what to make in the fall

I went through a recent dry spell in the crafty department.  I've since been revived and my dining room/sewing table is a mess of threads and fleece remnants.  (Baby mittens - should be easy, but elastic is so hard!)  Tomorrow is Veterans Day and I'll be home with a bunch of little boys so I'm looking for more "projects" to keep us occupied.  I was home with them several days in September for holidays, and I had more ideas back then:

Rice Krispy treats made to look like apples (with Tootsie Roll stems).  The idea was to do pumpkins but it was a little early in the season so I went for apples.  

We also made this apple banner that weekend which looked pretty cute.  I cut small apples in half and let them paint and stamp.  They drew in stems and seeds later.  Even the three year old could participate.

We made these shirts using clorox in a spray bottle.  I'm anti-scary so even though they were Halloween-ish, the shapes were of a friendly sort.

The black looked pretty good for Halloween because it turns orange when bleached.

 

I found little orange hoodies at Target, perfect for making into a jack-o-lantern.

I made these cupcakes for small group last night because I realized I hadn't made anything fall-ish.  Apple crisp should be coming up soon.  I've totally lost any desire to bake but I'm trying to resurrect in honor of my favorite fall flavors.  

Matt works a lot . . . I've had several Saturdays alone in the past month.  (Although no boo-hoos for me, being home alone is infinitely better than being at the hospital for 24 hours, or 25 if you happen to be on call during the daylight savings switch . . . wop-wop.)  One of those Saturdays I made this random-looking wreath.  That's not what it was supposed to look like, but burlap is messy and I was ready to be done.  I still like it.

Another one of those home-alone Saturdays a bunch of girls from my small group came over and I forced them to make flowers with me.  In the middle of it, one of my friends confessed that she hated crafts and her mom and husband gave her pep-talks before she came!!!  I find that both tragic and hilarious.  This is my childish-looking wool flower I pinned to my new coat.  

So I don't think I can convince the boys to make flowers tomorrow.  If it's not raining, we will be tracking down lovely leaves.  If it is raining... well, it might be a movie day!  

29 weeks

Nothing like daylight savings time to help me realize how MUCH of a schedule we were actually on!  That one hour made a big difference.  Bo's been but at 5:00/5:30 since Sunday, which means the mornings are all screwed up because he wants to take a nap at like 7:30am ?!?! which can not happen.  But we have persisted with a normal bedtime and this morning he slept until after 6:00, which made me so happy.  Hopefully he'll stretch it a little past that.  I think the 'spring forward' is more my style.

Love you, Bo. 

28 weeks

No interest in crawling, but that's ok with mommy! 

It sure is nice to set him down and know he'll still be there.

yo, ho, yo, ho

A pirate's life for me.

My mom sent us a little pirate onesie for Halloween, which was a convenient daytime costume for Bo.  

And where does a six month old show off a costume on Halloween Day?  Well, he fit right in at the doctor's office where he was seen by Dorothy and given shots by the Cowardly Lion.  They seemed unconcerned that my little swashbuckler hadn't gained an ounce in the last month, despite growing half an inch.  He now holds the enviable stats of 90th in height and 10th in weight.  Enviable if you're a girl striving for anorexic supermodel, not for a boy striving to play sports in high school.  Anyway, I guess we've got some time for him to hit the gym before tryouts.  

Captain Skinnypants also made an appearance at the annual Montessori Halloween parade, where my littlest nanny kid made the slow march around the parking lot as Captain America.  

Of course Moosey was in the Halloween spirit and wanted to wear his costume all day.  I couldn't pry that thing off of him.

It was a happy accident that the pirate look coordinated with the shark costume I got for our small group's theme for Trunk or Treat at our church - Under the Sea.

Bo was a very toasty lobster.

The babies looked awesome.  Here Bo is eyeing his little girlfriend, Malin, dressed to the nines in her mermaid outfit.  

And Jeremy can walk and was cracking me up as an octopus, toddling around unassisted on two of his eight legs.

babies.

babies and dogs.

 I love creatures in costume.

Bo was a champ and was so entranced by the activity that he forgot to fuss about missing his bed time.  A successful first Halloween!  

the best of friends

Matt's mom always sings a little song from Fox and the Hound that I think is appropriate for this situation.

When you're the best of friends

Having so much fun together

You're not even aware, 

 you're such a funny pair

You're the best of friends! 

Seriously, these two are so funny.  Bo just lights up when Moose walks in.  I find myself calling Moose off of the couch to come sit in front of Bo so I can get something done.  This works well during dinner preparation because Moose prefers to be in the kitchen at that time anyway, and as long as Bo can get a good view of his furry pal, we're all happy.  The other day Moose ran in from the rain all wild and crazy and Bo started just started laughing at him . . . oh, it was so cute. 

I know this is a bit gross, to let your child chew on your dog's ears, but I was amused at Bo going for the ears and Moose snoring through the whole thing.  

And this was sweet - Moose got a new toy from my parents and kept bringing it over to Bo.  In fact, I found that toy on Bo's play mat twice today!  Moose keeps bringing it to him.  I could cry . . . 

day in and day out

A tip:

If you have a new sitter, I highly recommend the bathtub as a safe place to practice the new skill.  I found this out kind of on accident when I stuck Bo in the (dry) bathtub one morning while I was fixing my hair.  He loved it and it kept him well enough supported that he couldn't tip over, but he could still sit independently. 

I dragged that thing all over the house for a couple weeks. 

That was about the time he established his favorite toys as the kitchen spatula and the Baby Einstein music box that plays classical tunes and flashes.

A little video in the bathtub of Mommy poking him with the spatula:

We don't use the bathtub anymore because he sits pretty well now.  And he doesn't cry as much when he falls over.  All of Matt's "toughening up" techniques must be working.

Be prepared for some cuteness this winter:

My friend sent us a big box of boy clothes and it had like 4 pairs of shoes, including these:

First time in the cart.  This was a tiny cart at Jo Ann fabrics.  I have since bought a cart/high chair cover because he wants to CHEW on the handle . . . no thank you.

Cold days. Pink nose.

Showin' off.

Sunset.

Sweet snoozin.

And this is a little Halloween preview . . . I can hardly wait.  Even though our church thing goes right through cranky time and past bedtime.  Even though he gets shots that morning which will have questionable affects on the rest of the day.  I can't wait to hold my crying baby in this little hilarious lobster suit.  

27 weeks

(Tracye, it's your blanket!  It keeps Bo warm every night!)