Monday, January 9, 2012

Christmas in Michigan

We celebrated an early Christmas in Michigan and had a great time. One of the highlights of our trip was visiting Frankenmuth and going to Bronner's. If you are ever in Michigan, you need to go. It is Christmas all year long!

We have been pretty bad with using our camera lately, probably because we are too busy enjoying the moment and making memories and the camera isn't always part of the moment!


The best picture of 4! Notice, my [hot] babywearing husband!
christmascollage1
Avalyn & Grace; Tucker; Jackson; Aunt Joyce & Avalyn

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Currently

Working on: Wool Longies for baby Beckett. Magic Loop method for knitting two legs at once.
Reading: Driven by Eternity by John Bevere. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.
Cooking: Cheeseburger Salad. The name sounds a little weird but it is worth a try. It was delicious!
Baking: Artisan Bread from this book.



Wednesday, January 4, 2012

My Handmade Christmas

I had a lot of fun making Christmas gifts this year. Thanks to Josh for making it possible for me to make so many things! He has sat through many a movie or TV show so that I can crochet or knit. And taken care of the girls so I can have time to sew. Not to mention his providing the funding for these projects!
;)
So...way back when Josh and Avalyn went to Michigan for hunting season I stitched up 7 pillow covers out of some Ikea curtains that my sister gave me. I thought the metallic style fabric looked festive for the holiday season and it matched our current color scheme. I also made three owl pillows for Avalyn, Harper, and Grace (our niece) for Christmas gifts. There were some pajama pants for Avalyn and a dress for Harper - upcycled from some old t-shirts! I also sewed up a purse that I had cut out over 6 months ago. The purse took way too long to sew but it turned out pretty nice.
Those are all pictured here, Harper is wearing the dress and playing with the pillows.

 

I, with a little help from my mom, crocheted these toy airplanes for our nephew Kody and made this little learning mat to go with them. Idea came slightly from Ravelry and mostly from my own.
 
 We made this wall hanging for my in-laws for Christmas, it came with some super cute photos of their 3 grandkids that my brother-in-law took. Idea came from Pinterest but I could not find the original source.
 

There were also 2 crocheted angel ornaments that I know I photographed but the photos have seemed to disappear. I used this pattern. They were surprisingly easy to make and went really fast. 
I made a picture hanger for my parents using something similar to this and I never photographed it! I think that is all that I made. Oh wait, I finished a gift for myself too, the Honey Cowl! I better take photos of that today!

All in all it was a great Christmas. We felt like we were celebrating the whole month but it was great to have so much time to reflect on and praise the birth of Jesus.

Harper - 10 months!

Harper was 10 months in December! Here are the highlights from month 9 to month 10!
-Went on first road trip, to Grandma and Grandpa Miller's house. Slept all night in the car while we drove 1300 miles!
-Shortly after we got there we found out you had three more teeth that came in. We didn't even know! Your Uncle Ryan was holding you and saw them, the fourth on top is still just below the surface and hasn't quite broken through.
-You got to meet some cousins and aunts and uncles that you had not yet met.
-Mastered moving from seated position to your belly and you army crawl everywhere.
-Started trying to repeat our words.
-Had your first Christmas. You tried to help Avy blow out the candles when we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.

We can't believe you are almost 1 year old! In some ways it seems like just yesterday we were driving to the hospital to have you. In other ways it seems like you have been with us forever. We love you!



Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Harper - 9 Months!

Harper was 9 months back in November!
Some highlights from 9 month checkup:
-weigh 17 lbs
-28.5 inches tall
-2 teeth on the bottom that appeared seemingly overnight
-love to clap and dance
-love to eat crackers...only crackers! It is hard to get you to eat anything else some days!
-still going strong with nursing
-wear mostly 9 month clothes but moving into 12 month sizes

Love you, Harps!


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9 months