Bryce's Board

My sister-in-law and her family moved into a new house recently, and I wanted to give Bryce something special for his new room. But what? 

I saw this idea on Pinterest:

Source: Uploaded by user via Allison on Pinterest

But it wasn't very boy-ish. Then I saw this idea:

Source: witandwhistle.com via Allison on Pinterest

And I realized I could combine them!

Chris already had chalkboard paint from his laundry room redo so all I needed was high-gloss white spray paint. 

I took an older cookie sheet and sprayed it with the white paint. After it was dry (I helped it out with the hair dryer.) I painted the inside of the pan with the chalkboard paint. 

It's difficult to see, but I printed out the letters of Bryce and cut them out. I placed them at the bottom on the tray and painted over them with the chalkboard paint. 

When it was all dry, I brushed a piece of chalk over the letters and they really popped out. 

I made magnets from some coke bottle tops. 

I hot glued white grosgrain ribbon to make a hanger. 

And done! 

I thought it needed one more thing so I glued a magnet onto a clothespin for an added touch. 

I think Bryce liked it because we hung it in his new room right after he opened it. 

Happy new house, Bryce!

Our weekend according to my new iphone 4s

We had an eventful weekend! 

Friday afternoon, I received my new iPhone 4s. I was using the original 3G, so this was a huge leap forward for me. As an ode to my new phone, all of the photos on this post were taken with it, using the  Instagram app. 

Friday night we saw these guys. 

Saturday morning, we met up with Chris' sister and her family for Bryce's baptism. We were thrilled to be asked to be his Godparents. 

On our way back from Little Rock, we decided to take a few detours. I had seen a cemetery in Carlisle, AR, that looked really interesting. It may sound weird, but I enjoy visiting cemeteries. I think roaming through the old graves and learning bits about people's lives is interesting. Here are some interesting shots I took in Carlisle. 

We even found some possible family members. 

Then we decided to head south just a little bit to Slovak, AR. Chris was baptized at the church there and his grandmother is buried there. On the way, we ran into this guy. 

Thankfully, he didn't run us off the road, and we arrived safely. 

Here's Chris' grandmother's headstone. 

I like this shot. It feels very southern to me. 

Here's the front of the church. Unfortunately, it was locked, and so we weren't able to get inside. 

Finally, after our wandering, we made it home, and this guy was happy to see us. 

Weekend visitors of the baby kind

Guess who came to see me this weekend? My nephews and Cook family! 

Here is two-week-old Colton.

 I love those cheeks! 

Turns out my couch is also good for infant napping, not just adults. 

Big brother Bryce wanted to join in on the napping time. 

But he was just pretending to sleep. 

Grandma got some good love time. 

While the boys spend some time outside. 

Colton woke up and decided he was hungry. The next few shots really tell the entire story. 

"Seriously, yo. I'm hungry. Don't just sit there and take pictures of me."

Momma made it better,

while Grandma prepped the bottle. 

I think he knew what was coming. 

Everyone was happy again.

After a big lunch, Bryce decided he might need a little cat nap on Chris' leather chair. 

And, finally it was Grandpa's turn to hold Colton. Now that Colton wasn't crying and hungry anymore!

While Colton was awake, we all made sure to get our hands on him. He studied Grandma for a long time. 

And, I got to talk to him for a bit. 

By the time it was Chris' turn, Colton was getting a little tired of being passed around. 

But, Uncle Chris made it okay again.

Colton just needed a different perspective. 

He hung out on Chris' legs for a bit and showed off his smile. 

And in closing, Bryce took this last photo. I think the composition and focus are right on. Maybe we have another photographer and blogger in the family!