It has been WAY too long!!!

When I first started blogging I was determined never to go more than two or three weeks without blogging...I've now gone *gasp* over FOUR MONTHS!!!  I can't believe it is true!  Is anyone out there still reading my blog???  Before you start to question my commitment to the blogging world let me show you a picture of my excuse as to why I've been gone so long.

Meet our new little gal!

She is now almost 2 months old (although she is only 2 weeks old in this pic) and I can't believe it!  Time is flying by!  It has been quite an adjustment for all of us around her to go from being a family of three to a family of four, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Anyway, although she was born February 18th, I spent my last trimester "nesting" and trying my best to keep up with an active toddler boy while carrying around what felt like a bowling ball inside my belly.  And now we have spent the last couple of weeks trying to settle into our "new normal" as my husband likes to call it.  All that to say, blogging got put on the back-burner so that I could focus on my family.  I have TONS of crafty goodness to share with you and am hoping to get pictures taken and share them with you all soon!  I have been doing lots of sewing lately (something about having a baby girl has made me and my sewing machine connected at the hip) and I am dying to scrapbook all of the baby pictures I have been taking (if only I had the time to go through them all).  

If any of you readers are still out there, thanks for sticking with me!  I'll be back soon!

Smallest Pumpkin in the Patch!

A few friends and I recently threw a baby shower for a tiny little boy who is near and dear to our hearts. It was a pumpkin themed shower.  I had tons of fun designing the invitations as well as putting together a few special gifts.

First, the invitations.  My Cricut came is real handy for this one!

I also made some party favors with a little pumpkin stamped on the tag.  And a few friends and I attempted to make a pumpkin shaped cake using two bunt pans.  We learned that we should have filled each bunt pan to the top in order to get the shape we wanted.  We also used an ice cream cone for the stem.  

I also put together this little beanie for the little man!

And made him and his older brother matching jackets.

And the top it off I put together this little display album for his mommy!

It was a fun party for a very special mommy and baby!

Toddler shirt and belt

Another little fun project I did recently was to make my little man a fire truck shirt.  He LOVES fire trucks and gets so excited when he gets to see one up close!

I made his little belt with some of my favorite Cosmo Cricket ribbon!!!  It is so hard to find cute toddler belts.  All my little guy's new fall/winter pants are a little too big right now, which is just right...gives him room to grow.  I think I am going to whip up a few more of these little belts.

First handmade Halloween costume!

Growing up my siblings and I loved dressing up for Halloween to go trick-or-treating!  There were quite a few years where my mom actually sewed us our costumes.  It amazes me now the ways that she made our desires come to life in the costumes we chose!  I figure I only have a few years where I get to choose what my children will dress up as for Halloween so this year I was dying to dress my little man up as Peter Pan!  I wasn't sure how I was going to pull off the costume without a toddler size pattern.  So you can guess my excitement when I found this AMAZING tutorial!

I couldn't help but giggle with delight when I put it on him!  What do you think???

We are having...

...a...healthy baby! Hooray! Really that is what is important, right? All the baby's measurements came back perfect as well as blood tests and so forth. We are thrilled to know this little one is doing so well swimming around in mommy;s tummy.

But, really, I know what you are all waiting for...boy or girl? Right? Okay, well here is a little background on how we found out what we are having both with Ethan and now with this new baby. First, we go to the doctor's office for our ultrasound. We politely inform the ultrasound tech that we would like to know what we are having but do not want her to tell us but rather right it down on a piece of paper and seal it in the envelope we have provided. Then, we go to the mall and browse all the cute little newborn outfits and try to find a store with both a boy outfit and a girl outfit we like. Once we have found "the" outfits we proceed to the register where we ask the clerk a little favor. We leave them with the two outfits, the envelope, and enough cash to cover the cost of one outfit. We ask them to wrap up the outfit that corresponds with what is written in the envelope and leave our receipt and change in the envelope. We then leave and return a few minutes later to pick up our little package. Lastly, we head out to dinner and proceed to open our little gift for the new baby at dinner together. How's that for fun! So, without further ado here is the video of me opening the box last night (cause Andy got to open the box when we found out Ethan would be a boy)...

NOTE: Sorry there is so much background noise and that the picture is so yellow...this video was taken with our little snap and shoot digital camera.

If you couldn't hear everything that was said then here it is loud and clear:

It's a GIRL!!!!

Was I in shock? Yes, very much so! The reason being that while at our ultrasound I was CONVINCED I saw little boy parts. I guess I was just seeing the umbilical cord. When I opened the box I almost cried...I was totally giddy!!! So, here is the outfit we picked out for our sweet little girl. We went for something cozy and cuddly this time (with Ethan we had picked out something a little dressier but he only ended up wearing it once or twice). We actually had quite a hard time agreeing on clothes this time. There were a couple other stores we found that we either really liked a girl outfit or we really like a boy outfit but not both so we ended up at Old Navy.

Our experience at Old Navy was fun. The clerk was super excited when we told her our plan. And when we opened the envelope at dinner there was a $10 gift card and a note that said, "Congratulations from Old Navy!" So sweet!

More of the story...

The ultrasound tech totally had me fooled...she told us she calls all baby's a "he" and then we talked and talked about her two boys and how crazy it is to have two boys. She had us look away while she got a closer look and printed out the following picture which she included in the envelope along with a note that said, "Get ready Daddy. It's a Girl!" On the ultrasound picture we included an arrow pointing to what she labeled as her "Princess Parts." Hilarious!

Yesterday, before our appointment Ethan and I were sitting at the table doing some coloring and practicing his counting. I asked him whether he wanted a brother or a sister and caught his response on video. Here it is:

Then this morning I gave Ethan his new baby doll in order to begin to introduce him to the whole baby concept. He LOVED IT! It is a bath time baby and comes with a little yellow towel, slippers, soap bottle, and fish toy. I think he was particularly fond of it because it has a yellow towel. Ethan also has a hoodie yellow towel just like his baby. He immediately ran to get his own yellow towel and wanted to be wrapped up like his baby.

Then he proceeded to give his new baby a bath. So cute!

It wasn't long before he was trying to poke baby's eyes out and throw baby onto the floor. He returned to his trucks and trains soon after. Boys will be boys! But his world will be rocked soon with a little GIRL!!!!

Here is her profile picture! I think her profile looks a lot like Ethan's.

We're really EXCITED!!!

And the winner is...

This weekend turned out to be a bit crazy...sorry I am announcing the winner of my fall goodies kinda last minute!

I recruited my little guy this time to help me select a winner. Each name was printed out...

then folded up and put into one of my favorite bowls I found at a local antique store...

and he was told to hand mommy ONE...

no, mommy said ONE...

once he finally figured out what one meant he didn't like me trying to take it from him so forgive me for having to rip it out of his hands...AND THE LUCKY WINNER IS...

GRETCHEN!!!

who said...

i'm glad you're back! i dont think ive ever introduced myself but i check your blog often (i found you through littlebandofbrothers) one of my favorite fall activities is cooking and baking all the wonderful comfort foods of the season. i love all the varieties of squash that can be a main course with salt and pepper or dessert with butter and brown sugar. i LOVE baking cookies, especially now that my son and his cousins are old enough to have fun helping out.
tis the season for fattening up for winter and i love it!

Congratulations Gretchen! Email me (beccashogren@yahoo.com) your address and I'll get your goodies in the mail asap!

1st BLOGIVERSARY and last chance at fall goodies!

I have to admit, I didn't even plan it this way. Today is my 1st Blogiversary and the last day to get your name entered into a drawing to win these yummy fall goodies! I can't believe that a year has already gone by since my first post on this here blog of mine! I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing my creations with you and making new friends along the way. I am so blessed and encouraged by all of my readers....THANK YOU!!!

Here is a little eye candy for you today. It's a card I made recently with some of my favorite Basic Grey papers (I think I say that about all my Basic Grey papers!). Just love this color combo!

Hey There, Cupcake Card

Patterned Paper: Basic Grey

Stamps: Papertrey Ink

Ink: Close To My Heart

Ribbon: Basic Grey & Martha Stewart