Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival

On Saturday we got to go with Grammy to the Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival! Grammy lives right on the waterway (literally) so it was fun to wander through her "backyard" for a while. We decided that this should be a yearly tradition while we live here- we had so much fun! It was a hoppin' festival- tons of people and lots of art to look at and buy. They also had a lot of fun crafts for kids to do! So we did some for Millie. And we even came home with two beautiful pieces of art (Grammy spoils us majorly). Thanks to Grammy for a great day! We can't wait to go again next year!

She wandered around and made lots of friends

Making a sand necklace, channeling his inner crafter

Random monkey named Anna Grace, wearing a diaper and everything!

Two monkeys in my arms right there

Favorite picture of the day! Playing bongo drums with Grammy

She loved the colorful map

All kinds of art- this artist was from Salt Lake!

Coolest pizza box ever

Grammy checkin' out the chimes

Slept allll the way home. Score!

This was later in the day after we got home- she was still so tired

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Did you know that's where our Millie got her name? 

I had a big thing for Julie Andrews growing up. I watched "The Sound of Music" every day (both VHS tapes, all the way through!) and apparently made everyone call me Millie for a long time after seeing "Thoroughly Modern Millie." 

So when we heard that the Miller Outdoor Theater downtown was showing "Thoroughly Modern Millie" on Friday we had to go!! I'm definitely putting that on my list of things to do often- we had such a great time. There were lots of people there (and dogs, which Millie loved) and it was a fun atmosphere. Plus, it's free! Can't beat that.

She fell asleep on the way there!

The view from our seats

Tons of people!

We think our Millie is a lot like the character Millie- super independent and marches to the beat of her own drum! We love that about her.

Tidbits

- Millie has gotten so goofy lately. She understands when to laugh, what to laugh at, and how to make me laugh! So she spends a lot of time trying to be upside down or putting things on her head that don't belong, etc. Anything to make us laugh- it's adorable.

As seen on instagram and facebook... but it's cute enough to share three times

- I have three little sprouts in my mini-garden!! They're so cute. What's embarrassing is that I planted a lot more than 3 seeds, and I'm not really sure what kind of vegetables actually sprouted. Guess we'll find out soon enough. I haven't given up hope on my other seeds though... you can do it seedlings!

- I've been making little home improvements lately, and it's been really fun. I put up a roller blind on the back door window, making it feel much more private at night! Thank goodness. Between that and hanging more things on the walls we are making progress!! Someday when you walk in our house you'll actually be able to tell that it's ours. Someday.

- Watching Tyler and Millie interact is one of my favorite things in the whole world. When we hear the garage door open (meaning Daddy's home), Millie looks at me and gasps and then runs over to the door to wait for him. She loves her daddy so much. 

-Yesterday I was watching some old family home videos and I was thinking about time and how weird it is. Millie's first year flew by so quickly, and I can only imagine that the rest will be the same if not even more so!! I cried a little bit at that thought and prayed that I could be a good mom and appreciate these days and how good they are. Between that and General Conference this weekend, I feel really motivated to be a better parent!

- I've recently started running 3 mornings a week with two other women (ladies? girls? what are we called now?) in our ward. It's been so fun! I definitely would not be able to run as far by myself (or as early in the morning) without them. That makes my April goal to exercise 4x/week totally doable! 

Lunch dates

Tyler spent a couple of weeks working at a client that was much closer than his normal ones, so we took advantage of it! We met for lunch twice during those two weeks. It was such a treat to see each other in the middle of the day!

At Chipotle

Unrelated, but I love the way she reads in the car

Panera's mac 'n' cheese. Mmmm

The Ann Perkins blanket

When Millie was born, Steph and Andrew gave us a ton of baby gear. A bumbo, bouncer, swing, wipes, diapers, clothes, etc. you name it, we probably got some from them! I told her that I would crochet her a blanket in exchange.

Well, Millie is almost 15 months old now, and I just mailed it off to her! Talk about procrastinating. I am the queen. 

The inspiration for this blanket was Ann Perkins' blanket on Parks and Rec:

Steph picked the colors she wanted, I learned how to crochet a granny square, and then we were in business. It started off slowwwwly. We decided on the latter of these two types of square:

There were 8 different colors of yarn, 12 different squares, 8 of each square. 8 sets of squares each had 4 colors in them, and then the last 4 sets were solid. I modified THIS pattern for each square (changing colors every round), then used THIS method of stitching them together. Throw on 2 rows for a border and that was it! Much faster to type it than to do it. The blanket took me about a month and a half total. Most of the time, you'd find me crocheting on the bed/couch with a movie/show on. Thanks to crocheting, I got through the Everybody Loves Raymond series and 1.5 seasons of Project Runway in addition to keeping up on all the regulars. Lest you think me a neglectful mother, I should add that all this was done during naps and after bedtime, before Tyler came home from work (a tiny benefit to his late work hours).

Tyler was playing with some cartoon photo app

Before it was put together

Stitching it together

The border

Finished product!

If you're curious, I used Yarn Bee's Effervesce line. The colors are Shadow, Niagara, Morning Glow, Petal, Razzleberry, Creamsicle, Willowy, and Sardust. The yarn was SUPER soft and great to work with!

So that is the story of the Ann Perkins blanket. And of the last 2 months of my life! I can't wait to see it on Steph's couch. Thanks to Steph for her patience with my slowness, and thanks to Tyler for his patience with my neglect of household duties and with my yarn being everywhere all the time!

Easter 2013

You should know that I have a zillion more pictures than I am posting. I definitely have new phone syndrome- I'm taking pictures of everything. It's getting ridiculous! Anyways.

We had a great Easter weekend! Tyler got half of Friday off, making Good Friday even better. We ran a few errands and went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner.

She refused to sit in the highchair! Her toddler independence makes going out in public really fun.

Saturday was busy busy! We ran more errands, had a donut picnic, mowed and fertilized the lawn, cut Tyler's hair, took a nap, took a walk, delivered treats to neighbors, and I went to the YW broadcast. 

Don't let her face fool you... she LOVED it!

She was so scared of the lawn mower

 I woke up on Sunday morning and remembered that it's my job now to fill eggs and baskets! I guess I'm still getting used to being the adult. Luckily, the Easter Bunny didn't forget anyone. We all got new Sunday clothes and Millie got chalk, bubbles, a watering can, and of course candy! She understood the concept of hunting for eggs much better than the last 2 times we tried, and it was so fun to watch her.

Trying to get a decent picture before church... she wasn't cooperating

After church we got to see Nathan, Charlee, Delilah, and Kevin at the Taylor's house. It was fun to catch up with them! Delilah made Millie look like a giant. After that we went to have a yummy dinner with the Juergens crew! We were spoiled and had a great time eating, visiting, and hunting for more eggs.

Blurry phone pic. Bummer.

 I of course failed to get a family picture! So silly.

Other Easter posts here, here, and here.