For the Bébé

I made this today and just sent it off to the printer....

I cannot wait to hang it in Chason's room! Total cost for the new art piece, $4.30! I love inexpensive DIY projects. :)

Also, our table is done! It's been done. I've just been slacking on getting it up on the blog! {I blame that on watching two babies every day for the past few weeks!} But I promise, pictures to come in the next blog post

Streusel-Topped Banana Bread

I woke up this morning in a baking kinda mood and decided to make my hubby's favorite banana bread since we had two very ripe bananas.

First, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Streusel Topping Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar {firmly packed}
• 7 tablespoons uncooked regular oats
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup of butter

Then make the streusel topping by combining the first 3 ingredients above in a glass bowl. With a dough (or pastry) blender, cut in the butter until crumbly. {Note: I use Smart Balance Original instead of butter due to my dairy allergy}. Once crumbly, place in the refrigerator to chill.

Banana Bread Ingredients:

• 2 ripe bananas {about 1 cup when mashed}
• 2 large {or x-large} eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted {or margarine or Smart Balance}
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 to 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract {the more the better!}
• 1 cup chopped and toasted pecans {OPTIONAL - I usually don't make the bread with nuts}

Next, beat the banana, eggs, sugar and melted butter at medium speed with an electric mixer for about one minute or until smooth.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

Slowly add this mixture to the banana mixture, beating just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Then stir in the vanilla extract {and nuts, if desired}.

Once all is mixed together, spoon the batter into a greased bread pan. 

Then sprinkle the loaf evenly with the streusel topping.

Bake for 40 minutes, and then let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

Mmm doesn't that look good! Enjoy!

Oh and PS, instead of making a loaf, I sometimes make muffins using a cupcake pan. These make for an easy, on-the-go snack or breakfast, and are just as delicious! {Note: if making muffins instead, cook for only 25 minutes.}

Oh the Life of a {Almost} Four Month Old

First of all, let me start by saying how in the world is my baby almost four months already!? Wasn't I just in the hospital delivering? Good gracious time flies.

The boys - Chason is almost 4 months!

Our sweet boy has become quite the expert roller. I mean he has some mad skills. And he likes to practice them often. Especially in his crib...after we've put him down for a nap/bedtime. Chason obviously didn't get the memo that we don't practice such skills in bed. But poor baby hasn't quite mastered rolling from back to belly yet, so, needless-to-say, he gets stuck on his back and whimpers for help to flip him back over to his belly. I will say, I do love seeing his sweet smile when I answer his call for help:

"Flip me over so I can sleep!"

Chason has also found a new octave range that he's quite fond of. AKA high-pitch squeals! We do love that he likes to sing along as our choir tenor, but Mama and Daddy are hoping he learns some new, lower octave sounds soon. I don't remember reading anything about this in any of our baby books, but glad to hear our nephew {who's 3 weeks older than Chason} is squealing just the same!

In other baby news, we're about to enter some unchartered waters - slowly advancing from eating every 3 hours during the day to every 4 hours. Chason doesn't know it yet, so wish us luck!

Long Weekend; New Project

It's been so nice having the hubby off work for the last 4 days. I've not only been able to enjoy his company, but also his handy carpentry skills. I take full advantage of his handyman skills as often as I can!

This weekend we {as in mostly hubby} have been hard at work on our latest project: a new console table for our living room. The table requires few tools {thank goodness!} and a few hours of hard work.

My boys are ready to tackle the project!

Lots of unfinished wood

The hubby loves his Kreg Tool

The table is coming together quickly. Next steps: sanding and painting, and it'll be done! We chose Chenille Spread by BEHR for the paint color. It's a really pretty creamy neutral that'll match the room perfectly:

What do you think?

After we finish the table, we'll just have to decide where to put it. It's a toss up between placing it behind the couch or using it as a console table for the TV. I vote for the latter {I'll keep you posted on our decision}!

The table is nothing fancy, but I'm positive it's going to be a splendid addition to our living room.  I can't wait to see it completed. Stay tuned!

Counting Our Blessings

I still cannot believe 2012 is coming to an end! It was such a wonderful, exciting, life-changing year for our family full of so many blessings. We moved from Charleston, SC to our new home base in Tampa, FL, celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary in August, and welcomed our precious son, Chason, in September.

The first two years of our marriage really seemed to fly by. But that's probably because a year and two months of it were spent apart. I can honestly say that being a military family and spending a lot of time apart has definitely made our love stronger. I call it one of the many joys of being a military family. Our second anniversary was actually the day he came home after being away for so long. What a wonderful blessing that was. I was also 9 months pregnant. So with that said, our second anniversary was spent eating pizza (cheese-less for me!) and fries. We're so romantic!

Looking back at 2012, I realized that I spent the first 9 months of it pregnant and the last 3 months watching our baby grow way too quickly. The last 3 months definitely went by much faster than the previous 9 months! Funny how slow time goes while pregnant, but how quickly it passes once the baby has arrived. I felt like my pregnancy would never end, but once sweet Chason arrived all I wanted was for time to slow down.

Chason has enriched our lives and has been the biggest blessing. I thank God for him daily. Being his mama is the most amazing thing. I could not imagine life now without him in it. Oh I love that sweet boy!

Here's a quick look back at our 2012:

Bye Charleston

Hello Tampa

We're pregnant! Doak is going to be a big brother

Our sweet boy at 20 weeks

Chason Miles is here! 9/8 | 7lbs 3oz | 20.5in long

5 weeks...Photo shoot with Annie

9 weeks...rolling all over & sleeping through the night!

Almost 3 months...loves playing with mama

Doak is 2!

3 months...Bath time is his favorite

I'm very much looking forward to all that this next year will bring. Who knows, maybe we'll get pregnant again! Hah that might give poor hubby a heart attack!

May the Lord be with you and bless you in 2013!

From Drab to Vintage Chic

The huge front porch of our 1920's bungalow was in desperate need of some seating. But not just any would do; it needed to match not only the era of the house, but also my liking. After searching high and low, my mother-in-law found these old things {an equally ugly pair} at a garage sale:

I could not wait to get my hands on them to fix 'em up! The hubs and I made a quick trip to the hardware store to grab our supplies:

• Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer
• Rust-Oleum Hammered
• Valspar Outdoor Color + Protection spray paint (Satin Spring Sprout)
• 3M Paint & Rust Stripper
• Shiny {stainless} bolts

And after a little elbow grease and TLC, voila, almost-new chairs...

The chairs also needed a little cushion, so we made some easy-to-sew lumbar pillows in a bright, springy fabric. 

I absolutely love how the chairs turned out! They're not only chic, but oh so comfy. The little Boo Boo loves to rock in them with mama too!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This was our very first Christmas as PARENTS! It was so drastically different than any other Christmas we've ever spent together. It was wonderful, but oh so quiet {next year will most definitely not be!}. It was fun to create our own traditions {together in our home} and enjoy our Savior's birthday as a 'real' family. We woke our little Boo Boo up around 7:30 to eat and open presents, but he was a little overwhelmed and back in bed by 8:30. Oh the life of a 3 month old!

The year before, our Christmas was not so quiet. The hubs and I met in Tallahassee (hubs was in Texas with the Air Force / while I was in South Carolina at our home Air Force base at the time) to spend Christmas with our families. We spent the holiday celebrating the marriage of my sister and her new hubby, and spent as much time with them as possible before they shipped off to Hawaii (he's in the Marines). I also spent the end of our Christmas vacation quite sick. I thought I had a tummy bug, but it turns out the hubs managed to get me pregnant during our short 10-day vacation together! It's funny to look back and realize how much has changed in just one short year.

Oh what joy a child can bring to your life! All our Christmases to come will be filled with the sweet love and laughter of children. There's nothing that can make me more happy than that wonderful thought. I  can't wait until next Christmas when Boo Boo is running around yanking ornaments and lights off the tree - and all I'll be able to do is laugh right along with him!

May we always remember the real reason we celebrate on 12/25, and thank our gracious God for our Savior, Jesus Christ.