bowling

While we were with family in Redlands this last Tuesday, my family took Ryder bowling while Eden napped... They had so much fun!

 He had to wear shoes that were a little too big, but he did not care...

Thanks everyone for making such a special memory with our little guy... 

He is still talking about it!

We love you all SO much!

creating: "Romaine Roses"

I saw this idea on Pinterest and I thought  that Ryder would enjoy it, so the other day we gave it a try.  It turned out to be a big hit with my little guy!

We used romaine lettuce and ink pads that we had on hand.

 He really had a great time...

  We called his masterpiece: "Romaine Roses"♥

This project occupied Ryder for almost an hour.  It was very relaxing and easy to clean up.  We will be doing this again!

thrift store finds

I couple weeks ago, I went thrift shopping on my birthday and found these little treasures.  

Together, they totaled $3.

I have been collecting those milk glass vases for years and I have dreams of having a table full of them filled with red berries or holly for christmas.  I loved using them at Eden's first birthday party.  They just make me so happy because they remind me of the parties that I have used them for...♥

I had an idea and a place for that reddish vase.

I just got some flowers from the craft store and cut them to the length I wanted with wire cutters.

   I absolutely LOVE the color it brings to the space....

Eden also loves them:

 a little upset that she was caught:

Oh, well, life with babies.  
That is why they are silk and not real with water.

creating: easy washi tape notecards

I have been loving washi tape and all that you can do with it, to making small banners, to cupcake toppers, using it in gift wrapping and gifts, there are really so MANY things that you can do with it!

One of my recent favorites has been making thank you cards:

The section at Michaels is HUGE:

I really liked this multi colored one and I thought it would give me some fun options for what I wanted to do.  32 feet for $2.  I was pretty excited!

I had gotten this blank card set at Target for $.99 and this was the perfect project for them:

 These were my two favorites:

I made the cards and used my letter stamps to personalize them for specifically what I was sending them for.  Have you been on Pinterest for washi tape projects?  There are so many fun ideas and projects out there!  I'm already thinking of the next ones that I want to tackle...♥

little adventures...

Kit left this morning for a staff retreat until wednesday.  We are heading out to Redlands to have some fun and see family!  We are so excited!  

Kit Rae, 

We miss you already and we hope that you get some rest and have so much fun!  We can't wait to see you on wednesday!

16

Eden Marie~

You are 16 months old today.  You are so full of life and so spirited, you truly are delightful!  You are such a ham, you love to laugh and you have the funniest giggle that wrinkles your nose and shows 8 of your teeth...  You LOVE to eat.  We love that you enjoy food.  That just makes me happy.  You know what you want when you want it and you will let us know!  Your dad and I say to each other all the time that you will always keep us on our toes.  You are fearless and passionate and you want to do whatever your brother does.  If I tell you no, you give a smirk and put your little chubby finger on whatever it is, always testing where the line is.  You  have a sensitive spirit and you crumble if you are reprimanded or looked at sternly.  You HATE being in trouble.  We can tell already that you are so relational!  You take time to warm up but once you do, you give kisses and snuggles and hugs.  You give high fives and you blow kisses and give your little toothy grin that just brings so much joy to our hearts.   I feel like I could write so much about you and your brother and how amazing you both are.  You two are truly the biggest blessings in our lives! Needless to say, we are so thankful for you and I am so honored to be your mom!

We just know that the Lord has big things in store for you!

We could not love you more, little miss...

potty training update: making a potty training chart...

Ryder has been doing SO great with his potty training.  We are taking it as his pace and showering him with encouragement and praise.  He is doing really well.  We decided to make a potty training chart early this week.  I wanted him to make it and pick it out so we took a little trip to Michaels.

He chose blue, some green and blue letter stickers, and of course Cars and Toy Story stickers.

 He was so excited!

 He helped me get it all assembled.

 He had gone three times on the toilet prior to making the log.

 He was so proud of himself!  We are so proud of him.  It is so true that when they are ready, you will know, and my goodness, that is so true!

 Please keep us in your prayers that we have patience and understanding through the whole process with minimal frustrations, for Ryder as well as for us♥.

being outside...

With the warmer summer months here, we have been outside quite a bit.  Ryder loves to be in the dirt and it is so fun to work on the yard and enjoy some outdoor time!

We planted peppers for salsa.  This is our first year growing them, but we figure that if the salsa plants are next to the avocado/guacamole tree, there is a party waiting to happen!

 One of Ryder's self-appointed "jobs" is watering the plants.  It's sweet how serious he is about his gardening... 

 We also planted some new succulents in some pots.

 Succulents make me so happy, primarily because it is REALLY hard for me to kill them.

(Thanks Eric and Diane for my birthday plants!)

 Ryder is always ready to help!

 Eden just loves being outside...

We are excited about all the memories we will be making this summer.  We have already enjoyed some BBQs, a baseball game in the sprinklers, time in the jacuzzi, enjoying the last of our tangelos in the early evening while we wait for Kit to get home...

some good reads...

With summer coming, we have a few vacations on the horizon and that means that there will be some great opportunities for a good book.  Here are some books that we have been enjoying!

What Kit is reading:

(Thanks Tommy for lending it to us!)

What Gina is reading:

(This is a historical fiction and the first two books of the trilogy.  Thanks Mal for the recommendation!)

What Ryder and Eden are reading:

ANYTHING by David Shannon

current favorite:

Pirates Don't Change Diapers

by David Shannon

creating: "I love you this much" card

For our "Daddy's Day" this year, Ryder and I made a special card inspired by Pinterest.  You could use it for any occasion.

 I used my letter stamps for the wording:

 I use double sided tape rather than glue just because of the potential mess when Ryder is helping me with a project.

I love that Ryder now wants to sign cards and try out his "writing":

I know that this will be a card I will keep and treasure...♥

a little "daddy's day" recap

This year, Kit's birthday fell on Father's day so we decided to call it "Daddy's Day".  This was a hard day in that Kit has been pretty sick and has been not feeling good at all.  He also had to go to church on Sunday morning WHILE feeling awful... poor guy didn't complain but I could tell he was just miserable.  We did try to make the day a little special, even though we tried to lay low, since Kit was feeling so crummy.  I had told Ryder that we would be doing our doughnut tradition and he was so excited to go get them, light the candle and sing, so even though Kit was not up for EATING them, we were not about to miss out on the candle and singing.

Ryder helped me with wrapping his presents and making a special card:

I can't wait to show you how it came out♥.

The kids are getting over coughs so we didn't go to church.  

We were so bummed to not see our friends.  
Kit actually came home early from church because he was sick...

When Kit got home, Ryder was SO excited for Kit to open his presents.  

(Ryder LOVES unwrapping presents...)

Pretty much this is how the afternoon looked.  Either we were all crashing on the couches or people were in their beds for long naps.  It was a lazy afternoon...
For dinner we ordered take out from one of our favorite local Italian places, Angelo and Vinci's.  Kit requested it and felt like it was just the comfort food he wanted:

Eden is a HUGE fan: 

That was our day.  It was pretty uneventful.  

Kit is taking today off and I am just praying that everyone starts feeling better so that we can get back to our normal routine and rhythm.♥