Squeezing in some Crafts

Okay, this is the last of the postings for one day, I promise!  With Hylie's birthday coming up, I realized I had to get moving on some ideas and traditions I would like to start.

Dad provided me with the perfect piece of wood (just the right width, length AND it was even varnished!) for a wall ruler I wanted to have to measure our kids' height at each birthday.

I cut out some stencils and got to painting.  I was hopeful to make it look like an 'old-school' wooden ruler and am super happy with how it turned out.

Since I'm showing off crafts...a few weeks before we moved, I also took the time to sew a draw-string bag.  I used this tutorial for the pattern and tweaked a few things (I widened the drawstring and shoulder straps and added interior pockets.)  The bag ended up being SUPER huge, so it's perfect for traveling and to use on Sundays when you have to bring so much to church to keep Hylie happy.

Date Night!

Last weekend Geoff and I had a delightful treat--a date night!  A sister in our ward wanted to baby-sit Hylie as a thank you for me tending to her grand kids a while back.  When she offered to watch Hylie, I remembered that for Christmas Geoff gave me a 'coupon' for a date in downtown Chicago to a surprise restaurant.  What a surprise it was!  I'm so glad I decided to cash in my coupon!  We dined at "Texas de Brazil" which is a Brazilian steakhouse where the waiters walk around with various cuts of meat and slice off a piece for you right at your table.  It was INSANELY delicious and such a fun experience.  Thank you, Geoff for a wonderful evening together.

I unsuccessfully attempted to fix our eyes in this shot, we sure look pretty scary--but trust me, we were thrilled to have been there!

11 Months!

Soon after we came back from Utah, Hylie turned 11 months old on us!  She continues to be a little mover and is crawling anywhere she can.  She's getting more curious and is figuring out how to open cupboards and turn over boxes.  She hasn't shown interest in pulling herself up or standing yet, but we'll see how long she stays content with just crawling.

Hylie has also started to wave at people and has brought quite a few smiles to unexpected passers-by.  (But then once she realizes she doesn't know the person she just waved to, she'll stop waving and bury her head in my shoulder...)

Here's Hylie 'helping' mom with laundry.

Hylie is a terrific eater.  She pretty much eats anything you put in front of her (whether it's edible or not).  But lately she's decided it's more efficient to shove in as much food as possible into her mouth.  This means more work for mom and dad to make sure she doesn't choke...

While we were on vacation, Hylie also started this little cheesy smile.  We don't know where it came from, but it sure makes us giggle when she flashes this funny face our way.

Summer Vacation

This year our summer vacation was centered around Eric and Morgan's wedding. We finished moving on July 1st and left on vacation July 2nd! It was a great trip to Utah and a wonderful time spent with my side of the family.

At the beginning of our trip, Morgan's family hosted a delightful 4th of July picnic.  It was so nice visiting with everyone there!

Hylie had a hard time warming up to everyone.

On July 5th, Eric and Morgan were sealed for Time and All Eternity in a beautiful ceremony at the Salt Lake Temple.  How blessed we were to be there for the wonderful occasion.

Here's the gorgeous couple right after the sealing.

We decided to get a quick family picture while at the Salt Lake Temple.  Hylie even wore her bow for a few seconds during the shot!

An attempt at a cousins photo...check out who's being the LEAST cooperative...

Since we were all dolled up, Grandma, Mom, Hylie and I posed for a four generation photo at the reception.

Everyone was pretty excited to send Eric and Morgan off with sparklers!

After the wedding was over, we were able to get in some fun family time.

Our little family with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson

Hylie finally realizing her family's pretty fun!

Geoff was a trooper and not only spent his summer vacation time with his in-laws, he also tagged along for a trip down memory lane for me as I showed him where I spent all my time on BYU campus. 

Having fun with what I always thought was the "Tree of Life" sculpture.  Geoff pointed out it's really the "Tree of Wisdom".

It was a treat to have Geoff and Hylie there.

As always, vacation time went by too quickly, but it was nice to get away from boxes and unpacking!

What a Find!

Even though our kitchen is nice and big, it's a little lacking on counter space.  We needed a spot to put our microwave, so I decided to check out what Salvation Army had to offer while we still had our hands on a moving truck.  I knew it was a long-shot, but I was hoping to get a buffet which would eventually find its way into the dining room once we re-did the kitchen space.  Anyone who has ever shopped at Thrift Stores knows you cannot go in with something in mind and expect to find it.

My jaw literally dropped when I walked in and saw this beautiful buffet for only 15 big ones!  I don't expect to luck out like this again for a very, very long time.

We're Home-Owners!

What a whirlwind summer this is turning out to be!  Geoff and I started house hunting in April, by the middle of May we made an offer on a home, and at the end of June we moved in!

The house we found is in Morton Grove, it has three bedrooms, two baths, a nice, open floorplan, and lots of work that needs to be done!  Ha ha!  We love the layout and how much storage space it has in every room, but the people before us were very 'artistic' with their wall treatments and decorations--both of which have left quite a mark.  But as my Grandma Nelson advised: "Enjoy the Journey" as we move forward with our plans.

We had an interesting closing experience.  For whatever reason, the seller asked that we move the closing back one day from the original date scheduled.  That was fine by us and ended up being a huge blessing.  The night before we closed a big thunderstorm came through which manifested some water seepage problems in the basement--even though the owner claimed they never had any water problems.  So because they made that claim and there were indeed water issues, the seller had to fork over some money to fix the problem.  If we had closed on our original day, we would have been stuck with the bill.

Moving in is always more work than you want it to be, but because of loving friends and family and a patient husband, we got all of our belongings in before our trip to Utah.  We can't thank Heather, Grant and Rachel enough for their willingness to come help.  This move could not have happened without you.  Mom and Dad Nelson also 'stopped by' on their way to Utah to help clean the place and check off a few items on our 'to-do' list.

I felt so bad for Hylie during this whole transition.  Because the floors in our new home were covered in dirt, debris and boxes, I didn't let her crawl around for a few days and she was getting pretty tired of playing in her Pack & Play and only be able to crawl when I took her outside.  So she is MUCH happier now that there are some rooms she can have free reign in.

We love our new place and look forward to making this house a home!

10 Months

Hylie's on the road to toddler-hood, that is for sure.  Now that she's mobile, her curiosity has sky-rocketed and mom's ability to distract Hylie with toys has plummeted.  She is loving her new-found independence of following mom around and getting into anything and everything.  She also loves to have books read to her and even helps turn the pages.  Hylie's favorite toys are not toys.  Hand her a spoon, plastic lid, keys, etc. and the kid is entertained for hours.  Hand her a baby toy and the thing is abandoned in .02 seconds.  Ha ha!

Hylie continues to love solid foods and is getting to be a pro at grabbing bite-sized pieces from her tray.  Her current favorite foods are strawberries, string cheese, and spaghetti.

She also loves styling her hair with sticky fingers!

Teething has been a little rough this month, only 4 teeth are out which means many more are still to come!  When she's not teething, she sleeps really well, so mom and dad are hoping the future teeth pop out quickly and painlessly.

Taking pictures is getting trickier and trickier.  Hylie no longer finds interest in looking at the person calling her name because there are too many other interesting things that need to be checked out.  If we get a smile, it's amazing.  If we get a smile while looking at the camera, it's a miracle.

Not very many amazing miracles happened during this last photo shoot...