And The Winner Is...

And the winner is....


LauRA! {Which may be a little unfair since she sees sweet-pea on a regular basis & most of you don't}. However, Laura did come up with the correct answer, so I will honor her & give her a prize of a $5 Starbucks card for her answer.

BUT....I'd like to offer you another contest & chance to win. And this time - I will make sure that no unfair/unforeseen advantages will be in the works.

Ready to play again??

What's that? First you'd like to know what 'Peeko' means? Oh ,ok - it means Make-up. Ha ha ha. That's right folks - of course it does. I'll be back later this week with pictures of Eloise & her peeko.

And...I'll be back later this week with another contest for you. Make sure to sit by your computers, holding your breath & waiting for my blog posts to pop up! :)

xoxo

Wait!!

Wait!! I'm not done yet. Andrea F. - this is especially for you {however, if you're reading this} you should definitely click on this link.

Portlandia: Put A Bird On It

I know I just shared a video, but I have to share this one with you asap. Tim emailed this to me yesterday claiming that 'this is how he feels'....Ha ha ha ha!! I *may* have a few birds & bird houses in our living room.

Enjoy!

Sesame Street: Celebrity Lullabies

This is my new world now. Eloise LOVES Elmo. This happens to be my current favorite. :)

Would You Like To Play My Little Game?

Would you like to play my little game? You would!?!? Oh GOOD!!

My little lovebird is full of chattering these days. Are we surprised? No. Does she come by it honestly? Absolutely.

So...I thought we'd play a little game called 'What Does Eloise Mean?'. Here's how the game works. I will give you a couple of examples of things she says on a daily basis & their definitions. The last word I give you will not have a translation - you have to come up with it. The first commenter with the correct answer to the translation wins!! What do you win??! Ohhhh, it will be a good prize. Really good. You'll see.

Ready? Here we go!

Example #1. Gow - Translation: Water

Example #2. Sissy - Translation: Kissie {pacifier}

Example #3. Feinyays - Translation: Raisins

Okay - now it's your turn. The word is Peeko. What does it mean?
Good luck!



{Translation games are based on chance & should not be used for investment purposes.}

Valentine's Decor

I am always sad when it's time to take down the Christmas decorations. So...a few years ago, I instituted the rule that as Christmas comes down - Valentine's must go up. Something has to keep this house looking cheery through the January blues, right? Right.

I've had a lot of fun this year decorating upstairs AND downstairs for February. I made several new items & of course, had to purchase a *couple* of new things to fit in here & there too. :)

One of my new pretties is this picture below. I made one for up here & a smaller one {4x6} XOXO for downstairs - love them.

Several years ago, Miss Erin made me this adorable candle & I look forward to putting it out each year. This year it has center stage in the kitchen. I give you - the love tray.

And this little gem I'm the most excited about. I used my new scallop punch {that's what I wanted to tell you earlier today Erin - I got one too!!} to punch out lots & lots & lots of 'flooours' {as E calls them}. Then I used my beloved Cricut to cut out hearts. Now this is where it gets fancy...I went to the sewing machine {are you proud yet Andrea?} and stitched them together with that & the help of my husband {he kept the line coming straight out as I was feeding into the machine}. Lots of work for this little piece of happiness, but happy it makes me indeed. It now lives above our kitchen window.

Closer view:

I am already in process of making more of these. I don't think I've had enough yet. I'm not sure that Tim will like it if I drape the entire house in garland...but it's worth a try - right? :)

Long Overdue

What's that? I owe you a blog update? Oh that's right - I DO have a blog. Whew! Life gets busy when you let it, doesn't it?
Well, I promised you some pictures of Lil' Miss' new hair, so here they are.

Last week, she & her Daddy shared a smoothie - it was precious {and apparently delicious too}.

Here's a closeup. Notice the adorable barrette? Yeah, Auntie Kim gave that to her for Christmas - we love it!

And just a switch in gears - here is a look at my stairwell {for now}. I love that I have room for a collage wall. This will be added to periodically & pictures will be updated in existing frames. I heart this new space.

And because I just can't get enough of her, here's another shot of my little cutie-patootie. She is so much fun right now. Although, I guess I should be honest & let you know that not everything is sunshine & rainbows around here {at least not ALL of the time :) }. She has a habit of saying to her Mama 'NOOO! DOP!' {Translation: NOOO! STOP}. Yeah...that doesn't go over well. At least she keeps me on my toes. :)

I will try to get back later this week to share some of my Valentine decorations. That's right - Valentine's decor is up in our house. Some of it is newly handmade too! Ooohhh la, la.

First Haircut

This week, Eloise received her first haircut. It was really more of a bang trim, but as far as I'm concerned, it was her first haircut.

I got some before & during pictures - and have yet to take a satisfying after picture. Maybe tomorrow when she's all dolled up for church.

She sat so still for Auntie Laura to do her job.

Didn't mind at all...she held her colored pencil under her cape & was perfectly content.

'Finished' product. Can you tell she had little piggies on the sides of her head that day before the haircut?

Thank you Auntie Laura for the haircut!
Love,
your newest *lifelong* client

My Living Room

This is what my living room looks like right now.

Hmmmmm.

Please don't judge me.

2010 Recap

This is the first time I've blogged ALL year! Have you missed me? {Erin, are you rolling your eyes yet!?}.

2010 turned out to be a year of blessings for our family. I settled into my role as a stay-at-home mom & began to explore all of glory that that entails. Tim continued to work from home, in a job that he really excels in and likes & Eloise began to let her personality shine through more and more everyday. Here's a quick recap of our year.

January 1st, 2010 - Eloise begins to crawl {much to Grandma & Grandaddy's dismay - as they had just left a week before}.

February brought beautiful flowers & the start & hope of spring. Richard & Faith also came to visit & stayed with us during Valentine's Day.

March: I ran & completed my first 5k without walking!! {My only goal for the run}. My sister, My Andrea, Amanda M. Pants, & Leigh were all by my side during this run - what a fantastic event. We decided that this would be a new tradition.

On March 23, this little peach turned 1. She celebrated with two parties: An E party for her & Ethan & then a lunch party for friends & family on her special day.

In April we made the decision to put our 1st home on the market. This was difficult decision for us, but we thought we'd place it all in God's hands to see what would happen. {I think you know how this turned out}...

I also had a visit from this lovlie to celebrate this fancy lady's bridal shower. LOVE these girls. {And where did my picture go for this event}?? Sigh.

In May we went to ID to visit. At the end of May, we had our annual Harmon family beach weekend. We LOVE this weekend. Nana came out to join all of us & we had a wonderful time.

June brought more outside playdates & the first pool party for Eloise & her bff Sophia.

In July, My Andrea & her family came to visit for a couple of weeks - ahhh the fun we had.

August 2nd brought my 33rd birthday & a HOUSE! Happy Birthday to me. We found our new house on my birthday & made an offer that was accepted the next day. Woo-hoo!

On August 7th, these two dear, dear friends of our tied the knot. What a BEAUTIFUL wedding it was. Congratulations bride & groom!!

A week after their wedding, Eloise took her first steps...and hasn't slowed down since.

Also in August, Auntie Kim & the boys came for 4 days to help with Eloise so I could pack up the house - what a blessing that was!!!

September 11th, we moved. It turned out to be quite an adventure & not one that I hope to repeat for a very, very long time.

Auntie Kim & the boys came back - to help unpack & play. Seriously - SO MUCH fun!!

October brought a new-found love for babies. Eloise loves to play with her babies.

Running, running, & more running...

Coloring was discovered this summer. E LOVES to color. Here she is coloring with her cousins, they were all dressed up in a Halloween preview outfit - & coloring away. Love these girls.

In November, we headed to the beach for a week with the D'Astrinoff's. When we got back from the beach - they stayed for 2 more weeks. What a delight!

There isn't a bathtub at the beach house - so we improvised:

2 days after the D'Astrinoff's left, the Adams fam gathered at the beach for a long weekend of Thanksmas. This is another annual tradition that we all love. Time with cousins, family, & 2 special holidays crammed into 4 days or less. :)

December - we lost our dear Grandma Adams. Heaven is rejoicing, while we are saddened by her passing.

We took our first official Christmas family photo. I heart it. We were once again surrounded by family, friends & love this holiday season.

What a blessing 2010 turned out to be. I can only anticipate that 2011 will hold the same. Happy New Year to you!!