Elton Family Pictures

When we were in Boise for Thanksgiving I took family pictures for my brothers family.  Here's a collage I put together of the best shots.

Baby Gifts

So I have 3 nieces and 1 nephew coming in December and another nephew coming in March.  So I've been busy sewing away gifts for all these sweet babies that will be coming soon.  Now that said gifts have been presented I can share with all of you.

First baby that is due is Jana's baby girl.  This is her first baby.  Originally I had crocheted a blanket for her to find out that Jana really didn't care for pink all that much so I whipped this blanket and burp rags for her.  The blanket has the baby's name stitched into it.  And each of the burp rags is slightly different.

The next baby that is due is Maegen's baby boy.  This is her second baby.  To say that Maegen is pretty well set for this baby is an understatement.  She had enough boy cloths to cloth both Mack (her oldest boy) and Charlie!  So I was at a bit of a loss of what to do for her.  Then I hit a stroke of genius (that I found on Pinterest) to make Batman and Robin capes for Mack and the baby.  Turned out super cute and I'm told that Mack already loves his cape.

The next babies that are due are Melissa's twin girls.  These are babies 5 and 6 for them and girls number 4 and 5...yes they'll have 5 girls!  I figured that by this point some of Melissa girl cloths may be a bit worn out and she could use something new.  Also who can resist matching dresses for twins?  I had this skirt given to me awhile ago that I used to make these two dresses and bloomers with flowers for the headbands.  I used white accents one one outfit and blue accents on the other.  I loved how these turned out and can't wait to see the twins in these!    

The last baby due is Collette's baby boy.  This is her 4th baby and second boy.  She said she needed boy cloths and since I have yet to master the art of making boy cloths  I wimped out and bought her an outfit at Walmart.  I promise it was cute and Collette seemed to like it.

On top of making all these baby gifts I also made 3 Christmas gifts for family members.  I'll post pictures of these after they have been opened from said family members.  I'd been working pretty diligently to have all of these done before Thanksgiving so we could take all the gifts with us so I wouldn't have to pay to ship them.  I managed to finish them all in time and now I can enjoy my days being lazy...oh wait I have my own family to get gifts ready for!  Dang it!  ;)  

Playing Cars and Trains

Over the last couple weeks my couch and T.V. stand have turned into Charlie's place of play. He literally spends his whole day playing with his cars and trains, well actually most of the cars are from when Carson went through this same phase at this same age.  The first thing he asks to do when he wakes up is to play with his cars.  Anytime we go anywhere he has to take some of them with him.  I have to say that I'm thoroughly enjoying this phase.  Charlie entertains himself for most of the day which makes my job much easier.  Love this kid!  

Cars

When Carson was 2 the movie Cars came out.  To say that he loved that movie is a major understatement.  He wore out the movie he watched it so much.  Recently Charlie has become equally obsessed with Mater and McQueen.  He watches Mater's Tall tails on my Ipad almost daily and more if I'd let him.  When he's not watching Mater and McQueen he's playing with the toy versions.  Tony and I had planned on replacing our copy of Cars for Charlie for Christmas this year.  Last night at we were at Walmart and I saw the movie with a Bluray, DVD, and digital copy combo...score!  I pointed it out to Tony, but not discreetly enough.  Charlie got hold of it with no intention of ever letting it go.  So we bought it.  To the major disappointment of Charlie I made him wait until this morning to watch it.  I sat down and watched it with the kids and remember how much I actually enjoy the movie.  The good thing is we have multiple copies this time around, ,maybe it'll last us longer.  Here's to raising another car loving boy.

Carson Turns 9

For our kids we alternate between party with friends or activity with a friend (movie, bowling, etc.) for their birthdays.  Honestly I prefer the later.  It's easier, less expense, less time and planning, and not nearly as exhausting.  But I do it because I love my kids.  I'll say that I will most likely never throw a party like the ones you see on Pintrest with banners, matching candy bowls, matching water bottles, pre-posed pictures of your kids etc.   Carson and I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of party stuff and planned the party around that, race-cars.  Carson had 5 boys over.  We played the typical party games along with a bunch of races.  Then had pizzas and cupcakes.  I think the boys enjoyed themselves and that's what counts.    

 Getting ready for the party.

 The birthday boy.  I know I say it every year, but I can hardly believe how big he's getting.

 The boys

Birthday party means no extravagant cake on mom's part.  Sorry.

Halloween 2013

I've always wanted to do coordinating costumes for my kids.  This is the first year we did and it was the first year we didn't buy the worthless costumes from the store.  I made Alaina's cheer-leading costume.  I altered a jersey of Tony's for Charlie.  Carson's jersey we bought last year on sale.  We borrowed the pants and helmet and used grocery bags for his padding.  I think they all looked so cute.  Too bad the weather was less than ideal so the kids really didn't get a chance to show off their costumes.  Oh well.  I'm still pleased with the way it all turned out.

 Our two football players and cheer leader.

Mack the mighty hunter came over to trick or treat with our kiddos.

Crazy Hair Day

Last week was Red Ribbon Week at school.  Thankfully this year the school did doable dress up themes.  Last years were weird and hard to do.  Monday hat day, Tuesday Crazy Hair/Pajama day, Wednesday mismatched shoes, Thursday Halloween Costumes, and Friday Spirit day (wear school colors).  Crazy Hair was hard to do with Carson but Alaina I'd say we were pretty crazy.