Sunday, June 27, 2010

The Incredible Stacking Josiah


Josiah loves to stack things!!! 
It seems like every time I turn around I find random objects stacked up. They're all over the house, outside, it's even his favorite way to pass the time while sitting in the shopping buggy. He likes to see how high he can get the cans before they crash - and usually end up smashing our bread :o)

The first time I realized just how talented he had become was one day while they were playing with their army men, and Josiah made this. I thought that was talent to have a man on a car on a tree and get it to stay!



After the boys were in bed the other day I noticed something unusual on Tim's desk.


He's always so proud!



He always has to stack the play-doh before any actual playing with the play-doh can happen.



He gave me a present on my present :o)


A frog on a nickel on a train on a helicopter.



He's so funny!!!
He told me the other day that he made a funny, and I cracked up!!! I'm not sure if he heard that somewhere or if it's just one of those things that just came out that way, but either way he was right :o)

Friday, June 25, 2010

Super Daddy To The Rescue!!


I asked Samuel a few weeks ago what he wanted to give Tim for Father's Day. He came up with all kinds of ideas that I knew I would not have time to make, but it was so fun to see him think about all the things that would be special for his Daddy. One of the first things that he said was a Super Daddy cape. I've said before that their favorite game to play with Tim is dragon-fighting and princess-saving. This can start as fighting dragons and, as they play, turn into anything from bear hunting, fly chasing, super hero flying, really anything where they can be loud, run, jump, shoot and just be boys. Samuel also wanted me to make a sword, a shield and a helmet, but I thought I could maybe get a few things rolled into one.
I came up with a Super Daddy logo on a shield on a cape. I didn't have a pattern, but knew I wanted some kind of collar and I'm really happy with what I ended up with!


I made my own bias tape and used that to finish the edges, instead of doing 2 layers of fabric, because they always play when Tim gets home from work and he's already hot and tired, so I wanted it to be as light and breathable as possible. 
I put a few extra stitches here so nothing gets lost during those flying rides.



Super Hero Super Daddy!!!!



To the RESCUE!!



They LOVE their Daddy sooo much!



What sweet boys :o)



Samuel also asked what kind of animal cake I was going to make. I said that I would make his Daddy's favorite cake but it wasn't going to be any kind of animal :o). My birthday's coming soon and they asked me what animal cake I was making for myself. Tim told them that my birthday present to me was that I didn't have to make a cake :o). I guess with the last few birthdays I've set their expectations a bit high :o).
I don"t have any pictures of the cake because Tim eats sweets too fast! But here is the recipe from a 1940's cookbook:

Hot Milk Cake
4 eggs beaten lightly
2 C. sugar
1 ts. vanilla
2 C. flour
2 ts. baking powder
Mix well in order given.
In small pot melt 1 stick butter in 1 C. milk.
Add and beat to mixture.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until done :o)

I always serve with cool whip as icing and green grapes around the side.
Sounds funny but it's REALLY good!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Bugs Bugs Everywhere


As y'all have probably noticed, my boys LOVE bugs!
I saw THESE that Disney made at Ruffles and Stuff and thought that would be a great fast present for a friend of mine that just told me she was pregnant (and I could make a few extra for my little ones). This is the first toy that I've made for Caleb so far (poor guy, he's 5 months old now and I just got around to making something JUST for him) 



This is the same caterpillar, just different fabric on each side.



I like that it's a caterpillar made with a butterfly print :o)


I didn't use the pattern that Disney gave, but mine looks pretty close. I loved the idea of adding wings for an instant butterfly transformation :o) I plan on trying to make a few different kinds of bugs for my silly boys to play with. It doesn't really matter what I make for them, they just love having something new to keep busy with.



It's nice to have things that can attach with rings. I think next time I'll try to find some little jingle bells to put in the middle for a still somewhat quiet sound :o)



Most people know that I can't stand things that make NOISE! Anything with batteries that ends up at our house only lasts a few minutes before the batteries "get lost," and I tell the boys that they're still fun to play with even without making noises :o)
I love wooden toys! I think that a child's imagination can be used and grow much more when they have to use it to play and not just watch flashing colors or listen to loud sounds. I would rather them play and learn - not just be entertained by something.
But that's just my opinion :o)

Monday, June 14, 2010

My Sweet Husband


I love my new hydrangea !


Tim's been working so hard in our yard in all his spare minutes the last few weeks! Here's a few snaps of the almost finished project.


He added a few strips of sod to fill some bare places and pretty flowers all around :o)



This will be a sand box for the boys whenever we get some sand to go in it, and till then it's a dirt box that is just as fun I think.






Samuel loves finding bugs to follow around!



This was his new pet until he lost it :o)



Here are a few more pictures taken about 2 weeks later. See how much everything has grown, and you can hardly tell between the new sod and old grass.






Look how BIG!




It looks so good Tim. Thanks! :o)

(You're welcome! I love you!! [the perks of being the editor... :o) ])

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Kenny's Birthday Cake


Tiger cake!


I didn't get any great pictures because of the time crunch.



And please don't look at my dirty counter :o)



It was a busy morning!
I used 6 boxes of cake mix, 5 tubs of icing and 1 pack of pull-apart twizzlers. 

This was a bit of inspiration I used for the cake.

Cat cake - a homage to Lulu the toy cat


 Kenny turned 2 about 2 weeks ago now, and I was in charge of the cake. The only pictures I liked were of cats, not tigers, but I didn't think it would take too much to add some tiger-looking touches. 

It wasn't everything I had wanted it to be, but because of a few circumstances that came up I was working with a bit of a time crunch, to say the least. So, even though it wasn't as smooth looking as I would have liked, I was still very happy with it, and I'm sure a 2 year old really doesn't care as long as they get to eat it :o)
I forgot my camera, so I didn't get pictures of the party, but we had a great time and I think Kenny had fun too, and that's all that mattered that day!

We Love You Kenny!!!