Eight months

Meant to make this post when Ian was 6 months but I blinked and here we are at 8 months!

Ian has been busy....

crawling (army style),

climbing and destroying,

giggling,

teething (7 in one month!),




teasing sister,



and charming Mommy every possible moment!

I love this little man!

2 hour tutu

Well it happened this week...Breanna asked to play dress up. I wondered when she would hit this age as my neice was always wanting to play dress up. I had this project in the works for a while and thought I had a little longer to make it, but all of the sudden she grew up on me! This was a very fun & short project. It was completed while the kids were taking naps, yea! Breanna just loves dancing around in it. It brings back memories of my cousin Cindy and I twirling around for hours in tutus.

So this is how it is done. I bought the top on sale at Kohls and the tulle on clearance at F&M. I cut 8 strips of 2 1/2 yards by 9 inches of the tulle. I staggered four strips of the tulle and then gathered it together (so it wouldn't all start and end in the same place). Four of the strips I sewed directly onto the bottom of the shirt and the other 4 I sewed onto the bottom of the shirt in the opposite direction so it would fluff up (see picture).

Then I added a few fabric flowers that I have been obsessed with making lately. The only thing I would probably do differently next time is use stay tape or don't use a rib knit, it just stretched too much. I am envisioning one with the #3 on it for her birthday.

Potty training and M&M math

Our girl is potty trained! We are definitely excited around here about that, since it seems like it has been such a long journey. Once she decided she was ready, we were done with diapers after a day and a half of potty training. She was so excited to fill up her sticker chart and get her new toy ( a Tag Jr. reading system...very cool). She is still putting stickers on and getting M&Ms when she goes. When we are out and about she keeps a tally in her head of how many M&M's we owe her. We give her 1 for #1 and 2 for #2, so once she had tallied up 3 (yes, she added by herself), she came back and grabbed four from the jar. I said, "No, Breanna, you get three, not four." She said ok and went back and grabbed another one! I like the way she does math when it comes to candy. We will see how things go when the jar of M&Ms are gone...I heard a certain little girl stopped going after the motivation was gone, but I'm not mentioning any names!

Oh and when she fills up her #2 chart, she gets to spend a day at the beach with Grammy. Those were her terms. Quite the negotiator!

Mammoth Vacation

Ok...time to play catch up! It's been a while! Every summer (well almost every year) my family goes to Mammoth Lakes for a week. We all stay together in one big condo and it gets crazy at times, but we always have fond memories. The weather was amazing and the views were crystal clear...these trips always makes me marvel at God's creation. Activities were limited and sleep was illusive with 5 kids, but we still enjoyed walks, the parks, golfing for the guys, shopping, some fishing, and lots and lots of great food. Here are some pictures...a lot, I know, but only about 10% of what were taken!

Carring an 18 pounder

loving the trolley ride

One of the fun parks

Ian 6 mo, Alex 3, Annalise 3 mo, Abby 5, Breanna 2 1/2

The "A" team

Waiting for the trolley ride

They love their Papa

My silly boy

The fourth of July parade

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Fun in Bakersfield?

Last week our family met up at Mill Creek park (or Central Park) to see the latest progress on the project that my dad and brother's civil engineering firm is designing. The kids played in the park for a while and then we took a walk along the creek. For a moment, I forgot we lived in Bakersfield as the weather was cool and breezy and the scenery was so beautiful. My suggestion for your next date night or family outing: Eat at old Mexicali (on 18th street...yum!) then take a stroll along the Mill Creek walkway, you will be pleasantly surprised that you are in downtown Bakersfield.

More info and pictures of the project here. Dad is so talented!

Bre and cousin Abby having fun in the park

The enginerds...uh I mean engineers

The kids all enjoyed dinner at Mexicalli

For the birthday girl

Bre was invited to a princess birthday party this weekend. She had so much getting all dressed up as Snow White and then had even more fun jumping in the bounce house with the dress on. We made this top and clip for the birthday girl. I say "we" because Breanna picked out the fabric and played so well while I sewed.



I used a new shirring method that I learned from this tutorial. I was a little intimidated at first, but it ends up being quite easy and so much fun! I am now a little obsessed with wanting to add shirring to everything I sew.

Growing so fast!

I can't believe how fast Ian is growing! Maybe it's because he is baby #2 and things are just so much busier than they were with Breanna, but I'm pretty sure he is just growing faster than his sister did. He is now 4 1/2 months and weighs somewhere around 15-16 pounds. He loves to sit in the baby seat and play with toys. He rolls from his tummy to back. Loves, loves, loves his sister. He giggles when he sees himself in the mirror and when Bre or his cousin Abby talk to him. He loves his rice cereal...the boy is an eater! His first two bottom teeth are peeking through. Oh, and yes he is balding, but new blonde hair is coming in.

3 1/2 months

4 months

4 1/2 months

Breanna is 2 1/2 now and so much fun! She loves to sing and dance and pretend. Her favorite currently is to play doctor and give us shots...it's probably because she went so many times this Spring, poor girl! She is the sweetest to her brother and likes to be mommy's big helper. She gets very shy and quiet around lots of kids at church or MOPS. She actually had the nursery workers thinking that she doesn't know how to talk yet, but then she lets it all out when she gets home!

Notice her legs...busy, busy!

Cheeeeese!