Carving Pumpkins

Saturday afternoon it dawned on Ronnie and I that if we were going to carve pumpkins this year, we would have to purchase those pumpkins that day.  So, Easton and Ronnie went off on a pumpkin adventure and brought back two pumpkins.

We sat down to carve them yesterday.

Easton was a lot more in to it this year.  He chose the shapes of his face and insisted that we only make happy pumpkins. 

Anyone who knows Easton knows that he has "issues" with some textures.  This face exactly describes his feelings when Dad told him he had to help pull out the guts this year.

 But he did it! And even fake smiled!

 Kendree had no such issues with the texture.  In fact, at one point she took a gigantic handful of pumpkin guts and then flung it in the air (getting them on the blinds, the floor, etc., etc.  Next year, we will be gutting the pumpkins, then cleaning those remains away and THEN carving. 

 Happy daddy.

 Kendree is starting to resist picture taking (something Easton has yet to do).  This was one of about 15 pictures I have of her purposely NOT looking at me.

 Easton and the finished products.

 Kenny and her pumpkin.

 And now, way more pictures than you care to see of the kids with the lit pumpkins outside, but they make me smile, so there.

Happy Halloween!

Love, Capt. Hook, Wendy, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.

Sorry for the two pictures, but you know how it is some of us look good in one, some look better in the other. :)

A nice shot of Peter Pan and Capt. Hook dueling.

Capt. Hook posing (you can tell how much he wanted to humor me).

  Tinkerbell showing me what candy she wanted next.

 And then saying, "Seriously mom.  I am so dang cute you just TRY to tell me no to one more piece."

How about a few infamous notes? You can skip these if you want, but I always get asked if I don't elaborate. Tinkerbell's costume consisted of a costume found by Grandma Cali at a local consignment shop, walmart white tights, hand-me-down white church shoes and a pair of $5 wings.  I put her hair back in a pony (just like Tink's).  I also made her a white tutu to go underneath in case she wanted to princess it up a little bit, but she would only put that on once and has never let me put it on again.
Peter Pan's costume was made by Grandma Wyo for my brother 18-ish years ago.  Both of my brothers wore it (at least once) and now Easton has too!  I did have to make a new hat (out of felt) and buy a new red feather (Hobby Lobby).  I also made the brown belt complete with knife holster (out of brown felt) and I bought new brown rope stuff for the top of his shirt. The knife was made out of several layers of felt as well. The tights I found on amazon for $3 and his shoes are his church shoes.
Wendy-I made Wendy's dress from a Butterick maternity pattern.  I actually liked the design of the shirts and dresses that were included so I figure I can make other maternity clothes in the future (you know in like 4 years when I'm ready for another kid :)  ) and the pattern didn't seem like such a waste of money.  The fabric is that stretchy dance fabric stuff (you know?) turned wrong side out (Wendy doesn't do a lot of JAZZ HANDS) as I couldn't find any light blue knit fabric. I also had a blue felt bow in my pony tail (not shown) that helped to complete the look a bit. I was definitely the most confusing of the family when I wasn't with the group.  I was asked if I was "just a pregnant lady" or if I was Mary, Jesus' mother several times.  I'm actually putting this dress in the "Christmas Nativity Dress ups" as it is a pretty perfect fit for Mary if I add a towel.
Capt. Hook-coat, hat, white shirt thingy and belt purchased as part of a "Captain Blackbeard" costume at Wal-mart while the boot covers and hook came from a different pirate kit I got on clearance after Halloween last year.  Ronnie also wore black shoes and a pair of his own black dress pants.  The wig was actually a Jack Sparrow wig also from Wal-mart, but we hid the beads and red bandanna under the hat.  I made his super long mustache out of felt and we attached it with my trust ATG gun glue cartridges.
Any other questions?

Baby #3 Girl Everyday Quilt

I still just love this color combo (thanks Alisa for the nudge in that direction).

This one I machine quilted 1/4 inch from all seams, then washed the quilt and dried it on high to get that more "vintage-y" effect.

I really tried to line up the back and front quilt pieces on this one (the third quilt I did) and it shows.  It has a much more even back piece.   Once again, I machine bound this quilt and as we can see with all three of my quilts recently, I really love a striped binding.

This will be the quilt (if the baby is a girl of course) that will come to church and on most errands and get the most day to day use.  You can see Easton's everyday quilt here, and Kendree's here.  If this little one is a boy, he'll get the quilt seen here.

And now I can say that all of my baby sewing projects are complete.  Now on to the rest of my to-do list....just about a month left to go!

Right where he/she should be

That was the result of my ultrasound this morning. 

I don't know if it was my constant prayers, or if the doctor was just wrong to begin with (since I can feel the same hard lump at the top of my belly that I could feel before, only now I am told that is the bum), but this baby is head down.

We toyed with the idea of Ronnie finding out the gender at this appointment, but then it just didn't seem like a great idea.  I would start analyzing everything he said and he would be extra nervous about tipping me off.

Bring on the weekly doctor appointments and all the fun of those last four weeks!

Baby #3 Baby Boy Crib Bedding ZigZag Quilt

It is funny how these take months and months to get to the end, and then all of the sudden you finish all of them in a matter of two days.

The boy crib bedding quilt is complete!  I love the chevron/zigzag pattern and it is super cozy to lay on (just ask either one of my kids!).

I kept the machine quilting simple on this one as well.  I stitched in the ditch (on the seams) as well and followed the zigzag pattern as that was what I wanted to stand out.  Add in a little machine binding and there you have it. 

My lining up skills for the back vs. front pieces improved with this quilt, but could still use some work.  It's a good thing that perfection has never been my crafting mantra.

This is the largest of the quilts I made this go around and actually needed the piecing on the back (or at least a seam of the same material).  I WAY overestimated the amount of fabric I needed for both of my bedding projects, so if you are having a baby in the future, expect gifts made in these color schemes. :)

The rest of the bedding?  See the crib skirt and bumpers.

Tutorial for the pattern found here.

Baby #3 Girl Crib Bedding Ruffle Quilt

It is complete!  I just love this part.  The feeling of accomplishment can't be beat.

This was my first attempt at machine quilting (thanks to my mom for just happening to have a walking foot that I can borrow).  I just stitched in the ditch (on top of the seam lines) in between each ruffle.  Easy peasy.  The ruffles make this quilt way heavier than you think, so moving that much fabric through and around my machine was not a cake walk.

I decided to piece the back for some visual interest and in the process learned that I am not very good at lining up the front and back pieces in a straight manner (hello little crooked left-hand side!).  Oh well, I figure that by the time my kids would notice such a thing, they will hopefully love the quilt so much it will just make them love it more--right?

You can bet I machine bound this bad-boy.  I just don't know if I will ever do it another way.  In 15 minutes my quilt can go from no binding to done.  That is my kind of ending!

Just for comparison's sake, you can see Kendree's ruffle quilt here.
Also, for the complete bedding set see the crib skirt and bumpers.

34 weeks

34 weeks. 6 to go. At the doctor this week everything continued to look good, but baby is breech currently.  The baby was also breech at my 32 week appointment and this same doctor told me "no worries, we have plenty of time." At this appointment he scheduled an ultrasound for next Friday so they can assess what kind of breech we are dealing with and the next steps.  While the news (or really the scheduling of an ultrasound) was a bit of a surprise to me, after the initial shock that day, I'm starting to chill a little bit.  I'll just wait for this little one to turn and all will be well (that is what I'm tell myself anyway).

Fatigue has started to set in.  I'm still able to get things done, but I'm not looking for things to fill every minute of my day like I do normally.  Changing Kendree's diapers causes my left leg to go completely numb within about 30 seconds and getting back up off the floor is quite the feat. :)

Still no heartburn, but my ankles are starting to swell just a little bit.  My sciatic pain continues to come and go, but hasn't been nearly as bad as it was two weeks ago. 

Baby moves all of the time and has started to stretch which while humorous is not my favorite.  I am officially slow and "waddling." 

Ronnie and I have worked on baby names.  I presented him with a list of 24 boy names and 100 girl names and we have it down to 8 boy names and 24 girl names.  Now we both need to go through it again and mark the ones that we could actually name a child.  Ronnie is still not convinced that we have a boy name that he loves enough to name a child, so I'm continuing to search and add to that list.  I'm leaving the girl list alone for now until we whittle it down a bit more.

Wanna look back? 32 weeks, 30 weeks, 28 weeks, 26 weeks, 24 weeks, 20 weeks, 18 weeks, 16 weeks.
Pregnancy with Kendree at 34 weeks
Pregnancy with Easton at 33 weeks

Don't worry, I eased his fears

Yesterday, Easton and I were discussing the new baby (as we do everyday).  He asked me again, "We don't remember what our baby is?" and I answered that no, we don't remember, we'll just have to wait and see when the baby comes. 

Then, I asked him if he remembered when Kendree was a baby and he said that he did (riiiiight). 

Easton then asked, "When the new baby comes, we get to keep Kendree?" He was very serious and I could tell he was genuinely concerned that he might have to choose a sibling.

It nearly broke my heart.  I was quick to explain that we do indeed get to keep Kendree and we get to add another baby to our family, so there will be three kids and a mama and a daddy.

He was totally fine after that. 

He's got it down now, because at the library today, someone complimented on my double stroller (which I love by the way) and said that it must be nice with two kids.  Easton answered that we have two kids now, but we will have three kids when the new baby comes.

We're totally good.

Let it be known...

...that on Saturday, October 15th, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, my kids played happily and warmly in the sandbox for the first time.

My parents gave us money for a summer toy and I ordered this turtle sandbox (bring back childhood memories for anyone else?) at the end of August.  Then life got busy and I was pregnant and it sat in our garage.  Finally, Saturday morning I decided to just go buy sand already and had a worker load the sand from the shelf to my cart and then again from the cart to my car.  $10 later my kids were blissfully playing (together no less) and Ronnie and I were able to get the garage cleaned and organized. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

What would a post be without a few notes?  My sandbox is the 33rd anniversary edition of the Little Tikes turtle sandbox.  I ordered site to store from walmart.  That channel you see around the outside is supposed to be for water, but I want to know what kind of crazy people actually put water there.  Seriously, you have to be insane.  My kids will never know what it was for and will be just fine. I'll warn that this baby is SMALL.  Like, crazy small.  I'm okay with it because I fully plan on building an open sandbox next summer that this will sit in, so there will be clean, smaller children safe sand in the turtle and a large box for Easton and the older kids to play around in.

Kendree - 20 months

Man, it feels like I was just writing the 19 month post (Oh wait.  I was).

Kendree is such a fun little girl.  She has developed a few habits recently that make me laugh.  For one, she is always asking me Why? after I tell her something.  It's humorous that this has taken place before her brother has ever started asking the same question.  She also loves to grab your hand and say "MON!" (c'mon) as she takes you wherever in the house she needs help.

And now a few other Kendree updates:

• She is wonderful at following directions such as "Get your shoes" or "Go get another puzzle" and toddles off without any backtalk (a nice break for mama).
• She has had three more teeth break through this month.  Her top left canine tooth broke through on September 30th, her lower right molar broke through on October 10th and her lower left molar broke through on October 11th.
• Kendree continues to love nursery and her leaders continue to tell us what a sweet, good little girl she is.  I like to believe that she saves up all of her sweetness for them. :)
• Kendree is starting to show some major mama jealousy (just in time for a new baby to REALLY give her a complex).  If Easton is near me, she must be near me.  If Daddy is giving me a hug, she must be in the middle.
• I actually jotted down words as I thought of them for the last few weeks--I know, a miracle! and have come up with the following list: ah-gin (again), fuu-sack (fruit snack), tash (trash-she LOVES throwing her diapers away), toot-el (turtle), ba (bath), oot ear (rootbeer), ow-er (flower), foo (shoe), go, me (almost always with her hand raised as HIGH as it will go), sowee (sorry), sip-pose (scriptures), dah (door), mon (c'mon), couch, cheese, petty petty (pretty-pretty), ow, bug, bye (bite-yes, she is still doing this, but not as often), cur-cle (circle), bue (blue-which she can identify), ellow (yellow), purple, ah-ways (always), nigh (nice), ruck (stuck) and why.  She can also now say Elmo perfectly.
• She continues to sleep for naps and at night beautifully.
• Kendree is starting to show some preference for dry, clean diapers.  I am NOT attempting potty training at this point, so she has a while to wait. :)
• She continues to love babies and would love to smother them with love if she could get away with it.  Again, this new baby will have to be under my CLOSE watch.
• Kendree is in love with girly things.  Pretty dresses, bracelets, necklaces and makeup to name a few. 
• She loves reading books, and while she would prefer to have you read them, is almost as content to plunk down on her floor and spend some time looking through her favorites.
• After months of "faking" that she can't go down the stairs, she can't hide if from me any more.  I've witnessed expert stomach sliding on more than one occasion when the option is don't come with mama downstairs or get down on your own.  She still MUCH prefers to hold your hand and step down like a big girl and if she even thinks that you have her hand will step off with total trust (this has led to a few scares on mama's part).
• Kendree continues to ADORE her brother.  She calls him brother (bra-tha) 99% of the time.  My favorite is when he is at swimming lessons and she and I are coloring or playing on the i-pod while we watch him.  She will yell "BRA-THA" and then jabber about what we are doing so that he won't feel left out (he can't hear a word she says).  It sure is cute though.

And now a few pictures:
The official 20 month picture:

 Leading mama over to the couch to read a book:

 Giving up and starting to read the book herself:

 A favorite past time: sneaking toys in Easton's room on a rare occasion when he has not shut the door.

 Halfway dressed and trying to get to the makeup.

 Emjoying some crackers and Curious George.

 Wrestling with brother.

 Gotta love that look.

Baby #3 Girl and Boy Crib Skirts

Wah-lah!  See, I told you it wouldn't be long until the crib skirts were done.  We get to view them on my couch for now, since you know there is no way I was stripping Kendree's crib for these shots.

The girl crib skirt:

And a close-up of the pleat in the middle.  I'm leaving the basting stitches in for now (hence why the pleat is not very pleat-ish) since one of these bad boys will be in storage for quite some time.

 And the boy crib skirt:

 Another picture of the basting stitches still in pleat.

Moving on to the quilts!  I just need to make a quick trip to the store to procure some batting and basting spray and I'll be on my way.  It's nice to have a semi-end in sight.

Baby #3 Baby Girl Bumpers

I just love these.  And I love that another thing on my to-do list was officially crossed off today. :)

 And here we see the outside fabric.  Which I totally love.  Like really, really love.

What's next?  Crib skirts for both genders which have actually already been cut out, so just a little pressing and sewing necessary, then I've got to get going on those quilts!  Not to mention finishing Halloween costumes and picking out baby names and organizing baby clothes, etc., etc,. etc.  Whew, I better stop thinking about it, or I'll be too tired to get anything done! :)

A little family update

I feel as though this blog has been all about pregnancy and baby related crafting lately, so I thought I'd give a family update.

• Kendree is 19 1/2 months and officially LOTS of fun!  She follows her brother everywhere around the house and if he is ever on the floor, she tackles him promptly.  She prefers her hair down lately which has led to me considering a nice, short cut and it is actually getting some auburn highlights in it (thank you Grammy!).
• Easton considers himself a very big boy (and he is!).  He goes to preschool once a week, swimming lessons twice a week and we fill in the rest with trips to Laramie (for mom to work) and running errands.  He gets really set on patterns and consistency (an age thing, I hope?!?) and must tell his Daddy "Bye! Love you!" before Ronnie leaves for work or he gets VERY upset.
• Ronnie continues to work, work, work.  Hunting season started last weekend, so he's been taking weekly trips to the ranch to try to bag an elk. 
• I'm keeping busy with the kids and all of my "stuff."  I recently found out that my job has been extended by another year (a real blessing for us), so I'll continue to work from home.  I know a few of you are wondering how I am going to manage that with three kids instead of just two.  The new arrangement has me traveling to Laramie two days a week (they would like more presence in my office) and then I am hiring a good friend to babysit Easton and Kendree 1-2 days a week (depending on how things are going) here in Cheyenne for 4 hours while I keep the new baby with me.  It sounds easy-peasy when I type it out, so we'll see how it goes.  I will get four weeks of leave with the new baby and will then take an additional two weeks of just working from home and not traveling over before I get back to the grind in mid-January. I really can't say enough how blessed I have been with my job.  I love the people I work with, my flexibility and the opportunity I have to be with my kids.  I also can't believe how blessed I am to have a mom who is willing to have dedicated "Grandma Time" whenever I need her.

Well, that's about it, I think.  Anything I missed that you are dying to know?

Baby #3 Baby Boy Bumpers

Another project to cross off the list!  This is the 4th set of bumpers I've made (one for Easton, one for Kendree, one for my niece and these) and I won't make anything but these.  I buy the foam inserts here and then follow the pattern they come with (except I divide the inside pattern piece so I can showcase three fabrics instead of just one per section).  They tie up easily to a crib and they don't do that bunchy thing that really bugs!

The outside is this simple stripe fabric.  (please excuse the blue painters tape on my carpet--that is the "do not get any closer than this line" line for TV viewing).

The E-man

Easton and his lego tower (we don't have many legos so this was as high as he could make it). He was THRILLED to be able to take a picture of it to show Daddy.

Whenever Easton dresses up, he wants me to take a picture so he can see himself.  This day he was Easton the fireman.

Just another funny Easton picture.  He loves Mario and Luigi currently and insisted that I take a picture of his little buddy.

And now a few Easton funnies:

• Ronnie, Easton, Jord-man and I had the opportunity to go to the UW vs. Nebraska game a few weekends ago.  We had a great time (despite the Cowboy loss).  At one point, I looked over to see Easton with his hand right up my his eye.  I asked him what he was doing.  He didn't move a muscle and answered "Shooting the red guys."  I asked why he was doing that and he said "So they die."  It was possibly one of the funniest thing ever.  Despite our many, many talks of only shooting animals and targets, his UW spirit got in the way and he couldn't help himself.
• He loves to know what we are doing everyday.  If I don't have anything planned for that day it is the end of his life.  Most days I just make something up around the house so he can put it on his mental calendar. He can stand a few days in the coming week with "nothing" going on, but not too many in a row.  Luckily we have our travels to Laramie, swim lessons and preschool that take up the majority of the week.  Then I fill in our Friday and Saturday's and on Sunday we have church. :)
• Any capital "Y" stands for BYU.  He told his preschool teacher last week that his family are fans of BYU. (I didn't even know he knew the word fans).
• We have been reading one verse a night with Easton before bed (he likes to follow our fingers across the page and say every word after we do).  Last night, after another verse that started "And it came to pass" he turned to me and said..."there are a LOT of passes."
• He still asks me just about every day "We don't remember what our baby is?" as if the next time he asks I'll have an answer for him.  It normally only comes up when we are discussing gender (like when he started a new swimming session and wondered if his teacher was going to be a girl or a boy, or when we talk about his friends with new babies--one family had a girl and the other a boy).
• He has asked me what I am doing enough times when I am crafting that now he asks and then answers himself "something for the new baby."  I suppose I need to get his Halloween costume all finished so I can be making something for him to brighten his day.
• While I like to think of him as almost a real boy (you know, talking in complete sentences and acting so much more mature than Kendree), he still has his moments.  Like yesterday when he threw a gigantic fit at the post office that he was not the one to trigger the automatic doors and I just kept on walking to the car and left him there (don't worry, you have to park on the street at this post office and our car was literally the closest one to the door--he could follow me completely on the sidewalk).
• Easton sure does keep me on my toes and we love him lots!