Busted!

Shhhhh... don't tell Joah, but Morgan was playing with his trains this morning.




Oh, and Joah's new thing is that he wants to change clothes multiple times a day now... not only that, but he wants to do it himself which can make for some pretty entertaining moments. Yesterday he somehow managed to put his shirt on upside down so the neck hole was around his waist (and he still managed to eventually get both arms in the right places). Even better was when he tried to take it off he got stuck! The poor kid is so skinny his 18 month jeans fall off, even with a cloth diaper on! You can see him pulling them up in the first photo :P

My Little Helper (indoor edition)

Joah loves to help out around the house and I try to encourage it as much as I can, as frustrating as it may be sometimes. Here are a couple things from today - some more helpful than others :P I just got done making up a to do list of sorts for him so hopefully with some visual structure we can get into a better routine before the Holiday's totally throw us out of whack.

"Do dishes, mama!"



Mopping the floor (this really was helpful since he had spilled some juice earlier and it was a little sticky... it was on my to do list for nap time, but the little area he went over was perfect! The rest of the kitchen still needs a once over, but it can wait for another day.) I have found a great, cheap option for the swiffer - just use some cheapo washcloths and attach them like a regular swiffer pad. Give it a little squirt of some no rinse solution (I think what I have is Method from Target, smells great too) and go! I took the top part of the handle off to protect me and Morgan from the wild child.


Watering the plants... this is one thing I have trouble remembering. Not anymore though! I have a feeling they are going to be getting a little drink on a daily basis now! This one in particular is looking pretty pitiful thanks to our now outdoor cat - she liked to try and eat the leaves and if they got even one little nick in them the whole thing would die and fall off. We got it when Joah was born so at least it's still alive! Oh, and the watering can is from the dollar spot at Target. Small price to pay, in my opinion ;)


He wanted to do all of the above - I can only hope he wants to be that helpful as he gets older!

No pics of Morgan this time around... she's teething and has been a pistol so I guess that's why. I'll do better next time, I promise! Ha ha!

Fall is Here

Fall is my favorite time of year... I love the changing leaves, the crisp, cool weather, the soups and stews, the anticipation of the holidays, and so on. Everything about it seems to be warm and cozy :) Yesterday was a nice day so while Morgan was napping Joah and I went out to enjoy the weather (from what I understand the next few days are going to be pretty nasty - cold and rainy). We have a couple large maples out front which seem to take forever to lose all their leaves so we just leave them until they are all down... What's the point in getting them all up if it's going to look the same tomorrow, right? Plus it makes for some fun times for little boys.


Sweeping the leaves off of the slide.


Helping pick up sticks.


Morgan trying cereal for the first time...


She wasn't too sure about it though.


Fall also means our church's Bazaar (every other year). It's this Saturday so we started setting up for it last night. Morgan was just jabbering away! This was her first experience with the walker - I think Joah had more fun with it since he could just push her around.

Morgan's growing up!

Well, Morgan had her first table food this week. She's growing up so fast! I wanted to wait as long as possible before giving her anything since she seems to have quite a few food sensitivities, but she had other plans. She has been grabbing for our forks, plates, and cups for quite some time and all in all making us feel guilty for eating in front of her. I haven't bought any cereal yet, but we had some bananas on hand so I just mashed them up and let her try a little. She had a few "bites" and seemed pleased to have been included. Next came a little water in a sippy cup. She's handling it a lot better than Joah did (not much caughing and sputtering), but I also started him quite a bit sooner so I am sure that makes a pretty big difference overall.





Oh, and our very observant and quick-to-learn son was evidently watching closely when we were cracking peanuts at a band competition last weekend. I am still finding peanut shells in the kitchen! It at least kept him entertained while I did dishes...

Shameless brag post... Quilts!

I have always been into crafts of all sorts, but lately I think I have fine tuned my interests to sewing - quilting more specifically. I made a couple for Kevin in the past - one in high school and then one in college (the first one was a little small for him... when you're 5'4" you don't realize these things!)... anyway, I have picked it up again and started venturing out a little. I started simple and am working my way into more complicated patterns. Here are some I have made over the past few months....

Some Super Sized Nine Patch baby quilts for our church's bazaar in two weeks (there are 5 there... they kind of blend together don't they?)


Morgan's quilt... gave me something to do when I was on partial "bed rest" towards the end. One of Kevin's coworkers has her own embroidery/personalized gift business and put her name on it for us.


Joah's quilt - a Crazy Quilt for a crazy boy! It's somewhat of an ISpy quilt too... there are fish, turtles, butterflies, animals, John Deere tractors (yes, he knows the colors/logo!), colors, shapes, etc.


The one I am currently working on. It was originally going to be for the couch/living room, but my current comforter is from when I was little and has seen better days. It has been recovered a few times and lately I have noticed that the inside is coming apart in chunks so I think it is beyond repair (it'll be a sad day when I have to "retire" it). This is my first quilted quilt - all the others have been tie quilts. It was a doozy to start out with, too! It's nice and bulky and heavy - not the easiest thing to get through the machine. Once I get the binding stitched down it'll be done! Yay! Hopefully I can get started on that tonight once I learn how to do it :P We have a small quilt shop in town and the owners started a quilting group that gets together on Tuesday nights...


Aside from the first set of baby quilts for the Bazaar, all of the others have been made with fabric I already had! I am a frequent customer to the scrap/remnant bins so I rarely pay full price for it.


Oh, and a couple pics of my little gymnast. The first one is a successful attempt at a flip over the "bars"... the second one, well, not so much :P

Busy but fun weekend

This weekend was all about the youth in our church. We started Saturday evening with a bonfire, weenie roast, smores, and a hay ride followed by camping out and breakfast in the fellowship hall the next morning. On Sunday we went to church as usual with lunch on our own and then got back together for fishing, a cookout, and then trunk-or-treat. It was tiring but fun! It was a little cool so me and Morgan spent the night at home, but Kevin and Joah slept out in the tent.

Gathered around the camp fire roasting some hot dogs


Me and Kevin were just standing around talking, evidently not paying enough attention to Joah. He found the bag of marshmallows and was helping himself! He has one in each cheek with another in his hand ready to go :P Of course, with his baby doll.


Getting ready for the hayride with his aunt Pat


Ready for bed!

The next morning before breakfast (we have a very boy heavy church so it can get pretty rowdy - these are the 3 youngest).


Later that evening getting ready for Trunk-or-Treat... Morgan was "My Little Sunshine"


Joah was a fisherman, complete with his boat "Joah's Ark"


Too much going on! Morgan was worn out and asleep halfway through the worship service.


Just a couple extras from the other day... playing in the crib together (not like it gets slept in so might as well get some form of use out of it! ha ha!)


They wore themselves out! I think I am going to have my hands full here in a few months...

Our trip to the OBX

Whoo hoo, vacation! Our first in a while...

We went down to the Outer Banks area this past weekend to spend some time with family and friends. We left Thursday after lunch and came back late Monday evening. I think it was good for everyone - I was feeling a little burned out lately and Kevin has had a lot going on at work including a promotion here in the next couple of weeks so it was good to get away! We met my parents there, then a couple friends came later on Friday, along with my sister Mia and her family. The weather was kind of crummy, but I think I almost liked it that way... it forced us to relax more than we probably would have (does that make sense?). Joah and Kevin were able to get out and fish a little and I spent most of that time inside with Morgan working on a quilt. Activities included a visit to the Aquarium (Joah had a BLAST!), a little shopping (and when I say little, I mean a Christmas shop and a thrift store, ha ha), a couple meals out and about, a ferry ride, visit to Ocracoke lighthouse, and some fishing and Kayaking (for Joah and his Papa anyway). I think I took around 120 pictures... I'm pretty camera happy to say the least, but I'll spare you that huge amount and post a few of my favorites...

Me and Morgan hanging out at the dock while Kevin and Joah fished. It was a little cool and windy so we didn't stay long.


Joah's first salt water fish! Those things were fiesty!


"Petting" the stingrays at the aquarium.


Running for "Ninner" - just a great moment. He was soooo excited and in such a great mood.


The "big fish" outside of the Aquarium.


An unexpected thrift store find. I went in just to browse and took Joah while Kevin helped another guy load a table. As we were walking through the kids section he spotted a baby doll. I let him carry it around while we waited for Kevin, but when it was time to leave he hugged it and with the saddest little puppy eyes said "baby?" so of course I broke down and we bought it. He was attached to that thing the rest of the weekend! It's too cute and just melts my heart.


A family photo in front of the lighthouse (Ocracoke).

On the ferry...




Joah and Kaelyn coloring together one morning.


Morgan likes to put anything and everything in her mouth, especially fabric. If she gets her hands on it, watch out! This item in particular was a cloth yo yo for a quilt I am making.


Vicki and Joah playing with trains.


Our happy girl...


Helping Papa with some measurements... we're starting to plan for a house so we were trying to get an idea of room sizes.



Out on the Kayak.



Playing in the "big bath tub." As you can tell this is right after he woke up. He was having a blast splashing his hands and feet.


Which of course led to a clothing change... for some reason he wanted to wear his daddy's shirt. It didn't last long though b/c he kept tripping over it :P



On the way home, hugging on his baby doll.


Allin all it was a great weekend... I don't think any of us wanted to come home!