Snacks and Skype

Two things the little ones love:

Cheerios and the Aunts.

Project 30 Update

I'm only five blankets away from my goal of 30 - so exciting! Here are some of the latest additions:

{Three blankets made by April and her Mom, Cathy, on Make-a-Blanket Weekend and on our craft afternoon.}

{Two blankets made by Sonja on our Make-a-Blanket Weekend.}

{Four [of the five] blankets donated by another college friend, Jamie.}

{The fifth blanket donated by Jamie...}

I took an up-close picture in hopes that someone would be able to help me out with what crochet {I mean, it is crocheted, correct??} stitch that is. It looks like a v-stitch, but not quite. I'm TOTALLY in love with it and want to know what it is so that I can replicate it. Anyone know?

{And, last but not least, my two quilts!}

I have two that need to be tied, one that I need to finish the crocheted edging on, and one that is waiting to be cut and pieced.

30 is so close!

Saturday Fun

I finished up another quilt today for Project 30/Linus. At our Make-a-Blanket weekend, the girls and I were lamenting over how we want to be able to do free motion quilting, but just can't seem to get the hang of it. Girls, I think I figured out part of the problem!

Quilting finger grips. Or gloves {I think I would like that better}.

That, and I set my stitch length to 0... and didn't lower my feed dogs. I didn't do much on this quilt {just the squiggly lines on the inner sashings and the heart}, but I think it's going to be easier than we originally thought... and we definitely need to dedicate a craft night to perfecting it!

I'm hoping to have a real Project 30 update soon... I've got several more blankets that have been donated to show off!

We had a pretty full {and, at times, fun!} day all around - sewing, playing, eating, cleaning cars, playing Wii, mowing the lawn, and of course, some more playing. After I put Ellie down for bed, Noah grabbed his baseball glove, a ball, and a newly discovered baseball hat and proceeded to play baseball in the living room.

We couldn't help but laugh.


And recognize that he is all boy.

{Ellie @} 11 Months

Happy 11 Months Ellie!

♥

I'm seriously having a hard time believing that Ellie is going to be ONE in a month and, at the same time, having a hard time remembering life without her. She's such a happy, go-lucky Little One and can make me laugh with just one of her little head-tilts.

And I simply can't get over how much she looks like Ben and yet, how much she looks like Noah too.

Little One, we love {♥} love you more than words could ever express.

Things Ellie Loves at 11 Months:

• Table food! The girl cannot get enough of it. And if she sees you eating something that is not on her highchair tray, she wants it. Her favorite is still chicken nuggets and yogurt, but she won't pass up the chance for lasagna, green beans, a grilled cheese sandwich or Gerber puffs.
• Playing with Big Brother's cars - she has the uncanny ability to choose just the car that Noah wants to play with.
• Tickle sessions with Daddy.
• Snuggling on the couch with Mommy and Noah to watch VeggieTales or to read a few books.
• Sneaking into the bathroom.
• Waving hi and bye, walking using a walker, and attempting to give kisses.
• Being greeted by Noah as soon as she wakes up with a "Good Morning, Ellie!"

Littlest Dear One, we love watching you grow. You are special, unique, perfect, and beautiful. I get excited every time I see you do something new and amazing - we are SO very proud of you! And we'll eat you up, we love you so.

A Crafty Afternoon

April came over this afternoon for a little bit of crafty time, and lucky for us {and especially for Noah}, Jordan came with her. She finished up her blankets from Saturday and I actually got to work on my Project Life kit and a little on a second quilt for Project 30/Linus. I guess Noah could hear us talking {and laughing} because when he woke up from his nap, the first words out of his mouth wasn't his usual "Hi Mommy" or "Noah go potty", but "Mizapbil and Jordan here! Mommy, com'on!"

Noah immediately talked Jordan into going to "play tracks" with him.

Ellie enjoyed the extra attention from our friends too.

I just have to say, I ♥ that our friends love on our kids so much. And I ♥ that our kids love them right back!

{P.S. Ellie's 11 month post will be tomorrow!}

Rack, Shack and Benny {Duh Bunny}

We've been watching a lot of VeggieTales around here lately. Partially because I like them, partially because Noah likes them, and mostly because I'm so tired of Thomas. We literally have almost every single VeggieTales episode {by-the-by, if you have a little girl, you simply MUST get Sweet Pea Beauty. Go now... you'll thank me later. I promise.}, but Noah's favorite, by far, is Rack, Shack and Benny. He loves to sing "The Bunny Song"... though, really it just comes out as "duh bunny... duh bunny.... duh bunny..." over and over again.

He also enjoys singing, "Stand Up" from the same episode.

Personally, I can't decide which I like better. But I gotta say, I love it every time he attempts to sing "The Bunny Song" because he always gets a very serious, very sour look on his face!

Shutterfly Update

I'm eventually planning to remove the Shutterfly Share Site link from the side of my blog. I know that many of the readers have the password, however, if you would like to become a member of the site {in order to receive an update via email when the previous months photos are posted}, please either leave me a comment or shoot me an email. And please, check your email first before you comment or send me an email. I've already sent out member notifications to about 50 people.

Enjoy! ♥

Cookie Tuesday {and a Little Cruiser}

Last week, I forgot to take a photo of my new cookie jar before the cookies were placed in it. I made sure to get one today.

It was my first time to etch glass using my Silhouette and while I simply adore the look, I wish I had put a little more etching creme on it and left it on for just a few minutes longer. I'll probably eventually make a new one when I can find a jar that I like and has an actual seal on the lid. But seeing as how cookies don't normally last very long around here, I'm not sure that a tight seal matters all that much.

Noah's favorite ingredient from today? Chocolate chips.


And the look on his face as he was eating them? Pure bliss.

I honestly didn't feel like making cookies today, but between our recent visitors and cleaning the house yesterday and today, I felt like I hadn't spent much one-on-one time with Noah in the last few days. And making cookies together is one of his favorite things {I mean, he woke up this morning asking to "mate coo-kees Momma"}. Enter again, cake mix cookies. This time, we tried a strawberry cake mix with chocolate chips. They turned out okay - not our favorite, but they'll be eaten up, I'm sure of it.

In other news, Ellie has become quite the Little Cruiser lately. Yesterday, I caught this video of her:

Last Day {of Visitors}

We had a pretty lazy day today.

Noah and Ellie kept Aunt KK busy with books and kisses.

Ben kept Morgan busy with a few rounds of The New Super Mario Brothers.

And me? Well, I kept myself busy with a half-serious, half-joking internal debate on whether it would be easier to just sell the house rather than clean it after a week and a half of company.

Morgan was pretty sad to leave and we were sad to see her go, but I think knowing that she had a new-to-her car to drive helped ease her pain of leaving the kiddos.

Morgie, thanks for all your help this week. And seriously... as payback for when you were a kid {and did it to me}, I'm going to teach Noah and Ellie to call you "Mommy" too when we're out and about next time. I love you kiddo. ♥

{Showing Aunt BB Daddy's video game - mario time!}

And, just because I think it's hyseterical, here's a funny video of Noah talking to Papa on my cell phone.

He seems to think that cell phones work like Skype... and that everything that he can see, the person on the other end of the phone can see too. So while I was talking with Mom this afternoon, Noah demanded to talk to Nana. And, once he was finished talking with Nana, he wanted to talk with Papa. Then BB. He then asked for Pinny {my sister's dog} and started barking. Then he asked for Bryan {Jess' boyfriend}. Jessie was a little hurt when he didn't ask for her. Jessie... now you know how I felt every time the little cousins bypassed me for Ben!

P.S. I've decided that it's probably easier better for our budget to clean the house rather than sell it. So, I wouldn't expect a blog post for tomorrow. ♥

Make-A-Blanket Weekend

Today I hosted a Make-A-Blanket Day/Weekend for Project Linus with some amazingly creative friends. {Click here to read more about Project Linus and Project 30.}

We. had. a. blast. All for a good cause.

We sewed.

And quilted.

And ate.

{Thanks for letting me take this pic, April!}

All while the boys and Morgan watched the Little Ones.

{And played lots and lots of Wii.}

We even had a surprise {early} visitor - KK, complete with a new car for Morgan.

{She's not excited or anything.}

By the end of the "work" day, we had five finished blankets to donate to Project Linus, with two more nearly finished and three more waiting to be started. I wish I could say that I finished more than one quilt {my first ever to donate... it only took me two years!}, but between all the dishes and a sick baby... I was just happy to get to dinner!

We topped off the day with dinner out - just for the girls!

And the biggest tip of the hat goes to my dear college friend Sonja - for traveling the farthest and for finishing up two blankets! {Sonja, I'm so glad you were able to make it out. And seriously, Faith, next time, we're dragging you out here if we have to.} I hope we get to do this again soon, Ladies!

Busy, Busy

In preparation for the big "Make a Blanket Weekend" for Project Linus, Morgan and I have been super busy baking {yummy muffins and an amaretto cake} and cooking {delicious chicken enchiladas}.

So the dishes have been keeping us busy.

And so have these two little ones.

Getting Creative

My cousin Morgan and I have a little bit of a creative "thing" between us. I specifically remember one weekend that she stayed with us {while I was still living at home with my parents} that we photographed the whole weekend and then later on we scrapbooked together. So. much. fun. When we decided that she'd come stay with us for a week, I knew we'd be getting creative again. This time, it's shirts and blankets. Today, we she worked on her shirt:

She came up with the design and we cut the freezer paper using the Silhouette. It already looks great and I can't wait to see the finished product. I told her that her friends are going to start placing orders with her! ♥

When Noah saw that Morgan was pane-ing he told me, "Noah pane-ing, Mommy. Peease." I couldn't refuse.


Noah is thoroughly enjoying having some one else to snuggle with during VeggieTales.

And Ellie {and Mommy!} is enjoying having someone else get her dressed after bath time!

No day is complete without a chasing and tickle session with Daddy.

Though Ellie might argue otherwise.

Lucky

I'm feeling pretty lucky today.

We went to "Toddler Time" at the library. Noah and I had been a couple of times to "LapSit" before Ellie arrived on the scene, but I haven't been brave enough to attempt to take both of them. Noah's favorite part of the library has always been the puzzles.

Lucky for him, Aunt BB was more than willing to put together puzzles with him.

And, lucky for Ellie, Morgan was willing to let her play with her phone.

Unfortunately, Noah wouldn't listen and stay in the story time area {he was way too interested in the paintings on the walls}, so we ended up leaving a little early. Which only reinforces my hesitancy to go to things like that without an extra set of hands!

After lunch and just before nap time for the kiddos, Aunt BB left to head back home {though, lucky for Mommy, Morgan is staying for a few more days!}. We already miss you Aunt BB - come back soon! Hope you had as much fun as we did!

Swimming, Cookie Tuesday, & Lunch with Daddy

After a quick shopping trip to the mall, we picked up lunch and headed to the base to have lunch with Ben. Noah loves being tickled and "attacked" by Daddy.

BB and Ellie love to laugh at them when they are being so silly.

Once we got back from lunch, the kiddos went down for their naps and Morgan and I got to work filling up my new cookie jar with chocolate chip cookies:

{I just wish I had taken a photo before we filled it up so that you could see the etching on the glass: Cookie Tuesday!}

After the cookies were all finished, we woke Noah up and got everyone loaded up in the car and went to the base swimming pool. I really had wanted to get a pool pass for this summer, but I've been hesitant to try to take them to the pool by myself. And today was proof that there is no way I could go without another person {or two} to help me!

Noah had a blast. He wanted to kick, he wanted to float, and he really wanted to try to do it all without holding on to someone. Luckily, Aunt BB, the veteran lifeguard, was on duty. And willingly played with him most of the time we were there.

"Sweeming Mommy! Sweeming wid BB!"

Ellie, on the other hand, was not a fan. And she did not enjoy being in the water {which we though was ironic since she loves bath time}. She literally clung to me and Morgan the entire time she was in the pool.

She was much happier when we got her out of the pool to enjoy a few puffs in the shade with Morgie.

And the best part about swimming in the pool on base?

Pausing for Retreat.