Shoelaces and Bunny Ears

Today, Little Miss Princess learned to tie her shoelaces!

But, let's rewind. 

LMP is on the move when it comes to growing up. She can't wait to "catch up" with her big sis in every way, even age (and yes, I've tried to convince her that she will love being the younger sis one day but for now that's no fun). 

Well, I noticed that her shoes were wearing out. And by "I noticed" I mean that Little Miss bugged me and bugged me and bugged me until I finally looked at  the shoes that were "falling apart". Let's just say they really were. Oops. Bad mom moment but if that's the worst I do I think we're good. Let's face it...that won't be the worst. But back to the point at hand. 

Her shoes were falling apart. I mean parts of the shoe weren't even connected any longer and toes were coming out of holes  that were more prevalent than mice going through Swiss cheese. So...after a few busy weeks we finally decided to look for some shoes for her. It was on a whim and I'm happy to say that we found some awesome looking shoes for an even more awesome price (under $8)!! The one downside? They were tie shoes. Hmmm...well that's not much of a downside in my eyes. I told her it was time she learned to tie shoes cause I wasn't looking around for a different pair that had Velcro. 

And obviously...there's no time like the present!

So we bought those and today in the car her big sister showed her a couple of tricks and after only a couple tries...she had it down!!! Yay!! (I miss being the one to show her how but love that her big sister is so sweet to do so.)

Thank you bunny ears! Woot woot!!! What a lucky family we are to have such a sweet, determined little girl. I just love her to pieces!! 

Tie own shoelaces...check. Bring it on 6!!!

Independence and Accessories

We went to the zoo earlier in the week. Actually we went to the zoo years ago when baby number one was still the one and only, but that isn't the point here. The reason for this post is twofold. One, I am posting every day a little something about Little Miss Princess before she turns 6. And two, I am making a tutorial as well. See. I can multi-post. (I think I just made up a new word here!! --squeal-- New words are awesome and I'm so good at creating them.)

Anyway, I was at the zoo....and on our way out waaaaay long ago we went through the gift shop-as they want you to. I found perhaps the coolest thing in the world. A lion water bottle holder that carries the bottle like a purse. Cue lights from above. See, in my mind this meant no more whining about needing a drink and stopping to grab it from the stroller or being stuck carrying it around. What?!?!! How had I not thought of that before!!??! I mean, seriously!! So of course I bought it. 

Let's jump ahead about 6 years or so and about 3 kids later and you will see that this is all coming together...finally. I have often thought since that time that I should have bought about 50 of those guys. The one we have is sought after, fought over, lost, found, dirtied, and cleaned and I still have never found another one. Really?!?!! 

Well, you know what they say. If you can't find it, make it! (Does no one say that? Well I do. And I do a LOT-just ask my husband.) So a few years ago I searched and found some ideas for crocheting one. I never did. That night I decided I would. It took me a few days to complete because I have 4 kids and about a million other things to do and the only time I get to crafts is usually when the girls are all asleep. In reality this only takes a few hours start to finish...especialy if you don't add anything to it. Alas, I couldn't just leave it empty so I decided to add a bow.  Here is th finished product.. (Sorry about the horrible photography. I was frantically trying to get the kids into bed with a fussy baby in my arms...but you get the point.)

Now, there are no real instructions for me to write out for you since I am using a free pattern I found on line. The major difference is that I chose to add some bling to it for my girls' individual personalities. But it is still super cute without those too.

I chose to basically follow the instructions from Little House in Colorado. Here is the link to her Crochet Water Bottle  I did make just a few adjustments. The strap was the perfect width but I hate working with chain stitches so I went ahead and did a SCFC (single crochet foundation chain). This has been a lifesaver for me. I can't imagine doing foundation rows any other way since I started this a few years ago. The other change I made was to shorten the length of the strap because I was making it for my littles. I ended up making a few different lengths and finally settled on 110 SC. However, now that it is complete and I see it on Little Miss Princess it seems too long. Well, only when there is a water bottle in it. LOL  I think the next one I make I will probably go to 90 or 100 SC.

For the bow, I was going to work up a pattern I've used before but I found this one and thought it was the perfect bow to add for Little Miss Princess. I found the pattern here: Crochet Bow
I did make a few changes to the pattern in the attempt to not have to weave in any ends but it actually made it more complicated. If I were to do it again, I would follow her pattern exactly. The instructions are pretty easy to follow.

So now that you've seen the finished product you might be asking, How does this fit in with Little Miss Princess? Well, it's that she loves loves loves an accessory. She takes anything that will go on her shoulder, in her hair, on her wrist, or around her neck. And this water bottle holder was no exception. She's been wearing it around with nothing in it. She did comment that she could now carry my water bottle for me! We'll see. I am going to start a few more to make the other girls happy as well. No more whining...or fighting...well for the water bottle holder at least. For now...

Any questions, just let me know. In the meantime...

Happy Creations!

Jennifer

Little Miss as a Little Baby

I'm not sure if Little Miss Princess was just more calm or we were or it was a combination of the two but things seemed a bit easier when we welcomed our second little lady to the crew. Well, the first few weeks were rough but that had nothing to do with LMP and that is another story for another day. 

We simply could not believe this little baby was another girl. We just didn't think it was possible to have more than one girl in our family (4 girls in we are still shocked). This sweet picture is of Daddy and LMP at just one month old. Daddy and baby catching some zzz's. For some reason I always manage to get a lot of pics of that...just a random thought, take that where you may. :)

Oh to have this little girl in my arms again. She doesn't fit quite so well anymore! It is almost unbelievable that nearly 6 years has gone by. Such a sweet moment!

Happy Creations~

Jennifer

Happy Girls and Homeschool

As Little Miss Princess nears her big 6th bday, I find myself wondering where in the world the time has gone. We were out today picking up some of those last minute homeschool items to start our school year and I realize I'm in complete awe that my LMP is going to be in 1st grade!!! Wow...the time has flown.

About three years ago a friend of mine took our family pics when we were visiting our hometown. This was just one of the amazing pics that she got. (Go visit Tara Diver Photography on Facebook to see some of her other amazing work.)

At that time, I couldn't have even imagined that we would be here teaching not one, not two, but three of our beautiful girls this year! I mean, wow. But having the privilege of being home every single day with these 4 beauties is more than any mom could ask for. There are moments I want to run from it all but then I get to see this amazing smile and I'm so glad to be present for al the good and the bad. My darling husband and I have been called to teach our kids ourselves and while that is not always an easy task it is the most rewarding thing anyone can ask for. And LMP is a challenge at times but she also makes learning so fun! She is always so happy when that light bulb clicks on. I tell ya, it's a sight to see.

So now that I have the majority of the books needed for homeschooling my girls this year, I get to enjoy the last precious weeks of summer, watching my girls play, and smile, and laugh, and grow (in the midst of finishing up the lesson planning). What a wonderful life we lead.

Fancy

Little Miss Princess is quite the fancy girl. She loves all things beautiful; pretty dresses, painted nails or Jamberry wraps, and anything hair related. Today I was using my awesome Jamberry Ruby nail polish and she just had to have hers painted as well. So, LMP and her big sis both got their nails prettied up. This is just one in a long list of examples that shows how much she loves the pretty princess stuff. 

She's also the very first one on the mud and dirt. She's also usually the first one to freak out over something small. She's a dichotomy. Go figure. 😀

A Little Late

Oops...I am a little late getting this post out tonight. I made a commitment to post something about Little Miss Princess every day until her sixth bday...I think I'm getting off to a rough start. In my defense it has been a long day. Anyway...

This is from just a few days ago while camping at Trillium Lake. What a fun time we had. The water was chilly but the day was hot so the combo was perfect. LMP was a fish as usual. She loves the water just like her daddy. Too bad he wasn't able to be with us. I love how much alike they are and yet how totally individual this little gem of a girl is. I couldn't be more excited to see what she will one day become. But for now...I mean seriously...how adorable is this little lady?! I could just squeeze her!!! Oh wait...I do. And that makes me so lucky. 😀

Out with the Old

In with the...6!

So, wow. Does anyone else just feel like summer is flying by about as fast as a jet plane? I sure do. We have truly been making every moment count. It started with our family creating a summer bucket list and the littles have been having such a fun time trying to hit all the big things on the list. For instance, one of our items was going camping 3 times this summer. We just got back from our 2nd trip but this time it was just me, the girls, and our pooch. This was a little crazy and I couldn't have done it without my sister and her mom. But...I digress.

What exactly do I mean by "in with the 6"? Well...it's August 1st, y'all. That means it's the first day of the month my 2nd daughter was born! So, in honor of her I will be counting down the days with pics and/or stories of my darling daughter. Little Miss Princess is turning 6!!! What?!?!

And not to negate her upcoming birthday but her littlest sis will be turning 1!!!! Double What?!?!?!?! So partway through the month I'll be adding in a few little what-nots about her too since her big day is coming up early in September.

For our first little walk down memory lane I present to you, Little Miss Princess just a couple years ago. I can't believe how much she's grown since then...