In Progress

This is where I am...

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lots of new fun items for my etsy shop!

A few items were posted this week and lots more to come! 

You can see a sneak peek of the "Littlest Birds" headband in different stages of completion.  We took some photos last night of the finished products and hope to have them in the shop this coming week.  Abs was one of the models and she was rockin' it!  I'm most excited about a eucalyptus design I have been working on that I will share with y'all soon.

You can see my shop at

byBeccaG.etsy.com

or click on the etsy button at the right.

Happy Weekend!

Joe Friday + The Bear

Today,

Joe saw a picture of The Bear...

and said,

"hey, he's wearing a Michael Jackson hat."

Now, granted, I can see the resemblance. 

However, Bear Bryant is an ICON in Alabama. 

Jonathan and I are both from Alabama, raised on Alabama football. 

Joe, himself, was born there and lived there all of his toddler days. 

Somehow,

somewhere along the way,

we have failed as parents. 

DIY Birthday Tee

Here are my

two favorite two-year-olds

and the t-shirts I made for their birthdays...

I was inspired by these shirts I saw over on Dana's blog, MADE.  She used the first letter of the child's name and added some super cute embroidery.  You can find her tutorial here.

I'm not much of a hand sewer but I liked the color that the embroidery added.  So, instead,

I layered different colors of t-shirts. 

I used old shirts that I had on hand

(don't we all have some old or unloved t-shirts hanging around that could be put to better use?),

cut out the shapes,

and sewed it all together. 

A few tiny tips:

-sew around the numbers before sewing the shape onto the shirt

-it is easier to sew on multiple layers of t-shirt material

-use a smaller stitch

Also...

the sprinkle shirt tutorial was part of a series of crafts and projects all for BOYS!

Check out the rest of the projects under the heading Celebrate the Boy on Dana's blog.

 

Dylan Turned 2!

I love this age.  Some people love rocking the babies and maybe shed a tear when that baby starts to crawl and then walk and then run.  But I say "bring it on!"  I like it when they have a little bit of independence and LOVE to hear what comes out of their mouths!  Their limited vocabulary, L's that sound like W's and C's that sound like T's...presh.us. 

So, to celebrate the great grand age of two, we had a party.
Now, there are a lot of great birthday ideas out there.  Themes galore.  Cake, decorations, games, snacks, and favors to go with those themes.  And we have had some of those parties before.  Joe's third birthday was a pirate party.  They found buried treasure.  Dad tried to steal it but was captured and forced to walk the plank.  We had a fabulous time.  D's party was a fabulous time, too.  Just a bit simpler.
We went to, ahem,
Mickey D's. 
Don't judge. 
I brought balloons.

And made him that awesome shirt.  (Tell you how later this week.)
And I invited some of his sweet friends to come run around and scream with him in an enclosed space. 

And I gave him ice cream.

Bonus, the happy meal toy was a 2 year old sized light saber.
So, if you are stressing out about your child's next birthday party, don't sweat it.  Keep it simple. 
Balloons + sugar = instant party.
I mean did you see his face? 
He was lovin' it!

Best Dives of the Summer

We had such a blast this summer! 

I hope to be able to share some of the best parts here in the near future: 

our travels, camp adventures, art and craft projects, fun with visitors. 

I felt like the pool was a good place to start. 

We spent a lot of time swimming and jumping and splashing. 

So, without further ado, here are the nominees for

Best Dive Summer 2011

Abs:  "shot through the heart", "noodle jumping", and "the classic"

Joe:  "karate kid", "my dad can still throw me", "walking off a cliff"

Trek:  "I just started swimming by myself 3 days ago and now I want to give my mother a real heart attack", "cannonball", and "ninja kick"

Dylan:  (there were fewer pictures to choose from for this one.  probably because i was in serious lifeguard mode whenever Kamikazi here decided to get in the water.  however, i feel this one jump is worthy of a nomination)

"white dolphin"

Please leave your vote for Best Dive Summer 2011 in the comment section below. 

Dear Old Golden Rule Days

We started school this week. 

And even though only 2 of us are actually going to school, it is still a big transition for the rest of us.  I have half as many kids at home now for the majority of the day (with one starting preschool in a couple weeks)!

Here are a few of the shots my reluctant children let me take.  It's not that embarrassing to have your mother snapping pictures of you on the first day of school, is it?!?

JOE ::  Second Grade

ABBY ::  Fourth Grade

Abs told me she would be an "upper-grader" this year.  I was not aware that elementary school had "upper-graders".  But when we walked her into that room, everything looked so big and academic-like.  There aren't any toys tucked away to the side like there had been before.  And look at those books on her desk!  They are real life textbooks!  Fourth grade must mean business.

I just had to share this next picture. 

I can't even believe this stuff is coming back.  My sister still teases me about the tie I used to wear in middle school.  But these girls are rockin' it!  They look so cute!

Last, but not least, here are the little boys on the first day of school.  D wore his "batpat" the entire time we were there and every morning since to take the kids to the bus.  Trek is working on his tetherball skills.

How are you handling these back-to-school days?

Quote of the Day by Dylan

Dylan points and exclaims, "Dat car is BWOKEN!"

I look over to see what he's talking about.

It's a convertible.