A Homemade Christmas

I guess I got in a creative mood, or maybe I was just crazy, but I came up with gifts that I really wanted to make for my family. I am now going to show them off.

This little snuggle dress was made for my newest niece Laura (2 months old).
It says, "I love my daddy!"

This quilt was a surprise for my mother. All of my siblings helped pay for it. She loves her grand kids so much, but only gets to see three of them on a regular basis. I bet Curtis she would cry when she opened it. She did. I haven't seen her sit down once with out holding onto it.
It says, "Hold this tight when you can't hold us!"

I made 8 of these capes. 2 batman, 3 superman (one adult sized) and 3 princess.
I asked Audrey if she would be a super helper and do something for me. She said, "I can't. I don't have a cape on." I better finish hers quick!

I made these matching aprons for my sister-in-law Becca and her daughter Emma.
I loved this fabric so much.

I also made a tutu for my niece Sophia. My sister Alaura paid for the materials to make 3 capes and a tutu for James' family. I haven't heard their reaction, but I hope they love them.

In the midst of making all these gifts, I was able to use my talents and make special requests because of my BuzzAboutBaby business, which mostly paid for the gifts that I created for my family. I made an apron, a car seat canopy and a nursing cover.

It was a busy two weeks before Christmas, but fun.
I now need to catch up on all the housework I let slip.

Merry Christmas!

I wanted to posted the awesome Christmas letter that Curtis programmed for us. He is so creative and worked really hard to get this just right.
Check it out: http://www.curtisgibby.com/christmas2008

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!!!

My Nathan...

I just wanted to document that at 10 1/2 months Nathan now has 2 words: Hi! and Uh-Oh! (which sounds more like uh-uh!). Today he started to wave bye-bye and a couple weeks ago he started to clap. He is so proud of himself when he does his tricks. He is a good stander and zooms around holding onto anything he can get his hands on to walk. He does not take the time to balance and take a step, he just want to go, go, go! He is such a pleasant, happy baby and I am constantly surprised by how he out eats Audrey at almost every meal. I am really enjoying my little boy.

Wow, It's Been So Long!

I knew I hadn't written in a while, but I didn't realize it has been more than a month!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family. My brother James and his family came from just north of L.A. He had been in Afghanistan for the past 7 months so we were all really excited to see him home and safe. My sister Lynn and her children came from the northern tip of California. At one point we had 10 adults and 9 children packed into the upper floor of my parent's home. It was a lot of fun. We also opened up our Christmas gift early because we thought everyone would enjoy playing with the Wii and did they ever. We even got my mom and dad to join in the fun. We are still trying to beat some of the records James set on the Wii Fit.

Curtis was very funny to watch when he was learning to hula hoop on the Wii. I was practically rolling on the floor with laughter.

Did someone say PIE?
(Everyone waiting patiently for a slice of the many yummy pies my mom worked so hard on.)

I have been really busy with boutiques. I have had one every weekend for the passed several weeks. This weekend is my last one of the season. I am looking forward to a break and being able to get things done around the house. (Still no luck selling our house, but we have had another looker this week. Christmas is a slow time of year for real estate, without the market being bad.)

Audrey is really looking forward to Christmas. We just barely got our tree set up yesterday and debated if we should even do it at all, but she loved it and can't wait for Santa to come.

I have been working on several Christmas gifts that I am excited to show off, but I can't for obvious reasons. I will make sure to post them after Christmas.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Happy Halloween!

Nathan was a duck. (The costume said "little chick", but he looked like a duck.)

Audrey was a Dancing Princess, at least on Halloween night. She had four costumes (most handed down from my sister Zilpha) and chose a different one for each event we attended. I was telling her about the Trunk or Treat, where people take candy from the trunks of their cars and give it to her when she says, "Trick or Treat!" She laughed and said, "Oh! I thought it was an elephant trunk!"

Doing her make-up brought back a lot of memories. I haven't done make-up for a play in a long time, but I managed, especially for how wiggly she was.

We took my niece Addy with us to the Galivan Center last week for trick or treating and then rode tracks and played at the Discovery Children's Museum. We had a lot of fun and were quite tired when it was all said and done.

Tutu Fun!

I made a tutu for Audrey a couple weeks ago. It was so fun and easy. I wanted to show it off.

This is what you get when your big sister won't let mom take a picture of her in her tutu...





Don't worry, I won't let him make a habit of trying on Audrey's clothes.

I also had the idea to get together with some friends and make tutus for their daughters. We could all sit around and talk and loop tulle. Let me know if any of you want to come to this little party, I plan on having it in early December. A tutu would make a great Christmas present!

A Date to Remember...

Yesterday I had the idea to go to Provo and relive our first date, this time with kids. We are in Lehi staying at my mom's house right now, so we stopped to see where Curtis works on the way. We went to Doc's Pizza Buffet. This time we did not have a coupon. Yes, Curtis used a buy one get one free coupon on our first date! Then we went to the dollar theater and watched Wall-E, a more appropriate show for kids than Borne Identity, which we saw on our first date. So even though we spent more money this time and had two kids along with us, we had a wonderful time.
On our way we were reminiscing about dating and we couldn't come up with another occasion where Curtis planned and executed a date. So that was the one and only date we have been on that wasn't suggested by me. Hmmm...am I bossy or does Curtis just not have any ideas? I guess as long as we're spending time together, that's all that matters.

My Cute Kids

These are pictures from July that I never posted. I found them while cleaning up. My heart flutters with joy when I see their beautiful faces. I love them so much.

Audrey age 3

Nathan 6 months

So sweet!

Baffling Conversations with a Three Year Old...

As we were driving home from Ogden the other night Audrey's brain was going none stop. She sang "Hot-cross buns, hot-cross buns, one a penny, two a penny, three a penny, four a penny, five a penny, six a penny, hot-crossed buns." It went on for what seemed like forever. Then she said, "I wish cars could stand up."
Me: "Stand up?"
Audrey: "Ya, on their trunks. Then they could do the hoola-hoop game."
Me: "What's the hoola-hoop game?"
Audrey: "Where you put a big loop on and make it go round and round. That would be fun."
Me: "I'm not very good at that but daddy is."
Audrey: "When I get big I will be good at it."
We then stopped at a light for awhile and she thoughtfully said, "I wish I had glue on my back."
Me: "Glue on your back? Why would you want glue on your back?"
Audrey: "So I could be up high on the traffic light branch."
Me: "Why do you want to be up there? Wouldn't it be boring?"
Audrey: "No, it would be fun. I could watch the cars go by."
Me: "How would you eat?"
Audrey: "You would just climb, climb, climb and give me the food."
Me: "Would you change your clothes?"
Audrey: "No. I would where these clothes forever."
There as a break in conversation and out of nowhere she said, "When it's my birthday you can just let go of the balloons and I'd catch them, but I wouldn't have any cake or ice cream."
What thoughts!

Weekend Fun!

This Sunday Nathan figured out, "So Big!" We ask, "How big is Nathan?" and he lifts his hands over his head. It is so cute. He can also lift a blanket over his face and play peek-a-boo. He started to bounce dance to music, which makes us laugh. I can't believe how quickly he is growing.
We also had a chocolate fountain feast with Grandma and Grandpa Gibby. Audrey loved the chocolate so much. You can tell by these pictures:

Andrew and Audrey

"Licking the spatula! What a good idea! I'll do it too!"

We also have a new niece! Curti's sister Becca had a girl early this morning. We are so excited for them. We plan on visiting them tonight. Pictures to come.

Look What I Did Today...

I was ready for a little break from making headbands and nursing covers so I made these today. What do you think?

This is embarrassing...

I'm not sure why I am admitting to this, but I have had a dirty little secret for a while...my microwave. I can't remember the last time I cleaned it. I kept putting it off and always hoped guests wouldn't need to use it.










So here is the big reveal!

Before

I fully admit it...DISGUSTING!


After

No I did not get a new microwave...I got a hand steamer. With all this cleaning and getting the house ready I asked Curtis if I could get one. I knew it would help get the little grimy places that are hard to reach, like the window tracks and I knew it would make cleaning a little more exciting to have a new fun tool to do it with. So after I cleaned the microwave I went on to clean the fridge (not as gross to start out with, I promise), the oven, cabinets, the walls and anything else I could reach from that same plug.
The down side is that it is kind of noisy and Audrey spent the whole time yelling at me to stop so she could hear her show. (The only way I can get a task done is to distract her with TV. She's been watching a little too much recently.) If anyone wants to try out my new toy they are welcome to clean any part of my house they please!

What Are You Doing?

I heard Audrey doing something in the bathroom just now, so I asked her what she was doing and she yelled back, "I can't tell you, cause you'll be mad!" She's not as sneaky as she thinks she is.

The Perks of Being Me

So because I have an awesome brother, I was able to go to the induction ceremony for the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame. Less than one percent of all BYU athletes are chosen for this honor. Not only did BYU fly Byron and Amber out, feed us dinner and honor Byron's awesome swimming career, we also got to go to the BYU football game. Here I am a BYU grad and I have never attended a BYU football game. I was forced to go to high school games for pep band, but that is the extent of any football game experience I have ever had. Traffic was horrible as 63,000 people made their way to the stadium, luckily we also got a parking pass. As honored guests we got to have lunch in the Legacy tent. I couldn't believe this tent, it was huge! We ate carved meat, BBQ chicken, a salad bar, and they had a chocolate fountain with all the dippables you could want! They had big screen TVs and free t-shirts and you could come and go as you pleased through out the game for hot dogs, popcorn and cookies. I guess it pays if you give big bucks to BYU football.
We had really good $60 seats and got to walk out onto the field during halftime when Byron was introduced as one of the new inductees.
I didn't understand anything. Byron had to tell me why everyone was cheering or booing. At one time BYU got penalized a time out. I was really confused about that. How were they going to make a whole team sit with their noses in a corner and were we really going to have to sit there and watch it? ---See I really was lost the whole game!
The stadium was packed and there were constant advertisements and giveaways, I had no idea. What a crazy spectacle--all those people paying a lot of money to see a ball be tossed and tackled!
It was great seeing Byron and Amber and Buddy (18 months and huge!).
On Wednesday we got tickets to the circus through Curtis's work, one of the perks we will miss about being media. We brought our neighbor Devin who is one of Audrey's favorite friends. They had a great time. I was a little disturbed by the risque, scantily clad dancers. This was for kids? It was like an introduction to a strip club (without the stripping of course). Does anyone else complain about things like that geared toward children and who do you complain to? At one point Audrey exclaimed, "Those girls aren't dressed!" They had gold (more like skin colored) spandex outfits. We probably would have felt like it wasn't worth our money if we had actually paid for the tickets, but the kids loved it and that's what matters. Elephants, clowns and acrobats, oh my!

She says the darnedest things...

Audrey was playing with a balloon animal yesterday and put the tale in her mouth and sucked it so it expanded in her mouth. She said as she giggled, "I wish I had eyes in my mouth so I could see this!" What a thought!

Today we borrowed our neighbor's pancake puff maker (because every time Audrey sees the commercial she says, "I like pancakes! We need that!") I gave her the first couple, she ate them and said, "Mmmm, mommy, you are the best cooker in the whole world!" I guess they were a hit. =)

My Little Princess

The other day I told Audrey that I like daddy, that's why I married him. She said, "And you lived happily ever after?" Yup!
Today at Walmart she said she wanted to find her "dream come true". I asked her what her dream come true was and she responded, "I don't know. If you go over to the toys I'll find it." We saw a princess coloring book on the way out and she declared, "It's my dream come true!"

Go Curtis!

Curtis just accepted a new job! He will be working as a web producer/programmer for Rocky Mountain Printing. It is in Orem, so he will be commuting until we can sell our house. I will really miss living here, we have awesome neighbors and live so close to everything, but I do look forward to the prospect of living in Utah County, where I was "raised", well just high school. I made a huge to do list today, I'm sure it will get bigger.
My mom will be listing our house next week, but I also made a little blog with info. It is http://westvalleyhomeforsale.blogspot.com.

Nathan's Tricks

Climbing Stairs

Riding a Bike

Sitting in a Tub

Sitting in Mid-Air!

Things I want to make...

So starting these little businesses has kind of lit a spark in me to create! There are lots of projects I'd like to try to make that are in the back of my mind so I thought I would start a list.
One I have already done is baby cloth shoes. I found a tutorial for them on stardustshoes.blogspot.com.

When I make my second pair I will make changes to the pattern to make it easier and make more sense. (If you want to try them I can expound.) Here are some pics:

Don't ask me why I made them pink when I have a little boy. I guess I thought they weren't going to fit him, but they did!

All the projects have links so you can see what I'm talking about.

The List:
1. I want to make an Emmeline Apron. I think it is soo cute. Almost like a dress and reversible too.

2. A cloth plastic bag, using a grocery bag as a pattern.

3. A Couch Flower, just a fun cloth flower to pin or clip anywhere I please.

4. In my dreams I'd love to create something as beautiful as this mermaid costume.

5. A baby sling made from a T-shirt.

6. A tutu. Fluffy, frilly, fun, enough said.

7. A perfect bag for Audrey's church stuff. Maybe this one, or maybe I'll just look at D.I. or on clearance.

I think that's a pretty good list for now. We'll see how long it takes me to get through it. With boutique season well in the swing it may take me a while. I'll let you know how they go. If you love a project let me know and maybe I can make one for you!

If He Could Talk...

I think Nathan's first word would have been, "Mine!" if he chose to speak today. We found a Hannah Montana microphone in Walmart that lit up while it sang. He would not let go of it for anything. Audrey kept trying to press the button for him and he'd scream when she came near it. I bought it and had to pry it out of his hands when we got home so I could feed him.

As I was laying with Audrey just now, trying to get her to go to sleep, she turned to me and said, "You are a good mom." That made me feel good. At times I feel I don't have enough energy or time to do all I want to.

My stuff at a Store!

I now have a booth for all the things I make at Consign Design! 3556 South 5600 West, West Valley City, UT. open Mon.-Sat. 10-5. I will be setting it up tomorrow. If you're in the area come check it out.

Upcoming Craft Events

September 25th I will be at the Fun Fall Boutique in a backyard off of 9000 south and 1300 West in West Jordan from 4-8:30. Exact address: 1253 w Trimble Ln, West Jordan, UT.

November 8th I will be at the Girls Day Out Boutique at the West Valley Fitness Center.

I now have a booth at Consign Design! 3556 South 5600 West, West Valley City, UT. open Mon.-Sat. 10-5.

My items will be at Mrs. Claus Boutique December 4th -6th at 2600 East Creek Rd., Sandy (Jessop's Gym). Open 10am to 6pm each day.

I figured it out...

I realized this morning what was bothering me last Saturday. It wasn't the kids, it wasn't the projects, it was being home alone all day without Curtis. Evenings and weekends are hard without him, they seem to go on forever. I can't wait for him to get a new shift or a new job. These past three years of weekends haven't been much fun. I hope things will change soon.

Gibby Campout

Last weekend we went camping with the extended Gibby family. This was the first time we'd been camping since I was pregnant with Audrey. We went on a little hike to a stream, ate s'mores, played with cousins (Audrey's favorite part) and told stories around the camp fire, all the good camping stuff.


My favorite little story from camping:
Curtis took the kids on a short hike up the hill. At a fork in the trail Audrey stopped and said, "I wonder what's down that isle?"
We now know we have a city girl who learns everything from her mom. =)

When we first arrived I was making a dutch oven dinner and Curtis came and started helping me. I thought to myself, "Wow, this is nice. I didn't even ask." Curtis then said, "I think this is the first vacation we've taken together that I haven't brought my computer." That's why he was helping! It was so nice having a husband who wasn't distracted by technology all weekend!

We had a great time. I will definitely want to do it again next year.

Rambling On

Today I feel like I need a me day. Ever had one of those? Curtis is at work all day, till late tonight, I have an extra little one, my niece Addie (18 months), who is very sweet and easy to tend, but still needs me and I'm trying to get some projects done, but am lacking the get go. It just seems like a long time since I've had a break. Do mamas get breaks? I'm not complaining, I love my kids and I love having projects, I just want a me day. Any suggestions?

Take a look at what I've been doing!

I have started my own little business! I make nursing covers, binky clips, grab and go bags and headbands. I love finding bargains, so when I see something I love that is way over priced I always find a way to get a deal, even if it means I make it myself. I love these products so much I wanted others to be able to benefit from my thrifty shopping and crafty skills. Curtis has been helping me with the websites. Here they are:
www.happyheadbands.com
www.buzzaboutbaby.com
They link back and forth to each other, so it's easy to view both.
Feel free to tell anyone about my websites. I enjoy what I am doing. Wish me luck!

Audrey is 3!

Audrey turned three on the 12th of July. We were at the Gibby's cabin at the time so we were able to celebrate it with her cousins and aunts and uncles. She had been saying for months that she wanted a princess party. I made her a princess cake, similar to one my mother made me when I turned 4 or 5.



We had a wonderful time with Curtis's family at the cabin. We swam, ate yummy food, rode ATVs, played and won the Gibby version of The Amazing Race.

So far we have had quite the summer. We have done so many fun things with my nieces and nephew who are here in Utah for the summer. We've been to Discovery Gateway, Raging Waters, Wheeler Farm, swimming lessons, the Zoo and that's just to name a few. Audrey is really loving her cousins and tells them that she will miss them when they leave for Becca's or mom's house. She will be so sad when they leave for good next week.
Nathan is now mobile! He scoots or rolls all over the floor. His favorite thing to find is paper, he just can't get enough!

Holy Estrogen Batman!

We went on our 5th year anniversary date last night. Curtis found a buy one get one free deal on line for movie tickets and agreed to attend Mamma Mia! with me. We were sitting there thankful we had come a little early (we are used to the dollar theater crowds of 3-5 people). The theater was full and as we looked around 98% were female, but you didn't have to look around to notice that. A preview had a golden lab puppy running on the beach and the whole audience aaaaahhed in unison. As the first song of the show began most of the audience started to sing along. Curtis and I looked at each other, both thinking, "Oh no, what have we gotten ourselves into!" Surprisingly, the spontaneous singing did not continue.
The show was fun and just fun, you can't really take any of it seriously. We had a good time.
I didn't realized till we left the show that it was opening night for both Mamma Mia and Batman. That shows you how out of the movie loop I am. Seeing those hundreds of people sitting in the hall waiting to see a movie, knowing they paid at least $8.00 to see it left me with some really big questions. Maybe some of you can explain this, what I call, phenonomon.
Who has hours to sit and wait for a movie?
Do all these people really have $8.00 just begging to be spent on a movie?
Why do so many feel the need to spend so much time and money on a movie that if they just waited a month they could see it 8 times for the price they just paid and have their choice of seats?
Some may think I'm crazy for asking these questions, but I really don't get it. It's a movie. Oh, and don't get me started on sporting events. It's a ball. I don't care where it ends up.

California Trip

We got back from picking up my nieces and nephew on Saturday. We had four days of driving and one day of vacation. All the kids actually did really well on the long car ride. We got to see where my sister Lynn is living, in Crescent City, CA. It's a beautiful little town right on the ocean, just big enough to have everything you need, but small enough to not have to wait ten minutes at a stop light. We went to Ocean World where we pet starfish, anemones, and sharks and saw sea lions perform. The show confirmed Nathan's fear of water. Every time a sea lion splashed he would start crying.We walked along Pebble Beach and visited the kid's schools and Lynn's work. I was confused about how she could be the only librarian at the college, until I saw the library. I think it maybe had 8 short rows of books. I might not call it a library, but it seems like Lynn really enjoys her job.
It was quite the trip, but we all look forward to having the Durkees here with us for the summer. We have a lot of fun stuff planned, swimming lessons, the zoo, carnivals, raging waters, just to name a few.