Lord, Help Us, We Have a TWO-Year-Old Boy on Our Hands!!!

Within a year, Anders went from a sweet and loving little boy to well...a BOY! Wow, what a difference a year makes...now I really do know what people mean when they say boys are sooooo different from girls!!! He is still loving (likes to give "huggies") but he can be not-so-loving, too. He hits his sister (50% of the time it's well-deserved), is quite grumpy ("El Groucho"), is often heard saying "No way, go away, no Madeya (Madelin)..." Despite these changes, we are thrilled to have a TWO-year-old boy running around this house! :) "Happy Birthday, Anders" bunting. Birthday bunting close-up; like the masking tape? I still haven't found a good way to attach the bunting to the wall. Oh, well Anders doesn't know or care! Our little man eating his birthday dinner; with ketchup covering most of his chin and upper lip. I'm not quite sure who opened more presents..Anders or "Little Mother." "Cars" were a very popular gift this year! :)

Anders and his two favorite girls singing "Happy Birthday" to him! Notice Little Mother keeping Anders' hand from the flames.

Monkey themed birthday invitation created on Photoshop. Anders (if you weren't sure) in his Halloween costume from last year.

I found the "mod monkey" image on Bing (I think, or Google), copied it to Photoshop and created the "Happy Birthday, Anders" around it. I found the plates at a Party store.

I'm curious to see what the next year will hold with this little monkey!

The Garden, Early June

This garden box was my birthday, Mother's Day and anniversary gift from Chris. It's great (you can't tell from these pics but it's raised about 3 - 4 ft. off of the ground)...it keeps all the critters out, big (like the dog) and small (rabbits and such)! If only I could keep the kids from digging in it....I know, wishful thinking!! Tongue depressors identify what's planted in each row...asparagus, green beans...

cucumbers, carrots, jalapenos (by the wood post)... Madelin really wants the carrots to grow! :)

This is a mess of weeds and peppers...

and strawberries.

Birthday Bags

Think of them as reusable birthday bags for the birthday girl. These are the bags that Madelin gave to two different friends for their birthdays. Each canvas bag (purchased in a package of 3 from Hobby Lobby), plus fabric easily cost less than $4-$5. All of the bags were Madelin's ideas with the addition of my craftiness! :) We then put gift inside the bag. I made the bags using craft glue and then sewed around the outside. Madelin gave this bag to her friend, Trinity.

Close-up of the heart. Unfortunately, you can see the glue spots under the yellow heart...oops!! Needless to say, it was a lesson learned!

The other side of the bag. Madelin and Trinity are big peace sign fans!

I used felt for "Izzy." The other side. Madelin told me that Izzy likes green cupcakes...um, okay?! :) I love the mind of a 6-year-old!

Cupcake close-up...felt frosting, felt cherry with green floss stem and beads for sprinkles. To make the cupcake holder I used my favorite brown/light brown fabric, cut it out with pinking shears and then stitched around it with brown floss. Yummy!

I'm still trying to decide if I should make bags for boys??