What's for lunch?

Don't let that smile fool you! Meals usually aren't quite so cute!

She does loves her Puffs and anything that is from my plate:...but when it comes to the baby food...not a pretty picture!

So far the only baby food that I don't have to force her to eat is sweet potatoes! Haha!
Guess she's trying to teach me to share! :)

INSANITY!

Momma! Shaun T is calling your name!!!
After I had Callie, I waited my 6 weeks to get the "ok" from my doctor to resume working out. I then began to do Slim in 6 and "Boot Camp" at the SBTS gym. Then once it warmed up (and I got my beloved jogging stroller) I began walking and running until it got too unbearably hot out...then I slacked...gained a few pounds and needed a boost in the workout department.
Now my newest workout program is INSANITY!!!!!!!!!

I'm on day 7 of the program and have acquired a love-hate relationship with it...today I love it because it's an "off" day! Haha! :)
But really, working out this extreme has really changed alot in my day:
I am on more of a schedule because it requires me to be more productive during Callie's naps.
I have more energy, which is always good.
I am eating alot healthier with lean meats, and way more fresh fruit and veggies, etc.
If I'm brave enough, when it's all over...I'll post my results.

The Everything Bag

Hot off my sewing machine is Amy Butler's "The Everything Bag".This pattern was the most difficult thing I have sewn in my limited experience, but it was well worth the time and effort I put into it. This picture (although blurry) gives you an idea of how roomy it is with 2 pockets lining each inside panel:

Amy Butler pattern from her book "Little Stitches for Little Ones"

9 Months!

THE quilt

It's DONE! When I first started working on this quilt back in February, I had the help from some older ladies at our church who met every Tuesday afternoon to work on various crafts (sewing, knitting, crocheting)...but we stopped getting together once summer hit.I had only gotten so far as to cutting my squares and had just started sewing them together... so by the time it came to putting it all together, I was on my own...and I just kinda winged it. I supposed I could have asked one of the ladies the next step, but I was too impatient to finish...and it ended up being fine. Patchwork quilts aren't supposed to be perfect anyways, right? :)If I ever make another quilt like this again, I'm definitely going to need a Rotary cutter and one of those clear measuring boards thingys.

Little mittens...

...for little Callie hands.Used up the leftover yarn from this sweater.
Super easy (since they're thumbless) and knitted up in less than an hour.

Knitting is so much more fun now that there's a baby involved. I've begun to explore the world of patterns beyond the typical scarves and such. It's a bonus that baby items are so quick to make, since they're so small. :)

Pattern found here via Ravelry.

Cincy/Columbus trip

Our anniversary trip was a success! We had a great time exploring both Cincinnati (which we have visited several times previously) and Columbus, OH. Callie is (thankfully!) a really good traveler...otherwise we would probably not have been able to do as much as we did. I think she's used to it by now though with the number of times she's been to St. Louis, MO and back. Here's the breakdown:

Day 1: Drove from Louisville, KY to Cincinnati, OH. Checked into the hotel then had dinner at Brother's Bar & Grill. It was located right on the riverfront and we both had some great burgers. After that we walked around Newport on the Levee and across the pedestrian bridge called People Purple Bridge. The bridge was pretty neat and had a couple of bars set up on it with seating and live music. After that we went back to the hotel and took Callie for a swim in the pool.

Day 2: After breakfast and checkout we drove from Cincinnati, OH to Columbus, OH.
Went to IKEA!!! Later we had burgers (we love burgers!) at 5 Guys Burgers & Fries and walked around outdoor Easton Town Center. This place was pretty awesome...lots of shopping, food, drinks, movie theater, etc. Here's a picture to give you an idea of how nice this place was:Day 3: We had lunch at Z Pizza...Braden totally didn't want to eat here because all of the ingredients were "organic" and vegan/gluten free options...he thought "healthy" pizza would be gross...we tried it anyways and the verdict was two thumbs up! Next we took a walk and explored North High Street which had lots of restaurants and shopping and also Goodale Park:

Dinner at Northstar Cafe, and off to the hotel pool again! :)
Day 4: Drove from Columbus, OH to Louisville, KY.

The End. :)

Year #4

Celebrating 4 years!This year we're going low-key (Callie in tow) and spending the weekend in Cincinnati and Columbus Ohio. Nothing big, but we still wanted to get away for the weekend and celebrate.

From Great-Grandma:

"Don't blame me, I was born awesome!"

I just might be getting carried away with taking pictures to document just about anything! But can you blame me with having a new camera and a little model always on hand!? :)

Just finished:

Trying to get a head start on warm wear for the cooler months to come.

Pattern found here via Ravelry.

Thank you PW!

Thanks to Pioneer Woman, I made this lovely cake today:Strawberries, cream cheese icing, pure yummy-ness...well, I hope so...I'm being good and waiting 'til after dinner to cut into it! :)

Recipe here or here.

Camera Strap Cover

Last night I hung out with friends (and fellow bloggers) Beth and Alicia; each showed me sewing projects they have been working on lately. It made me want to get my sewing machine back out and finish up my quilt! That may take another trip to the fabric store for some batting, so I'll have to wait...BUT in the meantime I made this handy-dandy-super-cute camera strap cover to add on my new camera! :)

Tutorial found here via Design Sponge.

NEW CAMERA!

I finally broke down saved enough money to buy a DSLR camera! There are so many opinions and so much information out there that it took me a while to figure out which one would be best for me to buy. BUT thanks to the help of a wonderful friend, I made the purchase! I am (so far) very happy with my Canon Rebel XS. I have read through the manual and still have ALOT to learn, but I'm so glad I spent the money. Here is one of Callie that I just took this morning:

Quite a step up from the pictures I have been taking with my point-and-shoot camera, wouldn't you agree? :)

8 months!

Ty & Krystal's Wedding

July 10th, my brother (Ty) got married to his longtime girlfriend Krystal! The wedding was beautiful, the weather was gorgeous, and overall it was a great day! Here are a few pictures that I stole from my mom's camera:My sisters and brothers were all in the wedding party...and a good friend of ours made Callie's dress from the extra material from hemming Miranda's dress!Ty and Krystal had the biggest smiles on their faces all day long! I'm so happy for them to finally tie the knot! :)

Our little family all dressed up!

The reception was held at an outdoor park/gazebo and was so much FUN! We had the best BBQ ever, ultimate frisbee, washers, music/dancing, and CAKE!
Some of us made t-shrits that read "Game Over"! LOL!