Avery Elle | A E I {Heart} U Challenge #1

Hello there! Is anyone else counting down the days until Christmas? Evan's last day of school was today and the boys are bouncing around here like they have each consumed copious amounts of sugar. I don't know how I am going to contain them until Tuesday! I might be to blame for the sugar overload... in the form of hot chocolate with marshmallows. Evan thought I was the coolest mom ever for making it for him. I love how easy to please he is at this age. :-)

(In order to get this semi-fake smile, not the full on fake smile I got the first 20 photos, I had to threaten to take away his Wii. I quickly went from being the coolest mom ever to the worst mom ever. I, however, only feel a tiny bit guilty because we are making memories here, dammit! )

Anyway.

I should have spent the evening wrapping presents, but instead I created three cards for Avery Elle's first ever A E I {heart} U challenge: create a card that sums up your personal paper crafting style. I used Lots of Love, Picture It, and To the Point for my cards:

(Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) To the Point, Lots of Love. Cardstock: (PTI) Aqua Mist, White. Ink: (Hero Arts). Patterned Paper: (PTI) Soft Stone Patterns Pack. Other: Gems, twine, embossing folder.) 

(Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) To the Point, Picture It. Ink: Fresh Ink. Cardstock: (PTI) Simply Chartreuse, White, Harvest Gold. Patterned Paper: (PTI) Soft Stone Patterns Pack. Other: Washi tape, staple, gems, embossing folder.)

(Supplies - Stamps: (Avery Elle) To the Point, Lots of Love. Cardstock: (Avery Elle) Celery, Kraft. (Papertrey Ink) Stamper's Select White. Ink: Hero Arts mid-tone ink. Other: gems, buttons, white string.)

I am completely sold on this company. The stamps are so easy to work with and I love the graphic images... right up my alley! 

Thank you so much stopping by and leaving comments. They always make my day. :-)

Erin.

PTI Stamp-a-faire | Embellishment Challenge

I had so much fun watching the video tutorials Papertrey Ink provided on Saturday for Stamp-a-faire, and one of the projects I wanted to complete was the embellishment challenge. Specifically, Dawn McVey's awesome butterflies.

(Supplies - Stamps: Tiny Tags. Ink: Dark Chocolate. Impression plate: Linen and Canvas. Cardstock: Aqua Mist and Rustic White. Patterned Paper: Authentique. Dies: Beautiful Butterflies, Tiny Tags, and Mat Stack #4. Other: vellum and 1/4" silk ribbon.)

I love the layers + texture + ribbon combo... and after one butterfly I wanted to make 10 more! Except it was 2:00am and definitely time for bed. :-)

 

And I had to post this picture as a reminder to myself that the boys need haircuts!! They are looking very... shaggy lately. Especially Jack! He is constantly brushing his hair out of his face. I keep hoping the curls will return, but sadly I think they are gone for good. Now he has lots and lots of waves, just like Evan. 


I have one more little announcement/introduction to make. Please meet Gabby, our newest kitten.

 

Lilly seemed lonely and in need of some company, and the amount of kittens available for adoption at our local shelter is staggering. It was an easy decision for us to adopt another one. Gabby is 17 weeks old (6 weeks older than Lilly), and they have become the best of friends. She is technically Mark's cat, and he wanted an all black female. The shelter had just one, and Gabrielle is now part of our little zoo. They both go back to the shelter on Thursday to be fixed and officially adopted. We could not be happier with these two... they are perfect for us. Gabby is very spunky and mischievous, and loves to wrestle with Lilly. And yes, she is sleeping while sitting up in the second picture. I had to grab the camera and take a picture! 

Also... the card I submitted for the Paper Smooches Sparks challenge won! I am honored to be a Paper Smooches Pro and should have a cool new blog badge soon. Thank you, Paper Smooches! 

Have a great night! 

Summer | Digital Layout

I am really excited to share a layout I created with Karla Dudley's new kit, Cool Summer, which will be available tomorrow in her shop. I love the colors she chose... perfect for photos of the boys! Evan's favorite color right now is green (and sometimes blue), so I created a very green layout about him. And this picture melts my heart! He looks so... big. And mature. When did that happen?!?

  

(Supplies - "summer" alpha: Dotty Alpha. Label: Cool Summer. Clear star: Clear Essentials No. 2. "e": Rusty Alpha. staples: Digi Essentials. zig-zag stitch & circle stitches: Digi Essentials. "Summer". tag: Cool Summer. Washi tape: Cool Summer. Notebook paper: Cool Summer. Green cardstock: Cool Summer. Patterned paper: Cool Summer)

Summer is flying by and the kids & I are having a great time together. Jack is at a wonderful age right now, and I feel like I am really experiencing "3" with him. Less than a month after Evan turned three, Jack was born, and life was really chaotic. Now that Jack is three (and we absolutely don't have another baby planned!), I get to experience this age with a little less chaos. He is so talkative and inquisitive... he definitely keeps me on my toes. Right now both boys are into playing "coppers and bad guys". They run around "shooting" the bad guys with their fake guns (index fingers). Sometimes Evan turns into a ghost cop, who cannot be seen by the bad guys, or me and Jack. The whole scene is quite comical... and exhausting when fights break out between the cops. :-)

Have a great week!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I'm exhausted so today's blog post is in bullet form:

* This picture was not taken today... my Easter pictures are still on my camera and I am too tired to export them onto my external hard drive. Maybe tomorrow! But it's a cute picture, isn't it? Evan's new basketball hoop is getting a lot of use & Mark even taught Evan how to play HORSE.

* Jack refers to my office as mommy's "worker room". Apparently Rocket took his hippo into my office and Jack was very upset. He called to me from his crib "Mommy! Hippo is in your worker room!".

* Easter morning was crazy. Completely crazy. Evan woke up super early to play the Easter Bunny in our living room, then he and Mark scattered the rest of the eggs outside. We got Jack up and the two boys ran around collecting eggs. We haven't told Ev or Jack about the Easter Bunny being real (or Santa Clause for that matter), so Evan took over that role. He *really* got into it! And Jack was a maniac, running around stuffing eggs into his basket as fast as he could.

* By 10:30am the boys were so hopped up on sugar they were running around the living room shouting "I LOVE YOU GRANDMA AND GRANDPA" while Mark and I each talked to our parents. They. Were. CRAZY! Too much sugar and too much energy = wild and crazy boys.

* By 1:00pm Jack was having a full on meltdown and Evan was pouting. Their sugar high turned into a sugar crash, and they were both cranky.

* I know I've said it before, but I am so grateful for the friends we have made here. We had company over last night and again tonight, and it reminded me of our revolving door of friends & neighbors in Pullman. So much laughter. And cupcakes. :-)

* Jack had his first swim lesson of the new session on Tuesday. This month he is swimming in the pre-school class and not in the mommy and me class. I want him to get used to taking directions from another adult, and interact with other kids his age. He loves swim & is really enjoying his twice-per-week class. His instructor made the comment "wow, he sure talks a lot!". Yes, yes he does.

* Evan has been working on mastering the first grade reading list recently. When I tested him on those words in December, he knew all but 24 of the words (the list has about 160 words on it). When I re-tested him last week he knew all but 3 words. When I told him that I am so proud of his improvement he shrugged his shoulders and said "Now I get to learn the 2nd grade word list!". The kid is a sponge! He loves to learn and is doing exceptionally well in school.

That's it for me tonight. Have a great week!

Birthday Boy

Evan turned 6 on Wednesday! Mark and I have a party planned for him in a few weeks, but we had a small celebration at home on his birthday. Evan was king for the day & picked out where we went for lunch (McDonald's), where we spent the morning (at the park), got new golf clubs (and M&M's) from Dick's Sporting Goods, and had cupcakes before dinner. He received some lovely gifts from us and his grandparents, and spent the whole day smiling. I took a ton of photos, but they are on our external server and my MacBook has decided not to communicate with the server this evening. My personal IT guy is sleeping so I'm out of luck. Hopefully I can get access to them tomorrow after Evan's soccer game. I do have a few photos I took with my phone, though. Definitely not as good as my DSLR photos, but they will have to do:

Last year I made a "Jack" banner when he turned 2. Evan made a comment that he wanted one for his next birthday. Of course he didn't forget about the banner and asked me about it on Tuesday. I had planned on making one anyway, so I happily whipped one up using some Papertrey Ink dies & cardstock. It turned out really well, so I made a card to match. And because the banner and card matched, I picked up balloons, sprinkles for the cupcakes, and wrapping paper in the same color scheme. I was very surprised (and pleased) when Evan noticed all the color coordination and said it looked "cool". Why, thank you! :-)

Evan's birthday present from my parents was a new set of golf clubs. He *loves* playing golf in the yard and was getting frustrated with Mark's clubs because they are so big. Now Ev has a set that is perfect for him, and should come in handy this summer when he goes to golf camp at our local golf course.

The boys also had their new beds delivered on Thursday and are so happy with them. Evan likes having a little cubby and has filled it with his "favorite things", like his Angry Birds game, t-ball trophy, new Transformers toy, and his favorite book. We are going to have to work with Jack on staying in his bed, though. His first night in his big boy bed was a rough one. He was up until 9:30pm, then woke up at 5:30am this morning. He went down for his nap fine, but woke up after and hour and 45 minutes... he usually sleeps at least 2.5 hours in the afternoon. He was very tired today & super cranky, so I was tired and cranky. Hopefully he sleeps well tonight & doesn't wake up at the crack of dawn. I need to get some sleep!

Have a great weekend!

Little Pirates

The kids are really into projects right now. They want to sit down at the kitchen table with me and make something really, really cool. I should be better at whipping up a super awesome art project for us to complete, but the truth is I'm not the best at coming up with something unique or clever. So we color or paint, and 10 minutes later the kids are bored and I have a giant mess to clean up.

Until I found Kiwi Crate.

Kiwi Crate delivers a complete art kit to our door each month with 2 projects, instructions, and adhesive. All I have to do is open the kit, sit down with the boys, and make something! We received our first kit last month and it was pirate themed. We made a treasure chest and map one day, and last week we pulled out the kit to make pirate hats, an eye patch, and parrot hand puppets.

After the boys created their projects I tried to take a few pictures, but they were bouncing around like bunnies and I ended up with more goofy photos than anything. Jack was trying to tell Evan all about his parrot, and Evan wanted to show me his hat... they were not very cooperative subjects!

Jack kept saying "Ahoy Matey!" and "Arrrrrgh!"... I think he picked that up from Jake and the Neverland Pirates on Disney. He loves his pirate hat. And Evan used the included stencils and spent a lot of time coloring his hat & eye patch. It was a really great experience and the kids are already looking forward to getting this month's kit.

(I was not paid or compensated to write about Kiwi Crate. We just really like the product!).

Today Is My Favorite

In August Jack will be going off to pre-school and I will have two days a week that are child-free for a few hours. That realization is sinking in and I'm trying to savor every moment with this little guy before he goes to school. I have been a stay-at-home-mom for almost 6 years, and this will be the first time that I won't have a kid-o at home full time... and I'm not sure how I'll adjust to that. I will probably fill my time by volunteering in their classrooms. :-)

I'm off to check on the boys and give an extra hug to each of them. Goodnight!

Love

I am working on week 10 for Project Life, and I came across this photo on my memory card. I forgot I took it early last week... a quick shot of both boys & Rocket. All happy and smiling on Evan's (unmade) bed.

And I adore them. :-)

Brothers

Sometimes I feel like all I do is break up arguments, separate them, and beg them to share. They bicker over snacks, toys, and my attention. I have to remind them constantly that they are brothers & best friends... but not this week. They have played, laughed, and enjoyed their time together. Evan bumped Jack tonight, and before I could remind him to play nicely & apologize, he looked at Jack and said "I'm sorry, Jack!". I smiled & told Evan that I was so proud of him for apologizing without being asked. He gave me "the look". The "I know mom" look. It hasn't been perfect this week, but so much better. And for that I am thankful.

Before and After

Mr. Jack desperately needed a haircut, which he finally received earlier this week. After two people asked me if he was a boy or a girl, I knew it was time to cut off the curls! Doesn't he look so much older? I think he does. And he isn't constantly wiping strands of hair out of his eyes anymore... he is very happy about that. I'm sorry for the horrible pictures... I quickly pulled out my cell phone so I could get before and after shots, which resulted in grainy photos. But grainy photos are better than no photos, right? (And his haircut isn't uneven in real life... he kept running his hand over his new short hair & the front got swept off to the side.)

I have been home with Evan all week, who is really, really sick. I thought he was on the mend & ready to get back to school, but his fever spiked again tonight. It looks like I am going to be home with an antsy 2 year old and a sick 5 year old again tomorrow.... lucky me!

Erin.

This is what happens when I go to the bathroom:

Do you see that face? That is Jack's "I'm NOT going to smile for the camera & I'm NOT going to listen to you!" face.

We've been getting that a lot lately.

Luckily he mixes in lots of hugs and kisses and snuggles.

The twos are so very up and down, happy and sad, playful and frustrating. But it's also full of laughs, giggles, tickles, and seriously silly moments.

And apparently, drawing all over everything. With green marker.

At least he's cute. :-)

"No Way!"

This is Jack's "No Way!" face. So glad I captured it with my camera. I hear it 1,000 times per day, but he is so darn cute when he says it that I have a hard time keeping a straight face. And those curls! I have trimmed his bangs three or four times, but I can't bring myself to cut off his cute little curls.

I'll be back tomorrow with a few photos from Evan's Thanksgiving play & feast. Ev was a Turkey, and his line was "Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!".

I wish my little ones could stay this small forever.

Right Now | Jack

Jack, these pictures capture you perfectly. Your spunky personality, big blue eyes, and wonderful sense of humor. Your curly blond hair and love of hats. And magnifying glasses (thanks Cindy!). Your curiosity, infectious laugh, and big heart.

Watching you grow from a tiny infant, to a baby, and now an adorable toddler is one of my greatest joys. I love you , son.

J | A Scrapbook Layout

(Supplies- Karla Dudley, Katie Pertiet, Anna Aspnes, and Ali Edwards)

I have a quick layout to share tonight. Once again I used the journaling from a blog post to keep things simple. I also picked two photos of Jack that I adore added some embellishments. I love the grungy frame and stitching by Anna Aspnes. They add a nice finishing touch.

Have a good week!

A Monkey and a Big Brother

When I started thinking about the kids' Halloween costumes this year, and I knew I wanted Jack to be a monkey. Evan was a monkey when he was two, but he hated wearing costumes & had it on for only 10 or 15 minutes. We didn't even go door to door to trick or treat... he just wanted that darn costume off. So I put it away and figured we would use it when we had another baby. I pulled the costume out of storage last week and washed it, and today I put in on Jack just to make sure it fits. It is a perfect fit & unlike his big brother, Jack loves wearing costumes and thought being a monkey was pretty neat. He especially liked the felt banana in his pocket.

And I can't forget about this guy:

I can't get enough of those eyes and his 5-year-old smile, and how much he loves his baby brother.

Everyday Details | Scrapbook Layout

A few weeks ago I posted a layout I created about Evan, and I took some time to create a similar layout about Jack.

I changed the colors of the brushes & the itty bitty sticker I used, but the basic layout is the same.

(Supplies: Karla Dudley Designs)

Tomorrow I am volunteering in Evan's classroom as the Mystery Reader... and I can't wait! I love reading to little ones, and Evan has no idea I am coming. He will definitely be surprised!

Brevard Zoo Scrapbook Layout

I couldn't believe it when Groupon featured the Brevard Zoo last week... and they were offering family passes for 50% off. We love the Brevard Zoo, and I purchased a pass without any guilt. We are so lucky to have a zoo only 30 minutes from our house, and this zoo also has a water park! Perfect for two little boys on hot summer days.

Evan didn't have school Monday, so I took the boys to the zoo for the afternoon. I also created a layout about our trip. I used Ali Edward's Celebrate Back To School layout as inspiration:

(Supplies - Cardstock: Karla Dudley. Patterned Paper: Karla Dudley. Word art: Ali Edwards. Measuring tape: Ali Edwards. Tab: Katie Pertiet.)

I love the middle picture of Jack... he was pointing to an airplane and screeching "AIRPLANE" as loud as he could. Typical Jack. :-)

Chatterbox

Mr. Jack has turned into our little chatterbox, and I'm afraid when he's 16 and talking back to me I won't remember the sweet and innocent things he said when he was two. His little voice and cute smile melt my heart every time. And to think this will be the last time I will have a two year old pulling on my pant leg and asking me "what's up, Mommy?" makes me a little sad. Then Evan takes his Mario figure back and Jack starts screaming like a maniac, and remember why we are only having two darling children. :-)

These are some of my favorites:

"What's up, Mommy?"

"That's cool!"

"GIVE THAT BAAAAAACK!!"

"Rocket is so cute."

"Mommy, give my pup-pup a kiss. And a hug. And 'nother kiss."

"Cool shoes, Evan."

Goodnight!

Right Now

Evan, you love school and are excited to go every day. You usually wake up before 7:00am, make yourself breakfast, and turn on the cartoons before Daddy gets out of the shower. This new found independence is exciting and terrifying at the same time. I am not ready for you act so grown up!

(Photo memory box from Paper Coterie. Design inspired by Ali Edwards.)

You are into Angry Birds (the board game & the computer game), the show Olivia, drawing with markers and colored pencils, building with Legos, riding your bike, and practicing soccer on the patio.

You love to help out with Rocket, and usually take him potty after school. You also like it when I bring Rocket to school with me in the afternoons to pick you up.

Your favorite color is green, and your favorite food is yogurt with sprinkles. And Mario Brothers fruit snacks.

You love taking your lunch to school. When I pick you up you give me the run down on what you liked, what you didn't like, and how much you ate that day.

You are adjusting really well to your new schedule, and I think you like having a routine. After school you are usually tired and hungry, so we read books, have a snack, watch a movie on Netflix, or play with your Computer Cool School. Some days you want to play with your Angry Birds board game, and some days you look at me for direction. I think you are on overload after spending 6+ hours in a classroom, and I like to allow you to decompress.

You think it's hilarious to say the word "booty", and even more funny when Jack mimics you. I guess when you're a boy, anything having to do with your behind is funny.

Despite the potty humor, you are still my sweet, loving little boy. You still let me give you kisses and hugs before bed, and you tell me "I love you" every morning before school. I love you, Evan.

---

Jack, you turned 28 months last week, and are learning, growing, and exploring more every day. You are curious, cautious, timid, and outgoing. You love to laugh, sing, dance, paint, color, and play in the playroom.

While Evan is at school, you and I get to hang out and find fun things to do. Pushing Pup-pup in a Tonka truck keeps you busy for a very long time.

You and Pup-pup go everywhere together. You have started asking Pup-pup questions and giving the answer (especially in the car), and you were very upset when I had to wash Pup-pup last week. I love listening to you talk to him while I'm driving: "Pup-pup, where is the tree?" "Right there!" "Pup-pup, where is the birdy?" "Right there!"

One day per week you and I go to Gymboree for a Play & Learn class. You get to interact with other kids your age, work on balance and coordination, and your favorite part is getting a Gymbo stamp (or 5) at the end of class. You always have our instructor put one stamp on each foot, one on your belly, and sometimes you get a stamp on each hand. When Daddy comes home from work you run up to him and squeal "Gymbo stamp!" and lift up your shirt.

You love greeting Daddy by the door when he comes home from work each night.

You love to follow Evan around the house and do everything he does. I'm not sure if Evan enjoys this behavior as much as you do, but I think it's adorable that you want to be just like your big brother.

Your vocabulary continues to expand & you say "no thank you" and "please" without prompting.

I pulled out our box of dinosaurs last week and we had a great time naming them, talking about dinosaurs, and learning different types of dinosaurs. You can now say "t-rex", "brontosaurus", and "triceratops".

You are spunky, adorable, sweet, and loving. You give the best hugs and kisses, and love to rest your head on my shoulder when I carry you to bed each night. I can't image life without you, Jack. I love you.

Summer Vacation 2011

The kids and I returned home yesterday from a week in Washington State to visit family and friends. We are all exhausted, but our trip home was worth every yawn from the boys.

The boys and I met Cousin Zach and Aunt Abby at the park for a play date last Wednesday. I couldn't believe how big Zach has gotten! And he is such a cutie, too. Evan loved racing around the park with his cousin. Evan still talks about going to the park with his "big cousin Zach."

On our last full day in WA, the boys and I met up with some dear friends of ours at a park in Auburn. I haven't seen Karen or the kids in over 18 months, and I was delighted to spend a few hours with them. Evan claimed he doesn't remember Aidan and Ethan, but they hit it off right away. Look at those smiles! Seeing them made me miss Pullman... they were a big part of our life while Mark was in school.

Jack and Jocelyn are exactly 5 weeks apart. I just can't get enough of her cuteness. :-)

Jack wanted to swing, but the infant/toddler swing was being used by Jocelyn. He insisted on trying the big boy swing, and he did great holding on. He scared me half to death, but he didn't fall off. He kept saying "whoa!" and laughing. Goofy boy.

Evan wants to do everything Grandpa does, including golf in the front yard. I'm not sure why he has such a grumpy face? Maybe he's tired of Mommy taking pictures of him.

Monday we took a trip to the Seattle Aquarium. We met Cindy, Ray, and their daughter and grandson for a few hours. I knew the temperature would be cooler in Seattle, but I was not prepared for 62 degrees and pouring down rain. The kids were real troopers and I only heard a small amount of whining when we were walking through the rain.

Evan took a great picture of Abby, my Mom, and me, but it's on her camera. Hopefully she will send me that picture so I can post it here (hint, hint Abby!). But I do love this photo of Abby, Grandma, and the boys. Evan couldn't be happier than when he gets to spend time with Abby and Grandma.

Isn't this sea anemone cool looking? Such a pretty green.

This little boy is a big fan of his Auntie Abby, too.

My parents treated us to a night at Great Wolf Lodge last Saturday night. Evan and Grandpa hung out in the wave pool for almost 3 hours, while Jack and I wandered around the toddler/pre-school area. I wasn't expecting the water park to be so loud, but it was a fun two days.

Miss Kaitlyn celebrated her 6th birthday last week, and we were lucky enough to be in town to celebrate with her. Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!

Friday night I cooked a big dinner for some family friends. The boys were less interested in the Ranch Style Chicken I cooked, and more interested in playing in the backyard.

At the Puyallup Library:

What could be better than curling up on the couch with Grandma? Playing Angry Birds, of course! Evan is addicted to the game, and he has installed 5 or 6 versions onto my iPod. If I had a nickel for every time Evan asked to play Angry Birds, I would be a very rich woman.

We also had a lovely BBQ with Mark's parents, lunch at the Olive Garden with Uncle Tom (and my Dad), a mini play date with Evan's girlfriend, Jayden, and a quick trip to the South Hill Mall. I can't believe all that we did in 9 days!

Have a wonderful Friday, friends.