“Naptime” Fun

Sarah Ellen just refuses to sleep.  She has so many other important things to do during naptime, such as decorating Giraffe.  Each day he is perched up on her pillow covered in a few more stickers.  Sheep has recently joined in the fun and is also looking very fancy.

I’m In Business

My grandmother, BooBoo, taught me to knit as a young girl.  I first learned to knit dish rags.  For years and years, I knit a gozillion dish rags.  I graduated to baby blankets, and then one day decided I was going to knit a baby sweater.  I bought a book and taught myself to knit a sweater.  It may not have been perfect, but I was very excited with the finished product.  I was in my mid twenties at the time and many of my friends began to have babies.  I loved being able to make them a blanket, sweater or hat and hope that maybe that very blanket would become their special lovey.  For some of them, I believe it has. 

Now that I am in my mid-thirties, the baby gift quota isn’t quite as high, and I began to have a stockpile of sweaters and hats.  Then it hit me one day.  Why not try to sell them on Etsy, a website to buy and sell handmade items.  So I opened up my very own store:  Bean and Bug Babyknits.  I have actually already sold three items!  I love the idea of selling my creations and doing something that I love.  I’m keeping it real, though, and don’t have any grand notions of this becoming a multi-million dollar business one day that even Trump would admire.   I would just love to be able to pay for the cost of supplies.  I like to use high quality yarns that aren’t exactly cheap and by selling a few things here and there, I can splurge on these nicer yarns without breaking the bank. 

My newest project:  hats – complicated hats.  I bought a hat book and I have had fun learning new techniques to make some very cute baby hats.  Here is my first one:

Almost makes me want to have another baby to wear this.  Or better yet, I’ll just make it in bigger sizes! 

Bean and Bug Babyknits

Mommy’s a Runner!

Taryn committed to a running program last Fall and has been sticking with it.  Every week, the runs get longer and faster.  A sure sign that she’s hooked, she actually misses it when she doesn’t get to run (and she’s even a little grouchy!). 

Last weekend, she and Caroline ran their first race, the Mullet Haul.  Instead of choosing a simple 5K road race, they went with a five-mile trail run at the John’s Island Equestrian Center.  Go girls! 

They both finished with great times and it was a fun outing for the whole family.  We’re so proud of you, Mommy!  Keep up the great work! 

Before the race:

And they’re off!

The home stretch: 

Finishing Strong!

Caroline looking fresh and ready for another five miles! 

Lily Bean Turns Five

On this day five years ago, the Lord blessed us with our sweet Lily Bean.  She woke up on her birthday ready to be five.  It wasn’t long before the phone began ringing.  Her first call of the day of course came from her BFF, Margaret Anne.
  After church we got busy preparing for Lily’s party.  One of her favorite days at school is pajama day and she was elated at the mention of having a pajama party.  So above you see Daddy cooking pancakes and sausage for 16 preschoolers.    We decorated with paper teddy bears, stars and moons.    Lily insisted on wearing her favorite polar bear PJ’s which are two sizes too big.  What the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets!   As our friends showed up, they searched around the room for a teddy bear with their name on it, then decorated their bear.  Next we were off for a scavenger hunt!.  The kiddos each picked a clue to where their goodie bags were hidden.   They had a blast running through the house chasing after each clue. This is where Lily keeps the PJ’s that she wears.
As you can see, her favorites are the ones with polar bears.   This is where Lily and her daddy like to grow plants.                                      Be careful on the way not to get dirt on your pants. This keeps Lily’s mommy and daddy cool.                                                        Ask an adult to help, they may need a stool.   Once all the goodies were found, we settled into a yummy meal of pancakes, sausage and fruit.  It is amazing to me how much breakfast food children will eat.  It’s a good thing Daddy made that extra batch of pancakes.
Time for cake.    We couldn’t have pulled off this party without the help of Gabby and Maggie.  It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating their 5th birthdays.   We did something super cute this year for opening presents.  (I found this idea online – how did anyone ever plan birthday parties without the internet?)  Lily sat in a big chair and the children lined up in front of her.  She then drew a name out of a bag and that child came up and sat with her while she opened his or her present.  This kept the chaos to a minimum and both Lily and the gift-giver loved it.
   Then it was up to the playroom with glow sticks.   A few games of duck, duck, goose and everyone headed home.   Lily Bean, you are a blessed little girl with so many special friends in your life. 

Happy 5th Birthday, Bean

Puzzle Girl

This afternoon Sarah Ellen was begging us to help her with her favorite “Jesus puzzle.”  (It is really a puzzle of Joseph).  I was cooking and Lily and Porter were busy cleaning.  Yes, cleaning.  They asked for wet rags and wiped down every surface of the downstairs.  I love this game.  So I told Buggy we would help her after dinner.  Ten minutes later I walked through the den and saw that she had put together a third of the puzzle.  I thought Lily and Porter had helped her, but they were still cleaning away.  It took a little while longer, but sure enough little Bug finished this 24 piece puzzle all by herself at 32 months. 

She was very excited of this accomplishment.  So was her mamma.