Happy Birthday Babies!

Happy Birthday Anna and Alex! I can't believe the year you've had, it's gone by so quickly.

Happy Father's Day

In honor of his papa Alex has decided to tackle two new skills in one weekend! On Friday he stood up by himself and then Saturday started taking his first steps. It has been crazy hard to capture him walking, but I think I got one or two in this movie.
Hope all the dads out there had a good day!

Someone's Walking

Anna has taken her first steps. If she wasn't already a complete handful I'd be saying something like, "Now the trouble really starts!" Right. If this is where the trouble really starts, then we are doomed.

The video isn't long, the action is towards the end.

America's Next Top Models?

We took the babies for their second professional photo session. The first, in case you were wondering, was just a little over a year ago, and maybe it doesn't really count but they were there, you know. You can see those early pictures on this link.

The session was at Sears, I went on a recommendation of a coworker who took his newborn there and gave a good review. My sister J also said they did a good job so I booked them. Below are some of the highlights. We (I) ended up buying the disc, which includes all the shots plus some enhancements that were cute. That was a little pricey but it beats sitting down and picking out poses. I am so bad at that I would rather pay to sit at home with a glass of wine, look them over, ask mom and the sisters which ones they like, and get my own prints.

I took along all the props you see in the pictures. Thanks S for the balloon suggestion, it was a hit! And if any of you do this I would skip the cupcake smash. Anna wasn't interested, in the end I had to schmear some icing on her face for the close up. Alex liked it (of course, look at him) but the mess was mostly scattered around their legs and diapers, not worth the hassle of getting them undressed and then having to clean them up. Could have been that the cupcake was one of six from the Acme and it pretty much sucked.

Oh yes, Anna is standing on her own. She has been making little tiny shuffle steps with her right foot, sometimes turning in a half-circle, which is pretty cute. Alex is not standing up yet, but just yesterday he has started to crawl not on his knees but on his feet. I can tell he wants to move faster but his knees are slowing him down, poor guy.

Sweater for Anna

I did it! I made a wearable item! I got a little impatient and the sweater came out a little short, but next time I can make go longer. This was also the first time I made modifications to a pattern, the bottom is supposed to curl up like the sleeves but I don't like that idea so I made it a ribbed pattern like the neck.
The best part? NO SEWING. I didn't have to sew together any of the finished pieces. This sweater is knit entirely in one piece.
It took a while, but I don't exactly have all the time in the world these days! If the color looks familiar, it's because I used the same yarn to make a hat for Alex earlier in the year. And I still have enough left to make some other projects I have in mind.

The pattern came from this blog: Soulful Hues Hobbies & Random Thoughts Thanks Shellee!

Mother's Day the First...at least it wasn't a nursing tank

My first Mother's Day was pretty uneventful. My expectations were a bit high, it being my first one and all. Z got me roses, and we got take out from the best place on earth, P.F. Changs, so in all it wasn't a total loss. The part of the day that really got to me happened when I went in the restaurant to grab the take out. As I was leaving the cashier said "Happy Mother's Day!" Now, she really had no way to know I was a mother. OK, maybe I was wearing an over sized (yes, maternity) tee shirt that might have had a stain or two on it, but that is not necessarily an advertisement of motherhood. It was probably just a reflex, like saying Felize Cinco de Mayo! Completely harmless. Or at least I can say that, now that I am finally a mother. So it made me smile, and be thankful that I'm not in a place where I would have been shattered by that statement. It was more like Thanksgiving Day for me and I enjoyed immensely.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Alex not loving the grass so much.

Kung Pao, you never stood a chance.

Weakness

Today was such a beautiful day, I am so glad I had the day off. Nope, the daycare provider isn't sick again, this was a planned vacation day, and I really lucked out. The babies and I took a walk around town after lunch. We stopped for an iced latte, went into Hipster Home, and visited my favorite local yarn shop, The Knitting Basket, where I dropped sixty bucks (I know, baby shoes and yarn, I have an addiction, people!).

Here is one of the yarns I bought. It's Claudia Hand Painted Yarn, the color is called Boot Camp. So J, if you're coming down on Sunday bring that sock pattern!

Right now Alex is napping it off and Anna is playing quietly, checking me every once in a while to make sure I'm still in her line of sight.

This morning Alex and Anna discovered the bowls in the kitchen cabinets. The stainless steel bowl stole the show, it makes the best noise when dropped on the floor.

When Alex is napping Anna cannot resist him. She loves to terrorize him!