Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Valentine rosettes

 I had a few places that I thought would work for my valentine rosettes that I finished. I decided on this wall. Check out what was hanging there (pic above). We put these pictures up right after we moved into my parent's basement. I've known for a while that I should really take these down and do something else, but I also know that we will be gone soon, so I haven't had a ton of motivation!

I decided it was perfect for my rosettes to go there!

Here they are.


Didn't they turn out cute? I got the paper at a cute scrapbook store called the Pink Daisy in Holladay. My mom had the doilies and the tag. I had leftover scrapbook paper from a past project that I used to make the small hearts. Anyway, they sure make me happy! 


To be honest, they are sitting on the floor right now :( I hung them with duct tape, but obviously it didn't hold so well! I got the idea here, and she used painter's tape. I tried that first, but it didn't seem to hold well either. Then I tried duct tape, but it was a no go too. So now I'm not sure what to use, but I will figure something out!

Monday, January 28, 2013

Jackson at 8 months


Jackson is 8 months old now and continues to be loved by all of us. Molly loves to sit and hold him and be a little mommy to him. He loves to be entertained by his sisters!


A big milestone this past month is that he sits up by himself!! Yay! This is one of my favorite things because then they can play with toys and start learning to entertain themselves, as opposed to being held all the time to stay happy :) He still loves to be held, though.


Just yesterday morning he started to clap his little hands all on his own! We haven't been showing him or trying to get him to do it at all. I'm not sure where exactly he picked it up, but it's adorable! He was clapping his hands so Justin and I were clapping too and cheering for him and he looked at us like, "Why are you so excited?" It was pretty funny. He had no idea he was doing a trick!


Still loves to drool and play and keep his family smiling! He still eats all day long. This has been a big change from my girls. I don't remember them eating all the time! But he certainly does. He is not a fan of vegetable baby foods anymore (can't totally blame him there). But he still likes the fruit kinds and any table food we are eating. I haven't given him anything that he didn't eat! He's tried beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, pastas, grains, meat, you name it!

Friday, January 25, 2013

Valentine's pillow

I made this Valentine's pillow this week from a pattern I bought on clearance a couple years ago from a nearby quilt shop. It's isn't very big, about 8 1/2 in. by 9 in. When I first finished it, I wasn't really all that excited about it, but I liked it more once I added the ribbon. It's pretty cute now, right?

 Here is the back. Fortunately, I had all the fabric and ribbon on hand to make it.

 Here is the pattern. It came with the cute pom pom trim and I think I only paid like $2 for the pattern with the trim. The directions were a bit odd, but it worked out in the end.

This cute little boy was watching as I took pictures today.

And since I know you are all awaiting my paper rosettes that I talked about in my last post, here's a sneak peak. I actually had them almost finished with the rest of my Valentine's decor, but it was total overkill! It was too much with everything else I already had in that location, so I took them down and I'm trying to find a better place for them to go. I need to add a few finishing touches and then they will be done.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Five on Friday


1. Molly had a field trip yesterday at preschool. They have been learning about money this month and so they went to the grocery store and to the dollar store. Yesterday morning during breakfast Molly was telling Ali that maybe she would get her something at the dollar store for her field trip.  

I guess each child got to pick out one thing at the dollar store and the teacher gave each child a dollar bill and a dime to pay for it. When I picked Molly up, her teacher and the mom who drove her both told me separately that Molly was so cute at the store and wanted to pick something out at the store that had 2 so she could share with her sister. And that's just what she did! She found these cute mermaids sold 2 in a package. Molly likes pink and Ali likes purple, so she knew it was perfect! Ali was so excited. It was so sweet of Molly and she thought of it all on her own. 



2. Molly has really loved her LeapPad she got for Christmas. She will play with it for hours at a time if we let her. And she is pretty good to share with Ali too. You might notice that Ali isn't wearing pants. She has had 4 accidents this week! Ahh! I potty trained her this past SUMMER. I don't know what the deal is lately. I think she is playing and having fun and forgetting until it's too late, but I am SO done with it! (One time was after she bonked her head on the counter, so I understand that) Today I put her in a cold tub and I was really, really angry! I hope this is the last time. But, it probably won't be, right?!



3. I made a bib for a baby shower last week. I know, it's shocking that I made something! I was looking through my fabric and found this laminated cotton and decided I should use it. I love the bibs that you can wipe off, so I figured who wouldn't?! I backed it with a white chenille that is pretty thick.



Then I used velcro to fasten it around the neck. I have some blue and green fabric that's similar and my mom pointed out that Jackson needs one!


4. Do you put up Valentine's decorations? I've gotten mine out but I'm thinking of making some paper rosettes I saw on Tatertots and Jello to add to the rest of my display. Aren't they cute? I will have to post a picture after.


5. Justin is headed to help his sister move into a new house this weekend so it's me and the kids! I was thinking of maybe doing a little movie fun this afternoon after Ali's nap and making popcorn and letting them choose a movie. Even crazier is I'm thinking of maybe (maybe!) going to the Disney store tomorrow at City Creek. Just to look because I think they would love it. I might chicken out, but we'll see!

And speaking of houses, Justin and I have started house hunting. Yay and yikes at the same time! We are just in the very beginning stages trying to decide where and what exactly we do and do not want. Since we know the process can take time, we figured we would start now. Our goal is to be into a place by the time Molly starts kindergarten in the fall. That might sound far away, but it really isn't! Wish us luck, cuz we'll need it.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Alison turns 3!

Alison had a fun birthday today! We started the day off with chocolate chip waffles for breakfast, her request. This afternoon we went over to Toys 'R Us and let her pick out a toy. She picked out some Jasmine dress up shoes. We were quite pleased that she was so frugal in her decision :)

For dinner we went to Chick-Fil-A. The girls love that place and they had a lot of fun. After dinner, we came home for some games, presents, and cake and ice cream.

Ali requested a yellow cake with purple frosting. Funny huh? I asked her and that was her response. So that's what we did. A yellow cake mix and purple (in person it does look more purple!) frosting. We found a Dora figurine and some animals to make it more fun!

 I printed out some Dora coloring pages for the girls. I also printed off Dora party hats.

 Daddy and Jackson

 Grandma and grandpa with the birthday girl.

 We played pin the tail on Swiper the Fox! (All of the printables were free from nickjr.com.) The girls loved playing.

 Ali got 3 new outfits and the Jasmine nightgown she's wearing in this picture. She put the nightgown on right away. Her Jasmine shoes work perfectly with her new nightgown! My mom bought her this cute Dora shirt and it has a fluffy red skirt that goes with it.

I'm gonna be honest here. I was NEVER a fan of character clothes, shoes, etc. in the past. I'm still not a HUGE fan, but I figure they go through stages and hey, if she loves Dora, we will accept it and let her be happy. Then we can get rid of the stuff when the stage is over :)

She also got a Melissa and Doug ice cream set and a Dora play set that's in lego form.

 We kept the party really simple, but I have to admit that it was really nice. I wasn't stressed about anything and it all went smoothly.

 Uncle Todd and Molly. Molly was very helpful with opening Ali's presents and getting things out of their packaging for Ali.
Blowing out her candle!! It took her a few tries :)


Dear Alison,

This past year has been a fun one for you. You've learned how to play really well with your sister. You look up to her and love her. You also love your little brother Jackson. You talk really loudly and animated to him! You call him Jackson boo boo! He loves to look at you and you make him smile and laugh.

You have become quite particular about how things are to be done. If you want to do something, we find out very quickly! You have thrown quite the temper tantrums, but lately you have gotten much better. You have lots of sass and spunk! You can be the biggest sweetheart too. You love to give "Sunny squeezes, Sarah squeezes, popstar squeezes," and the list goes on! You give the best hugs and we love them.

You are an early bird. You are always first to come into our room in the morning. You recently love to put on Molly's leotards and any swimsuits you can find and then wear them all day. You love dress ups and often change them several times a day. You still love your kitty and cougar and you sleep and take naps with them always. You love to color and scribble all over your coloring pages. You love playing ponies, lalaloopsy, barbies, kitchen, and with any other toys you find. You love to sing and to dance. You love watching movies and Dora the Explorer. You are a daddy's girl, and always want to talk to your daddy on the phone and are so excited when he comes home.

We love you!
Mom and Dad