Christmas time is here

I have always had a hard time writing or typing "Christmas".  It usually comes out "Christina" or a mixture of the two. We had a great Christmas in Wisconsin.  I thought for sure we would have a white Christmas, but we are still enjoying snow-free weather!  I will take it as long as I can! :)

We have had lots of new changes over the past 2 weeks.  Here are some of the highlights of our Christmas break so far:

CAMILLE IS OFFICIALLY POTTY TRAINED!!

and............

ELEANOR IS ROLLING OVER!!

We are all ecstatic about both.  Potty training was much better than I was expecting it to be.  We are happy to be down to one child in diapers.  Eleanor is excited to be moving around more and is still a happy and sweet little girl. 


Here are some pictures of the rest of our happenings:

Admirals hockey game--Date night plus Elle.  She was so good, everyone turned around after the game and said, "wow I didn't even know there was a baby there!"

Cam giving Elle a shoulder ride
 

3rd Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater party.  I'll spare everyone their pictures on here and email them to you. :)

Making their gingerbread house

Oh the concentration...I love it!

 A trip to a waterpark

Christmas Eve party with friends

New pj's on Christmas Eve

And of course, Christmas!  After all sleeping in, we video taped Camille running out of her room in the morning.  She ignored the gifts and went straight for the table to see if Santa and the reindeer ate the treats we left them the night before.  We opened everything slow--I think it was 4:30pm before we finished.  It was wonderful, I wouldn't mind making that a family tradition.  Although I'm sure our kids would hate it when they were older. 

traditional picture by the tree

After church, the gift opening commenced.

A sleeping bag!

What she asked Santa for--a cell phone

and a kitchen set.  We will have lots of fun playing with everything!

Get your craft on!

Ok I am being lame and these are really lousy pictures, but they will at least give you an idea of what I have been up to.  Most of these I finished before Eleanor came, now I am keeping crafting to a minimum. :)  Hopefully you can gather some ideas from these, maybe for Christmas gifts if you still need some.  They are not original but gleaned from the great ideas of others.  Let me know if there is anything specific you want to know how to make!


Hairbow frame holders

Refinished a vase from Goodwill for the girl's room

Recovered this lampshade.  Would you believe Modpodge played a roll?

Made over 20 different bibs and burp cloths to have on hand for baby shower gifts.

Ok not beautiful, but a hot/cold pack that you can warm up in the microwave or throw in the freezer for a few hours.  Instant relief for whatever :)

I have since given the ones I made away as shower gifts, but this is my original diaper changing kit I got the idea from.  It holds a few diapers, cream, changing pad and wipes.  Fits easily into your purse for when you are sick of lugging around a diaper bag and want to switch back to your purse.

Folds up nice and neat

Another thing that is not my creation.  I made some wet bags for a friend and based them off of this one that I have.  Another baby item--I made myself reusable nursing pads that worked AWESOME!  I thought I would spare you and not include a picture.  Contact me if you hate buying them and want a wonderful and inexpensive alternative.  They are super easy to make!

I made a duvet cover for our bed out of a sheet I bought.  I finally figured out how to make button holes on my sewing machine so it is complete! 

I have been coveting the beautiful hand-stamped silver necklaces from places like The Vintage Pearl that have your children's initials on them.  Problem being, they are expensive!!  I found some round little silver charms at the craft store and decided to make my own!  I added the charms etc and had Nick engrave the initials with his dental drill. 

I love how it turned out, along with the fact that Nick helped me with my craft project! :)  We also made 7 more for some gifts. 

Shirt I embellished.  Bought a clearance tee in XXL.  Took in the sleeves and sides to fit me.  Used the extra fabric to design. Another plus to buying a larger size and re-sizing it: it has a GREAT long length!

I have wanted an advent calendar for Christmas.  When I found this one I knew it was the one for me!  Little magnetic tin boxes that hold treats, scriptures, etc go on the fridge.  So fun to make!

Thanksgiving Dinner Round 2

We love to eat and Nick made an awesome smoked turkey last year, no naturally we had to have another Thanksgiving dinner when we got back.  And we were thankful!