Baby "Lolo"

"Lolo" is what James calls baby Lauren. Our friends Andrea & Brian had their baby one month ago. Also unbelievable to me. Where did the time go? Andrea is the friend I co-hosted a shower for at the beginning of May. She and I have been friends since 9th grade, we've shared so many experiences and phases of life together, and it is REALLY exciting to have her enter motherhood just a year and a half after we had James. We're excited that our daughters will only be 4.5 months apart!

So Many Posts, So Little Time!

Mark working on a shelf for our new baby's nursery

I've got so many things I'd love to blog about. So much going on lately...I sure don't know what happened to the month of June. I can tell you that much. I've got a little extra time on my hands today, though, so I hope to update on a few things. All of my fun crafty decorative baby-girl-room-projects have come to a screeching halt lately, due to another minor flood in our basement. I say 'another' because this has happened two or three times before. This was the first time, however, since we had new carpet installed last winter. Sad situation, I know. So....Mark has taken it upon himself to install a sump pump to prevent future water seepage! We have a nice big hole in the concrete for it now, but he just needs to find the time to finish it. That's easier said than done considering that we have plans all but one weekend in the next month and a half! One thing is for certain: James LOVES having the basement 'torn up' with tools all around. You've never known a little boy that is SO passionate about a shop-vac. He calls it "shop-ack".

drilling holes with a borrowed hammer drill...talk about loud and messy!

James at 21 Months

I realized this past week that it has been a long, long time since I've committed an entire post to James! I decided it's because it has become so difficult to get a good photo of the squirmy little guy! But that's not a good reason to not try, right? So this past week, I attempted to catch a few moments here and there of what he has been up to.

Sipping on a fruit and yogurt smoothie...my smoothie, that is, after he had snarfed his down. He has requested a 'moo-vee' every time he's seen the blender since.

Eating pineapple on the front porch. James LOVES pineapple, requests it weekly whether or not we have it in the house, and pronounces is "pine-o".

Not sure what this mischievous grin was about. He was probably contemplating turning the opposite direction and 'running away' to our neighbor Tom's house. Tom gives him juice boxes so they are good friends. And yes, he's holding a fork in this picture.

James really was excited to see the firetruck at our church's groundbreaking party. He just happens to look dumbfounded here instead.

Contrary to what it looks like, Mark shared this cupcake with James. James only ate about a fourth of it but sure did love every bite, blue frosting and all.

James played in the park with Mark while I took a few informal engagement pictures for Mark's sister Jody and her fiance Chad. James really loves his Aunt Jojo and Chad.

A few other notable James updates: James has become so much more affectionate this past month. It has been so very sweet. He picks the most random moments to say, 'hug' and wraps his little arms around our necks. I'm so thankful. I really didn't think he'd ever sit still for hugs.

James has also been enjoying 'counting'. It goes like this: "un....too...un....too....un..." Eventually he'll learn to count higher than 'two'. If you build up to 'eight, nine....', he will excitedly shout, "TEN!" Funny little guy. This morning he saw some flowers in vases on our counter and said, "Fwower...un....too...un...too..." At least he understands one purpose of numbers. :)

I've found a local movie theater that shows G and PG movies for FREE during the summer. Tomorrow there's a Clifford movie at 10am and I'm considering giving it a whirl. I know he's reallllly young but if it's goes horribly I won't have spent any money at least!

James will turn 21 months on Saturday--we're thankful for our little buddy.

Ruby Slippers, Decor, and "Pinks and Cream" Quilt

I'd say the fabric pom-poms (previous post) won the vote by a landslide! Although I was initially more interested in the paper ones (maybe because I saw them first?), I've definitely reconsidered and plan to attempt the fabric ones for a few reasons. First, I think it's going to be easier to find fabric that matches the room decor than it would be to find crepe paper in the right shades. I also think the fluffier, less 'finished' look is really growing on me. And rolling up all those flowers for the paper type sounded pretty difficult. Anyway, it's a ways off, but I'll show the finished project whenever it gets done!! (Sidenote: I'm going to stick with paper lanterns as the base, only $1.10 for one, whereas the styrofoam balls are $18.99 a piece!?!?!)

Now on to another crafty endeavor....This is a little name sign I've been working on over the past few weeks. I probably invested about 6 hours in it (getting the stencil the right size took the longest amount of time.) Mark cut the blocks out of scraps we had in the garage, I painted the blocks 'cream', made stencils out of text I printed on cardstock, then stencil-painted the letters, followed by staining the edges....It's sitting on the mantel in our basement...which is another blog post entirely...I got/stole the entire idea from this blog post, on the Creative Crate (she used vinyl lettering--so popular right now--but also has stenciled other projects). I'm pleased with it and learned a LOT from this experience. I plan to make some more word/name blocks in the coming weeks.... :)

My first girly purchase for Baby Girl. I stopped by a garage sale last week and found these for $.25. I'm not always a 'bow' person, but thought they'd be cute for Christmas and Valentine's Day...so tiny and so cute! And I didn't feel too guilty spending only a quarter!

And finally....fabric for my baby quilt! My mom and I went shopping Monday with James (he was SO bored and ate through two different snacks and a cup of juice while 'waiting' for me to pick fabric). But I finally decided on a "pinks & cream" color scheme. It's soft and pretty and very feminine, I think, and fits the requirement that it 'go' with the taupe-ish walls in her nursery.

And here are the first two blocks...because my mom just couldn't wait to get started!

Time to "Think Pink"

20 weeks

Yesterday we found out we'll be having a GIRL in October! Yikes! I'm so excited! We were definitely thinking 'boy' all along so I had the technician check to make sure, and she was pretty certain. Yippee! I haven't wasted ANY time brainstorming ideas for the nursery. To be honest, I'd already bookmarked these two sites, just hoping some day I'd have a fun excuse to make one or the other. We're planning to transform our guest room into the Baby Girl nursery and hoping to avoid painting, so my plan is to add splashes of color (walls are a neutral taupe-ish) to girl-ify it.

Just curious...which pom-pom/flower ball do you prefer? Fabric or crepe paper? Here's the first option:

"Super Easy Fabric Pom-Poms"

OR

"Hanging flower balls", made with crepe paper (!)

I have to confess I'm leaning toward the crepe paper flowers, but not sure I can make them look that great. But I may be limited by color options with that, too.....Which do you prefer? Please "vote"! :)

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

I've got a new recipe to share....Stuffed Pizza Rolls! Here's a link to the recipe. They were really good! Ours were made with pepperoni and mozzarella. I think next time I make them, I'll use little chunks of mozzarella, as it would be easier to 'stuff' them. I used their recipe for pizza dough and started the dough about about two hours before I wanted to pop the rolls in the oven. I also had some of their garlic bread seasoning already mixed up in an old shaker in the fridge for the topping. That might have been Mark's favorite part! And (not pictured) I served it with my favorite pizza sauce for dipping (I omit anchovy paste and cayenne and use two small cans of tomato sauce).

A Visit from Annie

Just look at that face!

This past week Annie and Elizabeth were visiting. It was so fun to see Annie at 3 and a half months!

James got a hoot out of Annie, too. He liked holding her bottle up to her mouth (and eyes, and nose), hugging her and talking to her. It was fun to see cousins together again!