Handsome Mr. B

We took some family photos over the weekend and I captured these pictures of Brody.  We will call them his 1 year photos... just a little late :) 

The other pictures will probably be in my Mom's xmas card so I will hold off on posting them.

Road Trip to Arapahoe, NE

We made a quick stop in my mom's hometown back in July but it made a BIG impact on Kamden.  He has been there a few times but he now talks about Great Grandma V's all... the... time.

I surprised him at school after lunch and told him we were getting in the car and going immediately.  He was THRILLED!

 We arrived at my Aunt J's house for dinner and playing with family.  This definitely sums up how the whole weekend went...

 

We stayed up pretty late watching the Royals win (again!!!!) and playing cards... and by cards, I don't mean 13 point Pitch (the family favorite).  I am referring to a very serious game of go fish.

The next morning there were plenty of farm chores for Kam to "help" with.  We fed the calves that were being weaned.  These calves could smell us city folk from a mile away.  They were terrified of Kamden's shear excitement.  Uncle R even let Kam "drive" the tractor to give the calves some fresh hay.

The rest of the morning was spent playing with all the fun toys.  As an added bonus Aunt J taught me how to can veggies.  Not nearly as intimidating as it sounds. 

After a long (much needed) nap, we visited the field where they were harvesting corn.  We were SO lucky to be there for wheat harvest in July and corn harvest in October.  Kamden's mind was blown with this photo.... Combine... to the grain cart... to the grain truck.

 

 

Saturday evening was spent with more ROYALS WINNING (more on this later!) and hanging out with family.  I captured this moment of Kamden trying to play cards with his Great Grandma V.  

Sunday morning we were headed home.  I barely escaped the house without taking some awesome tractor toys home with us.  We distracted him with exploring some more farm gems. 

Kamden is obsessed with hay bales.  This is a fake hay bale used for hunting.  Imagine the excitement....

We also let him climb in one of the grain trucks.  This one is a total throwback to my childhood.  It is a good old 70's truck that is still rocking.  There is a new and improved (and BIG) version that they use more often but this one is still in rotation. 

Kam was NOT ready to say goodbye to Great Grandma V.  We love visiting and can't wait to come back with Brody.

On the way back to KC we stopped to visit some more family.  My Aunt N made a classic Nebraska  Runza Casserole (If you have never had Runza... you are missing out).  My cousin N and his family were able to join us.  They have 3 boys, ages 2, 4, and 6.  AND they are due with a 4th boy in about a month.  This mom has some serious patience.  I always said I wanted 4... I am SERIOUSLY doubting those thoughts after having 2.   I think Joe's motto of "one at a time" is a good one. 

This is Kamden playing with one of his 2nd cousins, Mr. J

It was such an awesome weekend for Kam and I to spend together, reliving many of my favorite childhood memories.  I can't wait to do it again soon!

12 Month Update - Brody

 

Kamden's 12 month is here

Brody's 1st Birthday

Seriously? My baby is 1 year old?!?!?!

We went with a "You Are My Sunshine" theme.  This is what I sing to B when he is upset.  Kamden now knows this and sings it to him anytime he is crying.  He doesn't even want me to sing along... Just Kam singing to his baby brother :)

 I got adventurous and actually made a birthday cake.  This is the first cake for a kid's party I have made. I found a way to make something "fancy" but still not "perfect".  An ombre frosting job was a good fit... looks a little unfinished but that was the plan.  A sheet of Wilton's decorator sugar made the sun in a snap.  Seriously, this stuff is magic.

 An attempt at a family picture...

The Birthday Boy!

I "may" have told a couple people that he LOVES balls and we don't have many.  

Great minds think alike.

In a moment of parenting gold, I placed a candle in front of my child (while holding his hand) and then looked away for a second.  Clearly, my finest moment.

HOURS later, we were able to recreate the "smash cake" photo. 

These boys are definitely focused when it comes to cake eating.

When we sang to him, he was SO adorably shy...

This boy is melts my heart.

11 Month Update - Brody

Just a tad late... :)

Kamden's 11 Month update is HERE

Major Kitchen Update!

It has always been a dream of mine to paint our golden oak cabinets.  I thought Joe would NEVER let me do this.  He surprised me with a birthday gift of "you can get quotes."  Weeellllll.... quotes were a "tad" higher than we anticipated but he still let me do it (happy b-day, happy anniversary, merry christmas and maybe happy b-day again!).  We also painted the living room and touched up a lot of the existing white trim.  It was looking pretty beat up in the high traffic areas.... like the whole kitchen. 

On to the pictures!  They were all taken with my phone with not great lighting but, you get the idea.

Before:

After:

The fantastic Glennon over at Momastery posted THIS while all the painting was being done.  If you have a minute, read it.  Pretty much goes against exactly what I did but, I included Kam in the "improved" shot for that reason :)

The living room before:

and after:

A progress shot... it was a BIG project.  Took 2 weeks!  I timed it while my parents were traveling and needed me to stay at the farm with their old "farm dog" (aka an indoor dog that spends some time outside).  He barks at EVERYTHING he hears when in the city so it doesn't work to bring him to our house.

The cabinet color is SW Divine White.  It matched well with our exiting backsplash (which I love even more with white cabinets).  The wall color is both rooms is Restoration Hardware Silver Sage.  It is this beautiful blend of blue/grey/green that changes with different light and looks good with just about everything.  I used this in the guestroom which is now Brody's nursery

A little delay...

Mr. Brody turned 11 months this week.  The monthly update is going to be a bit late because my dining room (where photo is taken) currently looks like this....

The good news is that I will have a MAJOR house project to update soon! 


Sidenote:  I mentioned in the Trash Bash post that Kam is buddies with our garbage man.  Seriously... they are friends.  When I told him that we had a trash truck party, he dropped off this t-shirt for him the next day!