Finished Projects

It feels so good to check things off a list. My primary goal for 2012 was to finish numerous projects that I have started over the years, even in the past few months.

Well, I am happy to say this one of them:

Mackenzie's Easter Dress!
It is a crocheted dress, made out of crochet thread. I started it last General Conference, so I knew I had 6 months to fnish it (and it took ALL six months!). You really don't want to know how long it took. Justin said I could have made a pool table out of wood in the same amount of time. Whew! I'm pleased with it, so happy with it how it looks on her...and relieved to be finished! And I finished it with a week to spare.

The fitting.

Happy Easter!

Justin caught the perfect smile!

On top of this dress, taxes are finished!! YAY! (not much time to spare there, huh?). I'm close to finishing up a few other projects...wish me luck!!

Doesn't it just feel so good to make that mental CHECK?!

Irrational Fear

A friend from back home recently had to call 9-1-1 because her daughter gashed her head on the coffee table. I read her post and laughed because she said she called her mom before she called the paramedics. I would probably do the same thing. I call my mom for almost all my questions, and a deep gash would definitely merit "questions."

So I was talking to Justin about this event and I confessed that I am afraid to call 9-1-1. Maybe anxious is a better word, but I am definitely that. I just don't want to call for something that I could've handled at home, or something that doesn't actually pass as an "emergency." I'm nervous about people asking themselves, "Wow, how incompetent can you get? She called 9-1-1 for that?" I"m nervous about having done such an unnecessary call and then having to pay the bill for it...

I realize, in an emergency, I would probably call and not think twice about it (I hope), but contemplating it makes me so nervous. An irrational fear.

What irrational fears do you have? Can you relate to my fear at all? Anyone ever called 9-1-1?

Niabi Zoo

We're on Spring Break right now. And we're trying to live it up! but without spending much money. (Aside from the strollers..this is their debut trip)

So we went to the Niabi Zoo. It's actually in Illinois, about 1 1/2 hours away. And it was FREE! They do a free week once a year, and that week ended on Sunday, so we went on Saturday.

Lucky for us, it was a beautiful day! It was a little bit windy, but we were quite comfortable and it warmed up while we were there. We packed a lunch and ate it in the parking lot, then someone told us that we could actually take outside food into the zoo...nice! Good to know for future visits!

This water lizard was the most exciting part, in my opinion. He was totally attracted to Caleb and as you can see from my face, it freaked me out a bit! Everywhere Caleb touched the glass, the little (big?) lizard would follow with his head, his tongue, his body. ahh! That's why he's like climbing up the glass- Caleb kept moving his hand up and up!

The rest of the animals were cool. We didn't take a ton of pictures...cuz, well, it's a zoo. We've all seen 'em. We go for our kids, right? Caleb thought the giraffe and turtles were pretty cool.

Caleb's FAVORITE part, by far, was the train. It wasn't free, but it was fun. Because we didn't pay for entrance, we felt like we could splurge on a train ride for Daddy and son. :)

Mackenzie and I ate while they rode. yay! :)

And then, just before we left, we found these cool character stands by the monkeys. Mackenzie is the top one and Caleb is the bottom. I love it! They are so stinking cute!!

and our family picture. I think it turned out really good. Caleb looks bored, Mackenzie looks like she's hiding something and Justin and I look like we're just along for the ride.

Yay for free zoo days! more Spring break festivities to follow! :)

Mackenzie is 9 months!

Okay, she's trully about 9 1/2 months, but these pictures are 9 months.

This is her crawling. I love her eyes and that little half smile. She's so cute!

I love watching her crawl around. She's so precise in her movements, that it takes her a while to move across the rooom. She loves taking Caleb's toys and it drives him nuts. He tries to distract her with some of her toys, or with a pile of his cars, but she always wants the toys (usually cars) he is playing with. His tolerance is dwindling...

Her hair has gotten longer, but it still stick straight up at the crown. And she's figured out how to take all her bows/headbands out of her hair, so she never gets to wear any. *sigh*. She's grown very attached to me. She cried if I'm not in her sight, she follows me into the kitchen (and then proceeds to eat any crumbs left behind from her most recent meal)...I find it a bit endearing, but after two weeks of having her not go back to bed at night (and thus sleeping with us)..I'm ready for her to be a bit more independent!

This baby girl loves to eat! Caleb used to chew on his spoon like this (I had a really hard time getting it to "upload" on here, so just check out the post: Caleb at 6 months).

• Her favorite foods: green bean casserole, bread, balogna, meat, strawberries, chicken nuggets...just about anything I put in front of her. Except for Cheerios. She'll eat them only if she's really hungry and they are her only option.
• She loves Caleb. She laughs at him and bawls when he takes her toys away. They have such a love-hate sibling relationship. I love it!
• She loves being outside but always gasps when it's windy. Can't blame her for that one.
• She's only barely started to flirt with people at the store. She just has this issue with strangers.
• She thinks it's so fun to try and eat everything (non-food items). Like shoes. We've had to move our shoes up the stairs so she won't eat them. And she loves cords. ahh!
• She loves technology. The tv, computers, phones, camera, remote controls. I love her excitement when she spies a remote control on the floor and she makes a bee line for it hoping we won't intercept her at all.
• I mentioned she loves going into the kitchen. She will now speed up on her way there if we call her name and tell her to come back to the living room. Already enjoying disobeying us! oh dear...
• She loves baths. After I get the water running, I can't get her undressed fast enough; she tries to crawl into the bathroom and gets so mad at me for holding her back. Oh, I love it!

I love my baby girl. Her pesonality is so calm compared to Caleb and she is so much more dependent on me than he ever was. She is so sweet and loves to cuddle and laugh and smile and is so ready to start cruising, but she can't find anything tall enough for her to grab on to! ha!

We love you Mackenzie!

Beautiful Day

It's a beautiful day! It makes me so happy when the sun is shining and I can walk outside without even a sweater.

Granted, it's been an abnormally warm winter, so we've hard "warm" days, but today is just gorgeous! Justin always says I remind him of WALL-E in Pixar's "Wall-e": Wall-e begins each day with his solar panels unfolded soaking up the sun, and when he's all charged, "ding!" Ready to go! I guess I can't really argue with that.

I'm not the only one who loves the sun either! I took Mackenzie outside and she soaked up the sun, the wind, the grass, the sidewalk. She wants to explore it all!

What do you look forward to most with Spring coming?