A Dramatic Birthday Party

We celebrated Madilyn's birthday this week with a family party. I found this book that contained a play, Cinderella, with four parts {Cinerella, The Wicked Stepmother, The Wicked Stepsister, The Prince} and a Narrator. It has five copies of the script as well as four masks, one for each character. I thought is was pretty cute.  So mom thought it would be fun to make her a stage for the playroom since Madilyn has always loved putting on shows.  As this was a top secret project, the curtains were being hung that night so we decided to read through the script to prepare for the play.  Madilyn, Emma, Stacey, Mom, and I read through it several times rotating the parts so most of us got to deliver the Wicked Stepmothers best line: 'Noooooooooooooooo!' Those who did not get that line got to be the prince.  Let me tell you it was fun to attempt a "man voice".  Madilyn took to it like a duck to water. Emma was not sure she wanted to participate until the second time through. She, too, developed quite a dramatic flare.  It was so fun!  I am looking forward to many more evenings of home theatricals.

Madilyn in character as the Wicked Stepsister

Emma "reading" her lines as the Wicked Stepmother

Garret went with the guys to the hardware store, and he was a little unsure about the play, so I do not have a good photo of him while we were "acting", but I thought this was pretty funny:

"Um, that is perfectly good eating there!" {Garrett not quite sure how he feels about Grandpa cleaning the left over pizza off his high chair tray in preparation for cake and ice cream.} 

 The Birthday Cake {That matched the cupcakes Madilyn took to school.}

Shhh, Quiet

Each Sunday I sit with Stacey and her little ones during Sacrament meeting.  I love it.  We have so many adventures.  Most the time they include coloring and playing quietly with small toys the kids bring. Another of their favorites is eating the fruit snacks that Grandma brings.  Other times we have, shall we say, teaching moments.  I love the sweet questions the girls come up with about the gospel and listening to their observations of this weekly meeting.  But sometimes those teaching moments do not work out quite as we expect them to.

This last Sunday Garrett struggled with sitting still during the meeting, and lets face it, I sometimes do, too.  We went out in the hall because he was upset with the fact that his mom would not let him run out into the aisle. Once in the hall, I told him in a whisper we need to be "quite, shhh".  He got this serious look on his 1 1/2 year old face and repeated. "quiet" several times.  After he calmed down, we had our discussion and several visits to the drinking fountain, we went back to our seats where he repeatedly said "quiet". Only... instead of whispering, it was a very loud "QUIET".  I guess I should have stuck with "shhh", but then I would have missed those little brown eyes looking at me so seriously while he repeated "quiet" the rest of the day.

Birthday Boy

Tonight I went to my nephew's 1st birthday party.  It was the best 1st birthday party that I have been to.  Most the time if you can get the kids open one present they are not interested in anything else, and they are afraid of the cake and/or the candle.  Not Garrett, he was hilarious.

He opened everything and clapped after each gift.  Once he had opened everything he went from one toy to the next and there was even some screaming for joy.

He is all boy.  He loved his new tools, blocks, cars and especially his new dump truck that he can ride.  I was standing beside him when it was time to go get cake so I asked him if he wanted a num num (Garrett speak for all food stuffs).  I have never seen him crawl faster.  He went tearing into the kitchen straight for his high chair. 

He LOVED it!

Yummy Goodness

Here is the latest from the kitchen:

Chocolates with a yummy peanut butter filling that Jenny W. and I made. Yum.

Chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles.

I love my new pasta maker attachment for the KitchenAid! The soup was mostly homemade. I cheated and used canned chicken, a bag of peas and carrots, and chicken bouillon, but I did use some wonderful fresh bay, rosemary, and garlic in my stock. (Thanks Jenny for helping me get those tasty herbs!) Madilyn, Emma and Garrett loved the noodles!

Garrett ate until his little tummy was hard.  He is a serious eater!

I almost missed getting the noodle in this shot.  Emma has noodle eating down, slurp. 

Sorry Madilyn!  The picture of you did not turn out. 

Two Little Girls...

Here are two little girls, with cute little curls...

As Madilyn put it, we put "curling sponges" in her hair, and Emma's too.  Sometimes the first time you try something new, it can be scary and they were both very brave! Madilyn let me brush the tangles out, and Emma let me use the blow dryer on her hair. Plus they did not utter one complaint about the curlers being uncomfortable to sleep in. Maybe that is because I told them they looked like they had pink crowns on. They were both so excited to have curls that I was worried what would happen if it did not work. But no worries, their hair look so cute for church and the curls lasted all day.

It reminded me of when I did this with my sister.  What happy memories! 

Letters to Philip

Last night the little girls wrote letters to Philip, and I told them I would mail them with mine.  They were so cute I had to scan them and share. For your reading pleasure:

Emma's:

Madilyn's:

("dear philip

are house burned down

6 apartments burned down

we stole your room")

The Tooth Fairy {Came}

The last few days have held several firsts and a few lasts for me. I experienced filling my first prescription for myself. Yes, I am sure I have had a prescription before, but my mom would have filled it for me because it was when I was a kid. I got my first IV. Ok, so maybe not my first as I am certain that I had one as an infant, but I have no recollection of that. So the first IV I remember. I was put under for the first time. That was weird. It was so disturbing to feel the medication moving up my arm. All of this for my first surgery to take care of a last, it was finally time to get rid of my last baby tooth. Yes, crazy I know, but I still had a baby tooth. Thanks to a broken crown, it was time for me to part with the last remnant of my childhood. Not that I feel bad about that. I was really pleased that I had been able to avoid dealing with if for many years! Over seven years longer than the dentists predicted. But there comes a time in everyone's life that they need to get rid of the baby teeth. Mine are now all gone. This last one has been replaced by a titanium screw which will be capped as soon as it is fully healed. All done. Or so you would think. But my story has one more last and it has to do with Madilyn. What, you ask? Yep, Madilyn. Naturally I was a little anxious about surgery as I have little personal hospital experience. {Thankfully.} I was discussing the process and Madilyn was in hearing. Now, Madilyn is at an age where she is categorizing things and putting them in "order" in her mind. She is a bright child, but I am a bit of an anomaly to her and her understanding of how things work. So we talk about some of the same things repeatedly. I love it. And again with the baby tooth I presented her with an anomaly. So we talked about it a few times. Once we had established that yes I have a baby tooth her next concern was this: "Is the tooth fairy going to come?" You see, Madilyn lost her first tooth a short time ago, and it is still fresh in her mind. I had not thought about whether or not the dentist would give me my tooth. I am not attached, but what do I say? I am not always good at knowing what to say on the spot, so I told her it was dependent on the dentist giving me my tooth. Lame response. She was not bothered, and the oral surgeon thought it was funny but still he gave me my tooth. I showed it to Madilyn and then the following morning went over for a visit bringing a dollar coin with me "from" the tooth fairy. When I told her that the tooth fairy had "come" her response was: "I told you how it would be. That is exactly what the tooth fairy brought to me." I am so glad that Madilyn knew just how it would be and that she explained everything to me. Madilyn made my last "visit" from the tooth fairy a delight!

Santa Parade

Yesterday I went to the Santa Parade with Stacey, Madilyn, Emma and Garrett. It was cold, but fun! It was fun to see the bands and the old tractors. Madilyn and Emma loved the princesses and the carriage. I think Stacey was with me... the bands were the best!

{Ok, Stacey... Here is yet another post about something I went to with you, but I have no photo of you. Yes, your kiddos are cute, but so are you. I think I owe you an enitre post... can I take your picture sometime?}

Oh, Christmas Tree

Here are a few pictures for this year's tree hunt:

Boo

Here are a few photos from our family Halloween party. Garrett is not in costume yet, but he is still having fun.
The witches brew...

Oh, and I had to post this picture of Madilyn and her friend, Connor, at the ward party.

Madilyn curtseied and Connor showed me his muscles, but neither would look at the camera!

Sew, What is Success?

I did not have the success that I was aiming for this month on the sewing projects, but what success I did have was sweeter than anticipated.

The Setbacks:

One: I melted as pair of pretty blue eyes smiled in the face of a soon to be three year old who was so excited to tell me that she was going to have a princess birthday party. I was powerless to resist. My mom immediately volunteered to help and we set to work making a pretty pink princess dress. Our princess picked out the fabric and the pattern last spring. It was convenient that I had everything for her dress on hand waiting for just the right moment to make it. Only one problem, I thought that moment would be, um, Christmas time. She happened to drop by the first evening we were working on it. Excellent, that way we could see if it would fit. The pieces my mom had just cut out were sitting on the table. When mom asked our princess who she they thought were for, our princess answered: “You?”, “My mom?”, “Madilyn?”. In short, she thought it was for everyone except her. Emma is so sweet and so unassuming. Mom held up the various pieces to her and put them back on the table. Our princess was ‘looking’ at the pieces {I love how kids always ‘look’ with their fingers.} and she asked: “Could someone put these together for me?” If I had not already melted, I would have then. She is so precious.

Two: I lost 5 days (aka one Saturday {the only day I have to really accomplish anything} and four evenings) to an exacerbated sternocleidomastoid. Dumb, but I am all better now. Instead of sewing I spent that Saturday with Philip.

Three: I learned that there was a book sale right after being told that my last week with sewing potential would be eaten up by overtime.

The Successes:

One: A Pretty Pink Princess who looked just like Sleeping Beauty in her pink dress. She even wanted to wear the tiara to bed the night of her birthday party.

Two: Quality time with Philip. Who is thankful, I am sure, that I did not sew him anything.

Three: A great day spent with my mom, and finding more books to make a home for. Now, my bookshelf is completely full, even behind the books.

Four: Probably my most triumphal, making Stacey the Queen of All the Land. A definite upgrade from the role previously assigned to her {that of The Royal Cleaner}. She looked absolutely beautiful at her final fitting last night! Emma, The Royal Pin Cushion Holder and Assistant to the Royal Seamstress, sure thought so. Emma was darling following her mom and me around as we moved to find better lighting, and visit the only floor length mirror in the house. With my pin cushion in hand, she was ready to supply me before I could even begin to ask. I could not find a better little assistant.

It is funny to see that even when things do not turn out how I wanted them to, they are better than I expected. And, maybe now I will have time to make the chemise, bloomers, and petticoat for my costume next year. One thing is for certain, I am not putting it away this time. Slow progress is still progress.

Snug as a Bug in... Beans?

Last night after dinner, Garrett fell asleep in his dad’s arms. When it was time to have dessert, his dad put him in the beanbag chair. This is how much he liked it. {At least, until Emma “bumped” into the beanbag chair one too many times.}

Welcome, Garrett, to the wonderful experience called

Naptime in a Beanbag Chair.

Baby Garrett...

Today was a special day for my darling nephew Garrett. It was his blessing day. What a wonderful gift to have such a sweet boy in our family! I do not have any pictures of him in his blessing outfit, because, well, it would be awkward to take pictures in church, but I have pictures of his outfit (I made the jacket and Mom made everything else! Little people's clothes take just as much time as big people clothes...), and a few of him from this evening. Being an aunt is one of the greatest blessings in my life!

Sisters...

Here are Madilyn and Emma sharing a lemonade after eating too much popcorn at the movie theater. So thirsty, so sweet!

"Mountain Rainier"-Food, Flowers and Family

I have been trying to make it up to Mount Rainier during the month of July to see the wildflowers for several years. I almost made it this year… It was August, but the wildflowers were still blooming.

It was a beautiful Washington day without rain but with plenty of clouds. The top of the mountain did not even peak from behind those clouds, but Paradise was still, well, paradise. Dad, Mom, Chris, Amanda, Philip, Jer, Stacey, Madilyn, Emma and baby Garrett were all there for the fun. Madilyn and Emma were so excited to go to “Mountain Rainier”. Jer and Stacey packed a marvelous picnic lunch. Chris took lots of pictures. Madilyn and Emma brought their binoculars. Garrett had his first family outing. Stacey changed lots of diapers. Emma did not want to leave and wanted to spend the night at the lodge. I am with Emma, next time Paradise Inn here we come.

Oh My, What Happened to July?

Well, it started with a trip to the zoo.

Here are Madilyn and Emma watching the walrus.

Madilyn, Emma, Jeremy and the budgies. Look close, one of them left a "gift" for Jer.

(Stacey was here, too! I'm just not a great photographer...Sorry!)

My lily bloomed. Thanks mom, for keeping it alive!


The most exciting happening was welcoming baby Garrett!

Uncle Philip and Garrett.

Me and Garrett.

And I am pleased to be able to show progress on the dresses for the girls.
Madilyn is relieved to have the skirt attached.