2 BIG projects

I love sewing but it sure does take a heck of a lot of time...
Especially when you decide to take on big projects.

Quilt for Brian

I am totally showing off but this is my first quilt and I am so happy that I got this done. This has been a project that I have been working on for maybe 7 years. Not continuously, but I took all of Brian and my shirt's from our days at the sorority/fraternity and cut them out, knowing that someday I would make a quilt. Those squares sat in my basement for years. Finally I decided to make the quilt to give to Brian for Christmas. I can't believe I got it done. It took FOREVER. I loved making it though. One of those shirts was our first date. This quilt has so many memories. I love it.

the back

Skirt for my sister Elizabeth

So Elizabeth is on a mission and she sent me a picture of a skirt that had lots of ruffles on it that she wanted. So of course I had to make her one. I used the nie nie pattern. This wasn't that easy because it is for a little girl so I had to make it a much bigger size. Plus I had to make it long enough for a missionary. I KNOW I KNOW I can't picture a missionary wearing this AT ALL but Lil is no ordinary missionary. Plus her mission president said that she could wear prints and any colors so I am just going to pretend that she will wear this everyday. This probably took me 3-4 days to make. I am guessing it took about 5 yards of fabric too. So I really hope she likes it. I am tempted to make one for me...

I've got mad skills

Ok I don't really have mad skills. I just have the greatest friend, Jennie who let me use her studio to take pictures of my kids. It is much easier when someone else is taking the pictures and I can make the kids smile but it was hard to do both. I still think they turned out cute.

I had a hard time getting pictures of all the kids smiling. Sarah was not the happiest because she still wants to sleep all of the time.

Like I said, Sarah was not the happiest.

I hate the phone in the picture but it was worth it for the smile.

Sam wanted a picture with his goofy.

So sleepy.

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet Sarah!!

Today Sarah turned 1.
I know I should be happy but it makes me so sad.
I keep getting tears in my eyes thinking that she is not a baby anymore.
I always got so annoyed when people said that they were sad that there kids were growing up too fast.
Now I feel the exact same way.

I don't know what it was but after Sarah was born I changed.
It was like a big burst of sunshine shot through me and I just became a better person.
I was so happy when she was born.
This year has been the best year of my life. It hasn't been perfect but I have learned more this year than in the past 5 years.
I still have a lot to work on and I always will but I will be happy doing it!

Thank you Sarah for giving me that burst of sunshine.
You are just the sweetest baby (see I still can't let her grow up).
You are so content and happy.
Your constant smile makes everything brighter.
I love you to pieces and I can't wait to see you grow.
Just slow down. Please.

1 year old

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

Sarah's birthday party

We had her party on the 3rd because Brian had to go out of town and we didn't want him to miss it.

I was going to make strawberry cupcakes but nobody has strawberries. So I asked my friend (the day before her party) if she would be able to make a cake and she did. How cute is it? I was so happy with how it turned out.

Danny's break dancing and hip hop performances

Almost a year ago we put Danny in break dancing because he struggled a lot with being the center of attention. I figured if he can learn to dance in front of others, that would help a lot. He ended up performing at his dance performance in front of everyone. I was shocked. I remember thinking, if he can perform in front of a big audience he will have come a long way, and he did. I was so proud of him. The first video is his first break dancing performance. I am sorry it is so shaky. The program we used to convert it didn't work out to well I guess.



This is his hip hop performance in December. We switched Studios because this one is closer and much bigger. I realized after watching this video that he does so well with choreography but not freestyle. His lack of improvising and watching his hand movements during the freestyle made me realize that we haven't completely gotten rid of his autism and we still have a little ways to go but he has come such a long way. He is such a good dancer. He is the one in the shorts on the left.

Christmas

Christmas was so wonderful this year. We are so lucky. It was so fun to see family and friends that we don't always get to see.

The boys and their monster trucks

My sister's and I made our girls these Christmas tree shirts.

I made this dress for Sarah. It took sooo long but I like how it turned out. I also love her little pigtails.

Christmas Eve!! The boys were so excited for Santa! Danny had a very grumpy day on Christmas Eve and we kept saying, "I hope Santa still brings you presents." So on Christmas morning, he ran into our room and said, "I was on the nice list! I saw a present that said Danny on it!"

Legos!!

This was so hilarious. We were at Brian's grandpa's house and Danny kept doing a dance from Micheal Jackson's Beat it.