Hanley's shirt

This was a fun and interesting project...took me a little longer than I would have liked. I bought the shirt at the thrift store. As I was cutting it into pieces- I noticed, "Hanely" written in permanent marker on the inside button strip. Thank you, Hanley, for donating your wear so I could make new wear.For a link to this AWESOME blog and a free tutorial on how to make this dress go HERE

WHY?

Why is it that to sell a house...you do all sorts of 'projects' to make it look better, homier, more inviting, livable, smelling good etc....only to sell it to someone else to enjoy all the improvements!?
Why didn't we do this all along or right when we moved in; so WE could enjoy it and be proud home owners.! Silly, silly....silly. p.s. I HATE showing the home...how many times do I have to deep clean/polish to the max - to get this thing sold! Kids make it especially hard to KEEP clean, there is little toys everywhere, not to mention kid grime - i.e. sticky floors, dried smashed food in the kitchen, dirty handprints on the doors and walls..... I could never do house cleaning for a living.

oh wait, I do. Everyday.

We've got a 5 year old on our hands!

What would I do without an older sibling to help with this little chunkers.

Just call her the 'get the baby to sleep' pro...

Rube's got spoiled with lots of celebrations this year for her birthday. One with my family and ALL her little cousins.

On her 'actual' birthday.....for breakfast in bed she wanted 'monkey bread and grapefruit. What a combo!

Then the night of her big day, Grandma Diane flew in from Cali and spent several days with us!

That next morning we had a 'friend party' (her first) at none other than- Mckee D's! Oh ya, easy planning, the kids had a blast, everyone showed up (11 kids!) and note to self - they are going to be too busy playing to worry about trying to feed everyone happy meals...ah well.

Her friend Xander (in the middle) is only 6 months older than she. This is what happens when two tall people fall in love and Ruby is what happens when two short people fall in love....quite opposites!

Grandma Diane toughed out the craziness at McDonalds...so glad to have her there. It was sooo great to have the visit! Thanks, we love you...

And to top it off .... can you get over this 'can-can' skirt she made for Rube's birthday!?... no, knitting is NOT her only talent apparently.! To buy the pattern for this you can go here . This blog is AMAZING and has so many crafty things to make...

It was all about tinkerbell this year! and last but not least....Grandpa Lee and Merry came to celebrate days later... so literally this b-day thing was stretched to it's capacity. And tinkerbell now reigns over our household...Side note....a silly attempt at Easter pictures...notice everyone leaning down and in to keep up with Charlie's slumpiness. this one is a wee bit better...

The Blessing of our little Blessing

We blessed our sweet Charlie today. If it wasn't such a special thing I would post a copy of the blessing Marty gave, it was beautiful. Tiffany (my sis) wrote it all down during the prayer for us to have a copy of it verbatim. He did such a wonderful job. What a blessing it is to have the gospel and especially the priesthood.My ParentsMarty's Dad My friend helped my sew this little outfit for his special day...thanks Sarah! I was scared it wouldn't fit him- I made it about 2 weeks ago - so I had him on a special diet....and it fit perfect!p.s. we really missed you today Diane...

2 MONTHS & pudging

My little Carlito is 2 months old! He weighed in today at 13 and 1/2 pounds! Yay. What a little chunkers. 90th % in weight and 60th % in height...we have never known a kid to be on the charts before. We'll see if it lasts!

This is what I sing to him as he eats... Chug it down, chug it down ...WAAAYY down!I figured that 8 weeks is kind of a magic number in newbornhood. It is about when they start sleeping through the night, when they start smiling and cooing, when they are 'less' gassy, when they respond to your face and voice and when they can hold their heads up pretty well on their own....AND you as a mom start to feel just a wee bit more like yourself and a bit more likeable.! Okay my jeans aren't fitting just right yet but hey it's my third kid, right? I'm entitled to a little extra time to get in shape. ha ha

Traditional vs. Non-traditional

So here are a few things that have become tradition in our household and some that are 1st timers.

Liam gets his 1st 'real' haircut. We buzzed it last summer but wanted to keep some hair on his head until the heat comes back again. He was terrified at the salon (well dollar cuts-if you call that a salon) His only consolation and the method of finally getting him to sit still and allow her to cut was watching his daddy two chairs down having the same thing done to his head. I wish I'd gotten a pic of him in the chair- it was hilarious ...there was quite the pile-up on the floor when she was finished!

BEFORE

AFTER

Mother-in-law Diane is the ultimate knitter as you may remember. So it's become tradition to show them off when we receive them. Here they are on Valentines Day. Ruby sportin' the leggings and Liam the sweater.

This isn't Charlie on Valentines Day , but he did wear this hat she knitted to church and looked just as cute in it.The good 'ol tradition of Ruby and Daddy building a snowman....so glad I don't have to take part in that if I don't want to. They do so a good job on their own.Marty always does something sweet on Valentines...but this year he got creative and 'drew' a bath for me...with hot chocolate, rose petals, bubbles and candlelight and put the kids down so I could enjoy a long nice bath. Don't mind the peeling paint on our tub...we tried to 're-bath' ourselves and it didn't last very long. This was a bath just for me. Our tub doesn't really fit two comfortably... a jetted tub is a 'next house MUST'.Belgian Waffles! A new tradition on Valentines....we got a deluxe belgian maker that "makes perfect waffles everytime" for christmas from my parents. And it's so fun to use! Real whip cream and blueberries to top it off. Yum.

Grandpa time always brings a smile to these kids' faces!

A nice peaceful moment for Charles. Starting to become more 'traditional' but this is not the norm ....yet. It's so nice when it happens though!

Charlie's Sonnet

Milk, milk it's not a fruit -but the more I drink the more I toot
The more I toot the more I cry -the more I cry -the volume gets high
It sends my mommy's nerves on end and I don't know how to make amends
I guess the medicine don't help -cuz even though it's used I still yelp
It's really hard to take a good nap, cuz I wake up so often feeling like crap
I know this gas will pass in time- and I know the fault is definitely not mine
I want my family to be calm again, without the daily screaming trends
My mommy still loves me I know she does- and this isn't all happening- just because
It teaches her patience and love beyond measure and once this has passed I'll be such a pleasure
Soon enough I will be over THIS and life again will be - just bliss.

Hang in there Mom, Hang in there Charlie ....