A Buggy Birthday

Last weekend was pretty hectic, so instead, I figured I'd have Baby M's first birthday party this weekend. So, today we had her party! And what a party!

I spent a lot of time yesterday baking a cake, and making fondant. I got the recipe from Amy at Muddy Boots. It was... fun... to make. It took me an hour or so to bake the cakes and make the fondant... and then I had to put it in the fridge overnight... so I didn't want to decorate the cake until this morning.

That said, it took 3 hours to decorate (which includes the time coloring the fondant and re-wrapping the rest. I didn't even use half of it). I'm not sure what to do with the rest (I spent so much time on it I don't want to just get rid of it...). Does anyone know if I can freeze it for later use?

Anyway, I made a ladybug. I think it's cute! My first time using fondant (there is a LOT of kneading).
I also really wanted to do a few other things for the party. One was a scrapbook page for everyone to sign for her one year scrapbook. However... I forgot to do it. Oops. Anyway, I did get to do the other thing I wanted. When Baby M was born, a bunch of friends got together and sent us this frame. I only actually worked on it today (well, yesterday too). I was really happy with how it turned out.


A lot of people came! I was actually surprised! A lot of the people I invited couldn't come, and many others didn't reply. But we ended up with a full house which was awesome! Baby M loved seeing all the kids who came by... her Cousin A, plus another 5 kids. It was great!

Here are two of Baby M's friends, sitting on the bench her grandpa got her. Cute, huh?

Some pics of the full house. Both sets of grandparents came, 3 great grandparents, 4 aunts, 3 uncles, her older cousin J, and 5 of our friends.

Here she is with the cake!

Time to cut the cake (sniff).

She got real upset when her dad took the cake away from in front of her to cut it. She just cried (could have also had to do with the surprise of me blowing out the candle too... she didn't like that much, ha ha).

This icing is awesome!

Time for presents! She sure did get a lot of toys (and is now having lots of fun with the tissue paper, ha ha).

And here are the cards!

She had so much fun, she did not want to go down for her nap (even though everyone was leaving or already left)... didn't want to miss any of the action (even though she was rubbing her eyes and absolutely exhausted (could hardly keep her eyes open). We had to bring her down to show her that everyone was leaving/left already so she would nap... and then she lay down on the floor and tried to play... laying down... too tired to sit up anymore (ha ha). It was adorable. She napped a good long time. Long enough for us to get everything cleaned up and relax for awhile.

Happy Birthday (again) little girl! I hope today was super special for you!

Project 365... again

Day 117 - Sept 25
Got the toys all set up for the kids who were coming over for our Bible study that evening.


Day 118 - Sept 26
I got this little diddy ready for the birthday party I had for Baby M today... more pictures to follow. ;)

Project 365

Day 113 - Sept 21
Baby M starting her descent... yes, she climbs up and down these stairs on a regular basis now. I'll often wonder where she went, only to hear her in the monitor pulling all the books out of her book case.

Day 114 - Sept 22

This was after my doctor appointment early in the morning (we got home after all this at the normal time Baby M wakes up). Visiting Grandma at work! Such a special day!

Day 115 - Sept 23

Today was another birthday, but we stayed home for once this week. Anyway, I thought the sunflowers by the garage looked lovely and went to take a pic.

Day 116 - Sept 24

Baby M had her 12 month needles this day, and was not happy about them. She got a rubber bouncy ball from the doctor and I think she decided to forgive him after that (she loves that ball for some odd reason). Anyway, I decided to walk to a park and give her a 'ride' in one of the swings for the very first time. She LOVED it.

By the way, she is walking quite well now. Still doesn't do so regularly, but when nobody is really 'watching', and she is wearing shoes (she prefers it when she wears a certain pair for some reason... probably more ankle support), she will walk all the way across a room, over uneven surfaces (like laminate onto a thick area rug, or over the one inch 'step' up by a fireplace) without much difficulty. She won't take your hand, is very determined to do so herself, and then grins with glee at having accomplished something so different! I'm so proud!

Happy Birthday, Baby M

My little baby girl...
I can hardly believe you are a year old already. How time flies. You've grown so much from the tiny 7lbs you were when you were born...



This month has been filled with wonder... exploration of the world around you. I've found out I need to close my pantry door or you climb right inside without my knowing it, wanting to see what it's all about. You will crawl over just about anything, even things I would consider rather painful for your little knees (like gravel). You love to try new foods, and will eat just about anything we put in front of you... unless you tasted something you like just a few seconds earlier, then how DARE we try to feed you something else.

You love to brush your teeth... all FOUR of them. Those last two just popped right out this month... and you seem to enjoy having them as we quite often hear you grind those front teeth together, making some strange clicking noise. You love to bite off crackers and cookies now, and really enjoy finger foods.

You've been sleeping through the night for months now, and even spending the night away at grandma and grandpa's yesterday didn't hinder you one bit. Such a big girl!

I believe you've started talking... saying actual words, although I'm having a difficult time recognizing some of them. I've noticed that when I get your sippy cup and ask you if you want your juice, you reach out your hands and seem to say 'duse'... so I'm assuming that your first 'word' is 'juice', although I cannot be certain.

You walk... although you forget you can and would much rather cruise on all fours. You love to stand and clap, adore animals (especially dogs) and music... and watching my bright colored video games. You enjoy going where you can on your own... like climbing up the stairs, and sliding back down them. I didn't have to baby proof the house much due to you being a rather good listener. Sure, you've tested me a number of times, but you know which areas are off limits, and you are really good at sticking to it. After all, your toys are more fun.

Happy first birthday, my little sweetheart. May you always have the joy we see in your face every day.


1 1/2 months


3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

And NOW for her birthday photos!

Surprisingly... you didn't even get terribly dirty!

Happy sweet first birthday, my little princess!

Time to be Frugal

For Baby M's birthday, I decided that since she really doesn't care about new toys or anything, we'd save ourselves a bit of money and I'd buy her something (if I found it) at a garage sale. Well, I found it! Blocks! Lots and lots of blocks. Mega blocks and some... other ones... they look like giant Lego's. They came in a nice container as well. Total cost for all the blocks in the photo below (and the blue container you can see in the back) was $7. We'll be saving the 'smaller' ones for another time.

Anyway, since I got these from garage sales, I didn't want to just give them to her the way they were. Some looked quite grimy. So... I took to washing them.

I've read where people have put them in a pillowcase in the washer, or dishwasher, or whatever, but I read on the site that this could potentially damage either the blocks or the appliance and was not really recommended. So, I filled one sink with sudsy water, and another with vinegar water (since the vinegar is a natural disinfectant and cleaning agent).

One and a half hours later, the blocks were all scrubbed, soaked in the vinegar for a while, thoroughly rinsed, and placed on towels to dry.

Now for her to enjoy them! :)

Oh, and the vinegar water? I didn't wash it down the sink right away... no... instead I used it to wash the sink first! Made it nice and shiny (made sure to rinse it all off though because it is acidic). Clean blocks and clean sink... what more could a girl ask for (except not having to do it herself, ha ha).

Party 365!

Day 111 - Sept 19
We were at a social for my friend yesterday evening, and it was a ball. I managed to get a couple of pics, but most didn't really turn out too well. I liked this one though, swinging the girls around to a polka song.


Day 112 - Sept 20
It's birthday's galore! My sister's birthday is today, as well as my lil munchkin's! My sister had a 'fairy' party for her 'magic' birthday, and we put Baby M in wings to join in the fun for a couple of minutes.

Project 365 - Wheels!

Day 109 - Sept 16
These are a nice set of wheels! That's my husband's uncle and aunt at the farm. Love the Hot Rod!


Day 110 - Sept 18
My in-laws bought Baby M a present for her birthday, and Baby M's grandma just couldn't wait to give it to her! So, she got her present two days early... her very own set of wheels! She's still a bit short to sit on it and 'go' herself right now, but she'll grow into it. She loves the music and the keyboard. I'm ok with it for now... not sure how long that will last, haha.

Apparently it tastes good too!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, I present to you, "Baby M and the New Car". Don't you just love home videos?

Baby M is my Project 365

Day 106 - Sept 14
Baby M petting the kitten... awww


Day 107 - Sept 15
Stuffin her face... aww, my lil Strawberry Shorty-cake!

Day 108 - Sept 16

Baskets of fun!

Yeah, I've realized my project 365 is really revolving around the munchkin... but not much in my life changes on a day to day basis as I stay home... especially right now as I'm sick with a cold. I really don't want to go outside right now, and the field harvest isn't happening at the time. Hopefully I'll get out there and take pics of it when in full swing. Right now... I'm staying away from the mosquitoes (and keeping Baby M safe too... those lil buggers are nasty!)

Project 365 Weekend

Day 104 - Sept 12
This is at a church near a friend's place. I couldn't resist and took a whole lot of pictures. This one was one of my faves! Look at the background...

Day 105 - Sept 13

I wanted to have a bit of fun and was looking at Baby M through one of her toys and thought... hmmm, cute pic? So here you go! Although using a flash in this scenario does NOT work, haha.

Bits and Bites

Hello again! Man, when I post, I post a lot in one day! Anyway, on to the post!

First, I'm excited about something I did on my 101 list this week. I finally organized all my computer disks... again. It's nice to be done. I also put all my new pictures on a DVD. Would you believe I took over 4.5 gigs of photos since March? Yeah... crazy. I'm going to have 2 DVDs of pictures per year at this rate. And that doesn't include our trip photos in May (which were 1 gig alone... sigh... I miss those pics... sniff).

Oh, and I want to change my project 365 photo for today... I can do that right? Here is the pic I want instead. This is Baby M (of course, who else has a ladybug butt) napping. Notice how she sleeps? I think it's hilarious.

On another note, Baby M has two top teeth poking through now! Is it weird to think those teeth look so big compared to her tiny lil bottom teeth? SO big. Ah well, mine were big too. Weird how that is.

And now, for the little video I want to post... yes, actually, the entire reason this post is here is due to this video. But, I didn't want to look obsessive or crazy or anything, so I turned it into something more than just a vid post... haha. Confession time over, on to the video of my daughter 'walking'... with help of course. Sort of. ;)

And yes, I have to bend over a LOT to help her walk... she's so short!

Project 365

Day 99... again... Sept 7
I wanted to do this pic as my 365 along with the previous one. The guys all standing around the tractor and truck, unloading the barley.


Day 100 - Sept 8
Ok, this was actually taken on the 9th. The 8th was a super rainy day, and on super rainy days I forget everything and wish to do nothing... although I did still manage to clean house and do laundry. Anyway, this is some fabric I bought at the local MCC that I want to turn into something for Baby M. I am not sure what yet, but I couldn't resist the dragonflies!

Day 101 - Sept 9

My sister came over, and my hubby brought in some kittens we have. This one we named Panther... because she is just so black. I love her! Anyway, she really loved the window, and I thought this pic was cute!

Day 102 - Sept 10
I actually took this one this morning... realizing that while I had my camera with me all day yesterday, I was too tired to remember it. Would you believe I took a nap? Yes... a NAP! Didn't sleep the night before. Anyway, this is a FAKE flower in my house... but I love it. The shade of pink is so lovely!

Day 103 - Sept 11

This pic is from in my house. It is wet and wet outside today again. It poured last night... I love the sound of rain on my roof!