Children's Museum repeat

Earlier this week, Avery, Sterling, Ian and I headed to the Children's Museum. It was super crowded and Ian did not like being inside--I think it was too loud for him. So, we spent a lot of time outside. But, we were able to see some things that we weren't able to on our first trip this summer. And, Avery and Sterling said they had lots of fun.

Michelin Man

Little Mr. Ian (aka Michelin Man) cut his first tooth this week, and he is sitting up!

The Time Traveler's Wife

I started and finished reading the book "The Time Traveler's Wife" this week. Overall, it was a great book that I enjoyed reading. I couldn't put it down. There were a few things that bothered me (sometimes too many details and descriptions that I felt were unnecessary, while other parts I felt could have been expanded.) I can't wait for the movie to come out (August 14). It will be interesting to see how they adapt the story into a movie.

pHoToS

We took a trip to a nearby outlet mall yesterday evening. Here are some new pictures we took while at the mall.

VBS

Avery and Sterling had a great week (last week) at Vacation Bible School. Sterling really seemed to enjoy it, and it was a good start to getting him ready for preschool in the fall.

They played lots of games, made several neat crafts, and learned some wonderful bible lessons and songs. I had several people tell me that Sterling was a great dancer! He loves to dance, and he was dancing in most of the pictures I saw of him.


On one of the days when I came to pick them up, I was told that Sterling had a problem with hitting and they had to put him in time out. Not my Sterling! I was a little embarrassed, but we had a conversation about keeping our hands to ourselves.


After VBS was over, I was asking Avery and Sterling what they learned. Avery was telling me that "God is powerful" and the story of the burning bush. I asked Sterling what he learned. He said, "Not to hit!"

Then on Sunday during church, all the kids who went to VBS got to perform some of the songs they learned while we watched a slideshow of pictures. Sterling was really dancing and Avery was really singing!

Ian is 6 months!

Wow! It's so hard for me to believe Ian is 6 months old already. He is such a sweet boy, and is working on wrapping me around his little finger! The past week or so he just wants me to hold him or be near by. He does not like for me to get out of sight. If I leave the room, he starts to holler (not cry).

He also started this cute little game or it's his way of communicating. When I have a cup of water, he watches me take a drink, then he makes this sound, "geeeuusss" and smiles at me. The sound comes from his throat. So, a little over a week ago, I put the cup to his lips and let a little water go in. Most of it comes back out, but he really seems to like it. And, now every time I have a cup, he makes that silly sound.

At times, Ian still is not very fond of riding in the car.
He loves to smile, and makes me smile often.
He can roll over both ways.
He loves to sit up, and can almost sit up by himself.
Those silly teeth still haven't made an appearance, but I think they are almost out.
Size 3 diapers
Clothes - 6-12 months
He still likes the swing, but I'm afraid he's almost outgrown it!
Ian has tried the following baby boods - rice cereal, bananas, apples, and pears. I don't think you have a favorite just yet. You make quite a face when trying to eat.

We had his 6 month well visit today. Dr. K loves Ian's little fat rolls. He definitely has plenty of those. I need to get a picture of the little roly poly without clothes.
18 lbs. 8 oz. - 75 percentile
27 inches - 50 to 75 percentile

I Pimped My Blog

Yes! I did it! I finally had some time today to finish "pimping" my blog. I learned way more about .html code than I really wanted to, but I really enjoyed using a digital kit to create my header, signature, and background. I still have some minor tweaking to do. Here are the sites I used that have great tips and tricks:

Sneaky Momma -
This is an awesome site with step by step instructions. She even does blog design, but was nice enough to share her tips.

Digiscrapdepot
Scrap Orchard
You can buy digital kits and papers at these sites. There is also a freebie section. There are also many more like this. . .

How to Make your own background -
This is from the Cutest Blog on the Blog and provides steps for creating your own background. I had to play around with some of the steps at the end--I couldn't get it to work just right. There are also other tips, but I like Sneaky Momma better.

Fonts -
There are really cute fonts at Kevin and Amanda. There is also a tutorial on how to use the fonts for your sidebar headers or post headers. I did that on my recipe blog.

Another Tip Site - http://www.bloggerbuster.com/

My Children’s Birthday Parties

I always love looking around for great party ideas. Kelly is having us share party ideas this week. This also let me take a little trip down memory lane and look back at my children’s parties. Although our “Great Computer Crash” in 2005 left me without some of my favorites. :-(

Here are some of my favorite things from these parties. And, some have direct links to older posts on the actual party.

AVERY

• 1st Birthday – Girly Bear
• 2nd Birthday – Elmo
• 3rd Birthday – Hello Kitty
• 4th Birthday – The Little Gym Party

I made this cake using the Texas Sheet Cake recipe. I bought little figures. I believe it was a Fisher Price set and put them on top. I also cut out premade fondant.

• 5th Birthday – Pump it Up Party

We also rented these for Avery that year. She was so surprised.

6th Birthday – Ladybug Party

I made these invitations. The wings open to reveal the party info.

Favor Bag – Decorated a Red Bag with Labels (colored black), and a pipe cleaner

Food – I made Ladybug cupcakes and Ladybugs out of Rice Krispies.

I carved a ladybug out of a watermelon and filled it with fruit. I used blueberries for the spots. I found the idea here.

Each girl got to paint a Ladybug Bank. I found these at Oriental Trading. I always find party stuff there.

7th Birthday – Dress up Party for girls

I made this Favor Book. I printed off games, quizzes, and other girly fun.

Check out my original post for more information.

STERLING

• 1st Birthday – Sadly we didn’t have a 1st birthday party for Sterling. He had been sick, and poor thing, his birthday is so close to Christmas.
• 2nd Birthday – Farm Party

My mom made the cake (Texas Sheet Cake recipe). It really is the BEST chocolate cake!

I created this backdrop for taking pictures.

Big cupcake using the Wilton Cupcake pan.

• 3rd Birthday – Wow Wow Wubbzy

Coloring table – printed some sheets off the internet for coloring fun.

Love this cupcake stand. Can’t you tell? I use it at every party! I found these Wow Wow cupcake rings on ebay.

Decorated using toys we already had.

Can’t wait to start looking at your parties!

My Life B.K. (before kids)

Yesterday after Avery and Sterling got out of VBS, we headed to Marathon to visit some old coworkers and friends of mine.  It was great to see everyone.  And, Avery and Sterling enjoyed riding the escalators/elevators and seeing the building.  Sterling had never been, so it was a really big treat for him.  He also enjoyed looking at the offshore platform model in the lobby.  I should have taken his picture, but I’m not always good at handling the camera and everyone else.  Sometimes I need 2 more hands.  I was only planning on a brief visit.  I didn’t think lunch would work out with all 3 kids.  But, we ended up visiting for 2 hours!

It doesn’t seem like much has changed.  It’s hard to believe I spent 10 years at Marathon.  And, sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I was still working.  I sure don’t miss the work, but I do miss the friendships.  One thing is for sure, I would not change a thing.  I have my days when I complain about the endless messes, dishes, and laundry.  But, I know I am so blessed to be home and enjoy this time with my little ones. 

Swimming

Some good friends were nice enough to share their pool with us while they are on vacation.

Avery and Sterling were so excited and had a blast.

Ian was quite a different story. This was his first time to really get in the water and move around. He has been pretty grumpy all day today and yesterday, too, for that matter. I’m hoping he’s just teething and doesn’t have an ear infection or something else. All he wants to do is be held, and then he’s still fussy. He didn’t really smile in the pool, but he was sure kicking his legs. And, he hollered at Avery and Juan when they were splashing, which was actually pretty funny. It was as if he was telling them to stop. I think he looks so pitiful in this picture!

I guess we’ll be hanging out at the pool this next week!

Blog Hop - Favorite Photo(s)

I couldn't choose just one . . .

Happy 4th!

Our 4th of July weekend turned out to be not as expected, but it was still fun.  Our upstairs A/C unit picked a great time to act up—Friday going into a holiday weekend.  It was a cool 88 degrees (according to the thermostat), but had to be at least 90+ in the kid’s bedrooms (I had the doors closed).  And, then the downstairs A/C was working overtime trying to cool the house (it was 82 downstairs) and was running constantly.  I was very hot, and after calling around to several A/C companies, no one would come out until Tuesday.  Thankfully, we found someone through my brother-in-law.  He came Saturday morning, and got it working again.  What would we do without air conditioning?

Saturday morning we went to the annual neighborhood parade.  The kids had fun watching the parade, eating breakfast kolaches, and getting their faces painted / tattooed.  Sterling even got to check out a fire truck.

 

Later Saturday afternoon, the kid’s and I headed to my parent’s house.  We enjoyed the afternoon with them, along with good food.  Juan met up with us later.  Avery and Sterling were very excited about watching the fireworks on the river near Gaga and Pa’s house.  As we were heading down to the river, we learned that the fireworks had been cancelled due to a grass fire.  All the firefighters were fighting the fire.  It really is dry everywhere.  How badly we need rain!  So, we headed home.  I also got pulled over for speeding on the way home.  Thank goodness I got off with a warning!