My Princess

This girl started a ballroom princess dance class this last week. She was shy when we first walked in and did not want to join the group. I'm not use to her doing this and I wasn't quite sure how to handle it. I let her sit and watch for 15 minutes. Finally, I bribed her with a promised trip to McDonalds for a yogurt parfait. Once she joined the group she loved it and had so much fun!!

I've been......

I've been busy. I've been taking pictures. I've been thinking of so much to blog about. I HAVE NOT taken the time to do a blog post. Wow, has it really been over a week? More to come. Promise.

Penguins

Did you know that killer whales are an enemy to penguins. I have heard that phrase quite a few times in the last week. Really. At random times throughout the day. Jakob is learning about penguins and sharing his new found knowledge with all of us.
After Jakob painted these amazing pictures he told me the one on the bottom is a killer whale attacking a penguin. "Because you know Mom, killer whales are an enemy to penguins." What a nice drawing! I truly could not be prouder! Truly.

The other day we had a conversation that went something like this.

Jakob: Dad, did you know that you are an enemy to a penguin?

Steve: What?

Jakob: You are an enemy to penguins, Man is an enemy to penguins.
Me: Jakob, when they say Man they mean humans, so they mean all humans, women, men, children.

Jakob: Isabelle, did you know you are an enemy to penguins?

Corners of My Home

This dresser replaced the bookcase that was in the boys room. I put Karter's clothes in the top three drawers of the dresser and a bunch of Jakob's random legos in the bottom drawer. His sets of legos are seperated into tubs in his closet. Karter's clothes were in bins in his closet. His closet is quite empty now. What can I put in there?? So many ideas.

This dresser belonged to my Great Grandparents. I started refinishing the bed and dresser before Steve and I were married and finished it while we were in our first apartment.

I've been trying to use baskets to help divide dresser drawers. I have a hard time finding baskets that are shallow enough, but these drawers are deep.

FYI - I just bought a couple of those white boxy storage units from Target to keep Jakob's clothes in. All his clothes are in his closet.

Corners of My Home

So, planning to post some photos of some changes I've made to different places in my home this week. This is a bookcase I took from the boys room. It housed thier toys. I didn't like what a mess they would make in thier room with their toys, it is such a small space. I decided we already have a playroom and I wanted to keep most of their toys in there. With the exception of Jakob's legos, their are no toys in the boys room. So, I moved this to the back of our sectional and I love how it turned out. I put most of Karters toys that were in a big basket in the bottom baskets and boxes. I like having the option to pull out just a few of his toys instead of all of them. I put fluffy movie watching blankets in the big basket I took Karter's toys from. I love that we have a place for these blankets and that I can just throw them in the basket without folding since it has a lid to hide them.
There are a couple things I'm still working on. The top baskets and boxes need items in them. I have lots of things that need homes, I just want to be smart about what I put where. I also am not sure if I like the green boxes. It is the only green in my main living area. I'm living with it and seeing what I think. I also want to play around with the placement of the sectional. Steve does not like it coming away from the wall, he wants more floorspace in the middle of the room. I think it looks funny pushed back. Well, we will see what I come up with.

Tomorrow I will show what I put in the boys room in place of the bookshelf.

Happy Eight Years

Today Steve and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. We spent this last weekend roaming around the town, just the two of us, doing whatever we wanted to do! It was so fun!! So grateful to Steve's parents for watching the kids for two whole nights! We just forgot about life for a couple days and focused on having fun with each other. My original plan was to get a place in Portland and have fun exploring the city we live next door to. Well, for various reasons (saving money, parking, etc.), we decided to stay in a place closer to home. We stayed at the Hilton right next to the Portland Temple. The first night we ate at PF Changs! So good! We both had never been there before! Since we had got a late start (eating at 8pm) we headed to the hotel to check in and fell asleep a bit early (boring I know!) The next day we slept in with no one to wake us up or ask for breakfast. Once we got up we headed into Portland to eat at a yummy biscuit place I had heard about. So good! We then hung out at the mall and did some shopping. We headed over and saw the Sherlock Holmes movie. We then went and both got a massage. We went to dinner at a lovely place called the Stockpot Broiler. I had lamb and Steve at steak. Very good. We also had this yummy brie/apple combo dip appetizer thing that was fabulous! I'm salivating now just thinking about it. We then went to the driving range and hit some golfballs. Very comical, I'm sure, for anyone who cared to watch us try! We then picked up a movie and some frozen yogurt and headed back to our hotel!! So fun just jumping around for the day. Of course I took the camera with me and left it in the car the whole day. I should have taken it with me to a couple places but didn't want to be bothered with it. So, you get to see some photos of us in the car and hotel room!! How exciting is that??!
This is what happens when you are left waiting for your husband with nothing to do. Any advise on taking pictures of yourself in your car mirror on a dark night??
We looked a lot at our entertainment coupon book. Almost all of our meals were buy one get one free types of things at some really nice restaraunts. Yummy food!!

So fun to celebrate 8 years with this guy! I truly feel blessed to have him in my life!! We have experienced so much together and I'm looking forward to all that is in store for us in the years to come. Thanks babe for putting up with me through the thick and thin of life. Love, love, love ya!

Update

We have got some fun things going on this weekend that I will post this next week. Also, I have been organizing some corners of my home. I'm also planning on posting some pictures this next week of what I have been up to. So, check back this next week and I promise not to disappoint.

Opinions, Opinions, Opinions

So, I need your opinion. Who does Karter look like?? Do you see more Moon or more Huish in him? There is a bit of a debate going between Steve and I on the subject and I would love to hear what you think! Here are some photos to help!

Family Get Together

This last Saturday we had a post Christmas Leavenworth Family Get Together. Lots of yummy food, crazy kiddos, visiting, and more! It was fun to see everyone and spend time catching up.
These were the kiddos of the evening. Paige didn't make it into the photo, but she was also with us! They all played really well together and had a lot of fun dressing up and running around.

Sick Babies and Sleepless Nights

I've got a sick little girl that was up the last couple of nights. She just has a mild stomach flu with a fever and some congestion. She seems pretty happy during the day, just a bit more sleepy, so I'm not that worried. It just always seems to be harder at night. She has come into our bed around 200am the last couple of nights and I just don't sleep as well. I worry that she is too hot or that we will have to make a quick run to the bathroom. Her fever broke mid morning and I finally fell asleep around 430am/500am. Anyway, today I'm sleepy and wanting to go back to bed. Any advice for taking a day off while you are taking care of little ones? I would love to hear your ideas.

Christmas Cards 2009

Last night I just grabbed all my cards and started cutting away. Such an easy project!

Almost 18 Months

This goofy guy is almost 18 months!! He loves to run and play all day long!!! He has been wanting to play outside a lot lately. He wants me to carry him down the stairs even though he knows how to go down the stairs. He likes to feed himself and has a hard time letting Mom or Dad feed him. He loves baths. He says mama, dadee, thank you, ba-ba, kitty,ohhhhhh, and ball. He does a great job of pointing and letting me know what he wants. When we get him out of bed he directs us to pick up each of his blankets and animals that are in his bed to carry out of the room with him. He loves bottles and will ask for them throughout the day. We are trying to just give him a bottle in the evening before bed. His bottle days will be over when he is 18 months and I think he will have a hard time with this. Church has been hard for this guy. He will last sitting semi-quietly throughout sacrament meeting, but one of us will spend most of the next two class hours out in the hall. He takes one nap a day and goes down around 11:30am. He is very loud. He loves to scream and carry on. He does this when he is happy and when he is not so happy. He loves playing with his brother. He is enjoying playing with his sister, though at times they don't always agree.

My favorite thing right now with Karter is that he will come to me at anytime of the day and take me by the hand. He points and lets me know that we must pick up a fluffy blanket and a book
and directs me to the chair where we will seat. He cuddles up and I wrap him in the blanket. We rock in the chair and I will read to him. I just love this time with my goofy guy!

Dining Room Light

I had fun with these ornaments I got from Pottery Barn at their after Christmas Sale. This is the light fixture that we hung over our dining room table. I thought that it needed a little something.
So fun to have our house back to decorate as I see fit. I have a few home decoration ideas twirling around in my head. Hoping I can find some quiet moments to get some things done.

2010 Word of the Year

I have finally decided to join many in choosing a word for this next year. My word is CHERISH. This next year I want to cherish all the moments that come my way and embrace, appreciate, and enjoy each new experience that I encounter. Cherish my family and friends. Cherish my talents and abilities. Cherish books. Cherish work, play, and rest. Cherish peace and calm. Cherish laughter and good times. Cherish all the good I have in my life on a daily basis.

I wanted to answer a couple of your questions you left in the comments.

Some of you asked what Karter was doing in the tub. So, if there is water in the tub Karter always tries to get in and he finally made it. Let me tell you that his diaper was oh so fun to change.

One of you asked where the microwave was in the kitchen. I didn't plan a microwave in our kitchen. I'm trying to not use one. Steve was not excited when he figured out we would not have a microwave. He decided he would make sure the cabinet under the stovetop did not have shelves so he could put the microwave in there. So, in answer to your question, our microwave is in the cupboard under the stovetop. Not a convenient place to have it, but I like that I didn't have to find a place for it somewhere else. Marcy, I'm impressed with how observant you are!

I love, love, love, love your comments!! Love this blog thing that keeps us all connected!! Thank you for all the sweet things you had to say about my kitchen.

Our Kitchen

I'm finally posting the pictures.