Costuming...

This is what I did every Saturday we were home while Barry watched the girls/college football...

Calla is going to be an angel. Her costume is pretty simple- just a robe with elastic at the neck and wrists. I sewed some ribbon on the bottom, and that cord will tie under her chest. For as easy as her costume was, I also made the largest mistake on hers... long dresses curve up on the sides along the bottom. Makes perfect since once I stopped to think about it, but it was too late. Every dress I've made for Leslie was short, so it was straight across. So... Calla's dress has pointy sides. It's not horribly noticeable, and at the end of the day, it is just a Halloween costume. Next time I'll know! Since this photo was taken, I have added little wings on the back. They are super cute!

Here I am the next Saturday. Instead on watching Tech football, I sewed. (Probably why we sucked so big starting the season!) Leslie insisted on being "Ariel with fins." I was not excited about it because every Ariel I've seen looks dumb and tacky, but after asking some other sewers and looking on-line, I was confident I could make it into something cute. I couldn't find a pattern I liked however, so I free styled it using some of her clothes for sizing like I have before. Here I am pinning on the blue ruffles around the waist. I'm not sure what Leslie thought she was doing, but I am confidant that she honestly thought she was helping.

I love her so much! Sweet girl...

It was delayed for a while with the outbreak and all, but I finally finished it last Saturday. This is the best picture we could get out of her...

I still have to make bows for both girls and figure out shoes, but the bulk of the work is done! I'm super happy and proud with how well they both turned out! I love having little girls!

Together Pictures...

Here's some cute pictures of the girls together. Here they are after church in their matching dresses...



Calla LOVES Leslie's play house. I catch her in Leslie's room all the time by herself just chewing on the people and playing the sounds...


Both smiling together!!

On an evening walk with Daddy...

Random Leslie Pictures...

I came home the other night to find Barry playing with the girls in Leslie's room. I went to take a picture with Leslie and Barry said he had finally taught her how to smile properly (since she's been struggling with it the last year and a half!) So he kept telling her, "Smile like I taught you!" and somehow things must have been lost in translation, because this smile is all we got...




Barry tried taking a picture with Leslie the other night, but he made her mad because she was watching TV...


So, he decided to have some fun with the pictures anyways...

She was unfazed...

As long as he didn't make her miss "Super Why"...

Leslie's taking dance this fall and we finally got her to show us some of her moves. This is her doing toe taps...

And some big stomps...

They also learn ballet. She makes her "feet smile" then bends over and picks up a "biiiiiiiig puppy" and then lets it go...

I don't believe she's so big. I just want to hold her and squeeze her all day because before long, I know she won't let me.

Random Calla Pictures...

Here is just a bunch of random cute pictures of Calla we've taken over the past couple weeks...




This one is over exposed obviously, but you can really see how much lighter her eyes are than mine or Leslie's...


Play time with Daddy...

She loves standing at the window sills looking out...

She's a funny little girl... she never has been much of a paci sucker, but she really loves to chew on them. If she has one in, it's usually all cock-eyed like this with her teething on it...

Snuggling with Daddy on the floor...

She really likes standing at the window and taunting the puppies. She's sad they don't pay much attention to her any more. I have to call them over to the window for her now a days...

This was the first time she wore jeans. They looked so funny on her, I just had to take a picture...

Barry let her crawl around naked the other night before her bath. She was so happy!

She's so much fun these days. I just wish I could slow them down!

Stay tuned for random pictures of Leslie coming in the next blog...

September fest

Last weekend Leslie and I went to September fest. The whole family was supposed to go, but it was just too cold and windy for that baby, so Barry graciously offered to stay home with Calla so I could go play with Leslie! We spent way too much time in the jump house, but that's what made her happy...



The line to get her face painted was forever long! So, while I stood in line, I dropped her off at all the little crafts they had set up around the tent and told the girls helping her to take their time! Here is the mask she made...




She insisted on theme-ing everything mermaid... again...




She road the train...

And she had a ton of fun in the petting zoo! It's amazing how durable these little chicks are. She thought it was pretty cool that she got to hold several chicks and ducklings. Once they showed her how to hold them, she just picked up one after another forever! Leslie was really gentle with them, and you could tell how proud she was of herself! She would, however, still not touch the turtle.

Leslie's trip to the Big Apple...

When Grandmommy and PaPa heard that the Little Mermaid Broadway musical was closing, they had to rush Leslie up there to see it! Last week Leslie was at the farm picking and shelling peas and corn, and the next, she's in New York City taking all the bright lights and tourists stops! Here she is with Grandmommy by the Mermaid poster...





Here everyone is after their carriage ride through Central Park. Leslie told me her horse's name was "Ice Cream" and that she got to feed him a carrot.




They took her all around and got pictures everywhere, but since it rained most days, most of the pictures are at night, and so, they turned out pretty blurry. Here's a decent picture of her in Times Square...

They took her to the Magnolia Bakery a couple times. This cupcake made the entire trip worthwhile for her I'm sure...

Mom said Leslie would stand at these windows all day and night mesmerized by the lights and busyness of the big city below...

Here is Leslie after they went to the show. She calls it the Mermaid Concert. She also got a special Mermaid shell purse...

They said she got a little antsy, but over all did very well and enjoyed herself!

Of course they had to go to FAO Schwarz and let her play on the BIG piano. Mom said she was scared of it, but she pushed her out on to a little bit anyways...

Leslie had a great time and plumb wore herself out. This entire big bed to herself, and she sleeps curled up in one little corner, with her booty in the air like a little baby and her hair flopped over her face. Too cute...

I don't know if Leslie likes the country or the city more. She's seemed pretty amazed at both. I guess she'll be well-rounded if nothing else!

Thanks to Grandmommy and PaPa for taking Leslie on her adventure! Hopefully, this is just the first of many! And hopefully, Calla can be well enough for us all to come along on the next one!

Leslie's Decorated Room...

While Leslie was gone to New York, we jumped on the chance to finally decorate her room. It's had plains walls for much to long. I could never decide what I wanted to do, but nothing makes decisions for me like a deadline!

I hand painted a verse and flowers all around the top as a border. It probably could have looked better, but it took me all weekend and 3 coats of paint to get it to this point. I just decided we were going for that rustic garden look anyways and left well enough alone...







It turned out really well overall. Here's the far wall when you walk into her room. The left side is meant to be her dress-up corner with her chest full of all her dress-up clothes. And, the right side, once finished, is going to be a ribbon memo board for hanging all her art projects and stuff on. It's meant to look like a garden lattice, we'll see if that comes across once it's done. All of Midland ran out of ribbon to finish it, but I finally got some more yesterday, so hopefully, it will be finished soon. Barry and I were very proud of ourselves for making one on this scale. We'll see how well it works when it's all said and done...







I printed out the verse to scale I wanted to paint and taped it on the wall to help with my spacing, and then, I just painted it above and hoped for the best. Some letters are funky looking, but once again- it works for the rustic garden look I was going for:) I wanted something nature-y for the verse, so we chose Dt 32:2, "Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants." I'm not thrilled with what's over her bed, but it at least gets something there until I can find something better.






Here's another wall. It's really unfinished too, but it gives me something to work toward...






Here's the other half of the verse and what we finally got hung over her dresser...

I was so pleased that we finally got some decorations up in her room and made her residence feel a bit more permanent! I've been pregnant or dealing with a fussy newborn since we moved into this new house. Hopefully, this home improvement will be a catalyst for the long list of other decorating projects I have in mind. Stay tuned for more on- The Brauchi Experience:Home Edition...