Happy Birthday, Julie!

Today is my sweet sister-in-law's birthday! If you get a chance, drop by and give her a little birthday greeting.

Julie's Little World

Happy Birthday, Julie! See you tomorrow.

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

Yes, I said Happy Mother's Day. I do realize that the day is not until next month, but my most awesome, generous, super-fabulous husband has already given me my gift. If you haven't guessed, it's the camera, lenses and accessories pictured above. That's right, a Nikon D90 and all the fixin's!

I have wanted a DSLR for a long time, but assumed it would be years before I actually got one. Well, my world's-greatest-husband came to me a couple of weeks ago and informed me that he wanted to get me a new camera for Mother's Day. He doesn't know anything about cameras so he wanted me to choose the camera. So I started doing some looking around and found an awesome deal on a D90 with lenses and stuff. We bought the package, as well as an additional lens, and it all arrived on Chloe's birthday. Needless to say I have been a little preoccupied lately getting to know my new best friend. ;)

I can not even express how spoiled and blessed I feel. Not just because I received such an extravagant gift, but mainly because I have a husband who loves me and wants to do these kinds of things for me. Seriously, he is one of the most generous people I know.

Even with all of the new camera excitement (and a sick Chloe), I managed to squeeze in an unexpected sewing project.

I ran to the fabric store with the kids to buy just a little fabric to make a cover my camera strap. I let Colby walk, rather than ride in the cart. After a few minutes, he turned to me and said in all seriousness, "Mommy, I going to shop by myself." After I approved, he went off to look at fabric while I continued to the next aisle. A couple of minutes later I see this large bolt of fabric with little legs come walking around the corner. Colby was carrying this bolt that was as big as him with the biggest smile on his face. "You like my fabric?!" What can I say, it was the cutest thing ever. He had gone and actually found a fabric that he like...red with pirates. Of course after that I HAD to buy some of the fabric. We took it home and I turned it into a pillow. He has been sleeping with it ever since. He calls it his pirate pillow. I love when something so simple can brighten his day!

For those of you who might be wondering about Easter (Mother), I will be posting about it next week. Our day was fun, but went downhill quickly and I wasn't able to get pics of the kids in their Easter outfits. I am planning on taking pics this weekend, so I will post it all next week.

Birthday Bliss

Yesterday was spent in celebration of our sweet baby's first birthday. For Colby's first birthday we planned a big elaborate cookout/family party. We bought him a swingset and all of our family came from out of state for the party. Because we had such a big bash for him, I was feeling a little guilty that we had not planned more for Chloe. However, by the end of the day I realized the day had actually been perfect.

In the morning we got up as usual, had breakfast and got dressed. "Look, Mommy...I'm One!"

Then mid morning we had a little birthday playdate. Chloe's girlfriends, Lily and Katie (and their moms and a brother) came over for a morning of play, lunch, presents and cupcakes. We all had fun and enjoyed the time together.

After naptime, Curt came home and played with kids until dinner was ready. After dinner we had our little family party, just the four of us.

We kicked off the party with cupcakes and her first candle. She liked it but didn't know what to do with it. Good thing Colby was there to help!

After cupcakes came presents. We got her a walker/stroller and a Cabbage Patch Kid to go with it. As any girl who grew up in the 80's knows, every little girl needs a Cabbage Patch Kid! She LOVES them both. She spent the whole day today pushing the stroller around the house, taking the doll in and out and feeding the baby a bottle. Too cute!

Finally we tucked two worn-out kids into bed and had a few minutes to reflect on the day. Even though I didn't plan a huge shin-dig, the day was wonderful. The kids had fun all day long and us grown-ups weren't completely stressed out. Perfect!

You Say It's Your Birthday...

I can hardly believe that my baby turns one today! This past year has flown by and she is growing up way too fast. When planning for her arrival, I have to admit I was a little worried and nervous. I wasn't worried about taking care of two kids, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to love another baby as much as my first. Looking back on those feelings, I realize now how silly that was. Chloe has brought so much joy and love into our home that I couldn't imagine our family without her. She is such a source of happiness and light. All you have to do is look into those big hazel eyes or check out her partly toothy grin and your day is made. I am thankful for her everyday and feel so blessed to call her my daughter.

Happy First Birthday, Chloe!

Crafting Crazy

Sorry I haven't been around in a while. We are all still alive and actually healthy. Woo hoo! Anyway, I have been a little busy and of course somewhat of a slacker when I comes to my blog. I hope you all have stuck around, I promise to get back on track!

Anyway, the main thing that I have been up to (other than trying to keep up with the babies) is crafting/sewing. After Chloe was born I took a long sewing and crafting break, other than Molly Monkey. Then this past Christmas, as you know, I kind of went into overdrive. When we got back from the holidays I took another break, partly forced upon me by our month of sickness. So now I am back at it in full swing and I can't seem to get enough done. I just finished a couple of projects in one week and I am already itching to start something new.

So here is a rundown of everything that I have been working on this last month (if you want to see more detail, just click on the picture and it will enlarge):

• First up is a gift set that I made for a dear sweet friend that needed a little pick-me-up. The picture, bookmark and card are all free downloads from mmmcrafts.
  

• Next up is a card that I made for a sweet friend's "personal" shower. I was looking for a card to purchase, but couldn't find anything appropriate. So I decided to try my hand at making one myself. The nightie is made from construction and tissue papers and the socks are made from brown felt.
  

• Our church building underwent a complete remodel in the basement. This included the nursery. Once it was finished the gliders clashed with the new paint color and just looked really worn out. I was asked to reupholster the cushions. The first picture is of the original cushions (sitting on my dining room chair). The second pic is of the finished product in the nursery. I love the new fabric.
  

• One of our good friends was expecting a new baby girl. I have an awesome nursing cover that I used with Chloe and she asked where I had gotten mine because she was wanting one. Well, my friend who had made it (G.R.I.T.S. Embroidery), was taking a hiatus from her work, so I offered to make one for her myself. It was actually pretty simple and fun to make. It has boning in the neckline to keep a viewing opening to see your baby but keep things private. I also made a small pouch with an embroidered button to keep the cover in.
  

• My favorite project of this latest batch hands-down is Baby Binky Bunny. It's no surprise that this is another project courtesy of mmmcrafts. The pattern for this one is available for purchase in her Etsy shop. The first picture shows the bunny in it's blankie and a pair of little hands who wouldn't leave it alone! The second picture shows the bunny and blankie, as well as a sweet card from Larissa that is also a free download on her blog. This gift set was made for Jessica, #3 is on the way!!!

• The last project of the group was for a couple of sweet little girls from church who are moving back to Texas this week. The family moved up this way when the husband got a new job with Caterpillar. Unfortunately, he did not make it through all of the lay-offs. They have a daughter that is 1 month older than Colby and another little girl that is only 6 days older than Chloe. We were really looking forward to spending more time with them, but we know that we will be seeing them again! I made the girls coordinating skirts from the free Oliver + S Lazy Days pattern. I love this pattern and I think they turned out really cute. (I just bought the tops, not too exciting there). If you have a little girl to sew for, these skirts are great!
  

Well, I hope you enjoyed browsing through my crafting craziness of the last month. I love making all of this stuff. The only downside is that I have yet to figure out how to keep my house in decent shape while making all of these goodies. Balance is the key...I just have so much great fabric just waiting to be turned into something wonderful. I can't decided what will come next, probably throw pillows for my living room couches. Or maybe window treatments for our master bath. Or maybe all of the skirts and dresses I have planned for Chloe. Or maybe...maybe I should take a breath and wait a week or two to start something new.