Six Months & 2013

Well…apparently I’m not the greatest at keeping up with a blog! Since the last blog, which was Thanksgiving (wow!) we've had quite a bit going on. The holidays took us through a whirlwind of festivities. First, we did Colten's first Christmas with my extended family @ Mayan Ranch in Bandera (family tradition for past 30 years!) New Years we went to Dallas/Ft Worth and saw Jonathan's side of the family. I also got a very, very overdue visit with my two college friends, Ashlee and Sami! Overall, it was so fun to introduce Colten to so many loved ones. 

So far our 2013 has been fairly uneventful. Just taking it easy, and watching our baby boy grow! 

He turned six months yesterday, and has so much personality already! He started sitting up what seemed like just overnight, and now he's pushing up trying to crawl! I have a feeling life will be getting a little busier once he figures out how to get moving! We went to his 6 month checkup yesterday and he is weighing 19.1lbs, measuring 28in! Our big boy is still at the top of the percentile charts :) He has started with solids, and he makes us laugh each time we introduce something new to his taste buds. The cutest thing we've noticed lately is how much he loves Wyatt. He can just look at Wyatt and smile, just like when he sees me or daddy. The loudest laughs we have gotten out of him have been from seeing Wyatt run around, and it's the cutest thing in the world. 

Now that everything has slowed down from the holidays, I have had more time to re-focus on the house. I've managed to squeeze in a few pinterest projects during nap time! (I have a billion more on my to do list...)

Here is a faux reclaimed wood Bath sign I painted, along with the stripes in our downstairs half bath: 

I've been getting a little crazy with the C's, this is one of like 4 or 5 around the house...I painted and distressed this one to go on the mantle: 

Painted striped curtains in the guest room - these are all over pinterest, but I thought they were so adorable (and economical!) so here is my attempt:

That's about it for now!

Thanksgiving 2012

This Thanksgiving was special for me on several accounts. For one, it was Colten Luke's first Thanksgiving! Secondly, we were able to spend it with the entire extended part of my mom's side of the family. We saw many cousins, aunts, uncles whom we do not get to see very often (some hadn't even met Jonathan yet!) so getting to visit and share my family with them was a huge treat!

Overall, one of the BIGGEST Thanksgiving praises was having my Grandma - literally a walking miracle there celebrating with us! In February of 2012, she got e-coli, and was admitted into the ICU. Soon after we learned her kidneys had failed, along with a domino effect of many other issues putting her in severe condition. Her four loving daughters made sure there was a rotation of family and friends to stay by her side and pray over her. We were all asking for a miracle, even though things were looking very grim. I specifically remember one hospital visit that I went with Jonathan, my brother Chris, and his wife Summer. Summer and I were in the room together when Gramma was able to talk for the first time after about a month and a half due to her Tracheotomy. It was obvious she had something important to say that we couldn't seem to lip read- so the doctor came in to plug her trache for us when she blurted out "I, Helen, in the company of my grandaughter and grandaughter-in-law, am letting you know I want to go home. I can't do this, I know it's hard for you, but you all need to let just me go." That was it. That was the night I thought would be one of the last we would have with her.

Even though that wasn't the last mention of letting her go, she managed to hold on. We began to see signs of improvement, and against all medical odds her kidneys miraculously returned to full function. After eight long months of hospitalization and rehabilitation she has now re-learned to talk, eat, AND walk! So, as you can see this year was an enormous celebration of Thanksgiving for all of my family. Gramma is a true fighter, and her family, her daughters especially, did not give up on her. More importantly God did not give up on her, and he obviously has a reason for her to still be here.

In light of Thanksgiving, I am SO thankful for the recovery of Gramma. I'm thankful for my husband who is a hard worker, and takes such good care of me and Colten. And I'm thankful for Colten, who brings so much joy to my heart and my life on a daily basis. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

This photo is of my sweet family with Gramma Thanksgiving 2012. The other one is at Colten's birth September 2012. Gramma's first rehab center shared a parking lot with the hospital that he was born at, so she was able to come visit us! She was still in a wheelchair at that point, but started walking soon after!

Two months

My baby is already two months old! Where does that time go??  We have already witnessed many, many smiles and sweet baby coos. He usually will smile big for Jonathan when he comes home from work, which is a big treat! My favorite part of the day with him is the morning though, because he wakes up in the best mood babbling and smiling with excitement for about an hour or so! It definitely takes the edge off the fact he kept me up all night, and it's still too early to want to wake up :) Within just these two months, Colten has already brought so much joy to our family, and we're loving watching him grow up (but not too fast!) 

Aside from Jonathan and Colten, my biggest focus lately has been on getting the house in order. It's no easy task moving with a newborn, much less decorating a house twice as large as what we had before! But, I do have a few parts of the house that I'm loving, and wanted to share the progress on here with you! 

First off, the two big pieces of furniture we knew we wanted to invest in were a bed, and kitchen table. As for the bed, our previous one's head board actually fell apart. Plus, we had decided if we could find a good deal we would like to graduate to a King size. Well, I've always dreamed of a four post bed, and so I started searching on Craig's list months ago (because I would probably die of a heart attack before paying full price for one) I finally landed on this AH-MA-ZING one that was a great deal. The nice thing too is our master bedroom is really big, so with this baby in there, it actually looks 'normal' size. (I will post pictures of the whole room after it's done later on)

So, same thing with the kitchen table, started searching on Craig's list months ago, knowing I wanted a farmhouse table to go with my decorating taste, and I found this one: (excuse the clutter on top)

These are two projects that I am happy to have finished in between Colten's naps :) You could say I was 'pin-spired' to do these awesome enlarged black and white photos. I saw on pinterest that staples did them for a little over a dollar each! I bought these huge frames a while back at a thrift store for $3 each knowing I wanted to try it out. I sanded and stained the frames, then just popped in the print outs and in the end was only a $14 project. (Saving money makes me happy if you couldn't tell) Then I reused an old window I had decorated with in my other house. I painted it and added the photo behind! The window is definitely my favorite decor so far :) 

Anyways, that's about all that I've done so far. I'll have to post more pictures of it complete later on. Until then, I want to try and get better at more frequent blogging! 

Thanks for stopping by! :) 

One Month Old

I can’t believe my baby boy has already turned one month old! Since the day Colten was born, our lives have felt like a whirlwind. Between visitors, doctors’ appointments, and moving homes…his first month of life has felt like the blink of an eye. I have to say what a blessing it has been to have so many wonderful friends and family willing to help us out with providing us meals, groceries, and caring for Colten while we squeeze in a nap or shower, so thank you to all who have been a part of us keeping our sanity as we have plunged into parenthood!

Colten is such a wonderful baby thus far. He gives mommy and daddy 3 to sometimes a rare 4 and even 5 hours of sleep at a time during the night. We have witnessed several smiles from him, and just love watching all his adorable expressions and sounds. It’s amazing what happiness this little person has already brought into me and Jonathan’s lives. We’re so excited to watch him grow and blossom into who God would have him be. 

The start of something new!

Well, I’m definitely a newbie to the blogging thing. I don’t follow any blogs, nor have I ever written one myself. But, in this transitional time in my life, I thought it would be a perfect time try one out, and have a way to share with our friends and family the fun moments happening at the Cheatheam household!

As anyone reading this would probably know, I’m VERY pregnant at the moment, and very ready to meet our precious little baby boy. Friday, August 24th was my last day of work for a while. One thing Jonathan and I have always wanted for our family is for me to be able to stay at home when we did have kids. For us, we feel it’s very important to be the primary caretakers for our children, and to be able to enjoy/witness every little moment of their first years. Thanks to God’s provision, and my hard working husband, our vision is now a reality!

Through my one and a half weeks off work (to date), Jonathan and I have been able to have a lot of time together. We’ve spent that time relaxing, going out to the movies, celebrating our two-year anniversary, and doing some of the fun things that will be more difficult to find time for in the near future. We’ve reflected on our marriage, and dreamed of the future. It’s been a wonderful time the Lord has blessed us with, and we’re now ready for our little guy to make his grand entry to the world!

Stay tuned – hopefully I will be posting a baby photo next!