Decorating Easter Eggs!!

After school Monday, Karlee came home to boiled eggs just waiting for some color. We dyed Easter eggs for the first time and Karlee thought it was pretty neat. She kept a close eye on the eggs as they were in the dying process. She kept saying "look mommy, they are painting."



We let them dye as we ate lunch and then it was time to take them out and see our masterpieces! I was trying to take pictures and keep Karlee from knocking over the cups or reaching in with her hand to just pick up the eggs! This picture is Karlee's "cheese" face!



We set them out to dry during Karlee's nap. She woke up saying "see my eggs." So, we headed downstairs and I got out the Easter stickers for Karlee to add her touch to them. She was concentrating so hard on getting the stickers on just right.




Karlee was so proud of her eggs! She wants to look at them everyday and the basket has to sit on the table beside her whenever she eats. I keep telling her that the Easter Bunny is going to take them and leave her special treats on Sunday. I hope she likes the treats and doesn't pitch a fit that her eggs are gone!



I hope to keep up the egg dying tradition. My mom has dyed Easter eggs my whole life. She still dyes them for my dad because he wants to eat colored eggs at Easter!

1st Camping Trip

Chip had a fishing tournament on Saturday and I knew he would be getting his boat and tackle organized most of the night Friday, so I decided Karlee and I would go camping with my parents and Jim and Jackie Moran. They headed to Lake Point Resort on Lake Eufaula on Thursday. Karlee and I met them around 10:00 Friday morning. Karlee was so excited to see Granna and Granpa and sleep in the camper! I was a little anxious on how Karlee would actually sleep in a bed with me. She has never slept in our bed at home and she has only slept in the pack n play when we have been away from home. After a warm bath and reading a few books, she was down for count around 8:30 and never moved the entire night. I think running non-stop all day and no nap helped this situation!

Here are a few pictures of what Friday and Saturday looked like.

Chasing a few ducks at the marina.



"Riding" her bike with Granna and Granpa.



Helping Granpa catch some fish.




Playing in the pine straw with Granna.



Playing with Jim and Jackie's dog, Lucy. She did this a lot over the 2 days. Most of the time they were loose and running around with Karlee.




My dad and Jim with the dogs.



Karlee found my dad's hat and binoculars and told us she was turkey hunting!



Enjoying the campfire Friday night.

Fun with the Fishies

Another rain filled week last week made for a fun filled Friday. Chip decided that there was nothing keeping him at the office on Friday so he came home to spend the day with me and Karlee. We decided to jump in the car and head to Atlanta to take Karlee to the aquarium. We thought we were doing a good thing by going before Spring Break on a week day. Boy were we wrong. It was shoulder to shoulder crowded and very irritating to me and Chip. Karlee didn't know the difference and had a ball. That's all that matters. I later found out that Georgia schools were out for some kind of holiday on Friday.

Karlee just squeezed her little self right to the front every time. She plastered herself to every window and just looked completely amazed by everything she saw. The sharks and penguins were her favorite and she kept asking to see more of them. She would see the next section of the aquarium and say "Look, more fish. I see sharks."






It was a fun day. The trip was also Karlee's first trip to Atlanta. She was just excited to see the airplanes flying over our heads and the tall buildings. We could have just drove around downtown all day and Karlee would have been entertained. She would point and say "ooooooo, tall buildings!" She called the peach sculpture you see when you come into downtown a pumpkin. This child doesn't miss a thing. She would see things on billboards and talk about them. She definitely had me and Chip looking more at the surroundings to see what she was talking about. I usually have my eyes closed just waiting to get out of all that traffic!!

I love our little spontaneous trips we take. I hope Karlee loves and enjoys them as much as we do. Before she was born, Chip and I used to just hop in the car and take off to see what fun we could find. I am so glad Karlee just goes with the flow and is an easy car rider. I think she knows something fun will come out of these crazy trips!

Meeting a new cousin

Karlee and I finally got a chance to see our new cousin Raleigh on Saturday. Lila was there with her mommy and daddy too. I just had to post this picture because it is hilarious to me.



Look at how stiff Karlee is! She doesn't quite know what to think of this thing laying in her lap. But, when Raleigh started to cry, Karlee and Lila both leaned over instantly to check out what he was doing.

I think these 3 are going to be very close growing up. They are stair step by one year almost exactly (1/25/08, 1/16/09, 2/19/10). They should provide for lots of entertainment at the lake this summer and many summers to follow!

Pics for Becky!

I just realized that I have not posted a picture of Karlee in the last 3 posts. Sorry Becky! Last night I tried the outfit on Karlee to make sure I didn't need to adjust the waist. She then didn't want to take it off. She caught a glimpse of her umbrella and had to have it (I mean adamantly had to have it!) I know it's bad luck to open an umbrella in the house but tell that to a 2 year old and see what kind of response you get. I told Chip she was just doing a rain dance to try to keep the rain away for him this week. Let's see if it worked!





Chip was on the phone last night and Karlee was all of a sudden quiet. I went to make sure she wasn't bothering him since it was a business call and this is what I found.



She had on my shoes and sunglasses. Never a dull moment around here!

I'm addicted!

I have no idea why I am stressing myself out with tax season, an active 2 year old, and trying to sew all at the same time. I guess I'm addicted to sewing these days. And, it's just fun to make cute little outfits for Karlee. I think I need a maid though because the house work has been put way to the back of my priorities!

I started these triple ruffle pants last week in sewing class. I finished them over the weekend and today during Karlee's nap so I don't have to go to class on Wednesday night. This will make Chip very happy! They were pretty easy but took 2 spools of thread because of all the overcast stitches on the tops of the ruffles to prevent fraying.



What cute pants would be complete without a cute shirt to match? I made this yesterday and think it's a pretty applique.



Another complete outfit! The sewing is going to stop for a while so I can smock the bishop I made a few weeks ago. I'm ready to get that darn thing finished!!

2 year stats

We finally got in to see Dr. Greer Friday for Karlee's 2 year check up. She weighs 21.8 pounds and is 35 inches tall. Dr. Greer was concerned about her weight a little. He said she has fallen off the growth chart which is usually a sign of failure to thrive. But, he said her height and head circumference were right on the money. Her physical and verbal skills are above average too. So, he wasn't as concerned as he would be if all of this wasn't fine.

He was also comforted to know that Karlee is exactly the same way I was as a child. I didn't start gaining weight until my sophomore year in college. Karlee is just going to be petite like I was. My mom had the hardest time finding clothes to fit me my entire childhood. Now I'm dealing with that now. 12 month pants fit her in the waist but are a little too short. Looks like I'm just going to have to add ruffles to them for a while to add more length! Karlee eats like a horse but is just very active. Her normal breakfast consists of 2-3 bowls of cereal or 2 packs of oatmeal. I told Dr. Greer that Karlee only eats healthy snacks and she hardly ever gets junk food unless she is at the grandparents house. We just don't keep that stuff in our house because I would eat all of it! I guess we should start feeding her ice cream and donuts.

I am dealing with a problem now of not being able to find big girl panties that will fit Karlee. We are starting "boot camp" potty training after tax season. The smallest size I can find are 2T and they fall to her feet as soon as I pull them up. I'm going to try shrinking them today to see if that helps. Does anyone know where to find smaller sizes?

The dress that made me cuss A LOT!

I said a lot of bad words last night. I need to wash this dress about 14 times to remove all the bad language that poured upon it! But, now that it's finished and ready to smock, I'm pretty proud of it. I just need to try it on Karlee and sew the bottom hem. I was afraid to go ahead and do that last night without measuring her. I don't want there to be any reason Karlee can't wear this dress once the smocking is done. She may wear it everyday once it's smocked to make me feel better about making it. It wasn't really that hard but it was so darn tedious. I had no idea it would entail so much small detail work and hand sewing around the back placket and neck band.



To all the husbands out there that complain about how much children's clothes cost. They are worth every penny. I had no idea how many hours of work went into making a bishop. And, I haven't even smocked it yet. That will take several more hours. I would like to think that I will make Karlee more bishops, but right now, I just want to stick this one in the closet and never look at it again. I am so over it right now. Maybe it's the getting home at 11:45 last night that's doing the talking right now but good golly this dress drove me crazy!!

I wanted to pick a fabric that was more whimsical than plain like most hand-made bishops are. I hope to get it smocked before Karlee's class pictures in 3 weeks but that's highly doubtful(and it's tax season). I wanted to put ric rac on the sleeves but the Sewing Center didn't have a color I liked so I went with this other stuff. I'm glad I chose this because I think it's so cute. I have no idea what it's called though. I plan to smock a pretty geometric plate in bright greens and oranges to stand out at the top. I have it pictured in my head but it will probably not turn out that way.



Oh well. If it is the only one I ever make, at least Karlee will have one hand-made dress from her mommy to pass down to her child. I'm just glad she has several more from Erin's sweet mom to pass down too. I really appreciate those from her now that I know how much time is involved in making one.