Turkey Day Table Fun!

This year, we've got something extra special to be thankful for... it's our little man's very first Thanksgiving!

I wanted to commemorate the occasion with something special that we could keep and use for years to come.

Thankfully, my buddy Vickie Howell has the perfect idea for a Turkey Day keepsake that was not only fun and easy, but Q and I were able to create it together - our first crafty collaboration!

Turkey Day Place Mats!

Since Quinn is an experienced painter, I thought he would like to provide the focal point to our place mats. My original thought was to get him to do hand prints and then I would make them into 'hand turkeys' - kinda like elementary school.

What I didn't know was how completely impossible it is to get a 5-month-old to hold a hand covered in paint still for even two seconds...

So, my hand turkeys quickly became more of an abstract study in orange... which turned out beautifully!

After Q was done with his portion on the place mats, I stamped 'Quinn's First Turkey Day' on them in copper sparkly fabric paint (a little note: fabric paint isn't the best option for stamping - I probably should've used stamp ink... so, they're far from perfect, but that's just how being crafty goes sometimes)...

I attached Quinn's art to some plain brown fabric, embellished with ribbon, sewed into place mats, and that's it! Easy peasy!

Check out Vickie's column, Craft Apparent, over on PBS Parents for inspiration on your own version of Turkey Day place mats!

Happy Thanksgiving!

5 Months Old!

Dear Chuy,

You are 5 months and two days old today and oh my goodness, you're rocking and rolling!

You've got not one, not two, but THREE teeth making their debut in your mouth.

What's up with three teeth already? You really do want a biscuit, don't you?

Well, we haven't gotten all the way to biscuits yet, but we have tried rice cereal and sweet potato.

You don't seem to be a fan of the rice cereal and I can't say I blame you for that - it's kinda yucky.

Sweet potato, on the other hand, seemed to be delicious! Maybe we'll mix the two together sometime just to see what happens.


In celebration of you starting solid foods, I though I should whip up some special 'big boy eats solid food' bibs for you to use when we eat from a spoon...
Pretty cute, huh?

You've also added reaching for objects to your list of 'things that I can do' this past week.

We were hanging out making chicken in a packet for dinner the other night and you helped me by tenderizing not only the onion, but the brussel sprouts and squash as well!


Your Godmother Aubrey blew into town for the weekend and we caught up with her at the Whole Foods - man, she loves her some Baby Quinn, I tell you what!


It's almost Thanksgiving and I'm so looking forward to celebrating your first one - you are what I am thankful for this year... and maybe we'll finally let you have that biscuit you've been craving...

Love,
Mommy

Baby's 1st Halloween!

Dear Chuy,


This past weekend we celebrated our first Halloween with you on the outside.


You were totally in my belly last Halloween, which made me extremely tired and hungry for candy...


This year, you're out, so, it was time for pumpkins, costumes, and pint sized Halloween parties!


First up, they had a little party for you guys at your escuela. It was super cute.


You made your costume, although, you didn't seem very fond of wearing it...




You made a little Trick or Treat canister too - I didn't even know about it - it was an awesome crafty surprise!

Ozzy was very fond of the contents of the canister - sugar cookies wrapped in plastic bag... cat favorite...



They took school pictures that day too - I thought a tuxedo t-shirt and driver's cap were in order...

Such a handsome man!



So, that night, we carved our pumpkins - I actually just drew your design on yours - after Daddy and I carved our giant pumpkins, our hands were tired and we didn't feel like carving another...



You'll just have to get bigger so you can carve your own!



In the meantime, I drew a lion pattern on your pumpkin - cause you love the lions!

The next day was Halloween and we attended a Pint Sized Halloween party thrown by our friends Jen, Chris, and Tallulah...



We were the Family Wolf...

You and Daddy had a good time wolfing it up...

All your baby buddies were there...



We took another pic of you, Clover, and Tallulah on the couch - man, you guys were all so much smaller last time we did this...

When we got home from the party, I thought you'd be stone cold tired and ready for a big nap, but you were wide awake and ready to play!



So we took a stroll around the neighborhood...

Then we lounged and watched the Halloween episode of Yo Gabba Gabba..

Halloween night, your Dad and I handed out candy to the neighborhood kids and watched a scary movie... you were finally ready for your big nap...

All in all, I think it was the best Halloween ever and I'm a little sad because we're never going to celebrate your first Halloween ever again...