GreenPixel: Our Life

Blog Hop Time!

2011-10-28T02:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome to WeScrap's Trick or Treat Bloghop!

To celebrate Halloween, we would like to share some of our favorite scrapbook tricks and treats with you today! So join us on our blog hop where you'll be inspired by some cool projects, learn some new tricks, and have a chance to win some scrappy treats!

As you hop along, each of our Inspiration Team members will have 1 or 2 words for you to collect. Leave a comment on all the blogs and collect all the words.

Hop on back to the WeScrap Forum for your chance to win our GRAND PRIZE!

Here's our Favorite Things Blog Hop rotation

WeScrap Kits Blog:

http://wescrapkits.blogspot.com/

Sarah Nolan:

http://www.theoccasionalcreation.blogspot.com/

Sue Sykes:

http://www.kewl-beans.blogspot.com/

Melissa Buhler: (you are here!)

http://greenpixel.blogspot.com/

Jessica Acs:

http://www.jessicaacs.com/

Victoria Lau:

http://vjlau.blogspot.com/

So here is my trick for you today...a really simple gift idea, and you can use up some scraps!

Clothespin magnets! Pull out some scraps of your favorite papers...just a tiny bit will do! Trim down the size of the clothespin - yours might be slightly different size, so I wont give a measurement. Adhere with zipdry, or your favorite adhesive. Cut a piece of adhesive backed magnet to the other side, and voila! You have a cutie magnet you can pin stuff with! Feel free to jazz them up a bit - add bling, buttons, or little tiny flowers. I added a layer of dimensional glaze on top of the paper for a bit of gloss.

I made 2 sets of 3 (actually 3 sets were made...one by my 4 yr old!), and then I created a little gift tag for them, so I can clip sets to the papers and give them as gifts.

My treat for you today...the printable gift tag sheet. There are 4 tags on the sheet - 2 say "Thanks for sticking with me" and 2 say "I'm stuck on you..." Hope you enjoy!! (Download here). I printed mine on kraft cardstock, but you could do it on any color! Lots of room to leave your own personal note, too.

My secret words for you today are: and treats

To be entered to win the grand prize you must complete the entire blog hop by Sunday October 30^th at 11:59 EST

Winners will be announced on the forum on Halloween Day – October 31^st!

A scrappy update

2011-10-22T13:56:00.002-06:00

I've done a lot of scrapbooking since I last posted layouts on here. I will just share a few of my favorites. Ok, maybe more than a few. How about nine? Ha ha.

The first 3 are with pictures from Gavin and Kelsee's wedding day - hense the pretty dresses and hair!

This one is lyrics from a song on one of Taryn's CD's...I love it.

Pictures from last fall...but I still love them!

Auntie Ricki and Ellyce reading books on the floor one day.

The dress (see a couple posts back for more info about the dress)

Another one with pictures from the wedding day.

Swingin'!

My grandpa!!

Trick or Treat Blog Hop

2011-10-22T13:21:00.004-06:00

There's a blog hop coming! Lots of prizes, RAK's and a WeScrap kit to be won!

I will be sharing a little scrappy trick or treat during the hop...so be sure to stay tuned!

Ellyce's New Dress

2011-09-11T22:33:00.001-06:00

Could also be titled... "Should have been Taryn's Dress" or "The dress mommy couldnt sew" or.. "Grandma saves the dress" LOL!

In any case, I think its a cute dress! And a cute girl, of course. :)

The latest birthday party ever!

2011-09-03T10:31:00.000-06:00

So we have been trying to plan Taryns birthday party for months....and for various reasons it just hadnt happened. Finally we ditched the original plans, and just did a party before the summer was over! I had a lot of fun planning ... and thanks to pinterest, I got some great ideas! If you havent checked out pinterest...well, you should. Its like an online bulletin board where you can collect all sorts of ideas, from recipes to decorating to quotes...pretty much anything you can find on the internet, you can pin!

First, the cake. I followed tutorials on making marshmallow fondant, how to use it, and other tips all from Pinterest. Buttercream recipe (my favorite) is from Saucy. The characters were store bought dolls...I am not that good. LOL

Then, decorations...banners are all the rage right now, so I came up with something easy that I could make at home. I made up these letters using a digi kit called Sweet Caroline by Meredith Cardall at 9th and bloom. I made them as 4x6's and printed them out and stapled them to ribbon. Easy peasy.

Last but not least, the strawberry bar! Assorted strawberry candies, and of course real strawberries (on skewers) along with printables (the box and circles) found again, on pinterest!

The party was great! Now the girls are playing with all the new toys and things...I love how new toys, combined with old toys, make everything seem new and fun again. Good stuff.

I have a green thumb

2011-07-30T22:06:00.003-06:00

But it's not what you think. I have been shelling peas ... from my mom's garden. Taryn and I went to pick this afternoon ... I was going to do peas while she did raspberries. Well, she lasted about 5 minutes and I am sure ate just as many as she got in the pail, but she tried. Then she raided grandpa's cherry trees (shh...dont tell LOL), stole a carrot (which was promtly washed and eaten) and played with the cat. I collected more raspberries later (along with some swiss chard, an onion, a couple carrots, and a pail of saskatoons - thanks mom!)

I was sitting on my deck tonight shelling the peas (a good 5 gallon pail full), enjoying the peace and quiet and summer breeze, and memories of doing the same thing when I was a kid came flooding back. Mom would usually have the peas picked before we were even out of bed, and after breakfast we would each get a bowl and fill it up with pea pods and we would all sit on the deck in a circle around a big pail where the pods would get chucked in. There was usually a dog hanging around waiting for runaways or bad aim. I dont remember which dog liked the peas and which ate the shells. Pretty sure Copper (our golden retreiver) ate both. LOL I remember sometimes we would toss some to the dog just to see how fast it would jump. After a while we would get reprimanded, most likely so the dog didnt get sick.

At least that is how I remember it. I dont remember my wrists cramping up like they did tonight though. LOL

I hope my kids get to sit around on Grandma's deck with her and shell peas someday too.

hellooooooo....

2011-04-24T21:55:00.003-06:00

anyone still out there? Its been a while since I posted. I know...sorry.

It's been busy around here. Family visiting from far away, lots of sickness going around the house, finishing off some projects, etc etc. Now spring is finally here, and a whole new set of projects will be starting! I have also been scrapbooking a fair bit...somehow finding the time somewhere for it! Here are a few to share...

This one uses a kit called Luck by Victoria Feemster. I love the green and grey - matches my living room!

This one documents something Taryn and I do for a special treat ... popcorn and pina coladas! I used sketch #152 from Creative Scrappers for this page.

This is one of my favorites right now...mostly because of the picture. Actually, one little part of the picture that is peeking out...he he he. I was going to photoshop out the panties, but they are just too cute!

Well, hopefully I can blog again sometime soon. Spring is going to be busy around here!

one year!

2011-02-04T21:17:00.003-06:00

Yes, she is almost 13 months now. I am late posting AGAIN! I have had good intentions, really...

Ellyce at 1 year:

weighs 22.5 lbs and I forget how tall she is, but she is one the higher end of the % charts for both
is walking 100% of the time now. She was doing 6-10 steps at a time mid-December, but by Christmas she was going full force
had 6 teeth, but 7 & 8 came out shortly after her birthday
sleeps great! 12 hrs at night and 1 or 2 naps during the day (depending what time she is up and what we are doing).
eats. and eats. and eats!! Anything you give to her, and more. She wants to eat what we are eating, and when we are eating, and dont even think of sneaking a snack when she is around! She will want one too!!
she signs for "please" (especially when there is food involved. see above)
still adores her big sister, who can get her laughing harder than anyone
loves to dance and loves any toy that makes music
loves to carry around toy babies, and pats them on the head
always has the biggest smile and is so happy and excited every morning when I go into her room. It starts the day off right!

11 month update

2011-01-09T13:11:00.003-06:00

I guess I should post this before Ellyce is a year old. You know...next week!!!

At 11 months, Ellyce:

has 5 teeth
is walking pretty well. She can go sometimes for about 10 steps before falling down.
can stand up from the floor without any help.
is an eating machine. She will eat pretty much anything and everything we put in front of her. And if she sees you getting her meal ready, she will let you know that she wants it NOW! She is getting a mix of baby food and finger foods now.
is bugging her big sister more and more. Mostly because Taryn can't just go to her when she wants...instead, Ellyce is constantly at her side, grabbing her toys, pulling stuff down, etc. We tell Taryn it is because Ellyce loves her so much (which is true!) but it doesnt really cut it for her!
had a sleepover for 2 nights at Grandma M's house and was a very good girl!
is actually leaving the Christmas trees and presents alone. I thought this was going to be very tricky, but it hasnt been too bad! We didnt put any decorations on the bottom of the tree this year!

Birthday party planning is in full swing. We are going to do a combo party with her and daddy (who is turning 30!) Might as well do it together while Ellyce wont care!

10 months, and an art project

2010-12-03T20:05:00.003-06:00

Again, I am late posting this. But since I am late posting updates almost every month, it sort of evens out, right? (whatever makes me feel better...just amuse me LOL)

At 10 months, Ellyce:

just barely cut tooth #3 (on the 15th of Nov)
is crawling super fast (I need to find a baby race Ha ha) and pulling herself up on everything and anything
can stand on her own for a couple seconds
is pointing at everything, especially when you pick her up. She wants to see and touch everything. And she makes this funny "asha" whisper noise when she points. Like she is asking "whats that? whats that?"
is such a happy and content girl. I often get comments, especially after something like picking her up after church in the nursery ... "Is she always so good and quiet?" That just makes me smile!! Especially because she is in there at nap time!! (and she's not sleeping!)
is a busy body! Always on the move, and doesnt like to be left alone in a room.
LOVES bath time!! If we are upstairs, she is almost always aiming to crawl into the bathroom (and we have it blocked off so she has to go the LONG way). She will pull herself up on the bathtub and start shaking and yelling, she is SO excited!! She gets upset when you take her away from it! We have to keep the bathroom door closed most of the time now.
loves music!! Anytime there is music from anything - a toy, the tv, the radio, she wiggles her head and her bum (if she's standing). Super cute!! Makes me giggle every time.

And now some pictures:

And one with big sister:

A few weekends ago I was lucky enough to get to go to Saskatchewan Scraps - a weekend of scrapbooking in Saskatoon. It was great!! This is the project I did on Friday night:

It hangs in my living room, close to my awesome green wall. I had so much fun doing them, and had a few people ask me to do some for them, even before I finished them! What a compliment, especially since I had never done something like it before. Its just some paint, ribbons, flowers, a couple of words cut out with a Slice machine (borrowed that weekend), and a bunch of mod podge. I love how they turned out!

Long overdue...and my green wall.

2010-11-07T14:27:00.004-06:00

Whoops...havent posted in a while, and my 9 month update is very late!! She will be 10 months in a little over a week. Oops!! But, better late than never, right?

At 9 months, Ellyce

weighed in at 19lb 15oz, but I forget how long! 75% for weight and 90% for height.
still has 2 teeth
is crawling!! This is a cute new stage, because Taryn skipped crawling altogether!
can get around faster than ever, which means she is into much more than she was before. She can also pull herself up on things (sometimes to her knees but sometimes right to her feet) which also allows her to get into more things!! Baby-proofing time!
loves to eat. She is nursing 4-5 times a day and eating food at supper time with a bottle.
is sometimes getting up at night (or early early morning) but after eating goes right back to sleep (thankfully!)
is babbling quite a bit - mostly dadada dododo dit dit dit (sometimes it sounds like daddydidit. ha ha)

Also in these pictures, you can see my new green wall. Its in my living/dining room (connecting wall) and another small corner wall in our kitchen. It took a couple days to get used to, but now I LOVE it!!

Up and moving:

Sisters:

Yesterday was the Dalmeny Christmas Market which I organized for the first time. The town hasnt had anything like this for quite a few years, so I was a bit nervous for the turnout, but very excited for the vendors we had. I decided to give the proceeds of the day to the town Christmas hampers, and I in the end we raised over $500! (I havent done the final tally yet). Yay! I am very happy with how it went, and we will likely do it again next year!!

new layouts and digi news

2010-10-16T11:06:00.003-06:00

I have had lots of fun good news lately in the digi-scrapping world. :) I have been accepted onto a couple of design teams! (for those not familiar, this means I get to work with fabulous designer products in exchange for making layout samples for them!) I now create for Victoria Feemster and eNKay designs, in addition to Miss Tiina. All 3 designers can be found at Sugar Hill Co (as well as some other stores too).

Here are a few layouts I have done lately. The great thing is that these teams give me lots of opportunity and motivation to scrapbook! :)

This one is using a kit called This One Life by Victoria Feemster. You can get a free coordinating mini kit by coming to play in the color challenge at SHCO right now. I used Creative Scrappers sketch 124 for this page.

This page uses a brand new kit (released Friday) by Miss Tiina AND Victoria Feemster (a collaboration). It's a Halloween kit, but I managed to make a non-themed layout with it (I am not big into Halloween). It's called Trick or Treatin Cuties . And I used another sketch for this one (love sketches, can you tell?) - CS#125

And this one uses a kit from eNKay called Melody of Fall. This one is for my sketch challenge at SHCO. Come play!! (You can download a free template that I made too!)

In non-scrappy news...Ellyce turned 9 months yesterday! I didnt take any pictures because my house was a total disaster because we decided to paint. I will try and take some today...in front of our big new GREEN wall!

8 months

2010-10-01T21:03:00.002-06:00

This post is very late!! I hope I can remember things from 2 weeks ago.

Here is a picture first.
Must be something funny behind that elephant! LOL

At 8 months, Ellyce:

weighs 19-20lbs, we are guessing
still has 2 teeth (see picture below!)
says "dadadaaadada"
ticks her sister off when she says "dadadaaadada" to her because she is NOT dada!! LOL
is still loved by her sister, most of the time!
is getting around like crazy! Not quite crawling, but can roll and push herself anywhere she wants to go, VERY quickly! We have found her in some interesting places...under the china cabinet, in corners, behind chairs, etc.
is such a happy girl. Everyone comments on how content she is to just sit and play.
is sleeping through the night semi-consistantly. She is usually up between 4 and 6am, and goes to bed around 8:30pm.
naps great in the morning, and sometimes has a short nap in the afternoon.
eats great. She loves pretty much anything we give her, as long as it doesnt have unexpected chunks in it (missed by the blender). Then she turns into a gagger. Blech! But I can't really blame her. She has even eaten some cheese (in tiny tiny pieces) and cupcake (again, tiny pieces!).

See her cute little chicklets? :) And hair enough to tuck behind her ears! LOL (This didnt happen for Taryn until she was 2! Ha ha)

Scrapbook Sunday

2010-09-19T22:07:00.004-06:00

Yay for Sunday!! It was a quiet, rainy one today, and I found time to whip up a couple of digital layouts. I was itching to play with paper today, but I wanted to print some new pictures, and frankly, I was too lazy. LOL

This one uses a free kit from the SHCO blog train. If you digi scrap, you should go get it. Now. :) I also used another sketch from Creative Scrappers.

This one uses a picture I just took today for Ellyce's 8 month pictures (more to come soon), and another sketch from Creative Scrappers. (I love their sketches!)

(layout removed for publication. yay!) :)

I love how both these pages came out and I can't wait to print them. I will have to remember to also print some regular pictures so they are ready to scrap next Sunday.

Scrapbook Sunday

2010-09-12T22:06:00.005-06:00

Ah...after the girls go to bed on Sunday I almost always take the time to scrapbook. Most often its on my computer, although I am itching to dig out the "real" stuff too sometimes I just dont have enough time!

This one I did last night during a speed scrap crop @ Sugar Hill Co. Basically a speed scrap is a chat at a set time where one person will give you a set of instructions and at the end of the hour you have a layout. Its fun to see how similar and different everyone's pages are!

This one I did last week for a color challenge at Sugar Hill Co too. Victoria Feemster is giving away a little mini kit to do the challenge with - its gorgeous! You should check it out.

And finally this is the one I did tonight, for a contest at Up The Street. I am in love with their kits. One day I will get one!! Maybe I will put them on my Christmas list. Who am I kidding...they are already on it! :) I scraplifted (aka nearly copied) a layout by Mandy Starner in the August gallery. It's about the face Ellyce makes when she gets excited. So cute! :)

(Removed for publication!! yay!!)

Only 10:15 pm...maybe time for 1 more page? Or...I am thinking I should go and watch the season finale of Grey's Anatomy from last season, before this season starts. I have been waiting for the perfect time to watch it...so I won't be interupted, and when I dont have tons of work calling my name. Never seems to happen!!

7 months

2010-08-28T21:49:00.003-06:00

Time is just flying! Not only is my sweet baby getting bigger, but the summer is almost gone! I can't believe September is just around the corner. We see the kids all walking to school again (and Taryn is anxiously awaiting her turn - still 2 years away), the weather is cooling off (still hoping for a bunch more hot days), and we are starting to plan some fall activities. Hockey for dad, gymnastics for Taryn, and its between volleyball and belly dancing for me. Opinions? ha ha

Ok, onto the monthly update. I have to keep this up for a few more months so I can make a book again. I love the book I made for Taryn...especially looking back and remembering that, ya, Taryn did that too!

At 7 months, Ellyce

weighs 18lb 14oz
is 27.5" long
has 2 teeth
loves real food. Veggies more than fruit. The day I introduced apples to her I thought...she's going to love this! NOT! She ate it...but made funny faces the whole time. (so we kept spooning it in! ha ha!)
Carrots, peas, and zuchinni are her favorites at the moment. Usually mixed with cereal but not all the time. She's also tried apples, nectarine, watermelon, and pears.
Has been given ice cream on multiple occassions. Usually there is a grandma involved. You know who you are.
Got her 6 months shots like a champ
Is sitting up for long periods (up to an hour or more)
Can get around the room by rolling or pushing on her back or tummy. Usually goes for a toy of her sisters or the air intake register thingy - she loves to run her fingers over it and make noise.
Takes a bottle great. Has had formula a few times, which frees me up to get out a little more now.
Had a spurt of getting up in the middle of the night again (probably something to do with teething!) but is now back to sleeping from around 9pm to about 6am.

Onto the pictures!

Really mom, pictures again?
ps (isnt this outfit the cutest? I got 2 of them as gifts for her - in different sizes! I kept both. LOVE it!)

My excited face. (mouth wide open, arms waving). he he

So serious.

With my big sister.

Love 'em both to bits.

Peek A Boo!!

2010-08-07T09:32:00.003-06:00

Finally got it on video...Taryn makes Ellyce laugh so easily. The rest of us have to work so hard!!

Hope that makes you giggle too! :) Have a great day!

Ellyce at 6 months

2010-07-25T22:25:00.000-06:00

Yo!
he he.
is it still cool to wear your collar up? anyone know the latest trends in baby fashion? maybe she can start one...

or...maybe not. but I think she still looks cute! I did fix the collar for some pictures too.

Get on with the post already, mom!

Fine... :)

At 6 months, Ellyce:

weighs about 17.5lb
was cleared by the pediatrician and dermatologist for her rash. It has gone away, so no more appointments!! (unless it comes back, of course)
has started cereal (rice) and is eating great!
is teething! (proof came shortly after the 6 month mark...she has cut 2 teeth right now but they arent poking through very far yet)
is still sleeping great
is sitting up on her own (with pillows around - usually gathered and setup by big sister Taryn) for a few minutes
still loves the excersaucer, and the jolly jumper at grandma M's house
is babbling a lot (mostly gurgly gggggggggggggg/purring noises), with happy little screams thrown in. Super cute! I missed these noises!
is grabbing everything in sight...hair, glasses, faces, toys, etc
is rolling around the floor all over the place
still adores her big sister. I often have to get Taryn to move away from me while she is nursing so she actually pays attention to eating!

I just love that orange striped dress! But I also love these rolls!!

Summer layout

2010-07-25T22:18:00.004-06:00

Sunday again...and that (sometimes) means scrapbooking for me!! Today I actually scrapbooked a paper page AND a digital page!! Woo hoo!! I dont have a picture of the paper layout, but here's the digital one.

We recently built a new flower bed in our backyard and got a load of topsoil to fill it up. Taryn loved helping wheel the soil from the back alley to the flowerbed. She even had her own little wheelbarrow, so it was perfect! She helped the entire time, without taking a break. I love when kids think work is so much fun!! Her story the rest of the day was that she did Hard Work dumping the dirt.

can you tell they are sisters?

2010-07-19T22:03:00.004-06:00

I just thought the whole head-tilt and smile thing was too cute! Even both of their one eye is squinty the same! I dont think there is any denying they are sisters! I hope they are also best friends.

Sunday Scraps

2010-07-18T23:00:00.003-06:00

Apparently 10:30pm on a Sunday is NOT too late to start scrapbooking. Oh, how I LOVE digital!! And I used another Creative Scrappers sketch, which made it come together even faster!! I used a kit from Miss Tiina ...who I am happy to be a Little Missy creative team member for!! I love her stuff (and she is Canadian!!) Her site recently crashed though and she just rebuilt this new one, called SugarHillCo.

Miss Tiina also has a club called the Get It All club (GIA), which is Awesome!! $20 for 1 year of access. There are 166 things in there to download right now, and she is always adding more. (The little 100% smiles "price" tag is from there on this layout). Plus you get 15% off in the store if you ever need more than the club has. (she did not tell me to post this ... I just really think its a really great deal and I love her stuff!)

All clear, and a layout

2010-07-13T07:50:00.002-06:00

We had our final follow up appointments for Ellyce and her weird rash, which seems to have gone away. Both the pediatrician and dermatologist are happy, so we dont have to go back anymore, unless it returns. Yay! Neither one really has an explaination for it. Their best guess is that some sort of antibody was passed from me to her that was causing a reaction.

On another note, I went scrapbooking last Friday night for a friends birthday (happy birthday Sheryl!). We had fun, delish cupcakes (thanks to Kate!), and I got some pages done! I finished my 2009 "year in pictures" pages, and then did this one with a picture from the reunion and another sketch from Creative Scrappers! I was pumped to see a familiar face (Sue Sykes) as the guest designer. Go Sue!!

That's all for now! I have to take advantage of a quiet morning to try and get some work done around here!

Go fly a kite

2010-06-27T21:50:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post to share a page I created using Sketch 108 over at Creative Scrappers. I love their sketches...and they have an amazing design team. I always end up bookmarking a bunch of layouts to look at again later.

I have also been submitting a few pages to magazines lately...we will see if any get picked up!

5 months

2010-06-21T18:43:00.004-06:00

At 5 months old, Ellyce:

is in love with her toes!! You cant take them out of her sleeper/socks/blanket without her wanting to instantly grab them. See photo above. :)
has a great routine. She is fed around 8/8:30 at night and sleeps until 5-7am. Then feeds and goes back to sleep for 3-4 more hours. Then she is awake for a while until feeding time again (usually 3 hours) and then goes for a nap...up again for feeding then awake until bedtime feeding. Its lovely!!
will only really laugh for Taryn.
loves to play the "whoosh" game...basically running a blanket or cloth over her face. She loves it and has a huge smile every time. This is usually how Taryn gets her to laugh.
lays on the floor and coos (sort of a gurgle-y coo) Its super cute! And she loves when someone makes the noise back to her.
loves her excersaucer
likes to sit in the high chair
isnt playing shy (hopefully this will hold out for the reunion we are going to soon!)
doesnt like to sit, but loves to stand!

Its a fierce competition...who has more rolls, Ellyce or the elaphant??

See you later!!

5 random pictures.

2010-06-13T21:54:00.002-06:00

I was just going to come here and post one picture...then I started cleaning off the camera card and figured I would post a few more. So here you go. 5 Random Pictures.

1. Taryn got this high chair for her dolls for Christmas. We have been joking about putting Ellyce in it for a while...then Grandma insisted we actually do it before she got too big. So here she is! We snapped a few before she started screaming! (no one blamed her!)

2. The other night Taryn says "Look! There's a puppy outside!" Well...turned out it was a Fox!! Chasing a cat. In the yard right accross the street. We live right on the edge of town beside a feild - I am sure it probably lives not too far from us. Hopefully it doesnt ever try to sneak into our fence! At least its better than the cougar wandering around last summer!
3. Daddy's little helper!! Ever since she got her own lawn mower, she has to help every time!
4. Just love her smile!! In the girliest excersaucer in the world!! Cake, flowers, and pink to the max!
5. The original picture I was coming to post...a pretty flower blooming in my front garden. No idea what it is, even though I bought it. And pretty sure I bought more on my last trip to the greenhouse too. I must like them. I should really learn what they are.

Randomness

2010-06-07T22:22:00.003-06:00

Just had a few random things I wanted to share.

First, a layout that I got done last night. Taryn got this table and chairs set for her birthday and very much wanted Ellyce to sit with her and play! She sat in there for oh, 30 seconds, before she started tipping over. LOL I am thinking of re-doing the title to "table for 2"...I guess I wasnt very creative last night between stints of rocking Ellyce to sleep.

Second...I have decided to start selling Discovery Toys . The sign-up deal is so sweet that I pretty much couldn't lose. I told my leader (the girl I signed up under) that I likely wouldnt be doing it too seriously, but we will see how it goes! I am having my grand-opening party on Wednesday. It would be nice to have just a little extra cash, and the girls wont mind the extra toys, I am sure! The toys that came in the kit are awesome - Taryn has hardly touched any other toy for the last 10 days. The best part is that they are all educational!!

3. The THREES are proving to be trying. I am hoping this is not a year-long stage!

4. I just found a sweet deal on kijiji for Ashton for father's day. Actually...my parents found it for me (they knew what I was looking for), and they picked it up for me. :) I love kijiji. And my parents. :) Now...if only I would have gotten such a nice gift for mothers day!! HINT HINT, DEAR!

4 months

2010-06-04T23:11:00.003-06:00

Well overdue, I know. I am going to be taking 5 month pictures in 11 days!

Yes...I am surprised too! :)

At 4 months, Ellyce:

weighs 15lb 1oz and is 25 1/4" long. (75% and 95%, I think?)
is smiling a lot
is so happy in the morning, but a bit more fussy in the evening, but overall a very happy girl
is sleeping great - probably an average of 5 or 6 hours a night, then goes right back down again for another couple hours
still hasnt let out much of a laugh. Just a tiny giggle here and there, and you really have to work for it!
is still battling some crazy cradlecap. (You can see how red her forehead is in the pictures - I probaby just oiled her LOL)
loves sucking on her fingers, or whatever she can get ahold of (usually her fingers will do just fine!)

And the rest of us....Daddy has gone back to work (no one is very excited about that, but it had to happen eventually), Taryn is working hard to prove that 3 can be very "trying"!! And I am keeping myself busy as usual with various projects...work and house related.

Who's Who??

2010-05-17T08:20:00.002-06:00

Ok...this was a slight setup. I put Ellyce in the same sleeper as Taryn for her 4 month pictures, but I really couldnt have predicted the drool!! ha ha. Can you tell who is who??
Sisters for life!

I will have a 4 month update post soon. Dr appointment is tomorrow so I will get the weight, etc then.

SMILE!

2010-05-05T20:15:00.002-06:00

I caught you on camera!!

Dont you just love this face??

What do pigs make?

2010-05-04T14:33:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to record this funny conversation with Taryn this afternoon. I think its scrapbook worthy (of course I would!).

She was playing with a farm animal matching game on the fridge while I was making lunch. It sometimes gives her little facts about the animals and this time it said "Did you know? Cows make milk!". So I asked her, "Did you know that cows make milk?" and she nodded her head, yup! Then I asked "What do chickens make?" hmmm...."Nothing!" she said. "Actually, chickens make eggs." I told her. Then I asked "What do pigs make?" (thinking, bacon LOL) but I think her answer was even better.

"OREOS!"

Oh ya. She's my girl. :)

3 months

2010-04-19T21:45:00.005-06:00

Another update for you. Its that time again, I guess! I still have some home reno and doodlebop related posts for you...I know you are excited for those (right?)...but I guess the baby takes priority. The weather has finally taken a turn for the better and looks like its going to stay that way for a while..we are very excited to get outside and enjoy the fresh air! anyway...onto the update!

At 3 months, Ellyce is:

24 1/4" and 13lb 9oz. Not sure where that is on the charts but I think we are going to have another tall girl on our hands!
smiling like crazy. Just not for the camera...no matter how hard I try! The first picture is the closest thing I got.
she is holding her head up and is starting to sit in her exersauser.
she loves when her big sister is in the room. Its hard to get her attention because she is always looking at Taryn.
sleeping through the night! YAY! We usually put her to bed after a late feeding around 11:30 and she gets up again around 7. Then she goes right back to sleep for 3-4 more hours.
she has a big sister that loves to pick her clothes, take her picture (see 2nd picture) and have her attention. Taryn usually knows where the soothers are, and is great at helping give them to Ellyce when she is fussing.

I had a great day today having coffee with a sort-of business contact, then Wed I have a breakfast with a group of women entrepenuers that I am excited about...more contacts! Then after that on Wed (going to be a busy day!) I have a bunch of friends from school coming over with all their kids for a get together/catch up session! Should be good! I am also keeping busy with it being trader card season for the auto racers, and getting ready for a May 1st craft show. Too bad all I want to do is be outside!!

And THAT'S the story!

2010-04-12T20:53:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to record this funny conversation with Taryn this morning. She has a thing for band-aids. Anytime she even remotely has an owie, she says she wants one. Anyway...she really does have a scrape on her knee right now from falling on the sidewalk, and a couple days ago we put a band-aid on it. This morning I heard her ask Ashton for a new one, and then later in the morning I asked her...

me: Did you get a new band-aid?
her: (with enthusiasm!) Yes! This morning I asked daddy for it 'cause the other one wasn't sticking all the way so it comed off and some of it was sticking and some was stuck to my finger and just a little bit was stuck so I asked daddy for a new one the morning when I got out of bed and he was in the bathroom and THATS how I got a new band-aid!
(not a direct quotation, but you get the idea)

Ha ha! She doesnt have a shortage of words or imagination these days. Until someone else comes in the room...then you would think she was a mute. She is constantly singing made-up songs and dancing and putting on shows, parades, etc. Its a fun stage!

Layouts

2010-04-12T11:15:00.003-06:00

I havent scrapbooked for a while, but yesterday I found time to do 2 digital layouts.

This one is from Halloween, and I followed a sketch from Up The Street - they are a new scrapbooking kit company. Yummy looking kits!
This one - with some of my favorite most recent pictures from Easter!! My two little cutie pies! This one is for a challenge from The Pixel Gypsy. Seems that I scrap for a lot of challenges lately - its a good kickstart when i dont have much time to plan anything on my own!

Thats all for now - short post, sorry! I have tons of work on my plate, and I just signed up for another craft show on May 1st. If you are in the Saskatoon area, plan to come out to the Super Duper Flea market at the prairieland building D at the exhibition grounds.

busy bunnies...

2010-04-04T22:28:00.003-06:00

Well, so much for my new year's resolution to blog more often. It's the thought that counts, right? Oh...maybe that doesn't apply in this situation...

I will cite busyness as my excuse. Here's a bit of what we have been up to.

A little baking....too bad the apron doesnt help keep the face clean!
Some of that baking was cupcakes for Ellyce's "meet the baby" night. (We werent calling it a shower because we didnt really need any gifts. Although that didnt seem to stop people LOL). We were still grateful for all the cute stuff we got, and for all the people that thought of, and brought gifts for, Taryn too!
We have been outside...riding her scooter she got for Christmas, and playing on the swings in the backyard.
We went to the Doodlebops.

Taryn LOVED it. And we celebrated Easter with our families (still one more get together tomorrow). We had a little photo shoot here at home...with pink bunny ears, of course!

Dont worry -to be fair we made them both wear them! I even had them on at one point, but no one got a picture. Darn! ;)
And a more formal Easter picture.

We have also been busy with some house painting. I will write about that in a separate post.

Hope you all had a great Easter!!

Ellyce @ 2 months

2010-03-16T22:18:00.003-06:00

I cant believe its been 2 months already. I know...I said that a month ago, but time has not slowed down, and I dont imagine its going to either!

At 2 months, Ellyce:

weighs 12lbs 1oz (75th percentile)
is 24" long (95th percentile - another tall girl!)
is smiling! But it usually takes some coaxing
is starting to coo and find her voice
loves to kick
loves her swing
is sleeping about 6 hours after her last feeding at night
likes to sleep on her tummy (just during the day, with daddy)
had her blood taken for some tests...that was HARD for me. The nurses made me hold her down while they poked in her arm. Luckily they got it fairly quickly. Poor baby. All the tests came back normal though, so thats good. We still have no idea where this rash is coming from though.
loves her winnie-the-pooh mobile in her crib. She coos and kicks when we turn it on for her and she gets upset when it stops moving and singing.
took a bottle...just as a test. So now mommy can escape if she has to!! he he he ;)

Hope you dont get bored with a bunch of baby pictures. That's probably what you came for anyway. It's not like I have anything else interesting to say!! I didnt find a good set of numbers in time to start taking pictures with a little number, like I did for Taryn, so I am going to use this elephant every month. I am sure it will start "shrinking" very quickly!

This one is for Bonnie. Hi Bonnie!! Thanks for the cute hat!! :)

And this one for fun. Ellyce on the right, Taryn on the left, also at 2 months old. Taryn has her beat in the cheeks & rolls department, for sure!!! LOL But I think you can tell that they are sisters. :)

whats this? paper??

2010-02-27T22:41:00.004-06:00

Yup...I actually PAPER scrapbooked yesterday. Its been a while...digital is just so much easier. And faster. And cleaner. And easier. Oh...did i say that already? But yesterday I had a little time without a 2-yr old clinging to my leg, so I broke out the scissors and glue. And somehow, I got not one, but 2 pages done.

This one had help from a sketch over at Creative Scrappers. I am seeing these paper flowers everywhere, and this is my first attempt at them.....they look better in the magazines! I think I need practice! Never-the-less...I still like the page.

This page had help from a sketch too...and I love how it turned out! Might just be the photos I love though! :)

I realized today that I am only 6 posts away from 200 posts on this blog! I have had it for a few years now...ever since we moved to PA (we have moved twice since then)! I might have to do some sort of RAK when I hit 200...I will see what I can think of...

Another layout

2010-02-21T15:58:00.004-06:00

Sketch challenges, like this one at Ella Publishing have got me scrapping a little more than usual. Yay!! This is the last week of them, but I hope they do more! Here's what I came up with for this sketch...

Being Sunday, I hope to find some more time to scrap today....here's hoping!!

Ellyce: 1 Month

2010-02-20T22:09:00.002-06:00

A month already?? No one told me the time would go even faster with the 2nd baby....its just crazy!! But it has been good. Here are a few pictures and a monthly update, like I did with Taryn. I hope to keep it up like I did for Taryn and make a book at the end of the year again.

At 1 month, Ellyce:

weighs 10lb 1 oz (born at 7' 9)
is nearly 23 inches (born at 20 1/4)
is not a good burper
is a messy eater!
has slept for a few 6 hour stretches at night, especially in the past week.
is very alert when she is awake
feeds every 3-4 hours during the day
holds her head up pretty good already
is loved by her big sister, except when she is crying really loud (then she runs away!)
is already growing out of some sleepers
has a funky rash on her legs that we are still trying to figure out. We have been to the doctor, the pediatrician, and the dermatologist...no one really knows. Its not bothering her, and it isnt always there. We are not terribly concerned, but still want to know what it is, just in case. We have to go for bloodwork (both mommy and her) and follow-ups with all the doctors.

A couple more pictures...

This isnt really a good picture, but I think its cute! She got this elephant from my brother and his girlfriend. Ellyce Ella and Ellie the Elephant! Ha ha! Say that 5 time fast!
Not included in the list, because its past a month now...but she SMILED at me today!! 3 times. LOVE IT!! :) Now...I have to catch it on the camera!

Baby pictures

2010-02-13T21:42:00.002-06:00

Here you go...a few baby pictures, in the form of a scrapbook layout! ;) Again, for a blog challenge over at Ella Publishing.

I am not sure if this link will work if you are not on facebook, but there are a few really cute pictures that our friend Jess @ Benson Photography did for us of Ellyce and Taryn. I love them and I can't wait to get them and see the rest!! I am sure you will see some more scrapbook pages once they are in my possession! :)

T for Taryn

2010-02-11T11:19:00.003-06:00

yes I know...you are expecting baby pictures, arent you? I will come back later with some more...I just need to get them off the camera. For now I just have a scrapbook layout for you to see. I did it for the Ella Publishing sketch challenge on their blog...I've been having fun with these sketches, and other blog challenges, lately!

The journalling says "One evening we were doing some cleaning up in the backyard and you came to me and said “Look Mom! T for Taryn!”. So I looked and sure enough you had found a stick that looked like a T. Daddy and I were so impressed with you! We had hardly spent any time at all teaching you your letters yet...but I guess you picked up what you thought was important! The letter T! (for Taryn, of course!!)"

I used more stuff from the same kit as the last time I posted...La Boheme by Joyful Heart Designs @ Polka Dot Potato. Love it!

Scrapbook Sunday

2010-02-07T14:53:00.002-06:00

I love Sunday...it's my excuse to scrapbook instead of work. Today I worked on a sketch challenge from Creative Scrappers. I have had their blog in my reader for months now and I think this might be the first time I actually had a chance to get a page done for their challenges.

This was a fun page...I am really into the grungy/torn stuff. Although I usually only use that stuff digitally - I am not brave enough to tear up my real scrapbook paper like that! LOL One day. The page is about Taryn and her lion...her very special friend!!

Everything in kiddy world is great here...I was only up 1 time last night to feed the baby. Looks like she is on track to meet her sister's record of sleeping through the night by 6 weeks. Yay!! Wouldnt that be glorious??

Layout and a picture

2010-01-31T15:02:00.002-06:00

Happy Sunday! Its a great day to relax and stay in from the cold!!

Everyone keeps asking if Ellyce and Taryn look alike...so I decided to put some pictures together to let you decide for youself! I think the hair is the biggest difference, but their faces are similar. Although looking at these two pictures, I can se more difference between them than I remember. So far Ellyce is a very content baby, just like her sister. Easy-going and a good sleeper....hopefully that continues!

Here's a layout I did today with pictures from October when we went to the pumpkin maze before Halloween. I did this page using a sketch from the Ella Publishing blog...love sketches, especially for multi-photo layouts. Makes it SO much easier to arrange things!

Thats it for now! Maybe I can go get another page scrapbooked before the girls wake up from napping!! Wish me luck!

Its a Girl!

2010-01-24T21:59:00.002-06:00

Our new little bundle arrived last Friday, January 15th. Ellyce Ella came at 9:09 am after waking me up at 3:30am...it was a very quick labour, which was ok with me! We are all doing great...she is sleeping and eating awesome. She is a very content little girl so far.

Here she is 6 days old.

And with big sister. Proud sometimes...annoyed with her little sister at other times. Mostly just figuring out how to get all the attention she used to get when everyone is interested in the baby. Natural reactions, I am sure! But she is a good helper and is learning how to be more gentle, and quiet!
We are so happy with our 2 sweet girls. Well...Ashton will be most happy when one of them starts playing hockey. ;)

Nicknames...then and now

2010-01-07T20:55:00.002-06:00

The other day I was cleaning up some files on my computer and I dug into a folder of scrapbook pages that I havent printed because I wasnt happy with them yet and I wanted to re-do them. One was a page about the nicknames we had for Taryn when she was just a baby. So I dug into some new kits that I had gotten, and re-scrapped this page: (you should be able to click to see it bigger).

Then, I had this page in mind for all the nicknames we have for her now...she recites them to us every once in a while. Each person has a special name for her and she knows them all. Its so cute....but every once in a while she just says "I am Taryn!" when someone calls her something else. She also knows "I'm a stinker!" (yes, you are!), and "I two-and-a-half".

In baby news...we thought today was going to be the day, but it turned out to be just 5 hours of false labour. Joy joy. LOL

Happy New Year!

2010-01-04T20:38:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year! Did 2009 fly by as fast for you as it did for me? Seems like it went by in a flash. But so much has happened - we have moved, the baby is almost here, and my sweet girl is growing up before our eyes. Here's a quick flashback!

These pictures make me want to cry! Every day she is getting more and more independant. She already doesnt want us to kiss her anymore! WAH! Whats with that? I thought that was a teenager thing!!

I am hoping to blog a lot more this year ... my goal is once a week. I am sure with 2 little squirts I will have pictures to share too. I am not promising anything interesting though! LOL

Here is a scrapbook page I did the other night...its been a while since I have had a chance to do anything creative that wasnt Christmas present related, so it was great to get a chance to sit down and play. Click on the picture to see it larger.

Good night!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-27T21:50:00.002-06:00

Christmas came and went so quickly this year...just like the whole year, time has been flying right along. It was a great and busy time spent with our families. Even though we have been close to everyone for a few months now, it was still great to have everyone together to celebrate Christmas.

Here is a family Christmas picture we took yesterday before Ashton and I headed to the first World Jr game. Go Canada Go! This week I will be a hockey widow while the hockey tournament is going on...

Taryn was spoiled rotten this year...the favorites were a scooter (from "Santa"), new play-doh, and this electric guitar (from my aunt and cousins). We thought about leaving it at Grandma's. Ha ha! But she LOVES it! Luckily the volume is controlable, although...the OFF button does NOT work! I think her and grandma sang Jingle Bells about 37 times the day she got it. We have it on video...we will have to upload sometime.
After the hockey tournament is over, it will be time to focus on getting ready for the baby. Only a few weeks to go!! I am getting to the uncomfortable stage for sure. Here we were trying to just get a picture of me and my belly, but Taryn wanted to be in it with her belly too...so here we are!! LOL I think it made the picture better, for sure! :)

I will try to keep updating more often!

I remembered...

2009-12-09T15:43:00.003-06:00

a few more things Taryn says lately.

Another song: "ring around the rosie, pocket full of posie.....Ashton, Ashton, we all fall down!"

We all seem to have our own nicknames for her, and she has composed and can recite the list.
"I'm mommy's special girl, and daddy's pumpkin, and grandma's sweetheart, and grandpa's princess, and other grandma's nut nut!" (this cracks up the other grandma! LOL) I also think its funny that one grandma is the "other" grandma. But I guess we have to differentiate somehow!

And another picture...I am lacking good pictures lately, but trying to do better in December. This one is from before Halloween, when we went to the bale/pumpkin maze.

There you go! Another blog post! (no one said they would be long, or interesting! ha ha!)

Taryn says...

2009-12-05T09:42:00.004-06:00

Taryn is just saying so many things that crack us up these days. I keep meaning to write them down, but I havent yet. So now I am going to blog them...so at least they are recorded somewhere!

All the time, when we suggest something (even simple things, like having Cherios for breakfast) she will say "That's a GREAT idea!"

She is picking up lots of songs from tv, or places she has been, or from music we listen to in the car. I got a sunday school songs CD for her a couple weeks ago and the other day she started singing "I got cheese like a river". Ashton and I looked at each other and said 'cheese?' and just cracked up. (And then corrected her to say Peace! LOL) It still comes out either way.

Other song lyrics:
"row row row your boat, gently down the street! merry merry merry merry (something something) dream"

She just came and handed me a bunch of markers then went off to find something else, but then called back to me "but mom...remember only color on PAPER!"

She is also starting to give her toys "time outs" when they dont do what she wants. Oi!

of course...now I come to record these things and I cant remember half of them. I need to carry a notebook with me at all times!

I have already pre-made a new year's resolution to BLOG MORE OFTEN. So I will try and start early...we will see how it goes!

And here's a picture...just because no post is complete without one. :) Giiiii-Up!

Anyone want to go back to August?

2009-11-08T21:32:00.005-06:00

because thats how behind I am in posting my pictures here! Sorry to all those who have been checking in and waiting. I bet I have lost 50% of my readers...which will leave me with 2. Ha!

August 1: A scrapbookpage I did.

August 2: Buttered Portabellos. Mmm. Took the picture for a recipe scrapbook page.

August 11: (not sure what happened to the week between!) Outdoor playdate. Missing those already.

August 16: Rider game for our anniversairy. This picture is from my blackberry, and it was FREEZING and raining...but I think we won. I dont even remember! :P LOL

August 17: Another picture from my phone. Taryn is enjoying a carrot from grandpa's gardern. She at a lot of them this summer.

August 21: 4 months pregnant. Ugh...this picture is awful! LOL!

August 24: Someone stole my slippers and socks. And ya...first thing in the morning, if you are wondering why she looks like she is half asleep!

August 25: Another playdate. Out on a friends farm.

August 26: Making homemade pizzas. Yum.

August 27: Reading the Time Travelers's Wife. Great book. Not sure if the movie will be as good (havent seen it yet).

August 29: We had our 10 yr high school reunion today. This was after the kids broke open the pinata.

August 31: Baby jellybean's ultrasound! All was well...just measuring a few days ahead, but thats it.

more July pictures

2009-09-20T22:14:00.005-06:00

July 16: Helping mow the lawn. I was not real happy about this whole situation as it was happening...but I am assured it was fully controlled and safe! eeks!

July 17: Reading and Riding. LOL (neither of which she can actually do at this point!!)

July 18: At the beach! (in a too-small, first-time-wearing bathing suit)

July 19: About to leave the lake, posing with cousin D.

July 20: She came up to me in the backyard with this stick and said "look mommy! T for Taryn!" and I was stunned!! We have not really been teaching her letters much. So impressed with my smart little girl!!

July 21: The new furniture (dresser and night stand) in Taryn's room that we got for FREE on freecycle. It is in super good shape, even though we were told it is 18 years old! The last thing in her room to move is the shelf ...I have a white one I just want to paint up something pretty on, then I will swap it out with this one to the baby's room.

July 22: A hot morning playing with the puppy sprinkler.

July 23: Making cakes (I think?) mmmm....

July 24: Found her sleeping like this during her nap. Look comfy??

July 25: At the Osler paddling pool. Tons of fun for a toonie! We had the whole pool to ourselves for most of the time we were there, and it was gorgeous out!!

July 26: Grandma B's birthday party.

July 27: I got 4 layouts done using a "recipe" by Amanda at Just Cre8. This is one of them. Never, EVER do I do 4 layouts in a day!! Especially paper ones! And at home!

July 28: hard to see in this picture (maybe click on it to get it bigger) but we built a firepit in the backyard. (under the tree branch, center of the pic)

July 29: NASCAR race in Saskatoon. This is technically Ashtons picture (so are some of the others, but this one obviously is!)

July 30: How many pictures of Taryn and her lion do I have? She always has it! I really need to do a page about this girl and her little "yion".

July 31: She found my touque in the closet. Thought she was cute, so I snapped some pics!

Some July Pictures

2009-09-12T22:26:00.005-06:00

July. Yup. Remember?? It was a couple of months ago...the sun was, well, supposed to be shining! AAAAAAAAAnyways....

July 1: The playcenter is almost done...testing out the slide!

July 2: A PONYTAIL! This is the first one I got in her hair. And it is SO CUTE!

July 3: Just a random pic!

July 4: In her new BIG GIRL BED!

July 5: Our nephew...the next Dale Jr? As soon as he beats that girl. LOL

July 6: Licking the yogurt lid. A breakfast tradition. The one who taught her that? You know who you are! ;) (grandma! LOL)

July 7: My kitchen, in a disaster zone! This is the day we raised the cupboards up to fit the stove and dishwasher in properly.Luckily it went fairly smooth, because...

July 8: Taryn's 2nd Birthday Party! A little stress getting ready for it with the kitchen "renos" but it all worked out. And yes...her birthday was in May, but we waited to have the party until after we had moved.

July 9: Full moon...out our back window.

July 10: Mommy's new phone!

July 11: Another scenic picture outside our backyard.

July 12: A layout made for Grandma's calendar.

July 13: Another picture of our living room. The skylight there? Its gone now...it leaked, and there are 3 big windows in this room. It was so pointless! (We found out recently it was put there because the previous owners took out a wood stove or something and didnt feel like filling the hole!)

July 14: Hockey girl.

July 15: From our photo shoot with Amanda. Love the pictures we got this day!! Thanks again Amanda!! If anyone wants the name of a great new photographer in the area...let me know!

I will post the rest of July soon....I know I am so pathetically behind. :P

House pictures....finally!

2009-08-22T21:05:00.002-06:00

Ya....I am a little slow, but I finally have some house pictures. I realized now I dont have any pictures of the outside front, or of the basement. The basement is probably because we were doing renos when I was taking pictures...so I will have to do them later. We are almost done.

In no particular order...

This is our backyard. The playcenter wasnt quite done when I took this, but it is now. Well...except for staining it. But...close enough. And we have added a firepit since this picture.

Main bathroom. This was just redone before we moved in.

Taryn's room. One of 3 rooms we have painted in the house...and one of the only rooms where all the art is on the walls! Actually, since I took this picture, we have switched out the change table for a new dresser and night stand. So...I guess I should take a new picture. :P

Living room...love the big windows. The green carpet...not so much. But it is in good shape so we cant justify changing it right now. One day ... once the kid(s) are done making a mess probably!

Kitchen. Still a little bit of finishing to do in here. We had to raise the countertops (well actually we raised the entire lower cupboards) to accomodate the stove we bought and dishwasher. They were built lower than standard...didnt realize it until we went to put the stove in.

Next I will try and sort out my July pictures. Yes...August is almost over! Seriously...this summer has gone WAY too fast. Probably because we have only had 4 days nice enough to call "summer".

June...in 18 days.

2009-07-25T16:12:00.007-06:00

Ok...I slipped up major on my picture project for June. Only got 18 of the 30 days. Whoops. I guess life, and moving, and morning sickness, got in the way. Yup...morning sickness. In case you hadnt heard...we are due with baby #2 in January. Here is what I did to that picture I mentioned in the previous post:

This is what the grandma's and grandpa's got to tell them the news. It isnt the greatest picture, but it did the trick!

Onto the June pictures. Now...before anyone gets excited, there are really NO house pictures in this set. Don't ask me why or how this happened...because I dont know. But I will probably fill in some of the blanks with house pics later!

June 1: First...go back and look at May 31's picture. Hot sunshine and popsicles. Next day...TOUQUES!

June 2: Showing off her new bike helmet.

June 9: Showing off her new backpack that grandma made for her.

June 11: Riding a horsey!!

June 13: Helping grandpa water the flowers.

June 16: Momma and baby woodpecker in the feeder outside grandma's kitchen.

June 17: With grandpa m (picture taken for a fathers day project).

June 18: First morning waking up in the house (both in our Eeyore pj's)

June 19: The train (thomas lol) seen from our backyard. Taryn was quite scared of it for a few weeks but now has settled in. Usually we need to run out and count the cars and wave to it now!

June 20: One of my planters on the deck.

June 21: Nephew racing go-carts in the rain. Caught some rooster tail pics!

June 22: A pic for "auntie" Kelsee. ;) In a shirt she got her from Cuba. Thanks K!

June 24: My herb "garden" (planter).

June 25: One of my flower beds, half weeded (can you tell which half??) It was a lot of work to get this bed in shape! (again, thanks mom!!)

June 27: Just being pretty!

June 28: Downpour city!!

June 29: Fixing the playcenter (step 1?)

June 30: Taryn and daddy.

Next, I promise you some house pictures. Promise. :)

blog candy alert!

2009-07-01T22:09:00.001-06:00

Dear scrappy friends...check out this serious case of blog candy!! Tammy's blog
love,
melissa :)

Still here!

2009-06-30T21:54:00.006-06:00

Wow. I am so behind. Its JULY tomorrow, and I havent posted since mid-May. Yes, we are still alive. And we are in our new house. I guess thats my excuse...moving. It has been a long and tiring process!! But we are in, and getting settled...and finding a few things that we werent expecting...
...leaky skylight (she said it had been fixed. sigh.)
...lower than standard countertops (which means my stove doesnt fit properly, nor will my dishwasher install, that we have already bought!)
...junk junk everywhere!

There were some serious cleaning days when we first got here...lucky I had my mom to help (THANKS MOM!)

I am sure if you are reading this you are looking for pictures ... probably of the house. They are coming. I promise. But I must be my orderly, list-driven, self and post my 365 pictures in the correct sequence. Which means ... well, house pictures are coming. :)

Here are some pictures to finish off May (anyone remember May??)

May 16: R&R get married. Glad we got to go before we left. I can't wait to see the pro pics from this wedding. We sat with the photograher at supper and got a sneak peek. YIKES - good stuff!!

May 17: Ok...still from the wedding, but late...so I am counting it for the next day. ;) Plus, I dont get many decent pics of you honey. :)

May 18: "yion" (still working on the L sound). Taryn's most favorite. I think he's adorable.

May 19: More snow. Seriously.

May 20: Cute PJ's. Just wanted a pic in them (although its terribly blurry!! I still love her expression.)

May 21: Taryn and Mommy. :)

May 22: Alphabet magnet game. It didnt take her long to pick up the alphabet song from this toy. Now she sings it all the time. "A B C D E F G, A I J...APPLE-P...W X Y Z" lol!

May 23: Was someone helping me pack?? She has the right idea....sort of!

May 24: Took this pic with Photoshop intentions...will show you the results later.

May 25: High chair moved to the floor for packing purposes...seems like a good toy! She was feeding her baby some 'elmo' (oatmeal).

..........Insert moving truck here....and a bunch of missed picture days. I didnt even get the truck!!.....

May 30: At Grandma M's enjoying a popscicle treat!!

Been busy...

2009-05-23T16:06:00.005-06:00

Busy packing. Cleaning. Organizing. Plus all the usual stuff. But its going good, and we are going to be out of here before we know it. 4 days, actually!! I have lots of pictures to update...I will start with the first half of May...and hopefully come back soon and catch up the rest.

May 1: Making muffins

May 2: Having breakfast. Favorites are elmo (oatmeal), cereal, and toast with pb.

May 3: Blowing bubbles (at least TRYING to!)

May 4: I gave her a BIG piece of paper (packing material) and her markers and she went wild. :)

May 5: Silly mommy and taryn.

May 6: House officially sold!!

May 7: Happy Birthday sweet girl!! I can't believe she is 2 already!! These were the presents she got at breakfast on her birthday. We are planning to do a real party for her after we move.

May 8: Scrapbook page of taryn and grandpa b.

May 9: Look like trouble to anyone else?? LOL

May 10: Mothers day - got a carnation from taryn @ church (picture taken at home)

May 11: She loves her gasses (sunglasses)

May 12: Just playing.

May 13: Helping pack!

May 14: More baking...to get rid of things around the house.

May 15: Smile!! Her lion is her favorite stuffed animal - she sleeps with it every night.

Thats all for now!! Hope you are all enjoying some nice weather. It is beautiful here today!!

Can't believe...

2009-05-01T16:53:00.006-06:00

It's MAY already!! April went by fast, and what's really crazy is that Taryn will be TWO in less than a week!! Meanwhile, we have sold our house (YAY!) and are very quickly packing, as we need to move by the end of the month. Luckily, we have found something to move into...although there may be some complications with the date, and we could be living with Grandma and Grandpa for 2-4 weeks.

Onto the pictures!
April 13: Goldfish are a favorite snack...Ashton found this dish when I sent him grocery shopping.

April 14: Playing hide n' seek. Someone is a bit of a cheater!! lol ;)

April 15: I have been taking pictures of our house, since we will be leaving soon.

April 16: Treasure hunt for Easter and G&G B's. She was more excited about the movie than the chocolate!

April 17: First trip to the park this spring. Fun stuff!!

April 18: New shoes!! (they flash! lol)

April 19: Potty training treats! (the things kids do for smarties!)

April 20: No pants, as we are in potty-training-mode. But she wanted her hat (???) and slippers. Quite the outfit...

April 21: Balloons are fun!

April 22: Sort of a redundant picture...more balloons! This has got to be the cheapest fun toy ever.

April 23: A layout I did...its hanging on my wall now. I love this picture.

April 24: Big girl panties!! She is doing SO good with the potty training.

April 25: Time with Grandma.

April 26: Mommy and Taryn before church. Had to use the nice clothes and sunshine for a photo op. :)

April 27: She wanted to wear my jacket. ET anyone?? (just kidding. a little bit)

April 28: Ok...so this picture is also from Sunday. But it was too cute. I played with it a bit in photoshop...I want to make it look a little more 'vintage' still...

April 29: Fwuffing the potty. (a little trouble with "lll" and "sh" sounds!)

April 30: With her big teddy bear. Not feeling so good this day.

My little peanut has been sick with the flu for the last few days. I dont think she has eaten since Wednesday. I guess the flu is really going around here...hopefully Ashton and I can escape it. I really need to do some deep cleaning...and more laundry...my poor girl. I hope she feels better real soon.

April Pics

2009-04-17T17:14:00.004-06:00

Ah, April. Spring is finally around the corner. I hope. Some places about 30 min from here got 6 inches of snow yesterday. Gross. Anyway...I am happy that we are pretty much snow free (there is a TINY patch left in the garden but thats IT!)

Onto some pictures...

April 1: Picnic time! Hopefully we can have these outside soon!

April 2: Bad mommy. Taking pictures of my crying girl. Crocodile tears.

April 3: Cooking up some lunch in her kitchen.

April 4: Playing with white balance settings on my camera. Teddy was the test subject.

April 5: More camera playing. This is a little figurine I got on our honeymoon. It suits me well.

April 6: A little alphabet book I am working on for Taryn. I started at the crop in March - not quite finished all the letters yet.

April 7: Just some of my scrappy yumminess on the shelf above my desk. Ribbons and flowers and buttons... :) :)

April 8: Looking at a little tag book I made a while ago. Its one of the only little albums she can reach so she looks at it a lot.

April 9: Raking the front lawn with daddy. I TOTALLY Photoshopped our grass to make it look green. It is very brown! But I was just playing around, and the picture looks better like this!

April 10: Getting some Easter treats and toys on Good Friday. Ashton had to work on Easter Sunday so we gave her treats early. She liked the blue stuff and the 75 cent cup the best. LOL

April 11: Giving her new fuzzy purple bunny a hug!

April 12: Taryn's Easter outfit. She didnt want to take it off when we got home from church, but I dont think the tomato soup would have gone good with it!

That's all the pictures I have for now. In other news, we put a (conditional) offer in on a house yesterday. So thats exciting. Now we just have to sell our house. Hopefully that will happen soon!!

just playing

2009-04-10T14:45:00.005-06:00

I am just playing with the look of my blog. Found this cool free template....but then I totally edited it. Its pretty different than what I had before!! Most of the "stuff" came from a kit by Sunflowers over at PDP, in case you are interested!

I changed the name of the blog too...just for fun. Ha ha! Anyone get it?? ;)

I'm behind!

2009-04-07T09:36:00.008-06:00

I am behind both in posting and taking pictures!! I seem to have some holes in my project...bummer.

March 12: Someone helps me unload the dishwasher.

March 13/14: missing...must figure something out...

March 15: Found some boots at Grandma's

March 16: Building a tower, then checking out Roo's ears at the top with her dr stuff. LOL

March 17: Smile! You're as pretty as a princess!

March 18: missing again. :(
March 19: Helping me pack for my scrapbooking weekend.

March 20: My spot at the crop with a sweet book Dawn made for me!

March 21: The group with all their Dawn Dawn books!

March 22: Unpacking....what a mess!!

March 23: Dance dance dance!

March 24: One of my favorite pictures

March 25: Go Leafs Go!

March 26: Love this pic too - its just so funny! I got her some playdough in this little easter chick - the loves the chick more than the dough. Well...I took the dough away because she kept eating it. YUCK!

March 27: Saw Twilight with K from work. Brought these drinks with as a joke. I found the labels online to print and glue onto bottles of cream soda or jones strawberry.

March 28: Starting our house selling process

March 29: Some tulips I got at the store. I loved having some flowers in the house!

March 30: The "For Sale" sign went up.

March 31: (stole this from auntie L's facebook until I can steal more from Dad's camera!) Visit from family. Nice to see them - it had been nearly 2 years!! Taryn was 2 months old...

That (sort of) does it for March...hopefully I can do better in April, but so far, it doesnt look all that promising! We've been busy keeping the house clean, going to the bank, and looking for a place to move to. So far we have found 2 houses that we really like. Hopefully at least one of them will still be available when our house sells - we can't do a whole lot before then.

In like a lion...

2009-03-16T22:36:00.004-06:00

The beginning of March was FRIDGID! So I sure hope the saying is true and it will become mild very very soon. I admit...it is getting better. Plus the extended light hours sure feel good! Onto the pictures of March (so far).

March 1: First Sunday of Lent. My Bible.

March 2: A quick break in the weather! Taryn and I took a walk to see the ice sculptures from the winter festival that ended the day before.

March 3: She is so tall!!

March 4: Chill time before her nap. This routine started when she wasnt feeling good one day and it has sort of stuck...

March 5: MORE SNOW!

March 6: Toys under the couch? No problem...just go get one of mommy's wooden spoons!

March 7: Packing up some clothes to lend to a friend.

March 8: Daddy plays hockey. (thanks to Jill T for this picture - I didnt make it to the game)

March 9: New room decorations! A funny story how we found these. And I got them with the idea that I would put them up later...but they were so cute and they ended up fitting into her room perfectly! There are more (bird cages, etc) around her room.

March 10: Sharing a snack with Mommy.

March 11: Playdate! Started with chasing the other girl to get her toys back...ended with chasing and tickles! It was fun (plus the mommies scrapbooked!!)

Last Feb pics

2009-03-13T14:25:00.004-06:00

I have some March pictures too, but I havent organized them yet...thought I would post the rest of February, just because...

Feb 26: One of Taryn's favorite books right now. We dont read the story (its actually pretty scary!) but she loves the lions and the monkeys, and the hyena with its tongue sticking out. LOL

Feb 27: Helping herself to a cookie. "I get it", she says.

Feb 28: Finally a nice day to take out the sled and go for a walk.

Super cute tees!!

2009-03-12T22:05:00.002-06:00

I found this website with super cute t-shirts!! Wild Olive Tees - check them out! I am going to order once I decide which one I want the most (because honestly, I could wear pretty much all of them). Plus - free shipping right now. Woot!! (check out the banner on the sidebar -->)

More pictures

2009-02-25T13:20:00.005-06:00

Not much to chat about today. Just thought I would come post some more of my daily pictures.

Feb 15: A scrapbook page

Feb 16: Fridge Farm - Taryn can do tons of animal sounds now, including all these farm animals.

Feb 17: Dr Taryn

Feb 18: Testing out the new sled (inside the house ha ha)

Feb 19: On the phone. I used the intercom feature between two phones in the house and she was so excited! Now she wants to talk on the phone even more than she did before. This could get real bad in a few years!!

Feb 20: At the Family Show with Ty!
Feb 21: for some reason she wanted to lay down on the floor. She must have been tired. Usually we dont let her have her soother, but she dug it out herself.

Feb 22: Asleep in the car. Not sure why but she often holds onto the handles beside her head. Its quite funny.

Feb 23: I have been meaning to take this picture for a while - the blankets that Grandma M made for Taryn (when she was BORN!) She also made the crib set.

Feb 24: Flowers - someone is sucking up for something....

Feb 25: I was taking pictures (of her name in the wooden blocks), and Taryn grabbed the lens cap and starting saying "cheese" to everything. I guess she was taking her own pictures (monkey see, monkey do!!)

February is almost over!! I hope that means the winter is almost over too...

January Layouts

2009-02-15T23:23:00.002-06:00

I have had a plan to scrapbook all these daily pictures - 2 pages for each month. So first I made a template (which I am going to put on my website) and then scrapbooked January's pictures. I cannot wait to print these. I am really happy how they turned out.

Just Dance!

2009-02-14T22:35:00.003-06:00

I was sneakily taking this video...standing on the stairs behind the couch. The camera shake is when I am holding back a laugh. You can tell when she sees daddy peeking at her...too funny.

Just dance :)

Happy Valentines day

2009-02-14T13:50:00.004-06:00

my gift to you is...this blog post. ha ha! Hey...take it or leave it. ;)

Feb 5: my cute little ipod shuffle. Took the picture for a scrapping project.

Feb 6: A page I scrapbooked about taking Taryn to the pool for her 1st birthday.
Feb 7: Kelsee and I went to the SYTYCD Canada Tour. It was a lot of fun! (Thanks for coming with me Kelsee!!)

Feb 8: This stroller. Oh this stroller. It comes EVERYWHERE! Upstairs, downstairs, everybody has had a walk in it. LOL I am glad it is an active (and relatively quiet) toy! She loves it! (thanks S&D!)

Feb 9: My current read...(finished last night actually)

Feb 10: Happy Birthday to me!

Feb 11: Time out! I used the remote to snap pictures while Taryn and I played hockey.

Feb 12: Just Dance! (video coming soon!)

Feb 13: More hockey! The new thing is having to wear a sock on her hand, since daddy showed her his hockey gloves. LOL A wooden spoon does the trick for a stick, too!

Feb 14: Work work work! Taryn and her keyboard (an old keyboard with the cord cut off). She has to sit beside mommy in her own chair, with her "coffee" (juice) and work when I am on my computer.

Hope you all have a day full of love!

February already

2009-02-05T10:38:00.005-06:00

Did January fly by for anyone else? On one hand, that is good, because it was FREEZING! But on the other hand, it feels like I havent done anything since Christmas!

Jan 26: Someone is having a timeout.Jan 27: Waking up from her nap. I actually went in to wake her up this day (I dont usually wake her up but it was close to 5pm) and she was in the funniest position, so I ran to get the camera. But she woke up before I got back...darn!

Jan 28: The humidifier is a contant in our house in the winter.

Jan 29: "Helping" me make cookies. It was a very chocolatey spoon, as you can see from her face!

Jan 30: A card I made for Mom & Dad B's 40th anniversairy.

Jan 31: A fun morning with Ty & Jayella. Thanks for having us over! We had fun!!

Feb 1: 40th anniversairy get-together in Dalmeny.

Feb 2: Reading her knock-knock book.

Feb 3: Crazy hair! Hence...the humidifier!! The new couch downstairs totally gives us static!

Feb 4: Peek a boo!! With a "bwankie" (one of her newer words)

I am now being called for juice and cookie time - a morning ritual I still want to photograph. Gotta run!!

ps - please ignore that she is in the SAME pyjamas for 4/10 of the pictures! I do do the laundry! LOL!!!

Ah, Sunday.

2009-01-25T14:19:00.005-06:00

I love Sundays. They are my lazy, comfy, fun days. Except for the tantrums and timeouts so far today. :) But oh well. I try not to do too much work, and I give myself lots of excuses to scrapbook or do other "me" things. Speaking of scrapbooking - I have signed up for an online class that starts Feb 1st. There are going to be 8 super pretty projects to learn and do - I am excited. A super sweet lady, Wilna, is teaching it. She is actually from PA, which is even cooler! She is like my local scrapbooking celebrity. ;) She would probably never say that about herself though! You can see more about the class if you click on the little banner on the right.

I have some more pictures for you! So far we are having fun keeping up with the 365 project.

Jan 20: Taryn's babies (and her lion LOL). The lion is becoming her "comfort" toy. If it isnt in her crib when she goes to sleep she asks for it.

Jan 21: Wearing daddy's hat

Jan 22: Wearing mommy's slippers (seeing a trend here?)

Jan 23: Watching cousin Jared play hockey. (the lighting was awful in the rink!)

Jan 24: Brother & Sister. Yes! I am using this picture! ha ha!

Jan 25: Puzzle time. Taryn got a few puzzles for Christmas and has mastered them all. Note to grandma: get working on that new one for her birthday!! ;)

Alright...now that the blog is updated I am off to...what else...SCRAPBOOK! :)

It's cold outside

2009-01-24T22:53:00.004-06:00

Can someone please turn up the heat?!? Its killing me!! I cannot wait for spring...

Anyway...enough complaining. I am very grateful for a house with a working furnace.

Onto the pictures!

Jan 15: Dancing along with the 'bops'

Jan 16: After naptime, enjoying a snack and some quiet time (with the bops LOL)

Jan 17: Happy Birthday Honey! (you old fart LOL)

Jan 18: My creative space. The laptop gets moved on top of the printer when I am scrapping.

Jan 19: Uh oh! I told her we couldnt watch the bops!

I have more pictures up to today...they are just all still on the camera. Stay warm everyone!

So far, so good!

2009-01-15T18:39:00.004-06:00

So far so good with the 365 project. Ashton thinks I cheat sometimes when I take pictures of "things" instead of people, but the whole point is to take pictures of our life, and "things" sometimes are a part of that!

Jan 9: Digging for the raisins in Grandma & Grandpa's kitchen

Jan 10: Playing in the snow with daddy
Jan 11: Visiting with friends Tyson & Morgan

Jan 11: An early birthday present for me!! (anyone want to come over for coffee?)

Jan 13: Eeyore wearing socks. Sitting in the chair. LOL

Jan 14: A card I made with the Feb kit @ JustCre8

The pictures pretty much sum up our life - I hardly have to write anything! Taryn is fighting a cold right now....she is loving the doodlebops (picture to come for Jan 15th!)....and I just found out I get my first guitar lesson next Tuesday!

Jan 4 - Jan 8

2009-01-09T17:31:00.003-06:00

Still keeping up with my picture project. Here are a few more to share.

Jan 4 - gonna play hockey (has to wear a hat!)

Jan 5: Just a litle snow (and has snowed twice more since)

Jan 6: Colouring with daddy

Jan 7: Wanted to take a picture of her love of these little oranges

Jan 8: Watching TV. I have a series of photos where she gets upset at what is happening on the tv - there was a cartoon on that had some fighting. I changed the channel shortly...she was not enjoying it!

Supper is almost ready...will post again soon.

Project 365

2009-01-03T13:37:00.004-06:00

Happy New Year everyone! We had a great Christmas and New Year here...we spent some time at home and some time away. Santa was good to us all. Taryn really got into the presents this year and especially loves her dollys and dolly stroller. She also got a kitchen set and play food that she likes to play with.

I have decided to do a project this year called Project 365 - sort of my new year's resolution. The project is to take at least one picture every day all year. So far, so good! (3 whole days ha ha). Well, Ashton took the day 2 picture (maybe I should tell him that he is involved LOL). The second part of the project will be to post all the pictures on my blog - so get ready for lots of pictures (hopefully!) I also hope it will help me to blog more, even if it ends up just being pictures. The other benifit of all the pictures is more to scrapbook! And we all know that I love to do that....so it should be a win-win project!

Here are the first 3 days pictures:

Jan 1: Outside "helping" daddy shovel grandma's deck

Jan 2: Hockey star

Day 3: Peek a boo (in new pj's from cousins K&B)

Bonus pic: CHEESE! I am so happy Taryn is understanding the camera just in time for this project. We should get lots of cheesy grins this year! :)

Video Time

2008-12-05T23:52:00.004-06:00

Let's see if this works. I finally took the time to pull some videos off the camera. (What better do I have to do at 11:45pm? Why am I not in bed?) Anyway, this one is from the pre-snow days. Let's say, mid-October. Enjoy! I hope that family and friends that we dont get to see much get a chance to see Taryn through these videos. I have a few more...but I likely wont post them tonight!

Another funny video, if you are into marriage humor: Beware of the Doghouse. Thanks to Sue for the link!

What else...the video is still loading so I am trying to think of what else to talk about...not much.

Work work work. In the office, at home, and around the house.

It's cold. And its not even COLD yet (according to some people). The snow is definitely here to stay. My brother is in the sunshine in Jamaica (lucky bugger).

Taryn is learning new words every day. Its got to be one of my favorite things when I understand 1 more thing, and 1 more thing...its really exciting.

Tomorrow I want to get myself to the gym, and stop at Starbucks for a yummy coffee. Now, does that make sense? I will probably drink more calories in the coffee than I will burn at the gym. So should I just stay home and do nothing? It would all work out the same in the end, right?

Scrappy time

2008-11-21T21:52:00.004-06:00

Dont you think it is time for a post about something other than my baby girl? Oh...you love her too? Well, bear with me... I want to share some of my other love. (scrapbooking LOL)

This page is one I did last year after Christmas. The reason I am showing it now is because it is in a magazine that just came out (Canadian Scrapbooker Winter 08/09 issue). That same issue has my first print ad for Green Pixel Printing, too!
Here is another layout I have done recently, about Taryn loving to play the piano.
And these next 2 are things I made using the GORGEOUS December kit at JustCre8. I am nowhere near done digging into this kit. I cant wait to make tons and tons of cards with it still. This page is about Taryn's first Christmas.
And this is a little candy dish I made out of an empty hot chocolate can (cut the top down a bit). I moved into a new office space at work and the space was begging for a candy dish. So this is what I brought to work. The guys seem to appreciate it!
Ok...I promise more cute Taryn stuff in the next post. I have some videos to pull off the video camera. Promise. Eventually. :)

This picture

2008-11-17T22:12:00.004-06:00

makes me laugh! These glasses were in her dr kit that we got her for her halloween costume and they look so funny! That, and her housecoat that she insisted on wearing for some reason, she looks like a little Harriet Potter!

That is the only reason for my post...hope you got a giggle too.

Trick or treat!

2008-10-31T18:22:00.003-06:00

Paging Dr. Taryn!
And 10 minutes and 2 houses later:
Seriously! 2 houses and her bucket was full. LOL Daddy....can I have this sucker now? Please! (for the record, she is not getting the sucker! but she did get the chocolate chip cookies)

We're home!

2008-10-13T00:11:00.005-06:00

Well, we have been home for a couple weeks now. We are finally settled back in, unpacked, and caught up on laundry!! The printer made it inside and has been up and running and ready for business for a few days now. So far everything has gone so smoothly, other than running out of some ink a bit more quickly than anticipated, so that put opening on hold for a few extra days. Check out www.greenpixelprinting.com to see what its all about!

Here she is! All tucked into her corner. I still think I should name her, almost like another baby. LOL
Something else that was waiting for us when we got back, a little earlier than expected, was the sectional we ordered. This is just a quick picture I snapped - you can see the old couch in the back, and a whiz of Taryn in the front!
And a few more pictures from our trip...there are so many!! The first few are from a (short) hike at Adams Falls near where our Colorado friends live. It was gorgeous, and the rain held out while we were there, even though the clouds loomed the whole way there!

The guys, goofing off! On our way from COlorado to Texas we stopped at this dormant volcano. Forget the name at the moment - its in the corner of New Mexico. This is the view from the top, looking out - you can sort of see the forms of the old lava flows.

And insde the crater.

Taryn didnt sleep much on the trip - at least not as much as we thought she would. But I couldnt help snapping this picture. I could watch her sleep all day. Something about sleeping babies thats just so sweet!

And on our way home from Texas we stopped in Sioux Falls. This was on a walk in the evening after checking into the hotel. As you can see, Taryn seems to have a bit of energy!

There are still tons more pictures. I guess you will have to come for a visit if you want to see them. ;)

blogging from the bathroom

2008-09-19T22:01:00.002-06:00

Our first night at a hotel was pretty rough, getting Taryn to fall asleep with us there. So the strategy tonight? We put her down, Ashton has gone for a walk, and i am sitting in the bathroom using my laptop on wi-fi (thats wireless internet for you non-techie folks). Its pretty quiet out there, so I think it is working!

Sorry no pics tonight - the camera is in the other room. We made it to Texas tonight - one more leg tomorrow and we will be at the location of my printer. Cant wait to meet Ashley and her family, and start this new part of my business.

I should be able to get online a few times in the next few days. So I will try and update again!

The zoo... woo woo

2008-09-18T11:27:00.003-06:00

Hello from the USA! We are having lots of fun with our friends in Colorado. Taryn and Jared are really able to play with each other this time - it is fun to watch them together. Here are some pictures from the (beautiful!) park we went to on Tuesday.

Yesterday we went to the zoo. The kids loved it! The weather was perfect and sunny. We got lots of pictures, but here are just a couple. There was a little 5 week old giraffe - it was so cute!

Taryn loved all the different animals, and we tried to teach her some of the sounds. Most things say "woo woo". Ha ha!

Tomorrow we are off to Texas! I will try and update again in a few days.

I'm a mean mommy...

2008-08-30T15:04:00.003-06:00

I feel mean for even taking this video, but it is too funny!! This morning Taryn was up way earlier than normal and wasnt really interested in a nap this morning, so I gave her lunch early with the intentions of putting her down for a nap after she ate. I guess she beat me to it.

And yes, she did go down for a nap right after this. Even by the time I had the camera turned off she was asleep again.

It's about time..

2008-08-16T15:08:00.003-06:00

...I updated the blog. I guess its been a while. I have been busy putting together a business plan and getting things sorted out to officially start working from home. I am nearly at the end now - just one more form to fill out then we wait a couple weeks to hear if I will get the loan I am applying for. Then it looks like a trip down to the states to pick up some equipment will be happening.

Last night we went out to Little Red park. It was beautiful outside so it was great to get out for a walk. Here are a few pictures. Sorry some are sort of dark. I was too lazy to edit them.

In the playground we set the camera on a part of the structure and used the timer for a couple of quick family pics.
Then Taryn went down the slide
Then we both went down the big slide. My *ahem* behind barely fit on this one but we made it! LOL

News and Pictures

2008-07-14T22:02:00.003-06:00

Isnt it always news and pictures? You would think I could think of a better title...

First, the pictures I guess! Then those of you who just come for the pictures can leave. ;) This picture is for Grandma M espcially. Taryn wore one of your dresses to church on Sunday. It fit perfect! :) The bow in front kept coming undone - I think I will tie it and tack it down as a permanent bow! I even managed to get a clip in her hair - and it stayed all the way until we got home! She had fun in the toddler room and I had a chance to pay attention to church by myself. It was kind of nice.

After church we had lunch, with watermelon for dessert. Mmm...she loves that stuff! But now we have watermelon juice on our nice pink dress! OOPS! Hopefully it will come out in the wash - if not, at least the dress is already pink!

And now news - I have officially become a business! My name "Green Pixel Designs" is officially registered and mine, and I have a vendors liscence. My PA business liscence application went in today but I dont see any problems with it going through. The next step is to talk to the bank, I guess! You can also find me online in a couple new places - I was at www.thegreenpixel.com and now I am also at www.greenpixeldesigns.com and www.greenpixeldesigns.ca - just in case anyone is looking for me! ;) It is all the same website, there are just 3 ways to get there now!

hey taryn, where's your...

2008-07-05T14:28:00.002-06:00

Bellybutton?where's your tongue?

Thats all! :)

Time for an update

2008-07-02T22:55:00.003-06:00

I guess it has been a while, and this one will probably be quick because its late, but I thought I would post an update. There are so many things Taryn is doing these days - it is so fun to watch. Today she had a fever, though, which wasnt so fun to watch.

Here are a couple of pictures from the park last week. She loves the swing!!

And she just loves to walk around and discover things. Who knew sticks and grass were so interesting??
Some fun things she is doing - helping me empty the dishwasher (hands me each utensil and I put it in the drawer - After I get all the knives out of course!). She is climbing on anything and everything, and loves to talk on the phone. Those 2 go hand-and-hand when the phone is up somewhere that she feels she needs to get to. She is so funny when there is a noise (for example, the neighbors dogs playing, or the microwave beeps) - she gets this round little mouth 'oooo' and is quite concerned about what she should do next. Always wants to be in the action.

In other news, I have told my work that I would like to be back at home by the end of the summer. Whether that means I will be working for them, or on my own projects, that depends on them. I put the offer on the table for them, though. I just cant do scheduled office hours, and I can do so much from home anyway! So we will see where that goes...I will be happy either way. I have a few projects on the go that are looking good!

I will try not to be so long with the next post!

Mmm..Yogurt!

2008-06-12T20:32:00.003-06:00

Someone likes to use a spoon, all by herself!! (sorry the video is sideways!!)

Mmmm...yogurt!! LOL

Sprinkler Fun

2008-06-01T14:37:00.002-06:00

A couple weeks ago we were outside watering the lawn, and Taryn tried to walk into the sprinkler. At first I tried to stop her, but then I let her go to see what she did. Well...she thought it was the greatest fun in the world!! So we just let her keep running (yes, running!!) She kept getting closer and closer to the sprinkler and pretty soon she was soaking wet!! Enjoy the pictures!

In other news...well, there isnt much other news. Taryn's newest feat is getting up onto the couches (and sometimes down too). She is climbing on EVERYTHING!! (I am sure Katrina is laughing right now LOL).

Lots to catch up on!

2008-05-14T22:41:00.002-06:00

Lots has happened since my last post. The most important, happy, and sad thing is that my baby turned 1!! She is getting so big! No one told me that birthday's would be so sad for mommy. Anyway...instead of lots of blabbing, I will just show you what we have been up to:

We spent time at Grandma and Grandpa's, and lots of time outside lately with this nice weather (finally!!)

We went to the pool a couple weeks ago:

Taryn tells Grandpa a story:

We had a party, and opened lots of presents! She was a very spoiled little girl!

Lots of Taryn's friends came to the party:

The cake I made for the party (and some cupcakes at the top):

Then we ate the cake!

And shared some with uncle stan!! LOL!
Then on Taryn's real birthday (the party was a few days early) we got half a cupcake. Yum!

There are lots more pictures from the last few weeks, and probably lots more to talk about, but we will leave it here for now!! I will try and post again soon!

Taryn's Room: Before & After

2008-04-26T14:47:00.004-06:00

So, a couple weekends ago I guess I needed something extra to do (ha ha) so I decided to paint Taryn's room. I had wanted to get rid of the bug wallpaper border since we moved in, and I had a project with her name that I wanted to do and hang up and I wanted it to look pretty in there. So, I repainted (notice I said "I" and not "We"). I was told that I can paint whatever I want, as long as I do the painting. Anyway...here are some pictures!

Before:

After:

Here is a closeup of the project I did:

Basically i just painted the letters white, then painted them pink, then sanded the edges to rough them up and make the white come through a bit. Then I stamped them with a flourishy stamp to give them a bit of interest. I like how they turned out.

I still have a couple things I want to do - hang a couple pictures and decide what to do with the Pooh wall stickers that we had up before (currently they are all on the door in a big mess).

11 Months

2008-04-07T18:40:00.002-06:00

Wow - 2 posts in 2 days!! That is amazing! And another amazing thing about this post is that I took these pictures today and I am posting them the same day!!

Today Taryn is 11 months - which means 1 more month until the BIG ONE! Wow! We are planning a birthday party - still working on the invitations! Ok...here are the pictures. We have to give her a toy so she will stay put. And even then...it is hard to keep her still. Plus I am still getting used to my new lens - so these have had a bit of Photoshop help. And the middle one is still blurry. :P

She is looking at Daddy behind me in this one - not quite sure what he did to make her make this face!

And here is a digial layout I did a couple days ago. You can see the picture itself bigger if you look at the next post down. You can see the layout bigger if you click on it.

At 11 months, Taryn:

is walking and crawling. Mostly just walking.
has started to get up off the floor without the help of anything (ie. furniture)
is picking up toys off the floor from standing
gabbers a lot, but hasnt given us any words yet. She will copy us sometimes but mostly just gibberish. It's cute gibberish, but a "mama" would be cute too!!
is getting into drawers, cabinets, anything she can open
loves being chased around, but this game usually ends up in her going to fast and falling into something. Then she cries and mommy feels bad for chasing her.
is getting up a bit earlier and is doing a lot of 2 nap days. But I am still not complaining about her "early".
will be starting daycare this week.
can chug a sippy cup full of diluted apple juice in under 5 minutes (this results in a very full diaper soon after!)
has started to sign "please" (this was a surprise actually because we havent been very consistant with the signing with her)
is responding to things that we say, like "come here", "give" and "no"
catches onto things very quickly. Yesterday I put batteries in a toy (the tent from Uncle Gavin) and now when you push a button you get a doorbell sound or some music. She already goes to push the button when I ask her to (and when I dont)
puts toys to her ear when you say "hello" (she has many toy phones!)
still sitting at 6 teeth which is fine by me because she has tried to bite me a couple times this month!! Mostly this happens when I try to block her from going somewhere. Mommy is NOT impressed with this behavior!!
loves to play peek a boo! Either with blankets or around corners or furniture.

I am sure I am missing things, as usual, but I think I got a pretty good list this month! Thanks for reading!

Tomorrow I go back to work for week 2. I have already had 2 conversations with people from work today, so I think they are glad to have me back!

Everyday Joy

2008-04-06T13:01:00.005-06:00

I have a digital scrapbooking announcement to make. Even if you dont digi scrap...keep reading - I will show you a cute pic at the end as a reward. ;)

I am on an awesome digital scrapbooking team for Sherrie Piegdon (Pixel Gypsy Designs). She has come out with this AMAZING kit called Everyday Joy - all proceeds going to the Helping Hand program for the National Autism Association. Click here for more details on how you can get this kit and support the effort. The kit is huge and GORGEOUS! Here is a small preview:

Also, anyone (meaning you reading this) who blogs about Everday Joy and our fundraising drive between now and April 11th, providing the Everday Joy details and a link to THIS page and leaving us a link to your post in the comments here at the PGD blog, will be entering you in a drawing for a $25 Pixel Gypsy Designs gift certificate!

The goal is to raise $1500 for the Helping Hand program. This amount would fully fund one grant at the maximum amount! You can see our donation meter on the page linked above, and keep track of our progress! Get those blogging fingers ready, and don't forget to leave us a link to your blog entry at the PGD blog HERE!

I made the edges of this picture with a scalloped mat template from the Everyday Joy kit. So if you get it, you could do it too!! (also works great with papers!!)

10 Months

2008-03-14T20:55:00.002-06:00

Is it just me, or does every month seem to go by faster than the one before? We are now at #10...only 2 short months until an new #1 - being years! In any case...no matter her age, it is so fun to see her personality coming out. She is curious, usually content, and quite active!

It also seems as if she is quite chatty, if you look at this first picture, but she hasnt really gotten any words yet. She will mimic sometimes, and say 'ya' but I havent counted anything as her "first" word yet!

She is getting the hang of waving!

Deciding where to go next:

At 10 months, Taryn:

is just under 22lbs. A bit lighter than I thought she was, but still at the higher end of the percentiles.
she is walking pretty well, and crawling, and going up the stairs! Yikes!
waves bye-bye, and waves to herself in the mirror
has 6 teeth (#6 came out a day or two after 10 months, about 3 weeks after #5)
loves to be chased and tickled
has ticklish feet, like her daddy
loves to eat! She likes grapes, strawberries, bananas, cheese, brocolli, and well, pretty much anything. She does NOT like green been puree! (do we blame her?)
is always on the move. go go go! Most of our pictures are blurry! Mommy needs to be quicker with the camera now. I think this will only get harder!

Well, Taryn is just getting over her 2nd cold, but this one wasnt as bad as the first.

In Mommy news...the countdown is on. Just 2 and a half weeks left at home. *cry*

Ready to party?

2008-03-05T22:42:00.005-06:00

If you are a scrapbooker, you have to come visit Just Cre8. They are celebrating their first birthday this month and having a big party. There are going to be challenges and games and lots of prizes!! It will be so fun!! It all starts on the 15th.

I was recently added to the Design Team there, which (for you non-scrapbookers) means that I get to play with their awesome kits and show it off to everyone else! I am going to be getting my second kit from them in the mail any day now. Sue puts together the best stuff!! I cant wait for this box to get here!!

Here is a page I did with the March kit:

In non-scrapping news, things are busier here every day. Now that Taryn is moving, she just doenst want to stop. She is only happy when she is moving around and getting into things. There are lots of "NO!"'s lately! She also got up a stair today...probably would have kept going if mommy didnt stop her. Yikes...up goes gate #2.

Speaking of Mommy...she is due to go back to work April 1. Anyone know a babysitter?? This is proving to be a very difficult task to find someone to take her.

Stay tuned in a few days for her 10 month...yes TEN month, pictures. Where has the time gone? Soon we will be talking about a birthday party for her!! eeps!

So exciting!

2008-02-27T13:53:00.003-06:00

If you happen to see this magazine on the shelf:check out page 49!! You might recognize somebody!!! My first pub!! So exciting! (I almost feel famous, but not really! LOL)

And the Oscar goes to...

2008-02-25T15:03:00.005-06:00

well...we arent winning any Oscars for our videos, but thats ok!

Here is a short one. Looks what she her go! She is getting braver by the minute...and getting the bumps and bruises to prove it.

Just in case that wasnt enough, here is another one. :) She just started crawling about the same time she started walking. I figure it is because she realized she can walk if she just gets somewhere to pull herself up first!

Thats all for now!!

new look

2008-02-15T21:55:00.002-06:00

I am trying out a new look - i had to update some links and things so I upgraded my template. I still have some touch ups I want to do,but I just wanted to let you know so you didnt think something was wrong with your computer! ;)

9 Months

2008-02-13T19:05:00.005-06:00

Here we are...9 months old already. Growing like crazy. Although not sure how much exactly...we had a checkup scheduled on Monday but we got to the doctor's office just to be told it had been cancelled. So we have another appointment in about a month.

Here are some pictures - a few more than usual so that grandma and grandpa can get their fix while they are away. :)

The charmer:

The giggle:

The 'are you serious?':

The '9':

The 'let me see the camera!':

The cutie:

The clapper: (LOL!)

At 9 months, Taryn:

has 4 teeth (#4 came out 1 day after turning 9 months)
is walking up a storm with her walker (see video below), and cruising around the furniture.
is a chatterbox
is still sleeping like an angel!! about 12 hours at night and a 2 hour afternoon nap
loves to clap. She will clap when she hears it on tv, when daddy claps, when people in church clap, or when she poops. LOL
loves to dump her toys and knock things over
likes to turn the pages in her books, and open the flaps
if she is crying it is usually because we made her sit down (instead of standing)
is eating most everything mommy makes for her.
is only semi-interested in crawling. Still sort of 'swimming' on the floor but is starting to get up on her hands and knees. Of course, this requires sitting first, so it doesnt happen very much lately!
has moved into a bigger carseat.
giggles when mommy is going to buzz her belly.
is starting to hear the word 'NO!' more often!
hates being in her snowsuit!
likes to play the head-tilt game, and the scream back and forth and giggle game. LOL

Thats all for now! Thanks for reading! (and looking!)

a new, better, video

2008-02-13T18:44:00.003-06:00

The last video I posted was pretty dark, so I got the camera out again today when there was more light. My dad also let us borrow his video camera, and although I havent got it hooked up to the computer yet (this one was done with a regular camera) I am sure it will mean many more videos in the future!

ps - please ignore my awful laugh when she hits the post!

Watch out!

2008-02-02T18:57:00.000-06:00

We are going to be chasing someone around very very soon!!

eeps!

Christmas, and 8 Months

2008-01-10T14:32:00.000-06:00

We had a great, although busy, Christmas. Taryn and I went down to Osler on the 22nd for a bridal shower and Ashton came a few days later because he had to work. We had a great time visiting with a lot of family and friends that we don't get to see that often and it was a really special first Christmas with Taryn.

Lots of pictures to share with you. Here is our Christmas tree - we got a new (bigger) tree this year now that we have a place to put one bigger than 4 feet tall! I used a special "star" filter to take this picture and got the lights to twinkle.

Here is Taryn with one of her (many, many) presents. I think she had as much fun with the wrapping paper as the toys.
This is her HUGE haul at Grandma M's place. Seriously spoiled!! Grandma made her the green/pink and purple/pink teddy bears with matching quilts. And got her the tea set so she can have tea parties with them (in a couple years!). The rocking horse (from uncle Gavin) will be fun too - once we get it home! The trunk was so full we had to leave a few things behind.

At Grandma's we also went skating with daddy....
And for a ride on the sled with Mommy...

She hated being in the snowsuit but eventually gave us some sort of sign that she was having fun anyway!!

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa came for Christmas this year from Manitoba. It was a really special visit and we are thankful that they made the trip - as it will likely be their last. Grandma just isnt into travelling anymore.

Ok...onto more recent pictures! I can't believe Taryn is 8 months already. I think I say that every month, don't I?
She loves her ducks. (Just like Auntie Ricki). Although I dont think Ricki sucks on the ducks heads like Taryn does. ;)
Our favorite thing to do: Stand up!
At 8 months, Taryn:

weighs about 20 lbs
is wearing some 12 month clothes already, as she is quite long.
got her 2nd flu shot and didnt even cry (this made Mommy feel better)
loves to snack on Puffed Wheat all by herself, now that she has figured out that she has to LET GO of it once it is in her mouth
is eating 4x a day - still loves her applesauce, peas, and carrots but we are slowly expanding our foods
is sleeping 12hrs/night and has a 2 hr nap in the afternoon (Mommy and Daddy are so blessed!)
wants to walk so bad and will toddle around if she is holding onto your fingers
has no interest in crawling. If she is on her tummy it isnt for long - she rolls over pretty quickly.
still just 2 teeth, but the top ones are coming!
loves anything that spins
loves to dance with mommy or daddy (or whoever is holding her)
loves to "ride the horsey" (bounce on your leg or foot)