She is On the Move

Since Adalyn turned 7 months each day we've seen more and more progress towards her crawling. It has been so fun to see her wake up each morning and be just a little better at it. For awhile she would get so frustrated because she wanted to go somewhere, but just couldn't get all the parts to work together. Her attempts would often end with her giving up and getting there via rolling. When you go in to get her from a nap she is up on all fours practicing. She certainly puts all her powers into "nailing" a milestone.

As of the last couple days she has it down! The arms and the legs are all working together. When she sees something she wants she "targets" into it and is off. Maybe a dirty dog tennis ball, one of Shane's various toys laying around, dirt on the floor....you get the picture. We are now on our toes keeping sure Little Addie isn't attempting to consume something she shouldn't be. The gate has been put up and the plants have been moved up.

Watch out! Adalyn is on the loose and she is getting faster and faster every day.

Wordless Wednesday

June Card Class AND July Workshop

These are the cards we made for my June card class. It was a full class and we had a lot of laughs!

We embossed the heart and a little something on the inside of this card. The new technique of the night. 

This was our "warm-up" card. I wanted to do something 4th of Julyish, but for any occasion.

We did A LOT of stamping to make this card. Very fun to make.

In July we'll be making a banner. The technique of the night is rosettes. They are addicting to make!! We'll be using this one as a "design", but I am giving the ladies some freedom this month. They get to pick their paper and do whatever word they want to do. Anything under 8 letters! They can even add pictures to it if they want. I haven't quite decided how I am going to finish my summer one off yet.

I have 3 spots open. If you are local come join the fun.

Take Steps, Be Heard For Crohn's & Colitis

Wanna join my Walking Madness team?! On July 16th we will be walking in the Take Steps, Be Heard for Crohn's and Colitis Walk. The walk takes place at Magnuson Park in Seattle and starts at 4pm. It is a causual 2-3 mile walk.

Okay...so really right now my "Team" consists of Kenny, Shane and Adalyn. If you'd like to get out on what should be a nice sunny day and help out a great cause, I'ld love to have you walk with us!

If you can't walk with us, but would like to support the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, you can make a donation on my page here. Every dollar helps find a cure for these diseases, so don't be afraid if you only have a $1 or $2 to donate.

Conversations With Shane

I was talking to Shane on the phone last weekend when he was at Mema and Papa's. I was checking in to see that he was doing okay.

Shane: I don't miss you.

Me: Oh, okay. That is fine. Do you still love me? (we often talk about when you miss someone that just means you love them lots).

Shane: Yay, I love you, I just don't miss you.

Except when it was bedtime, he all of a sudden missed me so much he couldn't go to sleep. Hmmm...I will always wonder if he really did miss us that much or if it was just an excuse to not go to bed?! The mind of a 4 year old.

Flashback Friday

Wow, the 7 month pictures I found of Shane are crazy. First, I don't think 7 months was his best looking age. Man, does he look goofy! I think he grew into his ears because they look huge in these pictures. I just took out his calendar and Addie and Shane both seem to be doing relatively the same things. Trying to crawl, wanting to stand up (Shane was pulling himself up at this point), eating finger foods, drinking from a sippy cup. Shane was holding his own bottle and saying more "words/sounds" by now. The word/sound part is weird since he was so delayed in his speech. He also got his first tooth by now. I swear Adalyn has been teething for over a month, but no sign of a tooth yet.

Shane at 7 months:

 He always had his arms up like this. I guess for balance. I can't remember when he finally stopped, maybe around 1 year.

 This picture made me laugh and brought back lots of Shane memories of how he looked when he was unhappy.

Adalyn at 7 months:

 

Bunk Beds and More

For Shane's birthday we got him bunk beds. He was still sleeping in a toddler bed and it was way past time to move him into a big boy bed. The process of the bunk bed purchase went like this:

--Price bunk beds online
--Go out and look and bunk beds in stores and buy one that same day.
--Actually get it in the back of our SUV to bring home
--Find time to put it together (which was quite the challenge...both finding time and putting it together).
--Move his bedroom furniture around numerous times to get everything to fit and look good.
--Find and go purchase not one, but TWO mattresses. 
--Fit them in the back of the SUV (gotta love Stormy!!)
--Search online and find bedding for his new bunk bed.
--Order bedding and wait for it to come (Thanks, Mema and Papa for the bedding!)
--Wash bedding when it arrives.
--Make TWO beds with new bedding (making a bunk bed is a really hard!)

The end result...a super happy 4 year old and two happy parents that that project is over with! 

As Shane would say "This is one special day."

He also got a trampoline for his birthday from Papa and Grandma Booth. Another quote from Shane: "I am a lucky boy." And he certainly is a lucky and loved little boy.

Wordless Wednesday

Give Away Share

I stumbled upon this great blog last week. It is actually where I got the idea for the watermelon shark for Shane's birthday. It's full of great activities and ideas for the kiddos.

Today she is having a fun give away. Spy books from Giggle Junction. I love them! We need one for our next car adventure we'll be having at the end of July.

Check it out and leave a comment for a chance to win your own.

Outfit Changes

Some day I would love to capture all the many outfit changes Shane goes through in one day. I would guess on an average day he changes his clothes 5+ times. On this particular day he asked to look at a big box in his closet. It had baby clothes in it I had saved. I left it on his floor in his room for him to explore. Over the next 10 minutes or so he kept running out to tell me that all the clothes still fit him. I choose to not debate this and just let him have fun, especially since he was happy and entertained. On another trip out he told me he was putting them all away in his dresser since they fit him. I just imagined the mess I was going to have to clean up later, but again I'll take a mess if it comes with a happy kid. After awhile I went in to see how things were going. I discovered this:

My almost 4 year old had on a onesie in size 0-3 months!! It fit over his head and he got his skinny little arms in it. All that didn't work was the buttons at the bottom.  I couldn't stop laughing and he was so proud of himself.

Next he came out in this outfit in size 9 months. The waist fit him, the legs were just short. I had to put a stop to the clothes trying on after this because he was getting upset that he couldn't get everything on. I  was having a hard time getting him to believe me that they weren't suppose to fit him.

The pictures still make me laugh. My skinny boy.

Oh, Yah!

 Giving a shout out to Kenny's Mom, Jeni today! She is officially retired from her 29 years of being an elementary school teacher. Can you imagine!? I am sure it is a bittersweet feeling. Congratulations, Jeni! You've earned yourself a break! Put your feet up and enjoy some quiet time (could you have a moment or two for me as well!?!)

Kitchen is Complete

The final touches were put on the kitchen a few weeks ago. It is so nice to have that project completed!! The end result has been wonderful. I think I love all the counter space the most. The other day I was thinking about how I have enough room to have a mess in one spot and still be able to make dinner in another spot. We love the bar area, too. It's just the perfect place for meals, snacks and projects. Or just to sit and hang out while someone else does work in the kitchen. And of course all the cabinet space is great. There is still room on many of the shelves.

It is hard to remember what the kitchen was like before this whole remodeling business started. I'd say we are super happy with the way it all turned out. Of course in hindsight there are always a few oh, we should have done it this way, or that way may have been easier. It was a learning experience for sure.

Please excuse the dirty floors and countertops. And I had a baby in my arms while taking pictures, too. 

Summer Fun Calendar Week 3

Time for more summer fun activities!

Monday -- We made pinwheels as you can see above in the picture. There are lots of different directions online. We made very basic ones that don't move. Shane wasn't happy at first that they didn't move, but he got over it.

Tuesday -- Paper Doll Chain (I never can remember how to make these! Ahh..directions!!)

Wednesday -- We are going to make fresh pesto. I recently purchased a basil plant for the kitchen and it has grown so much I need to do something with it, so pesto it is.

Thursday -- Tube Friends (Thanks Shannon!)

Friday -- A Color Scavenger Hunt (most likely indoors, because our weather sucks around here!!)

Menu Monday

Monday -- Steak Sandwiches and Cantaloupe

Tuesday -- leftovers

Wednesday -- French Bread Pizzas

Thursday -- Pasta Dogs (Kenny won't be home for dinner)

Friday -- Something in the crock pot

Saturday -- leftovers

Sunday -- Seems so far far away....

7 Months

Adalyn Makenna is 7 months old! It feels like she truly just turned 6 months. Now we are past the half year mark and screaming down the run way to 1 year. It is going to be here sooner then we can even imagine. Enough about the future. This is what Addie is up to right now.

Whenever she is out, we always hear about about how she has a "surprised/happy" look on her face. It's true, she really does. She continues to be happy all the time. Full of smiles. Through all this happiness though, she can make herself very well heard with loud screeches. She is not afraid to voice her opinion.

She is rolling all over the place. Little Rollie Pollie. There are hints of her thinking about crawling. She is making backwards movement and getting up off her belly. She also seems to want to stand more then any thing. She makes attempts at pulling herself up or "asks" for you to pull her up so she can stand.

Addie loves finger foods. None of that baby food stuff. She wants real food. Bananas, pancakes, puffs, watermelon...yummy! She laughs when you bring her over food. She gets so excited for it.

Sleep continues to not be one of her favorite things to do. Up on average 2-3 times a night still. I do think that if she eats a "big dinner" full of rice cereal she does sleep for longer stretches. She has gone up to 7 hours straight, so I know she had it in her. It just seems that every little thing bothers her sleep: shots, being sick, learning new skills, not napping as much, going to bed late, teething, habit 5:30am wake up. Once we "fix" one thing something else becomes a problem.