Projects!

This Advent I began work on becoming a person who "makes" things. My first project was a small tree to hold felt ornaments for the girls. I actually didn't do much work in the fashioning of the tree . . . Mother Nature did most of that. I just spray painted it gold and put it in a container.

However, I did make all of those ornaments that you see adorning its branches.

I also made these felt handprints of the girls hands. I think they turned out pretty nicely.
Here is a close-up of the ornaments. Each one of these is a practice ornament. Each one taught me another lesson in both patience and sewing/embroidering.

Anyways, I will be posting photos from the Christmas holiday soon. Sorry that this post did not contain any actual human contact . . . but my mom requested pictures of what I had been up to :)

Getting in the Christmas Spirit!

This past Saturday we went down to the Sherwood to have breakfast with Eden and Nem's Nana and Papa! Santa Claus was present along with two girls dressed as elves who handed out candy canes . . . Eden was very giggly!

She brought along her favorite book, she and it are inseparable.

Sleeping Beauty was one of my favorites as a kid, too.On our way out, she decided to give Santa an early Christmas present, her candy cane :)After breakfast Eden and her dad played out in the snow. She's getting pretty good at throwing snowballs and Jay is getting pretty good at being a target. His flair for drama makes it so much more enjoyable for her!Aren't they cute!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

So we've been snugglin' inside :)

Eden is busy teaching Nem the ways of big girls. Including, but not limited to, how to brush hair.

Nem wonders if she'll ever get to use a hair brush . . .
For now, she looks pretty darn cute with a bald head :)

Autumn Leaves to Play In!
I can't help but feel that Nem's sunshiney personality convinced the weather to shift from cold and rainy to sunny and warm . . . long enough to let us get a few days of leaf play in! "Leaf people: they scare easily, but he'll be back and in greater numbers."

(Jay, re-enacting one of his favorite Star Wars moments)

Imagine this accompanied by lots of squeals and laughter!

Other ways of eliciting squeals and laughter? Tickle torture of course!

Just a taste of the fun we have :)

Happy Halloween!!

Almost 6 months old already, Nems has decided that mobility is all well and good, but there is no sense in being ordinary about it. So now, instead of crawling on her stomach, she scoots around the house on her back. (Notice the head cushion, used for both ease of movement and comfort :))

Eden tries it out but is unimpressed.
Instead, she decides to give Nemmers lessons in crawling on one's stomach. Eden gives up and decides that holding her sister is a bit more fun.

Later, in pumpkin mode, Nem decides to tackle Eden resulting in . . .
the best sister/giraffe kiss ever!

Menemsha's First Meal . . . of solid food that is. She giggled almost all the way through it!Eden watched and acted as the cheering section :)What a goof!

Making Grape Jelly . . . the Davis Method

Although our vines have not yet started producing much, we still got to experience the joys of growing grapes! Earlier this week we received two big bags full of Concord grapes from the Barnes family. (Thanks so much!!!)

I think straining the grapes was my favorite part :) Plus the cheesecloth became the most beautiful shades of purple and red; though after a cycle in the wash it is now a very light sky blue.Boldly wearing white. (Danger is my middle name :) )

The girls got to watch, but Eden was not pleased with the process. She wanted to eat the grapes, not have them squished. Plus, she was really upset that her dad was taking pictures of the atrocity.This picture reminds me of a certain brother of mine . . . (Rob . . . I'm talking about you. Remember the photo of you hiding under Grandma Molly's piano?)
Eden, in typical fashion, wasn't pleased with the process until she had something to fix and organize. She became in charge of making sure my apron didn't fall off . She was pleased as punch to be checking, re-checking, and overseeing each knot.And here is the final product!

Last Day of the Summer . . .

(Black Licorice . . . her favorite)

Next year they'll both be running around!

Chilly weather . . .

Although Eden did her best to hide from the cold weather . . .
She ended up with a cold all the same.

Nemmie was on high alert for germs . . .And thankfully escaped the cold :)

For now . . .

Dimple Face and the Elephant Girl

Our girls and their super-hero alter ego's :)

(Eden has a hard time being filmed, she would much rather be behind the camera :))

Eden's 2nd Birthday!!!

Eden's second birthday was a wild day . . . it began with presents at home, from us, and from the gang back in Wisconsin . . . Below she shows us her lovely turtles from the felt Noah's Ark she got.

Knights and a catapault from Uncle Rob . . . you can see in her eyes the mischief she has in store for her toys . . . EVERYTHING got catapaulted that morning :)

And garden bugs and a cute bag from Uncle Jord!We went over to her Nana and Papa's house and she couldn't believe that she got her own fairy wings and all sorts of her favorite things!After a quick nap, we went over to the Skaneateles Fair! Her first ride was the giant slide with her Papa. The picture below was taken moments before she burst into terrified howls, begging us, "All done! All done! All done!"

When we decided to try something tamer (the Merry-go-Round) she was a little suspicious.But quickly fell in love with it!And was even willing to trust Papa to ride with her again :)One day Nemmie will get to join the fun, but until then . . .

She'll just give her sister a big birthday smile!

Thanks for everything, everyone!!!

What an amazing birthday!