Wednesday, November 16, 2011
she's not a little caterpillar anymore!
One of my all time favorite children's books is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. As most of you know, Vivian has always been our very hungry baby! This is one reason I chose this adorable book as the theme of Vivi's first birthday party. Vivian's first true belly laugh can also be attributed to this book. When she was about 2 months old I was shaking a caterpillar rattle over her as I recited some of my favorite lines from the book. She laughed and laughed for what seemed like an eternity. It was one of those moments that warm your heart. So....the idea for a very hungry caterpillar party was born. Vivian really had the time of her life! We are so grateful for our friends who celebrated with us. I cannot believe our baby will officially be one-year-old next week. She is a vivacious, curious, sweet, spunky girl who brings joy to our lives each and every day. Happy Birthday, Vivi! We love you!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
all dressed up
We had a VERY BUSY Halloween week and it's taken me awhile to sort through all the pictures. First we went trick-or-treating at Emma Jane's preschool. For that event, Emma Jane was Widget from Wow Wow Wubbzy (I've inserted a picture since most people have never heard of Widget!) and Vivian was a cute little chef. Later in the week we went to Boo at the Zoo where Emma Jane was Widget again and Vivi was a bumble bee. Trick-or-treating in the neighborhood was lots of fun! Emma Jane was a fairy this time and she hit the candy jackpot! She is allowed to have one treat after lunch and dinner, so I think we may have enough candy until next Halloween! Vivian didn't know what to think about all of this Halloween craziness. Next year she'll be smack dab in the middle of it, I'm sure!
Widget says, "No Problemo!"
Our little chef with sweet cheeks...
and the perfect pout!
Emma Jane with her ladybug friend, Addie.
Our happy buzzy bumblebee!
Ready to take on Boo at the Zoo!
A hug for Lily the Kitty...
Awestruck!
Foam fun...she LOVED this!
The whole family!
A rare sitting-in-mom's-lap photo...
by the way, Emma Jane insisted I dress up,
so I obliged with kitty cat ears and painted whiskers!
Doing the chicken dance!
We all had fun dancing at the end of the night.
Helping daddy carve the pumpkins...
This happy fairy was ready to finally do some real-live-knock-on-the-door-trick-or-treating!
Vivian had no clue what was going on...
but she was happy to "bee" there!
Checking out our own bowl of candy before we left it on the porch for other trick-or-treaters!
So many houses, so little time...
These two were pros before the night was over!
Stopping for a quick pose with mommy!
What ARE they doing and why don't I get any?!?!
These two little witches had a ball all week long.
Goodbye, Halloween! See ya next year!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
pinterest addict
Yes, I'm hooked. Pinterest has taken over my life! I wanted to share just a few of the projects I've completed since I became obsessed.
DIY CANVAS: I chose an 8 X 10 of Vivian to try this out. I can't take credit for taking the photo (Thanks, Amanda Zabrocki!) but it's one of my favorites. This was such an easy project and I love how it turned out.
Materials Needed:
8 X 10 print
8 X 10 canvas (pack of 2 at Hobby Lobby for $3.99)
modge podge (already had some)
acrylic paint (antique bronze, medium brown, metallic black)
sponge brush (have loads of these)
Cost: around $7
Here's the link to the tutorial I followed after finding it on Pinterest:
http://thisismeinspired.blogspot.com/2011/07/instant-gratification-canvas-photo-diy.html
Tips: (1) The print was actually slightly bigger than the canvas, so I had to cut it. I was LAZY and didn't measure before cutting. I also didn't have a paper cutter, so I just eyeballed it. The print still wound up slightly over the edges of the canvas. No big deal, but it would've turned out better if I'd measured before cutting and used a paper cutter to ensure straight edges.
(2) Painting the smudges around the edges was the hardest part for me. I'm not very artsy so my smudges looked intentional rather than having that rustic look I was going for. Next time, and YES, I will do this one again, I'll try not to make my "smudges" so perfect! Ha!
BURLAP WREATH: This was one of my first Pinterest-inspired projects. I love anything made of burlap and I think it suits our front door.
LEAF RUBBING: This is a tried and true project for the fall. Emma Jane collected lots of leaves the other day. She did NOT want to get rid of them, so I decided to try this project with her. She loved it! I told her that if she rubbed the crayon on the paper, her leaf would magically appear!
Link for one version of this project: http://www.filthwizardry.com/2009/11/leaf-rubbing-and-paint-mural.html
HALLOWEEN PROJECTS: Here are the projects I tackled for Halloween this year.
(1) I made both girls Halloween buckets that they can use every year.
(2) I mod-podged a fabric initial on one of those plastic pumpkins from Michaels.
(3) The mice on the stairs was an idea I saw on Pinterest, too. Martha Stewart sells the mice, so this was NOT my creation, but I would never have known about them if I hadn't seen them on Pinterest first!
Next on the Pinterest to-do list? Well, Vivian's first birthday party is less than two weeks away! I am staying up into the wee hours of the morning working on invitations and decorations but loving every minute of it!
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