A Day at the Farm

A few months ago (has it really been that long??!) we met up with a couple of friends, along with their cheery son, Corbin at a local farm (or was it orchard??), to pick pumpkins - and there were a LOT of pumpkins

There was also a little penned-off area with wooly creatures that were very...licky

One got a little frisky and started biting nibbling affectionately....she had a thing for my husband



If you look closely, you'll notice that the creature probably has a full-blown case of the cataracts - just saying ;)



Isabel didn't think particularly much about the four-legged creatures



Although the "kid" of the bunch was pretty cute



She had more fun with the GIANT pumpkins



And with some of those that were more her size



Staring at the rolling hills was also an enjoyable activity...



So this is one of the perks of having friends around -- you get family pictures!



Because this is usually all we get: just Daddy and her



Here's Kevin and Jackie - Look how much Corbin has grown! He's a couple of days older than Isabel and at the time of the trip, he probably has 7 teeth and was THIS close to walking!



Jackie is an avid photographer



Her lenses make mine feel like a pre-kindergartener.

There was also a corn maze at this farm/orchard



Before you enter, there's this story board at the entrance

Like the good, observant students we are, we skipped reading it.

Wish we hadn't though, because throughout the maze, there were these:



A wrong answer will take you through a dead-ended path.

Sometimes, they even throw you a curve ball

And you'll end up wandering every which way



And sometimes you'll start thinking, "Am I going to be stuck here forever??"



Corn DOES get a little ominous after a while


But, we found our way out eventually.

Here's hubby in his "macho" pose. Yes, baby girl -- your dad is a silly billy



As with all good farms/orchards, they capitalize on every opportunity to make a buck (or five)



We handed ours over willingly enough



As for the pumpkin picking, we found a beauty



It was too heavy to be registered on the scale



The boys were mighty proud of their gourds



Isabel was just knackered out

11 Months!!!

My baby is 11 months!

Doesn't she already look like a toddler (with highwater pants)?

Less than 30 days before she'll leave babyhood for good...*sniff*

She's a cheerful, mischievous girl with a great disposition and LOVES to try and imitate things we do that cracks her up - like blowing raspberries on our skin.



And Momma loves her very, very much!

As does Daddy (but Momma still loves her more =p)

The question should be, who does she look like more?

Some milestones:

She knows how to walk (but crawling is still her preferred method of travelling -- it gets her to where she wants faster!)

She's imitating things we do and say more and more readily - she knows how to say "Dog" when she sees Buddy (Although it sounds like "dawk"), she says "Da" when she sees her daddy, she says "Uh-oh" when she drops something, both intentionally and accidentally (actually, it's more like "ack ack"....she's slowly getting to "ack och")

She loves to share anything that she finds fascinating

She's a great eater -- from cheerios and yogurt, to vegetables, meat and tofu. So it's definitely a boost for the amateur chef in me!

Edit: BTW, she was still toothless when she turned 11 months....although I can see all her bottom teeth in her gum. But on the 14th, her first bottom front tooth started poking through the gum. So long, gummy smile =(

So Smockin'' Cute!

I made this smocket using a tutorial from The May Fly* and it's so stinkin' cute!

I absolutely love the back

And look, it's reversible!

An easy peasy weeknight project

* I made a slight change to the pattern in terms of the length in the front -- shortened it so that it's more "top" length - and I'm most probably going to put snaps or buttons in instead of tying the straps -- it's held together by pins right now

Craft Hope

Now that it is getting chilly, there's really nothing better to do than to curl up in a cozy blanket with a stack of good books and a cup of hot cocoa

But we won't be bundled up in this particular one - this one will be sent, along with hundreds of others, to homeless children in the Grand Rapids, MI area. This is made possible by Craft Hope and Margaret's Hope Chest - so thanks to both wonderful entities for this.

Michigan winters are brutal -- I should know - I went to school not 45 minutes from Grand Rapids, which is also very close to hubby's hometown.

While my quilt is far from perfect (it's my first time working with something this big!), I'm really hoping that it will help provide warmth and comfort to the child who receives it (and also crossing both fingers and toes that it holds up!!)

Isabel seems to love it

Which makes me want to keep it for her (since it'll probably be a LONG time before I attempt making one again!)

So it's on its way out

I Get Knocked Down...

But I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down

- Chumbawamba -

Dresses: Round 2

"Pillowcase" dresses this time




I used this tutorial, but instead of using a ribbon as the neckline, I followed Darby's example and made the armholes and neckline with biased tape (I made my own using this tutorial)

The only thing that seemed really odd to me is that the sizing of the armholes in the tutorial were the same for 6 months up to 2 T --- so when I have the dresses side by side, instead of it looking like one 6m dress and one 18m dress, it looks like a dress and the shirt/top version of it....hmmmm.....

Ah well, if it doesn't fit, Caitlin will just have to use it as a top when she's older.

See The Yellow Bee?

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!

Isabel was a bumblebee for Halloween

We spent Halloween over in Virginia with some extended family members, and we hit the neighbourhood for some trick or treatin'



Guess who seemed to have had more fun, Isabel or my husband?



Her stash wasn't enormous, as it started raining after a short while



But it makes for a good start

Next year, she'll be tottering along with her basket. Can't wait!

I'm Sucked In...

To the Twilight books

(get it? Sucked in...vampire books? =D)

Anyway, when the craze happened last year, I was pretty much scoffing at it - I was waaaay too old to be mesmerized by vampires and other like mythical creatures (Harry Potter was different - that started when I was still young[er])

But it's amazing what a couple of 6 hour flights and multiple delays can do to one -- I'm now halfway through my third book (Although I have to say that there were times where I was rolling my eyes at some scenes)

So now, I'm very interested in seeing the movie --- but on the other hand, I'm afraid that the books will then be ruined by, as one blogger so eloquently put it, "a bunch of scrawny teenagers running around"

New "Eyeliner"!

If you've noticed, I have a list of things I'm obsessed with, on the right over there ------->

And if you've noticed, "Making roman shades for the kitchen" has pretty much been one of those "guests who you can't seem to get rid of"

The "funny" part of the story? I've actually finished making the shades MONTHS ago. Only thing was that, when I was just about to hang them, hubby chose to tell me THEN that he doesn't particularly like the print. He couldn't have told me when I first bought the fabric -- he didn't choose to tell me when I had the first one done, nor did he decide to tell me when I had the second one done, before the third.

Oh no...Not my hubby dearest.

Fast forward another few months, and here we are.

I went with Amy Butler's Wood Fern in Ecru print from her Nigella collection (and if he doesn't like it, he can poke his eyes out we can talk about it)

Now, my windows have some custom eyeliner. Or eyeshadow. Or eyelashes. Whichever.


And the neighbours will no longer be subjected to seeing me dance around in my underwear.

(On a less disturbing note, I seem to have an issue keeping paper towels stocked in this house)

*****

For anyone who's interested in making their own roman shades, Martha Stewart's website offers very simple instructions...click here (Although I've had a difficult time finding a pulley system...still looking for that one)

And I've repurposed one of the original curtains to hold my giftwrap. Yes, I spent almost 3 hours making a "bag" for my giftwrap. It even has blackout lining, to prevent my $1 rolls of wrapping paper from fading.

Oy!

Happy Fall!

Today was the first perfect fall day of the year for me, with crisp, cool air that tells me the holidays are near!

I love this time of the year!

A Bunny Rabbit Stopped By...

And she's here to stay...

Thanks Godmother # 3 for hand-making this little cutie!