Elliott James 1st Birthday

We celebrated EJ's 1st birthday last weekend!  We invited a few friends over for lunch and cupcakes. He was very excited about his cupcake!  I made some homemade ornaments in a Cat In The Hat theme.  Elliott is a very silly and inquisitive little boy.  We love spending time together as a family.  He is very close to walking but just not quite there yet.  I think it could happen any day!  I look forward to many more birthdays to come!  Happy Birthday Elliott James!  

Garden Update

After a month of rain our green beans are finally growing!  Kellen picked these himself.  We've also eaten out first tomato and lots of strawberries this summer!   

Hanging Out

Spending some time outdoors painting.  Kellen says, "I'm an artist!"  I couldn't help but think, I hope not.  Nothing wrong with bring an artist, it's just makes me think he's a lot like his Uncle Keith.  Oh no, please no! 

EJ Six Weeks

At six weeks, after the infant acne had started to go away we finally got around to taking some pictures of Elliott.  He's also given us a tease, sleeping from 11 pm to 6 am a night or two.  Usually he wakes between 3-4 am for a feeding.  Hoping he sleeps through the night consistently soon!!

Gardening

As a fun project we decided to try some gardening this summer.  We started by growing some green bean seeds and squash inside the house.  Kellen calls them his "magic beans".  We watered them everyday and waited for them to grow.   

The squash really took off.  

After a few weeks of growing inside, we transplanted our seedlings into the ground.  Of course we had to build a cage to protect our crops from the giant domesticated squirrels that live in our neighborhood.  We also planted a strawberry plant and two tomato plants. The strawberry plant produces a strawberry or two every day, just enough to be Kellen's personal stash.  Looking forward to seeing if we get any veggies growing!

DIY Baseball Pics

I've been trying to find inexpensive ways to decorate Kellen's room. We're doing everything in a baseball or sports theme.  I had been looking for some pics, but they were all $25 or more a piece and just didn't want to spend that much. So I decided to make my own. For about $12, I made four baseball silhouette pictures.  They look really nice.  Can't wait to post pics of his room once we get everything hung up. I still have a few more DIY projects to finish first. 

 I found four baseball images or silhouettes online that I wanted to use.  I sized and printed the images on card stock paper.  Then cut each image out.  I painted four 8 x 10 canvases, a color of my choosing (tan).  Took three coats of paint to cover. Then coated each canvas with Mod Podge glue. Placed the cut outs on the glued surface. Finally I painted a coat of glue over the entire canvas to seal.  Now we just have to hang them up.  Only took about an hour from start to finish plus drying time. 

Elliott James

On January 19th we welcomed Elliott James to the family. Weighing 7 lbs 14 oz and 20 1/2 in. He's a sweet, happy, loving baby brother. Kellen has adjusted very well and loves helping take care of E.J. I can't wait for them to be able to play together.