Funland Nostalgia

Growing up my grandparents owned a small house in Rehobeth Beach. We would go every chance we got throughout the year. Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend being the two big ones. The place was right on the bay and we would take my Granddad's boat out all morning and spend all evening on the boardwalk. Some of my most treasured memories took place there. This past Labor Day weekend we went with my parents and took Max to Funland for some rides. This was actually his second time there but last year he was too little to do any rides. There is just something about that place that is so nostalgic. The sounds, the smells, the haunted house that terrified me as a child and still weirds me out a little as an adult. It was so fun to watch Max enjoy the exact same rides that I enjoyed when I was young. I went digging through my parents photo albums to find some of me there :)

 (Me on the left)

 (Me on the left again)

 (My goofy mug peeking out from behind)

My little guy having so much fun!

Getting so big...

No matter how much I say it, think it or will it...he will just not stop growing. I swear he is taller every morning he wakes up.

Sidewalk chalk is our new favorite thing to do! 

If there is a puddle, this boy will be in it!

Sigh.  He's even cute when he's screaming at me. I love this boy. How did I get so lucky :)

Myrtle Beach and a New Name!

First things first. I gave my little bloggy a new name...A HappiLee Ever After (see what I did there). Life is just moving at warp speed these days. Jesse and I are buying a house and we should hopefully settle at the end of this month! I have tons of DIY and renovation before and after blogs to come. I am so excited I can't stand it.

Anyway, we are sadly home from vacation but we had such a good time. Max loved the beach and the weather was perfect!

 

We took Max to the rides that I'm pretty sure I rode as a kid too. This boy is afraid of nothing! He loved every ride we put him on.

I'm always a little sad when vacation is over. But I'm always happy to be home. And now my favorite time of year is just around the corner. We have a very busy few months ahead of us. I will definitely keep you updated :)

Myrtle Beach Bound!

It's finally vacation time! We have been going to Myrtle Beach, SC...well since before I was even born. Last year Max was 8 months for his first time there. It was there when I realized he was basically done breast feeding :( But that's a whole 'nother post for a whole 'nother time. 

This year is going to be so fun with Max. He will understand more and be able to do so much more! I cannot wait for the beach, rides and evening golf cart trips to the ice cream stand. But currently we are riding in style in grandma and granddad's RV!

Yum :)

20 Months! WHAT?!

I cannot believe my little guy is 20 months today! That means he's going to be 2 in just 4 short months. I feel we just had his 1st birthday party. No, actually i feel like he was just born. No scratch that, I feel like i just found out i was preggers with him! Time really does fly! I am pretty excited to plan his 2nd birthday party though. I'm thinking pirates, Mickey Mouse or trains. Those rank pretty high on his favorites list. 

 

Oh and P.S. Since a lot of people have asked me...we are not expecting baby number two...yet. We do have plans to start trying again in the very near future :)

High Chair Re-Do!

I had been wanting a wooden high chair for awhile and I finally found this one at the Mt. Airy yard sale. For anyone that doesn't know, it's a huge yard sale at the carnival grounds with so many vendors/sellers. Last year was my first time going and it really is a major event! Cars and people everywhere! I found these awesome wooden crates that would have been perfect for newborn sessions. But I was disappointed in how much they were asking for them. Like $45 or something. No thanks. So when we went back this year I didn't have high hopes of finding anything for cheap. Then I saw the high chair with the little sticker that said $5! I was so excited! I knew it would be perfect for cake smash sessions.

I knew I wanted to keep the new paint color pretty neutral. Although I was really tempted to go with a bright yellow or red. Maybe next time. I'm no paint expert but this is what I used 

It's a twofer! I researched a bit about the best way of doing this. And the one thing everyone said was "don't skip the sanding"! So even though I wanted to, I didn't. I'm not even sure if I used the right type of sandpaper. I found some in our garage that said medium grain so I went with it. And it actually worked really well to smooth out the edges and the splintery seat. Then while Max napped I got down to business. The paint went on so easy and I'm so happy with the results. I think I might rough up a few spots to give it a more vintage feel. Yes?

I can't wait to use it tomorrow for a little lady who is turning 1. I will post the photos from her session on my photo blog and link it up here :)

The Inevitable Truth

Ugh. I've been avoiding this post for awhile now so I'm just gonna come out and say it. I have failed. With a big fat F. I now have the utmost respect for anyone who has started and completed a project like this. I did not want this to be just another resolution that started strong then got forgotten and swept under the rug. But just like childbirth, breast feeding and having a newborn...I was completely naive to the reality of it. It seemed so easy. Take a photo every day for a year and upload it to this blog. Maybe if I had allowed myself to use other cameras (not just my professional one) I would have had a better chance of success. I don't like to carry it around with me everywhere I go. For one I'm always slightly paranoid something would happen to it. And more than that it was just a big clunky heavy extra thing to carry when I'm already loaded down like a pack mule taking Max anywhere. Once I started missing a lot of consecutive days I figured I had a choice to make. Fake it and just take a bunch of photos one day and say I took them the other days. Or just come clean (with myself mostly) and admitt I was done. So here we are. I don't want to delete this blog so I've decided to use it as a way to document this crazy life. I love reading all kinds of blogs but for some reason the ones about family, marriage, kids and homes keep me coming back. There are so many exciting things coming up for Jesse, Max and I (home ownership, traveling, baby number 2???) and I want to share them with the world. So on to the next thing :)