Free Day at MSI!

Last Monday the Museum of Science and Industry had a free day for Illinois residents and Hylie and I decided to go!  I remembered from last year that they have a pretty fun kid area, so I was excited to take Hylie there now that she's more mobile and prone to explore and play.

Lots of the toys were geared for older kids, but she still had fun running around and touching everything in sight without mom telling her "no!"

I laughed that the area she stayed the longest in was with the wooden puzzles...something we can do at home!

She also like the farm area, I think it was because it had some big areas to run around in--she rarely stopped to look at anything!  But this cow sure caught her attention for a little while.

Eternal Winter

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the movie "Frozen", but I am convinced that because of its success, Disney has cast us all in a spell of eternal winter and I will not have it!  Ha ha, seriously, we're making it through just fine, we have a warm house (at least we do when our heater's air-intake doesn't freeze over...which has happened three times this winter!), Geoff doesn't have a long commute, and we all know that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing/gear and we are blessed to have all we need to keep our fingers and toes toasty.  But I won't lie, I am ready for spring!

In fact, because of the chilling temperatures and the abundance of snow, Hylie and I haven't really played outside much.  She really can't play in the snow, because it is so deep, she doesn't have a chance to move in it!  But one sunny and warmer day a while back, we spent a good bit of time enjoying the season.

Hylie playing in the snow that literally towers over her

She loved tossing the ice blocks and watching them break in pieces

What kid doesn't love playing in puddles, even if the water is bitter cold?

Can you blame me for wanting Spring to come?

YW Gift

Recently I was called to be the Young Women's President in our ward.  I feel like such a fish out of water because the last time I was in the Young Women's organization was when I was a young woman...now that I'm on the leadership end, it's a tad overwhelming, but I'm so grateful to be working with these girls and their families.

For the girls' birthdays, we wanted to give them something that reminded them of the theme for this year, "Come Unto Christ".  I wanted to incorporate as much of Moroni 10:32 as I could, so this is what came to mind and I am so pleased with how it turned out!

I wish I could say this easily came together, but it was my first attempt at cutting vinyl with my silhouette machine, and to give you an idea of how well that went...the lettering you see is from my SIXTH cut.  Ugh.  But thanks to Andrea, she gave me some pointers and encouragement to keep trying and it finally turned out.  I knew I wanted to add some color to the tile with ribbon, but I wasn't sure how I would attach the ribbon to make sure it was safe to hang.  Last night the idea to glue the ribbon around the edges came to my mind and I'm so excited with how it looks!  I hope the young women will like these little gifts and even more, that it will help them remember that they can be strengthened through Christ.

Hylie's First Haircut

As much as I didn't want to admit, Hylie's hair was starting to get a little scraggly...

In fact, her hair was beginning to show the makings of a mullet.  Her bangs just don't want to come in and the back of her hair just keeps growing like crazy.  I liked the length in the back because it enabled me to put in adorable piggy tails...but those rarely stayed in for more than five minutes.

A cute pic of Hylie with piggy tails...and getting a kick out of her 'butt' (belly button)

Geoff and I knew it was time to pull out the hair-cutting shears and do the deed.

Hylie was a little angel and I'm still not sure if she even knows she got a haircut.  We gave her our ipod and she sat perfectly still, mesmerized by this little gadget!

So here's our little girl with her first 'bob'.  Now we're just waiting for those bangs to come in!

Hylie at 18 Months

I have been waiting to do this post for 18 months!  One of the earliest pictures we have of Geoff is when he was a year-and-a-half, so I thought it would be fun to do a little side-by-side with Hylie to see who she most looks like!

Geoff and I both agree, she's a pretty good mix!  I think it's so funny that we both had pics taken, sitting down in a studio, with an 'outside' backdrop!  Ha ha!  

Hylie is talking up a storm...considering her age.  She repeats most anything she hears and loves pointing out things she recognizes like: hearts, quack quacks (ducks), Minnie Mouse, and her 'butt' (Hylie only picks out one syllable from Belly Button, and it happens to be the funniest.)  Life is actually getting a little easier now that she's becoming more verbal...except for when she repeats a word over and over again and we have no idea what she's talking about, but she sure thinks we should!

She is finally starting to like bath time (bubbles have been a huge help here) and her appetite comes and goes, but usually she'll happily eat what we put in front of her.

Separation anxiety has been a MAJOR issue lately.  According to Hylie, Nursery at church is NOT an option.  She cries even if Geoff or I are in the room...luckily the Nursery leaders are working with us and each week we're trying different approaches to help Hylie know that it really is fun to stay and play with other kiddos her age.  I think it will take awhile for her to settle down though, every morning when Geoff leaves for work, Hylie gets pretty upset that he's leaving.  It's nice that she likes having both of us around, but this could get a little out of hand...

Hylie Time

I knew with our house completely upside down, it would be difficult for Hylie to adjust to a different environment everyday.  So I decided to look up some fun activities we could do while Hylie was "up and at 'em" to help her not be distracted by the complete chaos.

We tried playing with some noodles...they totally fell apart, but Hylie was okay with that.

We had a lot of Play-Doh time.  (Hylie calls it "Pee-Yoh")

You have to watch Hylie like a hawk when there's play-doh in front of her--she's always trying to sneak in a bite.  She'll start to direct the stuff towards her mouth, but when you say her name or let her know you're watching, she quickly puckers up and acts like she was planning to kiss her play-doh all along!

We did some finger painting.

Hylie LOVES bubbles.  I found this neat idea where you beat 1/4 cup of bubble bath with a few tablespoons of water.  (You have to beat it for SEVERAL minutes, so I recommend using a stand mixer if you have one.)   It creates this fun foam that is more durable than regular bubbles.  Hylie loved the stuff!

Mom gave herself a break every once in a while and encouraged some 'non-messy' play.  Hylie didn't seem to mind!

Who would have thought rolling cars down a cardboard ramp would be such a hit?

Living and Dining Rooms

This past month has been full of dust, paint, and craziness.  But now that all the work is done, we can finally say, "It was all worth it!".  Yes, we did the much-needed work in our living and dining room.  On January 18th we pulled all our furniture into the center of the room, covered it up, and started sanding, patching, and painting.

Most of the work was done while Hylie was napping or in bed for the night.  It's mind-boggling to me that we only took Hylie to our friends' homes twice during this entire ordeal.  Hylie was definitely a trooper in our construction-zone house, but I think she's glad we're done with all the work!

Prepping the house for its 'face-lift'

Yes, this is how our furniture was situated for an entire month!

Sanding and patching ceilings is messy business!

Geoff priming the trim

Before and After shots

More Before and Afters

We couldn't paint over this wall fast enough!

Ah, what a difference a coat of paint (and sanding, patching and practically reconstructing certain areas) can make!

Trying to make a 50-year-old house look like new presents its challenges, and believe me, this house does not look like new, but boy is it improved!

 We will be adding a dark green panel to the bottom of the curtains, we hung the window treatments now because we felt like getting some privacy was more important than a finished project!

We hope you all can visit soon to see this place in person!