Ginger Bread Boys

Eli's friend Isaiah came over to play yesterday and they had a blast. There was lots of running, screaming, ball kicking, tossing and of course the occasional squabble over the cars and trucks. After lunch I decided to let the boys try their hands at decorating two giant ginger bread men. I think they spent less time decorating and more time un-decorating and eating the eyes, buttons, shoes...you name it. It was so cute to see their chubby little fingers placing the candies on the icing and then licking it off. When all was said and done, we had two undressed ginger bread men and two happy boys covered in frosting!














Spreading the Cheer

Just in case you need a little more cheer or a smile this Christmas season, check out Eli's latest rendition of "Jingle Bells" with Papa singing back up! (the video is from my phone so the quality is not great, but I don't think that makes this any less special!)

For The Love of Soup!!!!

I'm sure many of you have had to change your child after a messy meal, but do you ever strip your child before they eat just to save yourself the clean up? Eli has developed a love for soup. But not just any soup...roasted red pepper and tomato soup!!! While I want to encourage this, he's actually getting some veggies this way, it has become quite the production. After about a week of this it dawned on me that instead of scrubbing him down, changing clothes and using a whole bottle of Spray-n-wash, maybe I should strip him down pre-soup and let him go to town!!! His current obsession includes floating cheez-its or dipping a grilled cheese in his soup (he must be deficient in orange things!) Of course before the "stripping" revelation, I had to take a few pictures of the cutest thing covered in orange soup this side of the Mississippi! (notice the not-so-white tee)
A few weeks ago I tempted you all with a few swatches of the fabrics I have been working with and now the time has come!!! This weekend I launched my new line of totes at a Christmas Boutique. It was an incredible feeling to see them all displayed and to have people respond excitedly to the prints and style of my creations!! I have three sizes "blossom" (12x12x4), "full bloom" (14x14x6) and "mixed bouquet" (16x16x7). All are fully lined with an outer pocket.

Here is a gallery of all the bags in my line thus far. If you want to see them up close and personal or want to own your very own "Daisy Designs" tote bag please let me know!

Thankful in December

It seems the time between Thanksgiving and now (the second week in December) has just flown by! But should I really be surprised? Isn't that what happens this time of year? I didn't want, however, to miss the opportunity to share what we are thankful for just because life is busy! So, here's my Thanksgiving post, a few weeks late!

A few of the "I'm thankful fors" that made the top of the list:


  • Our incredible active, crazy, silly, always entertaining little monkey, Eli!

  • Family that lives close and invites us over for impromptu hang out and meal times

  • Family that lives far but does an amazing job keeping in touch over the phone and isn't afraid to make the long trek to come see us

  • A warm, comfortable home that feels like "home"

  • The ability to stay at home with Eli

  • An amazing group of close friends that God has blessed us with

  • A God that loves us so much he gave us His son to save us

This Thanksgiving we had an extra special treat...Grandma (Grant's mum Paula) came to visit! She arrived the day before and helped us celebrate with a yummy meal, hanging out and of course shopping! We had a great time and Eli loved spending time with his "Bramba" and getting to know her better. Aside from Eli's few mishaps at the parks ("uh-oh, owey, doodle doodle do" & "uh-oh boom") the week was full of laughter, walks, lights, jumping on "Bramba's" bed and tons of fun!








You know its been a long time when...

you have to sign in to "Blogger" in order to get to your blog!!!! It has definitely been too long! So, I figured what better way to re-join the bloggin' world than with a few silly pictures of Eli. You know that's what you all want to see anyways!

Eli was showing off his boots, muscles and a few acrobatic tricks to Aunty Jen and "Cuncle" Tim over the Thanksgiving weekend.




I "Guggle"

Eli is quite fascinated with a new trick Papa showed him...juggling. Eli giggles and dances in place as my dad juggles and now Eli has decided he can "guggle" too! He gathers all his small balls up, tries to hold three at once, and then moves his arms up and down, releasing the balls at some point. Anytime he sees my dad or his smaller balls we hear "I guggle", "Papa", "Guggle"...


A future in the circus perhaps?!



One of those Weeks!

Well, its been a while since I blogged and really, I can't think of anything to write about! We went down to visit my good friend Jana last week and had a blast, but didn't take any pictures...bummer! Our weekend was full of chores and completing projects that need to be done...again, no pictures! And now this week has been fast and furious with long days (Eli is an early bird these days) and early bedtimes...for all of us!

So, nothing terribly exciting, except that I am sewing away working on my tote bags whenever I get a free moment, I get to scrapbook tomorrow night (maybe I'll finish 2007), and Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Grant's mum comes to visit next week, and my sister and her husband are driving up for the weekend as well so we'll have lots of guests to share our 23 lb. turkey with and tons of fun while we do it! Hope you all have wonderful Thanksgivings!!!

Business Adventure...

OK, so I am so excited that I couldn't wait. I have decided to embark on a little "mompreneur" adventure and see what comes of it. As many of you know I love scrap booking, jewelry making and most things crafty, including sewing. To date, I have only made things for myself or for gifts, but recently thought "hey, if I like it, maybe others will too!".
All this to say, stay tuned because you will be seeing my new line of tote bags soon. Here are just a few of the yummy fabrics I'm working with in case you are curious...




Big Bed Fun

Over Labor Day Weekend, Grant and I found a toddler sized bunk bed at the Hume Country Fair for only $10!!!! So, even though Eli is still months away from sleeping in a big bed, we scooped up the bargain and painted it white to match his room. The frame has been set up in his room for a month or so and Eli has enjoyed climbing up and over, under and around the bed. Well, we just recently bought a mattress for it and now it's one of his favorite places to play, read books and just hang out. He's also big on pretending to go Night Night in his new bed and proudly shows anyone that comes over to visit. I got to see it four times in about 20 minutes he was so excited!

Look Mama!

So Comfy!

"Night Night"

19 Months

I have been trying to get Eli's photos taken every three months which means 18 months would have been the next set, but we were a little late so 19 months it is! It is hard to believe how fast he grows and changes. Looking at his last pictures, he looks so much more "little boy" than only a few months ago! He is up to all sorts of crazy things and continues to amaze, and entertain, us daily. His learning curve seems to be on overdrive which makes it hard to catch you up on all his new tricks, so here are just a few new things and cute stories. Not to mention a few of the fabulous photos that my friend Sandy took while chasing Eli around our backyard. Thanks Sandy!







Lingo:
Eli has been big on recapping lately. If he gets hurt of something happens, he wants to make sure you didn't miss any of it. A typical Eli story might go something like this...
"Mama, down...(indistinguishable babble) oweeeee...boom....mamma (more indistinguishable babble accompanied by several hand motions).

He is also starting to string multiple words together such as:
up please
Thank you
mama down
uh-oh (don't know if that's technically two words but it sound so cute)
meow down
lililililililili (this is how he says, "Kitty, kitty, kitty", but it just ends up sounding like he's rolling his tongue)

Cute Story:
The other morning Eli and I were playing in the living room and out of the blue he says, "Dada hot". And I say, "Daddy is in the office, I don't think he's hot". This did not satisfy because he continued to say, "Dada hot". I asked him to show me and he pulls me into the kitchen and asks to be picked up. When I pick him up, he quickly points to our electric kettle and says again, "Dada hot". I then realize that he wants to make Daddy a cup of tea like we did a few days earlier, so I say, "Do you want to make Daddy some tea?" and Eli says very firmly, "tea"! So we proceeded to make Daddy a cup of tea and deliver it to him in the office. What a silly little boy we have.

And the Winner Is....

Grant Tyler!!! Well, not exactly, but I have to pass out the kudos to my stud muffin hubby who completed his first official half marathon last Sunday in 1 hour, 37 minutes and 33 seconds. He beat the goal he'd set for himself and was still standing at the end so I count that as a victory! Our good friends Rob and Heidi ran as well while Papa, Nana, Eli and myself supported our runners by getting a coffee and scone and cheering them on at the finish line (hey, we weren't the ones in training!). Later that day as we were discussing the run Grant says, "maybe I'll do a marathon next year". I'm gonna need a Venti coffee for that race!

A little pre-run warmup

Before...

and After!

Can't forget the post-run stretching!


That Sunday was also our anniversary. I think I mentioned previously that the traditional anniversary gift for 6 years is candy/sugar. We exchanged presents that morning but waiting to break into our stash until that evening when we put Eli to bed and curled up on the couch to watch a few shows we'd tape...now that's romantic!

(no this is not a candy store...these are our presents!)

Apple Hill...apple cider, apple donuts, apple fritters, apple pies...


Our play group headed to Apple Hill last Friday for some yummy treats and lots of fun! Eli and I (dressed in long pants and sleeves) were greeted with sunny weather and tons of people when we arrived. As our group began to gather Eli immediately clung to Haylie (his new best friend) and they had a great time playing in the dirt! They were running, rolling and sliding on the dirt hill right next to the lovely clean grass where we were sitting! We celebrated four October birthdays with cupcakes and of course had to sample a few different apple goodies. They also had a little pumpkin farm area that was great for some fall pictures. After a long day of playing and eating Eli fell asleep almost before we could get out of the parking lot.







Our Lil' Pumpkin

This evening we took a quick trip to the local pumpkin farm to explore, burn off some energy and pick up a few more fall decorations. Eli was having a great time rearranging their displays and pulling around the wagon full of gourds. He even took a little time out for a pony ride.