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...with LIFE. Is anyone else feeling like this? Like there is just too much to do...the days pass by so quickly and nothing gets crossed off your to-do list. But I'm trying. I took this picture of Payton and I last night when we were hangin' out on the couch. I know it's a grainy picture, not the best quality, but I love it. Me and my big girl. She is saying "mama" so clearly now...and constantly! It makes me happy that she is always calling me, and wanting to "talk" to me about all those little things that are important to her. We started swimming lessons again tonight and it was so much fun. Payton is such a water-baby. She was kicking away and didn't mind at all when she got dunked (lots of the other kids cried!) and had fun joining in on the games and songs. She had so much fun, in fact, that she had a nice SPAZ in the car all the way home...but we made it. At least she cries LEAVING class instead of the other way around. Hehe!
And on another note, the house reno's are still happening and should be all done soon. I finally have a bathroom sink again...yay!! Definately not something that is fun to live without. I am liking all the changes, the littlest things can make such a big difference. And it has been nice to SIMPLIFY ... to get rid of those things that you really don't need. It's totally liberating! I've even gotten rid of a ton of clothes. Even though I still like all of them, I just had to stop the insanity and get rid of stuff...and now Gray and I can actually use our linen closet for towels and sheets instead of my clothes! Haha!
And Gabby is such a doll...such a good baby. She seems to be happy at home and in her space. We're working on a routine, some sort of shedule. It'll come, right? I still have so many things I want to share...pictures and projects. I am trying....that's my motto from now, I think. "I am trying."
But, here's a quick share of Gabby and her cousin, Ochiel on their blessing day. Osh is 3 months older than Gabby...I can't wait for them to be little buddies. I love that they were blessed on the same day. So sweet.
Wow...what can I say? I am back from Creative Escape in Phoenix and it was AWESOME!! I am so tired, I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep, but it was soooo worth it. Where do I begin? I went with Kim and my mom, who was willing to watch Gabby for me while I was in classes....thanks, momma! I honestly couldn't have done it without her. And Kim was so patient with the baby and I the whole trip...I'm sure she was glad to get home to some peace and quiet. hehe! Anyways, the weekend was just awesome. All of the classes and teachers were amazing and we came home with some beautiful projects. I just couldn't believe all of the little details that went into this weekend...from everything being perfectly coordinated in pink and green, to the popcorn and bubble bath left in our rooms at night, to the amazing food, to the matching flip flops that we all got...aahhh! It honestly WAS an escape of a weekend for all those who attended. I am feeling so inspired and just wanting to SCRAP...but we all know how little time there is in the day to do that!! Heidi and Mr. Bazzill were so much fun...I just can't believe how hard they worked to put this weekend together. I think my fave classes were Heidi's clock and Allison Tyler-Jones' photography class. She was so amazing...i was balling during her slideshows. Aaaahhh! And yes, Gabby was included in all of this...I cannot believe how much attention one little baby got this weekend! All the ladies were just amazed by her hair. It was fun to show her off, but also so NICE to have my mom there helping me...like I said, there's no way i would have gotten anything done in the classes if it weren't for her!
So anyways, here sre some pictures from Heidi's class...she is so awesome. This picture is of my clock, not quite finished...but how fun, hey???
We also went to this store called Lucky 15 and it is sooooo cute! It's like a specialty store with scrapbook stuff as well as other paper artsy stuff. And they give you a little fortune cookie in your bag when you buy your stuff! So much fun...I couldn't resist taking a ton of pictures in there.
You can see more pictures of Lucky 15 here.
This is a picture of Kim and I in class....
...and Wendy Smedley and I from Simple Scrapbooks. She is the creative editor of SS mag and we sat and talked one night...she is so sweet and answered tons of questions I had for her. Thanks, Wendy!
And the one and only Donna Downey was there, too! This chick just meets soooo many people in her travels...and she is always willing to chat with people and take pictures. I'm sure it gets old fast, but she is an awesome sport. So here she is with Gabby and I.
The last night was so much fun. We were all served a big sit-down dinner and since the theme of the weekend was "indulgence" we were served our dessert first. Isn't that cute? So all the waiters came out with our plates of chocolate cake and we got to eat that before dinner was served. I loved that. After dinner, Stacey Julian from SS and Big Picture Scrapbooking spoke to all of us and it was so amazing. She is just this totally inspiring woman and it was so cool to hear her talk. I could have listened to her all night. Seriously.
And last but not least, here is a picture of Heidi and I with our babies. Gabby is only about a week and a half older than Capri...how cute are they? This was such a neat way to end off the weekend...Kim and I just managed (somehow) to catch Heidi on her own and we were able to visit with her a bit and thank her for the weekend...and then we went to our room to pack ALL OF OUR STUFF!! All I can say is, it's a darn good thing I brought an empty suitcase with me! We got so much stuff and of course I had to buy stuff, too! 
So now I home and it really is time to get back to normal life and to get in some sort of schedule with my girls. It's nice knowing that i don't have anything happening for the next little while. I still have pictures to share of Gabby's baby blessing last weekend...I will get to that as soon as I can!! Bye for now!!
So we got home from Montana yesterday, and I am exhausted...funny how a vacation can do that to you, hey? Hehe. We had a great time at the lake with both of our family's and I had so many pictures to share that i didn't even know where to begin...so I posted them here for those who want to take a look. Gabby is growing and Payton is BUSY.... she kept us all very entertained. She's learning new words (and coming up with her own as well!) so we had lots of good laughs. I love this picture of Payton and daddy in the boat...totally captures how much fun Payton was having and how enamored daddy is with his little girl.
So now I am home and trying to get my life organised. We are in the middle of some renovations in our house, so needless to say it is a disaster...awesome new floors, but now there's tons of painting and reorganising to be done. It'll be awesome when it's all finished, but for the time being I am living in chaos....and I miss my bathroom sink and countertop...2 things I never really appreciated till they were gone! And of course, we are crunched for time. There are always other things coming up...Gabby is being blessed on Sunday, we're having a big family brunch for it. Then we have a funeral on Monday for Graham's grandpa and I leave for Phoenix on Wednesday for Creative Escape (another scrapbooking weekend). AAaahhhh! I guess it's the rule that everything happens at once. So I'm trying to take deep breaths and just do as much as I can. I'll be away from the computer again for a while, but thanks for stopping by!
I guess the summer is officially over...
So I actually got around to getting some scrappin' done. Crazy, hey? I went to the scrapbook store on the weekend and picked up some new stuff...and then with all the cute baby pictures I've been taking, I HAD to do a couple pages. I totally sacrificed precious sleeping time to get these done, but it was fun and worth it! I have another page of Payton and Gabby in progress...but I can't seem to find a half hour to finish it up...so we'll see how long that'll take. Hehe!We are all doing really well. Gabby is just a champion sleeper. Nights with her have been so easy so far (knock on wood!) so I hope it stays this way. I have to get up once in the night to feed her, but she always goes right back to sleep, so it's been great. Graham hasn't been losing any sleep at all!! (note minor resentment here on my part...hehe) But I guess he can't very well feed her in the middle of the night, so that's okay. :)Payton is adjusting so well to being a big sister. She just loves Gabby and is always wanting to give her kisses and cuddles. She is such a big girl now...she has grown up so much in these past 2 weeks! Makes me sad, but I'm also so proud of her for how she has been handling things.Well, this will probably be my last post for about 2 weeks...we're heading to Montana to spend some time with our families at the lake. I'm looking forward to chilling out and hopefully getting some naps in! I'll check back in as soon as I can, but until then, everyone enjoy the rest of the summer!
Well, this past week with Gabby at home has been wonderful, busy and tiring! I just wanted to thank everyone for all the nice comments and emails...it means a lot to me! These two pictures of Gabby's little head and feet were taken by Kim at the hospital when she came to see us...there was this perfect evening sun coming in through the window so we took advantage of it and did a little photo shoot. Such cute pictures, hey?
And here is Payton and Gabby...sisters. So cool! I love saying that! Payton is such a good big sister and loves Gabby to death...always wanting to kiss and cuddle and help the baby burp. P just cracks me up...she likes to take Gabby's soother and hide it on me. But she always knows exactly where to find it when I ask her to get it!
And here's Gabby and I when she was 2 days old...my little girl...so fun to have a baby around again...
Gabby is just like Payton was and looooves to be wrapped up tight in her blankets...her eyes aren't open that often (she is an AWESOME sleeper!) so I had to take this picture of her when she was lounging on the couch, looking around. So sweet!!
Okay, don't laugh at me...Gabby sleeps in a laundry basket beside our bed right now. She has a beautiful crib, but I would just rather have her close to me right now so I can hear her and not have to get out of bed at night...and look how cute she is in there! This little bed is the perfect size! hehe! I may have to borrow a cradle from someone soon...
And here is Graham with his girls...he is so cute with them, there's nothing like seeing your hubby love and cuddle his kiddies. Makes my heart so happy.
And last but not least, I took this picture today...I left the room for about 2 minutes and when I came back, Payton was decorating her little sister with stickers. How hillairious is that? I had to take a picture of course, it was so funny. Glad that Payton was willing to share her stickers (one of her FAVE things to play with) with her little sister. Again, it made my heart so happy. So things are going well...we're all learning and adjusting to the changes in our family, and I know that's all a part of the process. I just keep telling myself that the only thing that matters is that my kids are happy. I know I am....tired....but also very happy.
So I had this great idea on the weekend to do a little photo shoot of Payton and I before the baby comes...just some shots of her and I, all happy and cute...ya, it didn't exactly turn out that way. Try explaining to a 1 year old that you want to take tons of pictures and she needs to smile and look at the camera and be cute and happy. Haha! So this is one of the best shots. Notice how I'm in it, but not in it, and Payton looks cute but still isn't looking right at the camera. Ah, well, I tried, right?
Now I'm just sitting here waiting for this baby to come...I went a little crazy on the weekend and this past couple days cleaning and organizing and doing things that in my head HAD to get done before the baby comes, but really in the long run, won't make a difference. But, oh, well...my house is organised and clean...it just took being 9 months pregnant to get all this stuff done! I have clean closets, clean laundry and a clean kitchen...hopefully that'll last for a few days at least??
Anyways, just wanted to check in and let ya all know that I'm still here and I'm still WAITING...
I'll keep ya posted if anything happens!!
I am soooo excited! I have been keeping this a secret for a while now, but a while back, I submitted a font that I designed to Creating Keepsakes, and they chose it to make into a font for the scrapNfonts website. Cool, hey? You can check out my font, "CK Taliatype" here...I hope to see you scrapbookers using it on your pages! Hehe! I used it for the writing on the above card...so weird to see my writing as a font. Kinda fun.
As usual, I've just been busy busy. I'm finally getting things a little better organized on my new computer...it's so different and it's taking me a while to re-learn everything...hopefully I'll be a pro soon. So I'm going a little cross-eyed right now, I've been sitting looking at the computer screen for hours. It's definately time for bed!
I did have a good day, though...I got a pedicure tonight which was so relaxing. If it didn't cost so much I would get them all the time! Nice to be pampered a little bit. And has anyone been watching "So You Think You Can Dance"??? Ah, I freakin' love that show. Donyelle, Travis and Benji are my faves. They are just so amazing. AAAahhh! So glad I still have another month of viewing pleasure.
Anyways, I'm honestly going to pass out if I don't get to bed NOW...I need to take advantage of the fact that I get to sleep thru the whole night. Not much longer till I'm up all the time! Craziness! Catch ya later.
Well....I guess it's been another week of bad blogging for me! But I've been super-busy and also super-successful in getting things ready around the house for the baby. First of all, Payton's totally moved into her new room and loving it...she's sleeping in her big girl bed now...I'm so proud of her, but sad at the same time. I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that she's going to be a big sister soon! But her room is so cute and she loves to play with her toys in there. A nice change.
I also got the baby's room totally set up and organized and it feels so great to know that I am ready. It was so fun to go thru all of my newborn stuff and get it all out again...but scary to think that I'm already doing this for a second time! I embellished these little onesies thanks to Heidi Swapp's iron-on letters...how cute are they?? I am so excited to get them on my little girl.
So now we're just waiting for this baby to come...I am 37 weeks and I keep telling myself that I WILL have this baby in July! Hehe! We're just so excited and my back is very sore...I can't wait to sleep normally again! And speaking of sleep, I'm apparently not getting any of it tonight. It's 2:45am and i am wide awake. Gotta love the pregnancy insomnia. Ah, well...that's what naps are for, right?
Oh, and P.S...we just got a Mac last week, so I'm desperately trying to figure this thing out. I know once I get used to it, it will be awesome, but for the time being, I am anything BUT computer savvy. So it may take me awhile to get back into the swing of things. Anyways...that's all for tonight I guess...maybe I'll try to get some sleep!!?!
Okay, so I know I have been a bad blogger this week! But I have been so busy and have just had so much to do...I'm almost 36 weeks (yay!) so this pregnancy is coming to an end and I'm just trying to prepare for another little one in the house. Right now I'm in the process of moving Payton into her new room...it's taking awhile 'cause I can only do it when she's awake (not that easy to be organizing and moving stuff when she's trying to sleep in her crib)...but...when she's awake, let's face it, how much can I actually get done?? So it's taking me a while. Hopefully I'll be able to finish that up tonight, then it's on to organizing through all of my newborn stuff and getting the baby's room ready. And of course I have to make everything "cute"...decorating, etc...so this is a big job for me! Hehe!! Graham has been camping this week and then he had to go to Red Deer to so some painting, so I'm looking forward to him coming home tonight. Thank goodness for my sister and her kids...they've kept Payton and I company and are awesome baby-sitters. I find after a couple days without my husband around I start to get BORED...and I think Payton feels it, too. So we're excited for daddy to come home!I also just wanted to share some layouts I did last week:
And then here's a couple pictures from last weekend when we were in Red Deer...Payton and Mya hangin' out in the hammock...
...and Mya, Kedan, Payton and Ochiel...sadly, this is the best picture I could get of the 4 of them! Payton refused to look at the camera, so this is what I ended up with! Hehe!!If I'm MIA again for a while, it's just 'cause I'm busy "nesting"...I have a whole list of things I want to get done before the baby comes, so I'm slowly working on all that. Wish me luck!!
We're off to Red Deer today to spend some time with Graham's family and just chill out...I'm hoping this good weather lasts so Payton can play outside with her cousins all weekend...did I mention how much I love summer?I took these pictures of Payton last week...she is so funny. Photo shoots with her are always interesting...I have to take a million pictures so I guarantee that there's at least 2 or 3 pictures where she's actually looking at the camera! Hehe! Seriously, though, what the heck did we do before digital cameras?? I made that little Canadian flag with my mom last week, too...it looks really cute outside at the front of the house....we've been living here for 3 years and I'm finally just starting to make the outside of my house cute in the summertime. I even have flowers!! Whoa!!I'm getting so anxious, nervous, excited and impatient about having this baby!! I can't believe it's only weeks away now that we'll have another little person in our family. So crazy. I don't know if it's really hit me yet...I still have so much to do before the baby comes...switching rooms, organizing closets and baby stuff...leave it to me to leave it till the last minute. Ah, well, that's the best time to get things done, right?? Anyways, I'm off...have an awesome weekend everyone!!
