Diaper Cake

A couple weekends ago I was fortunate enough to help throw a baby shower for my friend Spring. I was given the opportunity to handle the decorations. I was really excited to help and couldn't wait to come up with some fun ideas.

I wanted to try to make a diaper cake because they always look so cute and are so practical at the same time. I mean diapers people. What newborn baby doesn't need and use diapers. Also, I had never attempted to make one so I thought this would be a good time to learn. The theme for the shower was monkeys so I googled 'Monkey Diaper Cakes' and thought that this one was cute. I used it as my inspiration. I think the one I made turned out pretty similar and I was definitely pleased with the end result.

In addition to the diaper cake I decided to make some poms. I got the idea from none other than Ms. Martha Stewart herself. Click here for the step by step tutorial. They were very easy and I thought they looked super cute. The bonus to these beauties was that I made them in the same colors as the baby's room so Spring could take them home and use them in the baby's room.

Here are a few pictures of the finished products.

A Typical Male

Colin is learning this well know fact at a early age..... fart jokes are a great way to show your masculinity.

I Had A Moment

It's not very often that I have moments where I come up with an ingenious idea. But this is one of those times. (Well, I would consider it an ingenious idea.)

PROBLEM:
I needed a way to organize all of Makenna hair stuff.

SOLUTION:
Rescue the nicely painted wood boxes that were gonna be thrown away by my mom and sister at Christmas. Place them in the drawer and organize away.

BEFORE

AFTER

See Erin I knew that they would come in handy somewhere. It just took me a while to figure out where.

Boy or Girl?

The following is a conversation between my mom and Makenna.

Nana: Makenna, is Colin a boy or a girl?
Makenna: Boy
Nana: Makenna, is mama a boy or a girl?
Makenna: Girl
Nana: Makenna, is daddy a boy or a girl?
Makenna: Boy
Nana: Makenna, is papa a boy or a girl?
Makenna: Boy
Nana: Makenna, is nana a boy or a girl?
a long dramatic pause takes place while Makenna thinks about this question
Nana: Makenna, is nana a boy or a girl?
after a short pause to think some more she boldly declares
Makenna: A COW!

A Note To Jared

Jared,

Today, since it is your birthday I wanted to write you a little note to let you know how much you are appreciated by your wife.

Although, you are bummed that you are getting older I hope you realize that today will be a day that I will always try extra hard to make special for you because if you hadn't been born 32 years ago my life would look completely different.

I am so glad God created you to be the man you are. But I am even more excited to watch as He continues to mold you into the man that He wants you to become. I see so many ways you enrich the lives of the people closest to you. And I am so very thankful that God has blessed me with such a wonderful husband.

I appreciate you in so many ways. I cherish how well you complement me and balance out my somewhat dramatic personality. You make me laugh more than I thought possible. You make me feel loved unconditionally. You encourage me even when I mess up big time. You challenge me to be a better wife and mother because of your actions. Only God could create this combination of a man to be my husband and I am extremely thankful that He made you to be that man.

I love you for the father you are to Makenna and Colin. They are truly blessed to have a daddy who wants to be so involved in their lives. From the crazy games Makenna makes up for you to play with her to the special shoulder rides only you give Colin I know both kids feel loved by you. Nothing makes me love you more as their daddy than to watch them laugh with you. (You know the laughs I'm talkin about....those big deep belly laughs)

I know I should tell you all these things more often, but then what would I tell you on your birthday to make it special. Hope you have a wonderful 32nd birthday.

Happy Birthday!

Love Ya,
Allison

Snug As A Bug

Around The House

I have been trying to tie up some loose ends around the house. Such as unpacking the office the has been packed up in boxes and been in storage since August when our basement got flooded. This is a bit pathetic but it is something that I have not placed as a priority because I really could care less how organized our office is.

Also on my list has been making or buying curtains for all the rooms in our house. Oh don't worry they all had curtains when we moved in but most of them needed to go. I am now down to two rooms that have not gotten updated curtains. The office being one of them. Can you tell which room I spend the least amount of time in. Six out of eight rooms isn't bad. I mean we have almost lived in the house for two years now. But keep in mind my husband has told me all along and would still stick by the fact that all of the old curtains served their purpose quite well even if they didn't look that great.

Another loose end is putting before and after pictures on the blog of all the updates we have made on the house. I am really excited to share all of our hard work and progress with our blog readers. And maybe sometime in the future you will get to see the pictures instead of just reading about how I want to put them on the blog.

And last but not least is to catch up on the kiddos baby books. Well, start Colin's is more accurate. It should only take me until they are 18 to decide what pictures to put in their books:)

Well, now that you know how I should be spending my time I think I will go eat a piece of cake and read for a while.

My little carpenter

Today Makenna and dad took a trip to Lowe's for their little kids workshop time. The project was a little game you throw balls through. It was all pre-cut and easy, but Makenna had fun helping nail it together.

I did most of the "work" but she enjoyed swinging the hammer. I was actually surprised at how accurate she was. One of the dads there should have been taking notes from her.

She got to keep the apron and even got a little patch that can be sewn on.

We have had fun playing the game with her and even Colin has enjoyed having something new to chew on.

Colin - Teeth

Colin got is first tooth the week before Christmas. His second one came in right after that. He is currently working on his top two. Here is a picture I attempted to take of the bottom two right after they came in.

Hilarious

I find this video hilarious. If you know our kiddos at all this video captures both of their personalities rather well. Makenna enjoying being the 'star of the show' and Colin wondering what the heck are these weirdos singing about. (And yes he is wide awake. It is hard to tell in the video because he hardly is moving) ENJOY!

Christmas 2010 - Willis Family:Part 2 (Sledding)

Christmas 2010 - Willis Family:Part 1

Christmas 2010 - Sigmund Family

We didn't have the camera out much while we were at the Sigmund family Christmas. I guess we were just too busy enjoying ourselves to think about taking pictures. But here are a few of the pictures we did manage to take.

And here is our attempt at getting a picture of all three grand kids in their Christmas jammies.

Christmas 2010 - Pictures

A Confession

Anyone wonder why there has been a lack of updates on the Willis blog. Well for the three of you out there who check our blog often, I apologize for not updating sooner.

But if the truth should be told the reason for my absence is because of a wizard named Harry Potter. That is right I started reading the Harry Potter series the second week in December. I got addicted right away and was unable to accomplish hardly anything other than read the books. I couldn't put the silly things down. Don't worry my house stayed clean, the laundry got done, my family was fed, but any free time that would otherwise been spent blogging was devoted to Harry.

I am glad that I read the series and I think Jared is even happier that I have finished. I really enjoyed the books and would read them again. But that won't be for a long time because there are several things I need to catch up on and one of them is definitely our blog.

I mean really I am gonna be sharing our Christmas photos almost a month late. It really is a bit pathetic.

Kid pictures

Someday we have a lot to of pictures and stories to put up on the blog. This isn't much of a start, but at least it looks like we are making an attempt.

I like the following picture as it somehow captures something flying through the air, unbeknownst to a little boy.