The Playhouse

I first saw a felt playhouse that fits over a card table on a craft blog several months ago. I thought it was super cute. Through that blog I found an etsy shop that sells felt playhouses. Let's just say they aren't cheap. So I decided to look into making my own. I bought about $30 of felt, made/drew my own patterns, and got to work. I slaved away on this thing for many, many hours. I finally started sewing once I was all out of pins; I was pretty nervous! But it all worked out great. I stayed up until 1:30 am Christmas morning sewing. I then woke up at 5:45 to finish sewing. I finished right before 8 am! I would have finished sewing it earlier in the week but some health problems came up that set me back a few days. I'll post more about that later.

Anyway, here is the picture overload.

Front

The door lifts up. 

I got the flower idea from Better homes and gardens magazine.

More flowers.

Mail box.

Left Side



The strawberries are removable.

I love the birds and the bird house!

Rose bush.

Right Side

The tree is on both the side and the back.

All the apples are removable.

Inside shot of a window.

Close up of dog.

Squirrel! I drew this little critter all by myself! I guess I can be an artist.

Back Side

The garden!

1 of 3 carrots.

1 of 2 onions.

1 of 3 ears of corn. The corn and cornstalk were really fun and challenging to make.

Close up of owl and dragonfly.

I adore this owl!!!! I can't believe I drew this by hand!


(This is David playing the wizard of Oz. He's wearing my new "ruby" slippers.)
We sure love this playhouse! The boys LOVE playing in it and harvesting all their fruits and vegetables.
I hope it lasts for many years.  

Snow Fun!

David had several days off around Christmas. It was SO nice to have him home and to do things we normally didn't get the chance to do. On the 29th of December we went out to play in the snow.

All bundled up. 

Stompin' around in the snow.

Just chillin'.

His fingers found a way out and into the snow.

Teaching William how to make snow angels.

William's first time making a snow angel!

We loved playing in the snow!

Christmas

We had a lovely Christmas. We changed things up a bit this time around. Christmas 2009 was too hectic for us. We lost sight of what really matters. This year we tried to slow things down and spend more time with just our little family. We also tried to make things more simple this year. For our gifts we decided to do a theme of sorts - Something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read. So 4 presents plus a gift from Santa. We loved it and plan on doing it again.
Well, here is a look at our Christmas.


Anxiously and excitedly waiting to enter the living room.

The tree with our presents.
A lot of the presents are behind the tree.
We were hiding them from Henry.

Our boys walked out to find this...

..
I spent so much time on this playhouse that it deserves a post dedicated completely to it. That will follow soon.

The boys love it! We had to sit in here for a while before moving on to the other presents.

David:

Want: Drawn to Life. Need: Wedding picture on Canvas. Wear: Jeans.

Read: The seer of Shadows by Avi. Santa: Wii Fit
From the boys: a new wallet.
Stocking: The Blind Side.

Rosalee:

Want: Willow Tree Three Wisemen. Need: Post its, planner, new oven mitt. Wear: Jacket. Read: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Santa: Some very cute red shoes.

From the boys: Bath and body works products.
Stocking: Persuasion the movie.

William:

Want: Playhouse. Need: Potty seat. Wear: Underwear. Read: Fox in Socks and The Cat in the Hat came back. Santa: A little broom and a little set of pots and pans.

From Henry: Jessie from Toy story.
Stocking: Toy Story coloring book and Dinosaur Train toys.

Henry:

Want: Playhouse. Need: Homemade Tag blanket. Wear: Homemade Bear hat. Read: The Little Mouse, the red ripe strawberry, and the big hungry bear and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Santa: Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Kitchen.
From William: a new outfit.
Stocking: Puffs and a sippy cup.


After breakfast and a lovely morning at home, we headed up to Layton to visit with our parents. We went to the Dougals first. It was so fun to visit with Nathan, Amy, Terry, and Jason. We really enjoyed our time there and are SO grateful for the gifts we received.

We spent the rest of the afternoon with the Gowans. We really had a great time with my parents, Adam, and my sister and her family. We are grateful for the gifts we received from them.

Christmas is truly a wonderful season. I'm forever thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ and for this season we have to celebrate His birth and His life. May we always ponder His life and recommit to follow Him every day and not just during Christmas.

Christmas Eve

We started a tradition the year William was born that I really love. Every Christmas Eve our children receive a new ornament that represents something about that year of their life. When our children are older they will each have a set of ornaments that represent their lives.

This year William received a Toy Story ornament. He really loves Woody and Buzz.

Here he is standing by his ornament.

Henry received a baby's first Christmas ornament that has his picture in it.

You can't really see his ornament here, but I sure love his sweet cherubic face!

On the evening of Christmas Eve we went to the Neal Family Party. We always have a fun time there! This year we even had a lovely music number!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We had 2 special visitors at the party as well. The Penguin read the children a story. Then she led the children, my Grandma, and my uncle Kelly around the room in a penguin parade!

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Santa also visited. I was really happy that both my boys did well on Santa's lap. Henry was a bit baffled by the big white beard! Santa brought the boys some new books.

After our fun party we headed back home to prepare for Christmas day.

Henry - 7 months

Henry turned 7 months on Dec 21st.
Here are some fun pictures and tidbits from his 7th month of life (Nov 22 to Dec 21).


The day after Henry turned 6 months old, he started sitting up on his own!

Henry loves laughing. I probably write this each month, but it is true. He loves being tickled and will laugh and laugh.

I love his cheeks! I get comments about his cheeks all the time!

Henry and I were playing peek a boo one day. He looked hilarious like this.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I love peeking at my boys every night after they are asleep. It is a good reminder to me of how sweet and precious my boys are. In those calm moments I like to ponder what lies ahead for my little boys. They are such special boys. I love them so much!

Henry loves bath time. Since he started sitting up on his own, he now takes baths with William. They have a good time together!

We sure love this boy!