The Sneakup

This happens about 20 times a day around our house right now. Both girls will be happily playing together and Anna Cate will get a sudden urge to smother Caroline in a big bear hug. She will run over to her, gritting her teeth saying, "I love you lil pluffy pluffy pluffy" (translation: I love you little Fluffy Fluffy Fluffy) and crash into her like a big wave.

We never know what to expect. Sometimes Caroline squeals with delight, but other times she has a very different reaction.

I just happened to capture this phenomenon the other day as it occurred while I was trying to get a picture of Caroline.

Look out Caroline!!

Here she comes - gritting her teeth with hands ready for attack.

A startled look of shock and dismay.

As soon as the attack occurred, it is over and she is left in tears and mad as a hornet. Oh if only pictures came with sound and you could hear how loudly this child can wail. Or maybe she is crying because it looks like a little rat ran through the back of her hair!!!

Caroline - 6 months

This post will have to be short, sweet, and to the point. I have too much on my list that I need to accomplish today, but I wanted to take a brief moment to document this for my 75-year old self.

Saturday afternoon we pulled out some ribbon, paper, and mod podge and set out to create some cute paper hats.

I found these oh so charming birthday hats on clearance at Wal-Mart (really? there are dolls named Bratz and they are popular? just lovely.)

Anna Cate and I opened one up and laid it flat on some scrapbooking paper. We then traced it, adding about 1/2 inch around the edges as we went.

This little munchkin just watched attentively in her seat, patiently waiting until she is old enough to join in at craft time.

I then applied Mod Podge to a hat that was still in the shape of a cone and smoothed the paper onto the hat.

For the ruffle, I measured around the circumference of the hat and cut a piece of ribbon that was twice that measurement. You can refer to the Ruffle Apron Tutorial for instructions on how to make a ruffle with ribbon.

I used hot glue to attach the ribbon to the bottom of the hat and ta da!

They turned out so cute.

I have also seen little candle holders on etsy that I wanted to try and recreate for Caroline's cupcake.

I found these little wooden people at Hobby Lobby and my dad drilled a hole in the top of each, just slightly bigger than the width of a birthday candle.

Isn't she pretty?

We had our little party on Sunday after our lunch. Caroline is giving the "I'm not sure what to think about this face" while Anna Cate is loving that we get to sing Happy Birthday to her.

Anna Cate helps her blow out the candle and she gets reeeeally upset.

But then she discovers icing and the tears immediately dry up.

More cake falls on the floor than in her mouth, but the four of us had a good time celebrating our little stinker.

Would you believe I took almost 900 pictures this past week? Yikes! My new camera lens came in just in time for Thanksgiving so I've had fun learning how to use it. These are just a few of my favorites from the holiday weekend.

Anna Cate showing Caroline how to sit "lady like" for the pictures.

Anna Cate enjoyed picking camellias in Grandaddy's yard.

My sisters and I took the girls outside before lunch on Thursday to try to get a Christmas card picture. Needless to say, we didn't get one. It is next to impossible to snap a picture of both of them looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. We did happen to get some cute candid shots with everybody.

Caroline's famous "hairy eyeball" stare ;)

Cousins

Bath time

"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to"

We celebrated Caroline turning six months old on Sunday. The girls and I made some cute things for her "party" that I plan on sharing (hopefully tomorrow)!

Turkey in the Straw Wreath

My sewing room has been transformed into Santa's workshop and is a complete and total disaster area right now! I've been busy busy busy getting ready for Christmas. And because so many of you who read this blog are on my Christmas list and I can't share any of those projects right now, I thought I'd pop in to share this quick project I finished earlier in the week.

We were at an oyster roast this weekend with our family friends, the Talberts. Mr. Jim, who is one of the most dedicated sportsman I know, asked my sister if she needed any turkey feathers for a Thanksgiving project for her class. I piped up and said I'd like a few. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone (pun intended): decorate for Thanksgiving and pay homage to the hunter who lives in our house. ( I still feel a little guilty about not letting him hang the stuffed Turkey he killed in our house. I said a little. )

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'd like to present to you our Turkey in the Straw wreath.

Straw wreath from Goodwill, 50 turkey feathers, and about an hour of spare time is all you'll need.

Start stuffing the feathers into the wreath, making sure that they are all curving the same way.

Tie a ribbon around the top and find a spot to hang your new wreath!

With the left over feathers, Anna Cate enjoyed a little history lesson on how people used to write before the invention of the ball point pen. ;)

Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Fun Friday Finds

Say that three times fast! Fun Friday Finds. Fun Friday Finds. Fun Friday Finds.

Rebecca left a comment earlier this week asking if I knew of any tutorials on making fabric party hats. Although I never have seen one, her question got my wheels turning on how you could make them.

You know, Caroline will be turning 6 months old next week and we celebrated Anna Cate's 6 month milestone with a birthday cake, so I'm sure we will do the same thing this time around. I thought I'd try my hand at making one for her to wear while she digs into her half birthday cake, but stuff kept coming up during the week and I haven't had a chance to make one yet.

**Rebecca, I did find this tutorial for making a party hat from felt. It is really cute, but I like the fabric ruffled ones the best. **

While browsing crafty blogs looking for a party hat tutorial, I also stumbled across this lovely lady at The Polka Dot Chair, who so graciously shares her skirt tutorials for free! Ideas for the girls spring wardrobes are already swirling through my head!

Patchwork Skirt Tutorial

Layered Skirt Tutorial

And check out this colorful advent calendar. The tutorial for it is here and if I have time, I'd love to make one before December gets here.

My goal is to be done with my Christmas shopping by Thanksgivig so that I can enjoy the entire month doing fun things with the girls. I would love to have a little activity or outing planned for each day and have it tucked inside the corresponding envelope for Anna Cate to open each morning. Ambitious, I know...we'll see if it happens. ;)

The Everyday Ordinary

Is it Wednesday already? Both girls are napping (well Caroline is napping and Anna Cate is singing in her bed) but they are both somewhat quiet and resting. Has anybody else's 2 year old already given up their nap? I should take this rare opportunity to catch a little catnap myself, but instead I'll share some of what we've been up to the past several days.

Anna Cate got this bike trailer for her birthday this year. Ever since May she has been asking when Caroline can ride with her and we decided to try it out this week. Anna Cate was as excited as could be, but Caroline wasn't so sure at first. Once we started riding she seemed to enjoy it. Oh these two!

I also grabbed a few extra packs of the puppets I found at Target last week and let Anna Cate work on the frog and pig yesterday afternoon. We have just started allowing her to use scissors and glue so she was pumped to put all of her big girl skills to the test.

"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."

"Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!"

Hannah came to town on Monday for a much needed visit. It was so good to see her, James, and her cute baby bump. We tried to get James and Caroline to swing together but somebody wasn't so sure about it. Just look at her expression! These two are exactly one year apart. Yep! They share the same birthday. All four of our kiddos: Andie (Baylis's little girl), James, Caroline, and Anna Cate all have May birthdays within 2 weeks of each other. We enjoyed seeing you both and hope you didn't leave with any of our germs!

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And before I go, let me leave you with the best recipe for Shrimp and Grits. It is one of our favorite dishes to fix during cooler weather and this recipe is the closest one we have found that tastes like the dish we use to order at our favorite restaurant when we lived in Savannah.

My mom found the recipe in one of her magazines (Charleston Magazine, perhaps?), but I can't remember which.

Bar Americain's Gulf Shrimp and Grits

Serves 4

You'll need:

8 strips of bacon

2 Tbs. olive oil

20 large shrimp (peeled)

3 cloves of garlic minced

3 green onions, chopped

It is a fast and easy recipe. Just fry up your bacon and set aside to cool. Leave the bacon grease in the pan and add the olive oil and garlic. Make sure your shrimp have been seasoned with salt and pepper.

On medium heat, saute your shrimp until they are pink. This takes about 4 minutes and don't overcook them or they'll be rubbery!

Serve over your favorite grits* and garnish with the bacon and green onions. (we also drizzle some of the oil in the pan over the dish)

*For our grits, I always make them with chicken stock and add in about 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese when they are done.

It's sure to be a crowd pleaser!

A Puppet Show and a Science Lesson

We had another lazy weekend as our house was again plagued by more sneezes and sniffles. It seems we just can't seem to shake whatever bug has been lingering around the past couple of weeks.

Anna Cate and I did find time to finish up her friend Reece's birthday present. I got the idea from my sister, who made an awesome puppet theatre for her classroom several weeks ago. She brought it over to show Anna Cate, who loved putting on her own puppet show with her stuffed animals. (In fact, I think she is getting one herself for Christmas). ;)

I found this adorable puppet kit at Target which includes the materials for a lion, pig, and frog. A quick trip to Hobby Lobby for some red fabric and a pair of suspension curtain rods from Wal-Mart and ta da! a portable puppet theatre that fits in any door or hallway.

I'll be the first to admit that I totally stink at picking out fun boy presents, but I'm hoping this will be something Reece and his sister can enjoy playing with together. What a great way to encourage imaginative play! (psst...Stephanie, do you think Ian would like something like this for Christmas?)

Sunday afternoon we did make it over to Miep and Boula's house to enjoy some fresh air and pick up the pecans that have been falling in their yard. Our trip turned into a little science lesson as there were so many interesting things to see and explore!

Anna Cate, Miep, and Boula looked for pecans...

...while this little monkey sat on her blanket and supervised...

...and this goofball enjoyed lounging in the gator.

Boula showing Anna Cate how to look for pecans.

Anna Cate showing Caroline what a pecan looks like.

We also walked up to the garden to check on the broccoli and turnip green's that Boula has planted for the fall. Anna Cate and I got to see how broccoli grows. A lot different than how you see it in the grocery store!

And we found deer tracks in the garden! It seems the deer are enjoying helping themselves to the turnip greens.

What a relaxing way to end the weekend. Now we are off to start another busy week!