The Cutest Cousins!

Adalyn and Zachary are second cousins! Chrissy(Zachary's mom and my husband's cousin) and I became friends when we were pregnant and have become really good friends since. We try to get the babies together as much as possible! It has been a bit more difficult since I have been back to work..and will become even trickier when Chrissy goes back to work at the end of the month but I am sure we will work something out! We both had a free day over the holidays and planned a quiet craft day at home. We went to Chrissy's house!

I brought my cotton ball sensory tub! I went to the dollar store to get some spoons, bowls and measuring cups! The spoons were a big hit!

We also made the cutest snowmen!

I used the contact paper I have fallen in love with and cut an outline of a snowman out of construction paper. I stuck the construction paper on the contact paper and let the kids stick pieces of white paper on it! (I taped it to the floor)

I stuck another piece of paper on the back of it and we added the nose, eyes, mouth, buttons and arms on with tape. Note: It is a much better idea to stick the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons down first! This was the first time I have done this activity..I would stick everything down first next time!

They turned out super cute!

I love how they look on the window too! This has been my favourite activity so far!

 I brought another activity to do but we didn't get around to it! Hopefully one day Adalyn and I can do it here!

We also finally got a picture of them in their matching holiday sweaters! Can you say cute or what?!!

I will have to start my list of Valentine's Day crafts for next month's get together! I hope we can make it happen! February is a pretty busy month! We will have to see!!

Ashley

Some winter fun!

We have been having fun over here with some winter activities! I'm not going to lie though, I am excited to start some Valentine's Day activities!! :) I won't go Valentine's Day crazy yet..I will stick to the winter theme!!

The first activity we did involved Adalyn and her first time with finger paints! Oh boy! That sure was fun! Mike randomly came home for lunch when we started and I am so glad he did! I really needed his help! I didn't plan everything out properly before hand (getting the sink ready for a bath, towels out etc.) It sure was funny to watch!

I got a canvas at the dollar store and used masking tape to tape out snowflakes on it. (Similar to the snowflake art we made HERE)

Then I let her go to town. I gave her a paint brush too but she really wanted to use her hands! As soon as I gave her the paint brush she put it right in her mouth! Only once...I was right there the rest of the time to tell her "no" lol

 My favourite part is always taking the tape off after it dries!!! Here is her finished project:

 Love it! We hung it in the playroom  right by the change table!

I also made some coffee filter snowflakes and hung some foam ones up too. Adalyn is so cute! Every time I opened a snowflake, Adalyn said "ooooh" and started clapping!! 

We had a snowflake bath...

...and played with snowballs! The first thing we played with was the foam peanut type things that come in boxes as packing!? I added blue pom poms and foam snowflakes and we pretended it was snow.

Adalyn started out liking this..she was picking the pom poms out one at a time and the peanuts as well!

Then she became obsessed with eating them!lI finally had to put it away because that is all she wanted to do!

Then I thought about using cotton balls!

This worked much better! She put it in her mouth once and that was it. They don't taste very good! Lol

I still have a few more things I would like to do! Hopefully we get to them! It is going to be hard now that I am back to work!!!

Ashley

Resolutions

 I know I am little late posting my resolutions but I still wanted to write them down! I have enjoyed the holidays with friends and family and just started back to work today! Getting to spend two weeks off with my baby was the best present of all! I really do have the best job in that aspect! Anyway, let's getting talking about some resolutions!

Every year I feel my resolutions are pretty similar from the year previous! I do have a new one this year though!! Here they are:

1- I want to exercise more/get in shape/lose some weight. I still haven't quite lost all that baby weight! I am 9lbs away which is definitely do-able but I would like to lose even more. It is just more difficult now that I have a baby! I am not making excuses but by the end of the day I am exhausted! I would like to start working out after the baby goes to sleep! I just need to start!

2- I would like to de-clutter/organize the house. Cupboards, drawers, the pantry...everything! (And keep it clutter free!) I would like to get rid of/sell/donate all the things we no longer need, because we have way too much stuff! I'm even thinking of spreading it out so it doesn't seem so intimidating! (clean out the end cupboard this week, the junk drawer the next week etc.)

3- Mike and I made a resolution together to go on one date a month! We desperately need to do this. When you have a baby you seem to get into a routine and only really focus on the baby..and not each other. I am excited to do this! We went to the movies on Friday night and it was great!

and my last resolution is for Adalyn.

4. I would like to spend more time with Adalyn. I would like to put down the phone/ipad when she is around and really focus on her. Maybe even have no technology at all on Sundays. It is our family day after all! Definitely no phone/ipad after dinner. I would just like to slow down and enjoy every single minute of our baby girl!!

Here she is now...not so much a baby girl anymore. She is getting so big! Her vocabulary is growing very quickly. She is such a smart little girl!!

Maybe I should do a resolution recap post in six months to see if I am sticking to them?! I honestly hope I can say I have stuck to all these resolutions! Wish me luck!

Ashley

Top 10 FAVOURITE projects/activities of 2013!

I can't believe another year has come and gone. It is scary how fast everything goes! You really have to sit back and take a look at everything around you! This year has been special for me because Adalyn started sitting up, crawling, walking and talking. It has been amazing watching her grow into her own little person. I love her more then anything else on this planet! This year hasn't been all positive though. There was some family challenges that we had to deal with. I am hoping 2014 will be a better year in that aspect!

It was really hard to pick only ten of my favourite projects/activities this year! It is funny how they are all related in some way to babies!! It is funny how things change!! Anyway, here they are...

10. I did love the hoop update, even though I have already changed them! Lol

9. Love how the winter snowflakes turned out!!

8. The felt Pumpkin I made for the playroom was a big hit

 7. Loved the painted gold onesie!

  6. Our first sensory activity: SAND!

 

  5. The foam Christmas tree I made for the bath

 4. The Valentine's Day Onesies my friend and I painted for the babes!

 3. The bow tie onesie we made for Zachary!

2. Adalyn's first birthday decor: pink and gold cupcake theme!!

And my most favourite project of 2013?

1. Her new white nursery!! I love how it turned out!! I love the cheap triangle wall most of all!!

I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for us over here. I have a feeling it will be another really special year for us!

Ashley