Monday, December 27, 2010

Don't Judge Me

So its 11:30 pm on a Sunday night, my sweet husband is asleep in the bed next to me and I'm wide awake.
So I've spent alot of time indoors and after I put Tanner to bed, I've been filling my evenings with Internet browsing and netflix instant play movies.
Well tonight I got the party planning bug. Its ridiculous because Tanner's first birthday was just 4 months ago and I can't throw him another BIG party until he's three. (Chris and I have a deal that I will only spend the money to throw big parties every other year) So his 2nd birthday will be totally low-key, but his third birthday is going to be really fun.
I've already planned most of it. Its going to be a MONSTER BASH. I can't even explain how excited I am to throw this party. I'm out of control- I know!
Tonight my party planning got a little out of control and I actually bought stuff for a party almost 2 years away. AHHHH! What is wrong with me?
Well I don't regret it. I actually can't wait until it gets to my house so I can start going through everything.
I bought the party hats- which are monster visor hats, I bought three different favors and the favor bags and I bought these monster stompers. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Oriental Trading Company!!!! They have such cute stuff at REALLY good prices.
I spent 60 bucks and have enough for 12 favor bags. which may not sound like a good deal- but it is when you see what I bought and what it would have cost to make it myself. I'M SO STOKED!

Anyways- The rest of the planning must go on- So this is mostly just me- getting all my ideas written down somewhere. Don't feel a need to read and comment. I just need to have a chance to think out loud and write everything down.

ROAR invitations
Favors:Individual felt monsters
Monster bags- inside lolly pops, pop monsters, sticker monsters, monster pens and tattoos
Monster visors-instead of party hats
Games- monster bowling, monster bean bag toss, monster stompers
Prizes: need ideas here
Food: monster munchies,monster watermelon head, monster finger and toes, monster cupcakes
Cake: Monsters
Decorations: see sidebar- future projects
Presents: monster quiet book

Sounds fun right? If I was a three year, I'd want to get invited to this party.
If you have any ideas for me-leave a comment. THANKS!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Tanner's Letter to Santa

Here is Tanner's letter to Santa this year.


Dear Santa,

I’m writing you again this year with a little more to say.
Since last Christmas a lot has changed; I grow a little more each day.

I learned to do lots of new tricks; I can walk, dance and run.
But there are still lots of things for me to learn, the adventures have just begun.

But adventures are so much more fun when you have a friend.
So, Santa please listen closely and I’ll tell you what to send.

I would like a baby brother or sister, someone to play with all the time.
Because let’s face it, parents are fun but I need a partner in crime.

Toys are great, you can bring those too, but it’s not what I really need.
I need someone to play with every day that will always follow my lead.

I know you’ll do the best you can to bring me what I miss,
but you may have to talk to Mom and Dad in order to fulfill this wish.

Travel safe this Christmas Eve and take care of Rudolph too.
I know you will keep my wish in mind, even though you have much to do.

Love,
Tanner
Age: 16 months



Merry Christmas!

Seeing Santa

We leave for Oregon in three days. I can hardly believe it. Tomorrow I have sharing time and then Monday I'll be spending my time doing laundry and packing, so I thought I'd go ahead and catch up on the past week.
Monday we went over to the ASU campus for the "Jingle on the Green" They have this "Jingle" every year, but this was our first time to go. They had live musical performance and some dancers, there was hot cocoa and cookies, face painting, you could make your own Santa hat and then of course, Santa was there in his sleigh.
We didn't do the face painting or hat making, we spent the majority of our time in line to see Santa.
We were in line for an hour and it was freezing. By the time Tanner got to have his turn he was too cold and tired to be happy. He just keep trying to squirm off Santa's lap.

We did get a family picture, but once again- Tanner isn't very happy.


He had a lot of fun with his Uncle David. He rode around on his shoulders and loved it.


Then he discovered the luminaries lining the sidewalks and we had to walk around and see those.

Here are my cute Parents


Despite being so cold- Tanner did not want to go home. We had to pratically drag him to the car.



We gave him a nice warm bath and then bundled him up in bed, but he was so cold that he didn't stay asleep long. He actually spent that night in our bed, nice and cozy between Mom and Dad.

Today I took Tanner to see Santa again. My favorite little Baby store was having Santa pictures and since I can't pass up an opportunity to get pictures, we went. Tanner took a little convincing- he didn't know how he felt about Santa today.
At first he just looked at him and tried to get down and come to me, but after a little encouragement- he warmed up to Jolly St. Nick.
You can see the apprehension in his face in this picture


But then he figured it was ok


He had a blast watching the other kids sit on Santa's lap and talking to them, but he wasn't a huge fan of sitting on his lap alone.

Well this will probably be it from us until after Christmas. I hope everyone travels safely and enjoys their Christmas. Even though we're going to miss my family- I know we will have fun in Oregon. Love to you all!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Nephew's Christmas Present

WARNING
---IF YOUR NAME IS STEPHANIE HERB---- DON'T READ PAST THIS LINE.




Last weekend I finished my nephew's Christmas present. Tanner is so lucky because he has two cousins only about 3 months older than him and then one that is a year older. They are so stinkin' cute and I love those boys to death!

This year, we exchanged names and we got my sister-n-law Stephanie and her family. So we got Phillip, Stephanie and their 18-month old Chase. I was so excited to start working on this project. I knew what I wanted to do for Chase right away.
Chase is REALLY into TRACTORS right now. HE LOVE LOVE LOVES THEM! He's also a little country boy, so the theme for this project was easy.

I made him a card table play fort. The entire fort is farm themed.
The entry to the fort is a barn and the barn door opens so he can crawl inside.

It Velcros closed. I've tested the door on Tanner and he gets in and out just fine.


I sewed their name on the barn too- just so our little cowboy doesn't get lost and go into the wrong barn.

The next side of the fort is a garden.

With ripe lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and pumpkins. The lettuce, tomatoes and carrots come off and can be picked for his "Harvest"





The backside is my friend Betsy. I used the faux-cowhide material so it even feels soft like a cow.

There are also a couple of cornstalks nearby he can pick if he gets hungry. The corn just fits snugly in their husks.

The last side on the outside is a HUGE GREEN (John Deere is the only way to go) TRACTOR. It's made from the minky material and I'm guessing this will be his favorite side. The window of the tractor lets you peek inside the fort. And the entire tractor is stuffed so it has a 3D appearance.



That's it for the outside.
I went ahead and did a little fun on the inside too though, because I didn't want him to get bored sitting in there.

One panel has a hay bale and a lasso for when he needs to round up his cattle.


And because every cowboy needs a place to hang his hat at the end of a long day, this panel has just that. And a window to peek from.


The last panel on the inside has a book and flashlight pocket and inside is a tractor book and mini flashlight. Because cowboys need to relax after a long day's work.


Well- That's that. I'm relieved its done but I know I'll have to start on another one soon. Tanner has had such a blast playing with this that He'll be getting one for his second birthday.


I hope my sweet little nephew likes it- I know Tanner does. And if it doesn't get used- I'll fly back out there and take it home with me- OK just kidding- but honestly Tanner is going to be so sad to see this fort go.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

December is in full swing here. We are leaving for Oregon in a little over a week and we've been trying to get all our Christmas activities done before we leave. We picked up our tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving and decorated it on Monday for FHE. Tanner was a big helper this year with the tree. He pulled the strands of lights off, yanked on the ribbon and for every ornament we hung, we knocked three more off. Needless to say, we had to finish decorating the tree after Tanner went to bed. But now the tree is up and he has learned (very slowly) that he can't touch it. It took me a few very persistent days, but now he's doing good.
Dad teaching Tanner about the lights...trying to convince him not to pull them off

Tanner exploring the tree. He didn't like how much it poked him...

Our Tree- the final product after Tanner went to bed.

Friday was the annual Christmas parade and we were so happy that it wasn't as cold as last year.
Tanner before the parade- I love this little Christmas sweater


Tanner enjoyed the parade with his good buddy Austin. Don't mind Tanner's weird face in this picture.


Even Papa showed up for a while.

Our Family- NOT FREEZING THIS YEAR- at the parade


That night we went over to Nanny and Papa's to make the traditional fruitcake.

Tanner wasn't a huge fan of mixing it.


Then Today we had the National Guard annual Christmas lunch. It was actually really good. Tanner got to sit on Santa's lap and he loved it. As soon as we sat him down he started waving like crazy at Santa. So funny.



This coming week we have a couple more Christmas events to go to and then its off to Oregon. We're excited for the "Jingle on the Green" tomorrow at the ASU campus. Santa, hot cocoa and cookies- HERE WE COME.

Oh and stay tuned for my nephew's Christmas present. I finally finished it- after about two months.... I'm so glad its done. If its any indication- TANNER LOVE LOVE LOVES it. I'll post pictures soon. Just don't want my SIL to accidently peek before Christmas

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Happy Turkey Day

These last few days have been so crazy. We had a TON of family in for the holiday and it was a blast. We missed Sarah, Laura and David of course, but we had lots of yummy food, awesome football and family time- so it was good.
I didn't get a ton of pictures on Thanksgiving day, but here a few.

Papa and I made apple place settings for each person. There were 26 of us total and we thought place settings would be helpful. Each apple had the top cored and a tea light was placed inside. Then we wrote everyone's names on an apple and put them around the tables. Yeah we had three tables....SO MANY PEOPLE!


Tanner thought they looked pretty tasty.

Until he got a mouthful of candle.

After everyone got seated we went around saying what we were thankful for and after you listed your blessings you blew out your candle. It was cool.

This is a random kitchen shot, but you can kind of see the counter- that's after we devoured the food. You can imagine how full the dishes were and how much we ate.
There wasn't ANY turkey leftover.

Then Tanner helped out by throwing the apples away. He loved it.


This went on for about 20 minutes. So funny.
Here's the crew- well actually this is about half the crew

After pie we headed home, I had to go to bed so I could wake up at 1:30 am to go BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING. Yeah I'm insane. Julie, Julieta, Tamara and I went up to Branson and then to Springfield to shop. We got to Target right before it opened and rushed inside. Then we went to Kohls, walmart, the mall in Springfield and a baby store. We had a blast!!! It was crazy but so fun. I wasn't really looking for any big items, but I bought some movies, a cd, a couple winter hats, and some clothes for Tanner.
I was so tired after but I couldn't unwind enough to take a nap. I just had to settle for an early bedtime that night.
Friday Night Jon and Julie came over to say bye because they were leaving to drive back to Utah the next day. Tanner really loved Jon and Julie. Julie gave him this lion washcloth and he loved it. They're pretty much best friends now.

Saturday I took Tanner to story time at the library, he loved the stories. But then they brought out a snake-I guess the lesson was on reptiles-but Tanner didn't like it. So we didn't stay.
Then we went and bought our Christmas tree-so excited- and then Tanner had to take a nap. We went over to my grandma's house for the HOG game and watched them Kick LSU's butt. SO AWESOME! It was a close game but we pulled through and had an amazing season. 10-2. Not bad and we're ranked #7 now. It was probably the best birthday present for my Dad.
That night I went out with one of my best friends and had dinner. It was so fun to see her. They live in Florida and I seldom get to see her.
We celebrated Papa's birthday the next day. We opened presents and ate cake. Tanner loved the tool box Papa got. Even Clark got in on the playing action.


Happy Birthday Papa!

Now life can mostly resume as usual! I have so much to be grateful for and I look forward to enjoying my blessings. I have the best boys in the world.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

This and That

I was recently getting picture off my camera and realized I need to fill you all in on a few little tidbits of our life.
Tanner loves music. It doesn't really matter what kind. If we're at church and the choir does a special number, Tanner sits up straight and listens so intently. If we're at home and the ipod is on, Tanner dances around the house. Last week Chris pulled out Papa's guitar and started messing around a little and Tanner thought it was so cool. He wanted to help his Dad play.


After his bath, Tanner always plays with Papa for a little while. They do blanket rides or chase each other around the house. Tanner loves it and he loves his Papa. I think this picture says it all.

I have yet to get a good picture of Tanner and his Nanny. They usually have snuggle time when its time to go to sleep and I don't want to get a picture because I'm afraid the flash will wake him. But believe me- He loves his Nanny!!!

On Saturday my college roommate Julie and her hubby Jon came over with their nephew Kaden. Tanner LOVES Kaden and the two of them had fun together for a while. Then Chris' friend Brett and his son Austin showed up and the three boys had a blast together. Austin and Kaden are about the same size and they ran all around, Tanner tried to keep up. We finally took the boys outside to let them run off the rest of their energy. They probably played in the leaves for an hour together.

Look at those baby blues.

Tanner trying to catch up with the big boys... He was so funny because he learned quickly that if he stayed in one place he could just watch them, instead of running after them. As soon as he would catch up to the boys they would take off again, so Tanner gave up and just walked around and watched. haha


Yesterday we went to lunch with Jon, Julie, Julieta and Joseph. Oh and the babies came too. We ate at Gastons and it was DELISH! Then we went across the Dam and walked around the observatory. Tanner loved it. They had this stuffed bear at the entrance and when we walked in Tanner started growling at it. I laughed so hard.
You can kind of see the look of terror in Tanner's eyes in this picture. He wasn't sure about that bear.


Then we saw the different fish in the tanks

and we peeked in the wall hole to see the turtles.

Here's Tanner with his "I'm about to get into some trouble" look.

Then Dad showed Tanner how to ring the old steamboat bell. And he thought that was pretty cool.


Then we went out to the observatory deck. He was enthralled with the bars on the deck


Tanner enjoyed the sunshine but most of all he enjoyed pushing Clark's stroller around. He thinks he is pretty big stuff. Oh and Yes- Clark is inside the stroller.
He has some pretty trusting parents!

Don't mind that he can't see where he's going...


It was a nice afternoon and the weather was great, especially considering it's late November. It was in the high 50's. So beautiful!
Now if the weather could just stay nice for Thanksgiving.
Happy Turkey Day tomorrow everyone!