I Love This Boy

Know what's even better than a yummy-smelling babe, fresh out of the tub and wrapped in a towel? One who makes silly faces and laughs at himself while I snap pictures of him. :)

God, I love this kid. He is so much fun to be around.

My little buddy.

(P.S. I realize I look ab.so.lutely. heinous in these pics. But I still like them 'cause they're us being us.)

Looking back on these suddenly made me think of some pictures Casey took of Will and I when he was about five weeks old.

I love this boy. SO. MUCH!

Love Is In The Air

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite little holidays to celebrate. Not so much for the romantic side of it, but for the lovey dovey feelings, the pretty colors, the chocolate and all the hearts. It's also probably my favorite holiday to decorate for.

I made these pipe cleaner snowflakes several weeks ago and strung them from our dining room mirror. Then I added some pink paper hearts from the dollar store. Aren't snowflakes and hearts such a pretty and cozy/happy combo?

Sorry for the dark pic.
I also found these cute, little, black birds at Hobby Lobby that I just love for my dining room. They are for everyday display, but I'm calling them "love birds" for now.

The kids and I also did some Valentine crafting last weekend and added some more cute decorations to our dining room.

I saw this in Family Fun and immediately wanted to try it.

You start by making a homemade glue on the stove top using cornstarch and water.

When the glue is cool to the touch, you can gather your materials and get started!

We took about 15 (1') pieces of yarn in three colors for each heart and dipped them in the homemade glue. Next, we pressed them inside the frame of a metal cookie cutter on top of a piece of parchment paper. Then, we removed the cookie cutter and let them dry for 24 hours.

It's a little tricky to get the yarn pieces to lay down and not stick to your fingers. Plus, both my kids are a little squeamish at getting their fingers "dirty".

Sophie tried, but didn't like the feel of the glue.

Look at that expression and body language - haha - "Eww! No way, mom!"

Drying. Aren't they cute?

They hardened up into heart "ornaments" and I just leaned one up against each bird. So now they really are love birds. :)

Next, I taped down some contact (sp?) paper and a construction paper heart "frame". Then each child took a turn placing pieces of snipped tissue paper (from my massive gift wrapping cabinet) into each frame.

Fold over a top layer of contact paper and trim around the frame, and presto!... A Valentine sun catcher! P.S. It looks better in the sun. :)

Another dark pic. I need to take a photography class.

Then on Monday this week, Will and I made a "love chain" using strips of red, pink and white construction paper.

Will helped me write the names of people we love on each piece before linking them together.

Since we still haven't gotten drapes for the dining room yet, the chain is scalloped above the window.

Will's favorite activities were definitely the sun catcher and love chain.

I'm looking forward to a few more activities and food treats I'm planning for our love celebration. :)

Sylvania Playground!

On Saturday morning, the kids and I picked up Nana and headed to Sylvania Playground for a little runnin' around, jumpin' up and down, climbin', swingin' and slidin'.

Upon our arrival, we were one of maybe three small families present. So we played for awhile at our own leisure. Then in about a 20 minute time span, another 50 or so kids showed up for birthday parties and such. Ahhh! It was madness! I can't imagine going there without one adult per mobile child to supervise. We only stayed an hour and, for $5 per child, it was an economical good time! Hopefully, we can go back with Cora sometime soon.