Michael's ABC Book

I have been wanting to make Michael his own ABC book for a while, and I finally sat down this weekend and did it. I used my Creative Memories Storybook Creator program to layout the pages, and then uploaded them to Picaboo, and had it made into a book. I have bought a LivingSocial deal a few weeks ago. I got a 20 page 11 x 8.5 hard cover story book from picaboo for $10 (regular price, $40)! You can still get that deal, just click the link above.

Anyway, I'm really excited about how it turned out. I searched on pinterest, and google looking for inspiration and ideas to go with each letter. Some letters were a lot harder than others and some I had a ton of ideas for. Like the letter "M", I could use Michael, Mommy, Molly, Mimi, Mickey Mouse etc... In the end, I chose Mickey Mouse, since we have such good pictures from the cruise with Mickey Mouse.

Here are just a few of the pages.

Now I just have to wait the 10-14 days for my book to be printed, and then another 4-6 for shipping!! I really hope Michael likes it. He loves his other alphabet book and his book with pictures in it, so this is like a combination of both of them.

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18 Months

So, I have a 1 1/2 year old!! Crazy!!

Here is what is going on with Michael these days:
- He had a good check up at the doctor. He weighs 27 lbs (67%) and is 32.5 inches tall (54%)
- He can say 38 words and sign 14 words. One word he says really cute is Molly. He calls her Lolly. He will walk around the house calling out Lolly. He loves his dogs! Another word that is really funny to hear is the way he says milk. He calls it "gooah" (no, I did not count that as one of the 38 words). When I walk into his room in the morning with his milk, he is signing milk and saying gooah. If I ask him if he wants some milk, he responds by saying gooah. If I ask him if he wants some gooah, he signs milk. I'm not sure how in his mind milk sounds like gooah, but it does and it cracks us up every time he says it.
- His favorite book right now is Brown Bear, Brown Bear. He loves to make all the animal sounds and gestures as we read it.

Look how tall I am! 32.5 inches!

- He loves to pray at meal time. We have prayed with him before meals since he sat with us at the dinner table. We all hold hands and Andrew prays. At first he didn't want to hold hands, and then one day, at dinner, we put our hands out, and he grabbed them. Then he started saying "Amen" at the end. Now, after we get done praying and we say amen, he lets go of our hands, and then signs "more, more" and wants us to hold hands again and pray. I love then fact that my son loves to hold hands with Mama and Daddy and pray. This is one of those things that I hope he never outgrows!
- He is sleeping anywhere from 13-14 hours every night and takes a 1.5-2 hour nap every day.
- He loves to take a bath. Since we are home during the day, we usually save bath time for after breakfast. Anytime I say, Let's go upstairs, he responds with "Bath...Bath..." While signing the word for bath. He will stay in the tub forever, usually 30-45 minutes.

Showing Bob the Builder how tall he is

- I bought him a little potty this month just for him to get used to seeing and sitting on. No, we are not anywhere near ready to potty train. But when I sit him on it, I say "Pee Pee in the Potty" And he repeats, "pee pee...potty...pee pee." And just in case you were interested, we won't be starting until after we get back from vacation in September. I really don't want to deal with potty issues while on vacation.
- He has been eating, and eating and eating... He used to not like any fruit except for grapes and applesauce. Over the past couple of weeks, he has really started eating a lot more fruits and veggies. He loves peaches, pineapple, strawberries, green beans, peas, corn, and tomatoes. We just keep trying new things, and if he doesn't like it the first time, we wait a while and try again. I'm so excited that he is finally eating more fruits and veggies.

Blowing a kiss to Mama

- We have really enjoyed going to story time this month. We go the library every other week, and to Chick-fil-a every week. He loves to play on the playground at chick-fil-a and will climb up without any help.
- We also went to the park and he loved the slides and swings. Love 70 degree weather in January/February!
- We usually go to see Daddy once a week at work, and as soon as we pull in the parking lot, he says, "Daddy!!" He loves his Daddy so much!
- He has come to love his Binky and Blanket. He only gets them as naps and bedtime, but When he gets a hold of his blanket, he hugs it and loves it! (I think it is one of the cutest things)

Right after nap time, loving on his "Be-Be"

- Usually every night, after Michael goes to bed, Andrew and I say to each other, "He is so cute..." And then talk about all the cute things he did that day. We are so blessed to have Michael and I can't imagine my life without him!

Canvas storage box

I found this idea on Pinterest, and loved it!

So, last week, I went to JoAnn's and found some cute fabric, so I could make some boxes for Michael's closet. This weekend, I made this cute storage box.

Since This Blog already did a great job with the tutorial, I won't post how I made it. Just follow her steps and you will be good to go.  

The only thing is, I should have got more fabric. In her tutorial, she said she was able to cover the box using 1/2 a yard of fabric. So, I got a whole yard, thinking it would be enough for two boxes and it wasn't. So, now I have to go back and get more for my second box. So, made sure you measure your box first, and measure the fabric you are getting, just to make sure you get enough.

But anyway, I love how it turned out, and I'm thinking about where I could put some more of these. They are great and so practical for storing so much!

I also have to give a big THANK YOU to my Mom, who helped me sew the lining. Thanks Mom, you ROCK!

Beautiful day in South Carolina

Today it was absolutely beautiful outside! For it to be 70 degrees on February 2nd, is wonderful!! We have had such a mild winter this year, which is great, since I have a little boy who loves to play outside.
Today, we went to the park to play. This was the first time going, where Michael could climb up on the playground by himself. He had so much fun on the slide and on the swings. Hopefully we will have lots more days like this for those next "6 weeks of winter"

Baby Blanket

Here is the latest crochet project I have been working on.

It is a baby Blanket for my friend Jessica. Her new little baby girl will be here sometime in March.

I also made a matching hat. I really like how it turned out.

I tried using a different pattern to make the flowers, and they were much easier this way, than the way I used to make them.

I have her the blanket this morning and she loved it! Can't wait to see her all wrapped up in it.

Kettle Corn Love

So, the last few weeks, Andrew and I have been on a major kettle corn kick. Andrew has perfected the recipe and technique, so I thought I would share it with you.
The recipe is as follows:
1/2 cup un-popped pop corn
Vegetable oil - enough to barely cover the pop corn (see picture below)
1/4 cup sugar
Salt - to taste

First, you will need a large pot with a tight fitting lid.

Pour the popcorn into the pan.

Pour in enough oil until the popcorn is barely covered and then stir.

Turn stove on high heat and wait to hear the oil sizzle.

Once the oil starts to sizzle, pour sugar in, and stir very well, to coat all kernels with sugar.

Spread out all of the kernels, so there is a single layer on the bottom of them pan.

Now just wait for the pop.

After the pop corn has started popping, give the pot a good shake. Continue to shake every 20-30 seconds.

Once the popping has slowed down (about 2-3 seconds between pops) remove from heat.

Stir the popcorn.

Add salt to taste and continue stirring.

Pour into a bowl and enjoy!!

We have tried different brands of popcorn and so far, the yellow corn seems to pop up the best. We are in search of the popcorn that will give us the biggest popped kernel. If you know where we could get some, please let us know.
Please let me know if you try making it, and how it turns out. Happy Popping!

Thrift Store Friday

I haven't posted my thrift store Friday for the past few weeks because of the holidays and being out of town. So, I'm combining the last few weeks into one post.
Here are my recent finds:
3 board books: $.25/each
A Gone Fishing Vest For Michael (NWT): $3.00
6 tooth brushes & 4 tubes of tooth paste: 5/$1.00
Vera Bradley Purse: $12.00

Andrew surprised me with the purse one day. Isn't he sweet?

The Miracle Hill store in Spartanburg has a ton of tooth brushes (mostly children's) so if your kids need a new tooth brush, stop by and pick one or 2 up. Where else can you find a tooth brush for .25/each or you get 5/$1.00?

17 Months

Wow, this one snuck up on me. Usually I have in mind when the 7th of each month is, but not this month.
So, here is what Michael is up to at 17 months:

- He is talking more and more each day and is starting to repeat words back to us. He will try to repeat everything I ask him to, but it doesn't usually come out right. There are a few that do come out right, and it is so cute when that happens.
- He loves for me to sing songs to him. His favorite are ABC's and Frosty the snowman. He has books with these songs written in them, so he is constantly bringing me these books to "read" or sing to him.

- He has grown another inch, but his weight is about the same, so his big belly is slimming down some.
- His hair is coming in, finally! It is still soft and curly. We haven't cut it yet, and really don't plan to for a while.
- He has learned how to slide down the stairs on his belly (feet first) and is getting faster each time. It won't be long till he is shooting down the stairs.

- He has started coloring with crayons. He doesn't try to eat them either ;)
- He loves to play with his little people barn and knows where each animal goes, based on the sound it makes.
- He knows and can make the following animal sounds: cow, monkey, sheep, dog, cat, and sometimes horse. He knows the sign for duck, but won't say quack. He also knows that the pig makes a funny sound he just hasn't figured out how to oink yet.

- He loves playing with his big cousins and follows them around everywhere.
- He plays really well by himself at home. He loves his blocks and loves to knock them over when I stack them up. He has just recently started stacking them up himself to knock over.

- He loves to dance!! That was his favorite thing about the cruise, I think. He dances with just his arms mostly, but it is so cute!
- He keeps me busy, but there is nothing else I would rather do, then spend my days being his Mama!

Year in Review - 2011

2011 was a good year for us. We enjoyed watching Michael go from infant to Toddler and from just learning to roll over to running around the house. It's crazy how much babies change in such a short time. Here are some high lights from our year: (If you click on the links, it will take you to my blog posts about each event)

January
Michael learns to roll over
Michael gets his first two teeth

February
Michael starts eating solid food
Andrew gets moved to third shift at work - Boo!

March
Michael's first trip to the park

April
Spent a weekend in Sevierville,TN at Women of Joy
Michael celebrates his first Easter

May
Spent a weekend in charleston
Michael learns to crawl
Celebrate my first Mother's Day 
Michael has his baby dedication at church
Celebrate 7 years of marriage

June
Michael takes his first steps and learns to walk
Andrew celebrates his first Father's Day
I spend a week at the beach with my friends

July
Spend a fun week at Animal Kingdom Resort in Florida
Andrew starts a new job!! No more third shift!

August
Michael turned 1
I turned 29

September
Start teaching Michael sign language, and he picks it up pretty quickly

October
Michael dressed up as the cutest giraffe for Halloween

November
Got to spend a weekend in Charlotte with my best friends
Bought a new van
Spent Thanksgiving in Blue Ridge, GA with Andrew's family

December
Spent the week after Christmas on a Disney Cruise and in Hilton Head.
Andrew turned 31

Like I said, it's been a good year! Can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us!

Off the Boat and On To Hilton Head

We were up at at breakfast by 6:45am. Way too early in my opinion. Ate our breakfast, turned in our comment card, and got off the boat. We were to our car by 8:30. Since we never got off the boat, I wasn't able to get any pictures of the ship, which I was a little sad about. So, here are the best I could  get from the parking garage.

We drove over to Merritt Island, to meet Kathleen for breakfast. It was good to see her again. Then it was on to Hilton Head. We would be spending 2 nights in Hilton Head, and then finally heading back home on Saturday, New Year's Eve.

We drove up the coast for part of the way, and stopped right above Daytona Beach to take some pictures.

The weather in Hilton Head was beautiful. We arrived right before sunset, so after we checked into our room, we walked out to the pier to watch the sunset.

For dinner, we went to Mellow Mushroom for Pizza. It was good, but the service was not that great. Our opinion might be a little biased, since we had just got off a cruise ship, where everyone was catering to our every need. Anyway, Michael and I were in bed by 8:30, and slept till 11:00 the next day. We were trying to catch up on all the sleep we missed on the cruise. Friday was Andrew's Birthday, So we got up and went to get some doughnuts from Flamingo's Doughnut shop. We were very sad to see that it was closed. Not sure forever, or just for that week. A lot of restaurants were closed while we were down there, since it is the off season. So, we went to the Hilton Head diner instead. After lunch, Andrew wanted to go swimming, but I just wasn't feeling like it, so I tagged along and took pictures, while he and Michael swam. (The pool was heated) 

After swim time, we all went back to the room and took a nap. 

Dinner was at It's Greek to me. It was so good. We all ate a ton, and even had leftovers to bring home.

Saturday morning, we got up and took some pictures around the resort.

Then we went over to the beach house to take some pictures.

Then it was home. We arrived home around 4:00 and it felt nice to be home. I love vacation, but there is just something nice about pulling into your own driveway after a long day of driving.

So, there is our Christmas Vacation in a nutshell. We had a wonderful time, and can't wait to do another cruise! We will probably wait until Michael is older though, so he can really enjoy all that the cruise has to offer.

Then drove over to the beach house and took some pictures on the beach.

Then it was time to go home. We were home by 4:00, and it was good to be home. I always love going on vacation, but there is something nice about pulling in the drive way and being home.

So, there is our Christmas Vacation in a nutshell. We had a great time, and can't wait to go on another cruise. We will probably wait until Michael is older and can really enjoy everything the cruise has to offer.

Hilton Head on Dwellable