So glad it's Monday!

I don't know when the last time I said that was.  Boy was my baby girl sick.  The flu and it was a nasty one.   I've never had a kid so sick for so long.  For 55 hours starting Wednesday afternoon she ran the highest fever.  At one point the thermometer read 104.8.  Talk about scary.  She took a lot of baths to help keep it down.  She was achey and just so pitiful.  See?  She went to bed Friday with no fever and it hasn't been back.

Sunday we decided we needed a Family Fun Day.  The weather was gorgeous so we decided on Sea World.  We got season passes so there will be lots of trips there this year.

Hunter is just tall enough to do the kid rides/coasters.  This one was one of those free fall ones, but a kid version.  It was more like bouncing than free falling.  I think Hunter likes to scream because he thinks that's just what you're supposed to do.  

My sweet girl <3

feeding the sting rays

Happy Valentine's Day!  I almost forgot.  We don't do much around here for V day.

My Muse

I can see how so many women discover their love and talent for photography after they have children. Who do you practice on before then?  I've always taken pictures, made scrapbooks, and documented things, but my love for photography did now show its face until after Hunter was born.  I even had the nicer camera for a while before he was born, but it wasn't until he came along that I really started to spend the time learning how to use it.  And, of course, I'm still learning.  You can never know everything.

Peyton is definitely my muse these days.  She doesn't mind the camera in her face.  Hunter isn't big on posing for pictures these days, but he'll humor me once in a while.  Peyton was interested in my tripod when I brought it out the other day.  Maybe she'll share my love of photography :o)

And lookit that belly!  That belly means she's totally still a baby :)

She can show a little 'tude if you couldn't tell.

Enjoy your weekend!  We were supposed to be visiting my parents, but Peyton has the flu so we'll be staying put.

Embrace the Camera: February 10

I've been saying for the longest time that I'll get the tripod out and take some pictures with the timer.  I finally did it.  But now I've decided that a remote would be much easier than running back and forth to the camera to set the timer!  It was fun though.  Other than my blown out white shirt they turned out good.

This is something I learned from my sister and her kids.  When they were little their dad would flip them like this.  I did it with my nephews and now with my kids.  I haven't found a kid who doesn't love it.

Peyton's been pretty sick the past two days so it makes me happy to look at these :)

Enjoying My Baby

I can't believe we're almost half way through Peyton's year of being one.  Some days feel really long, but time always seems like it's flying.  I can't imagine how people who have more than two kids feel.  It must fly even faster for them.  I feel like I'm really enjoying her as much I possibly can.  She's my last baby and those baby days will soon be over.  I mean, she'll always be my baby, but you know what I mean.  At least I'll have all these pictures to help me remember how little she once was.

We had a little roll in the grass session...ignore our half dead grass and just look at the cute kid :o)

Father Son Bond

I can't say that Hunter is a momma's boy or a daddy's boy.  He doesn't seem to favor either one of us.  Daddy is definitely more fun and he can usually get Hunter to do things that I cannot.  I do think Hunter is a  Daddy pleaser.  He wants to impress his Daddy and have his Daddy be proud of him.  I love the bond they share.  I hope they'll always be the best of friends.

This was a game of 'who can scare the crap out of the other'.  They'd be sitting there talking about something, looking up at the birds, and then one would scream 'BOO' as loud as possible and both would collapse into a fit of giggles.

My kids are SO ticklish, but they love being tickled at the same time.

This was taken before they left for Donuts with Dad at school last week.  They said to wear your favorite sports shirt so they represented our Jacksonville Jaguars.

What we've been up to...

I haven't been doing much sewing/crafting lately, but I did manage to make another pleated scarf (with lighter weight knit this time) and a petal pusher.

Hunter wanted to make a card for Daddy one day and was so excited to give it to him.

Then he had to decorate a heart as homework for school.  He painted the heart red, stamped it with lots of hearts, and then used stickers to put the people he loves name's on it.

Peyton's trying to grow up too fast.  She wants to do everything the big kids do.  She's always so proud when she does.  She figured out how to push the button on the motorized car and thought it was the best thing.

Heath got a little tax return treat (drill press) so he's a happy guy.

Boy and Guns

While the rest of the United States is freezing and covered in snow we're fighting to keep from turning our A/C on some days.  Yesterday was one of those days.  We were sweating while playing outside.  We got the cap guns out for the boys to play with in the yard.  Boys like guns, it's just a fact of life.

The weeks are flying by.  I can't believe it's Friday again!  We have another busy weekend ahead.  Hunter has two birthday parties to attend.  He has quite the social calendar these days.  And then we're hoping to make it to a Superbowl Party.  It'll be Monday before I know it!

Embrace the Camera: February 3

We had pictures taken recently with Heath's dad's side of the family.That would be 9 adults and 8 children.Chaotic? Yes.Meltdowns by little girls? Yes and Yes.Do I want to do it again anytime soon? No, ma'am.
Peyton was DONE by the time this shot came around.

All the cousins

This is my fav.

Photos taken by Erin Miller Photography.

House Updates

We're always doing something to our house.  Our most recent decision was to pack away the dining room and make it the play room.  We LOVE our black, square dining room table, but we NEVER use it.    We're storing the table and chairs away so later in life we'll be able to use it again.

Here's the before:

And here's the after.
(excuse all my phone pics)
Storage pieces and light from IKEA.  

I think I'll eventually get a bigger rug for the room.

Here's a close-up of the collage on the left wall.  The two black squares on the right wall will eventually be covered in pictures, too.  Heath made these for me.  They are 25"x25" and I just taped pictures onto them.  I take so many and have so many favorites that this is the perfect way for me to display a lot of pictures in the house.

We also decided to change the lights in the kitchen.  We put these in 8 years ago when the house was first built.  I guess our style has changed a bit.  They're pretty modern.


Replaced them with these.  The feel is a bit warmer now.

Next up will be a bit more involved project.  The room that was the play room (but built to be the formal living room) will be enclosed and will be a guest bedroom since we currently don't have one.
Heath will have to put up a wall with a door. 

Hopefully it all goes smoothly!