Saturday, January 14th, 2012
Thursday, January 5th, 2012
Brody's birthday party is coming up soon, and Tara decided on Sock Monkies as the theme. I personally LOVE Sock Monkies! I also knew that I already had some fun ideas bookmarked on My Pinterest board. I immediately told Tara that Fun Aunt Lori would happily make the kids some fun, new Monkey party outfits.

I bought the supplies and took them up to my project partner (Grandma Reber), and we got to work. I'm happy to say that I know three little monkies who are now ready for a party!


I made Brody a cute, little onsie with a monkey and a number one.



I used fabric and fusible wonder-under to applique them to the shirt. Each one is hand stitched with lots of Fun Aunt Lori love.



The girls each get special shirts for the party too. I originally saw the idea on the blog of one of my photographer friends: .

Just in case anyone wants to make their own, here are the basic steps:

1. Buy the shirts and socks. The socks can be ordered online, or I picked mine up at Crafts 2000.

2. For the monkey, we cut about two inches above and below the heel of the sock - this will be used for the face. The top part of the sock will be used for the sleeve. The toe of the sock can be used to cut out parts for the ears.

4.) We cut out pieces for the ears. Put the right sides together and sewed around the outside edge, leaving the bottom open. We then turned them inside out.

4.) We pinned the face on the shirt and sewed around the outside edge, with the ears pinned in on the sides. We then sewed around the mouth to tack it down.

5.) I hand stitched across the mouth and then added the button eyes.



Here's a better look at the sleeve. We turned the shirt inside out, and just sewed the sock to the hem of the sleeve.



I can't wait to see the kids in them! They are going to be so cute :)

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012
When I walked the front stairs this morning, I saw this beautiful sunrise out the window. The sun was coming up from behind the trees and it made this gorgeous pink color, where all the sky around it was a bright blue.


Saturday, December 31st, 2011
This year we decided to have a little New Year's Eve party at our house, and invited a few of our favorite couples to ring in the new year with us.

We had sooo much food it was ridiculous. Seriously, I think everyone brought enough food that it would have fed everyone there - times that by 5 couples, and you can imagine the kind of spread that we had.

We had fun hanging out, talking, and even managed to fit in a few games of Ultimate Werewolf.

I was also pretty pumped when everyone was on-board with me setting the timer and getting some group shots for the evening.


Here's one of each happy couple.



And then just for fun, we took some silly group shots.





And finally one of the guys.



As of this point, we decided at least 7 of the 8 people will be invited back next year. We're still deciding on the other one ( wink, wink).

Thanks for a great night gang! We can't imagine celebrating the new year any other way. And just in case there was any question, Scott is just a middle of the road kind of guy, and nothing special ever happens to him.

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
Today Brody turns one, and his mama sent me this photo on her phone. Every day that he has been in our lives has an absolute blessing, and I know he has brought more joy to his family than any one little guy possibly can.

He is my only nephew. He likes to suck on his index and middle fingers. He is a very mellow baby, and is pretty much happy all the time. When he is tired, he will let you know it. He is a Mama's Boy through and through. His big sisters are very protective of him, which typically means he's not allowed to play with anything. The boy will make drums out of anything that he can hit together to make noise. His happy little smile and big brown eyes can light up a room. He is one very lucky little boy, and is loved more than he will ever know.

Happy Birthday Sweet Brody Boy!!!