Applique Onesies

I am seriously so proud of myself right now. These applique onesies turned out way cuter than I thought they would. I keep wanting to put them on Lucas but they're not the right size. I'm already set for the next baby shower I get invited to.

This rocket ship turned out perfect. And the fabric pattern had a porthole built right into it.

I love this octopus guy.
This bird is so sweet, I'm definitely going to make more of this one.

And this is the one I'm most proud of. I smile every time I look at it.

I know, they're ADORABLE!! If you want to try making your own, you can check out my tutorial. They actually were not that hard.

Lucas is obsessed with his toilet. He's pretty much been sitting on it all day. And flushing the toilet; he loves flushing the toilet. I think we'll wait and do the hard part when he's a little older.

Best Friend or Worst Nightmare

We will see...

Lucas has been really interested in toilet things lately so we got a potty chair for him. This is one thing that I have not been excited about. I really am not sick of changing diapers yet, but I figured now is as good a time as any. I hope this isn't awful.

Please

Lucas learned how to say please. It is really cute. Except for when he asks for things he's not supposed to have. He asks so sweetly - how do you say no to this face?

Comfort Foods

First I'll start with my most recent favorite - macaroni and cheese. I've actually been making this recipe for a while but the other day it struck me just how much I love sitting down and eating a huge bowl of this. I know a lot of people have their own favorite recipe for mac and cheese, but if you don't already have one, you should give this a try. It's really pretty basic and easy.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

1 pound pasta (use whatever you want, I prefer shell or elbow)

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup chicken broth

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup flour

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pound grated cheddar cheese (I prefer sharp)

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, microwave milk and chicken broth until hot but not quite boiling. Melt butter in sauce pot; whisk in flour until combined, then add hot milk mixture. Continue to stir until the mixture becomes thick and bubbly. Then add Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and stir in Cheddar cheese until melted. Add drained pasta. Enjoy!

I've also added bacon bits to it before, you can add whatever flavors or cheeses you want. I usually make a half a batch for my small family.

This next recipe is something I saw on the Food Network. It uses an immersion blender and since I got one for Christmas, I decided to try out the recipe.

Isn't it so pretty? The recipe is for a roast; you add carrots, onions, and fennel (I used celery since that's what I already had), and cook it all up in the crock pot. When the meat is done you set it aside and then you blend up everything else. It makes this thick delicious sauce to pour over the meat. It is AMAZING! Look how happy I am with my blender.

Doesn't it look so thick and yummy?

I made some potatoes and carrots to eat on the side as well, but this is a great way to sneak veggies in for picky eaters - assuming the picky eater will eat meat. Just blend it all up and they will have no idea.

So good! You can find the recipe here.

Happy Boy

Here are just some random pictures of Lucas. He's really started to get the concept of smiling for pictures. Here he is playing with Legos.

And here he is when I told him to say cheese.

Playing with daddy's hair.

Saying "CHEEEESE"!

Auto Show

Lucas loves to drive. We went to the auto show to look at all the new cars.

He liked driving this Tiguan:

But his favorite by far was this Audi S5:

Just 14 more years and he'll be causing all sorts of mischief on the roads himself. Not sure I look forward to that...especially after my dad showed me this weekend how much I cost to insure when I was a teenager. Ouch!

Pedicures

I've been experimenting with doing my own pedicures lately and I've actually gotten pretty good. Check out how cute my toes have been. Sorry if this is gross to some of you. Try not to make fun of my sausage toes.

Christmas Toes

I did these with some nail stickers I got.

Bicolor flowers.

Early Happy Valentines Day.

This is what I have on my toes right now and I LOVE it!

Lucas

Ryan and I have been thinking lately about the blessings we have been given. We've been given so much. Our greatest blessing of all is our son Lucas. He is such a wonderful little boy. We love everything about him. He so smart, and funny and has such a loving and sweet personality. He makes us laugh every day. He gives the best hugs and kisses. And he really trusts and loves us. We're so grateful that he is healthy and strong and that he is ours.

George Wesley Blank 1931 - 2010

My grandpa died a few weeks ago and last Tuesday we went to his funeral. It was really special to have so much of my family together and to spend some time remembering my grandpa and what a wonderful man he was.

My grandpa was the father of nine, grandfather to twenty five, and great grandfather to seven, including Lucas. My grandparents moved to Utah earlier this year so Lucas got a chance to spend time with his great grandpa. My grandpa would tickle Lucas with his "whiskers", and let Lucas honk his nose. This is the grandpa I remember. He was very affectionate and always doing silly things and trying to trick us into thinking he really did steal our noses.

At his funeral I was reminded that he was a lot more than just a silly old man. I heard stories about him working hard to provide for his family, and also war stories from when he was younger and fighting in the Korean war. He was a hero and was awarded a purple heart. I have so much to be proud of my grandpa for, but probably most of all are the spiritual examples he set.

I was asked to read a quote by Gordon B. Hinckley during the funeral service that talked about temples. The quote says that the family relationship shall continue after death, and this is made possible by the sealing power. I was so grateful to be a part of the service and be able to share my testimony that I know my grandfather was a good man and he is back with our Heavenly Father; and that I can see him again some day.

Goodbye Grandpa, I love and miss you.

Almost the whole group - there's a few babies and spouses missing

Grandpa with some of his beautiful granddaughters.

Lucas's first time meeting grandpa.

My Grandpa - the war hero

21 Gun Salute

Presenting the flag to Grandma

New Baby

For Christmas this year I got this amazing machine.
It's everything I wanted and more. It took me a few hours to figure out how to use it, but now I can pretty much make anything I want. Here's a few of the things I've made so far.

I found a picture on the internet of this curly butterfly and I just brought it into the silhouette software and cut it out. It is so easy to use.

I can use any font on my computer I want, and I can join the letters together so I don't have to glue down each letter individually.

This one was a special request by Ryan.

And just some cute Thank You notes, I decided to make. I cut out everything on these using the machine.

I have a friend that's going to teach me how to use the machine to cut out fabric. I think I might have to try out appliquéd onesies and quilts for my next projects.

Sledding

We went sledding a week ago with some family. When we were getting ready to go Lucas tried on one of my hats. He walked around like this for a while. It was so cute.

Here's the young kids on a sled together. Don't worry, we didn't actually send them down the hill like this.

Lucas thought it was fun to go slowly down small hills, but he wasn't super impressed with going fast down big hills.

His favorite was actually going down the hill on his butt, with mommy at the bottom to catch him.

This was Lucas's first time going sledding. I'm glad we had some family in town to go with us. We had a lot of fun.