My Mr. Man

My mom and my grandma just popped in for a little visit a while ago and I caught this little gem while grammie was playing with Bauer on the floor...

This is sooo Bauer for sooo many reasons...
*Peek-a-boo is his favorite game and never gets old~!
*The laugh-- he sounds like he may pass out, it's so funny
*he loves to play on the floor, we've actually just moved out coffee table out of the way for good because it's a little dumb to move it back and forth 10 times a day
*the crazy waving of the arms in excitement. Sooo Bauer
*the huge wet circle on his shirt-- much to my dismay, there's no getting around it...unless I want to put a bib on him...lame, i put cute outfits on him for a reason! i just dry his shirts while he's napping ;)
*all the toys gathered around those little legs. He just wants the whole basket dumped and he'll get what he wants thank you very much!
*he loves his grammie so it's so fitting that he had an afternoon of laughter with her!

Don't you just wanna kiss that face!?!?

Out with the Old, In with the New

After many hours researching, Bauer says he's ready to shed his "infantness"and move into the next stage of being a passenger in mommy's car....

That's right folks, we graduated from his infant travel system to a convertible rear/front facing seat that will suit his as he grows into our little toddler! I'm really happy with the purchase (good thing since I spent hours online researching). The colors (although i love them) aren't the neutral scheme I would have thought I'd end up with, but hey-- I'll do pretty much whatever to save an extra $50 on clearance colors!
Although exciting, it's a reminder that my little man is growing up. It's a reminder to everyone that nothing lasts and to embrace every moment. Speaking of that little man--

...he's up from his nap-- time to PLAY!

Celebrating Newness

I've really been focusing on me lately-- when I say that, I realize it sounds selfish but being Bauer's mom day-in and day-out is the greatest joy I have ever know. It has completely lead me to rediscover myself, find the gaps in my life and my marriage, and recommit myself to strengthening those areas that fall short. I've made a huge push lately to learn new things. Everything from sewing, to decorating, to landscaping, to babysigning and babyproofing a house, I've tried to take a step back, to re-energize myself, re-styalize myself, and to "re-look" at life from a bigger, more mature, more laid back yet focused perspective.
Here are just a few of my discoveries in that past little while that have beautified my life...

• This book is absolutely great-- Andrew and I have started a little book club. One of us will read a religious book, and one of us will read a non-religious book and then we'll switch so we're both reading the same books at different times-- sooo wonderful! My mom's book club read this book so she gave it to me when she was done. It's remarkable and so gracefully written. It's bringing back a more holistic approach to life, relationships, and healing--

• Layla and Kevin Palmer, but mostly Layla. I love her style, her attitude and everything about her decorating. It's such a fresh look and she's super thrifty. I love her blog (and probably spend a little too much time on it) and am thinking about purchasing her online book-- she's simply fantastic! Hopefully my master bedroom will turn "fresh farmhouse" in no time at all with her inspiration.

• ...Speaking of fresh, spring is coming quickly and our yard is needing a fresh look, verrrry badly. Andrew and I are excited to take this up together. I'm heading out to the library after Bauer's nap to pick up some books they have on the matter. We have a good set-up here, but the yard has been neglected for too long, it shows. Stay tuned for our discoveries and the final product. My friend Annie is actually headed over too to run some ideas about a 'community' garden with some of friends here at the Ellis house too...FUN FUN FUN.

• I'm soooooo excited to start this with BauerMan. I've been doing lots of research, trying to decide the best program to go with. Fortunately, my awesome community (three wards in our little town ;)) is hosting a 3 week starter class taught by a woman in one of the wards who just got certified to teach it. woo hoo!! I can't wait til Thursday! Best part, it is usually a $40 startup program, but she's doing for just a $10 donation to our stakes annual "tender hearts, helping hands" service project happening next month. SCORE-- I seriously am sooo excited.

HAPPY WEEKEND!

I couldn't resist...

My awesome friend Annie took some pictures of Bauer on our little trip to the cabin a couple weeks back and she just gave me the copies tonight and I couldn't even wait til tomorrow to share-- SO CUTE! we love this little man so much it's scary!

My new favorite thing...

...sewing-- I LOVE IT! I've been wanting to learn for quite some time. Thanks to my mom and a project that had a deadline-- i've found a new addiction! Good thing I have such a good baby who can entertain himself!