1st pictures of our new addition

The rest of the Homemade presents

The pillowcases that I thought were going to be really hard. Nope. If you want to make some like this, let me know and I will give you the pattern. They took maybe 20 minutes to make from start to finish. And all the seams are covered so no fraying edges.

All the seams for the band are inside. This is called the tube method.

Drake's pj pants.

I forgot to take pictures of Chloe's pants all finished, so picture 3 pairs of pants with these patterns.

I also forgot to take pictures of Chloe's makeup that I made. I bought some e.l.f. makeup at Target for $1 and then covered the tops with dimensional magic. It's kinda like resin, but is way cheaper. Once that dried hard overnight, I put them in a cute little bag I found at the dollar store and called it a day. I still need to find a few more brushes for it and a blush or two. But that can wait until after the Christmas rush. It is so not worth waiting in a line at 17th and Hitt for 20 minutes.

Chloe's 2nd Birthday!

Chloe's birthday was almost 2 weeks ago, but here are some pictures for you to enjoy anyway.

Her Princess Castle cake (that I will never make again):

And her opening presents. We didn't get a picture of her blowing out her candles because as soon as I sent the cake down, she blew them out.

Handmade Christmas Gifts

I have completed 3 gifts for the kids today:

Chloe's Christmas dress. Just need to make a matching bow or 2 for her hair.

Close-up of the strip of flowers around the empire waist.

And a close-up of the trim along the sleeves and hem.

Drake's Christmas tie for this year.

Close-up of the crazy snowman print.

And lastly, 12, count em, 12, Star Wars finger puppets.

 Top Row: Darth Vader, Chewbacca, a Storm Trooper, and Obi Wan

Middle Row: C3PO, Yoda, a Jawa, and R2D2.

3rd Row: Leia, an Ewok, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker.

Now I just need to make 8 pairs of pajama pants, a small bag for the finger puppets, some makeup for Chloe (more on that later), a pillowcase for Drake and Chloe, and a scarf for each of the kids as well. And if I have time, a marble maze thing for Drake. As these projects get done, I will post pictures of them.

What is going on here?

I really don't know what possesses him to fold himself in half in their laundry tub.

And just in case you didn't already know, Drake is 5.

 Not sure why these next 2 of Chloe were taken. She probably wanted her picture taken. I think she is saying cheese in the 2nd photo.

Relaxing

And this is why she is getting her own Princess chair for Christmas.

Christmas Card 2011

This is the picture that is going into our Christmas cards this year along with Drake's school picture and a picture of Chloe:

Yep! We are going to welcome a new addition to our family around Mother's Day. We will found out the gender at the end of December.

Boredom

The kids were bored and bugging me, so I got out coloring books and watercolor paints for them.

By this point, I think I had taken quite a few pictures. Apparently, Chloe was tired of looking up to smile so she settled for sticking her tongue out.

Drake was fine with the numerous pictures, though.

And because of this mini art session, I have decided that Drake and Chloe need their own aprons that they can get on and off. It has been added to my list, but I don't think I can get to them before Christmas. How about New Years? Nah, I think they will need Groundhog Day presents:)

O Christmas Tree

We finally got the tree up and decorated. Unfortunately, we continue to decorate the tree at least once a day. Chloe thinks it is fun to take the ornaments off and play with them or step on them. Good thing they are plastic.

  These 2 pictures are without the ornaments. It took so long to untangle the lights and bend out the branches, that it was bedtime by the time we finished.

 

Christmas Lights & Thanksgiving

We had a nice lazy Thanksgiving. We ate a little earlier than normal, because I was not paying attention and put the turkey in the oven about an hour too early. By 12:30, the dinner was eaten, cleaned up and we were watching a movie. Chloe had been up since 6:15, so she and I crashed on the couch for a few hours. Drake played Lego Harry Potter while Lot watched before he also took a short nap. After naps, we got some lights up on the house. We still need to decide how we are going to wrap lights around the porch and lights in the windows, and we need to make room for the tree somewhere. So other than the lights and the tree, the house is decorated. I was also able to go out shopping and get a few things for the kids for Christmas. And ordered a few things for Chloe's 2nd birthday (in 2 weeks!)

The kids wanted to "help" put the light hanger thingy's up, so Lot helped them up the ladder. Lot even tried to bribe Drake with something to get him to climb to the top step, but it didn't work. He got to the second highest one, though.