the "run the driveway" game

We officially have a confident walker here. He is verging on running actually. Definitely fast-walking. Anyway, his favorite game outside right now is to walk down the driveway with someone following/"chasing" him.
He loves to carry something along. And checks every now and then to make sure you are still looking.
Sometimes he needs to stop and investigate something interesting.
Usually he keeps going and going until he reaches the end of our (very long) driveway, and then tries to keep going across the street until we pick him up and carry him back home.
Tonight was the first time he turned around voluntarily and came back the other direction. Exciting for me because I was off the hook for carrying duty!
He had a blast last weekend in Des Moines, because my parents live on a circle, so he could walk and walk on the sidewalks without having to turn around!

Helen's banner

As promised, here are a few photos of the banner I made for my friend Helen. She picked the fabric, and I think the prints and colors look adorable together. The fabric & yummy felt is from Home Ec, of course.
I also decided to make a little storage bag for it. I have been wanting to make something to keep my banner safe and clean and all together, so I thought Helen would appreciate it as well. The bag is just a simple rectangle with a drawstring. I added a few strips of the matching prints just for fun.
That's all for tonight, I'm tired after a busy weekend visiting in Des Moines and working much of the afternoon/evening on getting the garden back under control!

Be back soon

We're on an adventure in Des Moines. Looking forward to visiting the
Art Festival and hanging out with family. Have a great weekend!

right now...

reading to a sleepy boy who had to be woken up from his afternoon nap so he would be able to sleep tonight.

making spaghetti and meatballs for dinner + green beans & strawberries

putting away sewing supplies after working on a project during naptime

a la Ali Edwards

weekend roundup

Well, we've been quite busy around here. Bill has been away on a fishing trip with the guys in his family and we had a visit from my mom for the weekend. The garage sale went pretty well - the highlight was watching Lachlan greet and follow around the shoppers. It's always good to clear some stuff out, and in my case it motivated me to clean up and organize our garage, which was a much needed chore.

We ate out on the patio at Atlas on Saturday night, had Wig and Pen pizza Sunday night, and gobbled up cupcakes with homemade raspberry buttercream frosting all weekend. Mom and I watch Baby Mama and Waitress, both of which we highly recommend. I finished sewing Helen's birthday banner (photos to come soon) and even made a little bag for it to live in when her family is not using it.

Also, I upgraded to the new iPhone 3GS! Oh so exciting to be able to take little video snippets and the camera quality is excellent. It ended up being great timing because... I dropped my original iPhone in the baby pool last week while L and I were there. Technically, he pulled it in, along with my shirt that it was lying on. OOPs! Fancy phones + water is never a good thing.

We've been spending lots of time outside. Although it is TOO hot to be out this afternoon, L just loves to be out wandering and digging. I used part of my garage sale earnings to buy a little water table for him, so I think that will be a big hit this summer!

I'm excited that Wendy is blogging again. Check out the beautiful photos her sister-in-law took of Wendy and her husband, Jeremy!

Ok, off to accomplish a few things before naptime is over.

It's Saturday

and that means Farmer's Market day. I loaded up Lachlan in the Ergo carrier and we headed downtown. The rain was no problem, since the market is covered. We wandered and listened to Joe Price. We said hi to the kitties and puppies that were there from the animal shelter. We saw a couple friends. Came home with a fresh loaf of bread, asparagus, and a couple catnip plants.
Yesterday was a big day. Lachlan's first haircut! We decided to do it because he gets mistaken for a girl alot - not a big deal, he's just so pretty ;) But his hair was getting long in the front and the wings on the side were getting a little crazy. Kiley just gave him a little trim. He sat so well. I thought I would have to hold him, but he sat right up on the booster and did great! I think it helped he got to hold his cup and an extra comb.
Here are a few random weekend links for you:

The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee is having a fundraiser - go check out the cute new kitties!

Trying to decide whether to make a DIY play kitchen from IKEA stuff or wait until August when their real play kitchen comes to the US

Wearing the same dress for a whole year? Great accessorizing! The Uniform Project

This wedding looks like it was serious fun. Love those photos, especially the backdrop for the portraits - and the kissing booth - and the big balloons. Reminds me of Up (have you seen it yet? Go see it!!)

new scraps

Decided to really be on vacation today and made some time to scrap & sew. Feels good to get these photos and memories down on paper. I can see Ali's influence on all these pages. Love her simple style and that she uses multiple photos on her pages.
Worked on another birthday garland that my friend Helen commissioned for her family. I'd like to make a couple to put up in our Etsy shop, but I'm not sure if I could make the price worth the time I spend to make them.
Have a good weekend!

Hi!

Hi there! Not much blogging lately... we've been busy! And I've been doing mini-updates of our adventures on Twitter.

Last weekend we took a trip to Des Moines for a visit. On Friday, Lachlan took his first trip to the zoo. He was definitely interested in some of the animals, especially the goats and llamas that you can get so close to in the petting zoo. I think his favorite part was being able to walk and walk and walk on all the paths. We bought a family memebership, so I'm looking forward to many more visits. More zoo photos are on Flickr.

We also went to a concert in the East Village. It was a blues band out on the street and Lachlan was not interested in sitting back with the rest of the audience to listen. Nope, he walked right up to the stage, danced and clapped - even tried to get onto the stage. Luckily the lead singer thought it was pretty cute and she even gave him a tambourine to play!

We had a BBQ, visited with L's aunt Bethany & uncle Zach. Went shopping, took naps, and met Uncle Thor's new Sheltie puppies. We almost adopted a pair of 3 yr. old labradors in need of a home! Luckily, they had already found a new home. We staked out on the back porch to get a sighting of the mysterious creature that lives behind my parents' house. On Sunday, we stopped by a high school graduation party for my cousin, Joel. It was one of those weekends that you have to rest and recover afterwards.

This week we're still working on sorting and getting things ready for the garage sale next weekend - Friday & Saturday the 19th & 20th - stop by if you're around. Also trying to take advantage of the rain-free days to work in the garden and transplant plants around the yard. We're having a big landscaping project in our front yard this month, so there's a little prep work for that. Lachlan is finally getting comfortable with walking in the grass, so it is easier to have him outside with me.

I have several sewing projects that I am itching to work on, but between yardwork and housework, it just isn't happening. I'll have to make some time soon so I have more crafty photos to share. Ok, blah blah blah! Be back soon :)

So I've been trying to be diligent about watering and weeding and taking care of the garden. But I must admit, some days I need a little motivation to get out there. I decided I need a little "garden journal" to make notes about when I planted things, how long they should grow, and little tips I pick up along my gardening adventure. Maybe even a few sketches, if I can make time for that.

I love that I can go to Etsy, type in "garden journal" and come up with such lovely things as

this

this

this

these

and this! (I snatched up this one)

Love you forever, Etsy!

Anyway, I should have researched what I was planting a little more (duh) but Wendy filled me in on the fact that watermelons like sandy soil. We have wonderful rich, black soil, but not sandy. Sure enough, nothing is happening in that little section of the garden. So tonight after Lachlan went to bed (very nice that it is still light out after that!) I went out and dug up that section of the garden, separated it into two sections, and planted onions and beets. Did I research either of those before I planted them? Um, no. I guess this is "trial and error" gardening. Why beets? I really have no idea. Not sure I've even ever eaten beets. But there are a few recipes I'd like to try in Deceptively Delicious that use them, so why not!


This is a shot of a nest in a tree behind our house - I climbed up on a ladder to get it and everything! Not sure what kind of birds, but soon enough there will be little noisy birdies! Hope you all have a great weekend. We're looking forward to adventures in Des Moines!

vacation time!

I'm off work for a couple weeks, so I'm enjoying hanging out full time with my little dude. We have just been hanging out around the house, doing laundry, cleaning, reading books, and playing outside.
His new thing is climbing on anything and everything. He's been climbing up to hang out on dada's chair. So cute. He's also practicing eating with a spoon. Check out videos here and here if you want to see him in action. :)
I also found a spot for a new piece of artwork. Bill's parents got this neat angel sculpture for us in Sante Fe. I think she looks perfect here!

Looking forward to a couple more days around the house, maybe a little scrapbooking and definitely some sorting & purging to get ready for our upcoming neighborhood garage sale (June 19 & 20, please stop by if you're in the area!). This weekend we're going to be visiting grammie and papa in Des Moines and next week it's off to northern Wisconsin for a rustic lake adventure! Hope you're all welcoming June with some fun plans, too!