Ta Da! Zero money, people!

Hey ya all. I made these shoes for River to protect her toenails, which were always chipping off from crawling around at the playground. I've since added ribbon to tie 'em shut so they stay on better, and so far they work like a charm.

Yes, one is brown and one is purple...sort of eclectic. I used some (free) old couch-fabric scraps that I had. Unfortunately, no two scraps were alike. Fortunately, I love the way these turned out anyways.


These would make a great gifts for the babies in your life.... go forth and multiply this project! They are super easy, and require minuscule amounts of fabric. I got the pattern from Heather Baily's website. She only has patterns for 0-3 & 3-6 months old but I just upped the size, used durable fabric, and added laces to accommodate River's needs. There are some great ideas here to get you started! The next pair I'm making are going to be out of leather ( if I can find some cheap on ebay) because River is already wearing these ones out. I'll let you know how it goes.

This video is of River's new booties in action! She loves to go to the park and get in all the other kids way on the jungle-gym, so I give them a break by letting her swing for a while.

Thank you Aunt Ilene!

My aunt visited last weekend from Hermiston, Oregon the watermelon capital of the world! (it really is.) Hermiston is only a 2-3 hour drive from Spokane, so it's a blessing to have family so close by. Aunt Ilene brought us apricot freezer jam, venison-burger, and of course, a very delicious watermelon that will feed us for weeks.
Why, I do beleive that watermelon is the same size as my baby! Doesn't it look mouthwatering?

Locks and Locks of Love

My hair is now easier, faster and healthier. 3 cheers for short hair! I donated the leftovers to locks of love, something I've always wanted to do. I finally had hair long enough, so there you go.It was really wierd to put this in a envelope and send it through the postal system. I hope I addressed it correctly or someone may think they were mailed a dead ferrett.

End result.

*8 MONTHS *

In two more days River will be 8 months old. Where have the days, weeks and months gone? In the place of a scrawny wide-eyed newborn is a crawling, spitting, squealing curious 20 pounder. Here are some of the quirky habits and cute games we enjoy on a daily basis.

*waves hi and bye

*favorite game is what we have dubbed 'human jungle-gym'. This consists of parent laying on back with knees bent while River crawls over said parent's tummy, then scooting under the 'tunnel of legs' and repeating the process at least five times while yelling ahhh ahhh the whole time.

*feeds herself crackers, mango chunks, cheer cheers (cheerios) and cottage cheese. drinks out of a cup.

*can pull herself into standing position. I am not pleased with this new development, as she has started to pull up in her crib when she should be napping.

*oh yeah, she has teeth! more like one tooth. on the bottom left.

*some other really cute things are happening that no one cares about, but I'm going to write them anyway so I don't forget them...

-loves other children and will 'talk' to them. she gets really excited when she sees someone her own size, it is so cute! in church Sunday she spotted Gabe, a winsome toddling 1 year old boy, and crawled after him excitedly.... he ran away. She chased him clear down the hall. (course, she had to look back once and a while to make sure I was following her)

- Cam rocks her to sleep every night by singing 'I am a Child of God.' and 'Love One Another'. She will only let her dad rock her to sleep.

-crinkles her nose, purses her lips and breathes fast when she is being mischievous.

-sleeps with her knees tucked under and her bum in the air. kinda like the yoga position child's pose.

-she loves to 'twang' our door stoppers. They are the metal kind that stick out 2 inches from the wall. she'll spot them from clear across the room.

thank you.

Weekend Excursion

While Grammy and Papa Brent were visiting we went downtown to Pig-Out in the Park. We ate gyros and bought River this hat at one of the craft booths.
We also played in the fountain at Riverfront Park. This is a video of what the fountain is like, it's not actually of us in the fountain.It's pretty sweet. That huge column of water in the middle of the fountain wasn't on when Riv and I unsuspectingly walked out into the fountain...then it suddenly switched gears and spewed a few thousand gallons of water on our heads. I wasn't planning on actually getting wet, at least Mom and Dad got a good laugh out of it.








We also went to Coeur'd Alene to swim. River usually loves the lake but just as Cameron dipped her toes in the water, a huge wave (huge for her...) washed over her head and soaked Cam's shorts.









We couldn't get her in the water after that, but she did eat some sand...which I had to fish out of her mouth multiple times.















Grammy triumphed and taught River how to play 'Indian' on the way to Coeur'd Alene. She had to teach her while she was in the car seat and couldn't crawl away!

Hot Off the Press

My folks came out to visit for a couple of days. They insisted on buying us some essential food-stuffs, such as pickled asparagus (Dad's idea) and candy corn (Mom's idea). It was great! Cameron and I miss them already, but River is really sad to just be hanging out with little old me again. These pictures were taken at beautiful Manito Park in Spokane. I'll put more pictures of Mom and Dad's adventures in Spokane in the next post. For now enjoy these gems.
Our official 2nd family pics. Which one do you guys like the best? Bench or grass? We never actually took a picture where River was smiling and my eyes weren't closed, so this is what you have to choose from.
Or there is this one where River is kinda smiling, but she's farther away... This is what happens when you try to take decent pictures with a 7 month old. Ouch.

Of course, the best pictures are the ones of little Riv playing in the park.

River has been crawling around everywhere and is especially fond of water. She crawled up to this fountain in the park and was scooping up the leaves floating by and trying to eat them. Nothing like soggy foilage for a snack, eh?

Bunny Hats & Rosettes

For those of you dying for photos of River (Mom) you won't have to wait much longer. Our new camera arrived in the mail today. For those of you sick of photos of River, beware, our new camera arrived in the mail today. However, until I charge the battery, read the instruction manual, and buy a memory card, no pictures will be forthcoming. In the mean time, I have been perfecting my talent for crocheting. I have been working on flower patterns to adorn some of River's plain onesies. My favorite so far is the cute pink rosette pictured here.

While looking for flower applique patterns I came across numerous patterns that are quite creative and entertaining. Here are a few samples. ps. these patterns have actual instructions, ie. someone spent alot of time constructing them.

I am seriously considering trying this pattern. But with sleeves. And less holes.

"Witch Bunny-Rabbit Hat". Poor thing. The fact that someone would take the time to make a witch-hat for a rabbit astounds me!

Ken is ready to go to the Star Trek Convention in his Commander Will Riker outfit. Pattern includes jacket, pants, ankle boots, and directions for making his own communicator. Difficulty Level = Intermediate

He and She tanks.

I thought it took a secure man to wear pink.

While there are some fairly hideous crochet patterns out there, there is also a fair share of cute ones. I've got my eye on these, and when my skill level increases I'll make some of 'em.

River is defiantly getting one of these headbands for Halloween. I want this long- sleeved dress. Doesn't it look warm?

Also on my wishlist... this lovely hairband, child's dress and bunny. If any of you have mad crocheting skills, Christmas is coming up, you know what to do!

I'm now a Cutthroat Ebayer

We finally got a new camera off of ebay. I've never been an avid ebayer. Previously, in fact, the only thing I'd ever gotten from ebay was a small tin of buttons. And I didn't even bid on them, I used the buy-it-now feature. So I was woefully unprepared for the competitiveness I experienced when actually bidding on an item. For those of you who use ebay, you understand. Bidding is strangely addicting and you MUST WIN.



Cameron and I sat huddled around our computer pressing the refresh button every few seconds.

"somebody outbid us! who does this guy think he is?"
"jerk! we'll show him. bid higher. quick!"
"ah ha! we're winning."
"okay, okay don't get too excited, there is still 30 seconds left. I bet that idiot is waiting to bid at the last second. quick, hit refresh again."
"wow, this is so exciting! I never win anything!........hit refresh."
"we won!"
"viiiiiiictory! viiiiictory!"

(silence. both stare at computer screen.)

"uh, so how much do we have to pay? Are you sure this is a good price? maybe it's cheaper at bestbuy."
"well...crap. look, the shipping alone is 20 bucks..."

And so we have a camera. But did we get it for a good price? I don't know, I don't dare look. Next time I'll do my research. Next time I'll be prepared with price comparisons and shipping costs.
Next go round I'll get a decent price.... unless some pinhead decides to out bid me. Then it's war.