My Longest Year

happy 33! yes, I just told everyone your age.

And now I'm about to show them baby pictures.  You'll live.

Hold on, James.  It only gets worse from here...

My, you're handsome.  But what is up with that scenic tie?!

Love you.

PS: you can revisit James' 30th birthday video here

better late than never: spring blanket for S.

A while ago (okay, over a year ago), after years of pain and paperwork, dear friends of ours finally brought their baby home from China.  Beautiful little S., one year old.

This blanket shouldn't actually take a year to finish.  It got put to the side after some rough times in the Butler house.  And you know how that goes...so when the whole house got sick a while ago I decided to just buck up and finish it.  Within a few days, I had this:

And I almost don't want to give it away. 

I am horrible at edgings, so I chose rows of single crochet in a pretty lilac.  I love it.

I hope S. does, too.  Congrats, Lex and Justin!!!

Crochet Notes: Bernat Cotton Tots in "Sunshine" & "Lovely Lilac" (I love this yarn!), Spiderweb pattern similar to this.

knock her socks off

It would appear my obsession with her feet includes being tickled watching her yank her socks off.  I swear every time we go somewhere I have to scramble around the floorboard for her socks and shoes and re-dress her feet once we arrive.

evyn's guide to spring, part 2: hoops, flowers, and rocks

Does anyone remember hula hoop-ing?!  She saw something pink and purple with sparkles peeking out of a bin at Target, and when I pulled it out to hula right there in the aisle, she was hooked.

And let's not forget pulling weeds, er, I mean flowers.  Evyn really loves yanking these things out of the ground and gifting them to me.  I remember last summer I picked her up from a playdate, the other mom proudly escorting me to the yard where she and her friend were weeding the lawn picking large bouquets of flowers.

Then there's harvesting rocks, which we have plenty of since the builders don't know how to properly grade and clean a lot.

Ashlyn had a great time in the dirt.  I had a great time watching her.  There's something about those pillowy pudge-feet getting properly dirty that just seemed like such a throwback to the days I spent with my sister outside.

I loved watching them pluck and dig muddy rocks out of the dirt.

I didn't love fishing them out of Ashlyn's mouth (while crossing my fingers that they were just rocks).

After a while, Evyn got particularly industrious.  I found her looking for a proper pail in the garage to collect them.  "I dumped all your car wash stuff out, Mommy, because I need a pail for my rocks." 

I had such a fun time, and yes, I kept thinking These Chicks Rock.

evyn's guide to spring, part 1: hopscotch

 

I've never been much of an outside person.  I don't know why.  I grew up in Montana, and I love the idea of the outdoors.  But actually going outside seems like work.  Especially last spring and summer, when Ashlyn was too young to walk but wouldn't sit still. 

This year I don't have any excuses.  Evyn loves to play outside, and Ashlyn is old enough to join her.  And I'm a stay-at-home mom, and being outside is a good thing for kids, so I'm sorta, like, obligated.

So today Evyn and I are reviving a good ol' sidewalk chalk game: hopscotch.  Numbers, colors, skipping.  What could be better?

I realized as I helped lay out the diagram that I have no clue how to play.  So here's some directions, complete with diagram options and all: Hopscotch for the serious-er player.

I'd love to know what other games you all play with sidewalk chalk.   I was thinking there must be some variation of shuffleboard (maybe "tossing" instead of shuffling?) that can be made up for kids.  Of course, I don't know how to play that, either.

Links of Interest: Sidewalk Games; Preschool Olympics (via Let's Explore)

 

happy st. pat's!

Did you have a good St. Patrick's Day?  Lots of talk about leprechauns and pots of gold around here today.  Evyn even drew a picture of it all.  She's very serious about her rainbows (and now about pots of gold).  She even mimicked a game they played in preschool and hid gold coins all over the house for Daddy to find when he got home ("I'm a leprechaun, Mommy!").

Thanks for hanging in there waiting for me to come back.  Between being sick and the dreary cold and dark around here it's been difficult to get to the blog.  I hope you're all healthy and well.

bronchitis

Everyone has it right now.  Not the end of the world, big picture.  But I am the whiniest sick person.  The whiniest.  So excuse my tardiness while I get better.  How about a picture?

for a spring baby

You probably wonder if I sew/crochet/create anymore.  I do - but only the easiest stuff.  With two kids and so many activities in my life I have a short attention span.  Just ask the half-emptied dishwasher.

This sweet blanket and burp cloth set is my go-to project when I want to feel crafty again but don't have much time.  This time it was for a newborn in my Sunday school class.  (I used this bunny applique)

I let Evyn help me pick out the fabrics, not realizing she thought we were making the blanket for her.  The girl thinks I live to make things for her. (I've told you she thinks I can make anything, right?  Today she asked me if I could make her a "roly poly." Wha?)

She was so disappointed that we wouldn't be using the "easter fabric" for her that she convinced me to use the scraps to whip up a doll blanket while she took a bath.  Half an hour later she emerged from the tub and waited in the chair next to me while I finished up her piece.

She has a short attention span, too.  She loved it for all of 24 hours.  ;)

later that day...

A girl found a monkey (in her sissy's glaringly bright room).

 

 

The girl squished and squeezed.   She loves to squish and squeeze.

A lot.

I mean A LOT.

Yes, this, too, was a "is this chick cool or what?" moment.  Wishing you mommies a few moments like these today...