Tiny Dancer

So, Finley may "Move Like Jagger" but she isn't the only dancer in the family!!!

Crafting

     As most of you know, I am between jobs right now and enjoying my time with Carlie.  While Carlie is attempting to walk and Chad is busy working, I have been spending some time doing what I love CRAFTS!!!

     We will start with the cute little red heart.  Each year for Christmas we get Hallmark Ornaments.  Due to the fact that we are very low on money, we had to choose wisely.  I opted to make Carlie's ornament out of Fimo Dough (we also couldn't find one that we loved).  Fimo Dough is a harder version of Play Dough that you can cook to harden it.  I wanted to make something to commemorate her battle this year.  

     I have been searching the for the best diaper bag/purse that is a downsized version of what I already have.  I borrowed from Mel and I looked everywhere!  Finally we were at Cabela's in Springfield for the first time and I found a cute camo tote bag that was perfect!!!  The only problem was that I didn't have a changing pad to take with me.  I could have used the one that adjoined my previous bag but it was too padded that I couldn't fold it up small enough to fit in my new tote bag just fine.  So instead of continuing my search I decided that making a changing pad would be the best route.  Then came google searches to see the best route to make it. I found a tutorial on how to make a changing pad and a carrier for the pad, wipes and few diapers that I fell in love with.  At JoAnn Fabrics, there is some PUL fabric that is specifically meant for homemade cloth diapers, changing pads, bibs and more items for wipe down or soaking purposes.  So I found a cute fabric and picked out some PUL fabric to match.  For those interested in how I made it, I will add my own tutorial soon.

  

      Lastly, I have been looking for a backpack for Carlie to carry some toys in. Usually I use her daycare bag but I always have to dump it out and reload it each time.  Chad has been helping me look for just the right one for her but I have been struggling.  Well, I discovered recently that Goodwill and St. Vinnie's have patterns for really cheap.  I found a pattern for pj pants, a shirt, and a matching bag for a teenager.  A sleepover set.  I really liked the bag so I bought the pattern for a whopping 29 cents.  Then Carlie and I ventured to our favorite store, JoAnn Fabrics in search of the perfect fabric.  Well Carlie didn't like anything accept for the really expensive Corduroy with Dora on it.  We were all ready to settle on a floral one when I spotted another really cute Dora fabric and lucked out that it was a whole lot cheaper!!!

     These are my most recent crafts that I wanted to share.  I have a long list of more I plan on doing.  Thank you Melissa for introducing me to Pinterest where I have found many more Crafts to work on.  My lists consist of Growth charts, button magnets, felt food, quiet books, and more.  I will try and post these as I go in case you are looking for some Christmas ideas of your own.

Carlie "Crawling"

This is Carlie's last week being 9 months old and I thought I would update everyone on all the amazing things this girl has been up to lately.

She has perfected sitting up!  She doesn't look wobbly anymore and when she "falls down" it's because she purposely is choosing to lay down.

She is working on her 8th tooth!  It is going to break the surface any day now!

She can now go from laying down to sitting up on her own! I haven't been able to capture that on video yet but when I do I will show you.

We have been working really hard at getting her to hold her own bottle. Just when we think she's figured it out, she drops the bottle. She just has better things to do with her hands while she is eating. Well I finally decided to just hand her the bottle and figure it out herself. We captured it on the camera doing what she does best: being a couch potato while watching Dora!!



We took her to the beach for the first time! She really enjoyed the feel of the sand. She also got to visit the Hatfield Marine Science Center where she saw and touched sea creatures and other rocks. She also got a book, A Good Catch, signed by the author, Taylor Morrison! Here are a few pictures of our weekend in Newport, OR:

Carlie looking at an octopus.Carlie having a blast feeling some petrified wood.Carlie and Dada in front of a submarine.Carlie sitting in the sand. The pacifier didn't stay in long, she had to make room for sand.

Carlie has decided that she wants to start crawling. She has not perfected the art of army crawling, because she gets too frustrated and just decides to roll. She has figured out how to maneuver her way around the living room through rolling. I have a video of Carlie "crawling" around the room. Notice a few times she attempts to get into the correct crawling position but gives up. It is a 4 minute video but well worth watching. Enjoy!!

Big girl Carlie!!!

Carlie finally took a big girl bath! (that's what I am calling it) She sat up in the bathtub all by herself. Of course I couldn't let go of her for 1 second because I was too nervous that she would fall back. She did so wonderfully! Plus she enjoyed playing with her toys. Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment:

Looking at the toy in anticipation!

I am back!!!

Sorry it has been so long since I blogged; even though I didn't blog much before. I will try to post more often since I have more to talk about with a munchkin in the house now! I will start with a few pictures of my baby girl Carlie Alexis.

Carlie was born on September 7, 2010. She is a very happy baby who smiles a lot! She has rolled over a few times, plays peek-a-boo (mostly with Chad), and loves to watch our cats. Chad and I are so happy to have her in our lives, we couldn't imagine life without her!

Vacation?!?

I took this last week off for a "vacation" filled with surgeons, flowers, sleep tests and lots of movies. It wasn't the most desirable time off but very needed.

We started Monday with a trip to the hospital to get my gall bladder removed. I have been dealing with some odd stomach problems for a while and after a few tests, they found a gallstone lodged in the opening of my gall bladder. Everything went very well despite my nervousness. We got to the hospital at 8am, I went in for my procedure at 10am and we finally left at 2:30. They wouldn't let me leave until I could keep down food or water. I was doing really good until the nurse handed me my discharge papers to sign and I got dizzy and nauseous. But I still managed to get home and climb in bed. I spent the rest of the week in bed watching a variety of movies such as; PS I Love You, Made of Honor, Fools Rush In, Oceans Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen, I Robot, Enchanted, Wedding Planner, Bourne Identity, Supremacy, and Ultimatum and I think a few more.

I told Chad that these scars couldn't have come at a better time: Bikini Season! Ugh!

On Tuesday I got surprised when the florist stopped by with not one but two bouquets for me. My mom surprised me with yellow tulips and my sister got me yellow and pink (looked more like light purple) flowers. They were beautiful!!! On Wednesday, the florist came back with another basket from my co-workers. I felt very loved!!

Thursday night I had to spend alone. Chad got to spend the night at the hospital for a sleep test. He was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea and now has to sleep with a CPap machine. This is great for both Chad and I. I don't have to deal with his horrendous snoring and he will get some actual sleep at nights. For those that don't know what Sleep Apnea is: While sleeping some people have a difficult time getting enough oxygen in because the throat closed up, which also causes snoring. I have witnessed Chad quit breathing while he is sleeping and it is very scary. What happens when the body quits breathing is, it wakes itself up to start breathing again making it very difficult to reach REM. So Chad has not had a good night of sleep in a very long time. The CPap constantly pushes air in so the body never has to wake itself up, therefore getting better quality sleep. It also reduces the snoring!

And that was our vacation...

You asked for me to blog so here it is!

For those of you who haven't heard from me in a while, here is a quick recap of my life so far:

I went to beauty school and got me cosmetology license. Then I met Chad...

We decided to move in together at the same time that Chad was moving to Albany, OR to finish school at OSU. So we moved to Albany. Had several different jobs and finally decided to get married. On July 21, 2007 we said our vows...

We purchased our first home and on January 12, 2008 (my birthday) we moved in...

Then on May 1, 2008 we got to say hello to our first nephew, Keller Davlin Matthews...

Presently Chad has been a Real Estate agent for 2 1/2 years. He is working with Re/Max. I have been with Linn-Benton Housing Authority for over a year helping low income familys get housing. We love what we do but with the market the way it is, we are trying to help Chad find a job to bring in some extra finances. Other than that we spend our days with our baby Denali...

and when we have the chance we see our families.