2014-06-29

Posted by Julie Wiens Posted on 11:08 PM | 2 comments

"Pardon me m'Lord"

The weekend after Easter, Kyle and I took our little lord to the Renaissance Fair. We thought he might be interested in it since there would be knights, horses, swords, costumes, etc. I wanted him to fit the part, so I took an old onesie that his Aunt Leah gave him and turned it into something extra special.



I turned it into a shirt, added a cape, and of course our little lord had to have a crown. Overall, I was super happy with this little project.


When we arrived, Logan stopped in front of a woman in full costume.  She said "Pardon me m'Lord."  Logan replied by bursting into tears. Funny enough, we ran into her later, where she repeated her earlier statement, and Logan repeated his crying. Other than that, Logan was fine. He wasn't overly interested in the fair. It was windy for the most part, so he mainly just wanted to run around and pick dandelions.


I took this opportunity to play with my new version of Photoshop Elements and some Coffee Shop Blog actions to make a magical image. I'd like to think this is what it feels like to Logan when he blows the spores off a dandelion. It is better than the pit I feel in my stomach every time I see those evil little weeds in my grass.

Back to the festival. We stayed only a little bit longer so that Logan could look at the rocks, which were obviously much more interesting than the jousting tournament or the juggling going on around us.






Next up was a trip to Explora! We had not been in a while, so it was a nice change from our zoo outings.

Watching the laminar flow fountain go on and off
We spent most of our time in the toddler room this time. They had recently revamped some of this room, so there were a lot of new aspects to explore.






Here are some photos from home to close out the month.
Don't all bubble gum canisters have sparkles and butterflies?
Logan gave our fish (Finn) a friend, made out of playdoh. See how Finn is keeping his distance in the back right?  He's swimming casually.

Grandma and Grandpa gave Logan some tents and tunnels to play with. Here is one happy little boy.



Here is what our garden looked like in April. Since this is our first garden in a long time, we are attempting to grow a great variety of things: brussel sprouts, parsley, basil, okra, sugar peas, red peppers, San Marzano tomatoes, thyme, broccoli, watermelon, butternut squash, cantaloupe, squash, radishes and carrots. We figured if we tried a bunch of items we will know what to grow next year. The garden looked pretty good at this stage. On the left are peat pots I purchased, and on the right are pots I made out of newspaper using a tomato paste can.



I can't recall if I have mentioned my latest big project or not. I have been slowly working on a felt table tent for Logan. I saw the idea on Pinterest and have been on a quest to find as many ideas as I could to create my perfect table tent. Here are a couple phone photos of my progress so far:
Pinterest inspiration

Pinterest inspiration

I started a long time ago and have not had much interest in it lately, but I did start the apple tree in April.
Pinterest inspiration



Some Logan phrases from the month:

4/6 - "Check out my stuff, will ya." He was asking Kyle to look at his tummy.

4/22 - "Time to run, guys." We run around our house almost every night. From the moment Kyle gets home, running is pretty much all Logan wants to do.

4/25 - I tried to do a cold turkey weaning that did not go over well at all. The night before our big day, I told Logan that it was our last nursing session.  He said: "Can I have some nice warm mommy milk?" The next day, come nap time he had the biggest meltdown ever. I decided to rethink my approach. Instead of cold turkey, we decided to drop one session at a time. Currently, we have a little over a week left before we drop our last nursing session. Then there will be a big celebration for Logan.

4/27 - I had recently purchased a new iPad app that is called Endless Reader. It helps him learn sight words. It's a fantastic app. He was playing this app when he said to me "that looks like 'can'". He was correct and now consistently recognizes "can". Super exciting.

A few final notes:

We took Frik and Frak to the vet for a check up. They were given a clean bill of health. Frik still has some eye issues, but her overall health is looking good. Not bad for our two 14 year old girls.

Logan's diet seems to consist of yogurt, strawberries, grapes, peanut butter and honey sandwiches and more grapes. Of course he eats more, but those are his go to foods. Especially the strawberries and grapes.

Kyle and I also found some time to watch the new season of Game of Thrones. It is our favorite show. If you have not seen it, you should. We love it so much that we pretty much pay for DirecTV just to watch that show every year. I say that because 99% of what we watch is on PBS, which we could get for free. In fact, we are cutting the cord soon. I'm sure I will have a small depression next year when Game of Thrones is on and I can no longer watch it. I will look to my friends and family for support at that time. ;)

2014-06-20

Posted by Julie Wiens Posted on 12:42 AM | No comments

Bring on the bunny

The Easter Bunny has come and gone once again. He left Logan some wonderful goodies and hopefully some great memories.

In anticipation of the big day, we completed some fun projects. First, I decided we really needed to recover our old patio chairs. They were starting to fall apart. So I bought some fabric, picked a tutorial off of Pinterest and started sewing. My not-so-fun project was to repaint our metal table and chairs (no photos). I'm glad that's done, but what a pain.





Then I made a little bunny banner -- also something I saw on Pinterest.


Logan took the same bunny image and did some art of his own.

Probably our best project was the bean bag toss.  Where do you think I got the idea for that?  If you guessed Pinterest, you'd be right.  I took two different ideas (pin 1 & pin 2)and combined them into one. I built the box and did some basic painting, but Kyle really brought it to life. He is such a wonderful artist. I wish he had more opportunities to use that talent. I bought some chick bean bags at an estate sale and then made some of my own bunnies. It has been a huge hit around the house and at our parties.

The night before Easter, Kyle's parents arrived. We spent that evening coloring eggs for the Easter Bunny.





That next morning, Logan discovered what the Easter Bunny left behind. Mom and Dad also gave him a special gift. It was his own copy of Cars, his favorite cartoon. After a preliminary basket review, the egg hunting began.



The Easter Bunny hid puzzle pieces in some eggs so that Logan could put together his puzzle as he found his eggs.


Grandma Betty was in charge of holding the eggs.



Next up was our family gathering. I think everyone had a good time. I think I captured everyone (although not very well) except Kiki, who was sadly missing, and Brandon.
Logan and Dad with Grandma Betty

Grandma Chris

Nando 
Devon, Lana and Logan

Nikki and the kids

Stephanie and Kent


Uncle Ralph, Aunt Doreen, Aunt Sally, Grandma Betty and Grandpa Dewey

Dustin and Devon

Grandpa Keith

Sierra and Dehaven

Kyle, Grandma and Sharon


Aunt Sally getting into the hunt.



Dave and Shelly

Logan learning how to peel an egg.
 We had a wonderful Easter Sunday and were so glad to spend it with so many wonderful people.