a couple of field trips

Last week, I convinced my mom to join us on a spur of the moment trip to the Museum of Natural Science. There has been a Civil Rights exhibit going on for a little while, and the actual Emancipation Proclamation was going to be on display for just a few days. So, we loaded up the kids and off we went!

I hadn't been to the museum for a looong time. In my memory, there were more things for a little kiddo to see and do. What happened to all of the dinosaurs??? One of the workers told me that there used to be more (so I DID remember something correctly), and that when the museum expands (at some point), there will be a football field-length room full of dinosaurs. Oh, and a toddler area. For a city our size, I think there should be all of that and then some! Anyway.

Even though there were (literally) 17 school buses outside of the museum, equaling to about eleventy-thousand school kids checking out the exhibit, we were able to see most of it. Having an African American daughter now made the images we saw hit home even more for me. I am so glad the nation has come so far in the area of racism - we have more to go, but, we've come a long way.

I'm also including a few pictures from our zoo trip with our dear friend Stacey and her super sweet daughters. Analise has had some nice new adventures lately!

Love this picture with grandma.

At the zoo!

Stacey dancing to the drums. I'm sure she is SO glad I posted this one on my blog.

carousel ride

comparing handprint to a monkey's

Stacey and and her sweet girls loving on Analise!

She loves looking out and around - but she's getting heavy for me in this carrier! I think I need to work out more....

My Heart for Analise

We learned through our adoption agency that it's a good idea to let children who are adopted, know they are adopted from the get-go. They even suggest putting pictures, etc. about adoption in the nursery.

 I love the "adoption creed" that I have seen in various places on the net: "Not bone of my bone, or flesh or my flesh, but still miracously my own; never forget for a single minute, you didn't grow under my heart, but IN IT." Not sure exactly who to credit for that, but I've seen it lots of places.

Lately I've been exploring cutting out vinyl with my cricut machine, and decided to make some artwork for Analise's room.

I bought a 20x20 canvas at Hobby Lobby (I'm sure I used a coupon!), and spray painted it a light yellow.

I then cut my letters out of brown self-adhesive vinyl, using the Alphalicious font (one of my favorite fonts!).

I have to admit, I hate measuring. I just eye-balled my placement of the letters, making them slightly "wonky" on purpose - I don't think they needed to be completely straight. I couldn't include the words, "a single" so just used "a minute."

I found some packages of pre-made flowers in the scrapbook aisle, and bought 5 packs of them. This was a splurge for me, because they were not on sale, and I only had the one coupon! But I was on a mission to complete this project, so I just bought them.

I was going on a scrapbook retreat, leaving later in the same day that I bought my supplies - so that morning, I painted the canvas, and cut out my letters. So once I was at the retreat, I was able to put it all together!

Here it is:

Here is a close up of the flowers! I wish I could say I made them, but - nope. No shame in buying them already made! Just used hot glue to stick them on the canvas.

Here is a close up of the letters. Now I do have to say - the letters did not like sticking to the canvas. I didn't do any research on how I could make them stick better. They are still re-positionable. But, none have fallen off, even though I meant to go back over them with modge-podge or something.

So that's it! The whole project wasn't that expensive at all - just the flowers really. I am so excited to have a personalized piece of art for my super precious daughter!!!

Little Cook-er

So, lately Eli has been wanting to help out in the kitchen. It's pretty cute to hear him say, "I help?" Well, not so cute when mommy is trying a new recipe and rushing around the kitchen. But most of the time it's cute. He even has his own apron. This past fall I went to a cooking expo downtown, and bought myself a cute apron at one of the booths, and couldn't resist getting him a child's apron (it's camo). This was before Analise, so, she doesn't have one yet. I didn't even know he knew what an apron was, but one of his favorite episodes of Calliou is about cooking. So really, this blog post could also be called, "how letting your child watch endless episodes of Calliou really does teach him something so don't feel too guilty about it." He will pull his apron off the hook on the pantry door and want to wear it. I love that he is interested in helping in the kitchen, so am working on making sure I can include him sometimes.

Yesterday morning, I pulled out a boxed muffin mix that was perfect for a little helper. He pulled out his apron, and I set him on the edge of the kitchen island - it was kinda easier than having him stand on a stool or chair.

Getting ready to rock and roll! I didn't get a picture of him putting in the dry mix from the bag, that took all of our hands so no free hand to take a picture.

Pouring in the water...

Pouring in the oil...

Stirring...(I cracked the eggs and put them in a bowl so he could pour them into the big bowl, but again, it was all hands on deck so no picture of that one)

Dumping in the blueberries...

Adding the streusel topping...

Tasting the batter...not as good as brownie batter!

Yummy hot out of the oven!

Getting to eat the fruits of our labor!

Where was Ms. A all this time? Playing contentedly on her activity mat. Soon it will be her turn!

Valentine's Day and such

Valentine's day with kids is much more fun to me than pre-kids. I guess I spent so many years being single, that V-day was just another day. Nowadays, I love getting a card from my husband, a treat or two (chocolate is always welcome), but I don't like making a big deal out of it. And yes, I like to pick out a card and treat for him too. With the kids though - it was fun this year to have Eli help with making valentines for the family, taking pictures on our own Valentine shoot, participating in little parties....you'll see from the pictures!

The best picture I could get of them together. It was late in the afternoon, which is great for light, but not great for toddlers. Eli is in that stage where he will pose and say the dreaded "cheeeeeese" for about a second. But, the garland looks cute! I got those felt hearts at Target's Christmas clearance sale (they were originally ornaments) for 30 cents for a pack of three. Hot glued those suckers together for the garlands. Armed with a hot glue gun I am invincible!

Experimenting with sunlight in this one.

Thought maybe I could get some more natural smiles/looks if I got him to play within the garland. Didn't really get what I had in mind.

Now this picture - I love it. I hate taking pictures of the baby in that darn bumbo seat, but she can't sit up yet. I propped her against the tree, and had to shoot super quick as she kept falling over! I know I needed more light on her face, but I still just love the late sun coming from behind the tree and just the glimpse of the hearts, along with her great "pose" and adorable little self.

Got him to play on the tree trunk and was able to get a few more 'natural' looking pictures.

Another favorite of mine - love love love the sunset light, and baby on daddy's shoulder.

Gave in and said, "here, go run with this." Got some fun shots!

Now here we are at home, making Valentine cards for the first time. Eli really liked punching out the hearts and gluing.

Valentine outfit number 2 - love this dress, came from our hand-me-down bag from our sweet little neighbor.

Parents were actually able to come to Eli's school party. He made this lovely little door hanger thing.

Putting valentine cards in his friends' bags.

Only picture I got of him at our mom's group valentine party! I even had him wear a "nice" shirt so I could get a picture of E and A together....sadly there are just not that many cute outfits for boys. If he wears a shirt with buttons and/or a collar, I consider that "nice."

Valentine outfit number 3 - this was a gift from a friend. Goes nicely with her beautiful smile, and pink sequin shoes!

Trying to Find My Blog-ibility

I've been MIA from posting on my blog for quite some time now. So much as been going on, it's hard to know where to begin, how does one play "catch up?"
Our new baby is doing wonderfully, faboulusly, and any other positive made-up word that Words with Friends would accept as gospel truth. One of my biggest fears (besides knowing what to do with her hair), had been, Does She Know I'M the Mamma? That is no longer a fear. We have totally bonded. I love how my heart melts looking at her sweet brown eyes, and when she smiles at me - forget it. I would give her the moon if I could. Lately I have just become overwhelmed with the love I have for both of my children. I love how Eli still snuggles with me, and how a kiss from Mommy can instantly heal any boo boo. Now that Analise sleeps through the night, I feel like life can resume somehow - now that I am getting on a more "normal" routine with sleeping, I can try getting my other routines back in order. Blogging (I used to love it so much!). Going to the gym on a regular basis (definitely more of a challenge now, making sure everyone is fed, clean diapers, etc. before leaving). Doing some craft projects. Moving into digital scrapbooking.

Something else that has been a crushing weight on our whole family these past two months - my brother in law has asked my sister for a divorce. The incredible sadness we all feel over his poor choices, how it's affecting his family, our family - well, it just plain stinks. I'm really struggling with how God's will and Man's Free Will interact, how to reconcile those ideas in my head. I've been doing my best to support my sister and the kids during this time - it's so hard, watching the people you love smash to a thousand pieces as you help them try to sweep up and pull it back together. There is so much I could blog about, so much I want to say - but out of respect to their family, I will refrain. This is a significant event that deserves mentioning - and we do covet all prayers right now for sure, so if you are reading this, please send up prayers to our loving Father, ok? thanks.

So, I will close out this entry for now. I have taken tons of pictures since my last post (no surprise), so I will do a few more entries with pictures.