Quiet book

I recently organized a project to make a quiet book with a bunch of girls.  It was pretty intense, but it came out awesome.  Here is how it worked: 14 girls signed up and we all picked one page and made it 14 times.  8 of us decided we wanted to do a second page so we picked a second theme and made it 8 times.  We all got together earlier this week and exchanged the finish products.   Now i have a super awesome quiet book for church.  I am not done binding it and sewing titles on all the pages, but I am SO excited for it.

 It was my first time sewing a zipper.  It was easier than I thought.  I bought finger puppets from Ikea that fit inside the ark and am making a little felt "Noah" to go in it as well.  14 "ARKS" later....my stack is really big...

 My second page: (I only had to make 8 of these, thank goodness.  Placing eyelets is a huge pain)

I will post my entire book when I finally decide how I want to bind it all together.

Witches Night

 My super creepy witch costume.  Or not.  But I did borrow a hat.  Here is the fabulous 28 week belly picture.  Yes.  I am showing.  Get over it.

 Most of the girls

 Kimi and I are a week apart.  She is due the 13th and I am the 20th.  Brooke and her little boy Trey are a week apart too!

Annual October Closet Raid!

Every October I clean my closet.  I am slightly obsessive-compulsive.  I like things in a certain order.  I don't like it when I am playing a card game and the 'discard' pile is messy.  I like my shirts folded a certain way.  My food storage is methodically dated and organized in order by weight of the food as well as category the food fits in.  So, naturally, my closet is organized in rainbow order.  You know, Red, then Orange, Yellow Green Blue Indigo, Violet.  Then come Blacks, Whites, and Greys.  Then Skirts, dresses, hoodies, and winter coats.

Every year in October I go through and mess up the order.  It is tough.  But it has to be done.  I look at the weather forecast and plan out my stuff in advance and have to go through and wear the clothes in that order.  If there is anything I skip and don't wear- Goodbye!  It goes to Goodwill.  That way my closet doesn't get full of clothes I never wear.  And it is fun to actually wear everything in there!

As you know, I am moderately (bordering on severely) pregnant.  I can't fit in 3/4 of the shirts in my closet so I can't do my usual plan.  Instead, I am wearing the same 6 maternity shirts and 3 pairs of pants that still fit.  Getting dressed is so depressing these days!  The best part is picking out my shoes because at least those aren't getting tight.

My alternate plan is to go through my closet and get rid of any summer shirt that i did not wear more than 1x this summer.  Then when I am no longer preggo, will attempt this again when my body is somewhat back to normal. (Because we all know doing the 'wear the thing you planned' within the first 2 months of having a baby is ludicrous.  I will be wearing whatever I don't feel fat in.  And I will probably change it 3x before deciding on it.  Then I will just get spit-up, or poop all over it 30 minutes after putting it on so i will throw my hands up in frustration and put my pajamas back on. 

Pitt Homecoming week and the River

This week was full of events.  Bryan decided it wasn't too cold for some wakeboarding.  I am glad i had the excuse of pregnancy because there was NO way I was getting in that river.  And I think Bryan was frozen by the time he got out.

Pittsburgh Dental School Alumni dinner.  We got a special invite because they were honoring military students.  Free dinner?  we were so there.

We went to the Pitt homecoming game where we sadly lost to Utah.  But it was a fun event and we rode our bikes to the game, which made it all worth it. 

Peter in his "Pilot" hat

And Brooke is obsessed with my Camelback.  She could drink the whole pouch of water if I let her.

26 weeks.  Oh ya. (you should see me on a bike.  I look hot.)

My little monkey!

Brooke, Peter and Sharlie at the park

Peter thinks he has a girlfriend.  He refers to her as "my Sharlie".  Bryan and I are not sure what to think of it. 

The Blue Slide.  its built into the side of a hill and is a pretty big slide.

Brooke was wearing fleece pants and had the least amount of friction going down the slide.  She would FLY down it.  Most of the time flipping on to her stomach and head before reaching the bottom.  She would fuss for about 10 seconds and then climb back up the hill to do it again.  And again.

Lovin the weather!

Most of the time I am complaining about it.  But the past week has been amazing.  I can't get enough of being outside.  We have gone to the park, to the zoo, our Branch activity (where we spent the majority of it in the grass running around), numerous playgrounds, ice cream outings, and our Stake Softball tournament.  The weather is supposed to be just as good tomorrow so we are most likely going for a bike ride at Ohiopyle.  (more pictures to follow...I am positive!)
*Brooke's latest is to climb the kitchen table and chairs.  But she doesn't quite understand that she has to pull the chair out first.  She gets 'stuck' under the table and makes some awesome faces.

 Peter at the zoo.  Why does the 3 year old want the stroller and the 18 month old want to walk?

 The jaguar was right by the glass and Brooke was awestruck.

 Brooke signing "Fish" the entire time we were in the aquarium

 Peter did NOT like the ginormous fish in the tank.  Can you tell?

 But he was more than happy to visit the shark tunnel.

Decorating Pumpkins at the Branch

Last weekend of Page Dairy Mart before they close for the season!  I hate how the ice cream places are seasonal around here! (as if you need more reasons to dislike the winter!)

P.S. I love my kids!

Brooke at 18 Months

Can you believe I have an 18 month old? (not to mention a 3 1/2 year old too!)

Thoughts on Brooke at this phase:

She hates having her teeth brushed.

She loves trains, especially Thomas and plays for hours with Peter at the train table.

She eats EVERYTHING.  I love having at least 1 child that eats food.  Her only quirk with food is that she doesn't eat bread very often.  If I make a sandwich she eats the meat, cheese, lettuce, pickles and tomatos and leaves the bread behind. (which could work, because peter only eats the bread and not the rest of the stuff.  picky little booger.)  Her favorite foods are pickles, tomatos and cheese.

She can speak her favorite foods quite clearly- though cheese is elongated to "Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeese!"  every time she says it.

She refuses to say "dad".  don't misinterpret this.  She CAN say it.  She just won't.  And she thinks it is hilarious.  every time we point to Bryan and ask "who is this?"  She replies with a 'Mama!'  and just starts giggling.  She only says "dad" if Bryan is asleep on the couch and she wants him to wake up to play, and as soon as we acknowledge that she said it she shakes her head and changes it back to 'Mama'.

She still has a Binky for naps and bed, and i am okay with that.  We will get rid of it eventually, but she sleeps anywhere as long as she has it and I am not ready to give that up yet.  She calls it "Mee-Me".

She isn't afraid of getting dirty.

Actually, she isn't afraid of anything.  She will hurl herself headfirst down any slide at the park too.

Okay, that is a lie, she is afraid of the doctor's office.  It's almost embarrassing.  she just cries and makes herself hysterical when we walk in and doesn't stop until we leave.  sheesh!

She takes 1 nap a day now.  Usually 2-2.5 hours.  So does Peter.  I am glad because I need a nap too.

She doesn't really have 'girly' hair yet.  i got the 'mullet' cut 2 months ago, and it still doesn't quite look girly to me.  She refers to her hair as "pretty" and pats her head if I mention her hair!

Her sign language is pretty awesome.  She LOVES "Baby Signing Time" and can sign just about anything relative to her world.  Its cute. (Please, Thank you, Sorry, Boat, Dog, Airplane, food, Eat, drink, Milk, Juice, Cereal, Book, Cat, Car, Cracker, Sleep, More, ect...ect...)

Stats:
Weight: 24 lbs 74% (I think this is a high estimate of percents though, I think is actually around the 55%)
Height: 31'' 90%
Head: Don't remember the number but it was the 90%.