meet the newest Pettijohn

Our happy story kinda, sorta starts with a sad one - before I introduce the newest member of our family I must first tell that we are down one kitty. Our Big.

JR and I adopted two brother kitties, 4 years ago, Beanie and Big. They've been our 'babies' long before babies were really a thought. Beanie is the slower of the two, and the one most drawn to me - while Big was JR's kitty, the feisty and more intelligent cat. Well, a couple of months ago they moved outside to be outdoor kitties after not taking to the new house well and leaving us 'gifts' - really disgusting, heinous gifts around the house. Nope. The transition didn't go too bad, until one morning Big was gone, and since then has not returned :(

Beanie is still meandering out there, but has been very lonely without his orange counterpart. He left us with a kitty void, and since Big was really the only kitty Beanie will tolerate we felt that maybe it was dog time at the Pettijohn House. Dog. With a baby on the way. Arewecrazyorwhat?

After long searching for the perfect dog to fit into our family - we think we've found the one. We were actually picky this time, with breeders and such, considering we have to have a dog that a) likes kids b) can live outside c) big but not enormous...we're lab lovers so that of course helped narrow our search. We saw a few different pups, and to say that the one we got was 'meant to be' is the dang truth. I'm talking, the one we picked up the week before had a SEIZURE two miles down the road after paying for him. A seizure. We were freaked out of our ever dang minds.

Nothing will replace Big, but we have found someone with a cute face that has helped Beanie come back to life a bit - and given us just one more 'baby' to raise :)

Meet Bradford.

He comes from a long line of hunting dogs {thus, he'll likely get thrown into some wintery animal hunts, eeeek, if my husband and pa-in-law have any say} and upon checking him out we knew he was the pup for us. We were so pleased with the breeders, and feel confident we made the right choice! Since the weather has been so nice, we've been getting Bradford used to Hudson and Hudson used to Bradford. They've butt heads a few times, but overall it's a lot of fun to spend our days outside now with our Bradford pup!! He is only crated at night, and not once has cried - much less whimpered at nighttime. We're feeding him three times a day, and he goes 'potty' in the grass, away from where we play. Score. So far, so GOOD!

The only problem is, when we are outside, we can't keep Hudson out of this:

He loves, loves Bradford's crate. In and out, in and out! It's hilarious when they both end up in there together.

We keep saying he's our 'Marley', and the only dog our babies will ever know. So as we approach meeting our Baby Belle, we are spending our days outside with Bradford getting ready for what's to come :) That does include Sooner Football ----------------that alone, will get it's own post{s}.

Before I get into football, I'll sparkle your day with what sparkles mine - this face.

p.s.

...since I started the draft of Hudson's birthday weeks ago, once published it has done so a few posts down - so, if interested it's down there somewhere :)

Happy Thursday'ing to you!

plain awesome

what I would look like if my cartoon self came to life. plain awesome.

assistant

I need a blogging assistant - much like a ghost writer...someone that could take my daily thoughts and then type them out via blogger along with pictures, etc.

As we approach meeting our Belle Monroe, in only 5 weeks time, I'm finding time to blog - scarce. Laundry, groceries, LIFE, you know...the usual.

There is an entire post dedicated to Hudson's first birthday party, yet I can't sit still long enough to finish it! {I had so much fun with his party, I already have in mind birthday party #2 - ohmystars} This frustrates me, thus my seeking of a blog ghost writer.

I'm 34 weeks all-kinds-of-pregnant today, and I'm sure I owe you a nice, fat belly picture but until I can muster up the energy/attention span to really finish a post in one sitting, I'll leave you with a family picture of the three of us. A rarity, as it's usually momma behind the camera. JR for once, doesn't look like a single dad :) Happy Tuesday, wherever you pretty self may be!

the ONE YEAR bash

Initially, when I began thinking of Hudson's first birthday celebration, finger foods came to mind. Just a small gathering, casual, nothing that would require a lot of prep - considering I'd be 8 months pregnant at the time.

That quickly faded as my inability to not spoil my firstborn consumed me and I immediately became swarmed with ideas of colors, custom cakes, balloons, patterns for tablecloths, etc...

I'm not a big 'theme' momma, and knowing that Hudson will one day come to me wanting a sports/movie/whoknowswhat kinda theme I put together a celebration centered completely around the colors of the invitations I ordered from Tiny Prints:

We started preparing about three days in advance, buying groceries and finalizing all of the decorations. The day of, was a whirlwind of no less than 3 people in the kitchen, JR outside working on the yard, and two of the biggest helpers {my bests, Ashley & Lauren} of the day helping put together my dream party for our one year old angel baby.

Our Boo Bear, didn't quite know what to think as his guests started arriving...but the balloons all over the house were a huge hit with my one year old wonder.

We had tons of food set out - dips, fruit, chips, empanadas, sandwiches, pigs-in-a-blanket...you name a party food and we served it! A very big thank you to our momma's too, who helped prepare and set-up the three food tables. This was about the extent of my time in the kitchen...

Between the mom's and Aunt Lu, they had the kitchen covered. Wam-Bam.

I was on party patrol, making sure every detail was just right for my Bear.

It took me about two months worth of prep time, and I truly enjoyed the whole thing from start to finish. I found the most amazing cake bakery in town, Amy Cakes of Norman, and had them design a cake too, around the invites. Some of the best cake I've ever indulged in - thank you to Amy and Co. for the yummy treats! I found most all of the decorations at Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby - found some fabric I liked at WM and had tablecloths made for the food tables, and some helium filled ballons! voila!

We had no idea how Bear would react to the gifts, but he sat and opened each and every gift - sans meltdown :) He was so enthralled with the activity and the audience he had.

Of course once gifts were opened, it was cake time! I had been waiting all day for cake time, surprise surprise.

On everyone's way out, they were gifted with some party treats to go! I found these cute containers at Wal-Mart that we had filled with caramel and cheddar popcorn! I still have bags of it...

After months of planning, the party came together even better than I could have imagined it! We had our dearest of family and friends there to help us celebrate our baby boy's first year of life - and what a joy it was to have those closest to us, there.

the 'do

Hudson has rockstar tendencies, thus it was crucial, he have hair to match.

she get it from her momma

I've got some raging heartburn.

@*#$@*)())**@#& - FIRE.

It's not stopping me though, from giving you a womb-peek at Princess Belle Monroe. By the looks of it, her 4-d face is showing an exact replica of her momma! Wow-ie.

Hudson quite obviously is a JR clone {energy levels and all}, and it appears that our baby girl will be a Nat-clone. If this really is the case, and she ends up with my personality too, then we'll have a baby who likes a constant cycle of eat, sleep, cupcakes, eat, sleep, eat, sleep, and repeat {for life}. We obviously won't know for sure, for sure until the BIG day, but from what we can gather we are fairly certain she's my mini. Momma and mini.

-momma's big lips made the cut {side profile, identical}

she better sleep more out here than she does in there, yikes.

um, really. cutest womb picture, puppy-faced baby I've ever seen. squish ball.

oh my, walker

It's official, 5 days after Hudson turned 11 months - he took off. My bear is now a walker. It is the most bizarre/fascinating thing to see my tiny, vertical. My two-toothed wonder is up on two feet making his way all over the place and it overwhelms me with joy to see such a huge milestone develop right before my very momma eyes.

{a very short snippet for the grandparents, the very first day he became truly mobile at his aunt and uncle's house}:

Belle'y pics, alas.

It's 12 weeks now, until our Belle'y Belle makes her princess debut. She currently resides in my womb, making herself very very known. Very.

She is not a quiet one, this Belle Monroe. Neither is her big brother, but he waited until birth day to let us know. She though, is giving us advance warning of such. It is easy to tell where her head and legs are positioned because she goes 'alien' on us and attempts escape. Shame they can't enter the world, via belly button, like a laparoscopic surgery. Last I recall, there was a lot of nasty words spewing from my mouth and a glorious amount of epidural involved. No laparscopy birth, here.

12 weeks-away pictures of Mommy and Belle ♥

magically delicious

...or totally ridiculous.



I have done away with an entire box of Lucky Charms within 24 hours. It's so embarrassing and disgusting all the same, that I just had to tell you.

I'm a sucker for marketing. I always fall for the bright colors and shiny boxes. Really, anything shiny....nonetheless...

As soon as I saw the new swirl marshmallows advertised, I had an in-the-moment craving and have since polished off the entire box in a day. One day. I don't even like cereal.

Here's to you Belle, and the 40 pounds worth of magically delicious marshmallows added to my thighs {face, arms, teets, etc...}

the first fourth

The fourth this year, was Hudson's last day as a 10 month old. We are now officially in the one year old countdown. I lack literary emotion in this, because until the big day comes and the party is partied - I'm not sure that I can quite wrap my mind around the fact that I have been a mommy to my Bear for almost an entire year.

We spent our red, white, and blue day consuming mass amounts of food {huge plus}, playing, and of course introducing our son to the amazement of fireworks. It is quite clear from the evidence I captured, that he's a fan. Go figure! JR's son, a fan of something loud and fire filled.

i'm a fan

Anything that has fast and FREE shipping, I'm a huge fan of. Zappos in particular is a favorite of mine - their service is a 10 and as we approach the walking days for Hudson, they had the best selection of wear for those fat Bear feet of his. I ordered him these two pair to start off our summer, and to say that I'm excited to squish those chubby toes into some shoes that look just like Daddy's would be a bold faced understatement.

Nike Kids Shox Turbo 10

Converse Kids Chuck Taylor

for me.

these two are mine. and i'm dang proud to be theirs.

in the meantime...we dance

...we are in anticipation of meeting our TinkerBelle and spend most of our days at the pool and playing outside, but in the meantime we find time to dance.

{we were watching Glee, and 'single ladies' came on, and the boy broke it down - long before I could run and grab the camera, but this snippet nonetheless made us laugh for days and you can even witness his mooching for ice}

'IT'S A ________'

GIRL ♥

We are thrilled beyond words I can type, read, think, or say that we are adding a baby girl to our family. I've long delayed the announcement due to not having nailed down her name but alas, she, our daughter, is...

{we made it official when picking out paint colors for her nursery}

So without further wait, we would like to 'introduce' you to our angel baby,

Belle Monroe Pettijohn

Our Belle Monroe ♥

first this - and then an announcement...

My blog feels like a perpetual announcement. Thus, so does my life ♥

I know all you're really waiting for is for me to tell you that we're having a _______!!!!!!! and this is _______ name!!!!

First, I must fill you in on a few happenings surrounding our reveal. A month ago we made a Pitt stop, and let these two babes reunite after some long lost time.

Those leg rolls are dang cute, and is quite similar to how I feel when I look down these days. Sigh.

After a couple of days with our beloved Braly's, we headed down to Miami for a week for our very first family vacation {alone} and our very last as a family of three.

We did this all in the middle of moving. Yes, yes. We moved again. However, this is a permanent stay and one we are over the moon about.

Back in my college town, this is a dream come true for me especially - in our dream home, with my Sooner baby (ies) and all the memories that come with being back in the land of crimson and cream :) truly, one of my favorite places on earth.

After being moved quite frantically to PA last year, in the middle of building what we thought was our dream home in TX - I can now look back knowing this was all very much out of our hands because in the end if I had been patient enough to see {which I was very much not}, He was bringing us back home right where we wanted to be - under even better circumstances.

I don't know that I have a patient bone in my body, and with that I struggle. Everyday though, I wake up pinching myself that we are moved in and busy everyday decorating, yard workin', grilling, and only five minutes from our friends, and The Mont.

Pictures of our house, to come soon - are you still my friend for making you wait to find out who Pettijohn #4 is?

okay, okay. that's next ♥

...a month later

I haven't forgotten you, in fact I've missed talking to you.

There is so much to catch up on, it overwhelms me how many blog posts I am behind.

Today was the day I've had planned to share all of our big news - however I've got a 9 month old baby boy with a fever since last night, thus making me a very worried momma.

As soon as my baby is a smiley bear again, I promise some updates...

until then, Happy Monday y'all.

short and sweet and stressed

My baby slept through the night, so when 7:40 {an hour earlier than his normal wake time} rolled around this morning I was eager to go see his squishy face.

He has cried/fussed/yelled in my face for the last 4 hours. I've tried it all, to obviously, no avail. Not a crier, my babe, this is a rarity in our house - and an event I am ill prepared for.

Does anyone have a non-alcoholic remedy for a stressed out morning of a cry-fest? oh my stars.

....on the plus side, good things are happening for our family this afternoon...to be continued...

finally - i show you how humongous i am

First, I'll show you what you really want to see. My enormous 17 week belly. 17 weeks today, and in my defense this is after dinner at Red Lobster and a late night snack of Ruffles and dip. It's kind of this big all day though - that's what growing babies back to back will do to your muscles. They just give way, completely.

{grainy phone pic, too lazy to pull out the big dog}

We've been friends for awhile now, so I feel okay showing you what I really look like at the end of the day and 17 weeks pregnant. My pants and shirt don't match, but if you went to class with me in college, you'd know that I don't care too much for matching clothes. Getting dressed for an 8am pysch class in the dark didn't allow for a 'complete' outfit. That's neither here nor there, alas...me and Baby.