Name Frame

I got this wonderful idea from my friend Ali. She got one as a shower gift for her son and I just adored it when I saw it in his room. The idea and details have been floating around in my brain for months. Well, I finally got it finished this week. We call it a "name frame". I love how it turned out, and, although it's not hung yet, it will look great in her room. I hung it in Kaden's room to take the picture (so sorry about the glare), and he wanted to keep it! Funny boy! I told him he couldn't keep Marin's, but if he wanted his own I could make one for him. Looks like I've got another project on my hands. If only all my "projects" were as fun as this!

A cute picture of the "subject"

6 Months

Today was Marin's half birthday. We celebrated by taking her to see Dr. Santos and getting shots. Not fun for her, but it's always interesting to see how she's grown (and to compare her to her big brother). Both kids did very well at our appointment. Kaden sat quietly while I talked to the dr. and as a reward the nurse gave him a popsicle. Marin did fabulously until the shots, then, she lost it (and, unfortunately for me, didn't "find it" again the rest of the day...she's been miserable...and has a bruise to show for it!)

She weighed in at 17 pounds 15 ounces putting her in the 85%ile for weight. She is 27 3/4 inches tall. This puts her literally "off the chart" for height. If you've seen the growth curves, she's outside (to the left) of all of them! Even Kaden never achieved this status (guess they have different scales for boys and girls...I've always wondered about that). As I'm looking at this, I'm noticing that their heads measured exactly the same (17.5 inches). Marin's however puts her in the 90%ile and Kaden's was only in the 70%...strange.

In comparison to Kaden she is just a quarter inch shorter than he was at this age and 26 ounces (or one pound 10 ounces) lighter than he. All in all, I think they are on VERY similar growth patterns. It's so fun to see.

Now, since you endured all the statistical chatter, here's something fun for you....

Happy 6 month birthday sweet Marin!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a nice weekend in Illinois this past weekend. We got to see lots of family and take it easy all weekend. No cooking or housework for either of us, what a treat! Here are some of the highlights.

Kaden sat on some tractors at "the John Deere store"

He sat on about 4, but would have liked to sit on all of the big ones.

Helped Grandpa Steckel wash his motorcycle while still wearing his pajamas!

Found a Buzz Lightyear costume that fit him perfectly. However, he says he wants to be a "guitar player" for Halloween this year. Guess we have a few months to iron out those details.

Took a short ride on Grandpa Steckel's motorcycle and LOVED it. I overheard him having a conversation with himself today about how he was going to buy a motorcycle.

Marin gets smooches. I didn't get many pictures of her this weekend, but she had a milestone weekend as she rolled over for the first time (and MANY times after) and also learned to blow bubbles/raspberries.

Growing Girl

This post is all about our little princess, because she hasn't hit the spotlight much recently. She's growing and changing all the time. In a couple weeks we'll go in for her 6 month check up already! This week I switched her from the bouncy seat to a "booster" seat to eat in. She's not quite enjoying the new seat yet, as she usually tips over, like this....

However, it seems to be keeping her, me, and the seat much cleaner than before. She wore this darling Carter's outfit today...oh, it's just so cute, pictures don't seem to do it justice. I think every old lady (and there were LOTS of them this morning) in Kroger stopped to chat with her. The green is a kelly green and it would have been great for St. Patrick's Day. And, you can't see it well, but it has pockets on the front of the pants with cute pink buttons on them. Even Kaden said she was a "pretty girl" (well, now that I think about it, he calls her that every day!).

She is so fun right now. She loves to be talked to and is working on grabbing toys and almost rolls over. Sitting isn't very steady,and she doesn't even like the Bumbo for long, but I'm sure she'll get it eventually. Her brother is her favorite entertainment. He makes her smile constantly. How lucky were are to have her!

A Legend in the Making

This is Kaden's latest garage sale find. We found this for 50 cents probably a week ago. I attached a piece of decorative rope that I had in my sewing desk, and WHAALAAA...he can jam like the best of them. It is quite entertaining to watch. He jumps, he sing/shouts, and he strums all at the same time. The first time he performed for Jason he said "Welcome to Easter Saturday!" We were in awe...he had sat in the service during the music on Easter and he was obviously star struck by the singing, the guitars, and the drums. Currently his favorite song to perform is "Open the Eyes of My Heart". He also does a good "Trust and Obey" and "Popeye the Sailor Man". I'm sure he'll soon be on tour, so keep your eyes open for tickets.

Great Day for Freebies

So, just to brag, I've decided to list all the things I got for FREE today:

2 piece KFC Meal (not just chicken, two sides, a biscuit, and also a free drink!)

1 Peach Tea (Arby's)

8x10 photo at Walgreens

1 regular Roast Beef sandwich at Arby's

How's that for a fun day? If you're like my son, perhaps that all means nothing to you, and instead leaves you looking like this....

...that's okay too. I however, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Bow Beauty

Marin wore this giant bow yesterday. I just couldn't resist. It matched her outfit. Jason wants to know what she has on her head. Kaden told her she looked like a princess when she had it on. I thought she looked darling, perhaps a little under dressed for her hair accessory, but darling none the less.

First Fish

Saturday Kaden "caught" his first fish (with a "little" of help from daddy)

Read: Daddy tricked the blue gill onto the line, then showed Kaden, who was immediately thrilled that "he" caught a fish.
Look closely to see the blue gill...it blends into the grass in the background.

Marin 5 Months

Marin's 5 month "chair" picture