Archive for January, 2012

Celebrating with Emmie

Posted in Celebrations, Leah, Molly, Trip on January 29th, 2012 by jen – Be the first to comment

We flew to Birmingham to celebrate Emmie's 3rd birthday. It didn't take long upon our arrival before the girls all headed to the play room. Nice shoes, Leah!

Nice shoes, Leah

Emmie is so intent on using her computer that she has no idea Molly is about to give her a trim.

Surprise haircut

Grampa was appointed head book reader at bed time.

Night-time reading

Emmie was insistent on having a flower party, so Aunt 'Chelle got creative with the flower theme.

A flower party

Naturally, Molly and Leah were eager to assist with the present opening.

Present opening assistants

Time for cake!

Blowing out the candles

It was finger lick in' good!

Yum

Leah took a quick break from the party festivities to assemble the alphabet with G'mom.

Assembling the alphabet

Emmie also got a kite, which was then of course flown. Apparently it's just as much fun to run after someone flying a kite as it is to fly it yourself.

Kite flying

Molly flying with Tate chasing. An image of timeless childhood.

Kids running with a kite

Leah thought the flower balloons needed a bit of love.

Balloon love

The girls were finally all together to wear the Christmas jammies I made them. It was like Christmas Eve in January.

Late Christmas

Emmie may be one of the few kids her age that knows what a chalkboard is. For those who don't, it's an upright display you write on with chalk while you stick out your tongue.

Writing on the board

Baby rings can turn into steering wheels when you get older.

Driving is fun

And the post the baby ring comes from can become a microphone.

Is this on?

I love my bed!

Posted in Leah, Molly on January 16th, 2012 by jen – 2 Comments

We transitioned Leah into her big girl bed this weekend. She keeps saying "I love my bed!"

No more crib

My aunt made Leah's new quilt. Molly noticed that the fabric matched the valance I made a few months ago. Nice observation kiddo!

Leah's new quilt

Like I did for Molly, I painted Leah's letters to match her new room.

Painted letters

Here's the completed room, using Chad's new ultra-wide lens to capture all four walls.

The completed room

I kept thinking that we were transitioning Leah much earlier this time. Turns out, Molly was actually 1 day younger when we transitioned her.

The first night went great, except that Chad accidentally set the alarm when resetting the clock and it went off at midnight! Thankfully she went right back to sleep.

And both girls are sticklers when it comes to routine, so we've had to work through a few issues like the new step stool at the end of Leah's bed and the new lamp on her dresser. Funny enough, the new bed has been welcomed with lots of smiles and bouncing fun.

Tiny gymnast

Posted in Leah, Sports on January 15th, 2012 by jen – Be the first to comment

I set up a playdate at Molly's gymnastics club for Leah and some friends to play. Leah always has to sit back and watch at Molly's practice, so she was super excited to get to play this time.

Gymnastics for Leah

She knew exactly how to freeze after jumping on the tumble track.

And freeze!

Leah was only willing to get in the foam pit once. After that, she was happy to play with the blocks from the side.

Playing from the side

Hmm, might not be the best snack idea.

Big blue snack?

Tiny dancer

Posted in Leah, Sports on January 9th, 2012 by jen – 1 Comment

Leah has been constantly dancing around the house since The Nutcracker so we decided to sign her up for a dance class of her own. Molly's studio has a Creative Dance class for 2 year olds, so we're giving it a go. Here's Leah ready to go to her first class and very excited about it.

Tiny dancer

But really, who needs a class when you've got these great moves? :)

Nice dancing, Leah

My Handmade Holidays, Day 8

Posted in Sewing on January 2nd, 2012 by jen – 1 Comment

As you may have read lately, Molly really enjoys ballet. Most of the time, her ballet slippers and skirt end up in my purse, so when I saw the idea for a tutu tote, I knew I (ahem, she) needed one to tote all her dance accessories.

Molly's tutu tote

I also made one as a birthday gift for Molly's friend, Taryn, since she takes ballet too.

Taryn's tutu tote

And that concludes this year's handmade holiday gifts. In case you missed any, here is a recap.

Ruffled romper
Spring buttercup bag
Roll-up totes
Kid's floor cushions
Christmas jammies
Casserole carrier
Quilted wine tote

My Handmade Holidays, Day 7

Posted in Sewing on January 1st, 2012 by jen – Be the first to comment

Chad's grandmother is always in favor of a good glass of wine, so I made her this quilted wine tote. It's insulated, so it will keep the bottle nice and chilled. Since Chad and I do not drink, finding a bottle to test the size was a bit of a challenge in my house. Thankfully, I had a bottle of cooking Sherry which fit like a charm!

Quilted wine tote