find, and I happened upon one at a local consignment shop. I sent Jerry a text with a photo, and we decided to snatch it up before it disappeared. 

I also found some wooden Thomas sets on sale at Toys R Us and decided to get those, too. We had everything put away in the basement just waiting until summer.

And then I caved. I just couldn't help myself! He loves those stinkin' trains so much that I couldn't wait another three months for his birthday. This morning, Jerry set everything up for him, and he's been playing with those trains all. day. long. We've had so much fun watching him run his "choo-choo" up and down the tracks.

When it comes to his birthday gifts, I think I may be better off waiting until a little closer to the actual day before I buy something again. Because apparently, I'm not so good at waiting.

Hide and Seek

The other day I was cleaning up the kitchen while Alex was playing in the living room. We do not have an open floor plan in this old house, so I'm usually listening for Alex's activity and walking back and forth to check on him every so often. I noticed all of a sudden that things became quiet - a sure sign that you'd better check to see what's going on.

When he wasn't in the living room, I searched every room downstairs while calling his name. Nothing. I searched every room upstairs while calling his name. Nothing. I went back downstairs, and as I turned the landing I found this.

He had managed to climb his way into his stroller and was sitting there laughing when I finally found him. I think this was his first game of hide and go seek.

It's come a long way, baby!

After weeks of working on Alex's big boy room, we are oh-so-close to finishing up the work we started on the actual room itself. (I should note that when I say "we," I really mean Jerry. He has truly done an amazing job, and the room looks even better in person than it does in the pictures. I LOVELOVELOVE it!) This has always been my favorite room in the house, and that is more true than ever.

Without further ado, here's how this room has transitioned since we bought the house in 2008.

Standing in the doorway and looking to the left of the room...
WHEN WE MOVED IN

AFTER WE PAINTED

STARTING THE WOODWORK

AFTER WOODWORK IS COMPLETE

Looking at the front wall. These two windows are in the front of the house.
WHEN WE MOVED IN

AFTER WE PAINTED

AFTER THE WOODWORK IS COMPLETE

The back walls of the room...
AFTER WOODWORK IS COMPLETE

(looking at door and right side of room)

(back wall and left of the room)

Close-up of the built-ins...

We'll add latches on the cabinet doors that will look like this. I'm teetering between nickel and oil rubbed bronze.

On the wall where the twin headboards will be, I wrote this scripture - a blessing for those who sleep here.

So there you have it.
Blah...

To voila...

And blah...

To voila...

More to come in the weeks ahead as we get the finishing touches in place.

It's coming...

Alex standing inside of his built-in bookshelf.

The big reveal of the latest progress on the big boy room is coming this week. There's no furniture or decorations, but you can see where we stand today with all of the woodwork being painted and the crown molding being hung. Stay tuned...

Um, where's the filter?

Thank you, neighbor lady, who told me no less than three times today how "huge" I look. The conversation went something like this.

Her: "Wow, you are so big! How many weeks are you?"
Me: "30 weeks. 10 weeks to go."
Her (still shocked): "Wow! You are huge! Are you having twins?"
Me (now feeling really good about myself): "No, just one."
Her: "Are you sure? Your belly is so big. You're so tiny, but you're huge."

Thank goodness Alex interrupted her at this point to talk about her "woof-woofs."

Really? REALLY? Where is your filter? Don't you know that those aren't kind words to say to a swollen, waddling pregnant woman? Truth be told, those aren't kind words to say to anyone.

A blessing for my guys

"The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26