thanksAbunch

we traveled to MN for THANKSgiving and spent a long lovely weekend with the olivier clan :)  henry was busy ordering everyone around within five minutes of our arrival :)  especially pop pop  

 he discovered a love of ipads and became quick friends with morgan

just desserts :)

the food was delicious and the company was even better.
i know i sort of skimped on photos over the weekend....i think i get a little lazy when I know that there's another photographer around shooting away ;)  haha
sometimes its nice to sit back and just enjoy.

we also celebrated an early Christmas 

 racing cars!

Henry wasn't the only one to get some sweet gifts (he wears his new bear slippers every night)......I just have to add that I received a sewing machine!!!  I am going to add photos of what I made with it later.  I'm super pumped and have already dreamed up a bunch of projects to work on.  Its a nice beginner machine...so hopefully I'll be able to work it without calling Molly every five minutes :)  I am just dying for some free time...which has suddenly become very scant (the reason why this post is over a week overdue) so that I can use it!  Oh, Austin received some wonderful gifts as well haha (sorry I've got sewing and scheming on the brain)

Gran even put some cupcakes together to make an Elmo birthday cake and we were able to have a little prebirthday birthday shindig!

 woooohoooo

 daddy helping with the candles

 mmmmmmm frosting
(btw check out that hair.  there's some there right? a few curls anyway)

 and more presents!

we also went to watch Rocori high school win first place at the state football championship at the dome in Minneapolis!  Henry thoroughly enjoyed himself.  He almost literally ran the full length of the dome twice.  He likes to watch football and really gets into the crowds' reactions to the plays.  But the best part was watching auntie Tessa perform in the kick line at half time!  He just stared open-mouthed   haha

See I told you he gets into it :)

 

 After the game and performance we went to Dave and Buster's.  Austin and I were a little worried about how Henry would react, but he was very good and sat through the wait and the meal.  It was as if he knew there were fun and games ahead for him if he did :)  Here is everyone lined up at the little horse racing game.  I may or may not have told them all to give me some goofy looks....henry has a look of concern, of course, because the horses should be busting out of their gates any second. he even got to throw some balls and push a few buttons here and there :)  it was a blast!  Gran got a video of him playing the horse race on fbook.  I've been trying to figure out how to post new video formats so we'll see....

we had such a good time--it always flies by so fast!  things have really picked up speed at home too.  this weekend i'll be traveling back to brookings to perform in the Christmas Celebration.  Then next weekend is Henry's birthday, followed by another trip Eastward to Flandreau to really celebrate Christmas :)  All the prepping and planning in between has got us running a little ragged....but we love we love we love the holidays and a little busyness doesn't keep me from playing carols and taking a time out here and there to build some lego castles with a certain sweetie :)  Hope you are all enjoying the season as much as us!

weekEND projects.

i finished the wine-rack turned entryway organizer....a couple weeks ago, and finally got around to snapping some photos.  actually, this post is mostly for my mom who wasn't able to visit a couple weekends ago because all of us managed to get sick.  i was pumped to show her all the things i have been working on because crafty nesting is our jam :)  so i'm cramming it all into this post-wooooo! 

 i decided to leave the outside as is and just paint the dark, scary innards :)  i went to Lowe's and asked the kind wood cutting guy to cut some shelves for me from some cheap wood. Then I bought a sample of yellow paint....that turned out to be too carnival yellow...so i picked up something more peachy and it turned out just right, after the many many coats it took to cover up the dark wood.  

 i'm pretty happy with how it turned out.  brightened things up and made it seem less....cavernous and more happy :)

it's a little more filled up since i took this photo with some small photo frames and things

 see? soooo happy :)

now we can keep all our keys and mail and random junk organized....

 .....so it doesn't clutter up the table.  right?

NEXT:

 I finally moved on to another project that I've been wanting to do ever since we shortened the table and chairs.  I had some great leftover wood pieces from the chairs that you see below.  My inspiration was a frame that I saw at pier 1 that had wire stretching across it.  It came with clothes pins to pin up photos...

so i thought....i can do that....for 1.99 :)

I had my willing hubby drill some small holes through the wood.  Then I sanded and painted them the same color orange that I had leftover from the dictionary photo frames.

I found some old greyish-brown yarn I had leftover from my knitting days and threaded it through the holes.  I purchased some wee little clothes pins from hobby lobby for the afore-mentioned price and voila; cute photo hanging thing.  I like to call it my little laundry line of love.  :)  Not the best picture because of the glare....but you get the picture ;)

The "Olivier" frame was a shower....or wedding gift.  I'm not sure which--but thanks mom ;) it works perfectly over the photos.

fun fun.  I'm still considering painting the clothespins....but i think i like the au natural look.  we'll see!  and i also need to find some more photos to fill in the blanks too, but couldn't wait to show it off :)

AND Finally:

I got this idea on pinterest.  I wanted to have a little wreath to showcase some holiday spirit.....but all those wreaths that i truly love cost some real true mooola....that is needed elsewhere at the moment :)  soooo, i made this!  with toilet paper rolls!

and leftover felt from henry's buck.  and ribbon leftover from something else.  and, of course, some hot glue (i'm getting pretty handy with that gun).

we hung it in the entryway.  i really wanted to hang it on a door, but we weren't sure if we wanted to mess with leaving holes in any of the doors of our rented apt., since holes in the wall are so much easier to fix.

not bad for throwing a bunch of leftovers together :)  and it was fun.  these little crafties are a nice break for me.

OF COURSE henry was also very busy.

:)


if you are interested in toilet paper tube wreaths and how to make 'em, here is the link where i got my idea:
http://www.seeyoutheredesign.com/2010/12/diy-toilet-paper-roll-wreath.html

sickies.

so henry got sick.  but nothing bad enough to take him to the doctor for, just a yucky enough cough to keep him home from daycare.  and i was already feeling icky so i stayed home with him on thursday. no one had to work friday so we all stayed home.  we were looking forward to having nana visit us....but she was sick too and couldn't come-bummer! it was really lovely weather and we pretty much spent the weekend inside chasing each other around with kleenex. austin, however, somehow managed to sail through the weekend without picking up any bugs from us....but maybe it's just too early yet?...  :)  

henry discovered a great love for "pooh bear" which actually sounds more like "pooper" when he says it, but anyway, he managed to convince his daddy to get the new winnie the pooh movie for him, so we could watch it.  over and over and over again.  actually, it's a cute/witty little kiddie movie with some pretty great one-liners, so austin and i don't mind it that much.  

AND we have also become fond of this particular little cough syrup for cruddy coughs.  it doesn't cure it, but it certainly helps soothe the sore throat, and henry likes it so much, he will drink it straight from the little measuring cup and then ask for more :)  i would highly recommend it to anyone else with a sick little sweetie who doesn't want to load them up with a bunch drugs (it's mostly just honey and purified water)

after photographing the dvd and the medicine, austin wanted to know if i was working a crime scene.  turd.  

cuddling on the couch, watching the pooper movie.

something like two year photos-ish

sitting at home on the couch on a wednesday in the middle of the day....i'm sick.  i'm trying my best to rest. but if you know me....than you know i'm incapable of doing nothing.  even if my voice doesn't work, my fingers certainly do :) so i thought i could finally get this post up, which i've been meaning to for awhile.  i hope you are all well, and able to escape those yucky bugs that are out there floating around!

i tried to snap some two-year photos several weekends ago before the weather turned icky and we lost all the pretty fall colors.  it was my most challenging photo shoot to date.....henry was not interested in standing still or anything.  i ended up with a few decent ones, even if they weren't exactly what i originally had in mind :)

methinks my baby is becoming a little boy....

he enjoyed playing in the fall leaves of course :)

i was recently going through some old photos, and came across this one and thought it made a great comparison to the photo above.  this is henry one year ago at this time.  

look at all that fabulous and flabby chin chubbiness.  :(  all gone.  

his curiosity in the world around him?  very much the same :)

all this camera dodging gets tiring after awhile i guess.

disco dance break--hahahaha

he seriously threw out this random pose on his own.

then we reeeeaaally got distracted.....

.....by this.

(i hope you are saying squirrel in your head using the voice of that dog from that cute disney movie UP.  if you have no idea what i am talking about....feel free to ignore.  OR, go rent that movie.  you'll thank me.)

a bright yellow wall!

and we found this awesome number two on a big garage door from what i think was shopko or something....anyway, i got one good one out of it :)  

we are very excited about turning two!

and my personal favorite....

ohhhhh and i thought i would just add as an afterthought....

i had no idea how much i kiss henry until i have been trying my hardest not to kiss those little cheeks.

the second i picked him up out of his crib i planted one right on him without even thinking twice, and then again as i was getting him dressed. 

sheesh. i kiss that boy a lot.

i am really hoping he doesn't get sick.

thinking about putting tape over my mouth so i don't accidently kiss him again!