While They Were Sleeping…

Whether napping or at night, when my boys sleep, I create!

While they were sleeping…

  I made this book wreath. I got the tutorial from here.

This wreath is a birthday present for my grandmother who is turning 96 next week. She recently moved into a retirement home where each door in the hallway has a place to hang a decoration. I noticed on my last trip to visit, that GG (her self-proclaimed name since becoming a great-grandmother) didn’t have anything decorating her door. Since my grandmother has always been an avid reader, I thought this the perfect gift! 

I was so pleased with the way this turned out, that I plan to make one to hang over our headboard in our master bedroom.

Emmett’s Walking!

He’s been tottering for a couple of weeks now and he’s getting braver by the day. I love the look of pride on his face every time he takes steps. He’ll be running before I know it!

Curb Appeal: Update

I have now successfully removed all of the old, overgrown shrubs in the front of our house. Earlier this week, when the sunshine was out, I did some serious weeding. The beds are bare, but they look so much better!  Now, I just need to find some inspiration, and time, to plant some new plants in them.

Jack-O-Lanterns

I love carving pumpkins. And although the act of carving them now looks very different with kids, I still love the process of hollowing out the pumpkin and creating a face for it. I also love roasting the pumpkin seeds with just a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mmmmm yummy!

Here’s a look at what each boy liked best about carving the pumpkins.

Emmett loved holding the spoon and reaching inside of the pumpkin.

 

Jack thought that the insides were “icky” and was more interested in the finished product.

Jack loves to “light” the pumpkins at night. This year I bought the battery powered tea lights for inside the pumpkins. Those are pure genius!  No messy candle, fire hazard, or burnt fingers! I can’t believe I haven’t gotten them before this year.

The Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we packed the family up for the annual trip to the pumpkin patch. This is one of my favorite fall activities, and one that Tom and I have done together since college. The sun shone brightly and the air was perfectly crisp. We grabbed coffees on the way and enjoyed the beautiful colors of the trees as we drove. Parking was a cinch.  We got the boys out of the car and bundled up.  We were a family ready to search for pumpkins. It was perfect. Perhaps a little too perfect (cue the screech in the record player). The farm was CLOSED! Well, not for the entire day, but it wasn’t open until 11:00 and we were there at 10:00! We were not the only ones who so enthusiastically headed out early, in fact, the parking lot was swarming with other families just like us. We somehow managed to entertain Jack for an hour—we smelled flowers and let him run through the hay maze. Finally, the clock struck 11:00 and the farm opened.

 

First stop, the pumpkin patch. We actually didn’t get any pumpkins, since Nana B and Boppa B grew some for us. But that didn’t stop the boys from checking out all of the pumpkins in the field. Jack wanted to try and pick each one up, and Emmett liked the sound of his hands hitting the pumpkin.

 

Then, of course, we had to take some pictures.

 

We also drank some cider, played with toy tractors in the sand, and saw some farm animals. All of these things were fun, but none compared to the tractor ride. Well, it wasn’t really a tractor ride, but rather a tractor pulling a trailer with hay bales. Jack didn’t care. In his mind, it was a tractor ride. And he LOVED it. He sat looking over the side of the hay bale and pointed at pumpkins, and dirt, and whatever else he found interesting.

By the end of the tractor ride, the farm had become pretty busy, so we headed home to carve pumpkins.

Look, Up in the Sky!

 

It’s a bird!

It’s a plane!

It’s SuperJack!

52 Weeks

For the past 52 weeks, I've been taking one picture each week of Emmett's life. Each week I sat him in the rocking chair in his room with his blue stuffed hippo and the corresponding week written in foam bath numbers. I also have kept a calendar with significant events from his first year. I combined the two into this slideshow. I also plan to make a photobook for Emmett, which will double as his baby book, but I thought the slideshow was the best way to show all of you! Hope you enjoy 52 Weeks of Emmett!

This free photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

One Year Stats

Emmett had his one-year check up today. The kid smiled and wooed the doctor the entire time, until he got his shots. But even then, he cried for a couple of seconds and then was back to smiling. Love that kid!

height: 30 1/4 inches (70th percentile)

weight: 23 lbs. 5 oz (60th percentile)

Happy Birthday, Emmett Otter!

At 6:36am one year ago today, Emmett made his way into this world. It feels like yesterday and a lifetime ago, both at the same time. I love getting to know him better each day and watching as he changes and grows into the person I know he’s been created to be. I love that Emmett is fearless (and I’m terrified by it too). He’s tough as nails, but also loves to cuddle. He loves his big brother fiercely and will gladly be tackled or tickled to get attention from him. He is independent, yet still needs his mommy. He doesn’t need to be the center of attention, he’s content to just be. He eats like a teenager, and is willing to try nearly anything. He scrunches his nose when he smiles, which makes me melt every time. He is happy and healthy. What more could a mother want?

 

Emmett one year ago.

Emmett today at the zoo.

Happy Birthday, Emmett Otter!

Emmett’s First Birthday Party

In some ways it seems entirely possible that a year has gone by. We sold a house, bought a house, took some trips—we did a lot in Emmett’s first year of life. Yet, somehow, I look at him and still think that he should be a baby. But he is definitely NOT a baby anymore.

On Sunday we celebrated Emmett’s first year of life with a simple family birthday party at our home. I didn’t have a theme, no trucks or animals or trains, but I did want the whole focus of the party to be on Emmett and his first year of life. I had so much fun finding ideas on the internet and creating them myself.  Here is a glimpse of Emmett’s first birthday party:

A balloon wreath that I made, thanks to this tutorial.

A banner reading, “Emmett is one”.

The cupcakes. I just love that picture of Emmett!

 

Each person found their place at the table by finding the picture of themselves with Emmett. At their place was a card reading, “My birthday wish to you…” Our family made birthday wishes for Emmett which were so thoughtful and funny, too!

I found this quote in Dr. Seuss’ book Happy Birthday To You. It couldn’t be any more fitting! 

 

I displayed pictures—one from each week of Emmett’s first year of life.  I’ve taken them in the same chair, each with the week and his stuffed hippo.  Stay tuned for 52 weeks (whenever I get around to putting them all together!)

 

We enjoyed a spaghetti dinner-one of Emmett’s favorite meals!

And then it was cupcake time.

The first taste.

And then it was all business.

Our little ETR (his initials, but very fitting for his appetite) ate the entire cupcake!

Big Brother Jack also enjoyed his cupcake.

 

Emmett tries out a few of his new toys.

 

And we actually got this shot in one try!  Pretty incredible.