a smile!

Elliot is my smiliest baby.

(In fact, he's smiling at me right now. We're having a nice little conversation. . . lots of cooing going on. . . and now he has the hiccups, of course. It's inevitable.)

Anyway, he's 8 weeks old today! Hooray! Or Boo, rather. I'm not quite ready for him to not be little.

It was a major weekend; part two.

Elliot was blessed.

Mike said he flashed a little smile right before the blessing started, and then he went right back to sleep (and slept through the rest of church!).

What a good kid. I think we'll keep him.

It was a major weekend; part one.

Mabel was baptized!

She was so happy. I was an emotional wreck. :) It was a very special night.

Afterward, we celebrated at Yodipity. Elliot was passed around. The kids all climbed on Ben. We ate lots of yumminess. A good time was had by all.


p.s. Don't Mabel and my dad have the same smile?

p.p.s. Go here to learn about why we get baptized.

Lazy days are my kind of days.

I purposely didn't schedule anything for us to do this summer. Just so we could spend our days doing things like this.

He's pretty loved. Can you tell?

Our girl is eight.

Eight!

You couldn't ask for a better girl than our sweet Mabel. We totally lucked out when we got her.

We like having houseguests.

My Grammy is turning 80 this summer. Can you believe it? Doesn't she look fabulous? She's so classy.

For her birthday, she and my Grampy are taking a cross country train tour, stopping to visit all 29 of their great grandchildren. We were their first stop and we had a wonderful two days!

We mostly stayed inside (because it's really hot here) and played games and read books. It was fun.

Here's the whole family.

I'm so glad they came. Now they are headed to Dallas. I kind of wish we were on that train with them.


p.s. Our guest room is currently vacant (until Friday at least). Any takers?

so sad, but so cute

I couldn't help myself. I had to post it. I love that lip.

6 weeks old today!

nicest big brother ever

Elliot is one lucky little guy because Oliver is his big brother. And Oliver really loves him. Oliver can't walk near him without leaving a big wet kiss on his cheek. And of all my kids, Oliver begs to hold him the most.

Well, I caught Oliver doing this the other night during dinner. Elliot was sitting in his pink chair and fussed for exactly one second. So between bites of his hot dog, Oliver bounced him with his toe. It was sweet.

I'm just so glad they have each other.

It was a good weekend.

My sister, Leslie, was here!

We talked, shopped, looked up people we used to know on facebook, signed me up for goodreads, ate too much Yodipity, and spent lots of time discussing how cute Elliot is.

I really wish Dallas wasn't so far away.

We miss you already, Les.

per Grandma's request

He's 5 weeks old today. And really good at blowing milky bubbles.


My family lives too far away.

I was tired of clearing off the kitchen table.

I was tired of looking at the kids' coloring table baking in the hot HOT Arizona room, too. So I moved it inside for the summer. Who knows? Maybe it will take up permanent residence in the front hall.

We really live in our living room, so replacing the unused front hall table with something useful just made more sense.

I just hope it's not always a disaster area.

a dress, not a shirt

So, I started making Stella the ruffled halter. But she was much more excited about the popover sundress, another free oliver + s pattern, that I was making. She kept telling me, rather seriously, "A dress, not a shirt." So now both of the girls have new summer dresses.

My favorite thing about oliver + s patterns is that the inside of the garment is finished almost as well as the outside. They are just wonderful, and these easy dresses were no exception. They were fun to make and the girls love them in a major way.

I love a free pattern.

I am seriously thinking of making this cute baby carrier, from my old friend Alissa. And I think the fabric my mom picked up for me in New York a few months ago would be perfect for this ruffled halter top from my favorite oliver + s.

Now I just need to find my creative juices. I haven't seen them since Elliot was born.

You know what? I haven't missed them, either. I'd give them up in a heartbeat if it meant I could have this silly baby. He is 4 weeks old today and just perfect.