Kali's First Boat Ride

We took Kali on her first boat ride this past weekend.  I was nervous that she wasn't going to like it, but turns our she loved it!! She didn't love her life jacket in the beginning, but then she realized that she could use the cushion behind her head as a pillow, and all was right in the world again.  Here are some pictures from our adventure on Deer Point Lake.

Kali and Daddy testing out the water (and life jacket)

Kali and Mommy getting settled on the boat.

Figuring out the cushion could be a pillow.

She was laid back relaxing then

We stopped the boat in the middle of the lake so we could float.

Kali wanted to walk around, but she doesn't have the best balance on dry-land,

then you put her on a rocky boat. It was hysterical.

She would hold onto the seat to keep her balance.

Snacking on some fishes.

She backed herself up to the seat, and put her elbow on it.

She looked like Joe Cool.

"Yea, I know I'm awesome"

Driving the boat with Daddy

I asked Kali to "say cheese", and this is the face I got.

I love this kid!

We had a great time! Hopefully we'll be able to go on the boat again before it gets too cold.  And with this crazy kid, I'll be sure to have my camera poised and ready! :-)

Crafty Crafters

That's me!!! Or at least I'm trying to be...

Pinterest (my latest internet addiction) has shown me all these fantastic projects to do for everything, like holidays, or baby stuff, or household stuff, or...anything basically.

SO, I got the bright idea to put my hand to some of it.  I started with Baskets out of diaper boxes (it's a go big, or go home kinda project for sure!), and some homemade sugar scrubs to give as gifts.
I made my list and Kali and I trekked out to the stores.  1st up: Hobby Lobby.  That's where we got the scrapbook paper, jars, glue, and paintbrushes.  And you know I love a good sale!!! The jars, paintbrushes, and scrapbook paper were all on sale!  Plus I had a 40% coupon, so that was applied to the glue! Woo Hoo!

Next, we hit up Joann's.  We found the canvas, ribbon, and a really pretty fabric for the basket liners.  I was so excited because Kali "helped" pick out the fabric.  I picked one up, and she growled at it.  So I put it back. Then I picked up another, and she smiled and reached for it.  That's the one we got! HAHA!!! :)

Once we got home, I started on the sugarscrub first.

First, I had to make my Mod Podge.

I've heard lots of good things about this stuff.

But it costs around $8. 

I got the jar for $.99 and the glue for $3.

I did a 3 to 1 ratio of Glue and Water.

3 parts Glue; 1 part water.

Then, shake, shake, shake!

Done! Mod Podge for $4 :-)

Now, time to start making the jars for the sugar scrub

Got my Mod Podge, Scrapbook paper, jar, brush, and scissors!

Label for the front of the jar.

Cut out the shape you want, glue on with mod podge

Then take another piece of paper and make the label.

Put on with Mod Podge, and then brush Mod Podge over the whole thing to give it a shiney look.

LID!

This part was hard for me, and I don't think I could describe how I did it if I tried.

Finished product! This was my first "tester".

I'm going to keep it because it's not up to my standards. LOL

But I made 2 more that turned out great that I'm going to give as gifts!

Gift Jars!!!

Time to let the jars dry, so we started on the box bins.

Took the canvas and cut it to fit the box

Glued all the edges and stuck it on.

I was a little disappointed because you can still see the diaper box print through the canvas.

But then TJ said that he liked it because then people would know that we made them.

So now I kinda like them. :-)

Next, made the sugar scrub.

Sugar, Olive Oil, and scented essential oil.

It made the house smell SOOO good! :)

Finished products (kinda).

Diaper box - Bin; Mod Podge; and Sugar Scrub jars

Love them!

Here are all my jars filled up. 

I'm going to print a label for the front and add a ribbon and tag.  Then they'll be done.

I haven't made the basket liners, because I don't sew.

So I was looking for an online tutorial about how to do a "no-sew" liner, but couldn't find one.

Think I might just see if my mother-in-law (who does tons of sewing) will make them for me.

Can't wait until they're done and see how they look in the living room!

And that was the end of me being crafty.  But I'm sure with Pinterest, I'm going to find lots of things to do for the Holidays. YAY!

11 Months

It's that time of the month again...well not THAT time, but the time that makes Kali get OLDER.  I don't like this time of the month (nor the other one!!).
Kali is officially 11 months old.  That means only 1 month until she's ONE! Wow this year has flown by.  I can remember taking her Valentine's Day pictures like it was yesterday.  Sheesh.

Well, I wanted to be sure to get some family pictures done while we were doing the Watch Me Grow program with Olan Mills.  It gives us 1 free print and no sitting fee.  They all came out great.  And I was glad we got them done!

Such a Big Girl!

US!

I can't remember the last time we took pictures, just the two of us...

Wait, yes I can. MATERNITY PICTURES! LOL

I love this one of us. :-)

We did this when she was 2 months old.

It's crazy to look at them side-by-side, and see how much she's grown!

She's not a Baby anymore

Me and My Monster!

TJ and Kalibug

The whole family

Kali kept peaking over his shoulder and not looking at the camera.

So I decided to peak over too.

Turned out cute! :)

Cheese!

I wanted to get one of us "walking". 

But Kali was done with pictures by this point.

So this is the best we got, but it's cute.

The required "I'm 11 Months Old" picture

Cheesing

11 Month Stats:

Weight: 24lbs

Height: 30 inches-ish

Eating: You've decided that this month you were going to be sick most of it.  So we went back and forth between purees and solids.  But we're back to solids and eating practically everything mom and dad do.  I have discovered that I think your favorite foods are: Fruit - Blueberries; Veggie - Broccoli; Meat - Chicken.  We've also weaned you off of the bottle, except for nighttime.  But we're working on those. Since you still won't take a pacifier, it's going to take a little longer, but its coming along...slowly, but surely. 

Sleep: You're officially back to sleeping through the night!!! Sleep at 8:30pm, wake around 7am.  It's a wonderful thing when mommy and daddy (and baby) get good sleep!!!  Too bad, I'm not up at 10:45pm blogging instead of sleeping.  Oh well, get in where you fit in! :)

Accomplishments: Still mostly crawling, but you're pretty close to walking.  You've been taking 1-2 steps on your own the past couple days, but it's a slow process, and I don't want to rush you! I can hardly keep up with you crawling, I can't imagine what it will be like when you're walking!
You have really started talking more.  You say: dog, Junior, Mma, Dada, Bub Gup (for Bubble Guppies), and Bye. You have now started putting your hands up in the air when you're "All Done" eating.  It's so cute.  But you also do it when you don't want to eat whatever I'm trying to feed you and want to move onto something else yummy.  Haha! Adorable.  You also have started to anticipate when we're going to do something.  So you'll start giggling or laughing before we even tickle you. I love it!


I love you for always and can't wait until your birthday!!!

Getting Ready for ONE!

Kali will be 11 Months on Saturday, so I've been working hard on getting her first birthday up and running.  Since her birthday is on a Monday, we're going to have her party on Saturday, October 8th.  I wanted to go all out and have it at a jumpy-house place that makes it a big deal.  But TJ talked me out of that one, and said that she's not going to really remember or be able to enjoy the jumpy-house party right now (so I'm putting it on the back burner for next year possibly).  So, we're having her party at a park right down the road from the house, where there is a pavilion for us to do the cake and presents, but a playground for the kids, and if it's warm enough, we can play in the water.  And it's going to be a CUPCAKE theme!  I'm hoping it's a big hit.

I got introduced to www.pinterest.com and I've become addicted! It's the best site for if you're planning something to buy that you're not going to do right away.  You can pin the things you find, so that you can go back days, weeks, or even months later and be able to go right to whatever you were looking at. Awesome!  Anyway...since I was able to pin all the stuff I was looking at, I can now show/attach it here! Woo Hoo. :)

So, this is the first thing that sent me on the idea of doing a Cupcake Theme:

I love the polka dots and the "First Birthday Girl".  But unfortunately, it was on back order so I didn't get to order it (although I just linked to it from pinterest to find this picture and it might be back in stock - GOING TO BUY)! So those polka dots and scallops lead me to this:

I ordered these with her 9 month picture (super cute).  I had 6 people proofread the invite before purchasing 40 of these suckers.  I ordered them last month because I had a 30% code, so I got them for less than cost! LOL.  So I've had them for a month...and I JUST realized that I forgot to put her name on the invite.  Good thing her picture is there, so hopefully people will know who it's for! HAHA. Oh well.

So, now I have the theme. I have the invites. Now I need the OUTFIT! Whoop Whoop!
I haven't purchased this yet, but I have some front runners:
 
I can't decide which one to get.  I was originally thinking the first dress, but now that I'm looking at them side-by-side I'm thinking about the second one (and it's a bit cheaper. LOL).  I have a friend that just opened a shop who said she can make matching bloomers to whatever dress I pick. So I'm so excited.  Hopefully she'll be full on walking by then (she still has to hold onto something) so I can see her toddling around in one of these dresses!!! We'll see. I guess I do have to make a decision pretty soon though. I only have a month before her birthday (OMG!!!!).

So to keep with the theme, I'm going to get these Thank You stickers for the favors.  I'm going to do little goodie bags for the kids, and have cupcake boxes for adults if they want to take any home:

They say "Thanks for making my party sweet! Kali"  I'm pretty excited about these little gems too! :)

Last, are the CUPCAKES! I have a friend on Facebook (well not really a "friend", he's a friend of a friend that makes cupcakes) who is trying to start his own cupcake shop and is making them out of his home right now.  He puts pictures of his cupcakes up all the time and I LOVE them!
 - Oreo Cupcakes.  Ummm... Yea! I could eat 100 of these suckers!
 - Half/Half cupcakes.  Half Chocolate/Half Vanilla! These are what I picked! Who can go wrong with BOTH! (I ordered some regular choc and vanilla ones for those crazy folks who don't want the Fun one).  And then I'm going to have him do a strawberry icing and candy sprinkles. Like this:
 - Nom Nom Nom!!!

He's not that expensive, and is going to spell out "Happy 1st Birthday Kali" on the cupcakes.  And the "Kali" one is going to be bigger and that's the one she'll eat.  I'm super excited about this.

I hope everything comes together nicely. :-)

And in my pinterest browsing, I found a "cupcake making station" where you give the guests/kids their own naked cupcake and have stations with different frosting and candies, etc.  That way each kid can make their own. I was really thinking about doing this (although haven't ruled it out since I still have time to think about it and haven't paid Big Daddys Cup Cakes, so I could still have him make some naked ones.).  But I might hold off on that one and do it when she's older and can make her own or something.  Another one to put in the thought box for a later date.

It's been so fun planning her party.  I could definitely go all out for it, but I'm having to reel myself in since it's only her first birthday and she's not going to remember it (other than pictures - which there will be lots of).  So I might do more of the fun things when she's older and can enjoy them herself.  We'll see.

I can't believe my little lovie is going to be 1, and I'm planning her party. Man, time flies when you're having fun!! :)

What a month!

August has flown by for us!  I can't believe that it's already September, and already Labor Day Weekend.  Phew...We had a very busy August, that's for sure. 

I got a new attorney in my office, which means I'm now working for 2 attorneys.  But that's not the hard part.  The hard part is that I'm going from working for 1 Criminal Defense attorney, to working for 1 Criminal Defense attorney and 1 Family Law attorney.  I do not like family law! I do not like dealing with other people's drama and family issues, let alone help them sort it out and be their shoulder to cry on.  It makes for long days because I can't do it all within my 8:30a-5p workday.  I don't think I've gone home before 5:30p for over a month.  It's crazy.  I was trying to take a Friday (only a half day) off for over 4 weeks.  I FINALLY took it think weekend, which made for a 4 day weekend for me.  Whoop Whoop!
And TJ's job has so much on their plate that he's been coming home after 8p, and normally around 10p lately too.  Makes it hard for us to do stuff as a family.  I guess it's job security for us, but we're both mentally and physically exhausted when we come home at night.  And poor Kali only gets about 3 hours with me and sometimes only a few minutes with TJ before it's her bed time.  Makes me really wish I could be a stay at home mom.  ::sigh::
But aside from all that, Kali has been growing and learning in leaps and bounds!  She's starting to walk, just holding one of our hands.  She's got great balance and can stand alone for about 30 seconds before she sits and starts to play with something.  I'm hoping that she's walking by her birthday, but then I know I'll be more exhausted chasing after her! LOL.
Alright, here are the obligatory cute pictures of Kali from this month.  And I'm going to try and be better about posting.....promise.

Kali loves her books. And whenever she dissapears into her room and gets quiet,

 I know she's reading her books.  I love it!

Mommy and Kali!

Kali got the remote and was changing channels.

She did make it to cartoons, which I was impressed with! LOL

Splish-splashing in the bath

We found her a chair her size at Shipwreck. 

She loved it, and it makes me want to get her own chair for the house.

Daddy was a buffet while at Shipwreck.

It was so funny having her "find" the snacks he laid out.

Kali finally has some hair.

And this is what we do with it! HAHA

Kali's first trip/ride in a firetruck!

Kali and Travis & Trevor on the Firetruck.

We'll have to take her for a ride in Uncle Jonathan's firetruck next time we visit!

Kali will now "cheese" when you take her picture!

ADORABLE!

I love those beautiful blue eyes!

Kali did some finger painting on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

We decided to give it to Mema for her birthday! She loved it! :)

Aunt Debbie and Kali at Boatyard for lunch!

I LOVE that I'm finally able to put some bows in her hair!

I'm going a little overboard with it.  And I know this.

The first step is admitting the problem, right?!

Then I'm good! LOL

It has been a wonderful month with our little angel.  Can't wait for family pictures next week, and then she'll be 11 months old.  I'm also starting to get ready for her 1st birthday.  OMG! I just said FIRST BIRTHDAY! Where has this year gone? I guess the next 17 years are going to be like this one.  Wow... Can't wait for the wild ride in store for us!