Christmas Bow Ties

I'm still going through all my pictures from Christmas. I just came across these, though, and couldn't resist posting them.

I made the boys some Christmas bow ties a while back and wanted to take some pictures of all the kids dressed up fancy. The plan was to maybe even put one on our Christmas card. That didn't happen because we got zero good pictures. Well that's if you count a "good" picture as one where all three kids are looking and smiling. We tried and tried until I was past the point of frustration and Marshall was begging me to stop for everybody's sanity. Ha.

But how can you stay mad at these cuties?

Giant Jenga

Hi! Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! I'm in the process of sorting through millions hundreds of pictures to find the ones I want to post and remember most. But I wanted to stop in now to show you this little hand-made gift of ours that turned out awesome.

We made my father-in-law a Giant Jenga set. And by "we" made it, I really mean I had the great idea and Marsh did most of the work. Sorry, honey. But, seriously, it was pretty easy and works great! It is the perfect gift for that man in your family that doesn't need anything, doesn't want anything, and doesn't need another tie (or is a Cowboy like mine and doesn't wear ties at all).

Here's how we did it:

1. CUT YOUR BLOCKS. First, I bought three of the longest 2 X 4's available at our Home Depot. Then, I had a guy there cut them into 10.5 inch segments. They were long enough to get 18 blocks out of each of the three original pieces, which made for 54 blocks in all. He was SO NICE and didn't even charge for the cutting. I think the lumber only ended up costing $27 in all! Here's what they looked like when I brought them home from the store and stacked them up in the garage:

2. SAND YOUR BLOCKS. Here's where Marshall was really hating me at first. He sat there with our orbital sander between his knees for hours sanding each of the 54 blocks. Janson, Laney and I kept him company, though, and took some pictures, of course. He finally got in a rhythm and got it done quicker than we originally thought it would take. He lightly sanded each of the 6 faces of the block and then heavily sanded the edges and corners. You want to be able to run your hand over the block without getting splinters. I had read online that we would need to sand them first with 80 grit paper AND THEN with 220 grit to make them even smoother. But we only had time to do them once with the 80 grit paper and it was fine. Plus, they will get smoother as the game is played over and over.

And that's it! After that, we just put them in a large Rubbermaid bin and stuck a tacky little sticky bow on top of it. I think Papa D (my father-in-law) was kind of confused when we first gave it to him, but when all the kids went to sleep and we were able to go outside and play it, he LOVED it. Check out how there's only one block left on the bottom row in this game we played. Hold your breath!

Christmastime

Hello there. I haven't forgotten about you. It's always this time of year that I get busy, stop blogging and get so behind that I don't even want to start back up. So I'm just here to say hi.

With two 18-month-olds around, we haven't done much decorating. Our tree is up but bare. No snow globes are out. We're lucky the stockings haven't already been ripped off the mantle. But what a fun Christmas it will be! We can't wait to spend time with family, exchange gifts, and experience the "magic" with our little ones. What I'm looking forward to most is taking our kids to the Christmas Eve candle light service at our church. We're getting to experience the beginnings of teaching them about a Savior that was born long ago, died for them, and is integrally important to their current lives. It's special. And important. And wonderful. What a precious gift.

Oh and we already saw Santa while we were in Dallas at the Galleria. Laney told him that she wanted "a pink car, a purple airplane, and a REAL doctor's kit." She has not wavered in these requests. Needless to say, I'm still on the hunt for a purple airplane. I'm starting to think I may have to involve some spray paint.

Check out these pictures. Priceless.

Best Friends

How amazing would it be to get to grow up with your best friend right by your side every single day?

Fall Photos

Each year my side of the family has pictures made in November. We use the same photographer that shot our engagements and wedding. She's great. On the way there, I told my mom I thought this year would be easier than last year and the year before. Five minutes into the shoot, we looked at eachother and started cracking up. It was sooo chaotic. Getting two 18-month-olds and a 3-year-old to sit still and look in the same direction at the same time is just about impossible. Tammy captured some great shots, nonetheless. We're up on her photography blog. Go take a look!

Tammy Marcelain's Photography Blog

Put on your ears, It's time for CHEERS!

We had Laney's birthday party this Saturday at the kid's area of the Grace Museum. It was Mickey & Minnie themed (we watch a lot of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse around here) and turned out so great! Since big girl is growing up and actually has friends to invite to a party, it's no longer an adult occassion. I'll admit, it was a little weird that I didn't invite all my friends from out of town. Things are a-changing.

But we had a great turn-out and it was a blast to see Laney interact with all her friends! She. had. so. much. fun. This party has been a long time coming for her. Since her birthday is so close to Halloween, we always run into the question of when to have her party. I didn't get my act together to plan it for the weekend before Halloween, so we did it the weekend after. So, she's been looking forward to this party for seriously like 3 weeks, now, which to a 3-year-old seems like a thousand years!

It's so hard for little ones to understand this birthday party stuff, especially when it's a party for somebody else. Before each party we attend, I have a nightmare of Laney bursting into tears when she can't blow out the candles and uncontrollably ripping open all of some other kid's presents while I stand in the corner dying of embarrassment. So, I always ask her the same questions when we're in the car on the way there: Whose party is this? {She answers} Who are we going to sing happy birthday to? {She answers} Who gets to open all the presents? {She answers}

On the way to her party that day, though, she got so excited and said, "Mommy! Today I'm gonna blow out the candles and I'm gonna open all the presents and everybody is gonna sing happy birthday to ME!" So precious!

We had tons of decorations and balloons and, of course, homemade Mickey & Minnie ears for everybody! {A big thanks to Grandmama for taking some long shifts with that glue gun.}

 Also, I've always wanted to make a birthday cake, so against my better judgement, I stayed up until 2 AM making one. I'm so glad I finally did it, but can't say I'll be opening a bakery anytime soon.

Just like anything that involves 3-year-olds, it was chaos. Wonderful, wonderful chaos. I'll miss this chaos dearly when it passes. (Check out the dad in the back wearing Mickey ears. Yesss.)

 And THE best friend, MyLeigh, got to come play! We don't see her much anymore because she goes to Laney's old school. So, anytime they see each other, they're attached at the hip!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LANEY LOU! I'm so so proud of you for how you've handled all that's been thrown at you in your 3 short years of life. You're the most wonderful daughter, the most loving big sister, and the smartest little girl in the world! YOU ARE LOVED MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE!

Boo.

Trick-or-Treat 2012 was a success! This was the first year that it was actually fun. I'm pretty sure Laney thought it was the best night of her life.

Of course, a good picture of them all together was far too much to ask. Laney tried.

But we all had a BLAST! There's even talk of a decorated trailer complete with lights, music, and lots of friends for next year. Having kids makes the holidays so much fun. The magic has returned!