Emskyrooney

There have been some serious developmental leaps and bounds going on around our house! 4 weeks ago Little Paul could say "hi" and was taking a few steps between furniture and/or people. Just a few short weeks later he is walking everywhere (and starting to run!) and has picked up several new words including Mama, Dada, Mommy, Daddy, Doggy, Laurie (his daycare provider), Bubba (the doggy at day care), Bye, and Baba (bottle). Besides his oral language he's also, somehow, without much prompting from us, picked up some baby sign language! His first signed word was "more." (Surprise surprise, the little boy who LOVES food learned to say "more" first.) This one I'd been working on with him and Laurie at day care had been using it with him too. The "technical" baby sign is tapping the fingertips of both of your hands together however one of the things about baby sign language is that you're supposed to use whatever works for you- it...

This weeks I ♥ Faces contest theme is "texture."  The challenge is to enter a photo that either had a lot of texture in it or has had texture added in Photoshop or another photo-editing software.  I know I say this about all of my photos of Little Paul but this really is one of my favorites.  I love the texture of his corduroy hat and added some extra texture in Photoshop.  I really love how the leaves on the driveway are so blurry and almost look like spots of sunlight... Be sure to go to I ♥ Faces to check out the other entries!

Was just doing a little scrapbooking (actually really was just finishing up a page I started almost 2 months ago) and realized there are a few pages that I never posted here... Enjoy! Credits: Background: Scarlet Heels, Graphtastic; Yellow Coffee Stain: Jackie Eckles; Perfect Word Art, JMcNally; Absolute Joy Word Art, Ali Edwards; Brown Coffee Stain: Anna Aspnes; Glitter: Fei Stuff; Frame, Jessica Bolton; Acrylic RickRack, Shabby Miss Jenn; Staple, Lauren Reid; Turtle Charm, Christine Renee, Embroidery Action used on words, Atomic Cupcake Credits: Background: AAB, Baby Paper; Number 1: Audrey Neal, Add it Up; Worn Overlay: Lori Barnhurst; Sequin Trim: Traci Reed, Urban Vintage; Journal Memories Tag: Jackie Eckles; Circular Stitching: Shabby Princess; Scalloped Paper: Lauren Reid, Hullabaloo; Label Tape Alpha: Christine Renee; Boy: Joyce Paul; Staples: Chrissy W, Sew Cute

This weeks I ♥ Faces contest theme, celebrating the first birthday of I ♥ Faces is "Best Face Photo."  The challenge is to enter the photo you love the best that was taken in either December, 2009 or January 2010.  My parents surprised me with a fabulous 35mm portrait lens for Christmas and I snapped a few great pics of Little Paul with my brother, his Uncle Nelson.  I absolutely love this shot of two of my favorite guys with their matching hair-dos and facial expressions! Be sure to go to I ♥ Faces to check out the other entries!

Is it ok to brag about my kid for a little bit?  Of course it is- it's my blog- I'll brag if I want to!  In the past two weeks, between Christmas and visiting family and a trip to the hospital Little Paul has learned to: 1.  Walk!!! 2.  Say doggy, baby, hi, and (my favorite even though he says it a thousand times a day) Mama 3.  Brush his hair (aka holding the brush up by his head and moving it around) 4.  Be a carrier pigeon of sorts between Mommy and Daddy, carrying things from one person to the other when you ask him to. 5.  Give kisses (aka head butts) He seriously is one of the best babies ever, and it's not just his completely biased mama who thinks so.  He barely cried while in the hospital (except when they were poking him with needles and I cried too), and he behaved so well at the vet's office last night that the staff told me they didn't even know I had a baby with me because he was so good and quiet.  He got a little ups...

And so, the holidays are officially over.  Paul and I are back at work, LP is back at day care, and our house is slowly getting back to order.  Unfortunately we still have quite a pile of Christmas cookies and other treats so if anyone is interested in a tin of buckeyes, cake balls, candied ginger shortbread, sugar cookies and saltine toffee PLEASE let me know!  We had quite an eventful time over the past couple of weeks.  Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent with my in-laws, opening what seemed like a mountain of presents.  Paul surprised me with not only a fancy bounce-flash for my camera but also a serger sewing machine! I surprised him with a steering wheel attachment thing-y for the Xbox that actually makes racing games pretty fun.  LP was given more clothing and toys from Grammy and Papa than he knows what to do with, along with a beautiful toy box and a Leapfrog riding/pushing train that he's obsessed with. The day after Christma...