Grammy Pammy

Happy Birthday, Grammy Pammy! 

Thanks for loving our family in your own special way. We love you more than words can express!

She makes all sorts of special things...(like the apron Jonah is modeling). Elizabeth recently wore some hand-stitched shoes...

Hope the day is full of gifts. (Like, maybe in the form of a new President)

Halloween 2012

  I love coming up with costume ideas...and making them myself. When I was a kid I thought homemade costumes were less-than-ideal (since most people I knew had fancy store-bought ones). Now that I am an adult, I realize it is (and was) something special to have something handcrafted. And I love the memories that were made putting them together with my mom! (yes, Mom, you were right...homemade is better...and it must be 'someday' because I AM thanking you!)

This year we had a theme. 

We based it all around this dress Elizabeth has...

(and the fact that my sister IS Auntie Em every day of the year)

Before I get to the rest of the post, I think I should take you back to those early years....here's a little peek into my childhood...

Emily, 3.5 (Princess) Amy, 6 (Glenda The Good Witch of the North)

Did you see that caption? 

Now, here is the grown-up me dressed once again as Glenda!

Too bad Dorothy was sleeping ... I really like these pictures. 

We met up with Emily and headed over to the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield for their annual Spooktacular. It was a little disappointing, but we made the best of it. And Jonah was such a trooper. He did not complain about all the walking or the cold, not even one time. And he didn't seem to notice any of the things that may have been spooky to him. (it was not truly scary, but there were some big spiders and some weird troll-like characters)

 The whole gang. Glenda, Tin Man, Auntie Em, Cowardly Lion, Dorothy, & Scarecrow

(it's really hard to take good pictures in the dark)

When we were getting ready to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood I COULD NOT find Dorothy's shoes. I called up my sister, and sure enough, we'd left them at her house. She happened to drop by this afternoon, so I snapped one last photo of Dorothy in her homemade slippers. I may have to find a Christmas dress that goes with them, cause those shoes are FABULOUS. 

Birthday Boy

Today our sweet guy is THREE! 

Gosh, I can't believe it. I sure do love this sweet treasure. 

He lights up each and every day. 

He is truly one of the most delightful people I know (big or small).

We celebrated his birthday a bit early this year, but I waited until today to post the party pictures. We had a great time with our family (and a few friends).

 I had much bigger visions for the "pit stop" table, but that was before I factored in having an infant. And I am ok with that! 

Thankfully Pamela pulled off a FABULOUS cake! The cake more than compensated for my "thrown-together" effort.

Jonah and his buddy, Mac painting race cars!

Thanks for the fun gifts!

While going back through pictures I sadly noticed I didn't have any that included my dad & sister. Then I remembered that they were up to something...

Jonah Visits the Farm

 While I was recovering from this:

Jonah stayed with Jonathan's parents. 

While he was there Jonah's Aunt Melody had him out to visit her farm. She and her husband, Tim, have all sorts of animals.

  every farm needs a good dog

 he got upset that the pigs got dirty right after he washed them!

 his cousin, Effenni has a miniature horse

that's enough of the donkey

 better get all the straw off of the egg!

 Chillin' with Aunt Mel. 

oh, there the goats are! 

a well deserved drink!

He was taught to sing 'Tim & Melody Have a Farm' to the tune of 'Old MacDonald'...I just haven't been able to catch it on video. 

Fruit Snacks

Yesterday I ventured out on my own with both kids. We made one stop (well, two if you count Sonic drive-thru at happy hour time). 

We hit Michael's for some candy molds. 

I found THIS recipe for fruit snacks and wanted to try it out. I looked at Walmart, but couldn't find candy molds. I thought the regular jello molds would be too big. The candy molds are still a bit bigger than I'd hoped to find, but they work. 

Today we tried it out. 

They were very very easy. 

I'm not sure if I cooked it long enough. They turned out ok, but are very sticky. I've let them cool/dry for about an hour now..same consistency now that they were @ 30 minutes. Maybe I could coat them in something...

Project Day. (aka, the day I got the dishes done)

Today is a big day around here, but I'm going to post more about that later in the week, as I forgot to take a picture of the man of the house before he left this morning. 

In other news, Jonah has been a busy guy today. 

He has been really wanting to make play dough lately. I have resisted play dough for a long while. In fact, he never new it existed until his babysitter brought some over a couple of months ago.  (funny how she hasn't been asked back lately...just kidding, we love her lots)

So, we made play dough. We made it green, per the little guy's request. And it is already put away. And by that I mean it will not be used again anytime soon. Gosh, I dislike that stuff.(rather, I dislike what it does to my rugs)

But, I sure do like making it with my favorite little man. 

Neon Green play dough (with glitter sparkles). 

 Ingredients: 

1 C Flour 

1 C Water 

1/4 C Salt 

1 TBSP Vegetable Oil 

2 tsp Cream of Tarter 

Food Coloring 

Sparkles (optional) 

Sauce Pan and Wooden Spoon 

Little helping hands.
Mix everything (stirring constantly) over medium heat until it balls up in a huge clump. 

Then, since one big project a day is not enough, we tried this new idea. 

We put baking soda in the bottom of a pie pan. Then Jonah used the dropper to drop food-colored vinegar into the pan. FUN! He loved it. I wish I could say it kept him busy for hours, but we ran out of baking soda. (at least we ran out of what I'd allotted for this project).

And THAT is how, on this beautiful sunny day, I got my dishes done. That and a little method we like to call "let the baby cry it out."

meeting a great

Last weekend I loaded up the car and headed to Mom & Dad's. This was Miss Elizabeth's first trip to Arkansas. She sure did make a debut!! (lots of screaming). 

She also got to meet her Great Grandpa Brewer.

You may remember, from my earlier post, Elizabeth shares his birthday. 

They sure are a sweet pair! 

A Guitar

One day Jonah was asking to play on the guitar. Jonathan has one that he rarely plays and Jonah thinks it is great. Well, one day when I was on my own with the kids he wanted to play the guitar. I didn't have the ability to supervise him so I suggested we MAKE a guitar. He thought it sounded exciting. 

We created this:

Nice, huh. I was proud of our 15 minute effort. Jonah liked it!

(it looked a little nicer the first day)

Well, then, my amazing husband had another idea.

Did I mention the word AMAZING?!

it's solid wood.

 I came up with the strap for this one...other than that, this is completely an original Jonathan Atkins creation. He sketched it free-hand & everything. 

 While the boys were working on the guitar I was trying to get myself ready to go somewhere. Elizabeth was screaming, so I took her outside (to give myself a break). When I came back out Jonah was singing to her!!!

When I came back home later the guitar was finished and Jonah was giving a concert.

Family Day:Legoland

I recently heard that Branson was host to a temporary Legoland. So, today we went as a family to investigate! 

WE FOUND IT!!
(it is at the Branson Landing...free fun for everyone)

 When we walked in we were greeted by a very friendly guy...and Jonah was given a lego pirate hat. He is wearing it over his ball cap, so it's hard to see in most of the photos. 

 here he is with a lego guy that is as tall as he is. 

 building with Daddy

They constructed vehicles that they raced down this ramp. 

While the boys were playing Elizabeth and I just hung out...

Big Brother/Baby Sister

While we were at the hospital Jonah spent the day with the Sparks family. They helped him make some pink lemonade cupcakes to celebrate Elizabeth's birth. When he came to meet her they put a candle in one of the cupcakes and he "gave" it to her. 

 This was Jonah's first little moment as a big brother!

And here he is wearing the gift Elizabeth "gave" him...

a shirt that reads "Big Brothers Rule."

 Our sweet little family of four!!!

 A few days later, when we were all home together, Jonah helped me give his sister her first bath. He presented her with a pink duck he and I had picked out for her a few months ago!

 They are my sweet babies!

I sure do love these little blessings. I pray that they become friends and truly love & appreciate one another someday.