Friday, May 25, 2012

Introducing... Riley Sky Baldree

Hello again.  As you can see I took another hiatus.  Truth is I still read my favorite blogs daily but I could never find the strength to actually sit down and write a post of my own.
I don't know how people blog everyday.  
My last post was all about the new puppy Todd and I were about to pick up.  Well, we got her and we've had her for about three months already.  How did three months go by so quickly?  
Well let's now waste any more time.  

Introducing Ms. Riley Sky Baldree....  
Todd and I absolutely adore her and we hope she kind of likes us too.

She loves sticks...
 She loves tennis balls...
 She loves posing for pictures...
 She loves playing in the park....
She loved digging holes....
But most of all... she loves her new life as a Baldree
And we love her too!


Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Puppy Love

Todd and I went to visit our baby puppy for the first time today.
The litter is now 4 ½ weeks old and the breeder had raving reviews about each puppy.

Even at this young of an age you can really tell their different temperaments. Some are more social, active, and outgoing while others are timid, tranquil, and really affectionate.

The coloring was so diverse as well. This litter of 10 has a wide variety of colors ranging from light caramels to dark phantoms.

We had so much fun meeting them in person today.
I am certainly looking forward to bring our puppy home on March 4th!

Check out the scrapbook of puppy pictures on our breeder’s website here.

But for now, please enjoy some of the pictures I took myself from our visit today.

Little Yellow Girl. My favorite!


Yellow Girl sleeping on me.

The only Merle in the litter. This is the breeder's choice.

Two boys playing with each other.

Yellow/Orange was adorable too.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

We're expecting!

A NEW PUPPY THAT IS!

After the break-in, lot's of things have changed at the Baldree House aka Fort Baldree.

We have fenced in our backyard, enclosed our carport to make it a real garage (which I have every intention of blogging about soon) and now we have decided to get a dog! In all honestly, these were all things we knew we wanted to do one day,
but that "one day" all got moved up to now!

So, in November, we put down a deposit for an Aussiedoodle. An AussieWHAT you say?


Aussiedoodles are a mix between an Australian Shepard and a Poodle. Australian Shepards are know for their gorgeous amber, white, and brown coats, bright blue eyes, and energetic working dog temperament. Poodles are know for their curry coats, intellect, and spunky personalities. It seems like the Australian Shepard's traits are dominant in the litters as the puppies will be multicolored (Merle's) with blue eyes and expected to have a temperament of a working-dog. They love to train, learn tricks, and compete with other dogs. However, thankfully, the Aussiedoodle puppies will get the Poodle's curry, hypoallergenic, non-shedding coat which I desperately need.

Our litter's mom, Lyra, is a F1 (1st generation) Aussiedoodle and the dad is a Poodle so our litter's puppies will be F1b (2nd generation) Aussiedoodles. The F1b Aussiedoodles are know to have curry/wavy, fleece-like hair that is hypoallergenic and non-shedding. F1 Aussiedoodles are not guaranteed to be non-shedding so it's a good thing the litter we'll choose from is F1b.

The breeder we decided to go with is AWESOME! She is so knowledgeable and thorough and has provided Todd and I with tons of information. She local too with her home in Snellville, GA. Once the litter is born she will take tons of pictures each week and update us on the progress of each puppy's coats and personalities so we can choose the one that fits our family best. We will be able to visit the breeder when the puppies are 4 weeks old and then we'll be able to take one home after 8 weeks.

Well, the puppies we're born on Sunday, January 8th and the breeder just posted some pictures of them on her fabulous website: http://www.aboundinggracedoodles.com/
Go on over and check it our yourself!

Todd and I can't wait to bring home our puppy in 6-8 weeks!

Friday, January 6, 2012

Happy Birthday, Henry!

Well, this is my first post of 2012 but I am happy to report my year is already starting off well! 2011 was quite possibly THE BEST year in my entire life so 2012 has a lot to live up to indeed.

The best news so far... Yesterday, one of my very best friends and college roommates had her first little boy, Henry.
We through Holly a baby shower about a month ago and I posted about it here.

Henry entered this world at 3:30pm yesterday weighing 8 lbs 12.4 oz and 21 inches long. His mother was a trooper and pushed him out in one big push! We had the amazing opportunity to visit the both of them (and the proud Dad) last night and I was able to take my first picture with the bundle of joy in my life. "Aunty Mandy was the photographer in my very first photo shoot, and was able to post lots of pictures of me on my birthday so all my friends and family good see me! ~ Henry."

Congratulations my sweet friend. Henry is just perfect. Thanks be to the good Lord for this indescribable gift.

Much love from Aunty Mandy!


Friday, December 23, 2011

Merry Merry!

Happy Holidays from
my family to yours!

Wishing you a wonderful

holiday season and a

New Year rich with many blessings.

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Holly's Baby Shower

This past Saturday was a dozy! My closest girl friends and I threw our dear friend, Holly, a baby shower Saturday morning and then we all headed out around 1pm for the SEC Championship! Days like this are so fun to look forward to, even more fun the day of, but the day after the next few days after are such a lull. Needless-to-say, I felt exhausted throughout the day on Sunday and now Monday hasn’t been much fun either. My girl friends and I began planning for the shower months in advance to make sure we threw Holly the best baby shower we possibly could! Little did we know UGA would be playing in the SEC Championship so they ended up being on the same day – cardinal FAIL in the world of SEC football! However, the problem was solved by moving up the shower time from 10-1 which everyone seemed to be pleased by anyway! I was so proud of how it all came together so I wanted to share the labor of love that went into this shower with all of you. Enjoy!

I loved the neutral theme Holly is using for baby Henry’s nursery. She is using Black and White gingham fabric with a mix of natural fibers like burlap and 100% cotton. Because this neutral theme was so fitting for the mom as well, we decided to go with it for our baby shower inspiration as well.

First up, here is the Yarn Wreath that greeted everyone at the front door. I was inspired by Pinterest to create this yarn wreath and my loving little sister, Christy, helped wrap this baby with yarn during the Thanksgiving holiday. (Thanks, Christy!)

Next, we asked our guests in advance to personalize their favorite baby book in lieu of a card. Here is the little note we inserted into all the invitation envelopes along with a group gift donation as well.

On to the food/drink display. We continued the neutral theme on the food and drink tables with a black and white gingham table cloth and burlap table runner. I purchased these fabrics on sale at Hobby Lobby and was able to give the mommy-to-be the left over fabric to use in the nursery for things like pillows or curtains.

I also made this burlap banner with side bows out of the burlap as well. Surprisingly, the burlap was easy to work with and we added the frayed edges to make it stand out more.

For the drinks, we stuck to the basics because this was a morning shower and served the coffee, mimosas, and water. However, we have a fun time coming up with some creative names and ended up making name cards for the following: Coffee with baby cream and sugar, Mom-o-sas, and H 2 PreggO. Everyone loved it!

For the food, we stuck to the basics again and served a delicious breakfast casserole, mini-quiches, fruit salad, powdered doughnuts, and monkey bread. The only created name we came up with here was “Lil’ Monkey Break.”

I found these cute vases at Goodwill for $1 each and we adorned with with burlap and b&w gingham ribbon to dress them up a bit. We used them as utensil holders and then the mommy-to-be was able to bring them home with her to use in the nursery.

After we ate, we played some games and the winners won Starbuck gift cards!

1. Game 1: Guess the Celebrity and the Celebrity baby (We handed out these sheets of paper to the guests and the first one done with the most correct answers won!)

**Side Note: We had our guests pre-address the blue envleopes to make it easier on the mommy-to-be when she writes her thank you notes. One less thing for her to do! We drew a door prize winner from the bowl as well.**

2. Game 2: Name that candy bar (We melting candy bars in diapers made to look like a dirty diaper. We passed the diapers around and the guests could open the diaper and smell it to determine the correct candy bar. The guest with the most correct answers won!) – Impt. Note: do not play before you eat!

3. Game 3: Baby Item Round Up (Tray of Baby Items. Guests had 30 seconds to scan the tray and then 3 minutes to write down as many items as they could remember).

4. Game 4: We asked guests to predict the birthday, weight, and length of baby Henry. The winner will be announced when Henry arrives!

After the games, we opened the gifts and took some pictures.

I made holly a special gift. I asked her mom and mother-in-law to send me Henry's grand parents and great grand parents names so I could make them into a family tree. Again, Holly is going with a very neutral themed room so do keep the family tree minimalistic I went with a black and white sketch. I loved the way it turned out!



It was such a great shower and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as the hosts.

Congratulations, Holly! We love you and cannot wait to meet baby Henry in January!

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Todd and I are expecting....



... a new PUPPY!!!

This might be premature information but Todd and I decided to put down our deposit on a new Aussiedoodle puppy, today! The litter is expected to be born around January 10, 2012 and we'll be able to bring home our new additional the first week in March, God willing.

Here are some pictures of what the Aussiedoodle puppy and full grown Aussiedoodle will look like:
Aussiedoodle Puppy

Aussiedoodle around age 2

Aussiedoodles are a mix between an Australian Shepard and a Poodle. Australian Shepards are know for their gorgeous amber, white, and brown coats, bright blue eyes, and energetic working dog temperament. Poodles are know for their curry coats, intellect, and spunky personalities. It seems like the Australian Shepard's traits are dominant in the litters as the puppies will be multicolored (Merle's) with blue eyes and expected to have a temperament of a working-dog. They love to train, learn tricks, and compete with other dogs. However, thankfully, the Aussiedoodle puppies will get the Poodle's curry, hypoallergenic, non-shedding coat which I desperately need.

Our litter's mom, Lyra, is a F1 (1st generation) Aussiedoodle and the dad is a Poodle so our litter's puppies will be F1b (2nd generation) Aussiedoodles. The F1b Aussiedoodles are know to have curry/wavy, fleece-like hair that is hypoallergenic and non-shedding. F1 Aussiedoodles are not guaranteed to be non-shedding so it's a good thing the litter we'll choose from is F1b.

The breeder we decided to go with is AWESOME! She is so knowledgeable and thorough and has provided Todd and I with tons of information. She local too with her home in Snellville, GA. Once the litter is born she will take tons of pictures each week and update us on the progress of each puppy's coats and personalities so we can choose the one that fits our family best. We will be able to visit the breeder when the puppies are 4 weeks old and then we'll be able to take one home after 8 weeks. Here is our breeder's website for more information: http://www.aboundinggracedoodles.com/

We're so excited to welcome him/her home in just a few short months!

I will keep you posted on any updates!