DIY Valentine's Photo Shoot

Since my baby is still in his first year of life, I want to capture every moment of it, especially his 'firsts.'  I take a picture of every new food he eats, new face he makes, new outfit...everything. So of course, I wanted to capture his first Valentine's Day. 

While doing my weekly scan of my Pinterest feed I found an adorable photo of a baby sitting on newspaper, butt-naked, wearing angel wings, with hearts hanging all around him.  LOL.  I immediately took inspiration from it.  

The first thing I did was go on a newspaper hunt.  We don't subscribe to the newspaper so the free local city paper had to be stretched to do the trick.  With the help of my mother-in-law I covered a large piece of cardboard with newspaper and wedged it between the kitchen table and two chairs.  Then I covered the tabletop with newspaper.  

Next step was to string some hearts up.  I enlisted the help of my MIL for this one; all of my hearts looked like butts.  I attached the cut-out hearts to string, using clothespins, and strung it across the top of the newspapered-covered cardboard.  

Finally, I put baby boy into his outfit, a clean diaper, and propped him up on the table.  Don't worry, we watched him like a hawk.  I kept one arm on his feet most of the time so I could catch him if he started to wobble.  He isn't crawling yet, but he is a wobbly little one so I wanted to make sure he was safe and didn't bump his head.  

He immediately grabbed the newspaper he was sitting on and started playing with it; hence the heart cut-out he 'eating' in all the photos.  

It was so much fun taking pictures of my little guy.  Hmmmm, what will I do for Easter?  

Casual Christmas

I can't believe how hot it is this Christmas?!?!  My car yesterday said it was 79 degrees outside and I don't think it was lying.  Wearing a simple t-shirt, jeans, and flats I was sweating and had the AC blasted in my car.  

Given the heat and the fact that I have a baby boy, this is not a boots and cute shirt kind of Christmas, it's a casual one.

What's the best way to dress casual for Christmas?  T-shirts of course, but not just any t-shirts, Christmas ones; particularly those quoting Christmas movies. 

Hands down Christmas Vacation is the greatest Christmas movie of all time.  

Quiz time!  Who said, "You Serious Clark?" in Christmas Vacation, and why was it asked?  

Paired with my cutest pair of red pointy-toe flats and my Kate Spade bow earrings, this green holiday shirt is my absolute favorite.  

Baby boy on the other hand went with an ugly sweater Home Alone onesie donning, "Merry Christmas You Filthy Animal." It was kind of perfect for him during this photo shoot because he was a tired little thing and not in the mood to smile.  

Wherever you are this Christmas, and whatever weather you might be having, I hope it's a great one.

A Distillery & Santa

Booze and babies do go together!

On one of the rare days the hubby and I had together this month we decided we needed to spend it taking our little baby boy to visit Santa for the first time.  Now, as all of you know, Santa is very well-traveled, and hops around from place to place in order to see as many children as possible.  ;) Lucky for us, Santa just so happened to be visiting a distillery that particular day.  

We loaded-up our little one in his cutest Carter's outfit- long-sleeve thermal and a soft plaid vest- and hit the road for Lewisville, Texas to Witherspoon Distillery. 

Witherspoon has been around since 2011, but had recently opened a brand-new beautiful location in the heart of Old Town Lewisville.  I myself had never been to a distillery before, so visiting Santa there seemed like the perfect idea.

With a mix of wood, brick, and industrial lighting, the facade of Witherspoon is beautiful.  I was impressed with the place before setting foot in the door.  The inside is beautiful as well.  With a large bar that wraps-around the room and comfy couches to lounge on, it's very inviting.

First on the agenda...meet Santa Clause.  We were so grateful to not have to wait to see Santa in a big long-line, AND we didn't have to pay to see Santa either.  We easily walked-up, introduced our little man in red to the big man in red, and... baby immediately grabbed a hold of Santa's beard and didn't let go.  Ha!  His first time meeting Santa and he made sure that he was the real deal; Santa didn't mind though.  Baby might not have been all smiles for St. Nicholas, but he didn't cry either.  My smart little dude just studied him, told him what he wanted for Christmas telepathically, and went on his merry way. 

After I went crazy with the picture taking of Santa and baby, we found a nice couch to set-up camp on, while daddy ordered adult beverages from the bar.  Witherspoon has a great selection of Whiskey, Bourbon, and Rum.  The best part?  They had a huge cocktail menu so I didn't have to drink straight liquor.  LOVE!  We wanted to try half of the menu but settled on one cocktail each. 

A little rum for me, whiskey for the hubby, and a bottle for baby.  

It was the perfect way to spend a day together, and to visit Santa.  I look forward to going to Witherspoon again, but next time without baby, so we can go on a tour and do a little tasting. 

From My Family to Yours

I can't believe it took nearly six months after my little butterball was born to get our family photos done.  It was a gloomier day than I wanted it to be, but my baby boys smile and bright blue eyes were all the sunshine we needed. 

I didn't realize how difficult it would be to coordinate outfits with a little one.  The first thing I did was find his outfit.  I knew I wanted something blue, to match his eyes, but finding something wasn't easy.  When I finally found the blue plaid button-up with cords I knew it was the perfect choice. 

From there I went on to find the hubby a shirt that would match baby.  I myself decided to go with creme to be the neutral one; it was a great excuse to splurge on a lace shirt I had been lusting over from Anthropologie. 

While the outfits weren't a perfect match, I loved how we all came together in these adorable photos. 

I am so thankful for these two boys in my life, today and always.

Happy Thanksgiving...from my family to yours!  

Adventures in Pregnancy

I am officially almost done being pregnant; with my due date in a mere 17 days the end is in sight.  It has been a very long 9 1/2 months; in a sense I feel like my life has been put on hold since September.  And of course being so close to the due date I am super uncomfortable, sleep terrible, and ready to meet our little man.  

 I have a lot to do in the next 17 days to prepare for baby boy Tucker's arrival, but the hubby and myself are so excited to see our baby boy for the first time and to bring him home. 

A lot has happened in the past few months...

we painted the nursery, we had our baby showers, we spent a ton of money on baby stuff, we set-up the nursery, we decorated the nursery, we got an outside ultrasound done, I have been to tons of doctors appointments, attended birthing classes, have read some baby literature, pre-registered at the hospital, and much more.  

We still have some organization to do to the house before his arrival, as well as a deep cleaning of the house, and a few more baby purchases, but we are mostly ready.  Luckily I have the next couple of weeks to get it all done.  

Our baby boy has been doing very well, he is measuring perfectly, head-down like he should be, and moves like crazy all the time.  His favorite thing to do is move his little feet under my ribs so you can see his bony heels poking out of my belly- so cute.  His daddy loves to talk to him and tell him how loved he is.  

Our dog, Roxy, is definitely aware of his presence.  She loves to follow me around the house, even to the bathroom; I have a new shadow that won't leave my side- haha.  She also loves to go into Tucker's room and stare out the windows; we always find her there when we get home. 

We find ourselves daydreaming about Tucker being here and all the fun we will have as a family.  Our lives are about to change drastically, and while it can be a little scary to think about at times, we are looking forward to all the new adventures in front of us and can't wait to experience them all. 

Baby Bumpdate

We are officially entering the third trimester and have just 13 weeks to go before we meet our little boy.  January was my best month by far; the only month where I did not experience terrible pregnancy symptoms.  As I am entering my third trimester new symptoms are beginning to show and I am starting to become tired and out of breath much more.  The most difficult part has been sleeping, I don't really do it.  I am constantly uncomfortable and toss like a turtle on its back all night; plus the acid reflux forces me to sleep sitting-up some nights.

Symptoms aside we are getting very excited to meet our little man and have finally found the time to start planning for his arrival. 

We officially completed our registries and have baby showers on the books.  While the nursery is nowhere near ready, we at least can say, as of yesterday, that it has been started.  My hubby and father-in-law built the crib and changing table yesterday, so I guess it is official now, we are having a baby.  Haha. 

We have so much more to do, like paint the walls, get more furniture, decorate, and actually prepare.  I have a feeling a lot of it won't happen until April, but it is still plenty of time before our May due date.

The most exciting news by far is that our little man has a name...

Gender Reveal

It feels like it took a century to find out the gender of our sweet baby, including having a sonogram to see what our baby actually LOOKS like.   When we finally got to experience both we were blow-away to see toes, fingers, and the baby moving all around.  It was worth the wait and the best way to start 2015.  

We had an amazing sonogram tech for our gender reveal.  Before she told us what we were having,  she gave us a good 10 minutes to just watch the baby moving on the screen.  It was such a wonderful experience for the hubby and myself.  

When she finally told us the sex I screamed, accidentally, the baby is exactly what we thought it was, and what we were hoping it would be (besides being healthy of course).  

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Immediately I wanted to get our gender reveal photos done.  I wanted to do a series of photos holding two different bundles of balloons, one pink and one blue, and then slowly release one of the bundles into the air; to be left holding the balloons that would reveal the gender.  They were going to be the cutest photos of the hubby and myself since our wedding day.  

I set-out getting my hair done the morning of, stopped and bought two bundles of balloons, picked out outfits for the hubs and myself, enlisted the help of a friend to take our photos, and found a location to have the photo shoot.  Everything was set-up to be perfect.  Until....the photo shoot went terribly wrong...

It was INCREDIBLY windy everywhere we tried to go.  The balloons were hitting us in the face and trying to fly away; not to mention my hair was attacking me.  Our photographer had to be quick to take a shot whenever the wind would stop for a brief second, therefore not giving it enough time to adjust, so 95% of the photos were a blurry mess.  Then, the hubby got excited thinking the photos were looking good and released the balloons before we were ready to release them.  Typical luck right? 

All that aside, we are beyond thrilled to announce that....

It's a BOY! 

A cute, button-nosed, long-limbed, precious baby boy.

With nothing but the turquoise balloons in hand we had no choice but to move the photo shoot inside and change our photo plans. 

We decided to take pictures inside our brewery.  The place that we spend most of our days and nights, the place that we have devoted our lives to creating for nearly three years now, the place that our sweet baby boy will grow-up in, and the place that will hopefully one day provide us with the means to give our baby all the worldly experiences he deserves.  While I was upset that my photo shoot plans did not go as planned, it seems meant to be that we took the photos where we did.  

Your daddy and mommy love you baby boy!  

A Little Pumpkin Surprise

7 long weeks since my last blog post, I hope I still have some Gin & Pearls readers out there.  

It isn't like me to go so long without a post because I love this blog of mine.  However, I have a really fabulous reason for why I have been MIA for nearly three months...

A few weeks after my birthday, back in September, we found out that we were expecting a little baby.  :)

We had about two weeks of enjoyment before I got very, very sick.  For nearly six weeks I was a walking nausea-bomb about to explode.  Getting up in the morning to go to work was one of the hardest things I have ever done; I was pretty useless and looked like a flu patient.  I lived off of Mexican fast food for dinner nearly every night because cooking was out of the question, and I immediately fell asleep on the couch everyday upon returning home from work.  

Luckily a few weeks ago I started feeling better, and the nausea started to subside.  I still have tiny waves here and there, but now I officially feel like a human-being again.  I am pretty tired, falling asleep most nights around 8pm, but now that I am in my second trimester, I know that things are going to continue to get better.

We have had so much fun telling family and friends our news, and I am excited to finally announce it to my Gin & Pearls readers.  

At 13 weeks our little jellybean is the size of an orange now; I am showing a nice bump.  We haven't been able to see the little one in an ultrasound since week 9, but we did get to hear the heartbeat this week which was pretty amazing.  

Thank you readers for letting me share in our excitement with you, and don't worry....Drink of the Week will still continue (I just won't be able to enjoy them for myself).