Blanket Day

Although I did not actually leave the house today, that's not to say that I didn't do anything. I'm really anxious to get my quilt done so I can sleep with it again. So I spent most of the afternoon tying it. When I was done I figured I might as well tie this other blanket I was working on while I had every thing out. So I did and then I put on the ready-made binding that I had for it. Now I have an adorable blanket that I love! This is the front.

This is the back.

Once I was done with that I decided to start on the binding for my quilt. I have it all sewn on I just have to do the back of the binding now. Then I'll have my blankie back!!
As always I had the most adorable helper. She was actually a lot more trouble than help, but she was so cute doing it, how could I be mad?
While I was working on the binding Joli got out her basket and put all my fabrics in it for me. The only problem was figuring out where she put the basket when I needed it.
She also figured out that there are trees outside our windows. She was very excited about this.

It was an exhausting but nice day.

New Album

I decided I would make an album for my cousin Cassaundra. I have a ton of pictures of Joli and Kieya playing together, and a ton of pictures of Cassaundra and Chris' wedding, so I figured why not put them in an album and send it to them. So I ordered the pictures and then decorated an album for them. I think it turned out pretty good, just keep in mind there's going to be a picture on it once I get it.


I did purple and white this time because those were the colors of their wedding. I hope they like it. I also put their wedding invitation on the inside cover, and a little something extra on the back cover. I didn't put up a picture of the inside cover though, because it has all their personal information.

Good To Be Home!!!

It's so nice to be home and to be able to sit on my couch! Too bad I didn't get to do that today! We had a bunch of errands to run and were gone through the morning and partly the afternoon. It was also raining here, which I would normally not mind except that we were driving around town and sitting in the car a lot. But we tried to make the best of it, and we started by putting a cute little hat on Joli that I thought would help with the rain. Then of course we had to take pictures!!
She was hanging out by the gate because she and I were ready to go we were just waiting for her father. Apparently Romeo thought he was going too.
We got bored with waiting and actually did sit down for a few minutes. Joli loved her hat.
She decided to read a book while she waited. I think she has been very excited to be able to play with all her toys again.

Then Joe was finally ready, and right as I snapped another picture he said "Let's go, baby girl!"
We finally got back from running around, got all the groceries put away, and then I decided that I would feel much better if I picked up the house a little. Then I got into a cleaning frenzy, and now it's spotless. I did take a moment to play with my baby though.
While in my cleaning frenzy, I put up a baby gate that blocked Joli in the living room with Joe so I could mop and vacuum the other floors. She didn't really seem to mind though.

It was a busy day but I'm still very relaxed!!

No More Vacation

We have a few more pictures of our lovely vacation, but we are finally home!!! This is of the little girls playing an organ together. They had such a great time with their little duet.

But being a master composer is exhausting, and sometimes you just need to lay down for a while.
On our way home I decided to stop at Staples because I saw they had a really good digital camera on sale for only $99!! Since I was still in Oregon that also meant no tax!! So now I have way better pictures!! Here's Joli and I in the car after we left Staples.
One of the best things Joli has for car rides is the DVD player my mom got for us for Christmas. I put on the Doodlebops and she's great for hours, or until she falls asleep.

The summer before last, Joe and I were very upset when we found out that Callahan's Lodge, where we had got married, had burned down. When we drove through last summer I stopped to take some pictures of what remained and what they were working on. It was very sad.

But I was completely stoked when I drove through this trip to see how much progress they have made!! It's so exciting!! Maybe by this summer we'll be able to stop and have lunch!!! (Joe and I are going to stay a few nights for our 5th anniversary, but that's not until next year.)

Joli has also enjoyed the new camera. Amazingly I have been taking more pictures than normal! I told Joli to say hi, but a wave is good enough.

Another great surprise we had when we got home was that Joe was only a few hours away! We hadn't expected him until tomorrow so Joli and I were both over the moon when we got to pick him up. Joli smiled and laughed the whole way home, and made sure to tell me "Dada" several times!

We love to see everyone, but we're so happy to be in our own house and to get sleep in our beds. (Joli's back in the crib!) We'll miss everyone but it's going to be so nice to stay home for a while!

To Share or Not to Share?

Joli has had quite a week getting to know all of her cousins. She has had a great time when she is the only one and can have all of the attention on her. For example, in the grocery store. Never too early for a little practice.
However, many of my cousins had babies around the same time I did. So there is a small crop of children up here that are within a few months of Joli. Now being an only child, she has not had a lot of experience in the world of sharing. If she wants a toy that I have, most of the time it's hers and I'm not going to tell her no. But if she wants something that is mine, she usually doesn't get it (unless it's food). So this leaves me wondering how much guidance is really necessary at her age.
Having worked with children from 6 weeks old to 5 years old, I have learned to be close by and help them learn as much as you can, but be aware that you cannot always be there. The idea being that if I help her to see that it is not okay to take a toy away from someone that is playing with it, she needs to wait until they are done, eventually she will understand this and I won't have to tell her. (Believe me, I am under no pre-illusions that this will happen anytime in the next five years.)

However, while she was playing with her cousin yesterday, I was doing my best not to hover but still being close by in case there was any snatching going on, my grandmother informs me that I should just leave them alone and let them sort it out. Now this is a great plan, but working with mostly children of this age, it does not take very long to learn that their way of sorting it out involves beating each other over the head with the toy and/or practicing using those new teeth they've just acquired. Now we're at a point where letting them sort it out is no longer an option, and we've moved on to lessons in why it's not okay to take a bite out of another person. So while I am all for giving my child a chance to make the right the decision, I just don't think I should be saying, "Go for it sweety, I'm sure I have taught you enough in this past year that you should know what's right and wrong without my help".

What my grandma also doesn't take into consideration, is this is not the first or only child that Joli plays with. If it were just the two of them it would be a little easier to let them figure each other out, and learn to either stand up for themselves or to play with something else. But seeing as they will play together one more time, and then will not see each other for another year or so, why not use this time to give my child some guidance.

It is also not as though this is the first time it has happened either. Joli started this toy snatching thing at Christmas when she was taking her cousin's doll. Since her cousin has the most high pitched scream on the entire west coast, I feared the sanity among the household could not withstand what would happen if I let the doll snatching be ignored. Then she started doing it again a few days ago with her cousin Joseph. They seemed to do okay in the working it out department, so I didn't play too much of a roll. But then when she started taking toys from her 3-month-old cousin, I decided it was time to step in.

So where do we draw the line between work it out, and stepping in? If I'm always there to stop her in her tracks then she will will never learn what's okay and what's not, but if I just let it go then I might as well invest in some ice packs! I know there's a fine line, and as much as I don't want to be the crazy mom who hovers and helps her child wipe her butt until junior high, I also don't want to be the mom that picks up her child from junior high because she got in a fight over someone else's I-Pod.

Some people might think that sounds a little extreme, but when exactly is a child old enough for a parent to say "That's not okay"? Do we just let them work it out until they're six-years-old and think they need to bring a gun to their first grade class because someone took their slinky? Then every one's in an uproar and want to lock up the parents, but when the child was three and wanted the other kid's bike it was "Oh, they'll work it out". We no longer live in a world where working it out comes down to a couple pops on the nose. Isn't it important to teach our children what's right and wrong, if only for their own safety? Yes, I know she's just a baby, but if she can understand enough to convey to me whether she wants juice or milk, she can understand when I say "Find another toy, please". It may be a little harder to sink in, but it's a lesson we've all had to learn.

So here's Joli and Keiya playing nice. They both started out with a cookie but Keiya didn't want hers anymore, and Joli's not one to let any food go to waste, so now she has two.

Here they are discussing another cool toy.

They did really well with sharing cups. Joli was tired of me trying to get her to drink milk and Keiya had juice, so they decided to switch later on.

No more milk, juice please!

Family Fun!

Well we've had a lot of fun past couple days visiting with family, and Joli's got to play with all her little cousins. One of the things we've been doing is going into my Aunt Karen's hot tub about once a day. It was impossible to find a baby bathing suit in January, so I settled on a package of onesies. Once I had Joli ready she decided that the outfit would be more complete with her ducky slippers and sunglasses, which she has just about figured out how to put on.
Another thing Joli has discovered is that I lot of people have rocking chairs in her size. So after some practice she has figured out how to rock, and loves it!!!
Joli hasn't really had a chance to play with too many kids her age but she sure did have a good time. Joseph is only a few months older than her.

This is Joli with Joseph and Eli, who are both the sons of my cousin Leslie.
They're starting to get the hang of sharing. Can't expect too much though.

This is my cousin Shane's baby. He's only about three months, but about as sweet as can be. I felt so bad last night when Joli was checking him out while he was laying on the floor, and accidentally dropped a toy on his head! Every one was very understanding, but I still felt horrible. At least while he was crying, Joli was saying "Baby, baby?". She was as concerned as the rest of us.
Eli is a very good older brother, and was nice enough to read some books to Joli. I think they both enjoyed it.
Today was a bright new day and we attempted to play outside until we got too cold. Joli had fun though.

Later in the afternoon Leslie brought the boys back over and Joli and Joseph fed each other cheez-its.

We're having a good time, and still have a few more days of visiting!!

Busy Trip

Well we started off on our trip on Tuesday. We drove nine hours up to my friend Jessica's , and stayed the night with her. Joli enjoyed watching her fire.
Then we set off again the next day, and drove nine hours more, to where my family lives in Oregon. We finally arrived exhausted and excited to be here.

We spent the first day just laying around my Aunt Karen's house. After such a long trip we didn't feel like running around and visiting people. So after running over to Wal-Mart to get a bathing suit for the hot tub, we just relaxed. Joli enjoyed following around their cat and saying "Hi" every time it would come close to her.
Another thing we got while we were at Wal-Mart was pj's for Joli. She has a whole bunch in the size clothes that she wears, but for some reason the feety-pj's in that size are so long that they drag and then she slips on Aunt Karen's hardwood floors. So we got her one's that are a size smaller. They fit still but just barely. I think they'll last at least until we go home. I'm still puzzled as to why there is such a vast difference in the two sizes.
Yesterday was my cousin's wedding. It was so much fun. They had it in a little enclosed gazebo in the woods. There was a nice big fire place in the front that kept the room pretty cozy, and was the perfect backdrop for their vows. We all had a really good time, especially Joli and my cousin's daughter, who ran around the room like a tiny Speedy Gonzalez.

They didn't really play together too much, but I think that mostly because Joli spent most of her time over by the food. I'm pretty sure she ate more than every one there!
After the reception was over we headed over to my dad's house to hang out and relax. Joli played with toys and enjoyed herself. This was the little outfit she wore to the wedding.
Once we were there for a little while I got her clothes changed and she was able to practice riding the horse they had.

She also loved it when my dad pushed her around the house in the wagon for all the Mega Blocks.
After such a busy day we were both exhausted.