a night to remember

our little monkeys are sleeping in the same room!

well before andy was ready for it i tried andy in a "big boy bed" in benny's room. i used to think that because they would have to some time in the future, benny and andy should share a room as early as possible. that night i tried it, it didn't work. it took fewer than five minutes to realize that wasn't going to work.

not too long after that evening i got to the point where i realized that if we have the space to spread them out, why not?! the time will come when we don't have that option. there is no point in forcing that upon yourself.

when lilia was born we kept the boys in separate rooms and put her in our closet. it's a walk-in but there's only just enough space for a pack-n-play (about a foot on two sides, but that's where are clothes are). little by little our clothes have moved out. i don't like it. i want to reclaim our closet. so a couple of days ago i put andy's crib mattress on the floor to see how he would do with the freedom. he did great. he didn't get off the bed at all. he did cry for a little while the first night and not as much the second night. in the morning he just opens his door and comes on out. nap times also worked well. again, a little crying, but he did great. the first day he just sat on the mattress and made noise until i opened the door (just like in the crib). it was really cute. today he came right out. i had originally planned to do this for a few more days before trying him on the big bed in benny's room, but i really want our closet back.

when i told benny that andy was going to sleep on his big bed benny said i would put them to bed and then they would talk. boy does he wish! i told him i'd put andy back in his room if they did. after i read some stories and said a prayer they both got in their beds. andy cried for about two seconds after i closed the door and then was quiet. i haven't heard a peep since! i am thrilled! i might even try nap time for andy on his big bed. tomorrow night i think lilia will sleep in her own real room. it will be her first time in a crib. boy, i hope that goes well!

i know i'm biased...

...but what a cutie!

outside while the boys were eating lunch:







inside after lilia had slept and then eaten lunch:













out-takes...



















i've got to admit, it's fun having a girl!

latest project

i have wanted to make a quiet book for a really long time. i finally started a couple of weeks ago. the first sunday i had one page front and back done. the following week i added the next. this week i was able to get two pages front and back done. i was working hard because we've got stake conference tomorrow. i have really liked each successive page better than the last. i've got a few more ideas to go, so we'll see what i end up liking the best.


flowers to button on



beads on ribbons to count and slide across. the four vertical strands on the right are only connected at the top so they swing around.
this page was an original idea of mine. it doesn't look very pretty, but it's entertaining. andy love this one!



the apples snap onto the tree and can be put in the basket.



a page to weave.
a little advanced for now, but they'll get the hang of it!


reverse of the weave.



your basic barn.
i borrowed this idea. i did a much simpler version of the one i saw. i was trying to be efficient. i only wish it had more color variety.


finger puppets inside.


i may add a cow and/or horse to the mix at some point. we'll see.



the three fish velcro on.
this is another design i borrowed. i will say that the shell was an original idea of mine.



butterfly with zipper body.


open it up and find baby butterflies inside with ribbon.
i have seen this page done with a ladybug before and i wanted to be a little more original. i know, i know, it's not biologically accurate (that was spencer's one problem with it), but it's cute and fun. i decided last minute to put matching beads on the ribbons. just something extra to play with.



shoe lace to tie.
i was debating for a while on what color shoe to do. i decided on black and white. it was spencer's suggestion to make them wingtip shoes. i'm glad he did. i think it turned out great. it's one of my favorites!


a lot of these ideas i got from my mom. some i got here. i didn't use any templates. everything was done (for better or for worse) freehand. i'm quite happy with how everything turned out. and the best thing, it gets the job done!

halloween

i simplified this year. benny's a repeat of last year, andy's wearing pajamas with sweatpants underneath, and i made lilia's costume for benny's first halloween.



two very caring older brothers.



each checking out his own stash.



lilia made her debut this year in the monkey suit. i'm planning on her fitting into it next year as well. i pinned a ribbon on so people could tell she was a girl.



and max, the king of all wild things!
i'm going to brag for just a second and let you know this is a prize-winning costume two years running! last year and this year benny won the costume contest at the med school family function. he looks just like max - and actually requests that we call him max whenever he's in his wolf suit.
he didn't wear the crown trick-or-treating.