My first quilt!

So many of you have been wondering 'what is Nichole going to do now that she has her Bachelors degree?'. Well I've decided to become one with my crafty side for the time being and I must say that I am loving it!


I remember watching my mom quilt when I was a child and thinking that it was such a gift to be able to create something so beautiful. I remember all the steps that it took her and the months (possibly years, I don't remember) to actually finish one quilt.

My good friend Linda (who is sadly moving to Alaska in a few days) is a wonderful quilter and I begged her to teach me her trade before she left. She kindly agreed and helped me every step of the way.

This quilt is actually for a cousin of mine who just had a baby girl a few months ago. The only problem is that Jake immediately thought that the quilt was his and didn't want to let it go.

Here is my labor of love and that red tomato head in the lower right hand corner is my son screaming as I had to take it away from him in order to get some pics. Oh my!

"Thank goodness she finally gave it back I can use it to make my bed and take a noon nap."

I conveniently folded this over in a way to hide all the whoopsie folds on the back....it was my first one, don't judge!

Just the two of us

This week Chris was away on business and due to multiple travel delays he extended for a day to visit family in LA. So Jake and I were left alone to play and enjoy each other.

See, he does look like his Mom!

We enjoyed out first pillow fight this week and it was a blast.

He would catapult himself all over when I tossed the pillows and the giggles were endless.

I see you

Jake got a bit excited and nearly fell off the couch. Good thing my three fingers were there to catch him : )

This was so much fun and truly the highlight of our week together. I laugh just thinking about how hard he was laughing throwing himself on the pillows.

I had some girlfriends over for some sewing, salmon (thanks Linda) and sweet wine. The kids all played well together and Jake got some lovin from Ana.


This next week will consist of attempting to not stress as I pack up for our month long vaca but we are so excited and can't wait to see everyone!

Jake turns one!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY JAKE!!

My sweet little baby Jake turned one yesterday and I can't believe how fast it has flown by. Jake is such a strong, sweet, charismatic, and entertaining little soul that keeps Chris and I on our toes and always laughing. He wears his emotions on his sleeve with his hot temper and contagious smiles. Life with Jake makes every day an adventure and meaningful. Happy Birthday Jake!


We had a pool party on Sunday and it was a splashy blast!



He didn't want any swim toys today, only Mom and Dad. He loved the hitting the beach balls and watching the older kids jump in off the side.


It's my party and I can cry if I want to!


We attempted to play a little limbo and it was sortof a success. The kids were a bit young to understand that you could only go one-way and the whole "fun" aspect of walking under a stick. But they soon caught on and each had their own style of the limbo lean.

Jake's style was passing under it as his buddy Vinny lifted it up for him, thanks Vin!

The birthday cake! I made it myself and was pleasantly pleased at how well it turned out. It was cupcakes covered in a thick layer of frosting and surf decor. I found this blue spray paint food coloring that created a blue ocean and used crushed graham crackers for the sandy beach. Most of the decorations were candy or tourist magnets and everyone enjoyed it, hooray!


Jake enjoyed it as well. He managed to chow down 2.5 cupcakes all on his own and sported a sugary grin the rest of the party.

He even decided to share with Mom, I told ya he was sweet!


Bubbles, squirt guns, and kick beach ball fun ensued between pool sessions.



Zonked after a great B-Day bash.

After a well deserved nap for the whole family it was time for presents !

He gets so fixated and serious with the race cars.



This sporty kid knew how to play them all within seconds. Home run Jakers!

Today we did what Jake wanted and played with his toys, in the backyard, and rode his new trike that the Jarrells got him.


Thank you to everyone that helped us celebrate Jake's big #1. To family and friends back home, he has enjoyed opening all of his cards and we can't wait to see you in a few weeks.

Summer Season!

I scored on a neighboring garage sale last weekend and bought this jungle gym and water table for $6! Jake is just at the right age to start enjoying this and yells out for it on a daily basis.
'

It has a mini rock wall that took him all of 5min to master.

O' hoy captain Jake!

The swing is a bit dull for him as he is used to the sky high one we have set up in the garage.

So, Jake has refused the rear facing car seat and we thought that we would try out the forward facing a week early and were eager to see his reaction....ugh hmm.


Nope he still hates it. Let me tell ya, we are really not looking forward to all the road trips we have planned for the mainland.


I found this mini chair at WalMart for $8 and had to get it for Jake. He loves it!

although he doesn't always sit down in it...oh boy.

Happy Fourth Of July!!

Our version of a slip n slide.


Jake defiantly has a thrill seeker side to him and we did this all morning.

Happy men around the grill. Finally we put that big boy to good use!

We had a ton of food and surprisingly hardly any leftovers. Everything was delicious and thanks to potluck style it was nice and easy.


Vinny~always on the run!


The dogs were loving all of the attention and busy bodies as they seemed to smile all day.

Jake went down for a nap just before 20+ people arrived and didn't adjust well....However, once he saw the pool party in his backyard with all the little ladies he was smilin' away.

Alli, trying "not to get her face wet" when going down the slide.




Vinny holding tightly onto his Mom. Jake and Vinny were not too thrilled with the firework display and clenched tighter than ever onto us Mom's; it was wonderful and we enjoyed every second.

Sparklers!

"Don't point them at people!" Good times.


Topping the 4th off with some gooey, warm, delicious smoores. Yum! The Jarrells brought over their smoky joe and all the fixin's for a great night cap.


After how many beers!?

The Frazier fam with the stray cat behind them trying to make me adopt it. NO! It is cute, sweet, and I even held the little furry bundle, but NO WAY!

Hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday!