With or Without Buttons

So I made a couple wall hangings for the babys room. My Mom had a few boxes of vintage buttons and I can't decide to go with buttons or without. Some of the buttons are so beautiful and mother-of-pearl. What do you think? I am just thrilled to pieces that I painted something on a canvas and it doesn't look horrible. Crafty I am, but arty I've never been.

What's in a Name?

I am moving ever closer to having this baby and we still have not settled on a name for her. Wayne, I think, would make this process simple if it were just up to him so the problem is really just me. The girls throw their 2 cents in every once and a while but we long ago told them that while they could offer suggestions, Mommy and Daddy actually got to choose. I'm not sure what my hang up is. I have 3 that I'm considering(until I find that other one I haven't found yet that could be just perfect!). So while I scour lists and lists of names, Wayne says, "We don't need any MORE names, just pick from the ones we have!" Everyone says that maybe I just need to see her. But I am scared to death that she will be "Baby Kelly" because it actually won't help and I still won't be able to decide. Maybe every day we're up at the hospital we can call her a different name until one sticks. This is very similar to the method we used to decide Possums name, and in the end, we couldn't decide on any and left his name Possum. So that method seems to have some flaws.

I hope I can settle this soon because truly I don't think I have long left. The contractions are getting stronger and I feel mentally done with the pregnant state. I finally packed a bag last week after I had a bunch of contractions and couldn't tell whether it was the real thing or not. Realizing how unprepared I was did kinda kick my butt in gear and most things are washed and ready to go. Wayne has me a bit paranoid this time around because I went so fast with Willa. He keeps saying he doesn't want to deliver this one. I remind him that the Barnard Fire Dept. is right around the corner and could walk here and get here in time. Plus, as long as the head comes out first, all he has to do is catch the baby. I'm doing the rest!

The best thing about labor is that your not pregnant at the end!

A Pair of Preggos

A fun note to this pregnancy was when at six weeks, I was talking with one of my oldest and best friends, Kerrianne, and she said, "Guess what? I'm six weeks pregnant!" To which I said, "Guess what? So am I!" We are one day apart on the due date calendar but as most of you know, I tend to go 2 weeks early(please, oh please, let me go 2 weeks early!) Here we are together, belly to belly. It's been great having a companion in this process(besides Wayne, who really has put up with so much whine. What a dear man!) But there's nothing like having another woman to compare aches and pains with.

Mobile Fun

So I have this mobile that you attach to a crib and it has black and white and red and all those primary colors which completely clash with the babys room. The thing is, even when I registered for it back with Denver, I never really cared for it. And I think I would get bored looking at it so I made my own. It isn't as cool as the Pottery Barn one with millions of butterflies but this is a little kinetic one and I had a good time making it and only wish I could find more practical uses for kinetic mobiles so I could make another one. The pink and brown are little paper stars I learned how to fold. I had wanted t do some origami cranes but my cranes came out looking anorexic so I thought it would be better to stick with stars. And because I couldn't resist a little sparkle, there are some Svwarski crystals in there too.

Parental Pride

So I must take a moment to brag about my little academic Kindergartner. For Valentines Day she insisted on making all of her Valentines by hand and then, since Aunt Tia and Uncle Kurt are coming over to watch them for Valentines Day(Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Tia and Kurty!) she made them a little Valentines book. Complete with a plot and everything. SO I scanned the pages in so I could post how freakin cute it is. I will also put the correct spelling nearby so that no one gets too lost.
"The Aliens and Valentines Day"















"To Aunt Tia and Uncle Kurt From the Kellys"
















"It was Valentines Day. The children in Mrs. Valentine's class was making Valentines."






















"The aliens came"























"The aliens came and Stole all of the Valentines"



























"Then 1 day they found out that their Valentines were missing"




"While the aliens were in the school the children were getting their Valentines"



































"And they lived happily ever after. The End"





I was quite impressed with this little effort of storytelling on her part. So forgive me if I spend a few moments basking in some parental pride.

So in my attempt to try to enjoy winter, not just endure it, I bundled up the girls telling myself that 8 months pregnant was no excuse to not get them outside. We have a field across the street from us and off we ladies went with Possum to try and get him some exercise too. The girls loved climbing the snowbanks and Possum had plenty of room to run off-leash. However,we found out that the snow was actually quite deep and that Willa is still a little small in deep snow to be able to maneuver well in snow pants. So shortly after this lovely picture was taken, Willa realized she lost a glove and fell over while looking for it. After which started crying because the snow was too deep and she couldn't really move. Me being more from the tough love school of thought let her struggle for a bit before I realized that she really couldn't get herself up and by the time I got over to her I had fallen a few times in thigh high snow banks and the dog was now darting playful circles around Willa causing snow to fly on her face which made her cry harder. I scooped her up when I finally got there, now having snow down my boots and soaking through my jeans and she starts crying about her boot which is in Possums mouth like this has become some kind of new family game. At this point I am a giant contraction and wondering why I told Wayne I didn't need him to come along. We struggled out of the snow bank and managed the short walk, with both found mittens, back to the house. Maybe 8 months pregnant is an excuse.






Denver has really progressed in her reading skills!

Just kidding. The girls both love to snatch our books and "read" them though Willa says our books are silly because there are too many words and no pictures! I'll have to pass that along to Mr. Grisham.