Some people renovate their own kitchen...

We, apparently, just renovate our little ones' kitchen.  Three Christmases ago, we got Anni a little play kitchen.  We kept it small, because we were living in an apartment, on a budget, and figured her imagination could make up for what it lacked in size.  Throw in some ikea pots and pans and we were set.

For most of the time we lived in the apartment, it lived in a variety of angles in a corner by our kitchen/eating area (I'm still completely unsure as to why apartments feel the needs to put carpet in the dining area, but that's neither here nor there).  At some point (a point I, of course, have no photos of) I bought a stack of ikea spice racks and we managed to get one hung before we moved. 
 

When we moved to the house, it took a few months, but we finally got that one lonely shelf back up.

 
It was good, but it definitely wasn't quite enough.  We had added play food, dishes, and some empty spice bottles since the original purchase of the kitchen, and I got really tired of finding places to stuff everything.  I had had other simple organization plans for awhile, but it took a day of Daniel's parents coming down to help us with other, more important, things (mainly a leaky kitchen pipe) to get our rears in gear and get it done.
   

Ta-da!  It's one of those things that the girls really don't care about either way, but this mama is very happy that there is a place for everything.

We added a second shelf, and, on the first shelf, we added a row of hooks for the tea cups and hot pads.  Then, we (I say we, but Daniel and his dad actually did the work... I just directed) added several "s" hooks the the little bar over the sink so that the pots and pans had a home of their own.  Maybe I should start thinking about some upgrades to my own kitchen now...

Rosettes - we made them!

Today my sweet friend Sarah came over to visit.  We decorated the tree a little and made these super cute rosette bracelets/sashes "following" this tutorial.  I had seen these around on headbands and sashes, but didn't know they were so simple to make!  Really, we just glanced at the tutorial and then started off, making both of these within an hour.  I think we did great for our first attempt!  We made a cute bracelet for Sarah (see above) and a sash for Anni (below).  Anni's obviously isn't really meant to go with that outfit, but I wanted to show off how cute it will be (looks like I need to trim the backing a little).  The biggest piece of advice I would have if you try to make your own is to keep in mind that the rosettes will have big gaps in between if you don't almost overlap them.  Welp, that's about all I've got.  Miss Anni has been sick all week and we've missed all of our normal outings and will be missing an ugly sweater party tomorrow, so it was really nice to have a friend keep us company.  Here's to a weekend of recovery (and gingerbread... because we need to pretend we're partying even if we can't go to one)!

Thanksgiving: Crafty and family filled... nothing better.

I know I'm a few days late on our Thanksgiving update, but I've been away from my computer... and what's a fun blog post without pictures of equally fun and adorable kiddos?

We started our journey on Tuesday night, driving a few hours with a very tired baby refusing to sleep and finally stopping at a hotel three miles after she fell asleep.  Wednesday, we finished off the drive and arrived at the home I had grown up with.  I'm going to tell you now - I was lucky growing up. I grew up in a family that was loud, a little bit quirky (okay, a lot bit) with a whole lot of love. 

And on that day that home offered a very long nap for our sweet little and then an epic dance party with her cousin Charlie.

 I mean epic.

Then I spent the night churning out a little project, more on that later.


Thanksgiving day was about the pigtails and turkey dress....

Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade with her milk and cheerios.

then breakfast at my sister's with pecan rolls, yogurt parfaits, quiche and sweet littles...

And... our annual family picture...

Not that the babies were thrilled about their picture, but all of the adults standing around yelling "YAAAY!" as loud as they could did confuse them long enough to snap one.

From there I finished my project.  Everyone in the family sent me an email telling me why they were thankful for each other member of the family.  I then compiled the lists and printed them for each member, glued them to pretty paper and marked their places at the table with them.  (There is another table to the right of this one).

    (If you've never seen someone strategically plan seating placement for 19 people, 7 of whom are little ones... you've never seen genius in action.  One of my brothers and my oldest sister magically did this).  I think everyone really enjoyed having that little piece of familial love to take home.


It was most fun reading it to the little ones.  I got to watch my niece's face light up as I explained that these were the reasons everyone was thankful for her.

Oh, and I made turkey cookies, stemmed from a small addiction to pinterest.   They were adorable, if I do say so myself and the kids loved them.

 There was also just a little twinkle of Christmas as well.  Because we won't see my side of the family for Christmas, we gave them their gifts now.  I love giving gifts, so here's hoping they loved them, because it was so much fun to see them open them :).

Then I took a little trip with my daddy to cheer on our Cornhuskers.  I hadn't gotten to go to a game with him in two years, so it was awesome being back.

It was a little nostalgic as well.  The lumberyard we always meet my uncles before and after games (where my Uncle has been manager for years and years) is moving and this building is getting torn down for the new arena.   It's funny, I've been going to games for 15 years, and this walk is so very familiar to me.  We always sat at the same table, in the same chairs and ate popcorn while we waited for the parking to clear and the trains to pass.  After the game, I would listen to my dad and his brothers talk about the game, and by listen, I mean half listen.  The truth is, I love my team and I love going to games, but I'm not all that overly passionate about football in general. 

After a late-night arrival home, we spent the next day hanging out with my sister and taking some really fun shots for her etsy shop. Twinkly Christmas lights make everything a little more magical. 

Anni also made sure to leave her hand prints all over the glass doors.  

Have I mentioned my husband is an amazing daddy?  Well, he's a great Uncle, too.  This scene makes me all the more excited that he's the one raising our baby with me. 

And then, we ended our trip the same way we started.  Dance Party.

Epic.

A little craftiness

So, like many, I discovered the fun of pinterest a few months ago.  I am determined to actually use the fun things I find; though, and not just make it another place to dump ideas that will never come to fruition.  We've used a lot of recipes and a couple of crafts... this one was one of my favorites.  You can find full directions here.  My project was even simpler (not that the original is hard), because we bought larger blocks that are sturdy enough to hold pictures by themselves with no weights.  So, honestly, my father-in-law did this project and we watched.  Whenever I send him a project, he always tells me to bring it up to grandpa's woodshop and we can make it happen.  It is such fun!

We made a set for Anni's room and a few more for some other littles in our lives ;).  Don't forget to check out the original post at plumpudding and make your own (she also tells you how to make them magnets)! 

And celebrate we did!

We partied.  We got up in the morning and drove North to begin preparations.  Somehow, we all ended up crashing my mother-in-law's hair appointment and getting haircuts (and by we, I mean my mom, mother-in-law, Daniel's grandmother and myself).  The hair stylist she goes to did Daniel's very first haircut and even gave him the haircut he had for our wedding.  It's a tradition and I love it.  When Anni's little mullet get's a little too shaggy, Paula is the one we're visiting :).

 

The rest of the morning was spent baking cute little cakes and cupcakes and getting the decorations ready.  There was no specific theme, just happiness, spring and lots of yellow (did you know that's my favorite color?  It is.)

Oh, and we took plenty of breaks for Miss Anni to chow down on her new favorite foods: kiwi and strawberry.

And then, the rest of the party was food, love, tears and all that good stuff.  

She even had some little buddies who blew bubbles and kept her fascinated (she much prefers watching little people to anyone else). 

And, lest you think we deprived her of sugar, there was plenty.  She went after the cake most definitely in her way.  One finger to test it out.  We helped her a little so she knew it was okay, but in the end she mostly wanted the dots on top (which, a warning, we had to remove because we realized they don't really dissolve in her mouth... not exactly safe, so no more of those).

Sweet Nugget, I'm so proud of you for how much you've grown.  Today at exactly 5:43 pm, we're going to snuggle and talk about a year ago.  I'm probably going to cry, and that's okay.  We made it, my Antonia, and we're so glad you're here.  We love you, Happy Birthday!

Celebrations

Tomorrow morning, we'll all get up just as the sun begins to peek over the horizon, because that's how our Nugget likes it recently.  We'll load all kinds of party things into our cars, and spend the morning getting girly haircuts (um, for the girls) and baking cakes and cupcakes and setting out pretty little favor boxes.

And the thing is, I know she won't remember this day.  But I will, and I'm so ready to party and celebrate the fact that we made it a year... that this little girl is so not letting the word "premature" define her and that we, as her parents, have survived the sleepless nights and reveled in the baby chuckles. 

Plus, it's an excuse to eat yummy treats and watch a baby destroy a piece of cake.

 
She is so loved.  (And I LOVE this photo - thank you to Jenny Hanlon Photography for our family pictures!)