Monkey See, Monkey Do

I was sanding some shelves I have. Quinn was interested in what I was doing. He watched me for a couple minutes before picking up a piece of sandpaper and started to help out. He was actually doing a good job! I showed Mike and he was like, "Monkey See, Monkey Do!"

I am very impressed with Quinn that he was able to pick up what was going on. I figure, even though he's young, I need to be careful of what I do. He's Quinn, the little mimicker. That is one way kids learn...after all!

Michelle's big day

Congrats to Michelle for graduating from high school.

Looking back to when I graduated high school, I thought that Michelle had forever to go before she graduated. Now the time has come and I can't believe how fast the time went.

Michelle, I am so proud of you. I love the person that you've become. You are so beautiful inside and out. I seriously look up to you in many ways. You have so many strengths and talents. I am lucky to be your sister.

You'll love this new chapter in your life. Enjoy it! College is so fun and you'll have many experiences.

Beside Michelle is Mandy, our foreign exchange student, from Hong Kong. Mandy you're beautiful too. I can't believe how brave you are to come here all on your own. You're so fun and full of light. I wish you luck to what may come your way.

Love you both!

Quinn's 12 months stats

24.5 lbs. (74.93%tile)

30.75 in. long (80.52%tile)

19 in. HC (92.91%tile)

I was kind of surprised by his stats. He definitely has slowed down a lot in his growing. Although, I still expected to see him in the 90% range. It's probably because it's been like that his whole life.

He's only gained a 1.5 lbs. since his last visit which was 3 months ago.

It's Quinn's birthday!!!

Happy Birthday Quinn. I can't believe that is has already been a year. The last week or so I have been reminiscing with Mike about what we were going through this time last year. With me being pregnant, going to the hospital, getting sick and having a hard time, meeting Quinn, and then bringing him home. I don't regret any bit of this last year. I am so glad to have him come join our home. He has brought us so much joy. We love him so much. Like everyone says, we can't imagine life without him now.

We were going to have his birthday party in our backyard until we looked at the weather forecast. Then we changed our mind. Our house is too tiny so Mike's parent's were so kind to let us have it at their house. It turned out so well. Thank you for letting us use your house.

We had hamburgers and hot dogs. We had people bring salads to help out. Everything was delicious!

Thank you to everyone that came. Thanks to all that gave Quinn birthday wishes. Thank you for loving Quinn. He sure is a special, dear boy!

Here are some pictures for those that couldn't make it. Quinn didn't disappoint me. He made a mess of his cake and was so fun to watch. That's my boy!

What Quinn's cake started out being. Can you tell what it is? For those that can't...it's a fire truck!

Give me, Give me, Give me!

Mmm! This is GOOD! Quinn being a little cautious because he's not sure if he's going to get into trouble or not.

Then all of a sudden Quinn goes crazy with his cake!

Dad joining in the fun. Quinn has been trying to share. He's excited Dad is taking part.

Mike is so proud of Quinn. A lot of people commented about it last night. It is so obvious. I love it!

Almost finished...

Look at this mess!

Quinn did a good job. He ate a lot of the cake.

The final product.

He didn't throw any of it. He ate it.

Quinn didn't like his bath afterward.

This cake is everyone else's. So, this was the first time that I had used fondant. I made it too! I've seen nor touched fondant before. Considering that; I did a good job! I was surprised people at it too.

Quinn was a little grumpy opening presents. It was close to his nap time. I think he felt a little sugar overloaded. He hung in there and ended up enjoying himself in the end.

Some sweet birthday glasses.

Quinn really really really loved these punch balls. At first, he wasn't sure what to think of them. Then once he was shown what to do and how they work; he went to town. It was so fun watching him.

This is what Quinn got from Mike and me. We couldn't wait until his birthday to try it out. There have been a few good sunny days that we have enjoyed it. Quinn loves it. It's cute to feel little hands tugging on the back of my shirt and little feet kicking my butt.

The first time we rode he kept jabbering. It was like he was telling the other kids, "Hey, look at me! I'm riding on a bike." The kids looked and pointed at him. He definitely draws attention to himself.

Easter Day!

Quinn at an Easter egg hunt with SO many eggs. Quinn isn't quite sure what to do with them all but he sure loves them. He's still infatuated with them. They have been keeping him well entertained.

Oh and guess what! He turned 11 months today.

We went to my parent's house for Easter dinner and visited with the few siblings that decided to join us. It was a wonderful day. I think the best part (although I do enjoy family) was sacrament meeting. I think our ward did a good job bringing in the true spirit of Easter. It was a good time of reflection and being reminded of our Savior and His love for us. The music was the BEST. If it was on a CD I'd listen to it over and over again. Our choir sounded like heaven. I was quite impressed. Of course, the primary did so well on their songs too.

Call me old? I taught myself to crotchet!

I've started looking at craft blogs. I've found a few things that I thought were really cute. I looked at them and decided that I could make that. They were crocheted headbands. The only problem was that I only knew how to make a chain. So, YouTube and I became friends. This is where I learned how to do the different types of stitches necessary to complete my headbands. Remember, I haven't been doing this for long so I'm still an amateur.

If you like what you see you can visit u-createcrafts.com This is where I got my ideas or copied it from others. A lot of them are referred from other sites. If you go there you'll be able to be redirected to where you can find these headbands.

Here are a few pictures of what I've been working on.

Some flowers...it's what I started with. These flowers are from http://www.littlebirdiesecrets.com/. They actually have a tutorial on how to make these. I just watched it while I had my yarn and crotchet needle in hand. I think I like the challenge of figuring it out.

This one was on YouTube called The Art of Teresa.

The knotted headband. I think mine looks how it's supposed to. I just didn't have it professionally taken like below. I've gotten lots of compliments when I've worn this one.

Want to make your own? Go to http://www.youseriouslymadethat.blogspot.com/

This is the first flower I made. It's actually what drew me into this whole thing. I find it to be really cute. Honestly, I think I've worn it once. It makes me feel self-conscience because of how big the flower is. If I saw someone else wearing it, I wouldn't give it a second thought to the size. In the picture below it doesn't look too big.

Want to make your own? Go to http://www.youseriouslymadethat.blogspot.com/

The double flower headband. Below is what it's supposed to look like.
I chose to make it with four strands instead of three.

Want to make your own? Go to http://www.youseriouslymadethat.blogspot.com/.

I like the color combination in this one.

This one is huge. It's cute for the right person. It was fun making it.

This one I made up myself. It's not finished. The flowers aren't attached or anything.

This was from a wedding.

Sorry for the blurriness. You get what it's supposed to look like; I'm sure. It's to get a general idea. I was too lazy to upload another picture. ;)

I've started making rosettes too. I've pinned them to my shirt (no picture, sorry!) Mainly, I've used them for headbands and necklaces.

I love this headband! I also got lots of compliments on this one. This was my own idea as well. Well, I learned how to make the rosettes online. They are on almost EVERY craft blog. Take your pick on where you want to learn if you don't already know how to make them.

I couldn't decide if I should use ribbon or a chain.

I don't know when I'll ever wear this. It's so big and bulky. I think it's cute. For some reason, when I looked at rosette necklaces online they seemed a lot cuter then. It's not my favorite. I guess I just need to keep practicing and experimenting.

I'm not sure what I'll move onto next. It's kind of weird to have the words, "I like crafting" come out of my mouth. (Is this considered crafting...it is right?) Those that know me would know that I HATED this kind of stuff growing up. I HATED everything about it. It bored me to death.

I cut Quinn's hair

Here's the new little Mike. I think they look SO much alike. More so now, that his hair is shorter.

I was so sad to cut his hair. It needed it so bad. It reminded me of Rufio (sp?) off of Hook. It was so thick in the middle and uncontrollable.

It was hard cutting it because he was so interested in those clippers. He kept moving and then he'd throw a fit when he wasn't getting his way. The worst part was trimming his neck and around his ears. I had to tie him down with my feet and had his head in the joint of my elbow. This was when he really started to cry. I actually used a nose hair trimmer for this part of the job. I wondered if/when I'd ever use it and for this project it was perfect.

I think it looks good!

Can you see it...the resemblence? Well, this is the most recent of them together.