loving owen {and kate}

christmas teacher gift

2011-12-14T22:03:00.000-06:00

there is a really cute printable out there in blog land from eighteen 25 via skip to my lou.

i photoshopped it a bit to make a christmas version for the sweet teachers who take care of my kids each week.

"wishing you a latte joy this christmas."
i did mine a little different than the original: printed 5x7's at walmart (1 hour photo) & hot glued the coffee sleeve to the print. i didn't have any twine but that would be a super cute addition!

here is my christmas version for you!

chalkboard pantry menu

2011-09-24T15:48:00.002-05:00

there are some cute chalkboard menus all over pinterest.

i love the idea but don't have the wall/counter space in my kitchen. however, i have 2 pantry doors that were perfect for the job.

since these are raised panels, i didn't tape or anything... just went at it with a few coats of chalkboard paint!

a few scrapbook stickers to add some cuteness & frame out the days of the week...

the kids each have their own panel & have had so much fun drawing on the doors.

puppy party- kate is 2!

2011-09-24T15:25:00.000-05:00

i feel really bad. here i am planning kate's 3rd birthday and i haven't even posted about her puppy parties from a year ago! last year we did two small parties... one with friends here in kc and then one a couple weeks after her birthday with family while we were home for thanksgiving.

for her friend party, i did a quick & simple evite & asked guests to bring a donation for the local pet shelter in lieu of gifts. we had just moved into our house 2 weeks prior so it was really an excuse to have a little playdate, show our friends our new place & celebrate kate at the same time :)

i did a little bit of decorating...

we had a great time!

____________________________________

for kate's family party i sent out invitations the old fashioned way. i picked up some plain turquoise notecards, printed them with brown ink & added a couple of embellishments (dog-theme brads from the scrapbooking section of joanns- took off the brad part & hot glued the flat embellishment on the invite).

kate with her gran & cousin lydia

party favors were puppy stickers, a bouncy ball, puppy chow & a handmade t-shirt (inspiration here)

favors for the big dogs.

kate with her great grandma :)

i used an unfrosted chocolate cake for the ears, the top of a cupcake for the muzzle & a flattened starburst candy for the tongue.

the funny thing about all this partying was that kate actually doesn't want anything to do with real dogs or puppies but she can't get enough of stuffed puppy dogs or books, pictures & movies of them :) for more puppy party ideas (some that i used and some i didn't) check out my party board on pinterest.

mario kart wii birthday party

2011-06-10T22:08:00.001-05:00

little man is 5 years old now and waaaaay into the wii :) and especially mario kart. i used bits and pieces of other mario kart parties on the web & came up with this party for owen:

backdrop inspiration

cupcake toppers from amazon

cake inspiration

reversible mario/luigi hats

princess crowns for the little ladies

chain chomp pinata

they filled their wiimote boxes with pinata candy

favors were

cardstock wiimotes {we used hot glue to make them

& left the top open so they could store their pinata candy inside}

homemade mario coloring book

winners medal {dollar tree}

mario kart colored pencils {party city}

super mario fruit snacks {target}

game over sign inspiration

hApPy 5tH BiRtHdAy, oWeN!

end of year teacher gifts

2011-05-16T19:39:00.000-05:00

the last day of "school" (mom's day out) for us is this friday. between my two kids there are 5 teachers plus a school director to give gifts to. this cheesecake in a jar seems like the perfect solution. i'll use the ready to eat cheesecake filling to make it extra easy.

thinking i'll put a little tag on the jar lid that says "thanks for a 'sweet' year". and a little wooden spoon attached with twine. what are you doing for teacher gifts this year?

ribbon easter egg

2011-04-08T09:45:00.001-05:00

this cute little craft is from el hada de papel via the crafty crow. i only had pink, white & green yarn around and since the boy is strongly opposed to being near/using/touching/looking at anything pink i didn't think green & white would make for a very fun easter egg. so the kids chose some ribbon from my enormous stash and made these cute little keepsakes.

it's a little blurry, but they were very proud :)

so it's been awhile...

2011-04-07T21:37:00.000-05:00

my first blog post of 2011.. lol. life got busy & i've not been inspired. but i'm back!
and here's some of what we've been up to around here:

kate's new room went from this:

to this:

owen's room before:

and after:

{he makes his own bed these days & i did not perfect his work for picture sake.

i thought it was a cute testament to true life with this 4 1/2 year old...}

guest room then:

and now:

{i made the roman shade with fabric, glue & mini blinds! tutorial here.}

i'll have a few more rooms to show you soon. but for now i'm going for 2 in a row with a fun Easter craft to show you tomorrow!

merry christmas. 2010.

2010-12-23T12:06:00.002-06:00

diy fabric fall wreath

2010-10-07T16:36:00.001-05:00

my poor front door needed a little fall tlc! this simple wreath will have to do for now... at the end of the month i will be decorating a new front door at our new house! we are feeling so blessed!

this is just a simple grapevine wreath with a few different fabric flowers i made using tutorials from around the web.

orange yoyo

striped frayed flower

red rolled fabric flower

petal pusher

small yellow yoyo w/green button

pumpkin pie chex mix

2010-10-04T16:23:00.000-05:00

doesn't this sound delish?!

my favorite salad

2010-09-23T15:15:00.000-05:00

this is my favorite go-to salad. perfect as a side dish when having company for dinner or as a main dish with my own family. this night i tossed in some cut up grilled chicken and called it dinner. {you could also use chicken nuggets cut into strips or chunks if you're short on time.}

feta raisin salad

butter or romaine lettuce

handful of crumbled feta

handful of raisins

chopped pecans -plain, toasted or sugared

{top with raspberry vinaigrette}

that's it! you could also throw in some thinly sliced red onion and/or cranberry raisins. super easy & so good!

preschool file folder games

2010-08-12T16:57:00.000-05:00

my boy & i start homeschool preschool in a few weeks! the curriculum i am using calls for file folder games & includes directions of 26 games to make on your own. i wasn't too thrilled with the folder game ideas provided so i am substituting with a few of my own creations! dollar tree has a ton of these great preschool workbooks. most are in color & even come with stickers which is my little guy's favorite part!

the first game i made using this book is "color challenge" using the 9 object stickers. don't take them off the backing, just punch them out so they aren't sticky and stay sturdy. cut the page in half & laminate each half (i used contact paper). use double stick tape to press each half onto either side of a file folder and your game is done!

the other game i made from this book is called "shape sort". cut out the shapes on page 1 and laminate. this game uses two pages from the book that are front/back so you will need 2 books or just scan and color print from your computer printer like i did.

your little person will cover up shapes that look most like the object. easy peasy!

add a small envelope to the front of each folder to house the game pieces & write game directions.

another great game that i found on my search is an alphabet sequencing game from lakeshore learning available as a free printable on their website. i'd love to hear your great {& free!} file folder game sources!

ghiradelli seven layer brownie bars

2010-07-19T15:43:00.002-05:00

my standard brownie recipe is a box of ghiradelli brownie mix {under $2 at aldi or walmart} with a half bag of chocolate chips stirred in the batter before baking- the result is amazing! i thought i would make a batch for a picnic this weekend but noticed a recipe on the back of the brownie box for seven layer brownie bars. these are just like the old "magic bars" but using a brownie mix instead of graham cracker crumbs. it was fun to change it up a little bit & they were super easy and much better than plan ol' brownies!

{by the way, they will stick like glue to the pan

so be sure to line the pan with parchment or non-stick foil first!}

seven layer brownie bars

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 box ghiradelli double chocolate brownie mix

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

preheat oven to 350. melt 1 stick of butter in 9x13 pan. sprinkle brownie mix over melted butter. top with coconut, butterscotch chips, chocolate chips & pecans. drizzle with sweetened condensed milk. bake 30 minutes. cool before cutting. makes 24, 2-inch bars.

baseball birthday party

2010-06-17T14:56:00.001-05:00

the day of the party it rained and rained - and rained- but finally stopped about 3:30 and the sun shone for the rest of the day! the ball field was too muddy to use, but the kids were still able to get in a game of baseball in the grass. we had a great time celebrating owen with some of our good friends. here are some pictures from the happy day!

the banner was re-purposed from the cars movie party. i just cut off oliver's name & switched out

the checkered flag pennants for blue felt with baseball stickers.

the menu was simple ball park food- hot dogs, chips, watermelon & pop. i hoped to do fruit kabobs but was short on time and settled for watermelon slices instead. eating out of hamburger baskets (target dollar spot) added some fun!

the birthday boy!

party favors in brown paper sacks:

a box of cracker jacks, mini frisbee, hostess baseball cake, baseball tattoo, a squishy baseball

baseball party inspiration

2010-06-09T07:00:00.002-05:00

somehow in the blink of an eye

this sweet {little} boy:

became this sweet {big} boy:

happy 4th birthday, owen!

he plans to spend the day with a visit to the pool, lots of time playing his new diego wii game, and dinner at t-rex cafe. sounds like the perfect way to spend #4 to me!

last weekend was a family party in wichita but this saturday is a party with friends in our hometown near kansas city. owen requested a baseball birthday party & i've had a great time planning. i've gathered lots of ideas and thought i would share some of my favorites with you:

baseball cake balls: creative party place, cotton candy cones: amy atlas, hostess baseball cupcakes,

baseball invitation: etsy, table scape: swanky tables, ball park menu: britssy, cake: 2bluedogs,

goodie bags: inchmark, baseball party: the sweetest occasion, party decor: couture parties

first pitch is at 5:30 on saturday. i'll be sure to share the highlights with you when the game is over! :)

cars movie birthday party

2010-06-08T16:48:00.004-05:00

last weekend was our annual celebration of owen & oliver on their birthday! {you can see birthday #3 here.} this year both of the boys are really into characters from the disney cars movie: tow mater for oliver & dinoco for owen. we didn't want to get too crazy with the cars theme so my sister-in-law alli & i mostly played off of the colors of the cars movie characters & a sandy color for radiator springs- a town in the desert where most of the movie takes place.

we went with an evite again this year. i added a recent pic of the two boys and little pictures of mater & dinoco to tie in the theme.

trying to get away from the usual hot dog/hamburger routine at an outdoor party, alli came up with a great idea for a gourmet taco bar. we served flour tortillas & corn taco shells, shredded chicken & carne asada with the usual fixings of shredded cheese, diced tomato, shredded lettuce and sour cream. also on the menu were black beans, refried beans, chips, salsa, guacamole & fruit cups.

the birthday banner was made with an iron-on letter set & pennants cut from felt sheets {all from hobby lobby}. line up the pennants & put them thru the sewing machine. easy breezy!

the real star of the show though was the birthday cake! {inspired by this cake} alli made an amazing 3 layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting tinted to look like sand. mater, dinoco and the cactus were made from royal icing using a royal icing transfer technique. milk chocolate rocks added the perfect touch!

man, it's hard to get a good picture of these 2 monkeys! their shirts were made with felt, wonder under & coordinating shirts from wal-mart. i opened up a word document and printed a "4" in all-star font, size 550. used it as my pattern to cut out 4's from the leftover banner felt. i used the red & blue felt 4's as my guideline to cut numbers out of checkered flag felt about a quarter or half inch bigger all the way around. i sewed the two 4's together then used wonder under to attach them to the shirts.

happy 4th birthday to two of my favorite little people!

grandpa don's disneyland cinnamon rolls

2010-05-24T16:04:00.001-05:00

my grandpa gave me this recipe years ago. he loved to bake and these were his specialty! supposedly the recipe comes from the pastry chef at the disneyland hotel in anaheim, ca.

disneyland cinnamon rolls

1/2 c warm water

2 pkgs yeast

2 tbsp sugar

1 (3 1/2 oz) pkg vanilla instant pudding

2 cups milk

1/2 c unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp salt

8 cups all purpose flour

1 cup unsalted butter, melted

2 cups brown sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

in small bowl, combine water, yeast and sugar. stir until dissolved. set aside.

in large bowl, mix pudding with milk. add 1/2 c melted butter, eggs, and salt. mix well, then add yeast mixture and blend well. gradually add flour and knead until smooth. place in a large greased bowl. cover & let rise in a warm place until double in size. punch down & let rise again.

roll dough onto a large floured surface into a large rectangle, 34" x 21". pour 1 cup melted butter over the entire surface.

in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar & cinnamon. sprinkle over the top of buttered dough. roll up like a jelly roll. measure every two inches and cut with a knife. pack each roll gently in the palm of your hand to keep it from coming apart while baking. place rolls in a greased baking pan and allow to rise for 20 minutes.

bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

cream cheese frosting

8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp milk

combine all ingredients until smooth. spread on warm rolls.

i made these rolls this week for owen's moms day out teachers. i added a little tag that says "thanks for a 'sweet' year!".

my grandpa don passed away last week. these rolls are pretty great but i know he is having sweeter treats than these with jesus!

we're famous!

2010-05-06T16:06:00.000-05:00

lookie here! {and while you're there be sure to enter for the chance to win a fabulous photo session with my friend amanda!}

just for fun, here's the last time my family was on a blog with more than 10 readers. ;)

that was last year. when megan was just getting started. i was sure i couldn't afford her but asked anyway. she didn't know how good she was and my jaw about hit the floor when i heard her fee. {in a good way}. jay said, "can we lock that in as a lifetime rate?" because we both knew it wouldn't stay that way for long.

so happy for these two blooming photog friends!

post-it pocket knock off

2010-04-28T16:31:00.000-05:00

aren't these new post-it pockets cute?!

yeah, well, cute has it's price because they are also expensive. i saw them at target for $14. seriously?! here is my knock-off version made for $1.04 with scrapbook paper & a sewing machine:

you will need:

2 pieces of 12x12 scrapbook paper

paper cutter

x-acto knife

ruler

double sided tape

cut scrapbook paper into two 9.5" x 6" rectangles

using an x-acto knife, cut a triangle starting 1.5" from the top and 3/4" from each side. this will be the opening for your bills or receipts.

using a sewing machine, sew around this triangle. just for pretty :)
(if you don't sew, just skip this step)

now add your backing paper and stitch 1/4" all the way around the rectangle.
(if you don't sew, use double sided tape instead.)

a little double sided tape on the back and it is ready to stick to the fridge.

it has a way of making my bills look so much prettier!

cheesecake strawberries

2010-04-26T16:32:00.001-05:00

a friend brought these to a get together last summer and i thought they were delish!

she shared the recipe with me and now i am sharing it with you:

strawberries

& this goodness:

hull the strawberries & slice an X in the top so that the strawberry opens just a bit

add the filling to a piping bag (i used a 21 cake tip) and fill up those berries!

{i've also substituted a brick of softened cream cheese mixed with cool-whip in place of the ready-to-eat filling}

enjoy!

sandwich bag easter carrots

2010-04-01T23:05:00.004-05:00

so tomorrow is owen's easter party at moms-day-out. and in true kelli fashion {read procrastinator} that makes tonight the perfect time to whip up a special treat for the little monkey & his classmates! i thought these little easter carrot treats were super cute and love that they are candy-free.

but those cake decorating bags are a little pricey so i came up with a way to make them out of sandwich bags & curling ribbon.

here's the how-to:
cut or tear the fold of a fold lock top sandwich bag.
fold the bag into a triangle with the opening at the top.
add a piece of scotch tape.

now your cone shaped sandwich baggie is ready to fill!
add a twist tie and green curling ribbon to finish off the carrot.

happy easter!

He is not here;

He has risen,

just as He said.

matthew 28:6

photo session

2010-04-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

amanda and i met 5 years ago when we worked at the same elementary school. i moved to california for a couple of years and we didn't keep in touch. last summer in kansas city i saw her out for a stroll in my neighborhood. a little catch up revealed that we live 2 blocks from each other-- 25 miles from where we first lived and worked all those years ago. i love it when God does fun stuff like that :)

this chick is soaring with her business & some amazing photography skills. with one "pretty please" she came to us for an easter photo session. lucky us! look what she did this time:

check it out for yourself. and don't forget to book a session while you are there!

princess castle cake

2010-04-01T21:46:00.002-05:00

this sweet little friend turned 3 on saturday and we celebrated with princess party!

all the little princes & princesses {and some queen mommas too} feasted on this pretty cake that i made.

cake cones covered in strawberry frosting
upside down sugar cones frosted & rolled in pink sugar
pink mini-marshmallow castle details
chocolate frosting door
pink strawberry frosting heart windows
a sweet little J flag in honor of the birthday girl

no more foil covered cake boards. use a fun wrapping paper instead!

margarita cake

2010-03-23T22:54:00.000-05:00

we celebrated the birthday of a sweet friend last weekend with margaritas & a margarita cake. even though it didn't rise much, this 2-layer cake was still so moist and delish. i added some green colored sugar and limes to make it extra pretty! {if you don't have colored sugar on hand just make your own... it's super easy. put 1 cup of sugar in a tupperware or jar with a tight lid. add 2 drops food coloring and shake it up like crazy for a minute. add more drops if the color is too light.}

margarita cake

1 box white cake mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

10 oz can margarita mix, thawed

1 tsp lime zest

mix all ingredients together. bake in 9 inch cake pans at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes.

pbk hack: wooden ruler growth chart

2010-03-10T16:42:00.004-06:00

i love this growth chart from pbk.

what i don't love is that it is really hard to find {and i know myself well enough to know that even if i could get a hold of one i wouldn't like the price!}, so i made my own!

i had jay pick up a big pretty board at the hardware store for me. that sweet guy even sanded and stained a clear coat on the board for me! then i laid out a measuring tape and marked lines for the inches and feet. i didn't want my little guy to outgrow his growth chart {so hard to believe that someday he will be that tall!} but my board is 1' x 5' so i started my markings at 1 ft 1 inch ended the board at 6 ft 1 inch.

i really wanted the numbers to duplicate an old wooden ruler as much as possible. i even consulted my all-font-knowing sister... but alpha fonts are her forte & she wasn't sure about the numerals. i finally settled on using century font, sized at 150. i didn't trust myself to freehand the numbers so i just printed off #'s 2-6, cut them apart and took to the board with some tracing paper & a pencil.

the last step was to fill in the numbers using the same paint pen i used for my inch marks.

i love that this growth chart will blend well in owen's room no matter what the theme. and i love being able to have a touch of pbk style in his room for so much less!

miss piggy {tails}

2010-02-04T15:49:00.000-06:00

owen says, "can you please take those out so she is a baby?"

guess she looks too much like a big girl to big brother. :)

♥ those baby blues

call me crazy...

2010-01-03T21:44:00.000-06:00

part of my efforts to get organized in twenty ten:

compiling all of my coupons into a spreadsheet to print for my grocery shopping trips. this first input is a doozy but after this i am going to be organized-- shopping knowing what i have and finally using my coupons before they expire!

meeting santa.

2009-12-08T22:35:00.001-06:00

looking at these pictures you would think that i drug him up there by his ear to sit on santa's lap. but i didn't. his thinking was that if he didn't tell santa his christmas wishes that santa won't know what he wants and won't bring him any presents for christmas.

it's not owen's personality to sit on santa's lap so the night before he practiced what he would say with daddy pretending to be santa. owen had fun playing at crown center's crayola christmas land and would even snatch a glance at santa every once in awhile. he cried his way up to santa's lap. santa was very sweet and just kept saying, "don't cry. santa loves you." finally owen calmed down enough to tell him his name & his wish list but he never did look at santa. :) he told santa that he wants a "motorcycle and a game" (a crayola 3D glow dome). thanks to my friend kim for snapping some shots of the tearful event!

a cupcake party

2009-11-29T21:47:00.009-06:00

i saw this super cute idea for a cupcake party (also for a little girl named kate) and knew that that should be the theme for my little kate's party! i found a fabulous roll of black & white damask wrapping paper in the christmas gift wrap section of hobby lobby. i paired the b/w damask with splashes of hot pink and glitter for a fun girly first birthday party.

invite: with envelope made from wrapping paper.(totally copied the wording from the other kate's birthday invites. it was just too cute.)

high chair banner: letters cut from a sheet of pink glittered foam & hot glued to black felt triangles. strung on hot pink cording.

picture banner: pictures of kate from 1 day to 12 months hung on hot pink beaded garland (found in target's christmas section).

smash cake: a large chocolate cupcake frosted with hot pink icing {using a 1M cake tip} on a gorgeous little silver dish i found in my grandma's things earlier in the day. it made a perfect little cupcake stand.

cake table: the birthday cake was made from wilton's giant cupcake pan using this recipe for the frosting (my favorite- tastes great & pipes beautifully!) and this technique for the base of the cake. the cupcake pops are via bakerella (this time i used a oreo/cream cheese mixture instead of cake/frosting) displayed in cute little buckets i found at hobby lobby. somehow i missed getting a picture of the finished table but at party time the punch bowl was filled with a raspberry sherbet & sprite for a pink drink. in the very corner of the picture you can catch a glimpse of the hot pink dinner plates & damask cake plates.

here are some more pictures of our day. it was a sweet little celebration of our sweet baby kate!

one.

2009-11-11T12:17:00.002-06:00

our sweet baby kate is one today

she is joy and light and promise and surprise and laughter and love.

we adore God for choosing us to love and care for her during our time on earth.

happy birthday kate!

one year ago.

2009-11-10T07:30:00.018-06:00

a year ago today was our last day as a family of 3.
our home was filled with the sweet excitement of meeting our new baby girl.

a panda & a dinosaur

2009-11-04T16:33:00.001-06:00

halloween 2009.

a dinosaur in the making...

trying out the scare factor on baby sister.

taking a little sewing break for a bedtime story.

costume time!

at faulkner's ranch for daddy's work party.

corn cannon

gourmet s'mores

it was a happy halloween!

halloween felt flower

2009-10-31T14:49:00.001-05:00

i didn't buy my kids any halloween clothes this year so i made my little doll an accessory this morning to add a little orange to her white & black for halloween.

a sweet little felt peony flower using this quick and easy tutorial. (special thanks to my sister for buying too much felt & blessing me with it!)

i attached it to a pin so i can swap it out between a hat, headband, or clothes. she likes it!

gender neutral baby shower: owl theme

2009-10-28T23:09:00.009-05:00

my sweet sis-in-law is pregnant with baby unruh... coming late november! alli and i hosted a baby shower for april with an owl theme.

pictures of max and april in felt owl frames ($2 martha stewart kit at big lots)

along with the cake our brunch menu was fruit salad, mini muffins, sausage breakfast casserole, and little smokies wrapped in crescent roll

instead of a game we did custom iron-on onesies for the baby. this picture is a little blurry but it says "MAX + APRIL = me". we also had everyone add a little heart iron-on on the bum and write their name on the heart so that when mom and dad are dressing the baby in these cute things, they will know who created each one.(this one is from april's sister... soon to be aunt karen)

onesies and iron-on's can get expensive- especially since we were planning for about 25 shower guests. a couple of months before, i started collecting packages of onesies at joanns and michaels with my weekly 50% off coupons. i also used a coupon at michaels and bought package of iron-on transfer paper for $6. i searched google images to find fun gender-neutral pictures to decorate the onesies. some, like the one here, are just text that i typed in a word document. i suggest using fun & unique fonts. i love collecting fonts and there are some great available online. my favorite fonts always come from dafont.com i printed the images from my home printer onto the special paper and cut them out for shower guests to choose their favorite!

racecar party

2009-10-28T21:38:00.000-05:00

we took a road trip to florida to help caden celebrate his THIRD birthday. it was tons of fun (minus the 16 hours in the car-- each way. just ask kate.)

the birthday boy:

i made his shirt using fabric & wonder under. just iron your fabric to one side of the wonder under. cut out the shape. peel the backing off the other side. iron the shape to your shirt. stitch around the shape and you have a super cute, custom piece!

the details:

a racing pennant from ebay with some letters (all star font) printed off the computer, cut out and taped to the pennant for a birthday banner.

erin picked up some disney cars movie party blowers from walmart. she created her own "happy birthday caden" labels and stuck them over the cars decoration. we peeled high school musical stickers off cheer megaphones from the dollar tree for instant traffic cones.

decorate your own pinata bags-- stickers from oriental trading co

the eats:

my sister made this awesome race track cake. the race track and checkerboard pattern on the side are fondant. the grass is a delicious buttercream frosting tinted green and piped with a grass cake tip.

stop light jell-o jigglers - chocolate car pretzel rods - street scene table scape

happy birthday sweet caden!

kate right now.

2009-10-28T15:51:00.032-05:00

kate is 11 months old -- really 11 1/2 now-- just 2 more weeks and she is a 1 year old!

these are things i want to remember about kate right now:
- she is cruising around everything. she loves being on her feet and is almost ready to walk!
- she loves to eat! her feet start kicking when she gets in her high chair b/c she knows it is chow time! she eats left handed. she has never refused a food, though wasn't too crazy about spinach the one time she had it. usually she shovels food in faster than i can cut it up for her. she signs "more" but hasn't ever signed "all done" b/c she never is!
-she adores being outside. especially now that fall is here and there are leaves on the ground to play in. she never tries to eat them, but will hold and throw them.
-she loves looking at books and being read to.
-she loves music. especially country :) if she likes a song on the radio she will wave her hands up and down to the beat.

-she will climb up and down the stairs by herself.
-she says "momma", "bye" and waves. whenever i open the garage door she starts waving and saying "bye bye bye"
-she is very funny! we can tell she is going to be silly just like owen. almost every day she crawls around with a toy in each hand and one in her mouth.
-she l.o.v.e.s playing peekaboo. she played by herself at a friends house, taking a bucket on and off her head.
-she loves playing with big brother and adores his attention. he loves to hold her hands and help her practice walking.
-she has 4 teeth with 2 on the way. her 2 bottom teeth came in at 8 and 8 1/2 months. in the last couple of weeks she got 2 more teeth- lateral incisors- the teeth on either side of where her top front teeth will be. it looks like little fangs. just in time for halloween! we even carved our pumpkin with "kate teeth" this year:

paper lantern sports balls

2009-09-26T16:31:00.004-05:00

when we moved owen to a big boy room last fall, i used a lot of ideas from rate my space to decorate his sports themed room. i came across a space with this great sports ball light fixture made from paper lanterns. i couldn't get my hands on the only one i could find, made by home interiors, so i made my own!

i ordered 4 lanterns to make the 4 sports balls-
large orange round: basketball
large brown oval: football
large white round: soccer ball
small white round: baseball

jay helped me pencil & tape the designs off w/masking tape, then i just took a paint pen to each one to turn them into sports balls! we hooked them up using a triple socket cord kit (the baseball does not have a light) and staggered the heights from the ceiling. the light is so fun & different & owen loves them as much as we do!

an overnight visit

2009-09-12T10:19:00.004-05:00

Owen went for an overnight visit (all by himself!) to Grandpa Del & Gran's house. I was doing okay but then lost it- you'll see why! He's just so cute!

My mom and dad came to visit for Labor Day and graciously dropped Owen off at the farm on their way home. We met in Emporia the next day to exchange the precious cargo. :) Owen had a great time and has great memories from his visit with Grandpa Del & Gran!

Mom's Day Out

2009-09-12T09:52:00.006-05:00

First Day of Mom's Day Out
Sept 5, 2009

Owen's "school" started this week. He goes one day a week from 9:30-2:30. This is the same Mom's Day Out that he went to last year, just a different class. His class gets to go to music, make a craft, play outside and nap on a cot. Last year he would say he wanted to go to school and be fine until we got to his room. This year he goes right in and starts playing- big improvement! He especially loves the play food and kitchen. His cousin (really a second cousin, once removed but we just keep it simple and call her "cousin" :)) Alicia is also in his class. They are great friends. Owen's teachers this year are Ms. Joan and Ms. Wink. We think he is going to have a great year!

Owen's teacher told him he could put on
his own name tag. He chose the inside of
his leg. Gotta love 3 year olds.

Just for fun, here is a picture of him on his first day last year. I peek in his classroom from last year and those kids look like babies!

First Day of Mom's Day Out
August 2008

nine months

2009-08-21T15:38:00.016-05:00

Just for fun~
9 Months: Owen (March 2007) & Kate (August 2009)


Owen:             Kate:
22 lbs            20 lbs, 10 oz

30" long          27 3/4" long

17 3/4" head      17 1/4" head

1 tooth           2 teeth

sitting           crawling/climbing/pulling up

waves             flails arms when she's excited

had 1st haircut   getting curls behind her ears

Letter "O" Birthday Party

2009-07-09T21:12:00.001-05:00

Owen and his cousin Oliver are just 3 days apart so we celebrated their 3rd birthdays together in June with an "O" party! Alli and I love using evite.com for invitations. It's easy, free and we almost always get an rsvp from everyone. I changed the main image to a personal photo which was actually a .jpg of a scrapbook page I created special for the occasion.

We had so much fun being creative with the theme and tried to carry it through the party as much as possible. Our menu was all "O" shaped (round foods):

hamburgers (and hot dogs for the kiddos), wagon wheel pasta salad, tator tots, veggies, "O" jello jigglers.

for dessert was birthday cake, of course, and dippin dot ice cream!

The centerpieces were created around the lime green sixlet candies. When I saw them in the party aisle of super walmart and knew I had to find a way to use them!

I painted a terra cotta saucer navy blue and used a lime green paint pen to write "happy birthday owen" and "happy birthday oliver" around the rim. The collage was made in PSE with the letter "o" from crazy pooch font. I made two separate collages-- one for each side of the round lime green cardstock used as a border. The collage sticks right in the dish of candies for a fun centerpiece!

Alli made a train cake for Oliver and I made a racetrack cake for Owen. Alli and I both share a love of decorating cakes and it was so fun for each of us to make a cake that reflected the boys' personalities and interests!

And here are the birthday boys with their cakes. Thanks to Oliver's Grammy for the matching shirts!

Happy Birthday, Owen!