Another Dress

I just finished another dress and this one just may be my new favorite. Partly because of the satisfaction of making something up as I went. I saw a photo of a dress that I really liked for her and used part of a pattern that I had for the top of the dress..... from the sleeves down I just winged it! It turned out adorable and I am glad that I took the time to draw out a pattern for it so that I can do another one at some point.

ta-da
This will definitely be a convention dress for this summer.

I used Sandi Henderson's Claire pattern for the jumping off point for this dress. The fabric is from Hobby Lobby. I just LOVE not only the price of their fabrics but also their designs. It washed up really well and was nice to work with.

Snow!?!?

I thought for sure we were done with snow around here but I was wrong. We woke up yesterday to some more snow, much the kids' delight! As soon as Camden went down for his morning nap, we got bundled up and went outside to enjoy the VERY wet snow.

They ate all the snow that they could in the hour and a half that they were outside.
They came in dripping wet from head to toe and freezing cold. They got to enjoy a bath before lunch and then they took GREAT naps!
This morning Tiana found this mask and had to wear it around the house most of the morning.

Camden's new favorite little saying is "da-da-da". He started this last weekend and it is just about all we hear. That with an occasional "ba-ba" and whining "maa-maa-ma" when he wants me.

Wordy Update

No photos this time just a little update:

Keaton learned how to buckle himself into his car seat today. He has been able to buckle the top portion for quite some time now but today he finally tried to do it all and discovered that he can. This is what I heard:

"Awesome. That is SOOOOO awesome. I buckled it all up here and here all by my own self. AAAAAAAwe-SOME! I get my clothes on, I get my shoes on, I get my socks on, I get my jacket on AND I buckle up all by my own self. I probably get a treat for that!"

I called and told Daddy our awesome news. After I got off the phone he said:

"I am awesome. I am a BIG Big Big boy." (pause) "I am OOoooold!"

At this point Tiana starts cheering "Yay Keaton, Good Job Keaton" clapping and dancing as much as her car seat would let her.

Camden, who can lean forward and see Tiana, happens to think that this is the funniest thing that he has seen ALL day!

On a completely different note, Camden went from being on all fours to a sitting position a couple times today!!!

Weekend in New Meadows

We headed up to the mountains this last weekend with Jeff and Anna and their adorable kids. The kids had a blast..... there was LOTS of running around crazy with the noise level extremely high. Luckily they were having so much fun that we could just talk around and over the noise..... and really enjoy after they all went to bed!! We got some game playing in and we came home with kids who are STILL exhausted. Auntie Kyla and Uncle Mark came down too and we helped them get a kid fix!

We all went and got the kids in their pj's and what do you know. Lily and Tiana came out wearing the same pair!

All the kids... well minus Camden who enjoyed the comfort and safety of being held! He wanted to be in the middle of everything which wasn't exactly the smartest place to be with four pairs of running feet.
Camden entertained Auntie Kyla and Uncle Mark instead... and ate one of their cards while they weren't looking!

Saturday we bundled them up and headed outside. It was a beautiful day for some sledding.

After Camden woke up from his nap he joined in on the fun.

Tiana LOVED sledding and just couldn't get enough.... while Keaton on the other hand took one run with Uncle Mark and decided he would have NO more of it. He even WALKED all the way back down the hill when we were done to avoid having to get into a sled again!

Mommy and Camden.

Camden was not real impressed with sledding. He was fine but could really have cared less that we just went down a hill.

He got a nice ride on the way back up though.

Us with the only kid that is still cooperative when it comes to photos..... only because he is too little to insist that he really doesn't want to stop playing for a goofy photo.

The entire Gang.

Camden LOVES standing up a the toy box. He can't get up there himself yet but he sure likes it when I help him up.

Tiana's new little expression, "Uh-oh skettie oh". She has also been little Miss Manners. Everything is, please, thank-you, excuse me and sorry. It is VERY cute. She also just loves helping out in the kitchen. They kids know that they are supposed to clear their spots after each meal. Tiana had to clear EVERY ONE'S spot last night. She would stand there waiting for us to take the last bite then.... poof.... our plates were gone! As soon as Keaton was done she muttered something about his face. She grabbed her napkin, hopped out of her chair, ran around and wiped off his face and took off his bib! We all got a good laugh out of this. Keaton just said, "She is so cute". This morning I was on the phone with Daddy when I turned around and she was trying to clear my cereal bowl. Problem was, I had barely started eating... so off the phone I went and I was told to "finish your food". Such a good little Mommy we have.

Keaton came up to us last night and said that he had just "lost his marbles" not sure where he heard that. Then he decided that he really didn't know what marbles were so that marshmallows sounded better. So at some point last night he told us that we had each "lost our marshmallows". Not sure where he got it, but in his wallet is a $1 bill. He had taken his wallet everywhere with him and tonight he kept telling us "I am RICH, Rich Rich RICH, SO rich". Glad he is still young enough to think that!

Soaking up the sun

Camden has been finding all sorts of new places to play/get stuck! He has no reverse yet to he often will scoot himself between two objects so that he gets stuck! This however was just a challenge to get into and then fun to play in! Camden started crawling today.... for a while at least.... army crawl is still WAY faster. I am sure over the course of the next few days he will discover that crawling really is easier to do all of the time.

Today was beautiful so we spent lots of time outside. Camden even joined us.... MUCH better than looking out from the window. He loved it. He crawled and rolled around squealing with delight. The grass didn't bother him at all, he was just happy to be where his older brother and sister were.

I just got Keaton this mitt, which he loves, but today he found that it makes a great hat!

Taking orders. I ordered everything I can think of and the only thing that he didn't have was zucchini (one of the only things he doesn't care for).

Deciding that he needed a hat in order to work the drive-up window.

Everything with wheels right now is a "choo-choo" to Tiana.... if it is more than one car/truck/train/etc it is a "choo choo wain".

Keaton's favorite saying, "well, not exactly".

Mommy: Did you finish your milk?

Keaton: "well, not exactly"

Mommy: Did you raise your hand for any children's questions?

Keaton: "well, not exactly"

You get the picture. In other words, a nice way of saying No!

Growing Up

As I was rocking Camden to sleep last night it just struck me how big he is getting. I don't regret taking tons of photos of my kids because every time I blink it seems that they get a little more grown up. Keaton just no longer seems like a toddler.... Tiana is going to be TWO this spring and my baby is almost crawling! Where did the time go. I enjoy it, don't take it for granted, and take lots of photos and it still seems to fly by.

Camden is loving to eat anything that makes him feel like he is big. He love love loves those little baby cookies.... makes a huge mess but loves every bite... or lick!

Look at his hair.... he just may be cruising for a hair cut before his big brother! Keaton got his first one at about 8 1/2 months and Camden is going to need a trim by then for sure. He already has hair hanging over his ears!
His new look. He loves the feel of his two bottom teeth on his lip.

There has GOT to be a better way to play with this... much better, thanks Mommy! He hasn't quite figured out how to get up by himself but he loves to stand or be on his knees if we can help him get up there.

Two of my cute little Valentines!

Cute new skirt I made. Tiana LOVES it... no big surprise there! It is pink and has ruffles..... automatically makes it CUTE in her book!

This is the coolest fabric that I found at Fabric Depot in Portland.... my favorite fabric store. All I had to do is sew the ends together and put in some elastic.

It will be so cute this summer with a little t-shirt or tank top.

We have had some nice enough weather around here to have the kids play outside. Camden of course is.... kind-of.... content to watch at the window. He would really love to go outside with them but because I have been fighting a sinus infection I haven't really wanted to go outside with him.

As long as they come up to say hi to him at the window every once and a while, he is happy to watch.

More of his new little look.

A couple evenings ago he was so very cuddly. Both Daddy and Mommy soaked it up. It doesn't happen all that much anymore now that he is getting bigger. We were shocked how much he looks like his Uncle Ryan and Uncle Tom in this photo. I totally see Uncle Ryan in his eyes and hair-line.

Camden's TEETH

Yes, plural! He was giving me his great-big-huge-light-up-his-whole-face grin this morning when I thought.... hmmm that looks like he has TWO teeth! Sure enough! The other bottom one is through!

I was making breakfast this morning when I realized that Keaton was taking a LONG time in the bathroom (rarely a good thing). I hollered at him to come out and he replied "umm, well, I think I locked myself in the bathroom". Good thing Daddy found the key last week. He informed me that he was "very surprised when the door was locked".

Tiana, all girl that she is, gets VERY excited to wear her utterbye (butterfly) pj's. And we often hear "uuuuuggg, heaby" when she thinks something is too heavy for her to carry!

Happy Valentine's Day

Since we have all been sick this week I never got around to getting these in to get printed up! So here they are, Happy Valentine's Day!