Baby Payton is here!

You probably already knew that... but we are proud, proud parents to Payton Dawn Routh!! She arrived 12/6/11 at 12:07 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs. 10 oz. and measuring 20 in. Here's my favorite picture of our baby girl (so far!):

Our birth experience with Payton was mostly a very easy one. We arrived at the hospital at 5 am (after waking up at 4 to shower and make sure we had everything we needed!), and I was settled by 7 am. Although being asked 10, 000 questions and having to be stuck THREE times for my IV kinda sucked (I still have the nasty bruises to prove it...), Kyle and I were comfortable enough to play a couple games of Backgammon (weird, I know) and watch The Office. The contractions started coming on a little stronger and was given half a dose of pain medicine until my doctor would approve my epidural. I ended up having to ask for the second half pretty soon after... my contractions started coming on SO strong and SO fast that I couldn't think of any else but "EPIDURAL. NOW." I don't even remember if 5 minutes passed or an hour and half passed before the pain subsided... I'm so, so grateful for our anesthesiologist! We actually know him from our time in Memphis, and were so excited that he was the one at the hospital that day!! It made getting stuck with a huge needle a little easier to handle since we knew our doctor! We got to hang out for maybe an hour and a half before it was time to push... I was so glad to have a little bit of time to chill before the action began. I think it only took about 15 minutes of pushing (compared to about 2 1/2 hours with Park-man!) before we welcomed Payton into the world!! We spent one night in the hospital and woke up to a beautiful snowy day... what a special memory! We couldn't stop thinking about going home so we did just that. I couldn't wait to have my little family all together so my doctor and Payton's doctor agreed to let us go!

This is the closest thing we have to a family picture right now.. Park-man is still a little unsure of his baby sister! He's given her numerous gentle little kisses, but holding her seems a little scary to him right now.

He's the cutest Big Bro that I know!

My baby girl.

She already loves her Daddy... and let me take a second to brag on my sweet husband. I can't even begin to tell how helpful, loving, and supportive Kyle's been... changing Payton AND Parker's poopy diapers, making dinner, setting up train tracks, MAKING a ramp for Parker's trains and cars, letting me sleep in, making me coffee, and the list keeps going... thanks Babe!

I look forward to doing a newborn picture comparison post of Parker and Payton. As many differences as their little faces have, we can definitely see similarites, too!

Thanks to all for prayers and kind words for us the past week and a half. We feel so, so blessed by everyone of them!

Easy Fabric Flower!

It's hard to turn down new accessories. It's even harder to turn it down when it's free. If you can make it yourself... best case scenario. Let's get down to it...

What you need:

Lace Trim (or long strip of ruffled fabric)

Coordinating felt

button(s)

velcro

scissors

glue gun

Headband/hair clip/bobby pin/etc.

Get an idea of how big you want your fabric flower. Start with a small dab of glue and press the end down. Place a skinny strip of glue in an arc and begin to press down the lace trim in little folds to give the flower texture. Keep gluing small lengths at a time and spiral the lace inward. The closer together you glue the layers (as you spiral inward) the fuller your flower will be!

Once you reach the middle, cut the strip and glue it down. Don't worry too much about how it looks when you finish it off because it will be covered!

Just a finished view of the flower:

Next, carefully cut around the felt on backside of the flower, and glue one side of the velcro to the middle of the felt. (Not pictured)

Choose a button (or a group of buttons) to glue in the middle, and if you realize your flower is way too big... trim off some of the lace!

Once the glue on the velcro is cool, attach your flower to a headband...

or a pin...

...and pin it to your jacket or cardigan (or purse)...

...or attach it to a hair clip!

Obviously you could just glue the flower directly to a clip or headband or whatever, but I found it fun to be able to change it up!

If you felt the need to make it "classier" or you have a longer amount of time, you could always use a needle and thread to create your fabric flower!

I made mine pretty big but you could also make a couple of smaller ones and group them together. I would love to see yours if you try it out!!

Happy accessorizing!

{Apple Pickin'}

Fall is such an amazing time of year! Pumpkins, indian corn, orange leaves, and APPLES. When we were younger and lived in California, my family would go to Apple Hill EVERY year to see the beautiful orchards, see how cider is made, and most importantly eat caramel apples! :) I love looking back on old memories... even more than that, though, I LOVE making new memories! That's exactly what we got to do recently...

Two days a week Kyle wakes up extra early for Bible studies, and he is usually gone before Parker and I are even awake. On one such morning last week, I get a text saying, "Get up and get ready." Ok, I need more details than that... so I just waited until Kyle got home. I'm very compliant. Kyle proceeds to tell me that he is changing and he's picking out clothes for both Parker and me. Umm... huh? Kyle's concern for particular clothing is usually ZERO, so I knew something was up. Next thing I know, I hear him call from the closet saying, "I need your help.. is this maternity??" He picked out a plaid button-up that would currently cover just my back... poor guy, he was trying... the story proceeds with Kyle pulling shirt after shirt out of the closet and with me saying, "Are you KIDDING?? I don't want to wear that... I just want you to tell me what the heck we're doing!!" I wasn't very nice. Somewhere in there he had changed in to a plaid shirt and jeans and dressed Parker in the same.. he finally gave in and told me that we NEEDED to wear plaid shirts and jeans because we were going to pick apples! :) After I gave him SUCH a hard time.. I felt bad. BUT, I was so excited!! And we knew Parker would have a blast. So our apple picking journey began: *Warning: Too. Many. Pictures. Proceed at your own risk!*

All trips start with a necessary re-tying of the shoes.. even double-knotted they seem to just come undone!

Off we went with bucket in hand! I loved that it was a metal pail and not a bag... I felt like it was a little more authentic!

Walking to the orchards. It was a beautiful day!

Our first apple picked by Park-man! He was so proud!

He literally THREW every. single. apple. into the bucket. It was so worth it, though. Bruised apples and all!

Daddy would find the perfect apples, point them out to Parker, and then Parker would pick them for us!

Proud of another apple!

He picked almost every single one! He did a great job!

Trying to find a good one.

Daddy showing him which one to pick.

There was a tiny little "pond" by the barn at the farm we went to with a few fish in it and little creature statues all around it. Parker was absolutely FASCINATED with them!

He loved the Aggi-gator.

Petting the turtle.

Trying to reach the frog.

At the end of our visit, we enjoyed a snack together outside in the amazing weather.

Just thought this one was cute.

We can't wait to go again! This particular farm also had muscadine grapes and peaches and nectarines in the spring! We will definitely make a trip out there for peaches next year!

Now we can't wait for more fall adventures! Hopefully pumpkin pickin' will be next! :)

Inspired... {I love Fall.}

Pinterest. It inspires me. I'm not just being dorky... EVERY time I look at all the lovely things, I truly am inspired to get up and CREATE. I may not make everything I pin or see, but it motivates me to go dig through my fabric stash, pull out paint, or find old decorations to revamp! Truthfully, I don't even FINISH every project I start, but it's still fun to try. So here are a few fall inspirations...

Linen Napkins DIY via Purl Bee

Gorgeous Burlap Utensil holder via Style Me Pretty

Twine-wrapped Monogram via Embellished Living on Etsy

(Although, this looks easy enough to create on your own!!)

Felt Ruffles Wreath via Chick's Picks by Hillary

(Again, DIY! Foam Wreath. Felt Circles folded in half twice. Glue or Push pins.)

Painted Burlap Banner via Babble (made by an etsy seller)

LOVE the Rustic-ness.

Twig vase via Martha Stewart

Now I'm off to create.

Sneak Peek!

Rox and I are working on updating our shop R+J Handmade!! So I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek at what I've been making...

Fabric flowers galore...

New style of headbands...

A couple new necklace styles...

Anyway, check back soon for our update! Remember that Christmas is ONLY a few months away, and we would love for you to take a look at our shop for gift options!! :)

No-sew DIY Maxi Skirt!

Shopping for maternity clothes is a little hard where we live... I truthfully don't NEED anything between mine and Rox's maternity stashes, BUT who doesn't like something new every once in a while?? SO. I found this DIY on Pinterest (via Lauren's pinboard, thanks!!).

I couldn't start from scratch since our local fabric store doesn't sell knit fabric, and I can hardly ever make it to JoAnn's in Southaven. So, I did the next best thing and headed to Goodwill! I was hoping I could find any old long knit dress that I could alter or just use the fabric... what I found was SO much better:

A long, knit shirred-top maxi dress!! What?? The dress is in REALLY good shape, and it was the perfect size for a preggo belly! So here's what I did:

I knew I needed an elastic waistband for comfort and easy entry (that's a weird way to say it, but you know what I mean...) just like my other DIY skirt that I blogged about here. I folded the shirred top under so the top became a thick waistband (or in my case, an above-the-belly band).

I found this long knit sash in a box of random old belts and scarves from years and years ago. Sometimes it's good to hoard things. Right?? Don't answer that... I'll just move on.

I tied the old knit sash around my thrifted long maxi dress-turned-skirt and...

Here's the end result! (Just disregard the dumb face... I couldn't post another hand-on-the-hip picture... so this is what you get.) I just paired it with a simple, fitted knit shirt and...

I wore it to church with a cropped cardigan since it's FINALLY fall and it was actually a tiny bit chilly outside! And that's all. The absolute easiest DIY ever.

If I were un-pregnant (is that a word?), I assume the shirred-top dress may not stay up as easily... I think all I would have done differently is add a couple belt loops to the waistband to keep a sash or belt in place. But this could totally be a regular skirt, too! Look here and here for a couple of non-pregnant maxi skirts that look great!

My growing boy...

This little guy is growing. And growing. And growing. I can hardly keep up with him! I thought it had to do with the little one inside of me, but Parker's most recent doctor's appointment confirmed my suspicion... he is now in the 101st percentile for weight and 92nd for height. Yes, you read that right. This kid is going to make my arms fall off... poor Payton probably wonders what I'm trying to do to her when I hold Park-man! Thank goodness Parker likes to run and play so my arms (and Payton!) get a break. Here's what he's been up to lately...

Parker LOVES football. He LOVES to wear his jersey. He LOVES watching it with Daddy on Saturdays (and Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and high school football on Fridays... ). With 2 boys and 1 girl in the house right now, I'm outnumbered. But not for long!!! Let's just hope Payton likes to watch HGTV... :)

Parker cheesin'. Can you tell he likes to show off for the camera??

Yes, he's sitting on the toilet. No, he's not potty-trained yet. He just randomly wanted to sit on the potty and actually went!! He's had no more interest since, but I guess that's moving in the right direction! Let's just say I was pretty proud of my big boy!

Playing Ring-around-the-rosy at the park on a beautiful day!

Another day at the park! We took a picnic lunch one day recently and had SO much fun! Hasn't the weather been AMAZING?!

Parker's been really good at having conversations on the phone recently! He always tilts his head to the side like this... he's pretty funny to watch and listen to!

Another cheese-ball face.

Our Park-man is growing up! Along with getting bigger, he's learned SO much in the past few months. He surprises us almost daily with a new word or phrase, and we are LOVING being able to carry on actual conversations! He sings a lot, jumps a lot, dances a lot, falls down after jumping and dancing a lot, plays ball a lot (any kind)... all of that to say, we are busy with this little guy. And we can't wait to add another to the mix!! :)