A Blankie for E and A Bag for O

Since all Halloween costume worry was out of the way last night I could not resist making a blankie for Ethan. Have had some pasted down flannel clown fabric and thought it was time to put it to use:) I used a soft (and rather stretchy) white terry cloth fabric for the other side. To add a little color I appliqued clown fabric circles (3 different sizes) to each corner on the terry cloth side. I rounded off the corners with a bowl and placed 5 pieces of ribbon on each corner (for chewing purposes:) We have spent all today exploring our new blankie and he loves it!

Exploring Ribbons!

Chewing on Ribbons:)

Happy Circles!

Pretty Ribbons:)

I think it looks like a funny face:)

Enjoying his blankie and toys.

Did I forget to mention that the clowns are on skateboards!?! This got Orion wanting something made from the material as well, so... I made him a reversible trick or treat bag. He loves it as well:)

PS~ I finished my Halloween Apron today also! A little late I know but the kids costumes come first. I made it revesible so I'll still get use out of it:) I will post pictures with the kids costumes.

BOO... HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

Pumpkin Pickin'

On Sunday we finally decided that it was time to get our pumpkins! Orion had a joyous time pushing around the wagon and getting to pick out his pumpkin ALL by himself!

He loves his little brother!

Ethan enjoyed the experience as well but was still rather interested in eating grass and hay! All in all we ended up with three great pumpkins to carve! The biggest is Orion's, Mommy and Daddy have a mid-sized one, and Ethan of course has the baby pumpkin:)

Yummy Hay!
So cute:)
Say Pumpkin!
Our three pumpkins...
Daddy & Ethan
Mommy & the boys... rare photo:)
The whole family... these are the first shots I have gotten of ALL 4 of us together! I can't believe it has taken me sooooo long.

Later that night we sat down on the kitchen floor, came up with our designs and then cleaned out our pumpkins. We saved our seeds to make Roasted Pumpkin Seeds later:)

I did Ethan's pumpkin, poor guy was asleep, I came up with a cute little ghost.

Orion created his own Vampire Jack-o-Lantern! Ken traced his design and cut it out for him.

He is so proud:)

Rare photo of Mommy & Daddy

It was a great family day:)

Say Mama:)

Ethan has spoken his first word! And yes it was Mama:) Last Thursday on the 23rd we were out for a distracting evening walk, from teething. Ethan was jabbering away and there it was Mama. It melted my heart in a moment. Orion was able to hear him and Ken a few days later. But now he has gotten the hang of it and says it several times throughout the day. Sometimes at me and sometimes just to be talking. I will say that it is harder to resist picking him up now when he is calling for me:) I can't believe how fast it is all happening! Sometimes I wish I could keep them small forever:)

Here is photo of Ethan & me about a month ago... it is amazing how much he has changed in a month!

Apron Attitude!

WARNING: POST WITH PLENTY OF PICTURES!!!!! Last week for some reason ended up being pretty much dedicated to trying apron patterns. I was inspired by some beautiful like mother like daughter fabric that I found! Since I myself do not have a daughter, I instantly thought of matching aprons for Jillian and Lilly:)

So off I went scouring the Internet for just the right apron pattern for them both, and lucky enough I found some. Both patterns were a guide for me, I tweaked each one to fit my needs.

Lilly's was a one sided apron pattern that I turned into a reversible apron. I thought it would be nice if they could match when they wanted and have a side all their own when they wanted. Pattern can be found here. I did not tweak this one really, just decided to make it reversible. Found a cute Fairy Ballerina Princess fabric that was too adorable to pass up.

Jillian's pattern was already reversible, there were just a few things I didn't like so I changed them. First thing I changed was the tie at the top of apron, I also constructed the waistband differently, and did not make it as long. The neck strap I extended to the side ends of bodice, also shortened the ruffle, and I lengthened the apron as well. Pattern I used as guide can be found here. I found a very cute circle pattern fabric that I paired with the like mother like daughter fabric. One side has the mother daughter fabric as the main pieces with circle fabric trim and the other side is reversed.

Inspired by these aprons I wanted to make my son, Orion, and Jillian's son, Andrew, semi-matching aprons. So I came up with my own Kids Reversible Butcher's Apron pattern. And they turned out great! Orion has really enjoyed his. He loves the fact that he gets to keep something Mommies made, because I am always giving them away, so it was special:)

Orion's Apron

Batman

Green Side

Andrew's Apron

Crazy Cars

Mad Scientist Side

I also forgot that the first apron I made was for myself... a Reversible Half-Apron from a tutorial found here. PS~ This is a great blog and definitely worth looking at:)

So there is what I was doing last week! Apron Crazy!!! I also finished Orion's Halloween Costume last night and hope to finish Ethan's in the next 2 days. I will post some pictures of them after Halloween.

A little Thank You Note:)

(Photos from Carter Mtn. Orchard '07)

My husband (Ken) and I feel so fortunate to have the most open-hearted and wonderful friends and neighbors, The Myers Family. Tonight they proved me right once again by opening up their home and dinner table to me, Orion, and Ethan (Ken was working). Baked spaghetti was on the menu as well as great conversation, children's laughter, and a sense of comfort in knowing that we have made life long friends:)

Jason Myers is a loving, caring father and a very thoughtful husband I hear:) He knows all Jillian's "love languages" and helps out as much as possible. He works for Channel 8 News doing the weather and traffic. Some days he works early morning (leaves the house before the rooster crows) and some he works at night and even then he comes home between to help with baths and bedtime. Jason also does a side job of broadcasting the weather for one of our local Christian radio stations. He is very involved with church, his kids, tennis, and a wonderful friend to my husband.

The Myers Children...

Andrew, age 5, he is bright and full of life. A great friend and influence for Orion. Smart as a whip and always willing to talk:) I enjoy our little conversations on the porch, today it was all about the Pumpkin Patch, such enthusiasm for life.

Lilly, age 3, she is cute as a button and tough as a boy. She has stolen my heart though because I have no girls and she gives that glimpse into what it might be like. She is an energetic, tutu toting tom boy and I love it.

Luke, age 1, he is a bashful and loving little one. His head down peaking at you from under the brow look gets me every time:) Just learning to give kisses and talk but already keeping up with the big kids. Tonight he said hamburger and I loved it. Can't wait til Ethan is this age because to me it's the best.

What can I say about the woman who makes it all happen... well a lot! Jillian is a super mama handling 3 children all under the age of 5! Her other talents include: homeschooling her oldest and still taking care of two other kids, seamstress (purses, diaper bags, custom clothes, window treatments, and so much more), coordinating play dates for MOPS as well as handling the newsletter, housekeeper, boo boo mender, chef and she is very involved in her church. Not to mention the fact that her house sometimes looks like she has WAY more than just 3 kids:) Because their yard is where ALL the kid-os from the neighborhood congregate. Did I mention that she also is very active with her children... check out their blog, http://myersfamily4.blogspot.com/ and you will SEE what I mean. She is an inspiration and a driving force in my life, whether she knows it or not:)

So thank you not just for dinner tonight but for being such great friends, always willing to give excellent advice, help, or just an ear to bend. We appreciate all that you do and are very grateful that you have been placed in our life.