My Black Apple Doll - I Think We Will Call Her...

...Minnie! I made her to look like a mini-Katelyn, so I think we will call her Minnie until Katelyn's old enough to make up her own name. This was my first attempt at making such an intricate toy and I am relatively pleased with the outcome. The hardest part: Turning those oh-so-skinny arms and legs!

Our Little Pumpkin

Last year we were propping her up in her Boppy to take Halloween pictures of Katelyn in her little pumpkin and kitty cat costumes.  Our favorite was a sleeper with jack-o-lanterns all over that said, "Our Little Pumpkin" across the top.  Well, our little pumpkin is not so little anymore.  Today we took her to see her first pumpkin patch - she had a great time and we got some cute pictures!

A Party Fit for a Princess

I am long overdue for posting pics and details on Katelyn's first bday party, but better late than never! I was super pre-prepared for her party, so that makes up for my tardiness in blogging about it, right???

First Steps!

I am testing a new format for loading photos in my blogs... and I thought I'd test it out with a pics of Katelyn's first steps about a month ago! There she goes...

I Want to Do This!!!

Who's with me???

The Toy Society

To My Daughter: 2.5 Hours that Changed My Life

The Story of Your Birthday:

Caution:  Graphic details included - read at your own risk.  :)

There I was asleep on my couch, enjoying a much needed afternoon nap on my birthday when everything changed. It was my 29th birthday; not really a big deal, except it was my last without children. But I hadn't been feeling well courtesy of a head and flailing arms in my right rib cage, so we skipped any festivities and I opted for a quiet day in front of the TV. As usual I fell asleep during the movie. I had just started to rouse towards the end of the movie (I can't remember which one it was) when I felt the strangest sensation. I was half a second from telling Derrick about it when I realized with a violent shock that my water was breaking!

I DO Love Soy Sauce, But...

I think this is a bit much even for me!  But since this is my first real Halloween with a kid, I'm obsessed with costumes - I've picked up 3 in the store in the last week... and we've already got a costume for Katelyn!!!

Still, these are so cute and creative, I had to share.  Enjoy!

The Last 2.5 Months...

Wow!  I've been on quite a blogging break!  Let's see... in the last 2.5 months...

1.  We bought a new house!  Praise the Lord!  We have been wanting to buy a house for the last 4 years and it was never possible.  But we are now the proud owners (or will be in 29 years and 9 months) of this little house.  It's actually not so little - she measures right at 2000 square feet and has a nice sized, fenced back yard for the baby to play in.  We spent a week cleaning the inside and out before finally moving all our stuff.  We have been living here the last two months and are loving every minute in our new home!

2.  Our little girl turned ONE!  I cannot believe that it has already been a year since Katelyn was born.  And almost two years since I found out I was pregnant.  Insane how fast time flies!  Because we are fortunate enough to have lots of family, friends, and students who love us and our little girl, Katelyn got to have two parties - one with family and one with Chi Alpha.  She really enjoyed both, but I think her favorite part was the cake!  It took her about 5 minutes to figure out how to eat it, but once she did, she tunneled out a huge hole in her smash cake!  It's on video somewhere and when I find it, I will post the video so everyone can see how cute she was!  Luckily, it doesn't seem that sugar affects her too much because she slept great that night.

3.  I finally went to see an orthopedist about my left knee.  It's gotten progressively worse over the last 3 years to the point that I cannot make a trip to the grocery store without ending in pain.  Now that I've done the doctor's visit, I am kicking myself for not going sooner!  He is fairly confident we can fix it without surgery, which was a huge relief to me.  I have "Patella Alta," which means that my kneecap sits about an inch or so higher than normal and it slips out of place with every step I take.  It's done this my whole life, but something somewhere along the way has made it start hurting.  I am on a dose of anti-inflammatories, wearing a flexible knee brace when I'm active, and starting a new exercise routine to help strengthen my legs.  He wanted me to start biking, so I convinced Derrick to buy a recumbent bike for the house!!!  He set it up today and I get to start working with it soon.

I haven't done much sewing or crafting, other than for Katelyn's party, for which I went all out!  Again, pics to follow at some point.  We left all my craft supplies at the old house for a month or so while we got everything else settled and finally moved it all about two weeks ago.  I'm glad to have it back and have finally gotten caught up on back orders for Soft Straps.  I have missed my sewing machine!

Well, that's about it for now - better get up and ready to do my "bike ride" for today.  Peace out!