9 Months

So this is a milestone, right? 9 months, what can I say? Amazing, just amazing. Amazing how fast it goes, amazing how big she is, amazing that just 9 short months ago I was pleading with my doctor to induce me because I was in such misery. And just look at us now. I have a beautiful , sweet, perfect little girl. And I have mastitis but that is a whole different story!!

My sweet Carolena, you are getting to be so big! You are crawling all over the place now, and you can even stand up all by yourself. Sometimes you even think that you can walk and try to take a few steps to mommy, but usually end up falling down. I have to make sure I am near you at all times because you are such the little daredevil. You love climbing over things, giving your brothers hugs, and giving your mommy little love bites (which are pretty painful, by the way!). You are eating all sorts of things now, but I think your favorite is pretty much any kind of fruit. You like when mommy cuts up peaches and watermelon into little bites so that you can pick them up with your fingers. You still smile all of the time and love cuddling in bed with mommy in the mornings. One of your favorite things to do right now is to take a bath in the kitchen sink, although I am not sure how much longer it will last because you are getting so big!

I love you so much my precious girl!

P.S. Did you check out the outfit in the top picture? My most recent creation!

My New Favorite

I think every time I make a new outfit, it becomes my favorite. This one was made for a friend of mine who has a two year old. I love the fabric and I love the way it turned out. This was my first time making "fancy shorts" and they are so sweet.


Close up of the dress...


Close up of the "fancy shorts"....

And matching hair accessory (of course)!

Our Free(ish) Summer - Hubers Orchard and Winery

Last week my mom and I decided to take the boys out to Hubers to do a little picking. We had been talking about going for a while, but once I heard it was blackberry picking time, I knew it was time to go. You see, Hubers has the most delicious blackberries I have ever had. Straight off the branch, there is nothing better. So we packed up the kids and headed out on what was quite possibly the hottest day of the year. I thought we would probably be the only ones crazy enough to go on such a hot day, so imagine my surprise when we ran into my friend B and her family out in the blackberry fields! Guess we both were craving those berries!

There are quite a few fun activites here besides just the picking fields.

You can talk to a talking tree...

pretend to be vegetables...

hang out with (and feed) the ducks...

go on a tractor ride (but hold on tight!)...

there is also a petting zoo, mountain slide, pony rides, a cheese/ice cream shop, market/gift shop, and winery/restaurant. We like to grab lunch there and cool off after all of the picking. They also have various festivals throughout the year which are fun and family friendly. So my advice to you is: Go, go now while the blackberries and peaches are in season, but try not to go on the hottest day of the year!

Fun - 4 (out of 5)

Cost - well you have to purchase everything that you pick, I think we spent about $40 on blackberries, bluberries, and peaches

Mom Stress Level - 1 (easy to keep track of everyone, but takes a while for the tractors to come back to the fields to pick you up)

Then go home with your delicious fruit and whip up a blackberry peach cobbler!

A Big Blur

The nephews were in town all last week. And, oh, the fun we had. We went swimming, jumped off diving boards, went to the movies, went to Noah's Ark, Henry's Ark, played in basements, had other neighbors over for get togethers, went to Wild Eggs (the most delicious place around), wrestled around, laughed ( a lot), cried (a little), fought ( some), played at grammys, made cookies, fed carrots to zebras, made big messes, built castles and forts, and much much more. I am sad to see those guys head home, but boy am I tired! To next time!

Our Free(ish) Summer - Louisville Waterfront

I'm back (I'm back in the saddle again). Sorry, that song has been jumping into my head all day. Can't make it stop! Anyways, we have had an AMAZING and BUSY summer so far. I can't believe we are halfway through July already! We have done lots of free things and lots of not-so-free things. I would like to say that this has been a great summer for not spending a lot of money on activities, but honestly, that would not be true. We have saved money on some things, and then spent it the next day on other things. But we sure have had fun doing it. I am going to try and get caught up the next few weeks, starting with today's post - The Louisville Waterfront


Cost - Free (we did pick up some ice cream afterwards for a total of $8)
Fun - 5, lots of fun, lots to do
Mom Stress Level - High, very very HIGH

Although this place is great and we had a fabulous time, I do not recommend anyone going there alone with 3 kids. You definitely should have a 1 to 1 kid to adult ratio. I can not stress this enough. Luckily, my friends B and B joined me with their kids, but it was still very hard to keep up with everyone. This place is huge. There is a big splash area with spray hoses and fountains; and there are also 3 (or maybe 4) other playgrounds. The kids had a blast. They went from one thing to the next and then back and forth, back and forth. It was sort of like a whirlwind of activity. We started out in the splash area



where you can let the water spray you in the eye...


or you can crawl under the water tunnels...

but then make sure you go to the first playground and look for your friends coming down the slide.

Then decide maybe you would rather be back at the water area...

and run under some more water tunnels.

Then you spot another playground in the distance, this one even bigger than the last, so you run over and climb the mountain a few times, walk across the bridges, go down the slides...

and then it's back to the water area again.

And it wouldn't quite be a perfect visit to the water park without a drink from the fountain!

All in all, a great time. Free, fun, and fabulous!

Stay tuned for more FREE Activities!

To tide you over

I've been busy. I am sure you have too. I promise to get back to posting soon. Hopefully this week. Until then, enjoy this picture of my girlie wearing a bathing suit her grammy made her. Super cute if I do say so myself!