iPod and earplugs

Søren and I are leaving for the midwest/east coast this morning. Yes, you noticed right, I am doing this flight by myself with a 15 month old. I am as prepared for the 4 hour flight as I can be. You can see by the picture that Søren is set with lots of cartoons and Sesame Street episodes on my iPod. I can't thank Heidi enough for the earplugs she gave me to pass out to passengers in case Søren has a meltdown. As scared as I am for this flight, I am very excited for what's on the other side. Family!!! Sam will join us in Connecticut on Saturday for my grandma's 90th birthday!

Pray for me. :)

Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam turns 26 today!! We started the festivities Sunday night with a BBQ at our place. I love having all of our friends together under our roof. What a blessing. So far today he's had breakfast in bed...scratch that...breakfast in Soren's room and a quick coffee date to Forza. Sam is going to play golf with his dad and brother, then they'll meet up with his mom and I for dinner. I love celebrating birthdays and get such a joy from watching people open gifts. The birthday banner is up (thank you Susan)! I love you Sam, I hope you have such a great day.

Back Deck Makeover: Part One

Our back deck has needed a serious facelift. From the dog-chewed door frame to plants that were barely surviving, it needed some help. Sam and his cousin, Rob, took care of the back door a few weeks ago. With a few more finishing touches to be done, it looks a hundred times better already. I finally got a planter box, with daisies and lilies, cleaned up my strawberry pot and replanted some herbs. Even though we hardly get any sun back there, I'm holding on to hope that my plants will survive and the herbs will grow.

I found a great little bistro table, but the cushions that came with the chairs were white (see picture above of before and after). The makers of the cushions obviously do not live in rainy Washington or have a one year old! :) But with my new found love for sewing, I decided to recover the cushions. I still have two more cushions from our old furniture that needed a makeover as well. I am in the process of covering those (hence the title, part one. There will be a part two, i'm sure).

Even though I hope to finish all of this a week before we leave for a month, I can't wait to get back and spend lots of time on our back deck reading, playing with Søren, BBQing (ok, Sam will probably be doing that) and sitting by the fire pit.

"nana"

I never thought I would be one of those moms that when asked how old her child was would answer in months past the age of one. I have found myself doing just that. I guess it's because each month really is different. Today Søren turned 15 months, so here is a video from yesterday morning at breakfast. I think it's funny and the end is pretty silly. He has his 15 month appointment on Friday, so I'll update again with his stats.

(I think the sound track may be off just a little bit)

Dress to Shirt

I bought this dress a few months at the Banana Republic outlet. When I went to wear it a few days ago, I had the all too familiar thought, what was I thinking when I bought this? Then I remembered, I had never tried it on. It was a little too short for comfort. I loved it so much, but I didn't want to not wear it. So, I turned it into a shirt. Pretty simple. I now see shopping and my closet in a new way!

Creative Play

These last few weeks I have found myself needing to be more creative with entertaining Søren. He does a pretty good job, for the most part, in entertaining himself with either boxes, tupperware or his new fascination, rocks! But he is wanting me to be more involved. How on earth do I play with a rock or a paintbrush, especially with a child that doesn't talk? So, I broke out the Play-Doh. With a few attempts to eat it and throwing it on the floor a few times, he finally got the hang of it. (putting the pacifier in his mouth stopped the urge to eat it.) I was fascinated by Søren's observation with this activity. If I would flatten the doh, he would try to flatten it. If I would roll it in a ball, he would try to roll it in the ball. I guess I have underestimated one year olds. So, I wanted to ask, what activities seem to work or you enjoy doing/creating with any 1ish year olds you have or know?