Baby Boy

Today I invited myself over to the home of our small group leaders so that I could meet their son, Josiah. Josiah was born last week and looks just like his big brother. I got to hold him and it was wonderful.

Our friend Lisa joined us and brought Lamar's donuts. Lamar's is a staple in KC and while I don't know if they are all that different from Dunkin' Donuts - they are bigger so I guess I'd say that makes them better. They were delicious and I could barely stop myself from having just one.

I managed to get a few snaps of Josiah and Katie had the perfect backdrop for the photos. Katie's style is eclectic and she has so many cool pieces of furniture in her house. I never noticed this piece even though it's in a main room. I pulled all the coats off and set up a little spot for the baby boy.

Allison enjoyed snooping through Katie's house. Allison has learned how to unlock and open doors so while we were sitting in the living room I suddenly looked up and saw her in Katie's (fenced) backyard.

This new skill has also made the time we spend playing in the car more interesting. She nearly fell out the passenger side door (I was sitting on the driver's side) this afternoon. She caught herself, slid onto the floor but split her lip on the open glove compartment box.

It was another successful day of parenting.

Winning Streak

I've written on the blog that in the past few months I've won several contests. I've won books, concert tickets, theater tickets, etc. I've been on a lucky streak.

This past week I won 3 contest. THREE. I won 2 tickets to see the Mexico National Team play Paraguay at Arrowhead Stadium, I won tickets for a Trolley Tour through the "First Friday" downtown, and I won a signed book about Jazz by a local author.

I was really excited about the soccer/futbol game but then I found out that I had to be at the stadium 1-3 hours before the game even started to pick up the tickets! Plus, Nathan works so I would have to find a guest, plus a babysitter! I'm also facing the same problem for First Friday. When I signed up for the contest I completely forgot about Nathan working night's and since both events start around Allison's bedtime, I can't take her to someone else's house.

So here is the item that I can actually enjoy. I'm not a jazz fan but I signed up for the contest because I was interested in the local jazz scene (and I never think I'll win).

I went to a local publishing house on Gregory Street to pick up my book. The receptionist handed it to me and this is who was looking back at me.

 I can appreciate what Mr. King was trying to do but the book is bad. The writing is bad, the opinions aren't supported, it's a comical mess. Nathan was with me when I picked up the book and he read me excerpts as we did our morning errands.
Here are some samples (in case you think I'm being too harsh):

Refreshing Sunday

Nathan offered to take Allison to the church nursery today so I could finally be in the service- it's been way too long!

There weren't many volunteers to watch the kids so three guys- Nathan, Brian, and Ryan took over the big room and all the kids got lumped together. Nathan was exhausted by the end of his first shift.

Since I wasn't exhausted from dealing with a sobbing baby, I took Allison out to the car to play after her lunch. She had a great time pretending to drive, then we headed to the backyard where she played in the dirt and rubbed mud in her hair.

 

Felt Flowers

I'm getting excited at how Allison's room is starting to feel like her space. My Shutterfly order came this week - 4 days after I ordered it! This past week Nathan was on the night shift which means that I can't sew/do laundry because it's all in the basement. I needed to find a quiet activity so I started making felt flowers. I've made them as additions to Allison's headbands before and they are really easy.

After I used up so many of my fabric scraps for my Easter bunny, I was inspired to get rid of my felt scraps too. I made flowers in different colors and different styles. Then I cut out a thick piece of carboard in an "A" shape and hot glued the flowers to it.

I love how it turned out (although I wish I had a more specific color scheme) and I immediately hung it in Allison's room.

Easter Party

I had some Easter photo props that I had bought for Allison and since I was going to be setting up the space anyway, I decided to invite the women I meet with on Thursdays to bring their kids for photos. There's usually only three or four of us that go so I thought it would be a casual morning. I made little invites and sent them to all the women and I got a huge response!

Seven women brought their 12 children to my little house! I was really nervous at first because I knew the pictures would have to be done quickly but then I got excited. I was throwing a party. I worked all week at getting all my supplies together, then I got up super early this morning to make muffins, rice crispie squares, and cookies, then once Allison got up, I completely took apart her room to set up 2 photo stations (my friend Melinda brought her camera and I didn't know if we'd work together or separately).

The kids were all well behaved and smiled and did a fantastic job. I wish we could have done some pictures outside but it was too chilly and it was probably a good thing to have the kids contained.

Allison did well while I was working- although she fussed a little when I wouldn't hold her and she ate way too many sweets.

When Allison crashed I cleaned up my mess and started to look through the photos. I wasn't going to take any of Allison today because we were both so tired by the end of party but I took a handful in this cute romper that was a hand-me-down from Scarlett.

 

 

 Everthing about this picture is Allison. She is becoming such a clown and I laugh everytime I look back at this photo. I know she moves her head like that because I do it to her each time I ask, "Do you think you should be doing that?"

Doing What She Likes

I've been reading a couple of books about how to take better pictures of your child. The biggest lesson I've taken away so far is that I should be capturing what she loves because that's what I'll want to remember. Don't get me wrong, she WILL pose for an Easter picture in her dress, but for day to day I shouldn't worry so much about backgrounds, hair styles, or clutter.

We started out the day like usual- except that we did it outside. Allison has a small bowl of (dry) cheerios every morning because she's not ready for a full breakfast until about 8:30am. It was a new box and she loves to rip cardboard so I let her go for it while I sat and drank my coffee.

 

 While we were outside, Allison noticed my car. She loves to play "driver" so I sat in the sunshine (and read my book) beside the car while she puttered inside the car- pressing buttons looking in the mirror, and giving a few honks. She played for over an hour.

 

Allison is starting to copy a lot of what I do. It's the way I do actions to songs, it's the things I say ("whoa whoa whoa") and it's what I do (she loves sunglasses and chap stick). Her obsession with water continues to grow. On Sunday I was putting on makeup (I have to leave makeup in the sink because we have no counterspace) and the phone rang. I went to answer it and then I heard the water running. She had climbed on the toilet, reached over to the sink, turned of the water (ruining all the powder makeups) and attempting to brush her teeth with my toothbrush.

Today I just watched her as she climbed, licked the toothpaste, and turned the water off and on repeatedly (clapping in between each round).

These are just some highlights- this isn't half of what she got into today but it was all pretty harmless and she was happy.

Shutterfly

Shutterfly is an online printing service where you can print everything from prints to books, mouse pads to mugs.

I subscribe to the Joann Fabric newsletter and these past few months there have been tons of freebies for Shutterfly. I got our "Family Portrait" wall calendar for only $7 (shipping) last year so I know the quality is very good. The shipping is a little pricey but when you're not paying anything for the items it works out.

Here is what I ordered

Magnet-  I made one of a recent family photo (Allison loves the magnets on our fridge)

Photo Book- I got a free 20 page book and while that's pretty small, I knew it would be perfect to put all our family portraits from the calendar together. I also added all the behind the scenes pictures and outtakes to fill up the empty pages.

Card- I didn't know what to do with one free card so I printed off Allison's first picture along with her birth statistics. I thought it would be a great decoration for her room.

Print- This is not your average print. It is a 16X20 (poster sized) print. It's huge and normally sells for $18. Nathan laughed when I told him I wanted to print a family picture that large. "Why do we need so many pictures of us in the house? We live here! Let's just look at each other!" I told him that it would be simple and focused on Allison (I'm slowly working on making Allison's room more personal. he finally caved and I took this simple picture (above).

All 4 items were free, but I had to pay $19 for shipping (which is less than one 16X20 print from Walmart). I'm already thinking of the frame possibilities!

Helper

Allison is learning how to help.

She loves to go into the basement with me and help with laundry. Today she climbed into the dryer. Thankfully there isn't a handle or she would have shut herself in there.

Also, as I was making her lunch she began to get anxious and decided she would climb up her high chair herself. I turned around and she was sitting there waiting. I don't know how she did it without tipping it over.

Bubbly

Nathan had today off but he wasn't feeling very well. Allison was having a very grumpy day (the worst she's ever had) so I decided it was best not to make any plans and for us all to stick close to home.

It was another gorgeous day and we all sat in the front yard watching the new neighbors move in across the street. I bought a bubble gun at the Dollar Store yesterday and it works amazingly well (I was prepared to be disappointed). It kept Allison entertained for a few minutes but it kept me entertained for nearly an hour.

 

Allison seemed to be tired all day and she took three very short naps instead of her one long nap- and she seemed to be hungry all day. She was acting so strange (but nothing was wrong) and it was exhausting for both Nathan and I. I never want Allison to be hard to handle but I'm thankful when Nathan is here to see it because then he understands when I'm at my wit's end by the time he gets home.

Here are a few moments when she wasn't crazy- well, except for her outfit.

 

 

Allison is starting to get the "cheese face" that all kids get at some point. It's when they scrunch up their faces, or pull the sides of their mouths tightly towards their ears- anything but a genuine smile. I remember doing family pictures for a family on Saba and their daughter would not give a natural smile. Every photo was marked by the cheese face. The parents were away and would say, "OK honey, show Amanda Mr. Smile." Mr. Smile was a natural smile. It was hilarious and now whenever I try to get Allison to look at me for a photo she gives me this face.

More Easter

Nathan worked nearly 24 hours yesterday (and this morning) so he had the morning off. He also had the afternoon off so that meant a whole day at home.

After a very long week with a very cranky baby I told Nathan I needed to escape for a few hours. I didn't go anywhere too exciting (mainly just groceries and errands) but I wandered around Joann Fabric's for nearly an hour and a half- it was amazing! My friend April called me while I was shopping. She was out running errands because her mom was at her house watching her kids. We could actually talk since we didn't have little hands pulling at us.

I had Nathan's car and since the weather has warmed up I was cruising down the road with all the windows down and the sunroof open.

By the time I got back, Allison was up from her nap and Nathan was ready to hand her over.

After we unpacked the car, I told Nathan and my inspiration for an Easter craft. I love wreaths (I've made 3 in the last few months) and I decided I wanted to make a rabbit wreath. Nathan had some wire clothes hangers from some clothes he had dry cleaned and helped me bend two of the hangers into a rabbit form.

 

 Once I had the form, I went through my fabric bins and pulled out any light fabric scraps- this was the perfect project to clean out the bins! I had no many unusable pieces of fabric that I had been holding onto. I cut them into short strips, then tied them around the entire form- so easy!

 I think it looks great and it's a fun change from a traditional wreath. I would have preferred it to be a little bigger (more definition in the ears) but it looks like a bunny so I'm happy!