Handmade Ornaments 2011

One of our holiday traditions is participating in a handmade ornament swap.  We've done it the last several years.  I finally finished all of my ornaments today and took some pictures.

The first ornament is a wreath made out of twisted newspaper and hot glue.  I then painted it green and added the bow and string for hanging.  

 My second ornament is an owl made out of coffee cozies, hot glue (again), beads (for the eyes), and a string for hanging.  The joke is that I justify my Starbucks addiction by re-purposing the coffee cozies.  I've used them the last two years in my ornaments.

Rocking Out in the Playroom

Lexi got this rocking giraffe for Christmas when she was one.  I'm so glad we never got rid of it because Jayvan already loves it.  He's already started holding on to the handles himself.  I love the concentration

Lexi has her own version of rocking out on a lazy Saturday morning.  Rock on sista!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful day full of food, family, and thankfulness.  Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Decking the Halls

This year, we bought a new artificial Christmas tree.  The box was so heavy that Matt did not want to carry it down to the basement and then carry it back up a few days later.  So, we decided to do something I've never done before.  We put the tree up before Thanksgiving.  Lexi loved the big box that the tree came in.

 Jayvan watched us decorate the tree from the comfort of his bouncy seat.

 Lexi remembered so many of the ornaments this year.  I love to live through her excitement and joy.  Sadly, she broke one of her favorite ornaments, but we are planning to recreate it one of these days.

Matt and Lexi placed the star on top and our tree was finished.  It is beautiful if I do say so myself.

We also had lights put on the house this year.  We think we need some wreaths as well, but I think it looks great anyway.

Happy Birthday To Me

Two of the best gifts God could ever give me:

Fritz's on a Saturday Afternoon

Matt bought a groupon for Fritz's that we needed to use, so we headed out for lunch. 

Lexi loves the little conductor hats.

 Jayvan loves his little bear.

 Fun times were had by all.

Dinner with Extended Family

Aunt Nancy helped organized a family dinner.  For those who don't know, Matt's mom (Pat) passed away over 13 years ago (before I met him) and Nancy is Pat's sister.  Charlie is Pat and Nancy's dad.  So, Jayvan got to meet some extended family from Matt's side.

Aunt Sarah and Jade of course had to have their time with Jayvan snuggles.

 Lexi snapped this picture of me.

 Here are Sarah, Jade, and Grandpa Charlie.

 Jayvan meeting Great Aunt Nancy.

 I think he liked her hat.  Then he got to meet Great Grandpa Charlie.

 Zac was his normal adorable self.

Jayvan ended the night with some Papa Bo time.

Operation Christmas Child Boxes

We packed up a couple boxes for Operation Christmas Child. You can learn more about the program here: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

A Couple Lexi-isms

Earlier today Lexi was working on crafts and I watched her cut a string off of one of her projects.  She says, "Mom can you tie this back on.  It fell off."

I say, "It didn't fall off.  I watched you cut it off."

Her blunt reply was, "Well yeah.  It fell after I cut it."



At dinner, I started singing the little Spanish song that Lexi learned at school.

"Cabeza, ojos, nariz, y boca.  Nariz y boca. . . "


She interrupts me, "No Mom.  It's POLKA.  Like you're doing the polka with someone."


"I think it is actually boca."


"No, it's polka."


"I'm pretty sure it's boca."


"Well, I'm REALLY sure it's polka."


OK, then.

Four month well check

18 lb 5oz
25.4 inches

Four Months

Our little man is four months old (as of Sunday).  It's time to take note of some of the details of your personality.

You jabber so much when you are in the mood.  We joke that you are telling us stories. I wish I could interpret what you are actually saying.

You smile so much lately, however you refuse to smile for the camera.  I wouldn't blame people for not believing me about how often you smile unless they see you in person.  On this day, I took so many pictures and you smiled in between each photo, but you wouldn't let me capture one.

 This look says, "Nope, not gonna do it!"

 Smile or no smile, you are still the most precious boy I know.  Look at all of that curly hair.

 I took this photo on Sunday when you were officially four months old.  Again, no smile.

 You have started sitting up more on your own, but you still fatigue out after a little while.  You look a little surprised with your accomplishment here.

 You love to move and be outside.  The weather is getting colder and you aren't a big fan of that.

 You love the dogs.  They are like moving toys for you.  While this is not the best picture, I had to post it because I actually captured a smile! I guess Roxi distracted you enough so you forgot to put your grumpy face on for the camera.

One thing that definitely does not make you smile is your daddy between 7-9 pm.  For whatever reason, that is Mommy time.  I'll take it, but you need to start easing up on Daddy a little bit.  I think you're starting to hurt his feelings.  One thing that doesn't make me smile is when you decide it is party time at 2 am.  

Sometimes when you are sleeping, you keep your eyes slightly open.  I'll be honest.  It creeps me out.  You can stop that already.

We love you so much little man.  You bring us so much happiness and joy.

50's Party

To celebrate the 50th day of school, Lexi's class had a 50's party.  Matt, Jayvan and I came to help with the party.  To be honest, Jayvan wasn't much help.  

Lexi played some bingo.

 I helped make the root beer floats and supervise some coloring.  Lexi didn't care for the floats, but the girl can color with the best of them.

 Matt helped cut out the poodles for the kids to decorate.  He looked really excited about it.

 The kids also made little gumball machines.  Toward the end of the party, I took a picture of Lexi with her mask.  This had absolutely nothing to do with the 50's party, except that I took the picture at the party.

Fall Inspiration

On our walk home from school, Lexi noticed all of the beautiful Fall leaves along the way.  She pick up several on our short journey.  When we got home, we did some crayon leaf rubbings and made them into a garland for our mantle.