Tuesday, February 28

tidbits

time to blog? not so much.

what to write? so much happening, but yet the days sometimes blend together as well.

what would you like to hear about?

that we're heading towards 60 degrees this week and that makes me so.very.happy.

that I finally got my act together and paid my simple $5 to get more picture storage again. So now here we are staring at you when you stop by + it was time for an update. =)

that Graham just stopped in the middle of drawing to tell me, I love drawing with chalk. It makes me so happy.

that I love making my children happy.

that Eden seems to be into everything (!!) these days including the trash, up the stairs, standing on tables, into the cupboards, putting ladybugs in her mouth....she's a full time job on her own. :)

that we have one more show this week ~ Disney on Ice ~ and then my rep tells me that show season has ended. We have sure been blessed by being able to go to so many fun events this winter.

that Eden's new favorite thing is to find a book and then scoot backwards into my lap. At which point Graham HAS to join the fun. we've been doing a lot of bookreading all together. it's the best.

that we have too many trips planned for this summer and not enough vacation days for Andrew. problem.

that I have greatly enjoyed gathering with a few very good friends every other Monday and going through various books. It's been a time of great encouragement & accountability. We're currently doing One Thousand Gifts.

that everyone told me boys will not stop wetting until they turn 3 and it was literally like magic.

that we are so thankful to have consistent date nights between swaps with 2 friends and our favorite gal, Kristin.

that we now live by an Arby's and beef n' cheddars make me more happy than they should. :) serious guilty pleasure.

that our favorite snack around here is Trader Joe's tomato-basil hummus and honey-wheat pretzel sticks. I don't like sharing with a certain 3 yr. old who gobbles both up too soon. :)

that Eden throwing her sippy cup off her tray constantly is driving me crazy.

that her giggles are the best and that she loves to be tickled.

that Graham is in a current 'i hate dinner' phase and his reaction every night to supper is "ewwww, I don't like that". So uplifting after slaving in the kitchen. :) He would exist solely on fruits & veggies if I let him. There are worse things.

that Andrew & I are currently reading Real Marriage by the Driscolls and it's excellent.

that we're watching Blue Bloods, The Firm and Harry's Law.

that if you're having guests stop by, serve these glazed cinnamon scones warm and I promise they'll rave. And you & your spouse may eat whatever's left over when they leave. I mean, not that we did, but you might. *wink, wink.

that Graham spends endless time at the kitchen table playing with these 20 little plastic dinosaurs. I love hearing his elaborate storylines, including them saying I love you and him telling them to be patient. :)

that the music you'll hear through our speakers right now is The Gathering and Seeds of Character.

that last week, Graham gave me a hug and an I love you and said I'll pray for you to feel better. Dear God, please help mommy feel better, amen.

that those moments are what make you full to overflowing.

Friday, February 24

Birthday Fun

Double birthday bash - ice cream style
To make the Ice Cream Cones - Cake style:
cake balls: 1. Bake a 9X13 cake of your choice (either from a box or from scratch - any flavor will work). 2. After allowing the cake to cool completely tear up the cake and put it in a LARGE bowl. 3. Add a tub of icing (you can use icing from scratch as well but the tub icing tends to hold things toge...ther better - any flavor icing will work). 4. Squish the frosting into the torn up cake until it is fully incorporated (it will be play-doh consistency). 5. Make balls by hand or by using a small ice cream scooper. 6. Allow cake balls to dry overnight or for several hours.
I put the cake balls in the fridge overnight in a 9x13 pan and then assembled the cones the next day.
Waffle cones from walmart. I used the spray can frosting for the topping & topped with a cherry. I let them sit in the fridge until it was party time to make sure they were good and set.
So simple, but so great. :)
{If I do say so myself.}
Some fun personalized items from Birthday in a Box
looking so grown up!


some fun items from a favorite, Shop Sweet Lulu

doing her smash cake was so fun!
yes, she thoroughly enjoyed it!
so sweet!








Thanks Studio S Photography!

Thursday, February 16

a few snapshots of the birthday fun...............

We had a fun time on Saturday celebrating Graham's 3rd and Eden's 1st birthday!
We had decided to do them together and go with the age/friend guideline.
So Graham got to invite 3 of his friends. Conveniently, one of them had a baby sister who is Eden's little friend, thus her +1. =)
I was so hoping for the kids to be able to go sledding, but we've had very little snow this winter. However, it ended up snowing for much of Friday & Saturday ~ perfect timing!
We went with an ice cream cone theme with bright blue & pink for colors.

This is quite hilarious because it looks like G is wiping away tears (of joy?) during our happy birthday rendition.....but I believe he was just caught in a funny moment!

I made cake balls, topped them with frosting & a cherry.
The kids kept asking when we were going to open this "present"!


excitement!
 Who's standing on a chair....again!

Mike Mulligan & the Steam Shovel - such a fun book!

Zephyr wasn't quire sure what to think of these moves of Eden...but he was sweet!


pink toes!



A couple of months ago, a local photographer had contacted me about doing some promoting for her and offered to do a photo shoot for our family. I immediately thought of the upcoming birthday party and how great it would be to have some nice photos of that.
Hopefully I can post some more when they're done.....but go here to see some of the great pics she took!

Tuesday, February 14

Valentine's Day then ~ Valentine's Day now

Just 2 carefree, fresh-faced kids.
Valentine's Day ~ 9 years ago
wow, this makes us look old now. =)

Tonight's Valentine's dinner was spent listening to a certain toddler complain about how much he disliked eating by candlelight.
Yes, we heard you the first 6 times you mentioned it. :o
-
But good news: date night is tomorrow night!
-
We did have some sweet moments today.....and by sweet I mean that Graham had eaten all 3 of his little heart box of chocolates by 10 am.
{but this was a pretty sweet moment too. xoxo.}
 {and containing the wild ones while mommy cooked dinner}
 pretty in pink.................
 I found a card that said,
I love how these moments turn into our memories.
So true.
Love you, babe.

Friday, February 10

our sweet baby girl turns one!

Could it be one year ago today, that I walked the 4 blocks to the hospital just to check out "some funny feelings"................not really believing I'd be holding Eden Hope by that night!
Though there were days when this year felt very long..............overall this year zipped right by. whew.
A few highlights from her first year:
She flew in her first airplane.
Saw the Atlantic ocean.
Drove through 10 States. 
Moved to a new home.
Learned to eat, crawl, & walk.
*
This girl loves my phone.
Can you see me over here doing my happy dance???
Well, that's because baby girl is weaned!
I never thought I would be one who nursed for a full year and was present for every.single.feeding!
But that's how the cards rolled for this one.
Part of me was very sad to be done, but the thought of being able to take a weekend getaway gets my happy feet going again. =)
This is a bad picture, but shows how snuggly she can be.
We love her hugs! My favorite is when I am squatting down and she comes up behind me, giggles and hugs my back. So sweet!
Oh that belly!
 
She goes down between 6:30-7 and wakes around 7:15.
Poor bunny is having a rough night. :)
The girl drama is already starting to come out.
If Graham bumps her, she bursts into tears and comes running to me. Oh brother!
Graham's new favorite game is hide-n-seek with her. We hide and (naturally) she comes looking for us. He thinks it's the best thing. :)
I love the times when they are playing together and they start doing belly laughs!
Most of the time she is our happy girl. Especially when we're around people - she turns on her charm. She does have her fussy times though.
2 top teeth, 2 bottom. And 2 more on the top are about to pop thru!


Climb, climb and climb some more.
Whatever she can find to climb on, there she goes!
She found if the footstool is pushed against the chair, she can climb into that.
Sweet victory. :)
Daddy..........of course. :)
She is starting to enjoy reading books more & more.
She's a good eater.
Her morning nap has been getting shorter, less than an hour at least this past week.
I am trying to get her to stretch her afternoon nap longer. She was going 2 hours and recently she's been going just over an hour. Which then means she wants/needs another nap around 4-5. I would like to get past the 3 naps a day!
But she was also sick this week and cutting teeth, so next week might be different. :)
When she touches something she's not supposed to, she immediately starts shaking her head NO. Not that this stops her from said action. But she definitely is learning. :)
Then there's this................
She still love, love, loves to play peekaboo.
I like getting to the one year mark! It will be so fun to see her learn & grow this year now that she can explore on her own. Can't wait for those warm days to get back to playing outside!
Her new favorite perch is looking out the window!
Oh Eden Hope,
You are a sweet girl and a gift to our home.
We love your giggles and cuddles.
We love seeing you learn so many new things at this stage.
We can't wait to see how more of your personality comes out this year.
We're also anxious to see some hair. =)
Happy First Birthday, baby girl!