52:4

I can't believe that it's been 4 weeks since we started Project 52. It's been a lot of fun looking through photos that I've taken throughout the week and choosing the one for P52. It's also been difficult at times, as there isn't always one that "fits" just right. But I think so far, so good. And I've even been able to integrate Tinley into the project this week. Poor guy has shifted to the bottom of the totem pole these days, it's good for him to get the glory from time to time.

52:4

our family loves the sun!

Even our fur baby.

It's been gloomy and wet the last few days,

but yesterday, the sun broke through the clouds

and it was gorgeous. If only for an hour or two!

This is Tinley's favorite sunbathing spot on the deck.

Any time the sun is shining early enough in the day,

this is where you'll find him. Soaking it up.

Oh to have a dog's life!

If you're interested in learning more about Project 52, please visit styleberryBLOG for more information, and don't forget to check out what What We're Saying... posted today! If you want to be a part of the Project 52 circle, please leave a comment with your blog address and I'll include you in my post next week!

A Proud Mama, Indeed (Recycled)

I wrote this post on my other blog, Mama Dish, but then I realized it would probably fit better here. So I copied and pasted. My apologies to those of you who read both blogs (all 3 of you...)

When I pick up Brady from school, or child watch at the YMCA, I am always happy to hear things like, “he’s such a sweet boy,” “he’s really a great talker,” or “he shares so well”. These types of compliments would make any Mama proud. But yesterday I got the end all-be all, grand-daddy of all compliments… for a neat freak like me. And I couldn’t help but take the compliment completely to heart, since my husband obviously has nothing to do with this behavior

The teacher approaches me and says, while chuckling, “Brady likes to clean up all the toys. He puts them in all their different bins. He even notices if some of the toys on the shelf are in the wrong places and then puts them back where they belong. It’s so cute. Ha, ha, ha.”

I just smiled and nodded, but inside I was thinking, “Uh… yeah he does! He’s a born sorter, just like his Mom. The boy learned at a very early age there’s a place for everything and everything in its place. Our pint-sized, multi-color Target storage system, complete with labels, makes this place look like a joke. And what is so cute and funny about it, anyway?! Do you find it odd that a 3 year old boy has mad organizational skills, or are you just feeling threatened that he could take your job from you at any moment?”

He is going to make a suburban, 34 year old, mother of 2 very, very happy one day.

52:3

52:3

our family is creative.

Well, 2/3rds of us, at least.

Whether it’s painting, gluing shapes, or “sticking stickers”,
Brady is always asking to “do projects”.
I love encouraging his creative side, even though
the OCD part of me wants him to explore
it in the “neatest” way possible :)
{I know, I know. I’m trying.}

I’d like to think that my love of all things crafty
is a good influence on him. Oh the things we
could make togther… just as soon as he’s old enough
to operate a glue gun!

If you're interested in learning more about Project 52, please visit styleberryBLOG for more information, and don't forget to check out what What We're Saying... posted today! If you want to be a part of the Project 52 circle, please leave a comment with your blog address and I'll include you in my post next week!

Happy Monday!

We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, and for those of you who are off today, we hope you are STILL having a great weekend. Matt had to work today, so it's business as usual at the Eatherton household :( Mondays are always so tough, aren't they?!

This week is going to be a chilly & wet one for us (I know you midwesterners just feel terriblefor us), but we've been having a warm & dry winter so far, so this will be quite an adjustment for us. So before we spend what looks to be a lot of time indoors, we got outside this weekend and Matt and Brady got some good "bike ridin'" time in. Thanks again to Grandma and Grandpa Eatherton for Brady's balance bike-- he loves it and as you can see, he's getting good at gliding!

{hard at work cleaning out the car}

52:2

It's Friday-- time for another Project 52 post. While it would have been nice to get one other post in this week, I'm happy to be staying on track with at least one project these days! And once you read on, you'll understand a bit more why I've been such a flake lately.

Today's post is an especially special one (I don't think that's proper grammar, though it certainly describes it to a T). Or as Brady would say, it's "super awesome". First off, I'm really excited that the Hubs finally embraced his position behind the camera and captured an amazing moment between Brady and I, but more than that, I am so glad to be getting this news out. Make it public. Totally get it off my chest, don't have to hide it no mo', scream it from the rooftops... out.

52:2
our family… is growing.

{13 weeks, 4 days}

We’re happy to announce that we’ll be welcoming our second child this summer! We certainly broke the mold when we made Brady, and it’s taken us 3 years to “create” a new one.
We couldn’t be more excited to be going on this adventure and look forward to meeting our bundle of joy around mid-July.

Big brother-to-be is hoping for a little brother. Stay tuned…

If you're interested in learning more about Project 52, please visit styleberryBLOG for more information, and to see what Shawna's posted today. She is also linking to more incredible blogs, like What We're Saying..., so be sure to check them all out. If you're already doing Project 52 and want to link up, please attach your blog address in the comments and I'll include you next week!

Project 52:1

I have been a huge fan of Shawna of styleberryBLOG for many months now. Her creative style and beautiful photography immediately drew me in, but her down-to-earth and totally relatable posts, and aspirational (but achievable!) DIY projects continually bring me back to her site. I especially love her {under $20} growth chart!

One of the first things I liked about her blog, and what made it truly unique, was her Project 52. It was such a simple, but meaningful project, and I instantly wanted to be a part of it. But I started following somewhere around week 30, and you know how I like to do things "right"... so I've anxiously been waiting for the start of the new year so I could begin a Project 52 of my own. I mean, it combines two things I love-- my family and taking photos. How could I resist?!

The goal of the project (for me) is to capture something on camera once a week that defines my "theme" and share it on my blog. At the end of the year, I'll create a book that contains each of the photos/captions and it will {hopefully} be something my family and I can treasure for years to come.

So today marks the beginning of my Project 52. Every Friday I'll be posting my photo/caption and I will link back to styleberryBLOG, where you can see Shawna's weekly post, as well as find links to others who are participating in their very own Project 52. I hope you'll enjoy going on this journey with me; maybe it will even inspire you to do a Project 52 of your own. If you do decide to join in, post a link to your blog in the comments, as well as on styleberryBLOG so that others can see what you're up to!

Because this is a project I hope to do for years to come, I'm going to start the inaugural year with a very broad theme. So I introduce to you, "Project 52: Our Family..."

52:1

{how we started the year}

Yes, the caption for this one is simple. I know it doesn't seem like I'm starting off on a very creative foot... but given the theme, I thought I would begin with a photo of our family and end with a photo of our family, to capture how much we've changed. Or stayed the same. Only time will tell...

Happy 2012!

It's my "resolution" (even though I don't make new year resolutions) to be a better online family historian (aka, blogger). I do great with taking photos, but I never seem to share them, or talk about all the fun things we do on here. So this year, I'm going to *try* and post at least once a week, even if we don't do anything wild and crazy. I know it's already Jan 5th, but since it's still the first week of the new year, I figure I'm not yet in violation of said "resolution".

A lot happened in Dec. Instead of breaking it down play-by-play, I'll just say that Brady really got into the holidays this year (presents) and could not stop talking about it (presents)! Joking aside, it was wonderful to see him get into all aspects of Christmas (minus the actual, true meaning... we tried to explain, I promise...)-- from Elf on a Shelf to the Christmas carols (he's STILL singing "Jingle Bells"), making Christmas cookies to "fancy" lights, hanging ornaments and making crafts, the endless holiday cartoons on TV to actually sitting on Santa's lap without shedding a tear, this kid got into everything. It's true what they say about the holidays coming alive again through your children's eyes. What a great time we had this year!!

Christmas was spent in Chicago with my family on Christmas Eve and Matt's family on Christmas day. It's nice that our families are close enough that we can do that, but I'm definitely looking forward to the day that we're settled in a home in Chicago and we can host the holidays at our house. No more driving!!! We loved spending time with our niece Aubrey and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new niece in Feb. We also got to meet a new addition to my family, "baby Brody" (my cousin Leah's little boy who was only 11 days old on Christmas). Bubby and Papa Joe now have 2 great grandchildren!

We celebrated Brady's 3rd birthday on Dec. 26. We kept things low key this year, with the plan of throwing him a "half birthday" party this summer with all his buddies in CA. Every kid deserves to have a special time set aside for their birthday, and no matter how we try, it's hard to avoid the holiday spill-over effect. We took the immediate family out for pizza and Brady got showered with love and attention, which is what really matters.

Our holiday trip to Chicago was a little shorter than usual, so we didn't get to see as many people as we would have liked to this time, but hope to make up for that this summer. We're finally settling back into "life" and I'm happy to report that the Christmas tree has finally come down. Phew!

I took hundreds of photos in Dec., so instead of trying to post a collage here, I'm just attaching links to our Picasa account. Check them out when you get a chance!

CAXmas2011

Chicago Trip Dec11

December 2011

Happy New Year from the CA Eatherton clan. We hope it's a happy, healthy and prosperous one!