Please vote for me here... I entered a contest for a design challenge over at http://www.freshnestdesign.com with pictures of our recent update of the paint in the dining room and guess what!?! I am a finalist! Please click the link and vote for #1 Jennie so we can win a toddler bed for Alyssa! If you have a blog and wouldn't mind a shout... please post a link as well! Thanks for the support!
VOTE HERE!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
A New Car (Well, really a truck!)
The lease is up on my car, so we've been talking about what to buy to replace it for almost a year. We had settled on a Trailblazer (or something similar) because we'd be able to get a break through Mike's job. He spotted a trade-in a week or so ago and snatched it up! We signed the papers on Thursday afternoon in the fastest deal I have ever participated in (Mike had most of it done ahead of time... I just had to sign). 15 minutes later we were switching my stuff over. Take a look at my new "car!"
It is a 2006 GMC Envoy with lots of bells and whistles... sunroof, leather, power seats, 6- disc in- dash CD changer, chrome wheels, running boards... I love it so far! It is super fun to drive. Alyssa also loves it because she can see so well out of the windows. She is seeing things that she could never see before because her head sat just under the window base in the car. All weekend she has been asking to go in the "new car." What a treat not to have to drag her!
It will be so much nicer on long car trips!
It is a 2006 GMC Envoy with lots of bells and whistles... sunroof, leather, power seats, 6- disc in- dash CD changer, chrome wheels, running boards... I love it so far! It is super fun to drive. Alyssa also loves it because she can see so well out of the windows. She is seeing things that she could never see before because her head sat just under the window base in the car. All weekend she has been asking to go in the "new car." What a treat not to have to drag her!
It will be so much nicer on long car trips!
Monday, May 18, 2009
A Fun Week (or so)!
We've been busy lately... a week ago we helped throw a shower for our friend Kimmie who is expecting her first baby in July. I made most of the decorations, and we all helped with the food. Alyssa loved all of the little kids and even managed to jump into a group of girls to get her picture taken with them. She wants to be included in everything! Kimmie got tons of nice gifts and we all had a great time!
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We also enjoyed Mother's Day... Mike and Alyssa gave me some beautiful pink roses and some yummy chocolates and other goodies. I got to pick out some plants for the front of the house (Mike planted them, too!) and then we went to my parents' for the afternoon. We had a super delicious lunch and enjoyed just hanging out. We even took Alyssa to the Lake Benson Park. What a fun weekend!
The following pics are from a few weeks time, and the skinned knees were a while ago... her first! She has been such a big kid lately that she is all dirty when she is done playing outside. The roses are the ones I got for Mother's Day... so pretty! And look who likes con on the cob! This was her first try at it last night, and she wasn't about to let me get away with cutting it off for her when we were eating it off the cob. "Me do it!?!"
slideshow
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We also enjoyed Mother's Day... Mike and Alyssa gave me some beautiful pink roses and some yummy chocolates and other goodies. I got to pick out some plants for the front of the house (Mike planted them, too!) and then we went to my parents' for the afternoon. We had a super delicious lunch and enjoyed just hanging out. We even took Alyssa to the Lake Benson Park. What a fun weekend!
The following pics are from a few weeks time, and the skinned knees were a while ago... her first! She has been such a big kid lately that she is all dirty when she is done playing outside. The roses are the ones I got for Mother's Day... so pretty! And look who likes con on the cob! This was her first try at it last night, and she wasn't about to let me get away with cutting it off for her when we were eating it off the cob. "Me do it!?!"
slideshow
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Baby Pool
We got Alyssa a baby pool last weekend. She loved it! She loves to use her watering can and beach toys and pour water from one to the next. She also likes to splash, as long as her face and chest don't get wet! Is is possible for these things to be hereditary? I have always hated to have my face wet. It is always the first thing to hit the towel when I get out of the pool.
There was a bit of an air-retention problem with the first model, but she had fun with it anyway. There are lots of pics... please feel free to stop the slideshow at any time! We had to get her a new one this past weekend... I'll get more pics of that one soon!
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P.S. I am LOVING the warm weather! Thank heaven for Spring!
There was a bit of an air-retention problem with the first model, but she had fun with it anyway. There are lots of pics... please feel free to stop the slideshow at any time! We had to get her a new one this past weekend... I'll get more pics of that one soon!
slideshow
P.S. I am LOVING the warm weather! Thank heaven for Spring!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Leaps and Bounds
Alyssa is changing and growing so quickly these days... she keeps amazing us with her physical capabilities. In the past couple of weeks, she has learned how to climb the ladders at the playground (a huge development... think how physical you have to be to pull your body weight up by your arms. Maybe she'll be a champion rope climber like Tula. Right, Mom?) Just yesterday she decided it is fun to run... fast! She started racing back and forth across the downstairs and yelling "Mommy! Look! Fast! That's Fun!"
I got such a kick out of that and was thinking about this kid that we saw this weekend. He was beyond tickled with himself to find that he had an audience to watch him jump up and down, about 2 inches from the ground. I think he was similar in age to Alyssa, possibly up to a year older. I spent a few minutes trying to show Alyssa how to jump and wondering how to explain something so simple when the vocabulary is so limited! She must have understood me because she was able to jump by the time Mike got home from work! I am so impressed!
Over the weekend I decided to paint Alyssa's toenails. I've been thinking about it for a while. I just didn't think she'd sit still long enough to get them done. I was wrong! She was so tickled that she asked me to do her fingernails, too! I painted my own to match, and although her fingernails need to be redone (apparently the quick- set polish is not pool- resistant even after they feel dry... the paint peeled off by itslef within a half hour), here are our matching toes. Beware... graphic images (if you hate feet, and you know who you are, sis!)
I got such a kick out of that and was thinking about this kid that we saw this weekend. He was beyond tickled with himself to find that he had an audience to watch him jump up and down, about 2 inches from the ground. I think he was similar in age to Alyssa, possibly up to a year older. I spent a few minutes trying to show Alyssa how to jump and wondering how to explain something so simple when the vocabulary is so limited! She must have understood me because she was able to jump by the time Mike got home from work! I am so impressed!
Over the weekend I decided to paint Alyssa's toenails. I've been thinking about it for a while. I just didn't think she'd sit still long enough to get them done. I was wrong! She was so tickled that she asked me to do her fingernails, too! I painted my own to match, and although her fingernails need to be redone (apparently the quick- set polish is not pool- resistant even after they feel dry... the paint peeled off by itslef within a half hour), here are our matching toes. Beware... graphic images (if you hate feet, and you know who you are, sis!)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Around the House
Alyssa and I have been able to keep my friend Laura's baby, Jack a few times on Friday mornings. Alyssa looks forward to these visits in a big way! She talks about it for days before (if we tell her he is coming) and for days after.
Recently, she has been carrying the Cabbage Patch doll that Betty gave her for her birthday last year... she's been spending lots of time pushing her around in the stroller and dressing and undressing her. As of this weekend she has given the doll a name... Baby Gack (that's how she pronounces his name)!
The doll wears pink and purple, but Mike says it looks more like a boy anyway because of the hair.
She just can't get enough of Baby Jack!
I found some more pics on my camera... a messy girl who had just enjoyed licking some chocolate-y beaters, her first skinned knees, matching Mommy and Baby aprons, and unloading the dishwasher. Remember I told you how much she likes to help with housework?
Click on the link to see the Slideshow!
If you don't already have a Snapfish account, please create one... you can use it for all future slideshows on this site!
Recently, she has been carrying the Cabbage Patch doll that Betty gave her for her birthday last year... she's been spending lots of time pushing her around in the stroller and dressing and undressing her. As of this weekend she has given the doll a name... Baby Gack (that's how she pronounces his name)!
The doll wears pink and purple, but Mike says it looks more like a boy anyway because of the hair.
She just can't get enough of Baby Jack!
I found some more pics on my camera... a messy girl who had just enjoyed licking some chocolate-y beaters, her first skinned knees, matching Mommy and Baby aprons, and unloading the dishwasher. Remember I told you how much she likes to help with housework?
Click on the link to see the Slideshow!
If you don't already have a Snapfish account, please create one... you can use it for all future slideshows on this site!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Easter Weekend… so lovely!
We had such a great Easter weekend... lots of extra playtime at the park (I still can't get used to the idea of having Mike home on holidays... a 3- day weekend is such a treat!) in the pretty weather, shopping, church, lunch, playing cards and hanging with the family. We really enjoyed watching Alyssa hunting for eggs and entertaining everyone with her new vocabulary. Now, if you say it, she will repeat it. We had a blast getting her to say things that sound so much cuter in her squeaky, nearly two- year- old voice!
My parents (aka, the Easta Bunny!) got Alyssa a huge pile of goodies... new books and toys AND great new gardening tools so she can help Poppie in the garden. She love raking the carpet and carrying her tools around the house. The funniest part of the whole thing was that she liked to ride around in her basket (it was a wheeled gardening bucket) while being pushed by Alli... wait'll you see the pics!
Another fun situation involved Ashleigh's dog. Alyssa is generally interested in dogs, but we have found that she gets nervous when they come up close. Most of the dogs that live around us are bigger than her, and many of them are lickers (she doesn't like to be licked... she says "eeew, gwoss!"), so she doesn't really like to get too close. Ashleigh brought her dog Leah, to my parents' for Easter, though, and we saw a huge change in Alyssa by the middle of the afternoon! At first, she was nervous and shy, mostly running away from Leah. Later in the day, though, she was chasing the dog and calling "EE-ah" (in true toddler fashion, this was playing like a broken record by the end of the day!) She and Mike even took Leah out for a walk, by the end of which, Alyssa was holding the leash! She gave the poor puppy the workout of her life, and Leah was running away from Alyssa by the time we left! Unfortunately, we were all too preoccupied with watching it happen and playing the family- favorite game of Shanghai Rummy (I got the high score of the day, and the object of the game is to have the lowest... go me!) to remember to get any pictures. Sorry... just let your imagination run. Very funny!
I hope you all had a peaceful, wonderful weekend as well!
click here
My parents (aka, the Easta Bunny!) got Alyssa a huge pile of goodies... new books and toys AND great new gardening tools so she can help Poppie in the garden. She love raking the carpet and carrying her tools around the house. The funniest part of the whole thing was that she liked to ride around in her basket (it was a wheeled gardening bucket) while being pushed by Alli... wait'll you see the pics!
Another fun situation involved Ashleigh's dog. Alyssa is generally interested in dogs, but we have found that she gets nervous when they come up close. Most of the dogs that live around us are bigger than her, and many of them are lickers (she doesn't like to be licked... she says "eeew, gwoss!"), so she doesn't really like to get too close. Ashleigh brought her dog Leah, to my parents' for Easter, though, and we saw a huge change in Alyssa by the middle of the afternoon! At first, she was nervous and shy, mostly running away from Leah. Later in the day, though, she was chasing the dog and calling "EE-ah" (in true toddler fashion, this was playing like a broken record by the end of the day!) She and Mike even took Leah out for a walk, by the end of which, Alyssa was holding the leash! She gave the poor puppy the workout of her life, and Leah was running away from Alyssa by the time we left! Unfortunately, we were all too preoccupied with watching it happen and playing the family- favorite game of Shanghai Rummy (I got the high score of the day, and the object of the game is to have the lowest... go me!) to remember to get any pictures. Sorry... just let your imagination run. Very funny!
I hope you all had a peaceful, wonderful weekend as well!
click here
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