Mondays Are Art Days

So, since it really doesn't seem like Spring's coming any time soon, we decided to make our own Spring at home :)

Last week it was handprint butterflies and this week we made potatoe stamp flower trees :)
We REALLY enjoy being artsy around here, and that makes this Mommah super-happy!!:)

Our potatoe stamps! Soooo easy to make - cut a potatoe in half and carve out whatever you like :)
Let your imagination go WILD! :D

... aaand the outcome :)  Not bad for a 2 and a half year old, eh?:)

        

She's always so focused :) Love watching her...

Our Art Wall - pretty soon we're gonna run out of space. ;D 

Week #35 - the Home Stretch

I think I might've forgotten how much work carrying a babe in your utero is!

Or maybe it's just that much different this time around?? :)) Oh, and please be nice and don't tell me it's because of my age! ;) Thanx!!!

One thing's for sure - I'm starting to believe there really is a difference between carrying around one gender or the other. Can you say "back pain, low blood pressure and heartburn"?!?!?:))) Not to mention all the acrobatic flips and flops this little guy's been practicing lately - seems like he's still got waaay too much room in there! :D But then, why do I feel like an over-grown whale??? I honestly can't say I remember having any of this with Vivie - I would tell people that my pregnancy with her went really, REALLY well and that I wouldn't mind being pregnant a thousand times over again!! :))... But in spite of all the difficulties, I am soooo siked about meeting this little man o' mine!! How can you love someone sooo much without even knowing them yet? It's just GOTTA be something very special given by God Himself!! What GRACE! *sigh*

Okie doke, so here's a picture of the above-mentioned belly of a whale! :o)

p.s. I love how random people at stores stop to tell me I must be due any time now! :D 

The best part is when I tell them I still have about another month to go - the honest expression of concern on their face - PRICELESS!!! :D

Gingerbread Everywhere!!!!

I had an amazing little helper in the kitchen today AND our house ended up smelling amazing! :) SCORE!!!

Can you guess what we were up to??

That's right - we turned our house into a Gingerbread man Factory!! :) And I couldn't have done it without the help of my little Cookie Monster who kept asking for "only one more" once they were baked and decorated :)) Yes, it did end up being a little tricky to actually save some for later :) I mean honestly, how can one be so naive to even think that, right??? :) 

So here you have it - the little worker-bee at her BEST!!! :o)

 

She LOVED decorating! But I think she loved sneaking in a "lickey" off the icing even more!! :D 

We even named some of the gingerbread in honor of my family in the States and hung them on our 

Christmas tree! Yes, I realize that sounded a little morbid :))... 

But it kinda makes me feel as though they were here with us!!! Yea, yea - call me cheesy! :)))

Daddy did end up joining us as well - in helping Vivie eat up all the cookies that those two decorated!!! :o) 

Oh and LOOK!!! I actually caught the little munchkin sneaking in another lick of icing!! 

You can see they both got pretty creative towards the end - with the partially eaten-up stars being used as "fancy hats" for the Gingerbread men :) Ummm, hello Napoleon?? :o)
Gotta love those two!! ;)

Let it SNOW :o)

Imagine our surprise and excitement when we woke up to THIS this morning!!! :D

Eeeeeeek!!!!!

Of course, having a little girl that's never ever seen snow in her life, 

we were all accompanied by an enthusiastic: 

"LET'S GO TO DA PLAYGWOUND!!!!!!" :)

And here you have it... 

Didn't take too long before Daddy and Viv got all dressed and ready to go!

... It also didn't take too long before they came back again!!! :D Apparently it was a wee-bit windy and chilly! Oooh, them Slovakians!:))) They'll learn eventually, I'm sure! ;) 

Feelin' Smart&Crafty

So we had a fun morning today! :)

As I'm making toast for breakfast, Vivie shouts "Mommy!!! LOOK!!!!" 

The seriousness of her tone kinda startled me, and then she continued in her squeaky, excited little voice... "Letter "B"!"

Now I thought that was really neat!!! :) I don't know about you, but I've come to REALLY ENJOY the simple little things in life - that sure is something God has been teaching me a lot through this little girl lately! :)

... And to really top off her excitement that morning, we went on to make an Elmo face arts&crafts... 

Oh did she ever LOVE that!!! I think glue is her new best friend now... next to scissors.. and play-dough... and her crayolas.... and her soccer ball... :))) What does your toddler enjoy doing the most?

We're In The 30's Now!!!

NO, it's not my birthday - although that little number is slooooowly creepin' up on me!! I mean, I'm still 24, right?!?! :)) ANYWAYS....

So we've started week #30 of our prego-nenciness!! Aaaaa!!!!! We're in the 30's already - breathe in, breathe out... You know what this means, right? He's gonna be here before we know it!!!

We also went to visit our midwife today for the very first time! I'm sooo excited about getting a midwife, by the way - I've always wanted one! :) Having Vivie in Slovakia didn't allow us to have this luxury, so this time around, we're gonna go for it! We love their more personal approach to this whole deal + the postpartum care that you get?!?!? They come to your HOUSE for the first few weeks to check up on you and your baby. That sounds VERY NICE, especially since it'll probably be -40 by the time we deliver this little guy and you just don't wanna be going anywhere in such conditions - especially not with a wittle bebe.
But prayers are still very much appreciated!!!! Unfortunately, it looks like our families won't be able to be around for this little man either :( That's how the Lord planned it before the foundations of this world, so we're receiving it as His will and look forward to how He'll be providing all that we need. He IS and always WILL BE more than enough for His children!!! :)

The check-up went really well! Baby Mikey is apparently head-down - getting ready for his exit! ;) Good boy!!! And apparently he's a very calm baby! YES!!!!!! :) That's VERY good news for me! :)

Da Bumpa!!! :)

Sporting a New Cut

Well, I did it!

I ACTUALLY did it!!!!!! I chopped my baby's hair! I'm still getting over it - aaaaaa!!!!!! I don't know what came over me... Maybe the fact I'd have to redo her hairstyle like 12 times a day?? She'd always pull out a strand of hair from her perfectly done updo, leaving a TON of little hair bumps here and there... and then she'd just twirl it... or WORSE!!!... PULL on it!!! Yes, and that was my concern - we started spotting tiny little bald spots here and there at the top of her head :) Ummmm, NOT GOOD!

And then DRYING it was a whole other story. This little girl decided to make my life miserable by going through the same routine every time we decided to give her a bath and wash her hair. Oh, the screams and cries - the injustice being done to this poor little lamb. You'd think she'd get used to it by now, right? Well, think again.... EVERY SINGLE TIME, we'd go through this horrifying drama where I would actually feel like I was torturing this child! You know, she ALMOST made me believe her, too!:) ... Not to mention our poor neighbours.. SO yes, it was a lot to handle. And honestly? Just reading over what I wrote, took most of the guilt away and made me feel a little better about our decision :o) Mission accomplished!

I gotta say though - she looks like a totally different little girl now! So grown up!!!! Don't you agree? :)