Vacation!

We just got back from a week long vacation in Florida.  My grandparents own a condo way down south.  Fortunately for us, they were having record highs which meant it was in the upper 70's-80's all week long.  The unfortunate part for us is that it takes 14 hours plus however long you stop.  After making it down there, we immediately decided to make the drive back in 2 days instead of trying to make it again in 1.

Kira took to the water like a fish and she kept laughing and saying hi to everybody the whole time she was in the pool.  She also liked putting her toes in the sand.  We spent everyday at the pool.  Aaron and Kira spent a lot of time swimming while I spent more time reading in the sun.  

We built this giant sand castle which was mainly masterminded by Aaron.  All I really did was decorate the thing.  Somebody had to help them.  

We went on a date.  I really wanted to have Greek food but we couldn't find a good Greek restaurant so we went to a restaurant that served Thai, Peruvian, and Japanese food.  We ordered a fresh spring roll as our appetizer. 

I ended up ordering ceviche which is a Peruvian dish just so I could try something new.  It came with these giant pieces of corn.  Besides the size of it, the corn wasn't anything spectacular and the main dish had so many red onions that I felt sick afterwards.   Aaron ordered Thai food and I wanted to eat his whole bowl.  

Right before we left, Aaron took Ethan and Zach to the Delorean dealership.  Today is our first whole day back and the high was only 27.  Eek.  We are freezing to say the least.    

Hard Times

I think Kira has been getting in her incisors in, possibly all four of them at the same time.  She had a fever starting in the afternoon on Tuesday, then another fever on Wednesday night and has been grumpy almost non-stop.  The only thing I can figure out is that her teeth are hurting her.

It is so hard to deal with grumpiness that lasts almost all day long.  She doesn't want any of her favorite foods, books or toys except her beloved doggie and her fingers to suck on.  We have been doing lots and lots of snuggling and that doesn't even seem to help all the time.

Yesterday morning, we found out that a friend's youngest son was critically hurt in a car accident when driving home from college for the Christmas holiday.  The the doctors told them to come as soon as possible.  In the past 36 hours or so, I've been checking my email and on facebook for updates.  The latest update was that the doctors just administered a last ditch medication in an attempt to help him breathe.

I want to be frustrated at my child for the constant fussing.  I want to mad at my husband who accidentally took the car seat to work which means that I had to stay home all day with miss fussy britches instead of getting to make Christmas cookies.  I want to be mad at God for allowing such inconveniences to happen...But then I see the updates from this young man's family and how they are responding to this hard providence with peace.

Teething will only last for a season (hopefully, only a few days or even hours), my husband will bring home the car seat in mere minutes, and mom my just brought me Christmas cookies.  What do I really have to complain about?  Seriously.

Life in December (and November)

I haven't updated my blog in forever primarily because I didn't know what to write about.  Here is going to be a quick recap of some different things that have been going on in the past month or so.

• Thanksgiving:  We actually got to have to Thanksgiving dinners.  We had Thanksgiving lunch with Aaron's extended family and then we had Thanksgiving dinner with my family and a lot of friends from church.  I think all had a good time.  Kira was extremely tired out but did mostly fine.  We also were blessed to get to attend the Thanksgiving service at church.  I love that our church takes time to worship and give praise to God before we even begin stuffing our faces. 

• Thanksgiving 2.0:  The day after Thanksgiving, I purchased a turkey for $1/lb.   I decided that this meant that we needed to have Thanksgiving 2.0 dinner.  I cooked my first turkey which was ok but turned out a little on the tough side, plus we had fresh pineapple, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, homemade gravy, and corn spoon bread.  Aaron approved so much that he had to take this picture. 
  
• We had some exciting weather here.  First, it iced and then it snowed.  And then it continued to snow and ice for several days.  We still have a lot of the snow and it doesn't look like it will clear up this week as it is supposed to continue being cold with more snow/wintry mix expected later this week. 
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• This week we had our choir concert.  Aaron absolutely has loved being in choir this semester which thrills me.  I love seeing people enjoy the things that I enjoy.  
• Coming up: We are having our family Christmas this Sunday which means we are working like little elves to get everything made and wrapped.  We have some travel plans which I will share when we get back.  I am also dying to watch The Sound of Music live!  I'm trying to wait until tomorrow night so I can convince Aaron to watch it with  me while we wrap presents and eat homemade pizza.  

Christmas List

Wowzers!  Less than 1 month until Christmas.  As usual, I love shopping for Christmas presents early but I also have major commitment issues.  I have trouble buying gifts for people because I always wonder if I'll think up a better idea later and then have to return the first gift.  The sad thing is that I do sometimes return the first gift.
In case you happen to want to buy a gift for me, which you probably don't and I'm totally ok with that, here are some things that I want.

• Man slippers.  No fluffy, pink little bits of nuthin for me.  Man slippers are so much nicer than anything you can find in the women's department.  I always steal Aaron's pair and I think it is time to get my own.  I don't really care about brands or colors.  I just need something comfy and durable like these from Target. 
  
• I want a magazine.  Maybe World, Time, or Martha Stewarts' food magazine.  I have a love/hate relationship with magazines.  I hate how they always get cluttered everywhere with pages torn out of them but I love the idea of getting something fun in the mail at least once a month.  
• I also want a new pair of boots but I guess that I'd better just pick them out myself so I can find some that are comfortable for me.  
• I want a new bathing suit for our upcoming tropical adventures...uh, I think I'd better just buy that for myself.  After about the age of 12, it is better just to buy one's own bathing suits after an intense period of trying on everything in the store.  Just saying.  
• I always accept offerings of dark chocolate, coffee, and black teas such as English and Irish breakfast teas.  I hardly ever buy myself chocolate (maybe just once a year) but I sure love getting nice quality dark chocolate.  Christmas is my time to stock pile.  I also enjoy other offerings of interesting or gourmet foods.  

Well folks that's about it.  I'm a pretty content girl over here.  If my child ever wakes up, I'll dash out to do my Thanksgiving Day shopping before the stores get too overcrowded.  Be sure and leave a comment letting me know what is that one present that you really want for Christmas.  

15 Months With Lil' Squishy

It is hard to believe that my once-upon-a-time baby is growing up so fast.  She is getting somewhat smart and somewhat needy.  With new skills and intelligence comes greater potential for disobedience.

This is her first 18 month outfit!  I absolutely love it.  I think I found both pieces at a thrift store but they are both pretty good brands in great condition.  Nothing beats a lumberjack shirt with skinny jeans.  I want one. 

One of her favorite games is to put clothes pins into a salad dressing container.  She loves it and can play with it for a good 15-20 minutes straight some days. 

Daddy has been teaching her how to "play" the piano.  Basically it just means that he won't let her bang but encourages her to play with just one finger at a time.  

The other morning she was wearing this super cute sweater and would smile at me with every bite of breakfast that she took.  She was so cute I tried to capture it but failed at least in some part. 

This is her current favorite book.  It has a lot of animals specifically dogs and "me's" which is her name for cats.  

She is definitely communicating more and more.  She is pretty good at letting us know what she wants which is interesting because she used to only want what was right in front of her.  Now is she wants things that aren't necessarily even in the room.  The other day she was really grumpy while clutching her toys in the bath tub.  I asked her what was wrong and she immediately stopped fussing and started babbling with a serious look on her face.  When she realized I didn't have a clue what she was talking about, she started fussing all over again. 

She has also finally learned how to push herself to seated.  This is great except it can make things more complicated at night.  One night, Aaron found her attempting to sleep while sitting up in the corner of her bed.  She does know how to lay back down but I think that sometimes she just forgets what she is supposed to do especially in the middle of the night. 

So Happy Together

Not only did my Great-Grandmother's hand-sewn quilt get bound, it is now officially hanging in our room!  I love it so much!  It makes the room look completely different and sometimes when I wake in the morning, I spend a few minutes looking at the details and thinking about how beautiful it is.

It turned out to be a lot easier to bind than I thought it would be!  As a side note, we should probably get more pillows to put on our bed.  

Owl Always Think You're Cute

If you read my blog at all, you probably figured out that I've been busy sewing lots of clothes my baby...I mean my toddler.  Lets face it, she is no longer a baby.  The best things about sewing for her is that you can use lots of elastic, little amounts of fabric and they come together really quick.  She also isn't picky about what she wears.  

A couple of weeks ago, I saw this picture on my sister's pinterest. I don't have a link since it is from etsy and appears to be sold out.   

I thought the idea looked easy enough especially know that I know how to make peasant dresses.  

I grabbed the peasant dress pattern from bloomsnbugs and got started.  It took me a little while to figure out what I wanted to applique but I finally found this pattern and knew it would be perfect for fall.  

Get the pattern right here. 

The pictures were made possible by Aaron who found my camera charger, Sara who made the hat, and my child who was mostly uncooperative.  

Yes, I know the shoes and socks are weird with this outfit but they are the only shoes that fit her.  Hopefully, we will find a pair of winter boots for her soon!