Simplified Christmas Decor

This year due to lots of holiday traveling and Sawyer's rapidly approaching 1st birthday I was not going to decorate for Christmas. But in the end I could not resist decorating the mantle. I've never had a mantle and I really wanted to hang the stockings (even though 1 got cut from the arrangement).

So here's my simplified Christmas decor:

Mantle

Door Wreath

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

This past weekend we headed to Akron for the annual Christmas tree festival. Kyle and I decided this was our first kid type event we have taken Sawyer too...while he had fun I'm pretty sure we were far more entertained than he was :)

The event was a fundraiser for the Akron Children's Hospital, in which different people and groups donate a decorated tree then people buy the trees. Plus there are lots of fun, kid-friendly activities.

We (as in Me) learned how to make an origami christmas tree, Sawyer visited Santa, and then we viewed the wondrous trees. There was some very creative trees such as an Avatar tree and a Wizard of Oz tree.

In honor of his heritage Sawyer had to get a picture of the Wizard of Oz tree.

This was one of my favorite trees...Sesame Street themed...I've become very fond of Sesame Street in the last few months :)

Sawyer also got to meet Santa for the 1st time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are so blessed and we are giving thanks today!

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Picture of a Little Girl...

is no longer.

I am a sucker for a good deal @ our local Habitat for Humanity Restore. They had a sale on frames and I was searching for a large chunky frame. I left the store with a monstrosity of a picture. It was so ugly I forgot to take a picture, but it's similar to the one below.

In all it's gilded gold glory.

Source: Edgar L. Owen

I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it or where it was going to go, but I kept it in the middle of the living room until I had an epiphany (or I saw something I liked on a blog).

It took me many weeks to get up the courage to transform this ugly duckling into something beautiful. But this quick and easy project turned out better than I could have imagined.

The once outdated picture is now a chalkboard! Actually a very large chalkboard that resides on our mantel.

All I did was use 3 coats of spray chalkboard paint. Once that was dry I taped off the chalkboard and applied 2 coats of spray primer and 2 coats of white spray paint.

The total cost was $6!

The current quote is Thanksgiving inspired:

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Psalm 100:4

It should be fun putting different Bible verses or quotes on the chalkboard that reflect our family or the season.

Control

Someone has a control issue

A remote control issue that is

He believes they all belong to him

But he's willing to share sometimes

1st Christmas Present: Check

I started this project long ago (like back in September). My method was revised several times, but I finally completed it. The result is a felt alphabet for Sawyer.

I used felt and scraps of my favorite fabrics. Then I machine sewed around the letters. This should provide fun and learning for many years to come.

Total price: 2.25! Now that's my kind of gift :)

Don't look too close the "X" is missing...I lost my template "X" hopefully I can finish the last letter before X-Mas.

Birthday Weekend

Not only was the past weekend the final football game of the season, but it was also my birthday. Kyle did a great job making it a special weekend.

On Saturday after the game we were getting ready to go to a end of the season party when the whole Schenk clan arrived for a surprise celebration. We went to eat at Outback and then back home to have cupcakes from a local cupcake shop. I had a Smore's cupcake and it was delish. I also received a garage door opener (just the clicker, we already had the actual contraption on the garage door).

On Sunday, my actual birthday, I awoke to rain and dread. Some time ago I volunteered to run a 5k on my birthday. When I woke on Sunday I really didn't feel like running, but I figured since I was up I might as well go. I have been training (loosely) with a friend. Due to early morning football practices we haven't had a chance to practice very much and the most we have run is 2 miles. But we were determined to do it...our goal was to finish and we did :) My previous marathon running self would be very embarrassed by our time, but I don't really care. I ran 3 miles for the 1st time since June and I'm very happy with that. Following the race the event organizers supplied beer, brats, and hot dogs. It was 9:00 am and I had just run a grueling race...needless to say the idea of eating hot dogs was not appealing...instead I went home and ate a cupcake :)

When I got home my 2 babes greeted me wearing birthday hats. We went to church, out to lunch, and then home to relax (with no homework). The boys napped while I worked on crafts. It was a perfect birthday!

Game #10 (a.k.a. final game)

The Pioneers played Olivet Nazarene at home for their final game of the season. It was a wild and crazy game with lots of long runs, special team excitement, linebackers playing fullback and scoring a touchdown, etc. The 1st half was a little rough, but the Pioneers pulled it together in the 2nd half and won handily 56-21.

Mother & son photo shoot before the game

Chillin @ the game in his new sneeks.

I think they are adorable! (he was so funny when he tried to walk in these for the 1st time, it was like he was stuck in cement, leaning forward, but not able to pick up his feet :)

Tender father & son moment

The family 3

Update from a previous game: In last week's game a certain defensive coordinator (I won't name names) pulled a stunt that resulted in a very swollen, bruised, and bloody hand. The trainer suspected a break. After much persuasive talk (i.e. nagging) on my part this certain defensive coordinator went to the dr. for an X-ray and I am happy to report there is no break...this time...the X-ray did reveal another break (he's broken this hand several times) that was never properly fixed. Anyway, we are all happy that no cast or surgery is needed (right now).

The rest of the weekend was also filled with fun...more on that to come.

10 months

Guess who is 10 months today!

He started walking at 9 1/2 months. Sawyer took his first steps when the grandparents were in town. He walked 2 or 3 steps to daddy. Currently if we stand him up with no support he will take a few steps (up to 15). He's also taken a few unprovoked steps to his toys. He has not graduated to walking all the time, but I know that is just around the corner. Not sure I am ready for that stage.

S Walking2 from Kristen Schenk on Vimeo.

Vocabulary: Dada & alldone (a.k.a. all done). The kid can say all done, but not mama, what!? Seriously strange.

His new favorite game is patty cake and he L.O.V.E.S it.

Patty Cake from Kristen Schenk on Vimeo

He has four teeth (2 bottom, 2 top)

Wearing 9 month clothes

Baby Closet Craft

In my spare time (ha) I have been working on few small crafts.

I made a set of closet organizers for Sawyer's closet. I wish I had made these before he was born. They are very helpful when I'm picking out his clothes in the morning. It actually saves me time as I do not have to look at the tag of every shirt in the closet.

This was a very simple project. I purchased the bare wood door hangers at Hobby Lobby. Kyle cut the slits in the wood, so they would fit over the closet rod.

I painted the edges white.

Then mod-podged scrapbook paper and numbers to the hangers.

Sand the edges and voila it's done!

And just in case we have a female child sometime in the future I decorated the other side with a more femine feel.
While I find them very useful for myself they would also be a great, unique gift for a baby shower.

SMILE

Sawyer

Makes

It easy to smile &

Laugh

Every time

Does he have that effect on you?

Game #9

The game ended 7-28 with the Pioneers on the losing end against #? Marian. On a positive note the team improved throughout the game. At halftime the score was 0-25, so the second half went better.

Sawyer and I were blessed to watch the game from the warm confines of the pressbox. It was cold and snowy and miserable outside, but we stayed warm and cozy inside with the other coaches wives and kids. Sawyer had fun as evidenced by the pictures.

Gameday got even more exciting after the game...more on that next time...

Yum, this glass tastes good :)

Movin' On Up

Sawyer finally had his 9 month well child check-up and we got some surprising results.

Head circumfrence: ? 25%

Weight: 16 lb. 12 oz. 10%

Height: 27 1/2 in. 20%

He has officially moved up from the 3rd percentile (where he had been since birth). Yeah for a growing boy! I've never been too concerned with his percentiles because he has always been a healthy, happy boy, but it's always good to know they are growing.

(The bruise on his cheek is from him falling on the dishwasher and I'm sure there will be lots more to come.)

Also while at the doctor's office I asked the pediatrician when I could start introducing small amounts of whole milk. The typical introduction age is 12 months, but I am starting to wean Sawyer from breastmilk and I was just curious how long I would have to buy formula. Anyway, to my surprise he told me I could start giving him whole milk right now and switch completely to whole milk in about 1 month. He said breastmilk and/or formula are recommended until age 1 not because of allergies, but because of important vitamins that cow's milk lacks. However, if he is eating a balanced diet he should get all the vitamins and minerals he needs from fruits, veggies, meat, and dairy. So, my plan is to continue to use breastmilk/formula exclusively for the next month and then start introducing whole milk. Has anyone introduced milk before 12 months? How did it work for you and your child?

And the biggest surprise during the visit was the ped told me that as of 9 months I could feed Sawyer any food with no exceptions except honey! Most recommendations state no peanut butter until 1 or 2 years of age, no eggs until 1, no tomatoes...You get the point. This is primarily due to food allergy concerns. The doctor said recent research does not support these recommendations, so I am free to feed him anything except honey or foods that are choking hazards. It's so interesting to me that parents and doctors have such different views on introducing food to children.

In my experience with Sawyer he has had no allergic reactions and he is now tolerating some meat (we haven't tried turkey again). He has been very close to me when I was eating peanut butter and no reactions appeared. So, I feel pretty comfortable giving him all foods. I may keep the peanut butter away until at least 1. Not because of allergies, but because I know how much I love pb and that's all I wanted to eat as a kid. I want to encourage his veggie eating as much as possible, so keeping pb out of his diet might be a good idea :)

Little Stinker

Our 'lil stinker

Sawyer was a skunk for his 1st halloween

I may be biased, but I think he's the cutest skunk I've ever seen.

The extent of Sawyer's halloween fun consisted of dressing up for a photoshoot in the leaves.

Then we put the costume back on Halloween night and had a couple Skype dates with the grandparents. Sawyer showed off his cuteness and opened the halloween treats that the grandparents sent.

Spotting some prey

On the attack

Demonstrating his menacing skunk face.