Local Celebrity

Miss Emma is starting to have a following here in the Triad. Click here to see what I mean.

8 Months and Counting (THIS IS LONG!)

It's hard to believe, but our little girl is 8 months old.  Wow, where has the time gone?  Now we are waiting for baby Grayson's arrival (my sister's first baby) just next week.  There's a lot to update you on Emma.  Hang on, here we go!  

She's still battling ear infections. This last round had a sore throat thrown in for fun...and when I say fun I mean torture - for us all.  She's much better now, but we've got to get these ears under control.  Tubes are in the future, but Dr. O'Kelley would like to see how the summer goes first.

We've got two BIG NEWS items.  First, Emma is the proud owner of two brand new pearly whites!  She's worked so hard for them and now two little teeth have finally poked out...her bottom center teeth.  So fun and it makes her look like such a little girl. (Kind of sad for mom.)

Secondly, Emma is now independently mobile.  That's right...we've got a crawler.  And let me tell you, if she's awake, she's on the move!  The kid is amazing.  And, to add to the festivities, little miss over-achiever is now also standing.  I think she just might walk early like I did (9 months).  

And finally, here are some recent pictures (the one standing up was just taken tonight).  I like to call the following "8 Months at a Glance."

If you look real close at this one, you can see a tooth (click on picture to make bigger).

This is her far-away-look model pose. :)

Doesn't this face just make you smile?

This was at the doctor's over the weekend...she's a trooper, isn't she?

Her new friend, Grandpa Sid. A friend from church.

Look at this big girl standing!

Not sure what she was thinking here...but a cute nakey-baby picture!

Won't Emma Look Cute?!

So, I follow lots of blogs written by some fabulous women and moms with some great ideas, crafts, talents, stories, etc.  One of my favorites is Make It And Love It.  In addition to wonderful, do-able crafts, Ashley does bunches of giveaways for fun items.  This week is especially fun!  Check it out here and cross your fingers for me!  We're hoping we win and Emma can look even more adorable in these hair clips (when her hair "comes in" - ha!):

On The Move!

Watch our little Miss On-the-Move!

(Sorry it's a little dark. Can you see it? Our kitchen has bad lighting.)

Pictures say a thousand words...

I don't have much spare time lately, so here's a quick update.  We're still battling with her ears - nothing serious, but keeps getting ear infections.  Hoping she's better this week.  She crawled once over the weekend and is getting ever closer each day to crawling more and pulling up on things.  Super exciting!  And here are a bunch of recent pics.  Oh, by the way, Mother's Day was great!

You're Invited to a New Blog

I've created a new blog called "Happy Is As Happy Does".  Click on that link and check it out.  I'm on a mission to add some extra happy to everyday life.  Why don't you join me.  And while you're at it, invite your friends, family, cranky co-workers and anyone else who could use a little more happy.  Hope to see you there!

PS  - This blog will still be active, so keep visiting us here too!

Feeling Crafty...

So I was feeling really crafty over the weekend. Here's what I came up with. Both ideas came from Make It and Love It which has some super great ideas. She has a lot of sewing projects, but I don't sew, so here are a few I could actually tackle.

Fabric Covered Frames:
(original idea for cork board, click here)

I didn't do cork board, but for actual photo frames. I also changed it up by using double sided tape that works with fabric. My edges are not perfectly crisp, but you can't tell that unless you look really closely. And, to finish the back off and cover up rough edges of fabric, I used peel-n-stick black felt. Worked nicely. I made these as Mother's Day gifts for two friends I met through our birthing class...shhh...don't tell!

Pin Cushion:
(original idea, click here)

I LOVED this idea for a Mother's Day gift for a good friend who quilts. (Sorry photo is blurry.) I had several quilting squares I hand-sewed several YEARS ago that never got to the final stages so thought one would be perfect for this. I also opted for a round $1 ceramic ramekin from Wal-Mart. The original idea calls for a square container. That might have been easier. I had trouble figuring out how to close it up an maintain smooth rounded top, so (thanks to my husband's brilliant mind) I stuffed the fabric as a ball (underside looks all sorts of messy) beforehand. Then I lined the bottom and sides of the ramekin with hot glue and just set the ball firmly down inside - worked GREAT! Then I added a little ribbon. Hope she likes it!