Her new expression

She is constantly making this face lately... and it cracks us up.


And loved reading all your comments about siblings.

And Julia, I have 5 brothers.... so I understand completely the punch in the arm. I've had a few of those in my life (plus other things!)

Regan is on all for the next 24 hours... so we'll see how much we see him.

Alden is getting more and more into drawing. Most of the time it is "inventions" or vehicles. This is from this past week.


Pretty cute eh?

the kiddos

It has been interesting lately, watching these two. And their relationship. How it is growing and changing. Alden is quiet and Lucy never stops talking. Since there is a three year gap (almost to the day!) I wondered how they would get along.

Two days ago we were sitting out on our front step, snacking on blueberries and cherries (love summer fruit), riding tricycles. (I was sitting eating - they were riding and eating!) For some weird two year old reason, Lucy snapped and decided the freak out. She ran into the kitchen screaming her little head off (about who knows what) and was trying to wedge her way in between the fridge and the cupboards.

Alden looked at me and said "What's wrong with Lucy?" I said I have no idea. So he went in after her say "Lucy can I help you with something? What's wrong" Lucy jsut keep screaming (I ended up taking her upstairs so we wouldn't have to listen to the 45 minutes it carried on for) Alden was really trying to help. When she gets upset he is now the first person trying to figure out what is happening. Isn't that the sweetest thing. (I mean Alden NOT Lucy's tantrum!)

Then yesterday morning Lucy got up waaaay to early. And she was down stairs watching cartoons (so her pregnant mother could sleep in a bit). Alden got up and quickly took off his pjs and put on just shorts (no shirt). He came downstairs and found cartoons on so he sat on the floor to watch. Lucy started after him immediately. "Alden you're cold, go get a shirt." "Alden you can't sit there" "Alden you need to eat breakfast first." and on and on and on.

Today they wanted to have a picnic together. So together they brought down all the stuffed animals and laid out a blanket in the kitchen. Ate their lunch together. Played together.

I hope the older they get the more moments where they are looking out for each other. Helping each other. Playing together. Those moments are just wonderful. (And the other moments make me laugh!)

i think....

that Lucy enjoyed the donuts I made....
what do you think?

3 things

Alden has been playing with our old Camera.
It works on and off. But Alden has a lot of fun with it....(click on this photo collage and you'll be able to see it better!


and lunch was so good today I thought i'd share a little picture of it with you....
my favorite sandwich, a clubhouse on the homemade bread i made yesterday.
mmmmm. it was gooooooood.

a little something i made for Lucy's room..... totally using Ali's idea here

just a few shots

to share.... from Mother's day a few weeks ago.
Regan snapped some of me and the kiddos.



and i've got to say I'm getting sick of all this rain.
Sure hope the sun comes out soon!

getting ready

Isn't it so great that spring/summer is finally here?
The winter lasted forever. Every time we drive over the river close to our house, Lucy says "Mom look the snow is finally gone!" :)

I decided today that I should actually get ready in some manner for this child to come. I only have 6 weeks left today. So I bought a few diapers, some soothers and baby wash. Not really gonna buy any clothes, as I have sleepers from two kids before. I was thinking that it would be good that the kiddo gets his/her own clothes.... but then I thought why? They don't know the difference. And they will grow out of them very quickly anyway.

I even pulled out the baby car set. Mostly to see if it has an expiration date on it. It doesn't.... is it totally bad if I don't buy another one??? They say 5 years and it's been more than 5 years..... hmmmm

In the next few weeks we will re-arrange our bedroom so we can set up the crib in there. We even considered just using the play pen, but it's just too low for me.

We are excited about this baby.... but we are soooo this is our third kid mode. We've discussed names but not totally settled. And really our conversations have been very brief. Where as with the first two we talked about it a lot. And the whole getting ready thing, we were a bit more on it with the first two.

But I figure as long as we have what we need when the kiddo actually comes out, it's all good. And i've still got 6 weeks.

On a side note, here are a few pages from the weekend.

a few pictures...

from the past few days....

the kids enjoying the nice evening tonight....

three things I notice from this picture:
1. how tall and skinny my kiddos are
2. love the rubber boots with the swimming shorts
2. can't believe how big my kids are




















part of summer is having a dirty face...
a little chocolate from the cookies he helped me make
some sand from the sandbox
and dirt from playing

























daddy helping Lucy learn to ride a tricycle tonight...

























isn't she getting so big???
a little chocolate on her face too.

















they are playing together more and more.
Alden was being Lucy's puppy.
Lucy was a princess (of course)

























and little Lucy looking so cute with her beloved puppy.
liked both the color and the black and white































As of lately my momma has been teaching me how to sew things. I can quilt. But clothes with patterns. It's like they are a different language to me. And so these are my two creations from today. (The dress was started a week or so ago.) Not the best pictures as I used the web cam to take them :)

zzzzzzz

10 city blocks
carrying 1 two year old
pulling a 5 year old
makes one very tired 7 month pregnant lady.

Happy Mother's Day

I didn't quite get around to posting anything this week.
But I thought about it.
:)

Since today is mother's day. I wanted to give a little shout out to the momma's in my life.

1. My own momma.
I don't have any pictures of her lately. (Which needs to be fixed soon!)
But here is a scrapbook page I did a year or so ago about her.


Hard to put into words the appreciation I feel for my mom. We have a really good relationship. It wasn't always that way. Really it changed between us when Kelly died. And again when I had my first baby. I love that she is so talented. Love that she knows how to do everything. And if she doesn't know, you give her a book on it and she can learn it shortly. That takes talent. Love that she loves her kids so completely. She's got piles of love oozing out of her. Waiting for the next person to walk by. She is a wonderful grandma. Love that she is so in love with my dad. They have an absolutely ideal marriage. Which is such a wonderful thing to grow up with! As I get older, I've learned to love the little quirky things she does too. Her love of garage sales. Her obsession with quilting and teaching. Really, I'm a very lucky girl to have her in my life. Love you momma!

2. My mother in law.
Another old page. When my MIL was visiting us in Nova Scotia she did the coolest thing, she took Alden out into the woods on a walk just after it got dark. He thought it was so cool that he got to go out then and that he got to hold the flashlight. It just made me think about the little things we can do for our kids that really enrich their lives.


That is one of the things I love most about my mother in law. That she is completely positive. Looking for the little fun things that make life good. Even her talk is positive. Such a good thing for me to be around. I need more of that in my own attitude, so I've always appriecated it about her. Love that she raised Regan and did such a good job with him. That she loves him so much and because of that she loves me too. Love that she is so willing to help her kids out. She is a wonderful grandmother. Who is always wiling to watch her grandkids. Teaching them, doing fun things with them. I'm very thankful to have a good mother in law and a good relationship with her.

3. My sister in laws. I have lots. 3 (soon to be 4) on one side. And 5 on the other. That's a lot of different personalities and marriages. Almost all of them are moms. (All except 1 (soon to be 2). I really thing that having kids together has strengthen our relationships. I have a whole group of go-to moms that I can talk to about all things mothering. That is a big blessing. I love them all very much. We have vastly different relationships and that is what is so cool!


I'm thankful to be a momma too.
Thankful that I get the opportunity to stay home with my kiddos.
In about 6 weeks I'll be a mother to three. That is strange. But wonderful.
Hope all you mommas had a wonderful day!

In the Craft Room: Happy National Scrapbooking Day

I'm back at home.
And it is good to be home. Very good.
Especially to have Regan home for the weekend too. All of us at home!

Since today is a special day. (For some people.) :)
I wanted to mention a few things about scrapbooking.
It really is a big thing in my life.
I am not a "professional" or "famous" scrapper. But I love doing it.
So a list about scrapbooking.

1. I love that it helps me to see the positive little tidbits in my life. Helps me see things better. Clearer. And remember them. Ali Edwards calls that being a "Life Artist".

2. I love photography. And i love writing. And i love art. Fantastic combo!

3. I love the freedom of it. I have heard so many people talk about how they are behind. Or they don't know where to start. Or that they don't know what to do with it. I feel so the opposite about all those statements. There are no rules to it. So you can't do it wrong. It's impossible. Literally impossible. (which is so cool.) You can't be behind. It's' a hobby. If you make 10 pages or 150 or 2, it really doesn't matter. At least you did some. Start with today. Start with yesterday. It doesn't matter. Just write down what you are thinking about today.

4. I love supplies. Love the pretty paper. And paint. And fabric. And rub-ons, acrylic, letters and fonts. Fancy pens and staples. Ribbon and buttons. All those little things make me happy.

5. It really is part of me to create things. So very much something I learned about my mother. Making things (especially pretty things) makes me feel like I have accomplished something. It makes me feel alive. It is so very much an essential part of my life. If I wasn't scrapbooking, I'd be quilting, or sewing or pottery. Creating something.

6. Scrapbooking leaves a part of you behind. For everyone else. If you know anything about me, you know I've lost loved ones. And I love all the little tidbits that they have left behind. A card Kelly wrote me is one of my most prized possessions. I hear her voice and see her handwriting every time I read it. Like she is sitting beside me. I am leaving that for my kids, my husband. For everyone who cares about me.

7. I love that your pages can be as unique as you are. I love all different scrappers work.
Like this one. (she is soooo funny!)
And this one.
And this one.
And this one.
And this one.
And they are all so different from each other. It's like a really good buffet of your favorite foods.
(And seriously WHO doesn't love a good buffet.)

So in honor of NSD, here are some pages from this month's kit from Scraptivity.

This is not a good picture. But it means a lot since it was a special day in our family.




And some of my favorite pages I've ever done.
For different reasons.
Maybe I like the color scheme or the journaling really says what I want it too. Or the photos are some of my favorite. Or it's a memory that means a lot to me.






















(I think that is officially my longest post. and it you made it all the way through either you like scrapbooking, your care about me or you are TOTALLY bored.)