Not-So-Crafty Mom

Once upon a time I thought of myself as a creative and crafty person. Turns out I'm not as creative or as crafty as I thought I was. Mary Selwyn has really been missing her mother's day out time. She misses playing with the other kids and getting to do fun crafts to bring home. We have been to story time at the library some but with Adeline walking it is hard to keep her contained and I decided I only have the energy for story time every few weeks. I figured we could come up with some crafts to do here at home to make her life a little more exciting. Shay's sister gave Mary Selwyn a bag of craft stuff for Christmas so we dug it out this week.

The first craft we made was a paper bag puppy puppet. He turned out cute enough and what girl wouldn't want a pink and green spotted puppy. It was so fun and easy I thought we could do anything. So I googled preschool crafts and we decided to make a caterpillar and leaf, again pretty easy and fun, but maybe a little boring. So I got brave and decided we would make a stain glassed butterfly. I took all this time to shave crayons and let MSN sprinkle them in the butterfly shape I drew on the wax paper. All that was left was ironing the halves together. Piece of cake, right? Wrong. I'm not exactly sure where I went wrong but my butterfly will not melt together. I even tried a new piece of wax paper on top because I thought maybe I used the wrong side. Still nothing. So all that work for a bunch of melted crayon shavings that won't stick to anything. I'm very disappointed. Clearly I would make a terribly, uncreative preschool teacher! Oh well, I guess we will keep trying to find new crafts that I CAN help her do. Is it too early to make our Easter garland??? Here are some pictures of our crafts.

On another note, our house is officially under contract as of yesterday. If all goes as planned we will close on April 2nd. We have diligently been praying for this and yesterday God gave us our answer. Shay said he had a feeling that our house would sell by then end of February and he was right. We are very thankful. Thanks for all your prayers. Once the house is sold I think we can work mother's morning out back into the budget and then Mary Selwyn won't be forced to suffer through her mom's lack of crafty ability!

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My Surprise Valentine Trip

This weekend Shay took me on a surprise trip. This is something he has never done before so it was very sweet and unexpected. I had no idea where we were going until we discovered the road to our getaway was closed because of snow. Luckily there was another route to Gorham's Bluff.

Several months ago my friend Jenny blogged about this place she and her husband spent their anniversary. I thought it looked like such a fun and cozy place. I showed the blog to Shay and said, "We should go there sometime." I guess he does listen sometimes....When the road we wanted to take was closed he said, "Okay, we are going to Gorham's Bluff. Go ask that lady if there is another way to get there." I think I said, "Where?" He had to remind me of Jenny's blog so I guess in this (rare) case his memory was better than mine.

Gorham's Bluff is one of the most adorable places I have ever been. It has this beautiful lodge that overlooks the bluff and the streets are lined with quaint cottages. The views are amazing. Shay and I day dreamed about what living there might be like and we decided it wouldn't be half bad.

Friday night we curled up by the fire and played a game of trivial pursuit DVD that someone must have left behind. Saturday we slept late, went on two snowy hikes, enjoyed a gourmet lunch, hot chocolate and a nap all before a nice surf and turf Valentine dinner at the lodge. It was a wonderful weekend! WONDERFUL! Valentine's Day isn't something Shay and I normally celebrate so this was extra special. This trip doubled as an anniversary trip too since we were living in different towns back in November. I'm a lucky girl with a very sweet and thoughtful Valentine! Happy Valentine's Day!

Our cottage

Hiking

I thought the icicles were super neat

Our tiny snowman. Shay added the beard and hair.

We took a million more pictures. Here is a link if you decide you want to browse through them. Copy and paste it in your address bar and it should pull the album right up.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2416621&id=7026226&l=1357b77309

Also on Valentine's Day, Happy 29th Anniversary to my parents and 14th Birthday to my little sister.

9 Months & Snow

This week we took Adeline to her new doctor for her 9 month check-up so I thought I would share her stats. She weighs 19 pounds and was in 60% for weight and she is 29 inches and 90% for height. Wasn't it just the last post that I called her short?? I guess that just goes to show Shay and I are not great judges for baby height. The doctor was impressed that she was walking and so independent, I must not have been completely honest with her because this baby seems pretty attached to me.... Overall we got a good report. No shots because they haven't received her records yet so we will have to make a special trip for that torture, booo! It is always hard to go to a new doctor, at least it is for me.

Friday morning we also got our first "snow" since we moved here. It really wasn't much but it was enough for Mary Selwyn to play in for a bit before her hands got too cold. Here are some pictures.

Snowballs from daddy's car

"Mommy my hands are cold."

Yummy hot chocolate warmed us right up.

We have a walker

Adeline is officially walking. Her sister walked at 8 months, which was way too early. I guess Adeline thought she would let me think I had a baby for a little longer by not walking until 9 months. For the record I still think it is too early. It looks kinda funny when she walks because she is so short and tiny. She still crawls some if she falls and realizes she can get where she wants to go much faster if she goes on all fours. For the most part though we have a walker! Mary Selwyn is very excited because she can hold her hand and walk with her across the room. Here is a video of our tiny walker.


Have I mentioned lately how much fun it is having two girls? They are enjoying each other so much and play together really well. Adeline follows Mary Selwyn's every move, especially now. This week they have been playing mommy/baby, Adeline is the baby of course and Mary Selwyn is a very good mommy. It is so fun to watch them entertain each other and share. They adore each other, and we adore them obviously. Putting them in the laundry basket kept them entertained (and caged) for a surprisingly long time.

Mary Selwyn's First Haircut

I FINALLY took Mary Selwyn for her first haircut. I had been putting it off hoping that the rest of her hair would catch up with that curly rat tail but it never did. It was so weird that these three curls grew so much longer than the rest. I should have taken a picture of the rat tail before we cut it off but you can see it in the big picture at the top of the blog. It was so long. So I searched for the perfect place to take her and found a salon called Spoiled Rockin Kids. We put on her new pink princess dress up shoes and we trucked all the way across Huntsville just for her to sit in a pink car to get her haircut. She loved it and did so good so the drive was well worth it. She can be a little bit dramatic when it comes to doing her hair. She screams when I wash it and most times when I brush it so I wasn't sure how she would act getting her haircut. Of course she did fine. Better for a total stranger than her mommy, figures right? Adeline stayed with Daddy and I told MSN it was just a mommy and Mary Selwyn night. She was very upset that her little sister wasn't going too, very upset, but once we got there she didn't seem to mind so much that it was all about her. She's a sweet kid! It was fun and a good first haircut experience.




Silly Girl







Slightly sad to see that curly rat tail laying there...