Lucky number 20!!!!

I took Dixie to the doctor yesterday and it turns out she has a double ear infection on top of snot, congestion, fever and a cough....oh yippie...bring on the new baby:) I am praying she will get better very soon. I can tell my sweet girl is miserable and I want to take her pain away. We are on operation get well in 5 days!!!!!

Anyway, I am always interested to see how much she weighs when we go to the doctor. Well, at 18 months, we finally hit 20 lbs. She was 20 lbs 5 oz. She is such a skinny minny! Hopefully she got her daddy's genes. She will be thankful for those when college hits.

Free Housecleaning

It's been so cold lately, which = no going outside. With a child who wants to always be doing something, that presents a challenge. On Evan's off day last week, he and Dixie decided to blow bubbles in the house. No big deal as long as they stayed on the rug....hey that's free rug cleaning:)

These particular bubbles are from Gymboree and are by far the coolest bubbles ever as you will see from the picture. My friend Lynds had them and I knew I had to get them for Dixie. They make hundreds of little mini bubbles. Turns out they didn't just stay in the living room. I had bubbles landing in the dinner on the stove that night....added a little extra flavoring.

These bubbles also stick and will stay in bubble form if you don't pop them, which makes for a Bubble World all over everything...totally fun! I caught a few pics of the bubble madness. I loved how they stuck to Dixie's hair (yes i said hair....there is a little bit there, for like an hour:)

I think we will be busting out the bubbles again today. My little bit is sick and we have been stuck inside for 3 days now. Gotta get her better before the new little bit arrives next week (hopefully).

Personalized Puzzle

Saw this idea on one of my fav craft blogs and decided to try to make one for Dixie for Christmas. She loves puzzles. Even though right now this one would be a little advanced for her, I had to try to make it. It turned out really cute, but I ran into one little problem with the picture sticking. If you try it, hopefully you can avoid my mistake.

To make:

Take one existing (not too many crazy edges or curves) puzzle and spray paint it. Use a flat spray paint. I used a gloss finish and my picture doesn't want to stay stuck to it very well. I will have to go back and glue down the picture with super glue around the edges of each piece. You will also need several coats of spray paint to cover the existing picture.

This puzzle is from Target and came in a pack for pretty cheap. It had a slick top, which may have also led to my picture not sticking as well. If you can find an old school wooden puzzle without a slick top and you use a flat spray paint, I bet you won't run into this problem.

Order the picture you want in an 8x10 size with a matte finish. Mod Podge the picture to the puzzle underneath the picture and then mod podge over the picture to seal it. You will have to do several coats over the top to give it a nice seal. Make sure to wait at least 15- 20 minutes in between coats or it gets thick and crumbly.

Once dried, use an xacto knife to re-cut along the outer rectangle edge of the puzzle. You will have to use some elbow grease on this part. Pop out the middle pieces, which will be in one big clump. Turn the puzzle over and using the xacto knife follow the lines of each piece until all of your pieces are cut out. You may have to file down some of the edges where the glue is real thick or your pieces will be very hard to get back into the puzzle.

Hopefully your picture stuck better than mine and now you have a personalized puzzled! How fun and easy.

Elf Yourself

I make these silly videos every year. I know what to expect, but every year I find myself rolling with laughter. I especially love to watch Dixie's baby head do the dance moves and Evan break it down. If only he danced like that in real life:) Oh wait..sometimes he does. Here is the link to our country elf dance:

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/MJqgpjGmYtumIo8b

Dixie's Chair

I have been so anxious to get Dixie a chair for her room. Several of her cousins have one, and I always find her sitting in them with a book in hand. My dream was to get an over sized Pottery Barn one, but when I looked at what I wanted, it was going to cost close to $200.... a little much. I continued to look at Big Lots, Wal-Mart and Target but some of them seemed too small and chinky or too big for her size.

Finally, Evan sent me a message one day saying that KidsWoot.com was running a deal on kid's recliners. They are called Dozy Dotes and the reviews on them were excellent. I am not exactly sure how much they normally sell for, but it was on sale for $89. It can recline and rock, although we took that part off of the chair to make it a little shorter so that Dixie can climb in on her own. We will put it back on once she is older. The chair can hold up to 100 pounds (guess mommy won't be sitting in it), so it can grow with her.

I questioned the pattern that I got after I ordered it, but once we got it in her room, I was in love. It adds color and is perfect for her. She is always climbing in it and I am glad that it is developing some independent play on her part in her room when I am not in there. She always says "Dixie's chair."

Good job Baby!

Good news: went to the doctor this morning and miraculously the baby has flipped head down. I was as shocked as the doc was. I had some painful movement last week that put me in tears that I thought could be it flipping, but I wasn't getting my hopes up. God is good, and I am relieved as of now to put a c-section out of my head and dream of a regular delivery.

My cervix is softening but I am not dilated yet. We will check again on Monday and if I am starting to dilate, he wants to induce at the end of next week in case this baby decides to flip again. It's a very active child. Either way, I am thrilled and thankful!!!

Reminded by my 1 1/2 year old

Last night my heart melted. Evan made grilled cheese and sweet potato fries for dinner. Since it was coming out in batches, first Dixie started eating, then I did and finally Evan sat down to eat when his was done. As soon as he sat down, Dixie stopped eating and said "pray." We try to remember to pray before every meal, but I have to admit, sometimes we forget. I was so thrilled that my 17 month old reminded us, even in the middle of her meal.

Evan and I always hold hands across the table and we place our hands on her highchair as she is usually still eating while we pray, but on her own, she grabbed each of our hands. We had our first family prayer all holding hands last night. She even sat quietly until daddy finished and said her usual "amen" once we were done. I was a proud momma! I said "It's sinking in!" Evan said she is doing it out of habit, which I know and I am grateful for. That is how they learn, but I can't help but hope that already at such a young age, the Holy Spirit is working on her and building up her love and respect for Jesus.

Last night as we prayed before bed, she grabbed both of our hands again and sat very respectfully as her daddy prayed, where as she is usually climbing all over the place. My little girl is growing up and it's in moments like these that I am in awe of God's precious creation of children.

On a funnier note, I let out a little burp after dinner (small mind you...by accident), when Dixie looks at me and says "scuse me." Yes..my child had to remind me to excuse myself. Wow...she is starting to pick up a lot! It's been fun watching her learn. I just hope she picks up more of the good habits than the not so good ones:)

Turn Baby Turn

Went to the doc yesterday for my 36 week appointment and to my dismay, found out the baby has flipped breech. I was shocked seeing as how last week the baby was head down and pushing on my cervix. I am totally bummed as my doc said that it is unlikely, but possible that the baby will turn head down this late in the game, which means in the next couple weeks we will start talking c-section.

They will do a full ultrasound next week to see if the baby has flipped and if not, if the baby is small enough to try to flip from the outside. I can tell you one thing...this baby is not small! So, I am praying for this baby to miraculously flip and get head down. Is a section the end of the world...no. However, I had a great vaginal delivery with Dixie and I want to redo it. It will also be a heck of a lot harder to care for a newborn and a 1 1/2 year old after having major surgery. I am scared of a section and scared that my husband will pass out before they make the cut.

I am trying not to get emotional over it, as I just want a healthy baby, but I am keeping my fingers crossed and my prayers flowing. Hopefully next Tuesday will bring some good news.

Dreamin' of pigs!

Just had to post this picture because she is so darn cute and to show that slowly but surely her hair is getting thicker. Some days it's curly..some days straight. Who knows how it will look when it grows out. I just can't wait to put a sprout and pig tails in it...oh the day!!!!!

Thanksgiving 2010

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! We got to host, as I wanted to host one more holiday before the baby gets here. It was a lot of work, but it turned out great. We set everything up outside to help with space, and go figure at the end of November it was 80 degrees out. A little toasty, but we made it work. I was so thankful to have all of my family together, except my sister and niece (Audrey was sick). Here are a few pictures from the day

Evan made 2 turkeys (1 roasted one fried). It was his first time ever and they both came out delicious. We had a whole turkey left so everyone could take home leftovers.

Everyone eating outside...notice the tank tops! It's warm!

Everyone wrote on their thankful leaves and loved the tree.

This was before we ate...can't tell. Two preggo cousins. Shannon is due in 1 1/2 weeks and I have 4 1/2 to go. Can't wait to meet these new babies.

Craft Time: Evan's family always made Christmas crafts after Thanksgiving. I loved the tradition so much that I decided to start it with my family. It was relaxing and gave us something fun to do and something to get ready for Christmas.

The babies colored Christmas trees. Actually they decided they wanted to color the pumpkin instead:)

The adult craft: Christmas advent countdown calendars. I did the sample and made everyone magnets ( 1 star and 1 baby Jesus). The star is moved through day 24 and on day 25 Baby Jesus shows up. Everyone made their own designs, and it was fun to see what they came up with. These are made from cookie sheets from the Dollar Tree, acrylic pant, and picture stands. I made the magnets with clear/flat marbles, mod podge, printed google images and hobby lobby magnets. It was fun!

By the end of the day I was whooped and thought I might deliver the baby...luckily I survived after a good back rub from my AWESOME husband and some sleep:)

New Crib

With the new baby on the way, we needed another crib. Evan's dad was nice enough to get us one. I decided that I wanted to get Dixie a white one to match her room a little better and pass down the cherry wood set to the new baby (poor baby..already getting hand me downs).

I was super excited when we got the crib in...it's beautiful and looks great in Dixie's room. She really likes it too and has been asking to play in it even when it's not time to go to sleep.

Thankful Tree

I wanted to start a new family tradition this year...a "thankful tree." I was originally going to paint a tree trunk on a sheet and hang it. Everyone would take a leaf and write their name, year and what they are thankful for and we would hang it back on the tree and add to it every year. However, th more I thought about it, the more I thought, how hard it would be to find a place to hang a big sheet every year. So, we decided to put our tree up early and turn it into a thankful tree.

I put the leaves all over it and added 5x7 black and whites of my family. We will do the same thing with the leaves year after year. I am really excited about it and watching how it grows over the years and seeing what everyone is thankful for.

$1 entertainment

Saw this balloon at the Dollar Tree and couldn't pass it up since Dixie is obsessed with Elmo and balloons. $1 has provided her loads of entertainment and a huge smile. Evan had to tie a plastic rake to the end so it wouldn't float in the air constantly. I think Dixie enjoyed letting it go and then saying "uh oh" over and over again...stinker. Today she started looking at herself in the back of the balloon saying her name over and over again as she saw her reflection and kissed herself over and over again.

6 weeks to go!!

Yes....I am HUGE and yes, I am in my PJ's! The countdown is truly on. Getting ready for Christmas makes it so close. I am def ready to meet this baby and see what he/she is. I am also ready to sleep comfortably......oh wait...I am about to go back to no sleep:) Should be getting the crib in this weekend. Gosh this is flying by!!!

In preparation for the new baby, I wanted to get Dixie a Big Sister shirt. I found lots of cute ones on ETSY, but they were going to cost me about $25. I decided to try to make one myself, but man it is hard to get that embroidered look without messing up. I am no good at it. I wanted some funky and fun material, but it's almost too much and it's hard to read. Oh well...looks like I might order one after all, but she can still play in this one.

Fabric Bracelet

I decided to go ahead and make a matching bracelet to go with the necklace that I made for my cousin. This was SUPER easy!

I bought 3 thin plastic bracelets at Wal-mart for $1 a piece...kind of a rip off, but I didn't have any old bracelets lying around.

I decided to glue the 3 bracelets together to make 1 fat bracelet. I cut strips of scrap fabric with pinking shears and just hot glued them around the bracelet.

It turned out cute and kind of matches the necklace. The ends will eventually fray a little, but I think that adds some character to the bracelet. So, for under $7 I have a necklace and bracelet set. I almost glued some mini washers tot he top of the bracelet to match, but I liked it plain.

Spread-A-Burger

I have found a new favorite family meal and it is CHEAP and EASY..my 2 favorites! It is called Spread-a-burger (sounds gross I know). Evan's Granny used to make it and I got to try it while in Texas a few weeks ago and was hooked. We had it for dinner last night and it was soooo yummy. I wanted to take a picture to post with this, but I couldn't wait a second longer to inhale it. So, if you are brave enough to forgo the name and please your fam with a delicious meal, here's how to do it:

You will need either French Bread or hoagie Bread sliced in half length ways (open faced) &

1 pound of ground meat or ground turkey meat (healthier)

Into the meat, mix 1 egg, breadcrumbs (not too much), ketchup, worcestershire sauce, mustard and mayo if you like, salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375.

Spread meat mixture onto open faced bread (thin...you want it to cook). Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Last 5 minutes add cheese on top and continue to bake. 15 minutes total baking time

The meat cooks, the cheese melts and the bread is so toasty and delicious it's amazing. You can choose to eat it open faced or close it up. ENJOY!!!!!

First BoBo

Now that Dixie has been walking, there are lots more opportunities for her to get hurt. She's gotten it down pact now and is fast, but those first few days she fell a good bit due to her thinking she could go faster than she could. I almost had a heart attack as she fell 5 times in 1 day..4 of which were on the concrete head first. Luckily, she hasn't had too much more of that..I guess that is the great thing about her being a late bloomer when she walks. However, this was her first big bobo..she scraped her face on the cement. I know it doesn't look that bad, but if you are a momma, you can understand the pain I felt when I saw her little scratched face.

Washer Necklace

As you know, I am all about making homemade gifts for cheap to save a little money and get out my creative itch. I LOVE looking at craft blogs and I am constantly finding projects that I want to do, but always forget about them. My cousins 23 birthday is coming up and she always wears cool, funky necklaces. I remembered running across a tutorial for a necklace made out of washers and ribbon. How much cheaper can you get...especially since I already have ribbon?So for $3.74, I made her this:

It can be worn long:

It can be worn short (My fav)

You can find the tutorial here:

As easy as it is, it took me about 30 minutes to get down the weaving pattern. I'm glad I didn't give up, and now I want one for me.

"Got can't heed in my heels tonight baby"

Dixie and her cousin Audrey had fun dancing in the kitchen the other night. Audrey resembles a scarecrow flying in the wind with her long lanky limbs while Dixie has one move: walk in circle with arms up. I actually think Dixie had more fun laughing at Audrey. They are so cute and silly at this age. I love how much fun they are having without a care in the world.

CUPS

Dixie's newest favorite thing to play with: Plastic Cups

She digs them out of the pantry and enjoys stacking them, knocking them down, fitting them inside of each other and crushing them. Why is it that the cheap household items are always way more amusing than her actual toys???? My plastic cup stash is running low.

Family Camp-In

Last night, we had our 1st official "Family Camp-In Night." Evan and I love to go camping, but with a little one and one on the way it makes it hard to get out in the cold weather. So we decided to set up the tent in the living room and watch Toy Story 3. We planned on making Smore's around the fire pit afterwards, but we were all too tired by the time the movie was done....next time:)

I was shocked that Dixie actually stayed awake for the whole movie and stayed in the tent for the whole movie. She thought it was fun and was rolling around everywhere, which made it interesting to watch the movie. It was lots of fun and I think I am making this one a family tradition. Evan and I did it before we had kids, but I can just picture our whole family in there as we grow making memories from year to year.

I was trying to get a family pic, but it didn't work out so well. I am looking rough and poor Dixie got completely cut off.

Ladies and gentleman...we have a walker!!!!

I don't know why I haven't posted this yet, but as of October 28th...Dixie is officially a walker!!!!!!!! Wooooo hoooooo! I never thought we would get here since she is 16 months now, but everyone kept saying they develop at their own speed and up to 18 months is fine. Not that I was stressed, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't carrying 2 kids on my hips in December.

I knew that one day it would just happen, and sure enough she just got up and started walking all over the place. It makes her look so big. She has gotten so much more confidence in the past few days and it's been fun to watch her speed up and walk around the yard and play. My girl is growing up and I can't believe it! Oh yea..she's cut 2 new teeth too. Geez....slow down Dixie..momma can't take all this maturing.

Here is a video of her tonight walking around in circles and being excited because her Nanny was here. Warning: she wipes out at the end, but I promise she was ok:)

Flower Princess

I decided to put Dixie in this Tinkerbell tutu dress for Halloween. I didn't feel like sticking that yarn wig on her for a 3rd day in a row only to have her constantly try to rip it off. The dress was a little too small despite it being a size 12-18 months. Her little stocking bottom was sticking out, but she still looked cute. We had no fairy wings, so I stuck a huge flower on her head and called her a "Flower Princess." We didn't even go Trick or Treating as our neighborhood was a complete let down with hardly any kids Trick or Treating and only a few houses passing out candy. I figured I wouldn't put any of us through the disappointment. Next year, she will be more aware of what is going on. She had fun digging through our candy bowl though and eating a big sucker.