May 31 {beauty}

 

This marks the end of my photo-a-day-in-May.

What a fun challenge it's been.

Looking for inspiration, looking for creativity, and looking for positivity has been great for me!

I will have to revisit the idea...it would probably be a good practice in a few weeks when I return to work...I will need some help!

Hello June!  Welcome Summer!

May 30 {butt-meat}

no matter how hard he tries...

...cole has a hard time...

...containing his butt meat...

...but it's so cute.

May 29 {Summer's arrival}

May 28 {mudbug}

This afternoon we attended our first crawfish boil as guests of the Harding's.  It was SO fun! The hosts went all out with authenticity - newspaper covered tables, zydeco music, cajun snacks (including gator and snapping turtle) and of course LIVE crawfish!

Maxine got gussied up for her first party (outside of family functions).  

Cole arrived and quickly took to Stevie and Charlie.  They had a great time together.

The process of preparing the crawfish was more involved than I knew.  First the little buggers were put in the baby pool and covered with salt and water.  I learned this process was the "purge" - - cleans 'em out.

 Can you tell?  Dirty water!

 The kids were spectators and terrified watching the mudbugs jump and pinch.  The big boys did the work...

...and played...

Cole was NOT interested....

..until he was.  You know.

The view was amazing.  Just outside of Waterloo, although it reminds me of somewhere dreamy.

Back to the boil...

 Crawfish in!

 Spicy goodness

 Dinner is ON!

Did I mention that I was a bit taken by the view?!?

It was a great afternoon and evening.  We enjoyed the adult company and Cole had a blast with the girls.

Our hosts were so gracious - we hope we earned an invite again next year!  ;-)

May 27 {Great}

Maxine met her Great-Grandma Jean today after a nice visit with Grandma & Grandpa and her uncles.

Great Grandma Jean had a special touch with Max.

It was a great visit. 

May 26 {cozy}

I may see something cuter than this later today...but I can't imagine that I will.  

Swaddled baby snuggled in our bed - Delicious!

May 25 {boy+dog}

I snapped this on my way to bed, when the house was dark and quiet, after tucking Maxine into her bed.

I can't imagine anything cuter than a boy and his (poor-pitiful-shaved-for-the-summer) dog (who never sleeps in a bed) snuggled up for the night.

May 24 {to-do}

My to-do list today was sizable!  And checked off for the most part by 10 am!

• Paint Maxine's changing table & accessories
• Sort through Cole's clothes to get rid of too small clothes
• Clean toilets
• Walmart
• Cole haircut (and following bath to remedy the itchies)
• Get paintings from basement - paint frames
• Cut fruit & veggies (there were tons in the fridge just waiting!)
• Hang things in Max's room
• Finish Max's room!

So, it may not seem that big....but, I did all of these things while caring and feeding for two children (and myself).

Here's the finished product for Maxine's room, all girled up!

I made these using modge podge, Amy Butler fabric, some hemp twine, and stretched canvas.

I made these using the Amy Butler fabric (a quilter's pack), wooden letters, and modge podge.

Derek hung her shelf and I strung some colored twine with clothespins for an "inspiration wall."

Maxine's crib...which before was Cole's crib...which before that was Derek's crib.  Same bedding as Cole.

more of my homemade "art"

painting by Barbara Keith - Derek's dad's first wife's mother (clear enough?!), frame painted to coordinate with changing table and other accessories in the room.

changing table painted for some color & personality.  Wall decal ordered from amazon, super cheap.

with adorable girl, comes adorable girl stuff, accessories, hooter hiders, wraps & slings, diaper bags, etc...  Birdie hooks keep things organized behind the door.

I had so much fun decorating to make Max's room girlie!  Turns out the decor is almost as fun as the clothing for girls!

May 23 {mailtime}

Today's mailtime brought a collection of these cute headwear additions (a variety of colors) to our cute addition!

In other news: I think I need an amazon.com intervention.

May 22 {tag-team}

May 21 {infatuation}

Maxine is totally infatuated with her brother. Derek and I get smiles, coos, and eye contact but we have to work for them. Cole, however, elicits these in his sister with little to no effort. She watches him whenever he is in eye-shot and smiles at him non-stop. I know they will have periods of time when they can't stand eachother, but I am so happy that they have one another! I hope they will always be close.


We ventured to the Broadway Oyster Bar for dinner.  Maxine didn't care for it much I suppose...she cried the whole time.  Oh well, I got to eat my food when we got home.  Luckily, she let us enjoy the rest of the night.  It was perfect weather for an evening on the deck!