Tuesday was Hunter's (& his buddy Wesley's) last gymnastics class for a while. They both took 2 sessions this year and truly loved it. I, on the other hand, am elated that the class is over. It did become stressful at times- me chasing after him and him still struggling with accomplishing some of the things I thought he should have learned.

I know what you're thinking- lighten up. I wasn't uptight at every session, just some of them but look forward to signing him up again when he can go by himself and I can just watch from a short distance away.

I had such a special pre-birthday lunch with not just one girlfriend but 5 of them! and all their little blessings, too (except Celia's little one). We met at Uno's for some pizza and hoping for conversation. With toddlers present, this can be quite a challenge.

These ladies are such a blessing to me and I am so thankful for their friendship. I also love knowing their precious children. I also missed my friends who weren't there, as well. You know who you are!

What a happy birthday, indeed! Oh, and the angry girl is me- I didn't do a good job of hiding my angst of having to share my birthday cookie and ice creams very well; did I? ;) Only kidding.

Last night, I put myself to work in the kitchen! I tried to recruit a big, strong helper ;) but he had his own work to do last night. Bad timing! My consolation was that he kept me company by doing his work in the kitchen where I was working. Thanks, honey!


Off to work I went to make some gifts from scratch! Now, for those of you who know me (and whom else is reading my blog?), I am not a crafty girl. So, to take on a project of this intensity is kind of a big undertaking for me. I have been to the craft store 2 or 3 times, the grocery store 2 times and in my storage getting supplies. I was ready to embark.


Please view the chaos that ensued:











Okay, there was no chaos (just a little messy) and I'm even smiling in the pictures, but I wanted to blog about my crafting experience and have the photos in my scrapbook (when I get to them in 2009!). I wanted to remember what they looked like. The final product!

I forgot to blog back in November that it was Sattchi's (pronounced like Versace) 6th birthday. I don't know what got into me (guilt?!) but this year, I baked the dog a cake! Go ahead and laugh. I would. However, that was one excited dog- Mark handing him a cake to eat and not being told to "Leave it!" It had cottage cheese "icing" made with whole wheat flour, carrots and eggs, I think. The recipe said people could eat it, too. Um, no thanks.

I know what you're thinking: the cake weighs as much as Sattchi (9 pounds). We didn't give it to him all at once. We would have been cleaning up after that dog for days (coming out both ends)!

Happy Birthday, Sattchi!

We did it! Hunter said good-bye to his crib. My 37" child is now sleeping in a twin bed! I guess you could say that Hunter did it, but it really feels like it was more work for us than for him. For those of you with toddlers, you already know this story but for those of you without, let me explain.

It starts by picking the bedding and the bed. Fortunately for me, we already have a bedroom suit handed down from Stephanie that includes a twin bed. Yeah! So, I didn't have to do any shopping here. I purchased a bed rail off of Craigslist a few months ago, as well. The bedding was my most important task. It had to be asthetically appealing and Hunter's too young to pick it out by himself, right? (Besides, he probably would have picked out Thomas the Tank Engine or Lightning McQueen from Cars and neither of these would work for my motif. Hey, I'm just being honest here, people.) Anywhoo... I picked out an adorable and affordable set from Target. I, personally, like it more than Pottery Barn Kids, which is much more expensive. The neg- there are no matching sheets.

The next step- picking out a mattress. One friend is buying her son's at BJ's, another purchased her daughter's at a furniture store. We tried a mattress store and found an amazing steel for a spring-less mattress (mattresses of the future we're told). I want to sleep on it! I purchased sheets with a nice thread count (suggestion from a friend), got him a yummy pillow (forms to his head), mattress protector (for the potty training still to come) and Sunday, we put it all together (although we missed church doing it).

Sunday night, Hunter was delighted to sleep in his new bed. He got on it and squeeled with delight. After several months of talking about it, you can understand the anticipation. The funny catch? He will NOT sleep under the covers! Totally weird. Toddlers.








Hunter apparently likes to sleep with his face buried.








Next on the agenda? Decorating his walls.