3 Years of Blogging + a Giveaway!

This week I'm celebrating *three* years of blogging!
Sooo...

 I thought it would be fun to party with a couple giveaways!

First up is one of my favorite little shops: Fountain Top Creations!

Mary makes the cutest hats ever. She's made Noah three

or four already, and I just can't get enough of them! I especially

love the sock monkey hats she has started making. Oh my!

They're so stinkin' cute!

Mary recently sent me pictures of her precious little Hailey

wearing the girly girl version of the sock monkey hat.

Don't you just love the little flower?!

And here are all the different color combos she offers:

Mary is generously giving away *one* sock monkey hat!

Want to win one? Here's what you gotta do:

1. Check out Mary's shop here and then leave a comment

telling me which color combo you'd choose if you won!

Want to better your chances of winning?

2. Visit Mary's crochet blog and become a new follower.

Leave me a comment letting me know you're now following along.

3. Tweet or facebook this:

Win a free sock monkey hat via The Bonjour Family
http://libby-bonjour.blogspot.com/2012/01/3-years-of-blogging-giveaway.html

Come back and let me know you linked this giveaway.

4. Follow my blog! Then leave another comment letting

me know you're a new follower or already follow.

Giveaway details:
Open to anyone in the United States
Winner can choose any color combo and size
Giveaway ends Friday, February 3rd at 9pm (CST)
One winner will be chosen at random

You have four chances to win. Good luck!

San Antonio!

Noah turned three August of last year and instead of throwing him a party, we thought it would be fun to take a family trip to Sea World. Noah loves animals, and he really loves staying in hotels, so a trip to San Antonio seemed like the perfect birthday present for him. August and September were pretty crazy months for us, so we planned our trip the second week in October. I can't imagine going any other time than in the Fall. The weather was just perfect.

We left on a Wednesday afternoon and arrived in San Antonio around dinnertime. Before we went to eat, we checked into our beautiful hotel along the Riverwalk and got settled in. Noah was really excited about staying in a hotel. It's pretty funny because we would be out doing something fun and it wouldn't be long before Noah was asking us if we could go back to the hotel. :) Little toot. Here is a short video of Noah while we were waiting in the car for Josh to get our key. It was so sweet to see how excited he was about being in "Tonio."

Once we got settled into our room, and after Noah jumped on the bed for a while, we got back in the car and drove around {forever!} in search of the Mexican restaurant Mi Tierra. I kid you not, we drove by that restaurant three times {at least} before we finally found it! But oh was it worth it. AMAZING food. We asked Noah what he wanted to eat, and he told us he wanted some "enchiwawas." After we ate, we decided to head back to our hotel and get to bed early. We still had two full days of fun ahead of us! 

Since Sea World wasn't open on Thursday, we decided that day we'd go to the San Antonio Zoo. We woke up fairly early and found ourselves a hole in the wall Mexican diner for some breakfast burritos. I'll just say right now, every place we ate {majority were Mexican food restaurants} was absolutely delish. After we ate, we were off to the Zoo! We saw lots of animals and enjoyed going to a different Zoo than the one we're used to here in Fort Worth. It was a lot of fun!

The butterfly garden at the Zoo was amazing. We almost passed on it because it cost an extra dollar or two per person to go in, but I'm so glad we went. It was the coolest experience walking into this lush area {almost like a green house} and seeing beautiful butterflies flying all over the place. It was magical. It really was. If you are ever at the San Antonio Zoo, pay the extra money. It's totally worth it.



We ended our day at the Zoo by riding a miniature train around the area. It was just what we needed to relax after being on our feet for most of the day. Poor little Noah couldn't even keep his eyes open-- he was wiped out!

We drove back to the hotel and planned to rest a while before going along the River Walk that night to eat. But we ended up staying in for the night because Noah wasn't feeling well. At all. Poor baby was so upset, and he felt like he was running a temp. And all he wanted to do was sleep. Really, as fun as it would have been to go on the River Walk that evening, it was very nice to be able to just take it easy and spend time together in our hotel room. Since we would be in for the night, Josh went to get the two of us some food at Hard Rock Cafe.

Later on that evening Noah woke up crying, so we thought it would be a good idea to get some medicine because it was obvious he wasn't feeling well. Josh went in search of some medicine while I helped Noah take a shower. Poor baby was just miserable. He just sat down in the shower and let the water fall on him. I felt so sorry for him. But the shower must have helped a little bit because Noah wanted Daddy to bring him a hamburger. But then he decided he'd rather have chicken nuggets instead. Of course, little man got what he wanted, and Daddy came back with medicine and nuggets! And really, it seemed he was feeling better. So we were hoping that Noah was just overtired and that he would be up for going to Sea World the next day.

We all slept well that night and woke up the next morning refreshed and ready for Sea World! I couldn't wait for my little boy to experience Sea World. Noah acted like he felt okay, so we decided to go since we had already purchased our tickets online. Guess what we ate for breakfast that morning? Yep, breakfast burritos again! But at a different Mexican cafe. Our family never gets tired of Mexican food. So we ate {yum!}, and then we were off to Sea World. By the time we arrived though, it was obvious Noah wasn't feeling well. Again. Poor thing. But he was excited and still wanted to go.

Here is my absolute favorite part of Sea World. Watching Noah feed the dolphins!



And of course, we rode several rides. Noah loved them! He was pretty quiet and non-smiley during most of the time we were there {don't blame the little guy}, but when he rode the rides the smiles came out. We saw some of the animals, but didn't end up staying very long because we didn't want to push it. He got to a point after about two hours where he just wanted to go back to the hotel. I admit, I was pretty bummed we didn't get to stay for most of the day. But, there's always next time! And I'm so thankful we at least got to experience some of Sea World.



Since the Shamu show was about to start, we decided to stay for the show and head out afterwards. It was such a fun experience. Those killer whales were just amazing. We will definitely have to take Noah back!

We were all pretty tired once we got back to the hotel, so we laid down and rested. After a while, we got up and Noah was {again} acting like he felt better. Yay! We decided it would be fun to walk along the River Walk that evening and ride the river taxi. Instead of eating along the river, we went to another Mexican restaurant close by. Reviews of the food were good, and we weren't about to miss out on another amazing restaurant in San Antonio. Here is a sweet picture of our silly little guy and Daddy! You can tell from that face he was feeling better!

After we ate, we went along the River Walk and got some ice cream. We rode the river taxi and it was so much fun. Noah absolutely loved it. And then we thought it would be fun to go check out the mall and do a little shopping. We really didn't stay too long, but we did stay long enough to find Noah some cute croc boots. We had the best evening together enjoying beautiful San Antonio. 

It was a wild, fun weekend; hopefully it won't be too long before we can go back again! 

Currently

current book blog(s):

(i'm not currently reading anything, so i'm gonna steal

annie's idea and share my favorite current blogs)

confetti sunshine

pink pistachio

from the natos

current playlist:

teitur-- poetry & aeroplanes

current fav

current color:

yeah... that pedicure i was planning on

getting this week didn't happen. you better

believe next week i'll be pampering myself.
thinking GOLD

current food:
popcorn

current favorite show movie:
water for elephants
loved it! now i really want to read the book

current need:
to quit procrastinating and
clean up our messy house

current outfit:
work out clothes

current triumph
it's been 26 days since i've had a dr pepper
(for those of you know me well, you know this is HUGE)
i've also started up weight watchers and c25k this week
feels so good to be back on track

current bane of my existence:
laundry! 
clothes are all over the place

current favorite quote:
"don't cry because it's over. smile because it happened." --dr.suess
via

current indulgence:

i'm indulging tomorrow and making these

current #1 blessing:

these two little stinkers who keep me on my toes!

current excitement:
family day on saturday :)

current mood:
thankful

current favorite product:
haven't ordered it yet, but i'm pretty sure this
curling iron is going to make me a happy girl
the look i'm going for

happy friday!

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Tear. He really is growing up way too fast! SO proud of you Noah!

Six Things

1. Noah has been into monsters lately. It's really quite cute. Last night, right before bed, Noah told his daddy "The monster is sleeping in my bed." Then Josh said, "Well, you can snuggle up with the monster then." Meanie! Thankfully, Noah isn't scared of the monster in his room. Perhaps it's a nice monster like Sulley from the movie Monsters, Inc. Have you seen the monster vanishing spray? I think it might be fun to make some to have around just in case his monster turns scary. :) Another great Pinterest find!

2. Remember the Valentine printable I made for you all last year? Well, I thought about making another one this year, but apparently there's no need. The printable is all over Pinterest. My mouth dropped to the floor when I saw it had been reblogged 1,392 from just one person. ONE person. Nuts! And not only that, the printable was published in the most recent issue of the the craft magazine Mollie Makes. I'm not sure i'll ever be able to top that one!

3. I gotta say, I never thought I could do it. Today marks twenty one days since my last Dr Pepper. Crazy, ya'll. But it was definitely time to make the cut. Some days have been a struggle, but overall, it really hasn't been too bad. And now I drink more water than ever. I crave it. Yes, crave water. And oh how thankful I am for crystal light when I need a little taste of sugar in my life. It's been a good thing.

4. Last night we went as a family to see Beauty and the Beast in 3d. I forgot how much I loved that movie growing up. There were several times I caught myself singing along with the songs. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Josh giving me the "will you shut up" look. Ha! I love that Noah's now at the age where we can go to the theater as a family and "watch a big movie." So fun!

5. I hit the jack pot at Bath and Body Works last week. I got four of the 14.5 oz three wick candles {that are normally $19.50 each} for a little over $30. I can't remember the exact price, but I think they were maybe $8 each. SO cheap! I love when I find good deals. Go get yourself some smelly good candles!

6. I'm about to celebrate three years of blogging! Yay! I think we should celebrate with a couple giveaways. It's been like forever since the last one. Don't miss out--I have some really great shops lined up!

Have a lovely Sunday!

Silly Little Monkey

InstaFriday

Hello! Happy Friday.
My iPhone pictures are growing by the day, so I thought
I'd better get some up on the blog before I get too behind.

Noah playing with all the merchandise in build-a-bear. He loves that store!
I'm sure the workers love when we go in there just to play around. :)



Little monkey hanging on his daddy.



Love my sister. We always have so much fun together! :)



Lunch date with mommy at Freebirds! Yum!

It has been super chilly around here, so we've
been playing at Pump It Up a lot lately. Noah
loves it-- he gets so excited every time I ask him
if he wants to go and play. I'm thinking we
might need to check into season passes.



Uh oh! Looks like we're in trouble.
Already checking out the sports cars!

The other day I caught Noah sticking his little booty
up in the air while he was napping. It was too cute.



Noah playing with the whole Toy Story crew.
He used Christmas money from his great grandmother, Gigi,
to finish off his collection with Bullseye and Slinky dog.



Noah could not get enough of this train. He loved it!



This picture cracks me up every time I look at it.
So cute! Using chopsticks for the first time. Yay Noah!



I almost talked Josh {and myself} into letting me buy
Noah a pair of lovebirds. They are the cutest little birds ever.
But then someone told me they are loud and messy.
No.thank.you. I have a pug that is loud enough.
{He's snoring at my feet as I sit here and blog}.



Fun at the mall!



Sleeping in his Toy Story bed at Grammy and Papa's
house. He always sleeps so well in that little bed.

Train ride around the mall one afternoon.



Quentin- this one is for you! :)
Took this video while we were in Amarillo
celebrating Christmas with Papa and Grammy.

Hello!

Just wanted to share with you a couple posts

that have really been an encouragement to me lately:

dear tired mom and how to find joy in motherhood

It's good to be reminded of these things...

Currently

Happy New Year... um, 13 days later! It's a good thing I didn't make a resolution to blog more this year because I'm starting off the year in a funk. Really, the truth is, I've been super lazy lately and just not in the mood to sit down and blog. Anyway, I'm here {yay!}, and it feels good to be back. To ease back into blogging, I thought it would be fun to link up again to the "currently" series at Perfectly Imperfect. Let me know if you link up too! I'd love to stop by and read what you've been up to.

current book(s)

canon 7d for dummies

current playlist(s)

current color

nothing.
and only because i'm in a desperate need of a pedicure!

thinking of going gold...

what do you think?

or i might just stick with one of

my favorites: it's bouquet with me

current food

just ate a handful of honey

roasted peanuts... yum!

current favorite show(s)

so... i'm gonna have to go with my

current favorite movie for this question.

the new sherlock holmes movie

is so good. go watch it!

current needs

to start working out again

*sigh*

current triumphs

day 13 of no dr pepper!

current bane of my existence

my mouse-- it's all over the place!

perhaps it needs some new batteries??

current #1 blessing

current indulgence

orange flavored milk chocolate candy slices

current outfit

pajammmas!

current excitement
my mom finally got an iPhone!!
now i can send her pics of noah without
having to email them to her. so nice. ;)

current mood
tired

current favorite quote or verse
"find something you are passionate about and
keep tremendously interested in it." -- julia childs

"above all else, guard your heart, for everything
you do flows from it." -- proverbs 4:23

current favorite app
cut the rope



super fun game
warning: very addicting!!

current favorite product


if you like a tingly, refreshing, open-up-your-senses
type body wash, you'll love this stuff. trust me, it's
totally worth the twelve bucks. find it at your
local bath and body works.