Dance Party

In June, we took Adalyn to a dance party for kids at Caras Park. They played loud music with a dance beat and had a bubble machine, maracas, and hula hoops. It was fun, but a bit overwhelming. I think they should skip the hula hoops next time--it doesn't make much sense to give kids large plastic rings to whip around in a crowded area with a lot of little ones running around. We had to do some evasive maneuvers a few times to avoid Adalyn getting bonked in the face. Overall, she had fun, danced a little, shook a maraca, admired the bubbles and had fun watching other kids jump around.

She started out wearing a cute flower and headband set I made that looked very cute for a dance party but decided she wanted to ditch it soon after we got there.


So then I stuck a pinwheel clip in her hair :)


Having fun at the party

Poor Neglected Blog!

Oh, My! I have been neglecting this blog. It was not intentional, but still very unfortunate =( Now, I don't even know where to begin....Well, we have all been sick in this household for far too long. Jamey and Adalyn were sick first, then they both gradually got better but then Adalyn and I got sick. Poor Adalyn had a runny/stuffy nose for about a month and I had a bad sinus cold as well. I think we are finally all better though!

The month of June was a whirlwind of family birthdays and Father's Day. We celebrated birthdays for my step-dad Russ (June 2nd), my sister's boyfriend Justin (June 13th), my sister Dana (June 20th) and our niece Brenna (June 23rd). Adalyn was surely enjoying her many opportunities to taste cake....I think she even ate an entire cupcake at cousin Brenna's first birthday. Most of the time, Adalyn uses her 'spread out and conquer' strategy for cake. She goes around to everyone with cake and looms until she gets a taste, repeating this for everyone who hasn't yet cleaned their plate. Now that she says 'please' and 'thank you' I think she will have even more luck with this strategy, it is quite impossible to refuse her little please, or "pleas" I guess!

We attended a kids dance party at Caras Park where Adalyn jammed and showed off her moves, admired the bubble machine and shook maracas. Then she got bored and wanted to go explore. The kids were all pretty cute little dancers but some of the moms were interesting.... We got some cute videos and photos I may get transferred and posted some day, of course I am behind on that too.

We also went to an air show in Helena. Adalyn loves spotting airplanes in the sky, and starts saying airplane as soon as she hears one, even if she doesn't even see it. She definitely saw lots of airplanes at the air show! We weren't actually there that long because the parking situation at the airport caused cars to be backed up waiting to get in for 1-2 hours throughout the show. We did see the Thunderbirds and then headed home. After the 2 hour drive there, it was a long day for a toddler to spend in the car, especially without a nap since the timing was off. Adalyn just wanted to run around and stretch her legs when we finally got there and she was not a fan of earplugs but she saw closeup action since we were able to sit in the VIP section with some tickets from Jamey's employer. We told her airplanes were flown by pilots since she has an airplane toy at home and she kept saying pilot, pilot over and over. It sounds so cute! I think she still had a lot of fun.

We have a wedding to attend this weekend and more birthdays and exciting things coming up soon. We actually have four weddings to attend between this weekend and the beginning of October. Ahh...summertime! Maybe we will even be brave enough to try a little vacation this summer, we could sure use one!

Mother's Day 2009

Mother's Day was a busy and fun day for us! We went to Corvallis and visited with Jamey's family and then went to dinner with my mom, stepdad, sister and her boyfriend. Adalyn was very full of energy! She is always on the move these days, evident by all of the pictures of her trying to take off...
Sadly, she fell and bumped her cheek a few days before so she had a big bruise on her face for her pictures. I edited the bruise out in some but then gave up, oh well!
I absolutely love being Adalyn's momma, but especially on Mother's Day. She gave me the sweetest hug and kiss the first thing when she woke up that day and it melted my heart!

I'm outta here, Mom!


I don't want to stand still for pictures...there are things I need to do!


Love that pose!


Adalyn's cute cousin Brenna playing, love the colors together in this photo!


Walking with her Daddy


Sunday stroll


Back in her cute dress at my Mom's after dinner, look at those pretty bracelets!


Helping Momma and Grandma Jill open gifts

Proud of her Aunt Dana

I admit it...I have not been very good at keeping Our Maxwell House updated lately. Anyway, here are a few pictures of Adalyn with her Aunt Dana. We are so proud of Dana for graduating from The University of Montana on May 16th! We have more pictures to sort through from the graduation as well as Mother's Day. It is a mistake to take photos using three different cameras and multiple memory cards and store them on a computer downstairs and then access them on our laptops...and combined with time working on PunkieGrace photos. It is a work in progress I guess!

Congratulations Dana!!


Adalyn got all dressed up to celebrate and she really loved Dana's tassel!

A Girl and her Daddy

Here, Daddy, eat this stick!


I'm working on the pictures from Mother's Day and found these cute ones. I am way behind on posting Adalyn's 15-month update so I guess I will wait a few more days for that and post her 16-month update with it! She is saying so many words now...hamburger is my favorite. She has also been saying "honey" except she says it hon-ay, soo cute. She also just started saying "bye, see you later" it is not always real clear but we can definitely tell what she is saying and it has been cracking us up!

Jamey's Birthday.....Part 2

Jamey was lucky enough to enjoy more birthday celebrations including dinner out two nights in a row! Adalyn was happy to eat out too. She eats really well when we go out and loves sitting at a big table with everyone. She likes to make funny faces across the table and try everyone's food :)

We went out with my mom and stepdad on Jamey's actual birthday and then back to their house for presents and ice cream cupcakes, which Adalyn absolutely loved to taste of course! The next day, we went out with my dad and stepmom and enjoyed a nice meal and dessert. Jamey had a great birthday and can't wait to go camping and try out his new stuff, including his new pack tent and sleeping bag from Adalyn ;)

Daddy's balancing act

Helping open gifts

Reading the Just Daddy and Me book together

Sitting with Grandma Jill after getting all of the cat toys out

Yay, cake!


Adalyn thinks she can just walk right down the stairs at my mom's house like we can, so we usually race to catch her so she doesn't fly right off them because she isn't big enough to walk down them yet.... my mom and sister were teaching her to scoot down the stairs one at a time and she was having a blast! I love her faces in these so I had to post them all.



Practicing


We made sure to take pictures of Adalyn together with my mom's dog, Tony. Earlier in the week we had learned he had several tumors that were not removable and we didn't know how much time we would have with him. Adalyn was petting him and gave him a hug and a kiss and we got some cute pictures. Sadly, Tony passed away a week after we took these pictures. We got him as a puppy when I was in high school and he was a cute little rascal since the day we brought him home. He was a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and he always looked like a puppy, even as an adult. Our dog Bailey had so much fun running circles around the house or our backyard with Tony and she will miss seeing her friend when we visit my mom's house.





Tired and resting with her bud Tony


Tony and Bailey playing and making Adalyn laugh last summer (Adalyn 5 months old)

Goodbye, Tony. We will sure miss you and your "smiling" face.

Introducing.....

Well, finally an introduction to the hobby that spurred an idea to start a little business. I have followed blogs for a while, even before I ever started writing this one, and came across different mentions of a site called Etsy. Etsy is a site for buyers and sellers of handmade items as well as supplies and vintage items. Individual sellers can set up a virtual shop where they sell their own goods, market them, and ship them to their customers. I first purchased some hair clips earlier this year from a wonderful seller on Etsy. She was participating in a donation to build a playground in the memory of a sweet baby girl who passed away from neuroblastoma. She was donating all the proceeds from her sales along with many other sellers to help build this playground. I was very happy to support this great cause and to get some darling hair clips for Adalyn.

I started browsing Etsy and learned more about the cute products people sold. I was particularly fond of the adorable accessories for babies and little girls. Then I started finding information on making my own hair clips. It was quite a process to first find local materials, find the best prices and the best methods for making the clips. Then I started looking into making bows, first practicing the folding techniques and then perfecting different styles. Then, I learned how to make a cute tutu and flower clips.....

The idea of setting up my own shop bloomed, and with Jamey's encouragement and support, I started gathering more materials and working on different products. I came up with a name, PunkieGrace, inspired by my sweet little Adalyn. When she was little we would spike her hair up and she acquired the nickname "Punkie" or "Punky." When we were brainstorming names, I kept coming back to names that had some special sort of connection for me. I did my "due diligence" (thanks business classes!) and researched the names to avoid any potential copyright issues and decided PunkieGrace just had to be the perfect fit!

Jamey worked very hard to create a design for my product/business cards and my wonderful website, blog and banner for my Etsy shop. There is a tremendous amount of work and time involved in doing things the professional way and I am very proud of what we came up with. We are hoping to make the PunkieGrace website live very soon....tonight, possibly ;) Currently, all of my products are sold through the PunkieGrace on Etsy shop. To purchase these products, customers pay through PayPal on the Etsy site. Customers can use their PayPal account but don't need an actual PayPal account to purchase items, only a credit card or debit/bank account.

Then, I need to finish my Etsy shop policies and start listing my items for sale. We have taken photos of most of them so far but I need to work on the descriptions. I will keep my PunkieGrace blog updated with new information about coming products, promotions and giveaways. This blog will also be filtered right onto the PunkieGrace website itself.

Thanks for reading about the new endeavor....I would love to hear any comments after the site is up and my products are listed.

Soon, I will get back to Jamey's birthday part 2 and Adalyn's 15-month update, when I have some time to catch my breath :)