Ella's Handmade Clothes & Blankets

I'm planning on posting pictures from my showers later. I didn't take that many pictures so I'm waiting to see if anyone else did. So instead I thought I'd post pictures of all the beautiful handmade clothes and blankets that Ella received.

This dress and petticoat was made by my Aunt Jan. There isn't a pattern for this dress. She designed it back when her first grand-daughter was born. This is an original. I love it!

Here's a picture of the dress without the petticoat. There is also a matching hat, but I forgot to take a picture of it.

My Grandma also made a bunch of stuff for Ella. This dress is so cute. The buttons are ladybugs!!!

My Grandma also made these cute decorations for Ella's room. The bears hat even has cute little holes for the ears stick through. These are sitting on her hutch in her room.

Both my Aunt and my Grandma also made Ella's blankets. My Aunts is on the left and my Grandma's is on the right.

I decided to keep myself busy after I finished Ella's cross-stitch (as finished as it could be...I still need to add her name, birth date and weight) so I made this blanket. I started with a little pink yarn I had on hand thinking I could find the same color at Joann's, but no such luck. I thought it was the same, but now that I laid it out I can see that the one of the pink stripes on the end is just a shade different than the other ones. Oh well! I still love it!

Jack's Coupe Car

A couple days after Owen's party Aunt Michelle brought over a present for Jack. They were super busy last summer so they weren't able to come to Jack's 1st birthday and give him his present....a coupe car. Cousin Cooper passed his coupe car and the gas pump that goes with it onto Jack. I love hand-me-downs!!!

Jack really liked it and so did Owen and Andy. (Kim and Andy were over so Kim and I could discuss an upcoming craft project. I can't wait to show it off, but it's going to be awhile. I know I'm a teaser!) The McQueen car actually took a backseat to the coupe car for a few days!

The nicest part of this car for mommy is the canopy top...I can actually push Jack around without having to bend over and kill myself.

Crusin'

In the days following Owen's birthday party the McQueen car was quite the hit. It's really only a one seater, but my boys are small enough that they can both fit. Owen actually wanted to give Jack a ride in his car. I thought that he wouldn't want anything to do with it, but he really does enjoying sharing...sometimes! :)

Riding off into the workbench!

What's Up?

I guess I've been on a blogging hiatis for a few days! Here are some of the things we've been up and some of the things we need do before Ella arrives.

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I had two baby showers last weekend, one at my mom's and one at my friend Kim's house. I had so much fun! It was great hanging out with girlfriends and family. Ella got some great stuff!

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I'm cashing in on one of my Christmas presents this Sunday - my day with my Mom! We are going to take a few things back that I got at my showers and buy a few things that I didn't get. I love getting to spend the whole day with just her! I figured it would be good to cash in on this day before Ella came because once she does she would have to come with us since I breastfeed.

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Michael had to go on his first business trip. He was gone for 2 days the week prior to Owen's birthday party and then 3 days after his birthday party. It actually wasn't all that bad. I made sure the boys and I had lots of things scheduled. Friends and family came over and kept us company too so that was wonderful! It's nice to know I can handle the fort by myself while he's gone. Not that I want to do it all the time mind you!

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If you don't follow me on FB you don't know that Ella's C-Section is officially scheduled for Thursday February 25th. That will most definitely be her birthday unless I go into labor prior to that.

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I've been trying to get ready for Ella's arrival. Her clothes are all washed and put away. I'm going to pack my bag for the hospital tomorrow. I also went through the boys closet and dresser and took out all the clothes they've outgrown and put them away in storage. You know me and organization!

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I've been in a SUPER creative mood lately. In the last month and half I have...made my own baby shower invitations and thank you cards, Owen's birthday invitations and thank you cards, birthday invitations for my friend Lori's daughter, baby shower invitations for my friend Jen, gotten all caught up on my scrapbooking, finished Ella's cross stitch and crocheted a baby blanket for her. Holy cow that's a lot of stuff!!! For some reason I feel the need to be busy ALL THE TIME! I just can't stand to sit still and do nothing.

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I need to have Michael bring in all the babygear like the bouncy seat and the swing. Although I think I'll wait until she's here so the boys don't want to play in them.

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We need to install Ella's carseat in the van and then we are going to go to the hospital and have all the carseats checked out.

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I feel like I've pretty much been sick since Christmas. Michael had a cold before Christmas and then I got it on Christmas Eve. The boys didn't get that one, but then Michael went on his business trip and came back with a sore throat. I got it a couple days later and now both the boys are sick. Michael is better now so we know it's not going to last long, but both the boys are so snotty it's just gross. I sure hope we get this all out of our system before Ella comes. Tomorrow Michael is going to bath our house in Lysol!

Family Pictures

Starr also took some family pictures of us while we were at the beach. We tried to get some cute pictures of the boy touching or kissing my belly, but they really wanted nothing to do with it. They were WAY more interested in throwing rocks, seaweed or drift wood into the water. Boys! :) I was really surprised by how many great pictures she got though!

Belly Pictures!

On Sunday January 10th my friend Starr came up to Dash Point State Park to take my belly pictures. She offered to take them when I was pregnant with Jack, but I already had them taken by another photographer so I didn't need double the pictures. This time around I jumped at the chance and she did such a great job....I love them!

Such wonderful memories captured so beautifully! Thanks Starr!!!

(32 weeks 4 days pregnant)

Uncle Ryan

So if you've been reading my blog for a while now you know that my brother Ryan (Uncle Ry to the boys) didn't actually find out he was an Uncle until Owen was almost 5 months old. I drove to his work and surprised him and thankfully a lady he worked with used her phone and took a picture of that monumental occasion. Ryan wanted to make it a tradition of taking our picture together at Owen's birthday...unfortunately we missed his first birthday.

June 2007


January 2009

January 2010

What a goofy boy he is!

Side note...what is up with me and the hand on the hip thing? Sheesh!

So Many Faces

Jack is such a cute face maker! He can have the cutest smile one minute and then be making the weirdest face the next.

Hey I'm trying to draw...give me some privacy please!!!

Hey Mama!


MAMA!!!


You might have noticed the boys were wearing their Christmas pajamas in a couple of my recent posts...yeah we wear those year 'round...that's just how we roll here!

Time To Drive

I have a feeling this will be a pretty big part of our daily routine for a long time. The McQueen Car is actually only a one seater, but my boys are so little they fit in there fine. I was just happy that Owen was willing to take Jack for a drive. Right around the 40 second mark you'll hear Owen repeat a line that McQueen says in the beginning of the movie..."I eat losers for breakfast"!

Owen's 3rd Birthday Party

We had Owen's 3rd Birthday party at our house yesterday. We had been telling Owen about it for a while and every time we said something he would just say he wanted to eat "pie cake" or open presents. Being the "Suzy Homemaker" that I try to be here's is his homemade Cars cake.

He already had McQueen and Mac, but the other Cars were his presents from us. The cake actually wasn't as hard to make as I thought it would be. It was super yummy too! It was french vanilla with strawberry glaze in the middle and cream cheese frosting. It was my first time putting a filling in the center and I'm so happy it turned out good.

He waited to blow out his candle until the end...he loves that part!


I cut out one of the '3' on the side for him to eat. Owen's not really cake fan...he's more of a frosting fan. There was frosting everywhere.

Cars are so much better with frosting on the bottom of them. Yummy!


This little guy loves to drive! I couldn't find a tablecloth I liked so my mom thought it would be a good idea to use the top sheet from the Cars sheet set she got Owen. She's a clever lady!

Present time...Owen was all over the place during this time. It was quite overwhelming. He went from one to another. My Dad actually took this picture and my mouth flew open when I saw how I was sitting. I didn't know I could still sit like that being as big as I am.

Owen got lots of great presents, Mr. Potato Head, Leap Frog Word Builder, Puzzles, Cars, Veggie Tale movies and this super cool laptop he calls his "puter".

Then the BIG present came out. Hmm....I wonder what could be under the Cars bedspread?

I present to you...

THE HAPPIEST 3 YEAR OLD ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET!!!!

Ga-Ga and Pa sure do know how to please a Car fanatic. Owen and all the other kids had so much fun riding around in the garage the rest of the night. At one point Owen even ran over Jack and he flew up on the windshield and said, "Jack get down!" I think we are going to have some driver training lessons in our future!

Everyone who came to the party, minus Kim and Andy...thank you for making Owen's birthday so special!

Ella In The Belly!

On Thursday when I went into Ella's room to get Owen up from his nap he was saying something, but I couldn't quite understand him so I asked him to repeat himself. He said, "I got Ella!" It was dark in the room so I bent down to snuggle him and I happened to touch his belly and then it clicked...He had Ella...in his belly! See that day I let Owen go to bed with his big Elmo and his little Elmo...little Elmo was playing the roll of Ella...in his belly! I told Owen to hold still and I went downstairs and got the camera. Thankfully he listened to me so I was able to get this cute picture.

See big Elmo...yeah he had to get dressed earlier this week because we had this whole discussion about how Elmo is a big boy and goes potty in the toilet. Owen knows this because of the Elmo Potty Time DVD we have. Anyways...since Elmo is a big boy he of course needs to wear undies and then it just went from there...

Owen is definitely entering the pretend phase and I love seeing where his imagination takes him. He's such a character!

Monkey Suit

Boy he sure cleans up nicely!!!

Michael has been working at his new job for almost 2 weeks now and we had to make a trip down to K & G's and buy him a couple suits. I didn't know shopping for men could be so overwhelming and stressful. Suits, ties, dress socks, dress shirts, tie tacks, dress shoes and tailoring! SHEESH!!!

It's so crazy how opposite this job is from his old job....I mean painter to insurance sales manager...can't get much different than that. It's funny that now we have to set the alarm so Michael can get up and shower and shave and getting all dressed up. Before he'd roll out of bed, throw on paint clothes, brush his teeth and then he was out the door. His morning routine is definitely taking him longer now.

Michael is really enjoying his new job and the challenges that have been thrown at him. I miss having him around as much, but such is life! I just learned tonight that he is going to have to do some traveling for work and I'm not really happy about that, but I keep saying to myself, "He has a job...he has a job!"

Warning - Decent Potty Pictures!

Jack is definitely the little brother that wants to be just like his older brother. He wants to do EVERYTHING Owen does. So the other day when he asked me if he could sit on the potty I wasn't surprised. He has sat on the potty before by himself with his clothes on, but this time I could tell he wanted his clothes off. It was right before bed so I needed to get him changed anyways. So I sat him on the potty chair and made the pee pee noise, "Pssss" and waited to see if he would go. He was way more interested in reaching in and trying to touch either himself or the bottom of the potty...I'm not sure, but he did actually go potty a little.

As a treat for going potty in the potty chair I decided to let him run around in Owen's undies for a little while. He was so excited to wear Elmo undies just like Bubba does.


It was so cute because he still has that baby belly so the undies didn't quite fit him right yet. In fact seeing him in undies was a lot like me wearing undies right now with my big pregnant belly!

He was only in the undies for 5 minutes or so, but of course he peed all over them while he was running around, but he sure had fun! We aren't going to actively try to potty train him until he's 2 so we still have a few more months...unless he decides he wants to try earlier.

Guess Who's 3!

My sweet precious boy today you are 3 years old. Where has the time gone??? Seriously 3 years old!!!

You are such a boy...you love dirt, rocks and cars, but you are also so gentle. You love to snuggle your animals and be snuggled too! You are so smart and so verbal. You say practically everything and you are very quick to catch on. You are still learning your ABC's and 123's. You love the flash cards that Ga-Ga got you.

You just started singing to us and I love it!

You are all about your privacy when it comes to going potty. You can take your pants and undies down all on your own, but you still need help getting them back up. You can go potty standing up now...which you love!

You enjoy being a big brother...even when Jack drives you crazy and steals your toys just so you'll chase him. When you wake up from your nap you always want to go in and get Bubba. You understand that there is a baby in Mama's belly, but when I ask you if you are ready for her to come out you say, "No!". You know we are going to have to hold her and change her diaper and sometimes you think that you will be the one to nurse her, but Mama has explained that that's my job!

You love your Daddy and want him to play with you all the time. You love to pig pile, drive cars or play "Bee Bo" (Hide & Seek) with Daddy whenever he has the chance. Thankfully you've done really well with Daddy going back to work. Mama was a little worried it would really upset you, but you have just gone with the flow.

You are finally getting more of an appetite and you will actually telling me when you are hungry. You've also started getting specific when it comes to what you want to eat. Your favorite right now is definitely peanut butter and jelly. I think you would eat it for every meal. You still aren't big into trying new things, but at least you are eating more than you used to. You are only 26lb though!

Your favorite toys are by far your Cars. Your favorite movies are Cars and Buzz & Woody (Toy Story).

You are still my baby boy even though you're getting bigger. My favorite thing is to get you up in the morning because you'll give me a snuggle and kiss. I don't get too many of those willingly anymore. Mama loves your kisses and hugs...pretty sure I always will too! I'm so excited to see what this year brings for you. You are like a sponge soaking up everything around you and I'm sure my post next year will be filled with all the wonderful things you learned and experienced.

I love you Owen Michael Martin! Happy 3rd Birthday my sugar bear!

You Know You're A Mom To Boys...

- When you use their shirt to wipe their runny noses because it's already filthy so why waste a tissue.

- When you start opening both lids to the toliet when it's YOU that needs to go to the bathroom!

- When you say the word "penis" in everyday sentences at least 2 - 3 times a day.

- When cars, tools and books about cars and tools dominate your house.

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When you find yourself saying, "No....mommy doesn't have a mustashe only guys do!"

Owen Speak

The other day it occurred to me I haven't updated on Owen's vocabulary in a long time. He says everything and most of it is perfectly clear, but here are a few of the cute, funny and smart things he's said or done recently.



- The other night we were in the van and it was raining and Owen just pipped up and said, "Mommy cars are taking a bath!" Tonight while we were in the car he said, "Mommy cars are all dry!" As you can guess...it wasn't raining out.



- If you ask Owen where the water goes once it goes down the drain he says, "The water treatment plant!"



- Owen knows what red, yellow and green means at a traffic light. He also knows they are called traffic lights and that there aren't any traffic lights on the freeway.



- If you ask Owen, "What are we doing tomorrow?" he almost always says, "Choo choo train Saturday!" because of our trip on the link light rail a few weeks back.



- Tonight the boys and I were playing with their Winnie the Pooh piano and microphone and I was singing Row Row Row Your Boat. I asked Owen to sing and he sang it like this, "Row row row your boat, merrily merrily merrily life is but dream, go to the grocery store, oh no!" We had gone to Fred Meyer earlier in the day so I guess the trip to the store really stuck out in his mind.


- On Tuesday when Kim came over I asked Owen to go into the bathroom and take his pants and undies down and go potty. He's really big into shutting the door now and having "privacy". This time I decided to go in and make sure he actually got his undies down as he's forgotten and peed through them in his potty chair before. When I got into the bathroom he was in the process of pulling his undies down and he so proudly proclaimed, "Oh...there's my penis!"


- Owen is starting to understand opposites a lot especially when it comes to people....Ga-Ga is a girl, Pa is a guy, Daddy has giant ears, Owen has little ears and so on and so forth.


- Owen is also getting really good at his letters and numbers. He acts like he doesn't know them sometimes, but then I'll catch him talking to himself and he's saying the ABC's and counting. Tonight he was in the garage and I heard him count all the way to 13. He also knows how to spell out his name, but he prefers to leave off the 'O' and just shouts 'W - E - N" even though he knows it starts with an 'O'.

Growing Boys

Last week Kim and Andy came over to hang out and so we could discuss an upcoming Ladies Night Out event we are planning for our MOPS group. We hadn't seen each other in so long I actually had to write down everything I wanted to talk to her about. I would be completely lost without my lists!

We decided to sit the boys on the couch and take their pictures. They look quite a bit bigger than the first time we took their picture like this.

I love how Andy is smiling at Jack. They both don't really "play" with each other very much yet, but I'm sure that will come. Andy loves to just go from toy to toy trying to find the perfect one to play with. Of course he ended up finding the big yellow jeep in the garage and that is most definitely his favorite. In fact he cried when it was time to go because he wanted to keep playing with it.

Look at those cute boys! We didn't mean to dress them alike it just happened that way. Kim came over on Tuesday which is garbage day...that is a huge day in our house!

Does this just melt your heart? They are so handsome!!!