Happy Three Months, Baby Boy!

I'm finding it quite difficult to come to terms with the fact that Grayson is already three months old.  Where, oh where has the time gone?  Our little man has brought more joy, fulfillment, and love to our lives than Tyler or I could have ever imagined.  He's truly a miracle from God.  In honor of hitting this milestone, here are my favorite pictures from Easter and his three month "photo shoot".

Some bunny is three months old today!

Grayson slept through his first church service.

Our first Easter as a family of three.  Blessed.

Thankful both sets of grandparents could be with us.

Brunch at Haven, our favorite!  Grayson wanted Daddy's brownie sundae...
like mother, like son.

 

 

Somebody was too in tune with The Heritage instead of looking at the camera.

Gray's first Easter basket consisted of a book, smocked bunny Jon Jon for next year, high contrast flash cards, and "golf bag" with two clubs and balls.

Easter outfit number two

Hey bunny!

 

   

"Mom, is this seriously happening?"

 

   

 

 

Enough with the photo shoot.

 I'm soaking in these last few days with my sweet boy.  I can't believe my maternity leave is over on Thursday.  While it'll be good to see my class, I'm fearing waterworks will occur.  Keep me in your thoughts. :)

Nursery Reveal

If you remember from this post, I mentioned waiting for the appropriate time to conquer this room.  At the time, it was still hush hush that Tyler and I were expecting our first little one.  We knew all along this would be our nursery, so that time was now upon us!  I wish I had been able to muster up the creativity and energy to keep y'all posted on the play-by-play, but that just wasn't happening during my prego state.  So, super-quick overview...

1st: Tyler installed bat and board...all on his own.  He continues to amaze me.
2nd: We had the heinous, ridiculously stained carpet pulled up and replaced with gunstock hardwoods.
Sidenote: Tyler and Daddy were going to try and do this project on their own, but due to lack of time and thinking it was best to keep their relationship a healthy one, we hired a contractor.
3rd: Tyler and his dad painted.  I decided to go with Benjamin Moore's lucerne for the walls and simply white for the bat and board, ceiling, and trim.  I just love the contrast of the two colors and think it's perfect for our little man's room.
4th: Selecting furniture and decorating commenced!

I am thrilled with how this space turned out!  It surely is the coziest room in Sylvan, and my favorite place to be with Grayson and my baby daddy.

 

 G's talented Aunt Dana made this gorgeous stork for my baby shower.  We took it to the hospital with us, and I can't tell you how many people popped in our room to ask where we got it.  It's now displayed proudly on his door.  Dana sells these at her Etsy shop danaemilydesigns.  

 

We found this changing table, a.k.a. chest of drawers, at Nadeau.  If you've never been to this furniture store, I highly recommend visiting one.  They've got awesome pieces in a variety of styles at bargain prices, which definitely hits the nail on the head for this girl.  The hubs purchased this fishing chart of Charleston several years ago, and we've just had it stored away.  We debated on how to hang it.  I originally wanted to do a lucite frame, such as this from Laurel-Dawn at Abode Love.  That look is so yummy.  However, us Joneses decided to go the economical route...shocker.  I have to give the props to T for getting this together.  He bought two dowel rods, four eye screws, and some velcro...and voila!  We hung it with twine which was laying around the house.

 Aunt Dana made those gorgeous curtains.  I bought the fabric from Spoonflower, and she made the magic happen.  At first I was planning to just do bamboo blinds, but I'm so glad she convinced me to go this route.  She's also the one responsible for this "Grayson" banner, as well as the monogrammed one hanging above his crib.  She made these for my baby shower as well, and I'm so happy they work in his nursery.  She be good! :) 

   

I snagged this ottoman on sale from Target.  It was part of their Threshold line, which I love.  But this grand swivel rocker is by far the best deal I've ever gotten.  The hubs and I had gone to the Pottery Barn outlet on Black Friday to pick up the crib we had purchased.  Black Friday?  Are we crazy?  I wasn't planning to deal with the masses in the store, but as we were loading the crib in the truck, Tyler spotted a lady with a glider.  He told me to run in and scope it out.  I asked the first associate I saw if they had any in and she more or less laughed at me.  She informed me as soon as these beauties come in, they're gone.  I figured I'd take a gander before leaving since we had made the drive out there.  And I'm so glad I did... it was totally meant to be.  I spotted an un-upholstered chair without any tags and realized it was their grand swivel rocker.  After talking with another associate for a while (giving her my desperate-for-a-glider-preggo-plea) she said it was mine for 99 bucks.  SOLD.  Due to the Black Friday deals, they even took an extra $10 off, so we snagged this for $89...I felt like I was committing a crime.  We bought the slipcover in white twill using some PB gift cards we had racked up.
I was still am in heaven.

  

 Grandma and Grandpa Born bought this quilt once G made his debut, and I purchased this curtain rod from HomeGoods, one of my favorite places to waste a ton of time.

 Tyler found this Pottery Barn Cameron Bookcase in simply white on Craigslist.  I was super skeptical, but it's in great condition and fits that corner space perfectly.

 

As previously mentioned, we bought this Larkin crib in espresso.  I mixed and matched baby boy's bedding.  I purchased the Harper bumper in gray, which is currently hanging out in the beachcomber basket to the right of his crib, along with a gray gingham crib fitted sheet, and the Brooks crib skirt.  Okay, confession time: I'm Liz and I have an slight addiction to Pottery Barn.  Who doesn't love their classic, timeless pieces?  You can't blame me...

I'm extremely happy with our first go at a nursery.  As Tyler says, Grayson has the nicest room in the house... but we wouldn't want it any other way.  Our little man has been spoiled since we found out we were having him... and I don't see that stopping anytime soon. ;)

Happy Friday, y'all! 

Our Biggest Blessing

Last May, Tyler and I were overwhelmed with joy when we found out we were expecting our first child.  Although baby boy took the majority of my creativity and energy, my pregnancy was pretty smooth sailing.  Grayson made his debut on January 22nd weighing in at five pounds, ten ounces and measuring nineteen inches long.  It is absolutely amazing to see how much he's grown in the last twelve weeks and how his personality is coming out more and more...which makes it incredibly difficult for this new mama to return to work next Thursday.  Cue the sobs.  However, I've been so fortunate to have had the special time at home with our little man.

Ten days after Grayson made his debut, the oh-so-talented Gianna Kasten came to Sylvan for his newborn photos.  Below are two of our favorite shots, as well as a slideshow that captures a variety of them from that day.

Click here to view the slideshow and scroll down to "Baby Grayson".  Tyler and I will forever cherish this!

While I still plan on sharing projects at our abode (so much to fill you in on including G's nursery and repurposing a closet), you'll definitely find lots of information on our sweet boy.

Every good and perfect gift is from above.

James 1:17

Next Up to Bat

Even though we've been in Sylvan over two years, we've totally neglected one of the upstairs "bedrooms".  As you can see, we used it as an office/Tyler's signed football storage.  And yes, be jealous of the print-screen pillow in the second picture.  It was a present for the hubs and my first Christmas from my sweet Great Aunt Betty.

 

While we had an idea for how we'd eventually purpose this room, we were waiting for the appropriate time.  And now that the farmhouse table is complete, bring on the next project.  We're going to channel our inner Young House Love (our heroes) to tackle some board and batten in this space.  (See their process and outcome in their previous home's hallway here.)  I'm obsessed with this look and believe it'll be perfect for this room.

On a side note, today marks my first day back to work after a two month hiatus.  Say a prayer -- or two or three -- for me as I get back into my daily routine and prepare for a new school year and batch of kiddos.  T has been repeatedly playing Dashboard Confessional's tune: So long, sweet summer... here goes nothing.

Patience Pays Off

Y'all may remember this sneak peek from the beginning of April, when I thought this special project was in it's final stages...

Well, just shy of four months later, this baby is complete!  I was going to hold off on sharing it with you until I had the seating and decor complete, but it was debuted last night at Supper Club and I couldn't help but snap a few photos of this handmade gorgeousness.  Let me take you back to where it all started... 

When I graduated from Clemson and moved to my townhouse in 2007, my parents purchased this table and chairs from IKEA.  While this table has treated the hubs and me well over the last several years, it wasn't accommodating when we had our families for holidays or friends for dinner.  It could comfortably seat four; six was pushing it.  Hence, the search for reclaimed wood began last winter.  We tried a few places and didn't have much luck until we were doing an after-church drive by  and drove past our sweet friends' (Mandi + Jeff) house.  They had planned to renovate a home they purchased not too far from us but ended up tearing it down and starting over.  Boy did a light shine down when we saw a mound of disposed wood laying in their front yard, which the hubs concluded came from the roof or floor support.  Tyler got in touch with Jeff, who was actually in The Land Down Under for work, and was given the green light to take as much as we needed.    

 

Things were going quite smoothly.  It didn't take T too long to make the top, which is when I pulled out my Jump-to-Conclusions-Map and thought this Farmhouse Table would be done in no time.  Womp womp...the entire process takes much longer that I imagined.  We decided to purchase legs at Lowe's ($22.98 a piece), as well as stain and polyurethane.  Our grand total: zero dollars, thanks to a gift card.  We already had the white paint (for the legs) and tools needed at home to complete the table.  I wish I had taken step by step pics as T worked so diligently on this project but fail.    

So, voila!  Here is the completed beauty.

I'm insanely proud of my sweet hubby for making my dreams of a farmhouse table come to fruition (not even coming out of pocket at that!) and am thrilled with how it turned out.  It was definitely worth the six-month wait!

I'm planning to buy two more Henriksdal dining chairs from Ikea to replace the middle chairs (shown above).  They are only $69.00 per chair, versus Pottery Barn's side chair which is currently running for a mere $224 a piece.  I don't see a $155 difference.  Do you?

I'm also planning to find two neat armchairs for the ends, which we'll store in the corners of the dining room when not being used.  It's a work in process but has come a long way.  It's so nice to comfortably seat eight folks at dinnertime, as we experienced last night at Supper Club.  No more middle-school split: girls indoor at the dining room table, boys outdoor at the deck table.  Props to my hubby for making this happen.  Boy do I love that man!

Keeping Up with the Joneses, Lately

I must say it's been a whirlwind of a summer but one that we'll never forget.  The hubs and I wanted to take one last trip before I began getting all ready for the upcoming school year.  (Only. three. more. days.  Where did summer go?)  We used Delta & Hilton points -- ballin' on a budget -- to head on down to the southernmost point in the US, Key West.  All you Atlanta folks: This is an easy, long weekend getaway if you've been searching for a hot spot.  The two-hour flight is direct, the Key West airport is teeny-tiny, and you can be at your hotel within twenty minutes of landing.  Very stress-free, which we Joneses truly appreciated!  Hands down, the highlight of our trip was the Danger Charter Tour, which included kayaking around the mangroves, snorkeling in pristine water, and admiring the gorgeous sunset.  I highly recommend this tour if you make it down to KW - you won't regret it!  Overall, this was a very special trip just the two of us that goes down in the memory books.

 Can you guess how many nights we were there?  Hint: Look at T's shirts on the right.  True guy.

 View from our room at The Reach

Lunch at Conch Republic

 I was obsessed with the sunset.

 

Back At It

Y'all, I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post...eeek!  Even worse, summer break is beyond half over.  I think I might cry.  This ridiculously rainy weather plus Wimbledon's fortnight have left me completely un-blog-motivated.  I must say, the hubs and I have enjoyed trips to Birmingham and Charlotte to visit sweet friends, as well as had our families in town to celebrate Father's Day.  My biggest accomplishment from the last month is completing the Peachtree Road Race to celebrate our great country's independence.
Here is a before race pic of T and me.  (Don't judge my appearance.  Early wake-up + nasty weather = big step for Liz to even make it out of bed)

Today marks an important day.  I'm turning over a new leaf and getting back on the blog wagon.  My goal is to be productive over these last twenty-two days of summer and fill y'all in as I make headway.  Today's goal you may be wondering?  Tackling the jungle which has taken over my mailbox area.  Can you say weed-mania?  Fingers (and toes) crossed the rain holds off until later.  I know asking for the rain to hold off all together is too much since we apparently seem to be living in Seattle now.  Cheers to a motivated Monday!