.her first picture.

.her first picture.  Miss Lydia loves my camera.  She is constantly stealing it, turning it on, and saying, "cheese" while trying to take a picture.  She usually gets her fingers in the way.  If she doesn't get her hand in the way then her other problem is that she is moving and the pictures turn out all blurry.  This is expected, she is a year and a half. 

She loves to look at the pictures.  And would rather look and play with the camera then be the subject of the shots.  This is totally confirmed by the vast amount of pictures I have of the back of her head.  She always turns away, always.

She took this picture the other day.  It is the first one she shot that does not have her hand in it or is too blurred.  I think she did a great job and I am proud of her for it.  It was taken at breakfast time, before the milk was put away.  Before I drank my coffee completly.  And before Aaron left for work - those are his keys.  .her first picture.

.say yes to the dress.

 nicole utecht photography

.say yes to the dress.  Yesterday was fun.  I went wedding dress shopping with my sister Hilary for her big day (next September).  She was gorgeous in all the dresses and said yes to one.  She said YES to the dress. Which made me cry, which made my mom cry, which made Hilary get choked up, which made Alyssa laugh at all of us - because Alyssa doesn't cry she laughs. 

nicole utecht photography

It was a lot of fun to look at all the wedding dresses - I wanted to try some on but had to restrain myself, because I am already married, because it was Hill's day.  I am so excited for her to get her dress in and see her in her actual gown.  I am so excited she found her dress.  And more then that, so excited that she found her man.  A man that she loves, and we love.  Congrats in advance.  Happy tears all around... except from Alyssa who is probably still laughing at us all.  .say yes to the dress.

*As for the pictures they are from their engagement session taken by their awesome photographer Nicole Utecht.

.today is a.

.my moby wrap.

.my moby wrap.  Many people have asked about my moby wrap.  You have seen me wearing it in a couple different posts; like here and here.  I made mine & you can too.  Trust me it's totally easy, probably the easiest thing I have made all year. 

All you need to make yourself one is get 5 or 6 yards of fabric.  It is important to get a knit fabric so that you do not have to do any sewing.  I purchased a jersey knit from fabric.com, but cotton knits will work just as well.  When you get your fabric lay it all out.  Then cut it straight down the middle the long way, the whole 5 or 6 yards.  You will end up with two fabulous, ready to use moby wraps.  I told you it was easy.  And all for under $10.00, which is much better then $40.00 (which is about what they sell for in stores & online).

The hardest part about a moby wrap is not in the making of it.  It is in the wearing.  Once you get it figured out though it's not difficult.  I wear Asher around all the time, he loves being held and being close to me.  This is a way I can hold him and still have my hands free so I can get stuff done around my house.  A great website for how to tie the wrap and wear your baby is moby wrap, inc.  If you have any questions about baby wearing or how to make a moby wrap please let me know.  .my moby wrap.

.just wanted to say.

.project runway.

.project runway.  I love reality t.v. LOVE IT.  My top shows to watch are always reality t.v. shows.  And since we got an apartment with free cable the number of reality shows I watch has increased.  I recently added project runway as a favorite.  I love seeing the challenges and watching how each designer creates a look.  I am super excited to watch Project Runways finale (part one) tonight.  And I am hoping Mondo will take it all & win, honestly if he doesn't I would be a little, make it majorly, surprised.  .project runway.

.meet michael.

Michael holding a pair of shoes that our money helped buy.

.meet michael.  I know I have talked about him before, but I thought I would formally introduce Michael to you all.  We sponsor this precious little boy through Compassion International.  We love him so much!  We have been sponsoring him for a little over four years and have loved watching him grow through this time.  Michael is from Ghana, Africa (I love Africa).  Michael is one fun little guy who loves to draw us pictures.  He loves football (soccer) and school.  He also loves the Lord with his whole heart.  We can see it in the prayer requests he sends, one time he asked for God to make him wise - such a smart boy, and the prayers he gives.  He is growing so fast and it amazes us each time we get a new picture of him.  .meet michael.

If you don't know anything about Compassion... let me tell you a little.  Compassion is a Christian child advocacy ministry that helps to release children from spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty so that they may become responsible Christian adults.  They help more then 1 million children in 26 countries.  Compassion is amazing at what they do.  Sponsorship doesn't cost a lot ($38.00 a month) and you get so much in return. Consider sponsoring a child today.

For more information on Compassion International go to their website.  Or their blog.  To sponsor a child go to their sponsor a child page.

.sseko designs.

image from sseko designs

.sseko designs.  I am super excited to share this link with everyone today.  Sseko designs partners with an all girls school in Uganda and employs the girls they hire to earn a living so they can continue on with their education.  The women they hire live and work together making these sandals for a short time.  I am so inspired by Liz Forkin (founder) who is filled with a passion for this project and compassion for the women of Uganda.  She is also so very creative and the whole project is inspiring. 

image from sseko designs

And for the sandals... They are beautiful.  I wish it was summer NOW  so that I could get a pair and strap them on.  But for now I will have to wait.  I do believe these are at the top of my Christmas wish list - any color strap will do.  For more information please go to Sseko designs.  And please pass the word around about this great organization. .sseko designs.

.bringing fall in.

The beautiful leaves at the zoo

.bringing fall in.  I love fall.  LOVE IT.  It is by far my favorite season and if I had to choose one season to live in forever this would be it.  HANDS DOWN.  I do not really tend to decorate my house very much.  We usually live in the same decorations all year round.  Except for fall.  Decorating in fall is natural, easy.  Pick up a leaf put it on a table and bam your done. 

in our living room

I have fake leaves stored all year for this season & they go up on top of our entertainment system to bring in the essential essence of this gracious season.  This year I added a couple vases, just to spice things up.  The large one I filled with more fake leaves.  The smallest is filled with cattails picked from our yard.  The square vase will be filled with some mini pumpkins as soon as we visit our local pumpkin patch, hopefully this weekend.  And the feather was found and brought in my husband one night from a walk through our yard. 

up close look

To decorate the vases I added a few small details.  On the large vase I simply wrapped a ribbon around it twice and then knotted it with a square knot.  The other two vases are wrapped with a thin kraft paper bag and secured with decorative Japanese washi tape from cute tape.  It's simple, festive, and brings fall in.  How do you decorate for this season?  .bringing fall in.

.happy 4.0.

 in CA after Brian & Amanda's wedding

.happy 4.0.  Today is our anniversary.  I woke up with a card that said, "4 years, 2 kids, 100's of laughs, 1000's of memories, I love you". 

Early Summer

I love you too Aaron & I hope we have many, many, more years, laughs, and memories... and maybe a couple more kids. :) .happy 4.0.

in CA after Brian & Amanda's Wedding

.his baptism.

Our family

.his baptism.  On Saturday evening we celebrated as Asher was baptized.  It was wonderful being able to celebrate with family and friends.  We didn't do much to decorate, mostly due to lack of time.

cake bunting & mini flags

However, I did make cake bunting/garland (whatever you call it) and mini flags to decorate the cakes.  I made them to match the invitations that I made.  

the cake table with four fabulous cakes: carrot, caramel, lemon, and butter cream

To make either project all you need is string, scissors, tooth-picks, straws, and some decorative tape (got mine here).  For the bunting first take a one inch piece of tape and tape it to your string by folding in half.  Then cut it into a triangle or cut a triangle shape out of it.  With this you can either string it to two straws or to two tooth-picks.  For different looks you can cut the length of the straws.

mini cake flags

For the mini flags take one inch piece of tape.  Fold over a tooth pick.  And cut it into a triangle or cut a triangle out of it.  Both projects are so easy & so cute.  .his baptism.

my family

*Being a member of the Lutheran church we believe in infant baptism.  We believe this based on many passages in the Bible.  If you have any questions let me know and I will address them.  Infant baptism is one way of looking at baptism.  I have many close friends who do not believe in infant baptism - yet as the body of Christ they accept what I believe, and I accept what they do.  Baptism as an infant or as an adult is not a deal breaker in my book as long as Jesus is being taught in our homes as the true and only way of being saved.*

.lara's ladies night.

our whole booth

.lara's ladies night.  Last Tuesday I participated in Lara's ladies night as a vendor at Lara's Tortilla Flats.  It was my first time selling crafts in person.  I sold with my sister, Hilary who just started selling baby items at the ant hil.  There were not too many people there which was a little disappointing.  However, we both think there will be people who come to the next couple ladies nights in November and December as we get closer to Christmas.  And we got asked by another vendor to participate in a Holiday Craft show - so not all hope was lost.

Overall, I had a lot of fun and am using this as an opportunity to learn.  We are learning how to set up our booth.  How many items to bring (we brought way too many).  And how to talk with people about our crafts.  We learned that we are really slow at packing up.  Although we thought we were fast, everyone else was gone before we had our first box packed.  And I learned that doing a craft show with an infant is a bit tricky.

So how about you.  Was your first craft show a hit or miss?  How do you set up your booth?  Any tips to give us for the future?  .lara's ladies night.

.one month.

us today - snuggling by the computer. 

.one month.  Happy one month birthday little guy!  It is hard for me to believe that you have only been with us for one month.  It feels like you have been a part of our lives forever and I can't even remember what life was like without you here.  So far you amaze us with how strong you are.  Yesterday you rolled over - your arm was positioned weird under you and you didn't like that, so you rolled. It impressed me so much I tried to get you to do it again, but I think it was just one of those really rare moments.  You smile a little and I think you will really be a charmer.  You cry a lot at night and are confused on when to sleep but we still love you tons.

with daddy reading one of your favorites, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

 Also - Happy 19 months Lydia.  You are a true joy & we love you and your precious smile.  Right now you are the silliest little girl who loves to make up dances and claps to the beat of every song.  You are super smart and know all your letters, which still stuns us.  You are a little helper who loves to mimic what I do with Asher to your bear bear.  You are a sweet pea and although you test my nerves daily I love you.

We feel doubly blessed with you both, and love being your parents.  God is so good.  .one month.

.blogcation until.....

.blogcation until.... I will continue with my lovely blogcation until the second week of October.  That will bring us through Ashers baptism.  And it will mark one month of us getting to know this amazing little man.  Who happens to be, I am sure, the easiest baby in the world - although our judgement could be off a bit due to the high intensity of his sister, the drama queen.  Until then enjoy this photo - it is my favorite, taken by aunt hill while we were still in the hospital with everything so fresh and new.  .blocation until....