Swinging

Charlie and Adella got swings from Grandma and Grandpa Heck for their Birthday.  After a few rounds of colds and such we finally got them hung up last weekend.  Charlie LOVED it.  Adella, still not so much although at least she didn't cry!

Snack time

It didn't take Adella long to figure out how to get snacks out of these cups - however sometimes she gets a few more out than necessary - luckily Charlie is usually right behind to clean up.

Presidents Day

Adam had Presidents day off so we headed to Mesa again to play in the park with our family.   It was a GORGEOUS day, seriously couldn't have been more perfect!   Charlie was in Heaven.  He loved being able to just run around wherever he wanted - and even better when someone was willing to chase him.   Adella wasn't quite as into it, but she still had fun (well until we tried putting her in the swing, we still can't figure out why she isn't a fan!).

Sadly I forgot our camera, so I just snapped a few off from my phone - the camera on our phones is really horrible, so the images are pretty bad.

After playing at the park we came home and just hadn't quite had enough of being outside so we went for a walk.

Charlie kept tickling Adella's face - I'm pretty sure he wasn't meaning to do it but I have no idea why he stuck his hand over there.  It made her giggle though and she thought it was funny to try to bite his hand as well.

Oh and just to throw this in there, Adam just had to dress them horribly again that day - I just couldn't let them go in public like they were so it didn't last too long.

He seriously insist on tucking their pants into their socks ALL the time!  Drives me crazy!

Sunday FUN Version 2.17.12

We've been looking forward to this Sunday for A LONG time!   Adam's sister Rachel had her first baby and Adam's mom was able to come home from their mission for a bit to help out - so exciting!   Adam's sister Emily and her kids were also in town, so that meant all 9 grandkids all together!   This was the first time Charlie and Adella got to see Grandma since she left a year ago.  It was pretty special!

We had a yummy fry bread dinner and Adella of course figured out how to turn around backwards in her seat.

Adella and Grandma Button

Grandma knew just how to win over the hearts of her Grandkids - Books! 

It was also Rachel and Daniel's birthday, Daniel wasn't able to be with us and we definitely missed him!  

Adella was in heaven, she found her cousin Maryn's place kitchen and a magnet board and just played by herself for a LONG time, I've never seen her be that content by herself! 

Charlie joined the fun for a little while, but this guy was having another rough Sunday.  He didn't get his nap before church and his afternoon nap wasn't long enough either - then he had a little accident and fell down the stairs - really sad.  Luckily he didn't seem too hurt, more scared than anything.  But he didn't want to be put down for long and insisted on being held most of the evening. 

After dinner the kids played some games with grandma and we all just relaxed and chatted.

Saturday is a special day

Oh how we love Saturdays!  We love when Daddy is home to play with us!   Plus, the weather was so nice we enjoyed some much needed sunshine!  It's still a little hard for me to take them outside by myself and let them run around, so we definitely take advantage on Saturdays!

House Party!

We are so excited to be hosting a House Party!  I got our party pack last week and dug right in!

Oh this stuff makes me Happy Happy Happy!

 Charlie and Adella had fun testing out the cups

Books are my favorite

I think I could have safely left her here on the couch alone with a book for several minutes and she would have never moved (I didn't try, don't worry!)

Doggie

Adella is quite attached to this little dog.  It was actually a Christmas present for Charlie but Adella LOVES it.  She drags it all over!

Most of the time the poor thing isn't on it's feet, but Adella doesn't seem to mind!

Sunday Fun Version 2.10.13

This little lady was so cute in her new dress from Grandma Heck.

And this guy had a rough day.   

His fever had gone down, but I don't think he still felt very well.  He was pretty attached to that pacifier for a few days (he only uses it for naps and at night, but when he's sick it's really the only thing that calms him down so we give in).   

Two seconds late your can see he's about ready to break down! 

And Adella is always happy to be on Daddy's lap!  

Toddler Approved - Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Pancakes

Now that Charlie and Adella are consuming more 'real' food and we don't have to buy Formula (OH HAPPY HAPPY DANCE!)  I've been looking for more ways to give them healthy foods that they can feed themselves.  They are pretty independent eaters, plus its hard to try to feed both of them by myself  - I can't keep up with how fast they want it!  I'm trying to make a lot of my own foods rather than resort to Cheerios and other store bought snacks - don't get me wrong I'm still using those because I'm not superwoman, but I figure if I can add some homemade things in here and there then its a start!  So with that in mind I thought I would share some of our favorites so far and as I try new recipes I'll share the results of those too for anyone else who might be in the same boat!

Both kids LOVE breakfast!  They consume so much during that meal so I am trying to make sure I pack in some good stuff!  Other than bananas, berries or other fruit, pancakes are a huge hit here!    And this is one of their favorites!

Sweet Potato OR Pumpkin Pancakes
(adapted slightly from here)

About 3/4 to 1 Cup mashed Sweet Potato or Pumpkin (I use can pumpkin or make a big pot of sweet potatoes to have on hand for recipes like this)
1 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour (can use AP Flour, but my kids don't mind wheat and we like it too so I go with it!)
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs beaten
1 1/2 C Milk
1/4 C melted butter

Sift dry ingredients together.
Mik egg, milk and butter and gently stir into dry ingredients.  Fold in sweet potato or pumpkin.  Cook at medium high heat.

This batch makes enough for all of us and a few left over that I freeze and reheat in the toaster for Charlie and Adella.   I love this recipe because there is NO sugar in it!  We don't give them syrup and they totally gobble them up (Seriously, Charlie ate 4 average size pancakes yesterday!) We of course do use syrup but I find I don't need all that much - and I don't need to butter them either.  They are so tasty!  Great way to get veggies in first thing in the morning!

If you try it let me know how you like it!

Not a bad view

While we dealt with the sickies, I spent a lot of time looking at this view.

Not gonna lie it was pretty great to just sit and read.  We actually made it through whole books without them tearing them apart or wanting to eat them.   I am so glad they love books and love when we read to them.  Now only if they would stop trying to eat them all!!

Little sick guy

This guy did not feel good for several days, he didn't really have any visible symptoms except for a fever and that he was super whiny, clingy and tired all the time.   He's such a sad little guy when he's sick!

He was so tired he fell asleep before I even got Adella changed and into her crib.  Didn't even wake up from the flash.  Poor thing!

For Mary

Dear Mary,

We are learning to brush our teeth and we like it!  Thought you would be excited that Mommy and Daddy are taking good care of our teeth.

Love,
Charlie and Adella

PS.  Come visit us!

Sunday Fun Version 2.3.13

Sunday began a not so fun week for us, lots of sickies around here!  Adam was sick enough he didn't even go to church on Sunday.  I woke up with a little bit of a sore throat and couldn't imagine wrangling both kids through church by myself so we all decided to stay home and rest.  Too bad that rest didn't fully prepare for the week we were in for!

Since we didn't go to church, we didn't get dressed up either and didn't really do anything out of the ordinary to warrant any great picture taking.  However, I just had to catch these two playing together so sweetly.  I love when they share and play quietly together (ok the toy makes noise, so not THAT quietly!) We are starting to get to the stealing toys stage, so I cherish when they just share and love each other!

Project Life Week 5

Here's week 5!   You'll notice there are no pictures from Charlie and Adella's Birthday party, I plan to add a full 2 pages spread once I get all the pictures.  I tend to do that when we have big or important events.

Instagram - in-it

My camera on my phone isn't great, so I prefer to use my regular camera mostly, but sometimes the phone is closer and I have to get the moment NOW so I grab for it!  Here are the instagrams for the week (I know those that follow me already saw these, but ya know, the grandparents always want more more more!)

A little football

Very blurry, but Charlie was laughing at Grandpa Button's funny faces on skype

So sweet!   He's modeling the new towel bibs mommy made (FYI, easiest project ever and these bibs are AWESOME!   They don't even try to rip them off! I made 10 of them in well under an hour)

Peg Board sewing organizer

I had the genius idea a week or so ago to put a pegboard above my tiny sewing area, the table is already small and once you add a sewing machine, a serger and a project, there is no room for tools.  All my stuff gets lost and I also have to worry about little hands grabbing scissors that I didn't even know where there!   So here was my solution!  LOVE IT!

I have serger threads on hooks on the side (need to get a few more).   The thing in the middle is the long arm quilting table for my machine.  The baskets are cheapy walmart baskets (in the kitchen organization section).  We got the pegboard from lowes and they cut it in half for us.  We got all the hooks at harbor freight in a box, we bought two boxes for 3.40 each!  The whole project was well under $30 and we still have another half of the pegbaord plus lots of hooks to go organizing somewhere else!  I still have tons of hooks we didn't use, but we need more of the longer ones for the serger threads. I also don't like my regular thread on the hooks so I'm gonna change that, but here it is for now!   Now I know where all my tools are and I won't have to buy elastic for every project because I don't know what I have at home!