A Gift

This is a different kind of post today.  I want to share a project I did as a gift.  Some good friends of ours have a 2 month old little boy and I wanted to make a special Christmas present for him.  Although I had never embroidered before I decided to take on a project embroidering felt and create a name book for him.  This is what I came up with.

I think mom and dad really liked it.  I hope little Parker will one day, too.

I don't know if anyone actually reads this blog, but if you do would you like to see more craft or house projects I have going on?

First Snow

We've already had a little snow touch down this winter and I couldn't resist bundling Cupcake up to play!

Yeah, I was that mom that dragged my child out into the not even half an inch of snow as soon as she was done eating breakfast so I could take pictures of her in the first snow of the year.  All her friends are jealous.  :)

At first we had the "mom, my hat is too big" drama.  Then it was the "I fell down" drama.  Then we moved on to the "I have this fun new mittens" excitement, followed by the "I'm over this" expression.



It's a good thing we went out when we did.  As we played the sun was making it's way up.  It wasn't long before there was no snow left.  I think all those slacker moms missed out on a great opportunity here!  They were all bundled up, slowly enjoying their breakfast and now they have no snow pictures to show for it!

It hasn't really snowed since.

I guess I can't gloat too much as I know that here in a month or so we'll see snow for more than just an hour.  We'll probably be living with it for days or even weeks.  Ask me if I'm still excited about it then.

Rollie Pollie

Doesn't every 1.5 year old need a ball chair that is almost as tall as they are and weighs half as much as they do?  Yeah, I thought so, too.  I found this pattern for a Rollie Pollie chair and knew I had to make one for Little H.  She loves chairs. She loves to sit on random objects. She loves balls.  I love this chartreuse fabric and needed a reason to buy some!  The pattern was pretty easy to piece together. The directions were clear.  And the chair came together pretty quickly!  The only real obstacle along the way was having enough filling.  I used the two bags of fiberfill I had on hand and realized that it was going to take A LOT more.  Off the fabric store I went.  I came home with a 5 lb. box of fiberfill, stuffed it, and realized I was going to need even more fiberfill!  After another trip to the store to purchase another 5 lb. box I had enough! (I didn't use all of the second box.)  

She doesn't quite LOVE the chair, yet, but I think that's just because she has a heck of a time trying to get on it without falling.  It's just a wee bit big, yet.  I guess maybe I should have made the small size......

Halloween Recap

Cupcake had a very exciting Halloween this year.  She had two Halloween parties and she got to go trick or treating for the first time.  The first Halloween party was at her house with a close group of friends.  They were all so cute in their costumes and they had a great time coloring Halloween themed coloring pages.

The second party was with the whole group of my mom's group.  It was a big one!  The food was great, the dessert was sweet, and there were fun things for the kids to do, like face painting, picking a pumpkin at the patch and decorating it with stickers.  We had a great time and of course her favorite was the slide at the park.

We went to a few houses to trick or treat and shy little Dorothy was very good about saying thank you, but trick or treat is a bit advanced for her vocabulary.  Next year!  She was afraid of some of the costumes, particularly the neighbor who was a werewolf.  Oscar did stay out long.  He was too barky.  He wasn't a fan of his scarecrow costume, either.  I think this might be the last year he gets a new costume.  I'm running out of dog patterns and it's quite difficult to modify patterns to fit the weird shape of a dachshund.  He may just be a hot dog every year for the rest of his life!

Dorothy loved the Reese's Pieces we let her eat and has been begging for more candy since.  We have created a monster!  So the little bit of candy we had left had to be put in another room so I didn't have to hear the whining and begging for more candy!

Fall Fun

We really have been enjoying the fall weather while we can!  We went to the park AGAIN!  It was a gorgeous day, leaves were falling and lots of Cupcake's friends were there.  And there was a big pile of leaves to play it!  At first she liked it and gave me a bunch of smiles, but she didn't like being buried under all those leaves, so it was back to the playground!  

That girl loves the slide, but apparently she still needs some slide practice!  In her defense this was the big kid slide.  Don't worry, no Cupcakes hit the ground during this stunt.  She pretty much stopped right there and momma came to the rescue.

Our park days just might be over, though.  The rain is coming in and it's bringing the cooler temperatures with it. 

Sliding

We're having a bit of a heat wave here, so Cupcake and I are taking advantage of it and playing outside!  We've already gone to the park twice this week!!  Not to mention that we play on the playground when we go to Stroller Strength, too, so technically we've played at the park every day this week.  Cupcake has discovered the fun that is sliding.  All summer I tried to get her to go down the slide and she just wouldn't have it.  She only wanted to try to climb up the wrong way.  On Monday I had to coax her down the first time, but apparently that was all it took. After that it was up the stairs, down the slide, up the stairs, down the slide.  She was having a blast and I was glad that she was somewhat contained to one area and I didn't have to chase her all around the playground!

Tuesday we went to another park and it was the same thing.  These pictures are from Tuesday's park trip.

Wednesday was yet another park and another slide!  She even went down a big, twisty slide!  Awww, that's my big girl!  I loved seeing her have so much fun! 

12 days!!!

I just spent 12 days away from my precious Cupcake!  I don't know how I survived, but here I am to tell the story.  She spent 12 days with her grandparents while the hubs and I went to England!  This is a trip I've been wanting to take for quite some time so I was thrilled to get to go, even if it meant I'd be without my baby.  Mommas need vacations!  She seemingly did fine while we were gone, luckily she had her big brother, Oscar, to provide some sense of familiarity and it's not like she's never stayed at her grandparents' house before.  And her Aunt Li Li had a great time with her, too.  Here are a few pics from our trip!

We spent the majority of our time in London, but we did make a quick trip out to Cheltenham (which was quite boring).  It was fun!  I would go again, but probably not for as long.  It was a long time to be away from Cupcake, but it was also a long time to be away from home!

Sunflower Fields

I've really gotten into photography since Cupcake was born and especially since I got a new camera for Christmas last year, so I keep dragging the hubs around town for photoshoots!  He mumbles and complains about having to go, but I think he's pretty happy with the pictures in the end.  We have a local sunflower field that is open to the public and there is a 3-4 week period where the sunflowers are in bloom.  I've seen people post pictures taken there before, but never knew where it was......until now.  Turns out it is very close to home!!  So, off we went......  Here are a few of my favorites.

Football Season is Upon Us!

............and we don't have cable.  So we can't actually watch the game, but I guess that's a good thing since our team isn't very good any way.  Silly me found an app for my phone, though, that allows me to listen to the game, which then allows me to yell at the phone, and ends up ruining the rest of my day because I don't like to lose.  Anywho, I was driving through Indiana on one of the several trips I made over the summer and decided to stop in Lafayette to do some shopping.  You just can't find this stuff around here.  Everything is scarlet and gray (blah!).  I found this cute little number for Cupcake, so she has something to wear on Saturdays.

Frozen Yogurt

As a special treat I made raspberry frozen yogurt for Cupcake the other day.  She loves it!  It was way easy (except the seed straining part) and I had a taste (or two) and it's yummy!!!

2 cups frozen or fresh raspberries
4 tbsp superfine sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/4-1 1/2 cups yogurt (I used whole milk for her)
6 tbsp sour cream
2-3 tbsp confectioner's sugar

In a saucepan add raspberries, sugar and water. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 5 minutes.  Puree then strain the seeds.  Allow to cool

Stir the yogurt and sour cream into the puree and add enough confectioner's sugar to sweeten.  Transfer to ice cream maker and freeze for 20 minutes.

See, I told you it was easy!!

All is well!!

We went to the Children's Hospital last Friday for an EKG for the heart murmur that Cupcake's pediatrician heard at her 15 month appointment.  The ultrasound tech was very positive about the appointment.  She said she didn't hear it, but the cardiologist would want to look at the pictures, take some measurements and listen to the recordings.  Well, apparently he liked what he saw and heard because he said everything was normal!!  Yay!  We were very pleased with the news.

The weather around here has been fantastic so we've spent some time outdoors.  We visited two Metroparks this week.  Cupcake and daddy played at Wegerzyn while momma took a photography class and then she and momma went to Stroller Strut at the arboretum with some friends.  We had a picnic afterward and a long nap when we got home.

We also had a playdate/birthday party this week. The kids had a great time playing in the water table and going down the slide. They loved the slide so much there were a lot of tantrums while waiting their turns!  Oh, toddlers!  They sure are fun.  Corinne devoured a cupcake and again took a long nap when we got home.

That seems to be the theme these days.  Play hard and sleep hard. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

15 months!

Yesterday Cupcake hit the 15 month mark!!  She seems like such a big girl now!  She had her doctor's appointment today and the girl is staying right on her curve.  She's 21 lbs., 4 oz. and 31 inches tall.  She's tiny enough to still fit in her infant carseat!  She's cruising in her convertible carseat, though.  She more comfortable sitting more upright (but still rearfacing).  And mom and dad like the convertible seat better since it allows for the passenger seat to be a little further back.  I forget her head measurement (I have it written down), but basically her head is huge!  

Her pediatrician is pleased with her development.  She has 12 words, 6 signs, she's running, climbing, & throwing, she can stack 3 blocks, she tries to eat off a spoon or fork, tries to brush her hair and basically is the smartest toddler ever!  She's also smart enough to know that veggies don't taste nearly as good as crackers, so it's a constant battle to get some nutritious food in her.  She wants to eat fruit, bread and crackers ALL THE TIME!  The only vegetable we can get her to eat is sweet potatoes.  It's frustrating!

We did get a little bit of not so good news.  She has a heart murmur.  We don't know why, yet, but her pediatrician made it seem like it wasn't that big of a deal.  (Although mom reserves the right to freak out any way.)  She sees the cardiologist on Friday.  We should have more info next week.  Is it Friday, yet?

In other (big girl) news I think she is done breastfeeding.  She nursed yesterday morning for quite possibly the last time.  I didn't intend to wean her, yet.  I was hoping to make it to 18 months, but she and I are going to be apart for 12 days, so it had to be done.  She seemed to handle it well.  It was bittersweet nursing her yesterday.  I'm ready to be done, but I'm going to miss it.  It was our snuggle time.  She doesn't seem like a baby any more.  And we're starting elimination communication.  So we're not potty training, but I'm trying to teach her that she has control over going to the bathroom and I'm trying to understand when she needs to go.  So far the only real progress we've made is that if you ask her if she needs to go pee pee she'll go in the bathroom and point at her potty.  Sometimes she will not sit on her potty and she has never actually peed in her potty.  We'll get there.

Crazy House

Things are getting crazy around here.   We definitely have a toddler in the house.  She feels the need to climb everything.  Her favorite thing to climb is the fireplace hearth.  Her next favorite thing to climb is the stairs (hello, new gate!).  And then she likes to climb her toys.  Here she is climbing out of her SuperSeat.  She likes to stand on the tray (and it's starting to show wear) and climb into and stand in the middle.  She is also a big fan of standing backward on her Infant to Toddler Rocker.  She has taken a spill or two over the side, but that doesn't stop her.

She's also a big fan of throwing food, not so much eating it.  Oscar is in heaven!  Momma is in sticky floor Hades.  I don't deal with mess very well.  My OCD does not like it.  It's very hard to watch her throw her food on my freshly mopped floor.  It's also very hard to let her throw toys all over the living room.  Don't even get me started on stains on clothes!!

Did I mention the front room has become a storage barn for such things as a baby pool?  Yeah, I don't want to have to deflate and inflate this thing every time we want to swim.  It's bad enough I have to empty and refill it.  So it lives in the front room for now.

And it was a bittersweet moment last night as I sterilized breastpump parts and bottles to pack them up.  She is still nursing twice a day, but I no longer need to pump.  I still have 30 or so oz of milk in the freezer and I'd like the counter space back in the kitchen.  So the drying rack, pump and bottles are headed to the basement!  I threw a few pacis in there, too, since they needed cleaned, though she won't be weaned off those any time soon.  Girl loves her paci!

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

It has gotten toasty here!  Spring completely missed us.  We went straight to summer weather.  It's a good thing Cupcake got a pool for her birthday!!!  We've been spending a lot of time splashing and having fun in the water.

Shoes

This girl and her shoes!  She does not like to wear them.  She loves to eat them.  Seriously!  I tried to put these shoes on her for our Mother's Day photo shoot and as soon as I put them on her feet she started screaming!  And she was kicking and throwing a huge tantrum.  As soon as I took them off she stopped.  All she wants to do is chew on them!  It's a good thing they've not actually been walked in!  But that's the dilemma.  She is walking now so she's going to have to start wearing shoes when we're out and about.  We have grand plans of playing in the park this summer, which means shoes will be required.  I guess we'll have to start practicing.

My First Mother's Day

Last year on Mother's Day I was 38 weeks, 5 days pregnant.  I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of Little H.  Wondering if we were having a boy or a girl.  Trying to picture what life would be like with a baby.  Enjoying every last minute of being pregnant (yeah, I LOVED being pregnant!).  This year I got to spend the day with my beautiful, amazing daughter.  I also got to spend a little time on my own!  I had a pedicure, did a little shopping, and picked up some lunch for myself while daddy and Cupcake spent some time together.  And in the afternoon we went to the arboretum and walked around since it was such a nice day.  We took the camera and the tripod (which eventually broke!) and got some great photos.