Cuter than a Cupcake

Valentine's Wreath

The burlap wreath has once again been reinvented...this time for Valentine's Day.

I took apart the argyle and strung these Target heart shaped Christmas ornaments across the wreath for a bunting effect.  The ornaments were 3 for 10 cents at the Target Christmas clearance.  So the total cost for the wreath was 20 cents!

And here it is as a fall wreath and a spring wreath.

I love versatile decorating objects!

And just for fun here's the Valentine inspired mantle.  I have never decorated for V-day (not really sure this would be considered decorating for the holiday) but I had fun putting a few touches of hearts in the house.

I strung a few of the heart shaped ornaments in an empty frame.  I also repurposed the wooden red ball garland we use at Christmas.  Then I hung a strand of book paper hearts to complete the look.  It was inspired by some friends at craft night and literally took 5 minutes to make!

I love the monochromatic look with a touch of red. 

Playtime brought to you by Sawyer

I think I've mentioned this before, but Sawyer is the best big brother.  Anytime Nora is crying and I'm preoccupied I can ask him to go entertain her and he responds immediately.  This day he wanted to show her how this toy worked.  Sidenote: I promise my children do not always wear pj's, they just always happen to be in pj's when I pull out the camera...

Hi Nora, look at this toy

you wind it up

then watch it walk

now I want to hold your  hand

close up so in later years I can prove they once adored each other :)

2 years

Our little guy went for his 2 year well child visit and here are his stats:

Height: 32.75 inches (10%)

Weight: 23.6 lbs. (5%)

Head Circumference: 18.5 inches (10%)

 You really pick up on non verbal expressions.  When something is shocking or exciting you say "Ah" and gasp with a wide open mouth.  When I ask you a question and you are unsure of the answer you say an extended "um"

You LOVE to learn.  You would read books all day if I had the energy to read to you all day.  As we read you stop me, point to an object, and ask "that?"  You want to know what everything on the page is even the letters in the words.

You can say your alphabet very clearly by repeating what we say.  You can sing it all by yourself.  You can also identify several letters including: A, B, C, D, E, H, I, K, M, N, O, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z.  I really don't know where you picked up the letter identification.  We've never really taught you to recognize the letters but several times a day you will surprise me by saying something like "H, H, H, H" and then I look and the box I have or the toy you have has an "H" on it.  When daddy wears a Malone shirt (which is everyday :) you tell him each letter on his shirt.

I love how your mind works!  I love to see things from your perspective.  The other day we were at Sonic and you kept yelling "D, D, D" and I looked around and sure enough they had circle fluorescent light decorations that were split and looked like a capital D.  When we're in stores you observes things I usually walk right by without a second glance.  But you help me slow down and enjoy the little things through your eyes!

You adore Elmo and Big Bird, which you call "AD," is a close second.  Actually he loves the whole Sesame Street gang in fact we always have to pray for them at night.  You also received a Yo Gabba Gabba video for Christmas and you seem intrigued by it as well.

Other activities you like to do include puzzles, coloring, "playing" the piano, playing with your finger puppets, playing with Nora, and "helping" Mommy

You still wear a size 3 diaper during the day and a size 4 at night.

You primarily wear a size 24 month or 2T though in pants you can still fit in 18 months.

Since summer you have been wearing a size 5 shoe...then you got new shoes for Christmas and I'm ashamed to admit you are now a size 7...poor thing has been wearing shoes that are way too tight.

Your daily routine goes like this:

7:00 am wake up

7:30 eat breakfast, watch Willa's Wild Life, snuggle with momma

8:00 play

9:30 Nora takes a nap, so this is when we do learning activities or coloring or hang out with daddy while momma works out

11:00 play

11:30 eat lunch

12:00 play with daddy during lunch break

1:00 nap

4:00 play, you wake up Nora (one of my favorite times of day), watch a video

5:30 eat supper

6:00 family time

8:00 get ready for bed (bath, brush teeth, books, prayers)

8:30 lights out

And just like any little boy you love to run around especially if you're naked.

Momma's not quite ready but you are showing some signs of getting ready for potty training.  You tell us when you are poopy.  Sometimes you say "poopy" before you go.  You sometimes will tell us when you are wet.  One day your pants got wet with some drool and you did not like it.  You kept insisting your pants were wet and needed changed.  You are staying dryer at night.  We will have to work on limiting drinks before sleep times.  I think all of this bodes well for future potty training efforts.  But unless you push the issue we'll probably wait a few more months.

You have your moments of disobedience every day, sometimes it's a struggle to get you to eat, you're not always fond of sharing, but we'll take all of that because you have a zest for life, you love to explore and climb and jump, you are usually very sweet, you are a loyal little fellow who LOVES his close friends, and you're such a joy!  We can't wait to see what God has in store for you in the next year! 

Winter Walk

A few days this winter we've enjoyed sunshine and mild temperatures.  So to take advantage of the nice weather we bundled up and went outside for a walk.

Oh how glorious it is to get outside!

Just Wanna Jump Jump

Sawyer 

LOVES to 

Jump

We've got a jumper.  He jumps all over the house.  The ironic thing is he is also a climber.  In the world of child safety climbers and jumpers do not go well together.  So he must be monitored closely as he will climb on top of and jump off of almost anything.

Gifts of the Adult Variety

I know Christmas is long gone, but I wanted to post some gift ideas I made for friends and neighbors. These would make great small gifts all year round for birthdays, house warming, or as a thank you.

Ruffled Dish Towel 

Tutorial via Sweetwater

Another way to spice up a dish towel 

Honey Butter: recipe via Our Best Bites

I made a loaf of bread to go with the butter and gave it to our neighbors.  Something less traditional than a plate of cookies.

No, not yet

In all of the recent birthday fanfare for Sawyer we haven't mentioned our little girl much.  Well she's been moving right along (literally).  My sweet little baby has decided at the wee age of 5 months that she would like to be mobile.

She is up on all fours 

 rocking back and forth

 moving her legs, but she hasn't quite figured out the arm thing yet

 As she tries with all her might to move she gets up on her toes as if to do a push-up or a bear crawl.

Kyle and I had a talk with her and told her she is not allowed to be mobile yet, but then she falls down and gives us this smile and we let her continue practicing. 

She's days away from a life changing event.  Which means we're days away from a life changing event...We're excited for her to be able to explore her world.  I'm not excited for the additional cleaning and making sure all small toys are out of reach.

Elmo Loves Sawyer {Party Details}

To say my son is obessessed with Elmo would be an understatement.  I've heard him wake up in the middle of the night crying out for Elmo.  When he wakes in the morning the 1st thing he wants is Elmo.  He gets very excited when he discovers an Elmo book.  I could go on and on.  So when his 2nd birthday rolled around I had no option...I had to throw an Elmo themed party.  I wanted to do something low key that focused on Sawyer getting to play with his friends so we held a play date on a Friday morning and then invited family to come for lunch during the play date.

Here are the party elements:

An Elmo shirt

A new tradition: the birthday banner, it's reversible boy on 1 side girl on the other

The mantle using stuff from around the house and a dollar tree elmo balloon

Food table

Elmo cupcakes

Chocolate chip cookies in honor of Cookie Monster

Goldfish in honor of Elmo's best friend Dorothy 

 And our very own Dorothy...I think the real goldfish was the major attraction at the party and Sawyer is quite smitten...I think we have our 1st pet

Utensils rolled and tied with an Elmo printable 

 Party games: Oscar's trash toss and Big Bird's balloon game

 Despite my initial qualms about a theme party I really had fun planning this event.  I got several ideas from Pinterest so here is a source list or you can visit my pinterest page and view the 2nd birthday party board.

Sources
Printables: created by me
Elmo balloons: Dollar Tree
Pennant Banner: template, sewn by me
Elmo shirt: template created and sewn by me, idea via Children's Place (no longer in stock)
Elmo cupcakes: This Momma Loves
Oscar's trash toss: Annie's Eats