Frames

First of all, Julie, Cole, or Jenn don't look at this post unless you want to spoil a gift you will be receiving for an upcoming occasion...
So, I have had the best time being creative lately! (Well not really creative, mostly a copycat of things I have seen that others thought of first, but anyway...) My grandpa has recently gotten back into woodworking, and after seeing some picture frames he made for his house I thought, "hmmm...maybe he could make some for me and I could decorate them for Christmas gifts." Another spoiler alert! I also thought they would make cute baby gifts, so I made the ones above for the Johnston girls. I kept asking Brandi if they had chosen names, but they couldn't decide. So I quit bugging her about it and just bought a gift certificate to monogram some burp cloths I gave her, and decided to go with J's on the frames. Then, the day before the shower she tells me they decided on Mclain and Madeline! I told her I would put the names on them anyway, but she evidently is not a monogram freak like I am. I think I counted Rhett's name 7 times in his room. Ha! Anyway, so far I have done 7, and yes 5 of them are for my kids, but I felt like I needed some practice before making some to give away.

These are for Mary Ella's big girl room. I think the pink one started out as a gift, but I got a little carried away with making it looked distressed, so I decided not to give it way.

This one may be my favorite because I made it with the picture in mind.

The brooch on this one was my grandmother's. It's really pretty in person, and has a pink tint.

This was also going to be a gift, but I wasn't happy with the polka dots, so I stuck "Razorback Girl" on it, and decided to keep it for ME too. It's pink and red if you can't tell.

I made these for Rhett's nursery.

Love the way this one turned out! I was getting better by this one.

This one I copied from one in ME's room. Hers still has the price tag of $37 on it, so I'm convincing Brad that we're saving money. Ha! He actually wishes I would find a way to MAKE money off of them!

This one is for Gracie.

And this one is a wedding gift for Cole and Jenn.

I can't wait to try some new designs! Last week I found pretty ribbon on sale at HL and Michael's, so I need to get started on some Christmas gifts. Thanks Mia and Pa for getting these to me so fast! Pa is also making a playhouse for Mary Ella for Christmas! It's going to be so special!

Brandi's Shower

This has been a weekend of baby showers. First Rhett, and then today we had a church shower for my friend Brandi. Above are the hostesses and guest of honor: Maggie, me, Brandi, Joy, and Lois

Maclain and Madeline (25 weeks) and Rhett (36 weeks)
Yes, Brandi is having twins! These are two VERY prayed for babies! Pretty soon these 3 will be crawling around the church nursery together. We are thrilled for Brad and Brandi!

Yummy petit fours from The Christmas Village in Canton
I would highly recommend them if you're local, and it's for a great cause! And if you're familiar with Lou, the petit four lady, from NE Jackson...it's her son's business. But I'm pretty sure she still made these for me because I got a call from her asking about the details of my order. Love her!

Brunch for Rhett

36 Weeks

Today some of my sweet friends met at The Broken Egg Cafe for a brunch and shower for Rhett. It was so fun to chat, and the weather was perfect for sitting out on the patio. Rhett got lots of gift cards to fun places like Sweet Dreams, Lemon Meringue, Hopscotch, and Target. And you better believe I went shopping this afternoon! ;) Thanks to Shelley and Sara for getting everyone together!Daddy was super excited that I had extra petit fours to bring home!

And while I had some girl time, Brad and Mary Ella were attending this- a sibling class for ME at the hospital. I couldn't wait for them to get home, so I could hear all about it!

She LOVES her big sister t-shirt so much she had to nap in it!

Showing Mommy what she learned.

"I was just crowned Big Sister"

And here are some pics Brad took on his Blackberry:

What a good student! They got to bring a baby doll for practice, so you know ME was loving that! She came home with the t-shirt, bottle and diaper for her baby, the certificate, and a coloring storybook about being a big sister. So cute! While I was out I got her some goodies to put together and take to the hospital, so she will hopefully feel like it's her special time too. One of my friends gave me the idea of a "big sister party." I was planning on putting everything in one basket for the big day, but I decided to split it into two surprises for each time she comes to visit. Hopefully we won't be there longer than that!

Super Cullen turns 3!

Yesterday we went to Jump Zone to celebrate Cullen's 3rd birthday. I am loving all these Super Hero themed birthdays! Mary Ella thought she was Superman too!

She is finally enjoying the bouncy places. She hasn't tried the slides yet, and if it gets too rowdy or crowded she's out of there. But she thought she was really jumping high!

Happy birthday Cullen!

Mia's Visit

Mia came to the rescue this week. She came and either entertained Mary Ella while I worked, or worked with me. We got so much done! Rhett's room is almost ready! His clothes and toys are washed, and all the baby gear is in place! It's amazing how much more energy I had while she was here, and I know it's because she was doing the day-to-day ME stuff...lifting her in and out of the high chair, loading her in and out of the car, bathtime, bedtime, playtime, storytime, taking her to the potty a million times a day. Whew! No wonder I am tired at the end of the day! Right, Mia? I think this was the first time she was ready to get the heck out of town. Ha! I worked her booty off. Thanks, Mama! I know it was worth it for me to have so many things checked off the "to do" list. Don't worry, we made time to play too!

We made Halloween cupcakes.

Hosted a lunch for Brad's office

Yummy Fresh Market burgers with the fixings

We lunched and shopped.

She was afraid the birds were going to get her cookie at Corner Bakery.

We played at the park...where ME roared at a boy on the slide and made him cry!

How big does she look???

And made Halloween cookies when the cupcakes ran out. Can you tell I've been in a cooking mood lately? It could be because I'm preggo, but I think it's just the time of year. Who wants to cook alot in the hot summer? Not me! But as soon as I got the first fall Southern Living I have been going at it! Soups, a new chicken and rice casserole, chicken and dumplings, broccoli and white cheddar mac and cheese, and I made my very first gumbo...chicken and andouille...it wasn't too bad! Also have all the stuff to make pumpkin pecan sticky buns. Yum! Anyway...

She enjoyed the ghost and pumpkin cookie cutters.

Time to decorate!

Sprinkles!

Eating sprinkles!

And actually putting them on the cookie

Fun times! We also painted, colored, dressed up, and went to storytime at the library. It was a fun visit, and ME is going to miss dragging Mia around. It's hard to believe that the next time she comes will be for Rhett's arrival!

Funnies at 26 Months

A few specifics I want to remember about Mary Ella at this age:

• She says, "I so fritty (pretty)" only about a million times a day. And "Yook (look) at me, I so fritty." I hope this is okay and normal.
• "Good job, Mama" (when I do something she thinks is cool)
• "Be careful, Mama" (think I have said this much?)
  
• "Take a yook" (after she goes potty she runs out of the bathroom to tell me and wants me to come see what she did) Then she will announce "it's pee pee!" or "it's poo poo!"
• "Potty train, choo choo!" She said this one day as she was listening to me talk to someone about potty training. I thought it was so cute!
  
• "I wanna take a yook" (after I take her picture she wants to see it on the camera)
• "Now, what to do? Let me see..."
  
• "I love you too, Mama." She randomly comes up and says this. She has been SO loving lately. The hugs and kisses are free flowing.
• She has come up with different kinds of kisses. She'll kiss you and say, "That's a sugar kiss!" There's also a "sucker kiss" and a "boom kiss." I have no idea where those came from.
  
• The other day we had lunch with Daddy. We always pick him up outside his office, and when we drop him off he usually opens the back seat door and gives her a kiss. Well, he forgot to give her a kiss, and as soon as we drove off she said, "I wanna kiss Dada." I called him, we turned around, and he came back out to give her a kiss.
• We also hosted a lunch/retreat for Brad's office at our house. When everyone arrived I brought Mary Ella downstairs to see them. As soon as she stepped down from the bottom step and realized people were here to see her, she threw her hands in the air and twirled around. It was quite an entrance! ;)
• She roars loudly and says, "I sound like the Lion King!"
• She looks for the moon when it gets dark, and one Wednesday night on our way home from church she watched it the whole way home. She kept saying, "Come on moon. Follow me! Come to my house." When we got home, she was so excited to find it in the sky at our house.
• She can sing almost all of "Jesus Loves Me" by herself.
• We are working on ABC's, counting to 20, and shapes. She can sing many letters in the song, she counts the "teens" and knows 20 comes after 19, and she knows circle, triangle, square, heart, and star.
• She can bless "the food" and list a long line of family members she is thankful for in her prayers.
• Cutting 2 year molars=not funny
• She has a list of things that she needs to prolong bedtime: I need to poo potty, I need to read a book, I wanna sing, I need to blow my nose, I need a drink
• She either eats really well or she doesn't. When she is excited about a food she says, "I'll eat it away!"
• "It's sooo delicious!"
  
• I may have said this before, but she calls a forward roll a "flip-flop." She said one day, "I wanna flip flop" and taught herself how to do it.
• "I wanna do it." Enough said.