Yeah!

I am an aunt again! My sister Ashley and her husband Miguel welcomed their daughter Daniela Elizabeth Silva Korte into this world on November 24th. Ashley had to have a c-section due to Daniela trying to come out face first. You can see pictures of Daniela here. I have one other niece and a nephew. When my nephew was adopted my sister flew home to Michigan so the family could meet Michael. We are so blessed to have this little boy as part of our family. When my niece was born I flew out to Maine to visit. I am bummed a bit right now because my sister Ashley lives in Mexico and I just cannot fly there right now so I will not be able to meet baby Daniela for some time. Thankfully we have email and we can skype. Due to distance the cousins are not able to play together very often but when they do they have a great time!

Turkey Bib

Isn't this the cutest little turkey bib? I just had to buy it even though Griffin will only wear it once maybe twice.

Enough pictures mom!

Size of a stocking

Well my little baby boy is about the size of a stocking.

Isn't he cute!

This last photo is blurry but I couldn't resist.

Big and Small

This is a picture of Marcus and Griffin. Marcus is my husbands oldest son and Griffin is his youngest. Marcus is rather tall and makes Griffin look tiny in this picture.

My husband has four children from his previous marriage; from oldest to youngest Laura, Marcus, Christopher and Alexandra. This is a picture taken Christmas 2007. The other kids in the picture are our grandchildren Carson and Ireland. Since this picture was taken Laura has had another baby, Ryder! My husband has beautiful children and grandchildren.

Wordless Wednesday

Paint and cookie cutters

Sydney and I tackled another project. I usually try to find a project on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, especially when it is raining! These turned out so cute and she had a blast. All you need is paint and cookie cutters and of course some paper.

Play time

Here are some pictures from the Greensboro Children's Museum. We were recently invited to a friends birthday party at the museum and we had a great time. The museum changes things periodically so it is never the same exhibits. Sydney enjoyed the train and also the post office and mail trunk.

She also enjoyed the nursery. She loved weighing the babies on the scale and putting all the babies in their cribs.

Cinnamon Ornaments

Tonight Sydney and I made cinnamon ornaments. I got the idea from my older sister; her son made us an ornament in 2005. This is an easy craft for kids and lots of fun. Sydney enjoyed smelling the dough.

Cutting out ornaments with cookie cutters.

Poking holes for ribbon.

Recipe:
1 and 1/2 cups ground cinnamon

1 cup applesauce

1/4 cup white school glue

Mix ingredients in bowl, the dough should be as thick as cookie dough. Add a bit of water if dough is too stiff. Remove from bowl and knead. Put dough back in bowl and cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge for at least 30 minutes. Remove from bowl , knead until smooth. Flatten and roll between wax paper with rolling pin to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out desired shapes and punch hole with straw where you will thread ribbon to hang. Place on wax paper to dry. Ornaments will take 3-5 days to dry and you need to turn them over a couple times per day so they dry evenly and flat. Ornaments will get smaller as they dry and make sure you do not punch the ribbon hole too close to the edge.

My sidekick

Traditions

We have a birthday tradition at our house. Every year at Sydney's birthday party I get a picture mat with a 5x7 picture of her and I ask everyone at the party to write on the mat. People usually write a birthday wish or just something nice about Sydney. Now that Sydney is 3 years old she has three mats in her closet on a shelf and one day she will get to enjoy reading through every one's comments. Do you have any birthday traditions at your house?

Little Momma

Bill and I bought Sydney a baby sling for her birthday. She is always telling me she is a momma and she watches me carry Griffin in my sling so I thought she would enjoy a sling of her own. I bought it here.
Well she loved the sling and kept it on the rest of the afternoon. She is so sweet.

Party Time

Today we celebrated Sydney's birthday! It was a great time. We simplified this year and invited fewer people than usual but still had a blast. We choose this weekend because Grammie La la and Grandpa happen to be here visiting this week. Sydney wanted balloons, candles and cupcakes so that is just what we had. Grammie and momma had to get creative with the cupcakes, it was fun. The kids played together wonderfully, which is always a relief. The adults enjoyed conversing, mainly about the kids. All in all it was a wonderful day.

Happy Birthday Sydney

Today our little girl turns 3 years old! Somedays I think wow I am the mother of a three year old! Sydney has been exceptional from the beginning. She was always a good baby, very easy going. She slept through the night at 7.5 weeks. It was easy to get rid of her bottle and also her pacifier. She was relatively easy to potty train. She has also been a very healthy child considering all the germs I bring home plus that fact that she has been in day care since she was 2 months old.
These days Sydney loves to read, play in her kitchen and with her babies. She enjoys games and puzzles and any sort of craft or project. She loves to help mommy cook and bake. Sydney also loves being out doors and helping daddy in the yard. Sydney has always been a big talker (takes after mommy) and has an extensive vocabulary. She loves to sing and dance (hopefully takes after daddy because mommy cannot dance). Sydney has become a wonderful big sister and is a great help to mom and dad. We are having a birthday party for Sydney on Saturday!



Here are a few pictures from years past. Her Birth Day





First Birthday

Second Birthday

One month

Griffin is 1 month old! Wow does the time go by quickly. Today we had a one month check up at my office. Guess how much my little boy weighs? 9 lbs 14 oz!!! My mommy milk is rich stuff!
Griffin is starting to be awake more and likes to look around. He enjoys tummy time and also laying on a blanket on his back. He is getting up 3 times at night to nurse. My mom and Papa are here right now so Grammie is taking a shift. He is getting better at taking a bottle now that he has had more practice. Initially he was choking easily since a bottle is so much faster than nursing.
The plan is that I will take a picture of him in his crib every month for the first year so we can watch him grow. Isn't he so cute?