Try and Try Again

So this is what I get when I try to take a nice picture of the boys


Or when I ask them to smile like they do when they're happy and laughing



This was the one and only good shot I got tonight which I'm glad it was of Cole - it can be his birthday picture. He turns 6 on Monday!!!

So remember I said I was going to try to make my own owl (like the one from Pottery Barn)? Well yesterday one of the things I started working on was my first plush toy. Yes it is my first so don't make fun of it :) I'm calling it my baby owl since his head looks a little bit bigger than his body.

Today I worked on my baby bird - I have yet to perfect both of them but I think it was a good try for my first ones :)

They'll both go in "maybe Kenadi's" room - I'm just adding one thing on at a time :)

Tis' the Season . . .

It may just be part of the weird nesting urges you get when you're pregnant, but I have already started to get ready for the holidays. For the past week and a half I've been playing Christmas music while working on a friends Christmas stockings. I LOVE this fabric by Red Rooster Whimsicals with the angels on it - but they don't make it anymore and just when I thought all hope was lost in finding someone who sold it, I found ONE single store online that still had some left. WHOO-WOO!!! I am so excited, I'm going to make a ton of stuff with it this Christmas.

Here's some pictures of the stockings which I wish I had a prettier background for but I was in a hurry to try to get to the post office before they closed.
I love all the earth tones!


As for a baby update, I was officially half way done last Tuesday (20 weeks). I've been feeling her move and kick a lot more and her kicks are getting a lot stronger. Brandon was gone for most of the week on a business trip and when he came home on Thursday he felt her kick for the first time!
A lot of you have asked me about what I'm going to do differently this time like am I going to get an epidural, etc. When I think about it I'm so glad that I have another chance to be able to do some of the things that I didn't do with the other ones - so here it is - my list of things I'm hopefully going to get to do differently this time around (some of them depend on if everything goes smoothly):

1. More maternity pictures and month to month pics!
I know some people aren't to fond of getting maternity shots taken but I think it's fun to catch that period of time in your life. I didn't get pictures done with Cole or Chase but I did an in studio session with Cylas. This time I want to go outdoors and have them done (my cousins sister-in-law is a photographer and has some beautiful outdoor shots - you can take a look at: http://www.sarahfrenzel.com/ ) I'm big enough to get them done now so I want to do it when the leaves are changing color, plus that way I'll have them done before I blow up like a blimp :)

I've never done the month to month snapshots but this time I've been taking them every 5 weeks. It's fun to see exactly how you're changing and I think it's something that the baby will love to look back at when she's older.

2. Invite family and maybe a couple of close friends to witness her birth.
In the past Brandon and I have thought that this is such an overwhelming and personal moment that it's always just been us in the room at the time of birth. Basically, I've had three most amazing moments of my life - I get one more most amazing moment, and I at least want our family to be able to share (if they want to) such an incredible moment not only in mine and Brandon's life but in hers :) (of course it will be from the side of the room - not from down there!!) . . . which leads me to my next change

3. Plan on getting an epidural!!!
When I was pregnant with Cole I was determined not to get an epidural and I got through the whole thing without one (although I looked like I got hit with a MAC truck afterwards - I seriously looked like I got beat up). I decided to try to do the same thing with Chase and this time I was being induced with pitosen. I got through it again - but wish I wouldn't have. Talk about the most excruciating pain of my life - his shoulders got stuck when I was pushing (shoulder dystocia) and this leads to a different scenerio when I was in labor with Cy. Again, I was going to see how I would handle it with no epidural but the second my dr. broke my water I started bauling in fear of having the same pain I did with Chase. That actually made me tense up and I was stuck at a six for two hours. I then decided to get the epidural and less than a half hour later I was pushing.
So, after these experiences let me just say, labor does not get any easier and each time has never been the same. I do want an epidural this time (especially since I want other people in the room) but I think I want to wait till I've progressed a little to get one. We'll see!!!

4. Video the birth (from behind my shoulder!!)
This goes back to this being such an amazing moment. I've never video taped any of my other kids and wish I had - now I have to depend on my memory to remember everything!!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
That's the list for now. Like I said, some of these depend on if everything goes smoothly; if I don't get to do all of these things then that's okay as long as I have a healthy baby :)

It's a . . .

I am so excited and happy to announce that . . .

Yes, it's a girl!!! Deep inside I thought I knew it was a girl but when we were having the ultrasound done I thought the lady would say the opposite. Once again I was amazed while watching her move; she also seemed to love putting her hands up to her mouth (uh-oh, maybe another thumb sucker??? Pacifiers please! Those are much easier to take away :)



I took this picture on the day of the ultrasound - I was 18 weeks and 6 days - I'm almost half way done!!!



I am beyond excited and telling everybody the news was so much fun :) I suddenly had the urge to start getting things ready - that night I cleaned out Cy's closet to make way for baby stuff (Cy will move to Chase's room and Cole and Chase will share a room again). I would love to switch the rooms right now so we can gradually get her room ready but Brandon says it's too early. . . :(

The next day, Christen gave me all of Isabelle's 0-3 month clothes (I welcome hand-me-downs - just in case you were wondering! ). I can't believe I get to have all the cutsie little girl stuff now - it is soooo different from having boys. Wednesday morning I went to Kohls to exchange a pair of jeans that were too small for Chase and of course I had to look at all the baby girl stuff. I know I have to resist buying any clothes - at least until after a baby shower but I saw these little newborn shoes and had to get them.

Aren't they adorable? They just don't make cute little things for boys - I'm loving the little scalloped and ruffled beanies/hats and hairclips and headbands (especially the ones with the big flowers - so cute).

As for names, the one that both Brandon and I agree on is Kennedy Nicole. We may spell it a little different though like Kennedi or Kennadi. We're not sure yet. Some other names still in the mix are Reece and Avery.

I am soooooo excited to decorate the room. I want to do a vintagey theme with birds (like the ones you've seen in some of our products). I finally nailed down the colors to pink, olive green and brown - of course there can be more colors but those are the primary ones. Her scrapbook cover (I just finished this morning) gives a better idea of the theme and colors:



I also found this clear stamp that I'm thinking of enlarging and painting on the wall:

I didn't think I would find anything that went along with this theme on Pottery Barn but much to my surprise I did! I love these cute little owls (I think I'll try to make some of my own) and they have the birds and trees that I like.

That's all I have for now. If you have ANY ideas or have seen anything let me know! I love to be inspired!!!
Thanks to everyone I have talked to, texted or seen this past week! You've made this time so special for me and I am so grateful!!!

Catching Up

So, it's been awhile since the last time I blogged so I have a little catching up to do. Initially I wanted to wait unil September 15th when I thought I was going to find out if we were having a boy or a girl but that didn't happen. I came so close to having an ultrasound too - I was talking with the dr. that does the ultrasounds, she even asked my nurse if she could take a quick look, but then my nurse sent me to my room . . . I was that close! Dr. Van Dell has always been so good about giving ultrasounds and we had talked about finding out the gender at my last appointment but we didn't actually schedule one. They weren't able to squeeze me in so now the date is officially set for October 6th. To those who have been waiting - the suspence goes on!

Things have been busy with Needle in a Scrap Stack. I've had a few orders from photographers for CD sleeves thanks to Kristyn McBride (you can see her site at http://www.kristynmcbride.com/ ). Here's one of my personal favorites I made for Janelle Joy ( http://www.janellejoy.com/ )
Here are some more pics of some things we've been up to:

Something else I've been working on are Cole and Chase's DVD's for their birthdays that my friend Gina makes( http://web.mac.com/lukeandmarksmom/Treasured_Moments_by_Gina/Home.html I LOVE these and so do the boys. Since I've been putting all their pictures together I came across these pictures that I didn't have stored in my computer. They're so cute and Cole looks so little; I had to share them.

Have a great day!

Fall is Here!

Okay. . . so fall isn't officially here according to my calendar but summer vacation is definitely over for us. Cole started Kindergarten last Monday which made things go back into a regular schedule around the house (yes!). I'm not used to having him gone for so long so that's kind of weird but the time we spend together when he gets home is great.

Here's Cole with his new teacher Mrs. Elsea.

. . .

. . .

. . .

I had more problems this week with pregnancy and caught a stomach bug. I was having a lot of sharp stomach pains too that the dr. said was probably false contractions from being so dehydrated. Ugghhhh . . . is this sick part ever going to end???

I do have some good news though . . . Cy is officially completely potty trained now!!! That means 6 full months of no diaper changing! W00-hoo!

I'll leave you with a couple pictures of some gifts I made for a baby shower I went to last weekend for our friends Brian and Whitney. This is their first baby and they're expecting a girl that they're naming Ainsley.

I got the flower idea from watching a demo on Chatterblog on making paper cupcakes. When they were making the cupcake holder it reminded me of a flower that I thought would look cute with buttons in the middle and wha-la this was the end result.

Brian and Whitney - I know you two are going to be great parents and I can't wait to see sweet little Ainsley! Only one more month!!! And Whitney you looked gorgeous at the shower. You're one of those people who just glow when they're expecting!

Happy Birthday Mom!

When I was young, one of the things my family loved to do during family get-togethers was watch slide shows of what we all had been up to. We'd either make the pictures really big on the wall or on a big screen (I think that's part of why we're all picture freaks - that's not always a bad thing).

At one point I went in my mom's closet to find a slide show of me and my sisters baby pictures and found some pictures from when my mom and dad were dating/just married. I took a couple of my favorites and had them made into photos and have had them for a long time now just tucked away. So for her birthday this year I made a little photo book with some of those pictures that I don't even think she knew I had. Hopefully it will be a nice surprise for her - here are a couple of those pages. Happy Birthday week Mom!!! Love you!

Laila

April made these beautiful letters. I couldn't resist posting them!!!

Lot's of Letters!

Okay - I'm long overdue for a Needle in a Scrap Stack update. We've been steadily busy with a lot of custom orders for the past month or two. One of the things I've taken on are a lot of the custom letter orders. Here's a peek at a few of the letters and a couple of other things (I need some prettier backgrounds for my pictures!!!).

This little tote was actually a gift I made for sweet little Maelyn's 2nd birthday. It was the first time I made a purse and I love how it turned out.

One of the things April has been super busy with is an order from a lady who wanted us to help her redo her little girls whole room. April's not quite done with the quilt yet (I can't wait to see it!) but here's a couple pictures of some of the other things she's been working on:

Here's a quick pic of an apron April made for our cousins little girl Kate. It's so adorable, I love it!

Now for a little family picture update

Here are the boys at Maelyn's fairy party. They had a ton of fun at the park especially since we haven't been able to go very much unless it's early in the morning.

I was sneaky and got this picture of Cy. We always say prayers before bedtime but at naptime when I went to check on him he decided to say his own prayers. I got my camera a quick as I could!!

Cy loves to play this game with Daddy where they pretend they're asleep and wake each other up.

Something we just did this week was get a membership for the rest of the month of August to the new Flower Mound Community Center. They have a outdoor water park and an indoor pool with lot's of fun stuff so the boys have become little fish this past week. Our goal is to get Cole swimming across the pool without stopping so he can join the LAC swim team this fall. He's almost there (he's side-breathing too)!!! I'll try to post some pictures in the next couple days.

Right now we're just kind of waiting for summer to be over (along with the miserable heat!). It's nice to see signs of fall with school about to start back up. Cole meets his teacher next week and then starts kindergarten the week after that. He's very excited!!!

Hope you all have a great week!

10 Weeks Today

I am officially a fourth of the way done with my pregnancy! Still got a long way to go but I've got to say the last 4 weeks have been completely miserable. I would rather feel the way you do at the end of pregnancy when you're so uncomfortable than feel the way I have. So hopefully things can only get better from here :)

Here's my sonogram from 8 weeks:

My next appointment is August 18 and then we should be able to find out the sex at the following appointment!!!


The Name List
so far . . .


Girls
Reece Avary Dion (notice her initials:)
Carsyn Kennedy

Cole and Chase's Pick: Brooke (except when I first asked Chase he said "Kissey" and I don't know where they came up with Brooke)

For boys we feel like we have to stick with a C name which doesn't look like it's going to happen - the only C name I like is Chance but it's so close to Chase. Any ideas???