One More Day

One more day until Stephen comes home! Yea! Actually, he won't be home until early Monday morning unless he can get an earlier flight. He has been in school all week and has taken and passed two certification exams. He has one more exam to take tomorrow.

This week has gone by quickly, but we are all ready for his return. The next course for the certification he wants to take lasts fourteen days! Fortunately, he talked with the guys that run these courses and they said he could split the two weeks up if he wants. I told him that was a good idea.

My other exciting news for the night is that Erin can officially roll over! She is growing up so fast!

Erin is Four Months Old

When I was a kid I used to get annoyed with adults when they would talk about how quickly time was passing. I just couldn't understand what they were talking about. The school year seemed to drag on to me, and Christmas would never come. Well, now I completely agree. I can't believe that Erin is four months old already.

She is growing so quickly and has developed quite a little personality. She is so different from Grant already. She seems to want to be more social. She coos and "talks" to me. She really looks at you as to say, "Hey! Pay attention to me!" She's strong too! I thought Grant was a strong baby, but I think she is giving him a run for his money. She is very stubborn in her own way. She hates her car seat with much conviction. Soon as she is placed in it she begins to arch her back and roll around. (I am not looking forward to the five hour drive to Destin in a few weeks. She can't possibly cry the entire way can she?)

She has brought so much happiness to our family. Even though some days are hectic I wouldn't trade it for the world. Being a mom is the most rewarding task I could ever have!

Meet Grant: the puppy dog

Yes, that is a milk bone in my child's mouth. He does this daily. The kid thinks he's a dog. I caught him drinking out of the dog bowl several times yesterday. He sits there and laps it up just like Hunter. It's really disgusting! What I can't figure out is that he will eat dog food, but throws a fit if you try to feed him something normal. He pretends he is a dog and follows Hunter around in the yard doing everything he does. And and do mean EVERYTHING! I promise he plays with other children.

Poor Zack. He wants his treat back!

Erin just had a bad night!

Eating yogurt. Finally, something more edible.

(Grant prefers Yoplait Whipped Key Lime Pie flavor)

After an hour and a half of nonstop crying.

The kids and I went up to my parents house for dinner tonight before church. We had tacos and enchiladas, and boy were they good. I had planned on going to church after dinner, but Erin was inconsolable. So, after much debate, I went on home. She cried the entire way home and it took me a while to calm her down. Both of the babies are sleeping now and there's peace in the house.

Puttin' Up Corn

Today we spent the entire day over at Stephen's parent's house. His mom, grandmother, Aunt Pat and I shucked, cleaned, creamed and bagged three bushels of fresh corn. Yum Yum! I do LOVE corn. Grant helped by dropping a raisin or two into the corn as his Granny was (for lack of the technical term) stripping the corn off the cob. Don't worry, we got all the raisins out of the corn! We worked hard, but I enjoyed doing it. They started about 9:30 this morning and we finished up the last bag about 4 pm. It takes all day, but it's worth it. There's just something good about fresh corn. Hopefully, we will have our own corn to do next year. There's a plan for a garden in the works.

Erin playing in the Jumperoo while we worked

My sweet boy and girl

She loves her big brother!

The Finished Product

Erin likes the new sling. Like I said before, I have two slings like this one. Erin likes the other sling as long as she is sitting up in it. She does not like to recline. I thought that she would like to be carried chest to chest, but needed a ring sling to do it. I found a ring sling tutorial through this blog and decided to try it! I had a small problem with the pleats, but I got it right on the second try. I also shortened the pattern and made the sling 2 yards X 30 inches. I think I am going to make another one out of a more neutral fabric.

It's After Midnight: Why am I Awake?

I promised Stephen I would post pictures of the kids each day. These are from the other day.

I have every reason to be tired, but instead I had a sudden burst of energy tonight. I think it's because Stephen's gone and I always have a hard time falling asleep without him. So ,instead I wear myself out in order to fall asleep. Anyway, I just made a baby sling. It's pretty neat! I really hope Erin likes it. I will take pictures of it tomorrow. It only took my an hour and half from start to finish to complete this project. I would have finished it earlier, but I had some trouble with the pleats and I had to rip them out. I hate ripping out seams. I guess that is what I get for sewing so late at night. At least I was able to sew without interruption.

I did want to update everybody on Erin and the bottle. For the last three days that I have worked she has taken a bottle! Yea!!!!!!!!! We had to work on the combination of what she likes, but we use the Avent bottle with the nipple from the MAM bottle. Apparently, the milk had a strange taste from the MAM bottle. It smelled very much like plastic in this bottle. Let's hope that this problem is solved!

I'm the Mom of "That" Kid

I have to say that tonight I feel truly defeated. As a mom of two kids under two, church can be challenging to say the least. I can't tell you the last service that I actually sat through a sermon, or even a few songs for that matter. Erin does not cut up yet, but she usually has to be fed sometime during the worship service. Grant, on the other hand, is 21 months old! That's all I have to say to most veteran mothers and they understand.

Before I had children of my own I would often become annoyed by the children disrupting the worship service. I thought, "Can't those parents control their children!" I was so naive! I am eating so many of my own words. Grant is the typical "strong-willed" (as they term it) boy. Sitting still for an hour is impossible for him right now. I bring an array of things to entertain/distract him, but let's face it: none of it works for long. His bag includes: juice, a snack, multiple books with flaps,pop ups, magnetics-anything interactive, matchbox cars, and stickers. He even has one of those peg games they have on the tables st Cracker Barrel. He loves this, and on a good day it will entertain him for ten minutes maybe. The problem is when Grant decides he's done, he's done! He throws himself into a screaming fit of rage. This is when Stephen or I quickly make a dash for the door, screaming kid in tow.

I can hear people now. "They need to get a handle on that kid!" People must think we don't discipline him, but Grant received at least 3 spankings just tonight. It's like it doesn't even faze him. I must tell you that Grant can be a wonderful, sweet , enjoyable child to be around. And he is a good portion of the time, as long as we don't make him sit still and quiet in church. It's gotten so bad that he throws himself on the floor in a fit of rage if he even sees the pews in the building. I just hate it, because the people at our church only see this side of Grant. I am sure we are the topic of many a Sunday afternoon lunch. Luckily, Stephen has a very easy going personality and none of this bothers him. He reassures me that "He's two!" He and Grant normally end up watching the sermon on closed circuit TV from the toddler Training room. Which I think they need to rename "Grant's Room." On any given Sunday you can hear Grant through the door screaming and crying.

Tonight was especially rough because Stephen was not there. My mom actually suggested that I should stay home, but I feel guilty missing services. (Of course what did I actually get out of the worship service tonight? I only sang one song.) As I left the building tonight, both of my babies were crying. I had several people stop me and tell me, "Don't worry! It doesn't last forever!" Let's hope they are right!

A Country Wedding

Grant posing for a picture. (Actually, he wanted a hammer he spotted on the back of the stage)

This little girl became fast friends with Grant. He just sat on her lap just like this, but wouldn't look at her. I don't think he knew what to do!

Granny Gay with Erin. This woman has 54 grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren! Whew!

This afternoon we attended Stephen's cousin Christyn's wedding. We had a good time.
However, we both missed the wedding ceremony. Erin started fussing right before the ceremony and Grant started crying before the bride even came down the aisle. Oh well, at least we enjoyed the reception. They had BBQ and a blue grass band. They will be living in Tennessee on his family's farm. I believe he is the fourth generation own it.

VBS

This week has been a fun-filled one to say the least. Our congregation had VBS every night. I helped teach Grant and Erin's cradle roll class. It was so neat to sit back and watch Grant learn and interact with his friends. The highlight of the evening for him was getting to put his canned good in the basket on the stage. He was so proud of himself. He's turning into such a little boy. Where did my baby go?

On the other hand, we are all exhausted. I think I was up until midnight almost every night this week. Now my goal is to get the house in order (this might be a lost cause) and all of the laundry done because Stephen is headed to Pennsylvania for the week. His flight leaves early Sunday morning. Oh, and we have a wedding tomorrow afternoon to attend, and a fellowship meal Sunday after church service. Needless to say, I have got a lot to do! I guess I better get off of here and get back to work!

Guess Who Found Her Feet?

Another Task Complete

I was able to make Erin's matching sun suit yesterday. I think it turned out cute. I am not happy with the bloomers though. They seem to be a little big, so I might have to re-work them just a little. I should have taken a picture of the back as well. It criss-crosses and is open to show off the bloomers.

On a side note. Grant always comes into the our bedroom when he wakes up in the morning. This morning I wasn't out of bed yet and he climbed on up to cuddle with me. As any 21 month old would do. He starts getting silly and jumping on the bed. Well, you know what happened next--he fell off and bumped his bed. I quickly picked him up and comforted him. He was bawling! Through his tears he looked over and saw Erin and he said, "Hey Erin!" He just loves his sissy!

Happy Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day yesterday evening with my family. My poor dad has hurt his back. He was able to relax in the pool some, but he is having to take it easy. We enjoyed swimming and supper with everyone.

This is relaxed!

Stephen this morning with the kiddos. (Grant really wasn't into having his picture made. He had just been caught in the dog food. We really do feed him!)

Precious baby girl! This time last year we had no idea we'd have such a sweet surprise!

Stephen and his dad today after lunch


We have had another busy weekend. We have VBS this week and I have got to go make cookies!

1 Down 302 to Go!

I finished another project today. I made this Jon Jon for Grant out of fabric that has tiny light yellow stripes. I got the idea for embroidering the sailboat from another blog. This girl makes the cutest clothes for her girls and she has a little boy on the way. Check out her blog here. (I found Darby's blog through a blog of a friend of Brian and Liz's here. Yes, I am a lurker in a good way!) I am going to try to make a baby sling too. Erin loves to be held. ALL OF THE TIME! I have a different type of sling that does not allow here to be held chest to chest in an upright position. It looks like an easy project. I will let you know how it turns out.

I hope I have enough yellow fabric left to make Erin a matching sun suit. That's my project for this week. I will post pictures when I finish it.

Our New Wheels

We recently purchased a double jogger. I am so thankful because now we can go for walks in the morning before it gets too hot. We have a single jogger and it has been very useful. We live "out in the country" so a regular stroller just won't cut it around here. If I wanted to go to the mailbox I had to put Erin in the single jogger and pull Grant in this or this. (Yes, he rides in a pink car. He's secure with his masculinity!) Even though this stroller is larger than our single jogger the frame is much lighter. The wheels also come off easily for travel and the front wheel can become stationary for serious athletes.

Grant was more interested in the workings of the canopy than smiling for mommy.

Sewing -Take One

Well, Saturday proved to be somewhat productive. I wasn't able to even start half of the projects I had in mind, but who was I kidding? It's hard enough to find time just to take a shower around here. Grant is not really the problem. He can sit and play with his toys and entertain himself for quite a while. Erin, however, thinks she needs to be held 24/7. She's a cat napper. She likes to doze for 20 minutes here and there. I can't wait until I can get them on a similar napping schedule. Believe me, I am working o it. Grant usually nap for 2 1/2 to 3 hours every afternoon. That's a lot of time! I could get of ton of stuff done if I just had that much uninterrupted time! I do have a lot of time to sit and read blogs while I am nursing Erin. I have become quite proficient at typing with one hand.

On to my completed projects. I was able to make my friend Kelly's little girl some new burp cloths. I think they turned out nice. I had to fight with my embroidery machine quite a bit though. When I purchased this machine I really had no idea what to look for in an embroidery machine. I bought a Singer Futura CE-200. It does basic embroidery, but I have several issues with it. I have an extremely hard time using the hoops with thick material. The burp cloths barely fit in the hoops and I think I am stripping the thread on the large hoop. Also, you can't embroider something that has already been made. For example, a onesie or a bag. I would really like to upgrade to a much nicer machine one day.

I also made a few bibs for Erin. She is quite a messy little thing! She drools and spits up a lot. Grant was such a clean baby. I never worried about his outfits of my clothes because he never messed them up. I found this blog that had a free bib pattern so I decided to give it a try. I plan on making more.

I also have big pans to make Grant some more Jon Jons. I bought the sweetest light green and light yellow fabric and I plan on using some embroidery designs on them. I would like to get this finished soon because I just ordered some cute pink fabric with little giraffes on it for Erin. I will update more when I finish a project.

Mommy/Daughter Pictures

Tonight Erin and I wore somewhat matching outfits to church. Her dress and my blouse were made of the same fabric. I figured we better get some photos because Erin is growing so much. The dress was a little snug on her, but I wanted her to wear it at least twice! I think the pictures turned out alright. The sun was bright for her little eyes so she wouldn't really look up.

Summer Days

You gotta love summertime!

Big Plans

This weekend I plan on using this:

with this:

and some of this.

But, it all depends on this:

and this.

I'll let you know how it goes!