18 Months

Dear Peyton,

How can it be that you're now 18 months?  Didn't you just turn a year?
Every parent says it, but time just flies.

You have 11 teeth (waiting on one 1-year molar to complete that set).
You are about 22 pounds.  You have the cutest little pot belly.

You're a great eater.  You'll try anything and like most things.  You are interested in eating with utensils now.
You're a great sleeper.  You sleep 12+ hours at night and take one nap that averages about 2 hours most days.

Your biggest accomplishment in the last month is that you finally started walking!  I thought the day would never come.  You've been capable of it for months, but just wouldn't commit to it until a couple weeks ago.  I sense a little stubbornness there.  Watching you walk is the cutest thing ever.

You can be a hard cookie to crack.  You are skeptical of new people and even those you know, but haven't seen for a while.  After some time you warm up though.  Sounds a lot like your mama, huh?

Your hair is getting long and has a little curl in the back.  The only thing you allow in your hair are the tiniest little clips.  Just enough to keep your bangs out of your face.  Anything with a bow gets yanked off right away.  Pig tails and pony tails are tolerated, but after a ride in the car I'll find them yanked out and your hair sticking up all over the place.  We stick to the clips most of the time....for my sanity.

You say quite a few words on your own - mommy, daddy, ball, please, thank you, no, mine, dog, bubble, book, teeth, stinky, pee pee, poo poo, up, cheese, more, pretty.  And you try to repeat lots of things.  The communication gap is much smaller than it was with your brother.

You're a busy girl.  Always doing something.  We went to Sea World a couple weeks ago and you had no interest in the shows. You just wanted to get down and explore.  You have no time for TV.  There isn't a single show that captivates you.

It's evident that you have a love of order like I do.  You will pick up Hunter's shoes from wherever they've been tossed and walk them to the closet in his room.  You'll pick up Daddy's socks and try to put them on his feet....where they belong in your little mind.  You love to put things in the trash. You like to help me transfer laundry from the washer to the dryer.  I dropped a piece of clothing as I carried a load from the dryer to my bedroom and you picked it up and brought it to me.

Baby girl, we love you so very much.  You complete our little family.  We are amazed at how fast you're growing and learning.  It's so fun to watch and be a part of.  We are blessed to be your parents.

Love, Mama

In My Heart

Hunter and Daddy have many rituals, but one is to blow a kiss to the other when he leaves for work in the morning.  The fun part is catching the kiss and then putting the kiss in their heart.

Apparently, Peyton has witnessed it enough to know exactly what to do.

She was blowing kisses to Aunt Pat, I was taking pictures, and I caught her putting Aunt Pat's kiss in her heart.  I had no idea she knew how to do this.  So incredibly sweet.  Melts my heart.

Have a good weekend! We'll be camping in our Taj Mahal tent!

Embrace the Camera: February 24

Aaaaand it's Thursday!  Time to embrace the camera.  Thanks to our trip over the weekend I've got TONS of pictures. I finally put a dent in the editing of them.  Here are some embrace the camera worthy shots.

We spent an evening up at my aunt and uncle's house.  To say that Hunter loves it there is an understatement.  So much land, so much to do!  Fishing is top priority for Hunter.  Uncle Ronnie was armed with worms and hungry fish so it's non stop excitement.....cast, bite, reel, and you've got a fish!

Love this.  Best buds.

A little baby fish

And a giant catfish!

Peyton was obsessed with Hunter's truck.  It's a good thing he was too busy fishing to care.  I figured out how I could ride it with her.  Let's just say it struggled going uphill.

She literally sat in it the entire time.  She likes to drink and drive.  I couldn't get her to put the cup down.  Here she is waving to Aunt Pat on the dock.

4 year old shenanigans

This is what happens in the process of getting one decent picture.....

I have no explanation for this other than he is a boy.

This is a new face I've been seeing lately.

Total cheese.

Finally!

Hunter got a Toy Story basketball for Christmas and Aunt Margie got a basketball hoop over at her house.  Hunter got to try it out for the first time when we were there.  He's pretty good actually!

Look at the form :o)

Peyton had to play, too.

She's so funny.  No idea what she was trying to say, but she meant business.

I Heart Faces Challenge

I Heart Faces is having a photo challenge and the photo entered has to be taken with a cell phone.  Finally, my cell phone pics come in handy!  So, here's my entry.  It just cracks me up.  The camera is as big as her head!

(Taken with Instagram on iPhone)

Happy Monday!

It's Monday and I'm really not prepared to blog because I have tons of pictures from the weekend to edit. We had a great time visiting the grandparents. I think my little rug rats were just the pick me up they needed.

So, it's gonna have to be an phone pic day! Heath will love it (total sarcasm there). He hates the phone pics. Sorry honey. But I have to say my phone catches moments that my camera never would since it's not strapped to me, believe it or not.

We'll call this a summer scarf.  It's made out of an old t-shirt.  It's kinda fun.

Hunter really enjoyed the new basketball hoop at Aunt Margie's.

A sneak peek at the quilt my mom made for Hunter.  His room is getting a little makeover so there will be more to come once it's all done.

I should have some 'real' pictures to share the rest of the week :o)

Embrace the Camera: February 17

She's got a new button this week...cute!

The boys went to a Magic game last night.  Hunter's first one!  They had amazing center court, 12th row seats (Thanks, Marcie!).  All the better to see how gigantic those guys are.

We're off to see the grandparents now that everyone is healthy again.  See you next week!

Petal Pusher Tutorial

I'm in love with all the different versions of pin on flowers I'm seeing around the internets.  They just add a little something to an outfit.  This is one of my favorites and they're calling them petal pushers.  I wasn't exactly sure how they were made and failed to find a good tutorial on the version I like best.  

So, here's my way!  And it involves NO SEWING!!

You'll need:

1/4 yard of knit material (the thicker the knit the fuller the flower...you'll see)

3/4 inch covered button

felt

pin

hot glue gun

scissors

something circle shaped that's about 4 inches in diameter

Use your circle shaped object to cut out 18 circles that measure about 4 inches across.  You can cut out as many circles as your scissors will handle.  I think I did 4 at a time.

Take one circle and fold it in half

Then fold it again

Now put some glue on the inside corner

And place it on your felt circle.  Felt circle should measure about 3 inches across.  An inch or more smaller than your knit circles you just cut.

Now, do 3 more and you have one layer of petals done.

Next, you do another layer of petals.  This time center the petals between two others.

Here's 2 layers of petals

Now, do a third layer.  Here's 3 layers of petals.

You should have 6 knit circles left.  The final layer of petals will be made with 6 circles.

Fold a circle in half like you've been doing.

This time don't fold it in half, but instead like 2/3 of the way over.

Then close it to make this smaller petal.

Turn the petal over so the flap is secure and glue down 6 petals.

Next, take your covered button and glue it in the center.  

(If you don't know how to make a covered button go to your fabric store's notions section and buy a package of covered buttons that includes the tool to cover them.  It's SO easy and the directions are on the package.  All you need is a scrap of material.)

Turn your flower over and glue down any of the felt edges that might not be secure.

Take your pin and put a little glue on the bottom

Place it toward the top of your felt circle.  

If you put it in the center it will flop around when you pin it on.

Take a scrap of felt and glue it over the pin.  This will make sure it's not going anywhere.

Ta-da!

Here's another version just to show you.  This was made with thinner knit as you can tell.  I also did two sizes of circles.