(10-24) Stained glass window

 The kids helped me paint some coffee filters with liquid watercolors, and then we cut them into leaf shapes and used a few dabs from a glue stick to attach them to our big sliding door to the backyard.

 It looks really pretty in the afternoon sun, almost like a stained glass window.

(10-23) Model material

My cute little man all ready for church.

(10-22)

This is how we spent our afternoon. (taping a rug so that we could paint it.) In a few days I'll let you know how it turned out.

(10-21) After school craft session

An hour ago this room was clean.
(And yes, my craft room is a bit pathetic looking. One day I will have the money to make it beautiful.)

(10-20) Shadow Puppets

We got the idea for our shadow puppet theater from giverslog.com

(10- 19) Roads

Ryker turns just about everything into roads for his cars. The stripes on the rug, the lines on the linoleum tiles, and the pattern on the quilt that sits on top of my cedar chest...

They all become highways and parking lots.
So, I've been working on this:

A car mat. It's pretty big, and it has some of our favorite places on it. I actually started this over a year ago, so it has our old apartment on it, and both grandparents' houses. It has an airport, and a desert, and some mountains. Soon it will have the St. George temple. It is slowly coming together. Even though it isn't finished Ryker asks to get it out almost every day. Hopefully by the time I finish it he will still be interested!

(10-18) Keeping it real.

 Sometimes motherhood is just like this. All. Day. Long.

(10-17)

Bath time. I try to bathe her When Ryker is sleeping, or else I find myself trying to wash Alexa with one hand and ward Ryker off with the other. He thinks he is being extremely helpful when he tries to dump water on the baby's head. Sometimes I think it will be a miracle if this child survives her big brother's affection.

(10-16)

 1 day old:

1 Month old:

She has already changed so much. They grow too fast.

This is my last post for the day, I'll do some more catching up tomorrow. Don't forget to check out the others if you haven't seen them!

(10-15) Cotton Mission Parade

 On Saturday Anicka and Adam were in a parade celebrating the pioneers in the Dixie Cotton Mission. A wagon train came to St. George from Parowan and paraded down Tabernacle. You can read more about it here if you are interested.

 I'm glad that i thought to grab this picture of Anicka before the parade, because I wasn't able to get a good picture during the parade.

Ryker, Alexa and I sat on the sidelines, and Ryker had a great time watching all of the big wagons and tractors go by. His excitement tripled when some of the people in the wagons started throwing candy. He hasn't ever been to a parade before. (Also: It's really hard to take a picture of your kids when they're sitting on your lap...)

p.s. scroll down if you haven't seen Alexa's one month pic. It's really cute!

(10-14) Alexa's 1 month pictures

This was fun. I plan to do a picture like this every month. I wanted to write her stats on the chalkboard, but it just looked messy (my handwriting is not that great) and she kept covering things up when she wiggled around, ha ha. I'm not completely happy with the chalkboard font, but it's the best one that I could find. The funny little stuffed animal is a rabbit that I crocheted for her.

P.s. I am going to keep updating the blog as the day goes on (playing catch-up), so keep checking back, and scroll down if you haven't seen this morning's post!

(10-13)

I can't believe I've gotten two weeks behind on this project. I haven't given up, I've still been taking pictures every day; but I haven't had time to edit and post them. They should all be up this weekend.

Here's the  first one. This is another one of my carriers for Alexa. I made it following these instructions. It was super easy. The ring sling is nice because it's quick and easy to put on (there's nothing to tie) but is not as versatile as a wrap.

Big sis and Little sis snuggle on the sofa, and Ryker lets them use his blankie to stay warm. (And that is a big deal, my friends. A very big deal.)

Reading together

 Anicka and Ryker have discovered a love of reading together.

 

I think it's so wonderful. I always loved reading to my younger brothers and sisters, and I hope that Anicka keeps her love of reading.

The books they are reading are the David books by David Shannon. We have 'No, David!' and 'David Goes to School', and Ryker really loves them both.

Big Truck

Ryker LOVES trucks. My mom works for a trucking company and sometimes we go visit her office and get to see the big diesels fueling up. Lately Ryker has been asking for a 'big truck with a trailer' and we planned on getting him one for Christmas. But yesterday Adam was going through a box of his own childhood toys and found this little diesel truck. Ryker hasn't put it down since. He was SO excited to have his own 'big truck'.

I love this picture because this is how Ryker spends the majority of his day; stretched out on the floor, playing with his trucks and trains. I want to remember these sweet, quiet times.

Crochet ( a snapshot)

Only the second day and I'm feeling weird about this project. 'My life is not that interesting' I say. ' Nobody cares about what I do every day' I say. And then I remember that this project is really just for me, and that someday my kids might care about what I did every day, so I suck it up and post a photograph.

I've decided to crochet Alexa's blessing dress. So far I've started over three times because of issues with the fit, but now it is finally starting to come together. I've never crocheted something this delicate, with such small thread and such a tiny hook, but I'm getting the hang of it now, and hopefully I'll have it done in time.

Snapshot of my day

You've all seen the 365 picture projects. I decided to try one of my own. Each day I'll try (try) to post a snapshot of my day. This is basically just for me, something to remind me to slow down and enjoy the little moments. So, here is the first installment.

This is how I like to carry Alexa when I need to get things done and she wants to be held. I discovered babywearing when Ryker was born, and I loved it. Babies love it, too. Your movements rock them to sleep, they can lay right against your chest and listen to your heartbeat, and your rhythmic breathing calms them. I highly recommend it.

Three Weeks

 

  

 

Movie night

Movie night in the tent while dad takes in the priesthood session.