Craft it Forward

I have seen this on a couple different blogs but haven't ever commented in time. But then my sister did it this morning and I got in on it in time! So much fun! Ummm, but she did 5 people and I have seen it done with 3 and since I am having a baby this year, I am doing 3! :)

Here is the deal:
The first three people to comment on this post will get something made by me. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
2- What I make will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
5- I reserve the right to do whatever I want!

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same deal to 3 of your own lucky blog readers.
So, the first 3 people to leave a comment telling me they are in, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it. Let the games begin!

Too Fast

My little Lucy is growing up too fast! I am so proud all that she does, but I just wish she wouldn't do them so quickly. It is sad to see her growing out of her baby stages and on to older accomplishments. I miss hearing some of the phrases she would say; like "cake a show-yo" for take a shower. We tried for so long to have her keep saying that! I know, horrible, but it was so cute. We would say it her way and she would smile and crinkle her nose and say, "show-er!" Too cute. I love that she says (and still says :) ) shi-shlops for flip flops. Some of these things, I just don't want to correct.

She now no longer takes a nap. Although I must say, most days by the end of the day she NEEDS one! She clears her plate from the table like a big girl. She loves to ride her scooter out front. She takes such good care of our dog Missy. She loves her big girl bed and is a pro on the potty. She is a jabber-jaws! She loves to talk your ear off. She is very creative and imaginative. I love all her pretend play. It is so cute.

I know that when this baby comes, she is going to seem even more big than she does now! I want to take advantage of my cuddle time with her as she ends her career as "the baby." Although Sadie may disagree at times, but Lucy is no longer a baby!

Here is one thing that she has still hung on to though and we don't know when this will disappear:

She is still sucking those fingers! I remember when she first started this. I kept trying to take pictures of it, thinking I had to capture it. I don't know why I thought it was a fluke thing and that she wouldn't continue to do it, but I did. And here we are, years later and she is still sucking her fingers. Since she has stopped napping, she seems to do it more. It used to be, that I would never see her suck her fingers unless she was laying down for a nap or bed. But now she will do it when she is watching a movie in the middle of the day or cuddling with Mommy or Daddy. She is so sweet! So this was her last Sunday, after watching a movie and resting. She actually fell asleep. She loves to sit on this little bench and be as close as possible to the TV. She is STILL into her movies and LOVES them. She loves to sing along to the songs and can recite many lines from many movies. Not something I am too proud of! :)

She is very sensitive! You can't be very harsh with her or she will just pucker up that bottom lip while trying her hardest not to cry. But the second you acknowledge it, the tears come and she feels so horrible or embarrassed. It is so cute and so sweet just like her!

May I have this Dance?

I am in charge of Activity Days with Church for the 10/11 year old girls. So me and the other leader, my friend Angelica, put together a Daddy Daughter Dance for the girls. We had a lot of fun! My friend Lyndsee teaches dance, so she taught Angelica and I some of the new dance crazes that are out right now that we could teach the girls and their Dads. So we refreshed on the Macarena and the Chicken Dance, and learned the Cupid Shuffle and... I can't remember the other one at the moment. (Lyndsee, help!) Anyway, we played some mingling games for a little bit and then boogied on over to the dance floor. Which we so cutely decorated with a ceiling of balloons.

Angelica and I did our best at teaching the dances, which I thought we did pretty well. I won't say we are the BEST dancers, especially with my big old belly, but we taught them. :)

After the "fun" dances, we taught the girls about slow dancing and where to place your hands, for when they get to go to the youth dances. :) It was sweet. So they danced to "Butterfly Kisses" which I love because my Dad played that for my sisters and I on the day we got married! (Tears!)

Here is Lucy and Daddy dancing to Butterfly Kisses! (Sadie was off playing with the suitcase full of stuff she brought to entertain herself with in case she got bored, plus I think she was upset about not getting to do the chicken dance again). Chris came to the dance straight from work (on a casual Friday) so he wasn't dressed up; but I think he looks hot of course! :)So cute! Both our girls LOVE to dance!!! I love to watch them dance around the living room! They are so cute and so serious about it! I love how hard they concentrate on each move they create! I love when they show me a move and then another and another and they are all practically the same! But boy am I proud of EACH one!! I love their creativity!

I set up my stuff to take pictures of the girls with their Dads which we will then use for a Father's Day gift...I know, planning ahead! :) So proud! So I had to test out my settings and here are my cute testers!

This was at the end, I realized I wanted to get some of BOTH the girls with Chris, but Lucy did not want to cooperate and Sadie was being a SPAZZ!!! Seriously, they are such fun girls! I love to look at pictures like this that aren't perfect, because that is how life is! THAT is why I love them so much because they are their own person and I love every bit of it!

Gotta LOVE this picture! How silly is Sadie!?! She totally makes me laugh!

That was our girls first experience with a Daddy Daughter Dance! We all had a great time and I was glad to have it over by the end of the night! It had been a LONG day! I was bummed too because I made in-door s'mores and I didn't even get one!!! Luckily I had a little end piece as I was cutting them up and putting them on a plate. But boy was I craving one when I got home that night...and still am for that matter! :)

Saving

Last Wednesday we decided to skip our usual playgroup date with friends and run errands as we had a few things to get done. Most importantly on our list of to-do's was finding Easter dresses for the girls. With Sadie being so opinionated about what she wears, I needed her to be there and approve, so that when the time came to wear it, I would have a little more leverage with MAKING her wear it. :)
Sadie does NOT like dresses (for the most part) and said she wanted a skirt. I looked at Gap quick last weekend when we were at the mall quickly, and they didn't really have anything. Especially since I had to find a dress and a skirt that went together. Nobody really has Easter skirts! So I searched online a little bit and found a couple of options. I went to my first choice and was in luck. They had the dress for Lucy, and after trying on the skirt for Sadie, we realized we would need the bigger size, which they didn't have. Urrrrggh! They called and found one at another store, YAY! The skirt would be on hold until the following day. So we continued with our plan of going to Costco.
After a couple potty trips, lots of shopping, one injured Lucy toe - after Mommy ran the shopping cart over it, and a hot dog and a slice of cheese pizza, we headed down to Daddy's work to say a quick hello, and drop off something to him! Then we figured we could be really quick and go get Sadie's skirt since we were half way there already. We figured the precious strawberries and blueberries would be okay in the car for just a little extra time...not too hot outside. So we ran down to the other mall, to get Sadie's skirt.
(I must say, a positive about Lucy not taking naps anymore is we can get so much more done in a day! Seriously, all those errands would have taken me at least 2 days! )
The girls were getting a little bit done with running errands. As we were pulling up to the mall Sadie asked if we could get an ice cream. I asked her if she brought her money. It back fired, she had! I figured we had done a lot and they had been really good girls, so we could ALL use an ice cream cone. So I said we could stop at McDonald's on our way home. I love their vanilla cones!
As we got out of the car I realized Sadie had her dollar in her hand (which I was informed a few days before, that it was given to her from one of her Grandma's while she was here visiting and Sadie has been holding onto it since, with me unaware of it's existence) As I took a closer look at her dollar, I realized the bottom quarter of the dollar was missing.
"Did you tear your dollar?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I wanted to save some for me!"
Avoiding laughter, I told her "That was a great idea, but it doesn't work that way. We can't tear dollars or they won't take it. But we could tape it together when we got home!"

I thought it was so sweet that she was ready to pay for every one's ice cream but wanting to save a little for later! What a good girl! I could learn from her! :) She is so cute!
After getting Sadie's skirt and remembering some cute little cardigans that would match perfectly from the Gap and getting those, we hurried to the car. The girls were having a little bit of a struggle holding it together those last five minutes. (Lucy wanting to cuddle and Sadie wanting new shoes).
As we got in the car Sadie said, "Mom, I think an ice cream cone will cheer me up!"
"I bet!" :)
We were in desperate need of an ice cream cone and a refrigerator! So I drove fast! Luckily, we made it in time for both!
AND we were able to successfully tape the dollar back together so it can sit safely in Sadie's wallet! It was a good day!

Maternity Pictures!

So I have always been jealous of maternity photos of people. I hate that I haven't ever had them done. We tried to do some quick ones the night before Lucy was born but to no avail! So this time I told Chris he was going to have to take some real ones for me. He was stressed and nervous about it. I think naturally he has a good eye for photography. I am always impressed when he'll just snap some pictures of the girls. He always gets some great shots. But with this situation he was a little intimidated. I had set everything up, lights, metered etc. But I am just so particular with what I want. So I would tell him what angle and what to focus on, and he would take about 10 pictures and then I would make sure there was at least one good one. Sometimes it took a few tries, but after it is all said and done, I am so happy to have them and I think Chris did an amazing job! He never ceases to amaze me!
I did this shot of a friend a few years ago. I LOVE it and had to do it! Chris got me this book when we were very first dating! We were going to be apart for Christmas break and he had gotten a present for me to open each day we were apart! So SWEET! Some of the presents were cute and romantic and some were fun things relating to him, like a deck of cards since he grew up in Vegas. I loved it and was so excited to open a present every day. This book, by far was my favorite though! I love it and I love how HUGE it is. We now get to read it to our sweet little girls!

Chris was making fun of me when we did this one because I was "SO serious!" But I love it!

These little booties were knitted by Chris' Grandma Jean. I LOVE them and am so excited to be able to use them again!

YAY! I have cute maternity pictures!! Chris you are amazing and I love that you are always so willing to help out! You always put up with my crazy requests! :) But most of the time they are so worth it!