SUYL: Kid's Rooms

I have slacked on the Show Us Your Life home tour lately, so I'll have to show you my bedrooms and dining room later, but this week I'm linking up to show you Elliott's room[s].  I've shown his nursery on the blog before (I'll share again though for those who may have missed it), but I'm excited to also share his playroom with you. We closed in our screened in porch last summer to make more room for our growing family, and I've yet to show off the finished product.  We have gotten so much use out of our new space, that functions as office, playroom, and sunroom.  I think it was a wonderful investment, and it was certainly a lot of fun.  Enjoy!

Elliott's room.

Changing table/dresser.

Bedding and handmade quilt made by my friend, Laura.

Pintrest inspired alphabet wall.

Elliott's playroom.

Daybed. 

Toy storage #1.

Momma's desk.

A corner for his books and art (someday). 

Toy storage #2.

These are the spaces devoted to our little guy.  Can't wait to see your kid's rooms to get ideas for E's future brothers or sisters.  Go link up!

Getting away to Arkadelphia.

Gary's grandparents on the Grant side have planned a vacation for the entire family every summer since he was young.  They call it the "Grant Getaway."  As everyone has gotten older, they have planned the getaways a little closer to home.  This year we all gathered in Arkadelphia, where his grandparents live.  This was Elliott's first Grant Getaway, and the first time for several family members to meet our little guy.  I think he was a hit, especially with Gary's cousins, Zachary (7) and Isaac (5).

This getaway was extra special because we also celebrated Gary's grandparents 65th wedding anniversary.  The family surprised them with a dinner and gift presentation.  They are such an inspiration to us all.

4 generations of Grant men.

Elliott and Zachary

Our family with Meemaw and Pawpaw

Elliott with his great grandparents.

Another successful Grant Getaway for the books.  Looking forward to next year!

Homemade Baby Food.

Elliott started eating solids about 2 weeks ago, and he is loving exploring new tastes and textures.  Gary and I both agreed that we wanted to start him on a strictly organic diet. He has a pure, clean slate, so we want to make sure the food we put into his body is 100% pure. So, I ordered a Beaba Babycook to make his baby food. Much to my surprise, it was really easy. We made peas, apples, and bananas to start. Here's an outline what I did for those Momma's who might be considering homemade baby food:

I used "The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet" cookbook, given to me by my friend, Brooke, to make each of the purees.

Using the Babycook, you can steam and blend, meaning no dishes.  If I had to use pots, pans and a blender, I don't think I would be able to stick with it, so I feel like we made a good investment.

Once the food was blended, I poured it into covered ice cube trays for freezing.  One cube is one serving, so all we have to do is defrost a cube and serve it up.

When the cubes were frozen I put them into freezer bags labeled with the food and the date.  The frozen fruits and veggies will be good for 4-6 weeks.

I gave each a little taste test before freezing, and they were pretty dang good.  I'm looking forward to letting E try them all.

Life lately, according to my iPhone.

[1] New toy. [2] Cuteness. [3] Listening for Elliott. 

[4] Downtown stroll. [5] Future Tiger. [6] Movies in the Park. 

[7] Loving Aunt Wesey. [8] Bridal hair.

Father's Day.

Happy Father's Day to the two best father's I know, my Daddy, and my husband.  We had a laid back day today, celebrating Dad and Gary in Hot Springs with breakfast, followed by more celebrating with my Papa over lunch at my Aunt and Uncle's in Benton.

My Dad has always been a source of constant encouragement in my life.  I wouldn't be living my dream as a salon owner had it not been for his encouragement, support and advice.  Watching how he loved my mom, and led our family spiritually growing up, molded my standards in choosing my mate.

Gary is a loving, encourager as well, providing for our family not only as a financial leader, but as a spiritual leader.  Watching him take on his new role as "Dad" the past 5 months has been truly wonderful.  I didn't think it was possible for me to love him more until I saw him with Elliott.

Praising the Lord today for blessing our family with these two men!

Love.

My heart has been so full of love lately that I feel like it could burst.  I want to remember all of the sweet moments happening during this season of life, so I compiled a list of things that are melting my heart these days:

-I love when Elliott looks deep into my eyes as though my rendition of "You are my Sunshine" is the most beautiful song he's ever heard.

-I love how Elliott wraps his arm around my back and holds on to my shirt when I'm rocking him to sleep.

-I love the sound of my baby's laughter when we give him "eskimo kisses."

-I love that Elliott reaches up and strokes my neck and shoulders when he nurses as if to say "Thank you, Mom. I love you."

-I love seeing my sweet husband interact with our son, treating him with gentleness and care as he holds him, changes his diaper or feeds him his bottle.

-I love that Gary praises God for Elliott in every prayer, even if he's just blessing our dinner.

-I love coming home after a long day at work to find my boys waiting on me at the back door.

-I love [when I get to] picking Elliott up from daycare and seeing his smile when he realizes I've returned to take him home.

-I love that Gary kisses Elliott's head and tells him he loves him every morning before he leaves for work, every night before I put him to bed, and every time he loads his car seat in the car.

-I love waking up every morning to the sound of Elliott cooing softly in his crib.

I have so much to be thankful for these days.  I did nothing to deserve the gifts of Gary and Elliott, but I thank the Lord daily for giving them to me.  They are an expression of His love for me.

"Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you." -Psalm 63:3

Our Weekend.

We had a lovely weekend.  It was the first in several weeks we were able to spend in town just the three of us, so we made the most of it, filling our time with a trip to the farmer's market, visiting family and grilling with friends.

Elliott got his first taste of eating solid food with a spoon this weekend.  It was such a fun time watching his expressions as he had his first taste of rice cereal.  You could tell by his face he thought he was the coolest kid in the world.

Sunday, Gary kept E so I could attend the Sunday morning women's group with some ladies from church.  This was only my second Sunday to go since Elliott has been born, and it was so refreshing to share my heart and hear the hearts of these amazing women again.  It gave me a feeling that maybe some amount of normalcy is returning to our lives.

I'm so thankful for two full days of fun with my little family.  Time to start another busy week.  Hope your weekend was full of family and fun.

Show us your kitchens.

I'm linking up with Kelly for her "Show Us Your Life Home Tour" again this week to show you my kitchen.  We remodeled our kitchen last year, and I love the way it turned out.  It's small, but I'm not much of a cook, so it suits my needs.

That's our little kitchen.  Go link up, I'd love to see yours!