Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from us!

Just a Spoonful of Sugar

I have a CD in my car of Disney songs, and Kate loves the two I have from Mary Poppins.  When we were at Walmart yesterday, I decided to splurge and buy the DVD for her.  She sat so still and attentive during the chalk scene (my personal favorite), and when Michael and Jane tidy up the nursery.  Today, she blurted out, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." (Yes, I looked up how to spell it!)  Who knew my 2 year old could say the whole thing!?!  Lance quickly told me to go get the video camera, and thankfully, we caught the whole conversation on film.  I love when that happens, because with Kate, we usually miss the good stuff!

Hannah Elizabeth Photography

Hannah Wing is the daughter of the assistant principal at my school and is getting started in the photography business.  Her mother approached me about Kate modeling so Hannah could have the chance to photograph a toddler.  Who wouldn't jump at the chance to have your precious daughter photographed?  Hannah's photos turned out just beautiful!  She captured Kate's personality with every snap of the lens.  Kate has so many different facial expressions, and Hannah almost got them all.  I know we will treasure these photos for years to come!

See the slideshow here!
http://www.hannahelizabethblog.com/2011/05/23/kate-larue-•-portraits/

Birthday Garland

This is perhaps the easiest (and cutest!) craft idea EVER!  I've been looking for inexpensive but stylish decorating ideas for Kate's upcoming 2nd birthday party, and I have found it!  I first saw the idea on Sweet and Lovely Crafts where the author designed and decorated for a rainbow party.  What a fun idea!  I will be making this garland for many parties to come!

Step 1:  Gather supplies
- 2 inch scallop circle paper punch (scrapbook supply section of JoAnn's)
- rainbow colored cardstock

Step 2:  Punch circles  All of the circles came from a single sheet of paper each.

Step 3:  Put them in rainbow order

Step 4:  Sew them in a row, one after the other.  This went really fast once I got the hang of it.  I lined one of the scallops with the needle guide on my basic foot.  I didn't even have to stop the needle once I got going.  I sewed a 20 foot banner in about 5 minutes.

Voila!  You have a fun, colorful birthday banner!  I got the colored cardstock at JoAnn's for about $3.99.    The paper punch was $14.99, but I'm going to pretend I already had that (like a good crafter should) and not count that toward the budget!

My camera ham!

Kate is OBSESSED with Snow White!  Had I known it would be this intense, I would have waited to pick a theme for her 2nd birthday party.  She wants to watch the movie all the time, and she loves all things that have the image of Snow White on them.  She has memorized some of the song lyrics from the movie, and her favorite is "I'm Wishing" from the wishing well scene.  What makes us laugh is she uses the high pitched voice that Snow White does!