DIY Burlap Canvas

I wanted to get some super cute 6 month pictures of Annabel, but it just wasn't the wisest financial investment at this point, so one random morning I took pictures of her and decided to order large prints for our living room and make my own canvases. 

I went to my favorite thrift store, Potter's House Thrift, and bought these canvases for less than $1 each.   The only problem is I thought I had ordered 16x20 prints, but when I got home I realized I ordered 11x14. I was determined to make them work though. Because someone spent a lot of time painting these portraits and I felt guilty painting over them, I feel like we should take a moment to admire them.

First step after finding super cheap canvases, is spray paint them ivory. Since I was going to use burlap as the backdrop I didn't want all of the bright colors showing through.

Step 2: Cut burlap to fit canvas. I cut it pretty big so I didn't have to stress about making sure the picture was perfectly centered when I started sewing.

Step 3: Glue picture to burlap. I just used no sew adhesive, so the picture would stay while I was sewing.

Step 4: I used a zigzag stitch to sew the picture on. I lowered the tension on my machine, so that it would not mess the picture up.

Up close pick of the stitching. 

 Step 5: Now that the picture is secured to burlap make sure that the picture is centered on the canvas.

Step 6: Hot glue burlap onto canvas.

 FINAL project!

I cannot tell you how much I am in love with this! Considering I already had the burlap, which is super cheap anyway, each one of these cost me about $8.00. That means the total project was under $40! That's a small portion of a sitting fee alone. 

Here they all are on my wall:

Homemade Baby Food

I think the official title should be The Lazy Girl's Guide to Homemade Baby Food. I have done my research and decided to make Annabel's baby food. Mainly for cost reasons, but I also want to keep pesticides away from her as long as I can. However, I did not feel like chopping, steaming, pureeing, washing pans and all the other steps, so this is what I came up with.

1. Buy organic, frozen vegetables.

2. Steam in microwave- takes about 4 mins in microwavable safe bowl.

3. Puree with immersion blender.

4. Spoon into ice trays. (I got main for a pack of 3, BPA free, at Walmart for less than $2! No need to buy the "specialty" baby one that's almost $10.)

5. Freeze.

Finished product! YUM!!!

The only clean up is to wash the bowl and blade of the immersion blender. It took about 5 secs to put those in the dishwasher. I had peas, green beans, and broccoli made and clean up done all within 15 mins! I used the immersion blender not only because it is easier, but I also wanted her food to have some texture and not be completely smooth. I've read that it helps transition to table food if they are already used to the different textures. I was a HORRIBLY picky eater and trying really hard not to have one of those:). I've also been reading how important it is that our babies have flavor rich foods and not bland things.

And because I wouldn't need baby food without this precious girl, I thought you would enjoy some pics:):

Eating peas for the first time!

Very concerned look with tight lips.

Covered in Peas from head to toe.

I forgot to post this one, and we have since moved on to yellow veggies. So far yellow squash is by far her favorite with broccoli as her second choice.

7 months!

I think the time is going by faster and faster and to think it's summer- oh my! Our sweet bundle of JOY is getting more and more fun with each passing month. Not to mention the cuteness, I can hardly stand it sometimes:)!

• You love to carry things.
• You lunge forward and get on all fours and rock back and forth.
• You move your hands like you are crawling, but mainly go backwards.
• You sit up in the tub and play with your "friends" all by yourself. You even turn circles and chase your toys around the water. 
• You LOVE bath time and will put your face in the water. I cannot wait to take you to the pool/ lake.
• Still loving your toes.
• You have two teeth now- the bottom two. We like to say "Annabel Ruth has two tooths!" Poor grammar I know but it makes you laugh.
• I just walked into your room and you pulled yourself up from the sitting position for the first time today.

• You are in size 4 disposable diapers and we are still doing cloth. Wear size 6-12 clothes.
• You really do not enjoy lying down now. If you get on your back, you will sit in crunch position forever until we sit you back up. 
• You are really starting to play with your friends and LOVE play dates.
• You have started kicking your leg. All.the.time. Especially in the car seat and when you are lying on your stomach. For some reason I absolutely LOVE this and it makes me feel like you really are getting to be a big girl.
• We are having to watch you now that you are intentionally rolling, because you pick every spec up off of the floor and analyze it. You may or may not of had a few blades of grass to eat.
• You really like the outdoors and are doing great in the stroller when we go for walks/ runs.
• You definitely have the dropsy game down. You aren't necessarily into the whole hiding part of peek a boo, but you laugh so hard when people look at you and just say "BOO!"
• Your new favorite thing is when we tickle your belly with our toes. You think that is the funniest thing around.
• We tried crying it out (another post soon) and last night for the very first time EVER you slept until 3:00, ate, then woke up at 7:00. This is the first time you have only woken up once at night. Mommy was so thankful!
• You are really starting to love looking in the mirror too. Especially in the car. You talk to yourself all the time and won't get out of the car seat without one last look. If you're anything like your name sake we may be developing a little vanity:).
• Dada/ Daddy is still your favorite word, but you say "hi" too and have said "ma" a couple of times. Mainly you just love to jabber.

This month has been VERY big. Daddy and I prayed really hard and made some really hard decisions. We are going to take you on your first plane ride. To Europe. For mission work. This month. I am not at all doing this out of my own desire, but because I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that God wants us to go. I'm not even sure if we will know why this side of heaven, but what I want you to know is that GOD.IS.GOOD! Regardless of the challenges we face on the trip, our prayer is that our family brings glory to God during our short time here. We hope that you never fear the "what if" as you follow the path He has set for you, but that you humbly submit to His calling. We feel the best way to teach you this is to model it. So, even though mommy and daddy are not perfect, we serve a gracious God who is doing BIG things and we feel so inadequate yet so blessed to be a part of His work! I pray that you adapt well and are patient with me as we cross several time zones, live without air conditioner, and make you sleep in a foreign place. We love you sweet girl, and Jesus loves you more! 7 is going to be a big month for us all. Prayers appreciated:)!

And for some comic relief:

I'm gonna get you....

I'm gonna get you....

BOO!!!

Cheesy I know:)! TONS OF LOVE to our big 7 month old!!!!

Friends

I know I say it all.the.time but wearesoblessed! Annabel absolutely adores other kids, so I think play dates do her soul as good as they do mine. The weekend before last, Annabel got to meet Uncle Rob (Josh's best friend from college), hang out with Gam and Bup, eat lunch with Eliza- Grace and Caroline, and visit with Aunt Kelli while daddy got a haircut. Guess which mommy didn't capture a single one of those moments- this one!

We have hung out with these cuties this past week though...

Pretty park day with our play group! There were lots of big kids there too- so fun!

Just chillin' with my peeps- Ann and Porter. Could she get any cuter with her arm on Porter's shoulder?!

We love us some Preslee! Please notice her holding P's toes:).

Just a little bath time. Each kid was allowed 2 toys (to prevent one bigger kid from dominating the smaller ones. Names left out to protect the innocent:)) and it looks as though Annabel may be a rule follower or a hoarder- too soon to tell!

Love these sweet birthday buddies. Pretty sure they are going to be taking off any day now... 

Jamming out with Sheppy!

Annabel loved Brooklyn's swing. Daddy REALLY needs to hang our's up as soon as we get it from Aunt Jen:).

And because my sweet boys never get any blog time- here is a pic of little Jonah. Just relaxin' on the cool floor. He never does this, so for about 5 seconds I thought he was dead!

Mother's Day

I don't think my first official Mother's Day could have been better! It was so special getting to celebrate one of God's greatest blessings! We did miss getting to see our moms, but Annabel and I made them really cute cards (of course I forgot to take a pic before mailing them).

  Annabel and Josh let me sleep until 9:30! It would have been as amazing as it sounds if our little one had not been up all night. Don't get me wrong, 9:30 is awesome, but not as awesome when you don't get to go to sleep until 5:30:).

I slept in and woke up to a yummy latte and homemade fritta. Not to mention, my sweet card and pedicure. Josh even made me a photo calender- #1 husband material right there! We headed to church, then to Briar Rose for a yummy lunch and back home for a much needed afternoon nap! My extremely joyful daughter was wearing a smocked dress my mom made me when I was little:).

We finished the day with a trip to the grocery store and leftovers with some of our favorite people!

Haley captured this priceless moment while Stella helped me carry in groceries. She was telling me what everything was as we put it up, which was just about as cute as these two!

The daddys even finished out Mother's Day strong by taking over bath time. It was hilarious. 

So blessed to be her momma! Hard to believe last Mother's Day we were just in the second trimester- time goes fast!

6 month stats

Sweet Girl- you are AWESOME! 

We had more fun playing and laughing with you at daddy's early birthday last night and were thankful daddy got to come with us to get your shots this morning. We were a little behind scheduling your 6 month shots.

You are 17lb and 14 oz today. That puts you in the 75% for weight!

Almost 26" long which is 50% for height. Mommy was glad for this because she guessed you were 25" on your passport application:)

You head was almost 17", which put you at 50% for head circumference.

Dr. J was so impressed with how well you were sitting up and mommy and daddy could not be more thankful for a physician that prays over you! He also said you will probably be an early crawler and walker, but mommy's praying you hold off until we get back from our mission trip so you aren't crawling all over the airport:)!

You get more and more fun everyday and we absolutely adore you! 

Birthday Fail(s)

It is my wonderful husband's birthday today and lets just say I'm praying that this day does not reflect how the rest of his 29th year will go! Josh truly has been a blessing to me and I'm so thankful that God gave him to me and chose him to be Annabel's dad. It's crazy to think that we started dating at 19. It's this weird paradox where it feels like yesterday, but I feel like I've known him forever. He has taught me unconditional love, grace, humility, and to laugh at myself. Thanks for pointing me towards Jesus and leading our family! We LOVE YOU!!!! 

So back to this FAIL of a birthday. It all started last week when I called our favorite cake place to order Josh's cake. They told me they were too backed up with Mother's Day (side note: I need to meet the man that gets his wife a Mother's Day cake because I have NEVER heard of this) and graduation cakes that they would not be able to make a custom cake for me by Tuesday. I know I could have called somewhere else but it is hard to spend that kind of money on a cake anyway and when it's not your favorite and we're trying to save for a mission trip- I took that as God's way of saying, "You don't need it!":). Fail #1.

I have been looking for a bike trailer for MONTHS to give him and on Monday a "brand new, garage kept, never been used, still has hair on the tires" one popped up on Craigslist. I was beyond thrilled. Retails at $175 and I talked him down to $75. It was my lucky day! Until I went to get it. Thankfully my father in law was with me or I think I may have been murdered. There may or may not have been some fibbing going on on someone's craigslist post. It also doesn't help when the seller comes out high with a cigarette hanging out of their mouth. There was a pool of water in the seat - it had not rained in 4 days- cigarette burn on the front, stickers on it, rust in the joints. When I said this is not what I expected based on his description, he lowered the price to $65. I calmly declined and said I would have a really hard time paying $50 for it and walked away as fast as I could. Fail #2.

Since the cake thing didn't happen I had this bright idea to make my MIL's strawberry cake from scratch- Josh's FAVORITE- and surprise him with it at work today. I even used Arkansas strawberries and made this A-mazing strawberry buttercream icing with fresh Arkansas strawberries! My plan was to let it cool on the way to his office and ice it as soon as I got there so we could be back in time for Annabel's nap. I didn't zip up my pyrex carrier so it would cool faster, and apparently, when you drop pyrex it SHATTERS. Not just a little crack here and there but shards of glass EVERYWHERE including the icing:(! I seriously had to take a deep breath and talk myself into laughing because I just wanted to bawl! Fail #3.

On the up side, we did have an incredible dinner last night just the three of us. I accidently scheduled her 6 month shots today (another post and I guess you could call that Fail #4), and since I didn't know what kind of mood she would be in we decided to have an early birthday dinner. Annabel was in the best mood at dinner! We had a nice time laughing with her. I made Josh this last minute birthday present with thrift store finds. It cost me less than $3.00. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR! Praying 29 is filled with blessings. I may or may not have a bottle glass of wine before you get home!:) LOVE YOU!