Valentine's Day

This year for Valentine's Day we decided to save money, stay home, and enjoy the day as a family. I made Josh's favorite breakfast, crepes w/ strawberries, then we played with the kids until naptime. The kids both took a great nap, as did Josh. We piled in the car and went shopping for b-day presents for Josh's brother and sister. We ended up at the Ericson's where they had made salmon and baked potatoes for dinner. We hung out with them and played games all night. Although we didn't do anything special, we had a wonderful day.

The pictures are of our attempt at a quick photo shoot with the kids. They did not cooperate.

My Latest Projects

I am finding that I am a much happier person when I have a project to work on. Here are a couple of my latest ones:

After many months and many, many, MANY hours, I finally finished turning my blog into a book and I am very pleased with how it turned out. It took a lot of time, but it was well worth it. It has already started becoming one of my most prized posessions b/c it is the closest thing I have to a journal. Brayden loves looking through it. It ended up being 166 pages that I created through blurb.com. I highly suggest this website as our book turned out beautifully. Hopefully blurb.com is around forever b/c I plan on doing one of these each year.

For those who don't know, I started doing these letters 2 1/2 years ago for baby's nurseries. It has kinda become my "thing" to do and I love making them. My friend from high school, Becky, is due in a couple of weeks with a boy. I've never done one like this before using the little letters. Most of the ones I've done are like the next picture. I was excited to try this new way and I thought it turned out pretty cute. I happen to have this sport scrapbook paper that matched her baby bedding almost perfectly. I'm hoping the colors look good next to each other.

My sister Celeste's best friend is due with a boy next month. She was hoping to learn how to do these, but since she lives in Arizona she never had time to learn while she was visiting. So I was happy to make them for her to give to her friend. I also posted a picture of the baby bedding. Hopefully the colors match when they are next to each other. (You pronounce his name Rike-o, like Like-o.)

Justin's Birthday

We got together for my brother Justin's birthday last Saturday. We went to a yummy Chinese restaurant and then went to my parent's house to hang out and play the Wii.

Since Brooklyn is big for her age, she is about the same size as Paige. It is great to have a cousin close to Brooklyn's age, especially when they get older. It was fun to see them play together.

Brayden loves opening presents right now. Thanks Justin for letting him help and hope you had a great day!

2 Peas in a Pod, I Mean Crib...

Brayden is always wanting to do what Brooklyn is doing. The other day I put Brooklyn in the pack 'n play with some pillows so she could play. Naturally, Brayden jumped right in. They played, laughed, and rolled around. Brooklyn was so cute sucking on her toes that I had to take a picture.Brayden got jealous and wanted me to take a picture of him sucking on his toes. Silly kids!

Big Brother

After much procrastination, I finally got around to feeding Brooklyn rice cereal and baby food. Of course, Brayden had to be involved. He loves to feed her and she loves to be fed so it all works out. Brayden was very excited to taste Brooklyn's food so I let him try some of the peas. He instantly got a sour face and spit it out. He even made me wipe his tongue off because he didn't want to swallow any of it. I wish I had my camera when he made the face b/c we couldn't stop laughing.

Rub-a-Dub Dub...Two Babes in a Tub!

My mom found a recipe online for bathtub paints. It was very easy to make and Brayden loved it. While he was in the shower painting, I decided to put Brooklyn's tub in there and bathe her at the same time. Of course Brayden had to get in with her. Brooklyn was fascinated with the water everywhere and Brayden had fun having a buddy in the shower with him.

Here is the recipe for the paints:
Add one envelope of unflavored gelatin to 1/4 cup hot water. Stir to dissolve gelatin.
Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, mix together 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1/2 cup of cornstarch, and 1 3/4 cups of cold water. Stir well.
Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin mixture.
Add 1/4 cup of liquid dishwashing soap.
Stir and let cool.
Divide mixture into portions and tint with drops of food coloring.
Tips:
Test bath paint carefully before use to avoid skin allergies and stains on bathroom fixtures.
Bath paint may leave a residue but should clean up easily with mild bathroom cleaner.

Hangin' Out

Last Saturday we went over to Jeff's house to hang out for the evening. We ate, played Rockband, and enjoyed watching all the kids play together. Brayden, of course, had to participate while we played Rockband. Luckily, they had a pretend guitar that kept him busy for the most part.

Here is Crew and Brooklyn. You would never guess they were 3 months apart, since they are the same size.

We thought it would be fun to start taking pictures of all the kids each time we get together. It will be fun to look at all the pictures as they get older and there are more of them. Jaxon and Claire Trimble are on the left, Crew Allman is in the middle, and Brayden and Brooklyn are on the right.

All of us parents were trying to take the pictures and making all sorts of sounds to try and get them to look at us and smile. Andrew Allman, however, went a little far and started making the most obnoxious, loud sound possible. His son, Crew, did not appreciate it.