October 2014

They are growing up so fast!!

 

Where has the time gone?  Can you believe that Nate is 5 inches shorter and 10 pounds lighter than Juliet and he is 2.5 years younger than she is???  

 Minion onesies.  It's amazing what you can get your kids into because the other sibling has it.

This is from Zoo Boo last Saturday.  I wouldn't let Juliet wear her Elsa dress because I want it in good condition for Halloween.  This is her Rapunzel wedding dress, her Anna (frozen) crown and an Elsa braid.  Told her she was having an identity crisis!!  Haha!  Nate just loves being Captain America!

Our little pumpkins in the patch.  They see this everyday and scream PUMPKINS!  Juliet was able to stick 6 little pumpkins in that glitter purse.

Nate is 3

My sweet buddy bear turned 3 last week! 

It's been MY BIRTHDAY for months now.  A few months is forever in a little boy's mind.  Our Elf Buddy returned for the big day and decorated Nate's room and the fireplace!!  That was a lot of fun until Nate woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get out of his room because there were streamers covering the door. 

We took him to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate with our family.  He had a blast and loves all the attention!

We had his party on Saturday and it was a huge success.  He had a lot of fun and we had so many friends!  He was so excited to blow out the candle and yes he blew it out this year and didn't put it out with his fingers!!

None the less we survived and it was a great 3rd birthday!  Now if we can just make it thru the terrible 3's!!  I love you my buddy bear!!

I'm Already Behind - January 2014

Wow!  It's February and I am already behind on blogging for 2014.

January kinda snuck up on us.  Mommy started a new job and everyone went back to school after a 2 week vacation.  We had some very pretty days before we had to go back and of course love being outside!

Juliet and I went to the movies to see Frozen.  It was her first movie and in true Disney form, it made her cry and there wasn't much I could do except hold her and comfort.  I didn't think we were going to make it thru the entire movie, but we did and now she says she loves it. 
Nate has become such a 2.5 year old boy.  Bad attitude and screaming one minute and snuggles and kisses the next.  I can tell him something and he screams at me NO.  Then goes and does what I ask. He is really cute because I tell him something is broken and needs new batteries, he will go get me 1 C cell battery, no matter what type of toy it is. 

Juliet had her first dance competition and her team won 2nd place.  They did so good and we are so proud of her. 

We have had 2 "Snow Days" recently.  Pajamas all day, playing outside, mommy and daddy home trying to work and two kids who demanded constant attention made working... not so easy.   We did build "snowmen"

Juliet hosted her first movie night.  We had friends over and had popcorn and minions.  It was a fun night.
For the weirdness of January.  We went to Freebirds and the motorcycle hanging from the ceiling flipped him out so bad he had to leave the restaurant. 

They are growing up so fast!!

Congrats Chris and Kristin!

This past weekend we celebrated the marriage of Chris and Kristin.  We love you both and wish you a lifetime of happiness!

1st week of new school

Kids started their new school this week. To Nate absolutely nothing has changes except his teachers. He doesn't seem fazed at all. Juliet started kindergarten at Primrose and she is having a tough week. First week of no naps has made her CRANKY.  I am just happy we are closer to home now and can hopefully get into a routine fast!  Here are my cuties!

Today he is 2

Where has the year gone?  Today Nate is 2 years old!  He is such a talker, he loves to jump, climb and swing from bars or rings, he is very much a mommies boy, he can be cranky when we don't know what he is trying to tell us, loves Mickey Mouse and watching Octonauts and Jake and the Neverland pirates. He is not a big rule follower, likes everything exactly the way he wants it. We have him enrolled at Little Gym and he is loving that, never wants to participate in circle time but loves free play. He is starting to potty train at school and again, the teachers are getting all the credit!!  He is growing up on us so much!  Birthday party on Saturday!  (Then we move to a new house and he is getting a big boy bed!!!)

Love you my buddy bear!

Our Newest Journey

In a little less than 2 weeks, we will begin a new venture in our lives.  We are in the process of packing our home to move.  I am scared, I am stressed and I am excited.  How can I be all those things at once?  I am scared to leave the only home that my children have ever known.  Why am I worried about this?, they are super excited apparently.  I am stressed at getting one home packed, move our things to storage, move to a hotel, then close on houses and move into a new much larger one.  One with a much larger note.  I am excited about what the future holds for our family, the excellent schools and the fact that we are now closer to friends and most importantly, the church.  Keep us in your prayers as we get thru the next 2 weeks.

So much change

I know, 30 lashes with a wet noodle for me.  It has been so long since I have blogged.  We have been prettu busy and then sickness hit our house and it's just tough to find the time to sit down and write. 

The kids have grown so much.  We took them to the Zoo Monday and since it was not a weekend day there weren't thousands of people there so we could let the kids run around and not be confined to the stroller or right by our sides.  We fed the giraffes, of course and rode the carousel.  Twice.  Nate loves it any animal is fine with him and he likes to go up and down, Juliet only wants to ride the giraffe, she does not want to go up and down.  Only the giraffe, nothing else. 

Last week Nate had pneumonia and strep.  He was a very sick little boy and it really scared mommy and worried Dr. Ori.  You know when the doctor is concerned, the kid is sick.  A week before that I had the flu and a week before that Jon had the flu.  Other than an ear infection that wouldn't go away, Juliet was the only healthy one in the bunch. 

Speaking of Juliet, she has gotten back in the habit of fighting us to go to bed.  She wants to stay up late and is a bear when she gets up in the morning because she is still tired.  We have tried to get her to go to bed earlier but I think her nap may be messing with her being tired.  She also has decided she doesn't want to sleep alone, she's not alone she has at least 50 animals in there with her. 

Nate is into the hugging stage.  He will hug whoever you tell him to.  When we would do his nebulizer he would be sitting in my lap and would wrap his arm behind my head and bring my face close to his so he could hug me and get a kiss.  I finally got him to let me fly airplane with him.  He grinned so big, it was something new that really made him happy.  He is such a good little eater, likes most everything I put on his plate.  Nate had his first dental appointment, which went really good.  He climbed up and only cried when they flossed his teeth.  The dentist confirmed a suspicion that I had that he had too many teeth.  He does have an extra tooth, it's why his teeth are so crowded.

Juliet got to go to the game store with daddy.  You would have thought she was going to get to visit a real princess in a castle.  She was jumping all over the place telling me rapidly she was going to the game store.  She is getting better at eating.  We don't have to fight her as hard to get her to try new things.  I put them on her plate and she whines, but will eat, usually it is only 4 bites.  She found the control to the bed the other day and thought it was funny to fill it up to rock hard then let all the air out.  Still haven't gotten it back right!!  :)  She still really loves dance and art. 

The kids are growing so quickly it's hard to keep up.  If you aren't on flickr, you really are missing out.  You do need a flickr account, it's free, and I have to add you as a friend.  It's easy. 

Hope everyone is good!
Love, Laura

Doing something right

Tonight as we sat down to dinner Nate held his hands out to us. We all hold hands as we pray and he has figured out that he needs to be included in this. Made my heart swell. He had just been clasping his hands, so he knew what we were doing

I am one proud mommy!

bad Bad BAD

Yes, I have been terrible at blogging, WHO has the TIME!  I promise a full blog soon, like this week sometime!!!

Juliet Claire turns 4

What a precious little girl she is!  I can not believe she is already 4, even though we have celebrated the ENTIRE month of December so I really should be used to it by now!!! 
She is very much a Disney Princess fan and we had a princess theme party this year!

She takes dance class twice a week and was in 2 recitals this year and performed great at each one!!  I am so proud of how she gets out there and dances her little heart out!

 

She loves her little brother, although sometimes he annoys her, she will always take up for him and make sure he has everything that he needs.

She has decided that going to sleep is not something she wants to do, is getting a little more adventurous in trying new foods and she does not like loud noises.

Loves Chick-Fil-A, Cubbies, My Little Ponies, Octonauts, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates, LOVES glow bracelets, necklaces, wands, etc. (anything that glows).  For Christmas she wanted everything she saw on TV.  Ended up with most of it!  Top of the list was a unicorn cuddle-uppet, dream light unicorn, unicorn pillow pet, minnie mouse pillow pet, and a magna dot.  Enjoys dance, painting, drawing, writing her name, art, Cubbies, riding her bike, splashing in the water, purple baths, balloons, and anything chocolate, especially cupcakes and hershey bars!  

She is such a love bug and a big sweetheart.

Our sweet little girl is growing up fast!  I take every chance I get to snuggle with her!

We love you Juliet Claire!!

Love, Mommy

Katherine Paige Oreschnigg

On December 30, 2012 we welcomed Katherine Paige Oreschnigg to the family.  She is the daughter of James and Brandi and little sister to Cailin and Conall!  We love you baby girl!

Brody Derek Parker

Yesterday, November 20, 2012 at 8:43pm, we welcomed our newest nephew. He was 8 lbs 11 OSS and 20 1/4 inches of perfect. Congratulations new parents Derek and Jessie!

The day will come

I know that soon the day will come when my baby girl will not want to snuggle with me and be rocked as she wakes up.  Or she will not want to come in and crawl in bed with us just because she wants to.  So this morning I took advantage of her wanting a little mommy snuggle and held her (and ribbit) as we just rocked and snuggled.  Nothing could have made me give up that time.  She has always been such the snuggle bunny so when the time comes she doesn't want to anymore..., nevermind, I'm not thinking about it.

A little bit of this and that

A list then, sorry don't have alot of time.

- Glow sticks are fabulous.  I put them in the tub with the kids and turn off the lights and they have a blast!

- We had costume pictures done, with Jeni of course, and they turned out great as usual!

- Juliet has decided that now she loves princesses.  We watched Cinderella and she wanted to wear a Cinderella dress to do it.  Now she wants all the princess dresses when we watch the movies, better ask Santa, and she wants a princess party for her birthday.

- In dance they are learning their dances for the winter show.  The costumes they are going to wear are precious.
- Juliet is loving Awana's.  She is doing so good at memorizing her verses and remembering all the verses from the previous weeks.

- Nate is teething, he is so cranky, but I have found that chocolate milk seems to make him a little happier. 

- He loves this little dog that he found from Great Aunt Hazel, likes to carry it around and chew on the nose. 

- We have celebrated Cousin Brody at a few showers, Juliet was such a big girl and acted so good at all the showers.
- Mama got Nate a John Deere hat and he loves wearing it around.  She also got the kids Christmas ornaments that make noise, of course, and they love them.

- James and Ian moved the piano from Nanny's house this past weekend.  The kids love playing it, gotta find a tuner and work on learning to play.

- We have a tigger and a minnie that sing or dance and light up.  Nate loves them.  He will actually throw them at me for me to turn them on. 
- Nate has started saying Hi and he will wave bye-bye if you tell him to say bye-bye.
- Nate is a rough little boy.  He hits, pulls hair, etc.  Watch out sissy.

- Juliet is loving her big girl bike, she rides it very fast and is getting really good at it.  Nate pulled it down and scraped her knee the other day.  He got in trouble for that.

 
Next week is Halloween, can't wait to see the kids in costumes.

Hope you enjoyed the update and the pictures!

Stationery card

Cute To Spook Halloween Card

Create your own Halloween photo cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Diaper Trike

Diaper Tricycle Tutorial - Found on Southern Fried Gal
To begin, I use 15 (size one or two) diapers for each back wheel and 25 diapers for the front wheel. Roll one diaper up into a fairly tight roll. Then start layering the other diapers around the spacing the ends out to make the tread for the wheels. Secure with rubber bands to hold in place.


I have done this enough to have the top of the last diaper meet the bottom of a previous one. As a type A gal, I like that the orderliness of this. Use as many rubber bands as you need to keep the circle going. I think I use about three. In the end you will cover them up with pretty ribbon.

There may be a better way to secure the ribbon around each wheel but I prefer to do so with a safety pin. I personally can never find one when I need one around here so I like the usability of the pins in the final product. The wheels will be strategically placed to hide all our secrets. Rinse and repeat with the 25 diapers to create the front wheel. Once the wheels are assembled, poke your fingers through to create an opening.

I think the most fun part of this project is mixing and matching the accessories to create the trike. You will need two cotton receiving blankets (the stiffer the better), two bibs, one bottle, and a pair of coordinating socks. Individually roll up the blankets as tightly as you can. These will become what holds the trike together. Then insert one blanket through the front wheel.

Place the back wheels on either side of the front wheel. I like for the treads of my back wheel to face backwards and the front to run forward. Thread the blanket from the front wheel into the outside back wheels. Pull together tightly and secure (again I use a safety pin). Then I slide the blanket around so the pinned part is hidden inside one of the back wheels.
Next thread the other rolled blanket evenly through the front wheel. Place a bib over the front wheel to create the fender. I like to tuck my bib around to the back for added interest. Place the other bib over the back of the trike to create the seat.

If the bib is large enough I like to fasten the seat bib through the front wheel . If not I just tuck so that it is secure and orderly. Place a bottle on top of the front bib, pull up the second blanket to create bunny ears and secure with a rubber band. Work with the blanket to get the handles just right. It may take a bit for gravity to help the handle bars lay down the way you want them.


Finally add the finishing touches! Conceal the rubber band at the handle bars with a ribbon tied into a pretty bow. Use the socks on each end of the handle bars to create grippers (aren't they adorable?).
Then fluff and adjust until you get it just the way you want it.

For a beautiful presentation, wrap with tulle and tie with a coordinating ribbon. You'll have everyone oohing and ahhing over your skills at the shower!



I hope this helps you create gifts for your friends and family. If you decide to craft one (or twelve) please shoot me a picture of how it turns out! If you are crafty challenged or just don't have the time for a project like this you can order one from me and I'll ship to you or the gift recipient!