up to my old tricks

baby-blanket-making tricks, that is. I have completed two simple flannel blankets in the last month. I had actually began them in the I-need-to-keep-myself-busy-and-distracted early stages of labor with Sweet Pea, but I only finished the second one last week.

The first one I finished was for a friend whose little girl is due to arrive any day now. It is just like the blanket I made for my little nice, except that I used yellow instead of the solid pink.

Have I mentioned that I love top stitching... (Sorry about the dark pictures. I finished the blanket about an hour before the baby shower, and I couldn't wait until the cloud blocking the sun moved away to take photos.)

The blanket, an owl, a crocheted baby hat, and a pacifier clip made quite a nice shower gift.

The second blanket is an even simpler two-layers-of-flannel-sandwiched-together blanket for Sweet Pea. I love the green print. I bought it when I was expecting Little Man just in case he was a girl. (Hey, it was on sale, and I loved it!). I'm happy to finally be able to use it. I had hoped to find the perfect color of pink for the back, but I just couldn't, so I settled for a lovely yellow print instead. After I bought it though, I began second guessing and wondering if I should have gotten purple...

Sweet Pea seems to like it just the way it is, though, so I reassure myself that yellow is indeed lovely and move on with life. : )

Linking up with Jennifer's Studio Sneak Peek.

one month

Sweet Pea is one month old today.

I can't believe it!

Why does the first month after they're born

fly so much faster than the last one

before they arrive?

I want to know.

Right now Sweet Pea...

still spends an awful lot of time sleeping

has let me sleep for 5 1/2 and 6 hour stretches several nights

eats heartily and frequently

gets a lot of diaper and outfit changes

likes to be warm and wrapped in blankets

loves to cuddle

(she often holds on to whoever is holding her)

enjoys being carried in the baby sling

likes bath time very much

is spending more time awake

looks around inquisitively with wide, bright eyes

loves studying the line made by the dark valance and bright window

seems to be recognizing her immediate family

has in impressive array of expressive looks

smiles more and more frequently

(she smiled at me when I bent over her to pick her up this evening)

occasionally giggles

can yell loudly but usually doesn't

It's all pretty normal newborn stuff, but we are all charmed

and take in each new detail with great delight,

exclaiming over her beauty and cleverness

as if she was a super-model-genius-baby.

She brings us all such joy.

a build-your-own cupcake party

Brother's birthday is August 15, Little Man's is September 21, and Labor Day weekend falls almost perfectly in the middle. So when Benjamin's parents decided to visit on Labor Day weekend, I thought it would be the perfect time to throw a small, simple joint party for the boys.

It ended up being very small (just our family, the two sets of grandparents, and our friends Jeff and Katie) and very simple (nothing but cupcakes and ice cream, candles and happy-birthday song, and presents). I was a little disappointed, but it ended up working out for the best. The last thing I needed on that crazy weekend was more to do, and the last thing the boys needed was too much excitement (the were close enough to excitement overdose as it was).

I made chocolate cupcakes and whipped ganache frosting and set out some toppings. Then each person got to eat their cake exactly how they liked it.

The cupcake toppings (clockwise from left):

crushed oreos, sprinkles, chocolate chips,

chocolate sprinkles, blue sugar

Little Man seriously and carefully decorated his cupcake

with a little bit of everything.

Brother got some help from Grandma.

Cutie birthday boys.

I planned on getting pictures of everyone with their cupcake,

but of course I got distracted and didn't.

This is my dad, posing goofy.

He doesn't like much frosting.

Benjamin's parents shared a cupcake.

Benjamin made frosting-oreo dip for his cake.

Katie's was artsy and cute like she is.

Jeff preferred his cupcake plain.

I stuck to brown and blue.

After the fun of decorating and eating our cupcakes (and ice cream), we had present time. The boys both enjoyed opening their gifts and playing with them afterward.

The more I think about it, the more I'm certain that it was the perfect amount of party.

labor day weekend

"Montana's Biggest Weekend" was crazy.

And we didn't even do half

of the possible activities

in our town.

Here's what we did do:

Friday morning: Mum and I took the boys to the county fair.

Little Man and Brother loved all of the animals

and the kettle corn we ate

while watching the team branding competition.

They weren't very enthusiastic about

photography or quilts, though.

Friday evening: The five of us went to the carnival.

Benjamin and I each went on a couple of rides with the boys,

enjoyed chatting with friends and acquaintances,

and successfully resisted the tantalizing smells

of oh-so-bad-for-you carnival food. : )

Little Man went on as many rides as we let him,

but his favorite was the ferris wheel.

Brother tried one ride (the carousel) and kinda panicked.

Sweet Pea slept peacefully the entire time in her sling.

Saturday: We spent the day at home

and welcomed Benjamin's parents when they arrived

for a long-weekend visit.

Sunday: We went to church

then came home to make and eat a big lunch.

Benjamin and his dad went to the driving range.

We had Little Man and Brother's

combined birthday party.

(photos coming soon)

The guys went fishing.

We played games.

Monday: Parade day.

Benjamin took Little Man

to be on his company's float.

The rest of us walked downtown, enjoyed the parade,

and walked around the craft fair.

Benjamin and his dad played 18 holes of golf.

We made and ate another big meal

and ended the evening with a movie.

There have been late nights and short naps galore.

It was a ton of fun, but we're all worn out,

and I'm eagerly anticipating

return to normalcy...

wednesday menu

We've had the flu. Little Man, Benjamin, and I have all had it rather severely, while thankfully Brother and Sweet Pea have escaped practically unscathed. We obviously haven't been doing a lot of eating, and I haven't made it to the store yet this week (I usually do errands on Mondays), so I am finally getting around to making a menu. Better late than never, right?

Partly because I'm behind schedule, partly because my in-laws are going to be visiting this weekend and I need to have a more firm plan than I usually do on weekends, and partly because it's a holiday weekend, I'll be doing my planning a little differently than usual.

W-frozen pizza, fruit

Th-pasta with red sauce, roasted chicken, salad

F-french toast, fruit

S-bean and cheese burritos, carrots

Su-brazilian marinated kebabs, rice, salad

M-hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled corn-on-the-cob

What is cooking in your kitchen this week?

newborn portraits

Between sleep deprivation, juggling the responsibilities of now having three children, spending time with my husband, trying to keep the dishes and laundry in acceptably small piles, making it to appointments in a timely way, and baby snuggling, I really haven't had much time to indulge in making beautiful things for the fun of it like I usually do. I have, however, been enjoying spending more time behind my camera, resulting in lots of lovely photos and, if possible, a third-born who is more photographed than the first-born was. ; )

The following are my favorite shots from my newborn photo session of Sweet Pea when she was just six days old.

It's hard to get a good photo of newborn with their eyes open because they have a hard time focusing. I have Brother and his loud noises directly behind me to thank for this lovely shot.

This one makes me smile.

The bedspread in these photos was hand-crocheted by my great-grandmother for my grandpa while she was expecting him. I am so honored that she wanted me to have this precious heirloom.

I really love tiny baby toes.

We used this one for her birth announcements.

More baby feet...Couldn't resist.

She's so tiny!

Linking up with Jennifer's Studio Sneak Peek.

brothers and sister

One of the questions we've been hearing the most lately is "How are the boys doing with their new sister?" The answer? Well, they adore her, and aside from a little more general emotion than usual, their transition to having a tiny sister has been very smooth.

Sweet Pea and Little Man already seem to have a special bond. She listens in a special, intent way when he talks, and he loves to carefully hold her. He rejoices in having a sister, marvels at her tiny fingers, toes, and nose, and enjoys narrating what she is doing "She's wiiiiide awake!" "She's faaaaast asleep!" or "She's very wiggly!"

"If a big boy puts his finger in a tiny baby's hand, she'll hold on to it tightly." ~Little Man

Brother doesn't have the whole little sibling thing figured out quite as well as Little Man does, but that's okay since he's never done it before. His times of holding Sweet Pea are brief, usually ending in the urgent request: "Take it! Take it!" He does, however, take great delight in bringing his sister toys and blankets and helping with wipe opening and diaper disposing when I change her.

"Hug an' kiss sister." ~Brother

[Brother even shared his beloved puppies with Sweet Pea]

monday menu

[just a pretty picture]

As you can see, I'm still not up to full speed as far as meal preparation goes. And that's okay. I mean, I just had a baby two-weeks-plus-a-day ago. I'm slowly getting back into things, though, and I have high aspirations of actually making a real meal or two this week. So this is what I'm planning, but I'm not going to beat myself over it if it just doesn't happen.

M-casserole from one of Benjamin's kind coworkers

T-steak, rice-a-roni, asparagus

W-frozen pizza, salad

Th-roasted garlic lemon herb shrimp over pasta and probably more salad

F-pancakes and scrambled eggs

What are you making this week?

anniversary

yesterday was our fifth wedding anniversary

five years of marriage

where has the time gone?

really

wasn't it more like five months ago

that I was planning and preparing

walking down the aisle

leaving on the honeymoon?

five years

they've been good years

and i'm looking forward to many, many more

because each year

just gets better

~~~~~~

we had fun

as we celebrated

he gave me flowers

and a new pair of earrings

i got my hair done by a professional

(because really, i'm pretty clueless about hair)

we left all three children in their grandparents' care

and dressed up and went to dinner

we ordered the fancy entrees

plus an appetizer and dessert

(something we never do)

we took in the sunset

and we talked and talked and talked

because

after all

five years

only comes around

once

two

Yesterday Brother turned two. How time flies! He got a few special treats: a trip to our local bookstore and a new book he chose himself, a tiny happy birthday mylar balloon from Grandma, cards in the mail, and a piece of store bought carrot cake (I'm not, after all, Super-Mom) for our tiny, family celebration. We'll have an official celebration late, but for now what we did was just right: special yet not overwhelming.

Right now Brother...

just learned to turn somersaults

loves to jump

(off of raised surfaces as well as just bouncing on the floor)

is pushing (and learning) the limits of his crazy climbing skills

can swing in the big swings and go down the little slides at the park

can throw balls very far

enjoys pillow fights

loves to color--especially with markers

is left handed

is developing a decided preference for his favorite play-doh toys

cooks up all sorts of "food" with the kitchen toys

(the other day it was soup, and this morning it was pizza)

builds towers with blocks but prefers the toy animals

loves to "fix" things with his tools

can make impressive car sound effects

is figuring out the workings of simple puzzles

loves to strum the guitar and play notes on the piano

sings and hums throughout the day

has a few recognizable songs

is putting words into more sentences and phrases all the time

parrots all sorts of things we say

is very careful with his pronunciation

has begun having little conversations on the phone

helps unload the dishwasher

helps measure and mix when I bake

opens the wipe box and throws away diapers at the right times

is learning to put away toys

is learning self-control (no hitting, screaming, pinching, etc.)

is getting better at staying in his big boy bed

adores his blankets and stuffed puppies

is generous with hugs, kisses, and cuddles (to family, at least)

He is growing so quickly and is so full of life and personality that these words seem so bland and flat. Part of me wants to freeze time to enjoy this stage for longer (and perhaps that's what the words are for, bland though they may be), but the future is too exciting to freeze it permanently.

Brother, you bring us so much joy. I can't wait to see how you continue to grow! Happy Birthday.