DC Trip - Part 1 - SNOW

I'll have to do my DC recap in parts. There are a lot of pictures and that way I'll have days worth of blog material...HA! I'll start with the snow pictures. We had every intention of going sledding, but when Saturday came we decided to avoid the hassle of driving outside the city hoping to find a place plus it was warming up and the snow was melting and getting slushy. Instead, we drove over to the Capitol where there was still a lot of pretty snow just so we could get some pictures.

They were hauling snow by the dump truck load out of the city all over the place.

Lisa & John

"I'll eat your nose!"

A given

Adorable bomber vest courtesy of Lisa

Love this one

The extent of our sledding

Cute pictures from the last few days

Picture taking was light while most of my house was sick. I'm happy to report everyone is doing much better. And just in time for our rescheduled trip to Washington D.C. We're taking Peyton with us and Hunter will stay home and spend time with various family members. Even though we're tired of the cold weather (It's not supposed to be this cold for this long in Florida!) we're excited that we will see some snow and maybe even go sledding! So, here are a few pictures from the last few days to hold you over until we get back from our trip.

On Valentine's Day we went out to lunch and then bowling. It was too late for Hunter to take a nap when we got home so I put him in his room for an hour of quiet time. I realized it was awfully quiet in there so I opened the door and found him like this. Lights on and everything! I guess bowling took it out of him!

She'd had enough of the jumping

Cute little grin

She's got gymnast genes!

Testing out her hat for our trip!

Make Your Own Silhouette

I've seen these before and thought they were the cutest thing. Never thought I could make my own. My friend posted a tutorial on her blog recently and it's so easy! (Thanks, Emily!) The hardest part is getting a good profile picture. I love the way they turned out. I never realized Peyton had such a flat forehead. Love her little double chin. They'll be a great addition to our living room walls.

The result of spending so much time in the house lately....

For the last 2 weeks we've been battling sickness in my house. First it was pink eye for both kids. Next I got a cold that has lasted for over a week now. Next Hunter had an ear infection, fever, and wheezing issues. He's still pretty sick and we'll probably be back at the doctor in the morning. So, because of all that we've pretty much been couped up in the house for way too many days. As a result I've been able to browse some crafty blogs and find some cute things to make! I don't know why I didn't know about these crafty blogs before. There are so many easy online tutorials out there. I've been having lots of fun!

First I saw this tutorial for yo-yo's. You can put them on anything and I thought they'd be cute on these headbands I have for Peyton. I do love the big obnoxious flower on the headband, but I love these cute little things, too. And all it takes is a little scrap of material. I have LOTS of that!

Then I saw an idea for this tag toy. (And now I don't know where I saw it so I can link it.) Peyton loves to chew on things and I like the idea of this being a toy and not a blanket. Inside you put something that makes noise so that it crinkles. I put two layers of cellophane inside.

The Evolution of My Craft Room

This was my first set-up. Everything piled on top of a folding table. Very pitiful.

Here is Stage 2. We put in cabinets and a counter top. That helped tremendously, but you can see I still have stuff piled everywhere taking up most of my counter space.

Here is the inspiration for Stage 3. I wanted something to put up on the wall so I could get a lot of stuff up off the counter tops. My goal here is to start scrapbooking again. My kids need baby books!

And here is what I dreamed up and Heath created! It's a monster! I think he did much better than Pottery Barn and it was certainly A LOT cheaper. I have a cork board, dry erase board, picture board, lots of buckets and shelving, and some hooks.

And here it is all filled up with stuff.

There might be a small Stage 4 because I still have a bunch of stuff on the counter top, BUT I have freed up a good amount of space for now. It's definitely a HUGE improvement.

What the last week has been comprised of....

Double Pink Eye. Looks really bad, but it didn't bother him a single bit. Got some drops and he was all better within hours. Had to miss school today so he didn't spread it around.

Baby Girl has cradle cap. It's like baby dandruff. Olive Oil and brushing it out seems to be working so far.

Bike rides. Peyton loves riding in the trailer.

Potty Training!!! Hallelujah!!!! We started Monday afternoon and he hasn't worn diapers (except to nap and bed) since. We've definitely mastered going pee-pee. He's telling us when he has to go, too. It's the 'other' that poses a problem. He'll get it. You only get one chance a day with that one so it's a little bit slower process. His motivating prize is a sleepover at Uncle Ronnie's house. I've promised him everything under the sun and no dice. But a sleepover at Uncle Ronnie's house has him totally excited. So cute. We're so proud of him!!

I give birth to kids who don't fall asleep in strange places very often. Hunter has NEVER fallen asleep eating or on the floor because he was just too tired. Other than her bed, Peyton will fall asleep in the sling or in the car, but rarely anywhere else on her own. Last evening about dinner time I was in my bedroom on the computer, Hunter was watching a TV show, and Peyton was playing under her play mat in the living room. I realized it had gotten quiet and I didn't hear her batting at toys anymore. She was asleep!

FIVE Months!

My baby girl is already 5 months. Where does the time go? She was a teeny thing just yesterday. She's starting to be so much fun. I love the 6-8 months age, especially.

She holds her head up great now. I can carry her on my hip with one arm, love that! She's chewing on everything and drooling some. She likes the paci, but isn't dependent on it. She occasionally sucks her thumb. She's discovered her feet and loves to hold them. She loves the bath. She's getting a little better in the car, but I can't say she loves it. She rolls from her tummy to back and is pretty close to going from back to tummy. She swings both feet up and over, but it just doesn't quite happen yet. She's very smiley and does some laughing, but we still haven't truly found that belly laugh that I know is in there. She'll let anyone hold her. Her eyes are blue like Hunter's have always been. Her hair hasn't seemed to change much. She's lost some, but it continues to stay pretty dark. She loves her brother and thinks he's pretty funny. She's still exclusively breast fed and I hope to continue that to a year. We'll start some solids in the next month. I think baby food is one of my least favorite stages so we're starting as late as possible. She's been healthy so far (knock on wood!). We've even managed to get on some sort of semi-predictable schedule. With a little sleep training we said goodbye to the cat naps. She now naps 2-3 times a day. She's up by 8am and in bed around 8pm. Not quite sleeping through the night yet. She's normally up once which doesn't really bother me because she eats and goes right back to sleep.

Hunter Heath Powell H-U-N-T-E-R

She's found her feet!

Peyton's First 'Trick'