Ilene's 2010 New Year's Resolutions-

Oh yeah...
16- Work on getting Toby potty trained, try not to have any accidents on Linda's carpet.

Foam Chairs-

Greg and I bought second-hand foam chairs for 3.50 each and replaced the covers with ones we made, for Josslyn and Kathryn (Greg's nieces) for Christmas 2009.

They used to be Elmo chairs. We reused the zipper but bought fabric in colors they liked and ironed on their names.

They turned out all right I guess. I had the hardest time figuring out how to sew these together. If I ever make one of these covers again, next time I would use a stretchy material in a fun print.

Salt Lake Temple Painting-

For Doug and Sarah's Christmas gift this year we decided to paint the Temple they got married in.

We bought a beautiful 16x20 frame at a great price at Hobby Lobby (they have great sales).

I spent around a total of 8 hours painting, then we immediately framed and wrapped it up for them. I used acrylics so the paint dried fast.

I had such fun painting it! I like painting architecture, it's much simpler to do compared to portraits or landscaping in my opinion.

Arm Warmers-

You're probably thinking why don't I just wear a jacket when I go running outdoors? Why make these arm warmers?

Well, I get overheated in a jacket but my arms freeze, when I run in cold temperatures. So I could have gone out and bought a bunch of long sleeved shirts, but I decided to make these instead. Cheaper, more versatile (I can take them off if I want).

I cut up a scarf that I didn't need and sewed on a button at the top to attach to my short sleeved shirts (I also attached buttonholes to my shirts, easy to do).

I've worn these since the beginning of the cold weather and I am loving them! I can also wear them when I ride my bike (in the spring).

Projects I Can't Post Yet-

Since Linda (Greg's mom) suggested to everyone to home make their Christmas gifts for family members this year, I have projects coming out of my ears! I love to make things though, so I'm having a ton of fun with them. I can't show all the things I've made yet, I have to wait till after Christmas so I don't spoil the surprises. But as soon as I can, I will post all...

Family Portraits 2009-

This is our first Family Portrait photos we have ever done! I think they turned out great - when Toby kept his finger out of his nose!

I really like this one, this one is the one I put as my profile pic for a bunch of websites.

And here's one with Toby and his doggy! He loves that thing - I have to wash it all the time because he's constantly biting on the nose. That's the second nose that doggy has had, and a few weeks after this photo was taken, Toby had chewed off the new nose! Yuck. But look at that beautiful smile!

More of Toby's Birthday-

I was going to go with a train cake, but when we decided to get Toby a dump truck for his birthday, I decided a dump truck cake would be fun. And it was pretty easy. I used two small pound cakes and then covered them in frosting and m&m's.

Toby's ready to eat the dump truck!

Gina my niece. I was happy she was able to come!

Gina's daughter, Trinity

Birthday gifts - dump truck, loader, batman trike, Mr. potato head, books, clothes, and hot wheels. Toby loved all his gifts!

Oh yeah, Toby also got an elephant pillow from Grandpa and Grandma Platt. So soft and fluffy!

Trying out his Batman Trike at the park.

Trying out his dump truck and loader

Loader down the slide!

Dump truck going down!

Splash

Wheeeeee!

Uh Oh! I think we're gonna crash!

Birthday Fun

Potty Training Update-

You remember I posted that Toby actually told me he wanted to go potty that one night? Well, he hasn't asked to go since and I've been asking him to go potty about once a day. I'm content to let it stay on this step for a long time, up to the time we move out of Marlan and Linda's house. Because then once we have our own place, we can move forward aggressively onto the next few steps, one of which may include pee accidents on the floor. And I really don't want to do that step on Linda's beautiful carpet!

Stroller Pack-

I needed something to carry drinks and snacks in while I walked Toby in the stroller to the park. And I didn't want to buy anything for it, just make something out of the stuff I already had.

So I got a pair of Toby's pants that I didn't like (corduroy is annoying!) and cut off the legs. I sewed up the leg holes and sewed one of the legs to the front as a cup holder. Then I sewed Velcro on the sides as handles.

And it can stay on with the stroller folded up and put away. I've tried it out and I'm satisfied with it. It works great!