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!

Baseball Season

Evan started his t-ball season a couple of weeks ago, and he loves it! Practices are a a couple of times per week, and he starts playing games next week. He can hit the ball off a tee pretty well, but he needs to work on fielding a bit. See the picture below!


His favorite part of t-ball is batting. We don't have a tee, so Mark pitches to him in the backyard. After his practice on Saturday, Mark took him to Wal-Mart to buy his very own batting helmet and bat. Definitely the highlight his his day.


I love, love, love this photo. He is going to have a hard time catching a ball when he is looking the other direction and his eyes are closed! But he is so cute... and he tries really hard. Mark and I praise him constantly and he responds really well to that.


We are working on the step-with-the-left-throw-with-the-right concept... and he is starting to figure it out. Oh, that tongue! I had no idea sticking out your tongue was required when throwing a baseball.


After a good practice I snapped this shot of Evan, Mark, and Rocket. This time it's Rocket who has his tongue hanging out. Love that little puppy. :-)

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!

Karla Dudley Color Swatch Challenge

Karla posted a color challenge on the Design House Digital website, and I thought I would play along. I used my blog post photos and journaling from Tuesday to create this layout.

I love the colors Karla chose... so soft and peaceful. And perfect for a layout about Evan.

(Supplies - Patterned Paper: Breezy. "everyday" brush: Cypris. "Details" tag: Cypris. "awesome" sticker: Itty Stickers Boy. Staple: Digi Essentials. Clear heart: Clear Essentials 2. White cardstock: Digi Essentials 3. Flower brush: Relax. Zig zag stitching: Cardstock Essentials 3. Paper border: Relax. Strait stitch: Digi Essentials. Heart brush: Be You. Font: Georgia.)

I plan on using the same template to create a similar layout about Jack. Why reinvent the wheel, right?

Goodnight!

Vignette Photos

Happy Friday!

I just have a few photos to share today. These were all taken with my smart phone and the Vignette photo app.

(left to right, top to bottom)

1. Evan has never liked stickers, but Jack loves to be covered in them!

2. My three boys... and part of Rocket's leg.

3. Evan loves it when I bring Rocket with me to pick him up from school. I love Ev's grin!

4. Jack has been putting Pup-pup on his head while we wait for Evan after school. I have no idea why, but it's cute!

5. Rocket likes to take a nap wherever his people are.

6. Jack loves his Leapfrog Leaptop. It's one of his favorite toys right now.

7. Another Pup-pup-on-the-head picture. :-)

8. Our cute little puppy turned 1 last month. He is such a good boy (except for the occasional barking), and he is doing really well with our training. Liver treats are a huge motivator for him!

Have a great weekend!

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.

Looking Back: A Layout

Karla Dudley released a new kit yesterday for Design House Digital named Twenty Twenty. One of the phrases she included, "looking back", made a perfect title for my layout:

(Supplies - Papers: Twenty - Twenty. Cardstock: Cardstock Essentials. Stitching: Cardstock Essentials. Labels: Jude. Word stickers: Itty Stickers Boy. Staples: Clear Essentials No. 1. "looking back" brush: Twenty - Twenty. Font: Georgia)

I plan on creating a layout all about Evan's first day of school, but I wanted to also document the differences between his first day of pre-school and his first day of Kindergarten. Look how big he is now! What a difference two years makes.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Kindergarten

Evan,

Last Monday was your first day of Kindergarten. I can't begin to describe the emotions I was feeling when we walked down the hallway to your classroom. I was nervous, excited, and a little bit teary-eyed when we found your class and walked inside. You were very quiet; taking it all in. We found your cubby and you helped Daddy put your backpack and lunchbox inside before finding your seat. I was hoping you would want us to stick around for a bit & make sure you were okay, but you didn't seem to need us there. I am so proud of your confidence and maturity.

I gave your two or three (or ten) hugs and kisses before waving goodbye & walking out the door. You waved back and said "Bye Dad! Bye Mom! By Jack-Jack!" without any hesitation. As we walked back down the hallway, leaving you behind, I reflected on how far you have come the past two years. Your first day of pre-school was so hard on you. I wasn't sure if you were going to adjust to going to school. Now you are a well-adjusted, outgoing, social little boy. Your first day, and week, were a complete success. You love your teacher, you have made three friends & give us updates on them daily, and you have been given three "green" days. You are so proud of yourself for getting green on your calender. After five green days you can pick a prize out of the treasure box, and that sounds pretty cool to you.

I am so proud of you, Evan. And excited to see what this school year will bring.

I love you,

Mommy.

Terri & Jayden

This past week has been so much fun for us because our friends, Terri and Jayden, flew from Washington to Florida. I have known Terri for 15 years, and her adorable granddaughter, Jayden is one of Evan's good friends. We had a ton of things planned during their stay, including a trip to Magic Kingdom, the beach, eating out, trips to the pool, a couple of photo sessions, and lots of squeals from the kids (and a few tears, too).

I have a ton of photos from the past week to share, but I am currently uninstalling Photoshop CS4, and reinstalling CS5 & Lightroom, so I can't edit any of them. My hard drive is also full, and I need to move a ton of photos off my MacBook and onto the server. For now I am going to post a few camera photos I took last week. Hopefully I will have all my computer issues figured out within the next couple of days & I can edit and post some better quality photos. I used the app Vignette for all the photo effects and borders.

Our first stop after picking them up at the airport: dinner @ TGI Fridays.

Walking into Magic Kingdom. I love that they are holding hands! So cute.

I took Evan and Jayden on Splash Mountain, and they wanted me to take pictures of everything... including the Slippin' Falls sign right before the 50 foot plunge.

At the bottom of Splash Mountain.

The kids were really well behaved despite the heat and humidity. And they didn't mind smiling for the camera. :-)

We had lunch at the Crystal Palace. It was a nice break from the heat, and the kids loved meeting Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet.

This photo was taken right before we left the park. Jack was so exhausted because he didn't have a nap, but he did really well considering.

Evan was so hot and tired by the end of the day! But I know he had a great time at Magic Kingdom.

Ice cream @ the mall. Evan picked triple chocolate, and Jayden had a snickers ice cream cup.

It was a wonderful trip and the perfect way to end our summer vacation. Thanks for the visit, Terri and Jayden! We miss you already!

Only six more days until my little boy starts Kindergarten. I think I need to buy a few boxes of kleenex. :-)