Finished in 2013 No. 1 & 2

 Life around here is just plain FULL lately.  My manager is allowing me to work a modified work schedule, 8-3 in the office and then an hour or two at night.  This means Heidi only needs two bottles a day and I get some time with the girls in the afternoon both of which are great.  But it also means I have very little time for any of my own projects.  Hence it feels like quilting is moving very, very slowly!  Regardless I managed to finish two quilts!  Both of which were close to done before 2013 even started but who's really keeping track, right?  Oh and don't you love my quilting helper?

 I made this quilt with mostly left-over fabric and had the quilt top sitting in my cabinet for almost two years!  I made a poppy quilt some time ago and went back and forth on which pattern to use so I had lots of left-over fabric by the time I was done.  I found a pattern in Quilts & More magazine to highlight fabrics with large prints - and this quilt was the result of that finding.  I backed and bound this quilt with flannel and it worked pretty well.  This quilt was shipped off to Alaska and auctioned off at a fund raiser for the youth group my sister works with.  I'm already planning next years quilt...

 And this quilt was given to my Mother-in-law for Mother's Day.  It is my 'Block-of-the-Month' quilt from 2012 over at the 'In Color Order' Blog.  I had a lot of fun doing this one and I think it is the first 'block of the month' quilt I have ever finished.  It helped that it was made entirely of half-square-triangles.  I may be making more of some of these blocks for some more quilts here soon!

Not only does she like to help me sew the quilts she likes to break them in, too.  She was pretty excited to give this quilt to Nana!

Local Celebrity Sighting

Allison and her best Sunday-School buddy, Annie, recently went to an OSU softball game with their Dads.  They weren't expecting to get to meet Benny the Beaver since there was a (sold-out) baseball game going at the same time but they were in luck - not only did Benny show up but they got to take a picture with him!  They both LOVE Benny the Beaver (you should hear their excitement when his picture comes up on the slide show at the local frozen yogurt shop!) so this was a big treat.  And we learned softball games are one of the best sporting events with kids...just pack a bunch of snacks and sit in the outfield.  It always helps when it is a good game & the Beavers win, too.  I love hearing Allison talking about 'girls baseball' now and having me pretend to play with her.

One Happy Baby

 I am incredibly thankful that our little Heidi-bug is one cheerful baby!  She is always so happy when we come home from daycare I'm actually having a hard time putting her down for her last nap even though I know she needs it.  She is also becoming a bit 'drooly' as you can tell in these pictures....more about that in a 4 month update NEXT WEEK - I can't believe how quickly she's growing up!

The Mother's Day 2013 Hike

 Mark & the girls did a great job spoiling me on Mother's Day.  The day was very relaxing and I requested we end it with a little hike.  We 'hiked' the Homesteader trail in McDonald forest.  I use the term 'hiked' generously but we're easing Allison into the whole 'hiking' concept.  Heidi started in the BOB but didn't enjoy it.  She does love facing out in the Beco carrier, though, thankfully.

 Allison loved walking up and down this old fallen log and jumping off the end.

 She also tried to convince us the stump in the background of this picture was a scary monster.  We had quite the time getting her to walk towards it until she could finally tell it really was a tree stump.  Silly girl!  But I remember having quite an imagination when I was young, too, so I can't complain too much.  I'm bummed my focal point was off in this picture of the three of them....I don't know what happened!

 Our little hiking baby - getting to wiggle in the back of the car a bit before getting loaded up and....

 crashing hard on the way home.

 And of course I need to share some pictures of the wildflowers we saw...some of which may be more of weeds than wildflowers but pretty none the less.  Allison got into looking for the different ones with me. 

I thought this wild Oregon columbine looks an awful lot like the Alaskan fireweed...at least in this picture!  There was tons of it growing in a little 'meadow' along the trail by the creek.  You could hear tons of bees buzzing in the meadow!

Our Little Lady

 Allison is turning into quite the little lady and we love it.  She wears Auntie Brittney's hand-me-down dress coat on Sundays.  It is adorable and she looks so sweet and grown up at the same time.

 She has taken to 'reading' books by herself.  We are thankful that she enjoys reading both by herself and with us.  When she gets too wound up at home we can tell her it is time for quiet reading and she'll pick out a book and sit on the couch with it.  We've also recently started reading 'chapter' books to her.  Our first one was Little House in the Big Woods, for the most part she listens well to the story.

And we recently finished out the 2012/2013 season with Oregon Children's Theatre by going to the 'A Year with Frog & Toad' performance.  Allison behaves fabulously at the plays and really enjoys them.  We're looking forward to next year which includes Charlotte's Web & Fancy Nancy.  I'm disappointed I don't have more pictures of her at the plays but the trips fly by too quickly with Heidi in tow!  We can't wait to see how Allison continues to grow up!

May Garden Update

 Our little family garden has been growing profusely in the month of May.  I planted lettuce, kale & spinach seedlings along with onions and a tomato plant back in April.  We've been eating lots of leafy green vegetables as a result.  We're working hard to keep up with the kale, lettuce & spinach - most of which are eaten in salads or in green smoothies.  I also planted spinach & carrot seeds along with some potatoes - all of which have sprouted recently.  It is really fun to see the tiny plants popping up (or not so tiny in the case of the potatoes).  I still have one square left and plan to plant some lettuce seeds for a later harvest when I get around to it.

 Allison's little potted garden from her 'Little Sprouts' club is doing fantastic.  We've been eating the lettuce from it for some time now.  We need to find a better place to put it so the peas have somewhere to go.  And the onions are looking really big!

 Kale has been our most prolific crop so far.  I've found a good recipe for 'shocking' it and then sautéing it with olive oil, garlic & crushed red pepper flakes.  It turns out pretty tasty.  I've been surprised at how hydrophobic it is, too (yes, I know I'm a nerd for calling it hydrophobic but I couldn't think of another word to describe how water balls up on it and rolls right off!). 

I documented this moment....I have become one of those mothers who makes and serves homemade kale popsicles made with homegrown kale to my daughter.  I feel very granola-ish.  But hey, she likes them and they are good for her!

Brought to You by the Letter 'J'

J is for...

 Jelly Beans!! (She saved the pink ones to eat)

 And Jump Rope!

 And Jello Jigglers (a favorite of hers!)