Embrace The Camera _ Easter Edition

A few of our moments this past weekend

1. Dying Eggs for the first time together

2. Playing on the slide with Dad.

 3. Finding Easter Eggs

 4. And most importantly getting together with family... making memories



That was a quick summary of our fabulous weekend.

Hope you got to spend it with family and friends... making memories

Come Join in the fun at Emilys place

1000 Gifts

138. Watching Maddux and his cousin have conversations in their own little language.

139. Pastel Toddler Ties

140. Holidays thru Childrens eyes.

141. Being blessed with a large family... and all getting together for holidays.

142. Warm weather on Easter :)



Vintage Flower Rings

I decided to try and make the rings I have been obsessing over ...

I Love how these turned out. Im obsessed... and might just have to buy more supplies to make these in every color...

Thoughts?

133. How exciting it is figuring out how to make things myself.

134. A night of my grandpa teaching me how to play Yukor

135. Getting all of the food to come out of the oven at the exact same time on Easter.

136. Being close to family... getting to spend the holidays together

137. Watching my son discover... his nostril.

Butterfly ShadowBox

Adding to our photo wall I thought I would add in a little girly touch....
Just a touch of glitter and butteflies....

A house full of boys.... a girl could always use a touch of glitter in the decorating.

Glitter makes me and Nala happier :)

Linked up at Tatertots and Jello

129. Glitter

130. Chocolate Bunnies

131. Maddux's first year of finding eggs.

132. Butterflies

Embrace The Camera

This past weekend we took some time to go to the park... soak up some chilly weather (thank you midwest spring... last weekend 80s this weekend 50s)

Maddux did not so much care about the playground as much as he loved sprinting towards the water... so I spent much of our time chasing him down picking him up... placing him far from the water... and repeat.

Isn't it amazing... how we look at our kids in photos and are absolutely floored by how stinkin cute they are? I know you all feel the same way I do... because man his face knocks me out everyday!

Whenever I held my newborn baby in my arms, I used to think that what I said and did to him could have an influence not only on him but on all whom he met, not only for a day or a month or a year, but for all eternity - a very challenging and exciting thought for a mother. ~Rose Kennedy

Come link up your photos of you and your loved ones at Emilys place.

 125. Warm Hoodies
126. My baby's big blue eyes
127. Weekends at the park
128. Hot cocoa on cold spring nights

Toy Story - Birthday party planning Begins

So I understand, you may think I am crazy... why is she already working on this. She has 5-6 more months before she even needs to think about this. But thing is... if I put it off it would take over my life because I am obsessive. So if I space this stuff out... contrary to what you are thinking at this moment... it actually keeps me sane.
And my friend Melody was planning her daughters party and wanted to use my silhouette... so this was perfect timing for us to swap silhouette for cricut...  So doing it the past few weeks just worked out for both of us.
I have never used the cricut before and I LOVE that they had this licensed cartridge. However putting these things together was insanely time consuming and some of the pieces are so small I decided I would get markers... and color in Rex's teeth or Lil Bo Peeps eyes because well... I couldn't glue those tiny eyes on no matter how hard I tried!
So anyways. As you can see we will be planning a Toy Story birthday party for our lil man this next year.
I am super excited after we did these... These will be used for the centerpieces and look sooo cute.

So this is just my first round of birthday crafts... These will be popping up randomly from time to time... Between now and November :)

And even if I am a little crazy I know the outcome of this party will be worth your eye rolls and "this girl is nuts" thoughts :)

Here are all the centerpiece characters :)

Can anyone tell me if there is a way to flip the woody or buzz or Jesse to make them larger? Or is that not possible?

120. Accomplishing something off my to do list

121. The smell of rain

122. Oatmeal with brown sugar

123. The sound of rain hitting the roof.

124. Polite neighbors.

Embrace The Camera

This past weekend we finally got some Sunshine!!!!!

This was our first weekend it was nice enough to get outside and play.

Here were this past weekend soaking up all the vitamin D we could get!

On Thursdays I join in the fun at Emilys Place... you should try it!





114. Sweatpants
115. Baseball caps to insantly look a little bit more presentable
116. Playing outside.
117. Enjoying a day of SMILES.
118. The smell of spring
119. Lilacs getting ready.... cant wait!

Dear Maddux

Dear Maddux...

You are just barely over 16 months old now.

Its amazing how much you have changed since your birthday 4 little months ago.

Just four months ago... you were taking 2-4 steps and falling down.

Now you run around so fast... and honestly you never stop RUNNING!

Just four months ago... you only adored Mickey Mouse and Mickey Mouse only. And even though you still have an appreciation for the Mouse himself... you have developed an almost scary relationship with the characters of Toy Story. You bust out in applause... and OOOOHHHs anytime you see a Toy Story book, DVD, bubble bath... and and explosion of happiness if we even dare take you down the Toy Story aisle at Toys R Us.

Just four months ago... your only words were Momma, Dada, & Nala

Now you can say... Thank you (aaa-oooooo). Please (EEEEEEE!). Baba. Woody (Wooo-EEEEE - yes obsessed). Uh-oh. Love you (Ah-oooo),  and HI! and everyday you are trying to add more. You looooove to mimic words.

Just four months ago... You were pulling every pan you could out of the cupboard wanting to help Mommy cook. (Such a cute helper). Now you go to your kitchen... with your dishes and have me eat what you cook :)

Just four months ago... When you cried... I had no idea what you wanted.... Now you will whine... pout... throw a fit. but hey at least you are pointing at what you are wanting... (usually something you are not suppose to have... )

Just four months ago... you would cry when you were upset.... Now you have just started tantrums... arched back... flinging yourself backwards into a rage... kicking legs.... ahhh the good stuff.

Just four months ago... you had 6 teeth... Now my lil man has 10 teeth!

Just four months ago... you babbled here and there.... Now you babble constantly.

I love your morning conversations you have with Nala.... you love using your hands when you get excited!

You love talking to your toys... your teddy bears... you will talk to anyone anything that will listen.

Just four months ago... you needed Mommy and Daddy to always entertain you with play. Now... you sit down and babble away with your farm figurines... toy story figurines... and cars. Your imagination is growing rapidly... its amazing to watch.

Just four months ago... we were feeding you with a spoon. Now... you want to hold the spoon yourself (after we put the food on the spoon for you)

In just four little months.... you have went from a baby to a toddler. You are developing such an awesome personality. You are becoming more and more independent every single day. You are curious and want to see everything and touch everything! You like to discover the world on your own.... You are full of smiles... hugs... and lots of Kisses. Nala remains your best friend... and your favorite word. :) You can still sit for hours reading your books... alternating with being read to and reading to us. You still get a huge cheesy smile on your face when you hear The Hotdog Dance... While so many things are changing... It feels that yesterday we were just bringing you home. Time is flying by... I look forward to all of the new things we will all experience together.

Love,

Mom

Us together for our first Christmas 2009. Which even though 16 months ago... it feels like just yesterday...

110.  remembering all the little moments... and now realizing those were BIG moments
111. Christmas Pajamas
112. New words
113. Hearing my lil boy tell me he loves me :)

Hello Sunshine!

Spring is....

Playing outside til the point of exhaustion

Strawberries
Flowers blooming
Sunshine

Grilling out
Thunderstorms

Swinging in the park

Watching the Cubbies

Star Gazing

Sitting on the Patio... Listen to Kenny Chesney

Warm weather... Cool rain

and it is

Smiles

Lots and Lots of

SMILES

From both of my kids :)

These moments make my life... simply awesome.

105. Sunshine bouncing off my sons adorable mop of hair :)

106. Spending days outside running around

107. Grilling our first steaks of the season

108. Daffodils popping up

109. Smiles ... lots of smiles

Embrace The Camera

Maddux loves to play with fake food... pots... pans... dishes... and bottles.
He loves feeding his teddy bears bottles.
Its adorable.
He stirs up a toy pot ... rams a spoon as far as he can into your mouth (because he literally attacks you when you are not expecting it) and while you are trying to stop yourself from gagging... he takes the spoon away from you... stares at you.. then very sternly says.... Mmmmmmmm. As if how dare you not enjoy his cooking.

The most frustrating thing was trying to find gender neutral toy food... I mean kids mimic what we do... why would they not have more universal dishes??? All I could find were Disney princes... until I came across a set at Target... which still included a few pink pans... he doesn't mind of course... :)

He sure is the cutest little cook I have ever seen.

I link up with Emily

You should too.







95. Watching Maddux's imagination grow while he plays
96. Chips and Salsa
97. Getting fed fake food.... Yummmmm
98. The feeling of having dishes done... and ALL the laundry finished
99. Lilies from my husband
100. Loud Thunderstorms



Wall Art

I realized that I never shared with you my favorite Christmas present this year....
We received these from my Mom and Step dad this past year, And it was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

These are currently hanging in Maddys bedroom. Aren't they just perfect????

And since I am sharing some wall art.

We are currently working on a gallery wall... on random things that have to do with us... so its been taking some time.. because we don't want it to be all photos. A few photos... but also a few randoms...

So here's a few that we have up right now.. and we are adding some almost everyday. So hopefully once everything is delivered by the end of next week I can share with you how it all comes together.

An old map I found of Ohio at the flea market.... We are taking our first family vacation to Cincy this summer

And obviously this little print is a tribute to Nala.... how could I not buy that once I found it... seriously?

101. Finding prints that suit us perfectly

102. Listening to my grandfather tell me stories about when he was younger

103. Spending the day shopping with my mom.

104. Finally having enough energy to run 3 miles... So exciting!

Desk Inspiration

This is next on my list....

Image property of cherishfielder over at Ana White

You can see her posting here http://ana-white.com/users/cherishfiedler

Are you excited? Because I know I am!

I desperately need a desk... and this is gorgeous!!!!!

I'm in love. (sigh)

Maddux's Bench

I got this plan from Ana White.  It was a good start project since I did a lot of trial and error. But love the way it turned out!
Lauren came up for a weekend... I ran in to get the materials one evening... in a completely calm and normal manner. Came back home and put the base plans of this together with Lauren.
Then it sat there for a while because finding the time sometimes is a little difficult. finally filled in all the nail holes.. .sanded... primed... sanded again. painted... then had to head over and get some foam and fabric to make the cushion. Which... I dont own a sewing machine nor do I know what to do with one if I were to purchase one. so I just used some no sew iron on magic.. and voila.
I love the way this turned out... :) In total this bench cost me 45 dollars to make... and I had to buy everything. I think I might have had the nails... but everything else I needed to purchase
It could probably use another coat of paint on it...but I will leave it for now. Finding the time lately is non existent.

What do you think?
Isnt this fabric adorable? And we made a book sling for the playroom out of this fabric also! :)
Have you made anything from Ana's plans?
Anything more daring??? I would love to know how it turned out.. I am hoping to maybe move up and do something a little more complicated next time :)



90. No sew fabric glue

91. the feeling of accomplishment when done with a long term project.

92. Chicago Cubs winning the game we go to.

93. Naps on the train

94. Big hugs from Maddux after being gone all day.