June 2015, Latest & Greatest News

The Moms Magazine — Summer Issue

Happy Monday, friends!

Excited to kick off the week with another feature in The Moms Magazine!

I continue to be honored to be a part of this wonderful publication ❀

Click HERE to take you to the digital copy of the Summer Issue, where you can find my “Summer Essentials: After – Beach Bathing Kit” on page 11 πŸ™‚

The Moms Magazine Summer 2015

Also, if you have not already singed up to receive your FREE print subscription, do it NOW! Click HERE to sign up….even shipping & handling is free…can’t beat that!

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Until next time!

~H

Latest & Greatest News, March 2015

The Moms Magazine – Spring Issue

Happy Hump Day, friends!! πŸ™‚

I am beyond thrilled to once again be a part of an amazing issue of The Moms Magazine!

Click HERE to take you to the digital copy of the Spring issue, where you can find my “Egg-cellent” Easter crafts on page 8 πŸ˜‰

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Also, if you have not already signed up to receive your FREE print subscription, do it NOW! Click HERE to sign up….even shipping & handling is free….can’t beat that!

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Until next time, friends!

~H

February 2015, Latest & Greatest News

Valentine’s Fun for the Little Ones

Hi Friends! I’m sharing two super fun posts over on Orlando Mom’s Blog to get you & your little one’s ready for Valentine’s Day ❀

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The 1st one is a LOVE Β Art Canvas Project that you can check out here.

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The 2nd project is cute AND magical! Definitely sure to get some giggles πŸ™‚ …It is Growing Heart Lollipops and you can check it out here.

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We had SO MUCH FUN with both of these projects! πŸ™‚

Until next time!!

~H

January 2015, Latest & Greatest News

The Moms Magazine!

Hi Friends! I am SUPER EXCITED to share with you that I am a contributing writer for the Winter 2015 Issue of The Mom’s Magazine! πŸ™‚

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I wrote my article — “10 Simple Tips for Positive Parenting in 2015”

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Please check it out from the digital copy of the magazine here

Also, you can request your FREE subscription to the magazine HERE! (includes FREE shipping & handling too….awesome!!) The magazine’sΒ goal is to share the incredible articles and information from every issue ofΒ The MOMS Magazine as far as possible within the continental United States of America!

I am so proud to be a part of this issue ❀

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Until next time, friends!

~H

July 2014, Randomness

Throwback Thursday: Murphy Birthday Memories!

We are officially ONE WEEK away from Liam’s THIRD BIRTHDAY!! The excitement is definitely building around here πŸ™‚

In honor of this most special day (and, of course, TBT), I wanted to take a look back at his last two birthday’s because ya know that’s always fun!

His 1st birthday party was a big to ‘do at our house and we opted for a “Baby Mickey” themed party. It was a very special celebration….

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I was “that” mom who didn’t let him have cake leading up to his birthday, so he had NO IDEA what to do with it once we gave him his little smash cake. Hilarious!

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That’s more like it πŸ˜‰

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This was THE most perfect birthday boy outfit that our great friend hand-made just for Mr. Liam.

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Last year, for his 2nd birthday, we opted for his 1st trip to the Magic Kingdom instead of a big party. It was magical day….

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**I can’t believe how tall he’s gotten since last year looking at these pictures! Wow **

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He had fallen at school a few days before our Disney trip so you can see the nice goose egg right smack in the middle of his forehead for most of these picks. Oh well πŸ™‚ …

I remember it was so hot last year trekking around the park. I don’t know if we were more crazy or brave for doing that, but we had a blast. You can check out the 2-part original post from our trip here & here.

Lots of fun is planned for next week!!! Can’t wait to share it with you all! ❀

~H

July 2014, Randomness

Throwback Thursday: Murphy Memories!

This little gem is one of my all time fav videos of our little man. It was taken when he was 1 1/2 years old (Feb 25th ’13), and this was before his vocab really took off. So, this is his rendition, at the time, of singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. That was one of his fav songs at the time and we had been trying our darnedest to get this on film up to this point, so this was a VERY exciting moment.

When I was looking at this video last night, Liam walked up to the computer and looked over at me after watching for a second and said, “he’s cute!” ….hahaha!!! πŸ™‚ …he totally didn’t realize that was him! LOVE IT ❀ …I then told him that was him as a baby and he was like, “yeah” and walked away. Typical.

Love you, ourΒ little dude!

~H

January 2014, Latest & Greatest News

Hello Two and A Half!

It’s been quite a while since I posted an update on Liam’s age or a monthly update, but since we’ve hit another milestone today, I thought it would be fun to do so. On this last day of January, our little man is a whopping TWO & A HALF…how is that possible, really?!?! Weren’t we just celebrating his birthday, and now we are half way to the next one? Good grief, time is going by at lightening speed!

Ever since this last birthday, I have pretty much abandoned referring to his age by months, but in honor of the occasion, AND to continue our teddy bear pic tradition, here we go:

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It’s definitely hard to get an active little man to sit still for a pic these days….

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Below is a recent cute Sunday morning pic of Liam coloring. I think he looks so grown-up here just soaking up the rays with his little feet in the air and crayons in hand. Care-free! πŸ™‚

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AGE:30 months / 2 1/2 years old

WEIGHT: last check, 33 lbs…my back definitely feels every bit of that!

HEIGHT: he’s definitely grown in the last few months. We need to measure him again. It’s terrible but I don’t remember his exact measurement…next post πŸ™‚

CLOTHES: He’s in a solid 3T now. I’ve even started to buy 4T for some brand shirts {like Carter’s} that run small on him in order to get more life out of any news clothes {most of his wardrobe is hand-me-downs…huge $$ saver!!}.

FAV FOODS: Lucky for us, Liam is not a picky eater. Although, I would say he is a very decisive eater. Meaning, when he knows what he wants to eat, there is pretty much no changing his mind. Sometimes, that’s a big pain in the a$$. I am sure that is a big part of his age, too. He likes a lot of fruit, especially bananas. I would like to see him eat more veggies but we are working on that. He is a huge fan of the Entemann’s popper doughnut holes {terrible, I know…but tasty, for a little guy}. He also likes to eat COLD mini Eggo pancakes. I cannot even begin to explain why our child likes to eat cold {e.g., frozen} pancakes, but he does. To each, their own! Ha! He also is a big fan of chicken nuggets and mac-n-cheese.

FAV WORDS: Our little chatter box….what doesn’t he say? He has become very good with using his words and pretty darn clear with speaking. Definitely very thankful for that. We went through a brief period Β a few months ago where he was stuttering a bit but that seems to have gotten better. We still hear it at times, but everything I have read says it is normal development so we have never called it out to him & that definitely seemed to help him. “I want a snack” is heard frequently throughout the day”. “Uppey” …but we then look at him until he will actually then say, “Pick me up please”…lol.

He is getting very independent these days, and quite frequently you will hear him say, “I do it myself”. When we went to the Bengel’s birthday party a few weeks back & he had a ball with the bouncy house/slide, we were amazed that he was going up the slide by himself toward the end of the afternoon.

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FAV ACTIVITIES: Liam is very good at entertaining himself. I think that comes with him being an only child. Even from what I have observed of him at school, he currently likes to do his own thing a majority of the time, and that’s okay. He really loves to play with his toys, or if we are at home, watch cartoons {Disney Junior…all the way}. He also is been having a great time driving his Power-wheels Jeep and riding his new tricycle that Santa brought. Last drive time, he was even catching on to finally navigating the steering of the jeep…that was cool. No more just driving in circles. haha!

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FAV THINGS: Recently, we acquired a train table from a friend and that has opened a WHOLE NEW WORLD to Liam. He is loving his “choo choo’s”. Below is a pic of him with his new loves:

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Some of the trains that we got with the table set are the Thomas the Train brand. Super cute! We are slowly learning about them. They have the names on the bottom of them, and unbelievably, he remembers who each one is. He was walking around the house last night going, “Now where did you go, Gordon??” hahaha…so freakin’ cute!

MILESTONES: We have been practicing potty training! In my book, that is a HUGE milestone, and let me tell you, this kid has been training himself. He is awesome at it. He goes on the big potty and we have had success with both #1 AND #2! He is usually the one to ask us to go, which is unbelievable to me. I know that he is probably ready, at this point, to give up the diapers. For those familiar with the 3-4 day method of full-on potty training, that’s what our plan is…we just have to take a few days off work and commit. My plan is to take a Friday & Monday off and do it over a long weekend. It’s been a big topic of conversation with Liam for a while now and he knows it’s coming. I wish I could capture the big smile he gets when he actually goes potty….he is SO PROUD of himself!! It seriously is the cutest thing ever. And, he always tells me, “I did it!” and then we high five. LOL.

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In many ways, I wish I could freeze time and bottle it up…these moments are precious!! But, we definitely look forward to all the new memories yet to be made and special times together.

Happy Half Birthday, Little Man!! ~~ Mommy & Daddy Love You SOOO MUCH!!!!

July 2013, Latest & Greatest News

Latest & Greatest News — Weekend Wrap Up

On Friday, we were happy to have my dad & step-mom [Liam’s, Papa-G and G-Ma] come for a visit. It was really great to spend some time with them, and they got to see how big our little man is getting. Liam was extra excited to get some extra birthday presents, too πŸ™‚

Liam with Papa-G

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Papa-G & G-Ma brought their fur babies, so Liam got to make some new friends.

Here he is with “Uncle Vinny”

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Papa-G and Liam cooking up some deliciousness

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Liam enjoying his new birthday presents from Papa-G & G-Ma

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Liam, Papa-G, and G-Ma

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When I picked Liam up from school on Friday, I had to clean out his things from his toddler room, as he’s getting ready to fully move into the early preschool room this week. Below is the picture from his cubby in the toddler room…it was so cute!! I believe they took this back in January when he 1st started in that room. He was probably about 1 1/2 at that point. This is a picture of a picture [with tape over it] so sorry, it’s a little fuzzy.

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Today (monday) was a big day…1st day going to school with his big boy backpack. I know what some of you may be thinking….what the heck does a 2 year old need with a backpack? Well, I’ll tell ya…..in all of his other rooms, he’s had a drawer to stow away his extra clothes for spills, blow-outs, etc. This new room doesn’t have that so they ask for a backpack to keep the extra items in. Neat idea & good practice for down the road. This one we chose is from skip hop, and I got oursΒ on Target online. Great deal! ..and toddler size! LOVE IT

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Seriously…..CUTEST EVER!! πŸ™‚

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This week is going to be a GREAT week because it’s Liam’s 2nd Birthday week!! We’ve been looking forward to this for awhile now, but a part of me still can’t believe my baby is going to be TWO YEARS OLD!! WOW!! I hope to find some time in the next few day to post some more. Stay tuned!!