Christmas

Ok.. not much to say, really, other than we had it.. It was fun to spend the time as just the three of us, and despite the fact that I took almost 600 pictures, they were whittled down to under 200 because our stupid camera and dumb user error made most of them blurry or otherwise unusable.. I've tried to do some quick and dirty photo editing to make them a little better, but I'm still pretty bummed about it - hence the negative attitude you may be sensing right now.. So.. on to happy Christmas! :D

Alec was SO busy with school - pulling 2-3 all-nighters in a single week - that we weren't able to do much decorating until the Monday before Christmas. Of course it was all in vain anyway, because Ethan just wanted to tear everything apart.. So, we waited until Christmas Eve to do the bulk of it after he went to bed.. Now I kind of understand why some people just let Santa do it all.. And Alec has realized it's more fun to be a kid than a parent on Christmas Eve, too.. ;)

The mantle.. Stockings didn't get done this year.. but hopefully we'll have another beautiful one next year, too, so we can take full advantage of it..

Every year we have the debate about a "good" tree or a "pretty" tree.. This year was Alec's year, so we went for a "good" tree..

Unfortunately, we don't have years and years' worth of homemade ornaments, so we pulled out mine from when I was little - thanks, Mom, for sending us those - and did a few crafty things ourselves.. We did the clove-encrusted-oranges at the beginning of the week, but Ethan was so concerned with eating the darn things not many were left on the tree - at least not with cloves still intact. Then I snagged a bunch of cute ornament templates from Scrap Matters {I love free stuff!} and we made about 15 of these pretty paper ornaments using various scrapbooking kits.. Between Ethan and the cats, I think we're down to something like 5 or 6 of them.. oh well - such is life..

And a few pictures of the day..

First seeing the tree.. I'm so sad this one didn't turn out better...

Opening some presents....

Ethan's really been into showing you your ears, eyes, nose, etc..
So he totally loved playing with his new Potato Head family..

If he can push it, that means it's an awesome gift!
If it makes noise, that's even better!

Every year my mom makes each set of kids matching pajamas
{which I think is just the cutest!}.. So here are ours... :D

Aren't we just the cutest little family, ever? Even if I do say so myself.. ;)

All in all, a really great day! We had so much fun just hanging out as a family and enjoying a truly relaxing holiday! Thanks to everyone for your wonderful gifts for us - although some are not pictured here, that doesn't mean we don't love them... it just means the camera doesn't.. :( And for those of you still waiting for a Christmas card from us.. stay tuned.. Turns out it will be more like a New Year's card - that's cool, too, right? ...

Just Call Me Elizabeth - OR - My Foray into Confectionery Brilliance

As some of you may know, my SIL Elizabeth is the candy writer for About.com Hence, she's always mixing up batches and batches of goodies and treats - usually several over a single weekend.. Well.. this Christmas weekend I took a short walk in her shoes :)

One thing I have always looked forward to - ever since we moved away from the fam, actually - was spending Christmas by ourselves and being able to make lots of treats to take around to the neighbors.. And this was the year! Of course, leave it up to me to wait until the last minute! For one reason or another - mostly involving Ethan - I wasn't able to get to the store to gather up my ingredients until Christmas Eve, so I spent the whole day cooking and candy-ing and having a great ol' time.. I made peanut brittle, yummy scrummy fudge, chocolate-dipped pretzels, and oreo truffles. {My only claim to fame is that I originally sent the truffle recipe to Elizabeth, then she worked her culinary magic on it to make it the piece of perfection it is today.} I was SO pleased with how everything turned out - especially considering I only had a candy thermometer that went up to 220 and I needed one that measured up to 290!

Here are the final products - beautifully packaged using one of my scrapbooking kits, of course! Oh yeah - and an old formula can.. I promised Alec there was a reason we have a whole closet full of them...

Conjunctivitis, Bilateral Otitis, and a partridge in a pear tree...

{You can click for a close-up of all the ooy-gooy-goodness.}

There are only a few of you who read this blog to whom those words will mean anything..
To me, it means antibiotics twice a day, long naps, lots of hand-washing, and a weird appetite..
So.. how are you spending your Christmas break?

Not Much Going On..

So sometimes I feel bad for not blogging more, but then I realize there's not really anything worth blogging about.. I've also been a slacker at taking any pictures, so I don't even have those to post.. I guess that's something I could work on.. Things around here have just been the same ol' same ol'.. Alec's last week of classes for the semester was this past week, and he had a show that opened on Saturday with the Symphony so he's been super busy with that.. Ethan misses him a lot, and we're both looking forward to seeing more of him for the next few weeks while he's off of school..

Ethan is still being Ethan.. Still not saying a whole lot other than meowing, saying "uh-oh" and "mommy".. Today, though, he did say "daddy" - and mean it - for possibly the first time, so that was fun :) He still loves doing dishes and helping me sweep - both of which I could do more of... Oh, and he also LOVES to brush his teeth.. Kind of funny the things that entertain a toddler..

You may have noticed the blog got a make-over.. I've turned all of my winter-themed scrapbooking kits into blog backgrounds, so you'll be seeing a rotation for the next little while.. It's about time, too.. I've had this same old boring look forever, and change is always a good thing :)

And of course, I have a few scrapbooking pages to show off.. The first two are for my sister Erin, and her cute little girl - and can I just say, it was SO fun to do some girly pages! Then of course some for my bug as well.. I'm pretty sure Ethan's first year book won't be done by the end of the year - I'd rather spend the time with Alec while he's actually home - but maybe by Ethan's 2nd birthday.. We'll just have to see I guess.. Anyway, here they are - you can click each one for credits.. :D







Oh! I'm also hoping to get our Christmas cards done this week - it's about time, don't you think.. If you'd like to recieve one, please email your address {physical or email, whichever you prefer} to amberdawnlabau AT gmail DOT com.

Much Neglected...

I know - it's been ages since I posted anything worthwhile here, and I guess I don't have an excuse, but what can you do? Here are a few highlights from the last month or so..

The Kansas City Zoo had free admission for all KC residents in October and November, so we took a trip a few weeks ago and had SUCH a great time! The weather was just PERFECT, and Ethan did really well, despite not having a nap that day.. We walked around and looked at all the animals, and he actually "got it" this time, so that was nice..

We ended the day on the playground for a half-hour or so, then headed home..

The first week or 10 days of November, we were all sick.. First it was Ethan, then Alec, then finally me.. I thought I had gotten lucky and missed out on the sickies, but apparently I was just a late bloomer.. At least I wasn't feeling too badly so I could take care of my boys.. {This is Alec feeding Ethan a crushed-up otter pop in an attempt to help get his fever down - real medical, we know, but you can only give a kid so much tylenol/motrin at a time, you know... }


The weather for the first part of November was SO gorgeous, so we kept the stroller in the house so Ethan and I could go for walks or to the park - which is only a mile away - while Alec was at school/work.. Ethan decided it made the perfect lounge chair...

At the park...

Perfecting the temper tantrum.. He really goes all out, these days.. Throwing himself prostate on the floor, kicking his legs, screaming.. Quite a show-stopper, that one..


Alec had a rare night off on Monday, so we went bowling with Brandon and Melody.. It was really fun, and as you can tell, we've got some mad skills...

{Amber, Alec, Melody, Brandon}

I'm still working with the Young Women, and we had our YW in Excellence night this week.. I made one of these clipboards for each of the girls.. I thought they turned out pretty cute..


We finally got Ethan in for another hair cut.. I think I'll probably do them myself in the future, but I wanted to try something different and wasn't sure how to do it.. Now I know, so the trick is just getting him to hold still for me to do it.. These pictures aren't the best, but isn't his little faux-hawk just the cutest? I'm still figuring out the right amount of product to put in, but I think he just looks so grown-up.. :D


Thanksgiving dinner at the church.. Of course Ethan had the spend the whole night with his BFF, but since Alec wasn't there, I was glad to have a little help..


And that's our life in a nutshell.. Alec's been super busy working on the musical version of A Christmas Story that the KC Rep is doing - hopefully Broadway-bound - so we haven't seen much of him lately, then he has a gig with the symphony starting up pretty soon, as well as a show at the school.. Oh yeah, and he has classes and homework to do, too.. Oh - and applying for jobs.. Needless to say, he's a busy guy, and Ethan misses him a lot, but we're getting by, and hopefully he'll be getting some big fat paychecks within the next 9 months or so to show for it.. Yeah - not likely.... ;)

I don't watch the news in this town..

So today we turned on the TV for a minute, and it was on a local station that was airing the news at the moment.. And what are the first 2 stories I hear? A 9-month pregnant woman was shot and killed and her boyfriend critically wounded 2 blocks from my front door and there was a robbery-turned-shooting at a dollar store about 10 blocks from my front door.. And these aren't isolated instances.. Seriously - why can't it all be about how the special-needs girl was voted homecoming queen, or that Jo Bob won first place at the county fair? {And when do we get to move again?}

a favor...

I know I said I'd post more pictures and such - and I WILL - in the meantime., though...if you're on Facebook, will you come on over and be a fan of my scrapbooking stuff? The store I sell at is having a contest this weekend to see who can get the most fans.. If you want, you can even un-fan anytime after Tuesday.. Thank you!! :D

Stolen Moments Facebook Fan Page

Fall Fun!

Here are just a few of the fun things we've been doing lately.. {There is more, but I think I'll blog that later in the week..} All images are clickable for a larger view..

HALLOWEEN!

I thought I would be clever and use a little humor with Ethan's costume this year...
His name tag says, "Hello. My name is handsome."
{no one got it}

He has also adopted a replacement for both Alec and I...
Brandon and his wife, Melody, are in our ward and babysit for us occassionally.. Ethan loves them both to death, but especially Brandon.. They even coordinate blank stares upon request.. He spent the whole night with Brandon, and once when Ethan came to "check in" after running around for a while and Brandon wasn't there, he climbed up in the empty chair and waited patiently for him to return.. Oh well.. I guess we should just enjoy the break.. :D

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We don't have a porch - or trick-or-treaters, for that matter - so jack-o-lanterns aren't really necessary around these parts, but I though it would be fun for Ethan to do a little painting of a pumpkin - courtesy of my parents' garden.. {Please pardon the exceptionally bad photos - I was playing around with different settings on the camera.}

Learning about pumpkins.
{Ethan was very concerned that it be covered up for this part of the evening..}

Learning about colors & paint.

Creating a masterpiece...

Surveying the finished product..

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It was a gorgeous day today, so we decided to go on a walk after church.. We went to the same area we took Ethan's Halloween photos last year, and had another little photo shoot..

It took him a while to catch on to how fun it is to play and run in the leaves,

but once he did, we couldn't stop him!

I love my boys!

We tried for a group shot, and this is the best we got.. No, we're not choking our child..
He just didn't want to be held any longer.. Can you blame him?

Just Another Week..

So... still not much going on here, but I do have a few more scrapbook pages to show you.. {I've slowed down on my designing time and have been able to get more actual scrapping done, which is nice..} And Alec's been in NYC since Thursday at a sound conference, so I've stayed up a bit later than I should have.. just because I could.. ;)

These first two are using a kit that I just released to my store at Scrap Matters called Into the Night..

{You can get the quick page version of this - no photos or text, just the pre-made page ready for you to pop your own photos in - on my scrapbooking blog.}

Both of the following images are clickable for credits, but due to a new FTC mandate on using blogs to showcase/promote products, I do need to let you know that I received all of the kits used for these free of charge. {No - I don't keep tabs on the FTC, but the lawyer on staff at Scrap Matters does.}

So I mentioned that Alec has been in New York for the last couple of days.. and that's been interesting.. The weather here has been really cold and rainy, so Ethan and I have been coped up in the house all day.. And quite frankly, we're pretty bored of each other.. ;) So on Friday we ventured out to get some new clothes for him.. I don't know if it's because of when he was born or the rate at which he's been growing, but we've been fortunate enough that the seasons changing have lined right up to when he starts outgrowing things.. I do need to say, though, that if I had the gumption, eye for fashion and design expertise, I would seriously consider going into boys fashion, because - SERIOUSLY - cute boy clothes are SO hard to come by! Why is it always sports, dirt and monster trucks!??! Ugh! Oh well, he's all set to go, I think, so I don't have to worry about it again for a few more months.. {For anyone wondering, he's in 24 or 36 month clothes, depending on the brand.. }

In other news, the bug did really well in nursery today.. He didn't cry a single tear, hardly even noticed that I left {sniff} and when we said goodbye to his teacher, he waved and blew a kiss! Wow! I don't even get that!

So... I guess that's really all for us.. My parents are coming into town next weekend and we're all going up to Des Moines for my niece's baby blessing, so we're looking forward to that.. Talk soon.. {See - I told you I was going to be better at blogging!}