Keeping Up with the Buckners: January 2013

Holy moly, this month has flown by!! And if you glance to my previous post, it might help explain why :) This past month included Christmas, New Years, and projects, projects, projects! In addition to the play kitchen project, I also attemped to make Hailey a busy book in time for Christmas. And while I did make some progress on it, I'm sad to report that I did not finish it. Maybe it will be a Valentine's day gift! Here are a couple pics of the work in progress:

The cover

This one will be a 'lift the flap' type page with little animals in the windows

The balloons unsnap so she can do some color matching

Zippers.

I also decided to make 10 "bonus gifts" for the ladies of my family on Christmas. They are 4-inch embroidery hoops with their inital stitched in the middle (or handprints for the grandparents). They really weren't difficult at all and I think they turned out so cute!

For cousin Sammi

Aunt Diane

Hailey's handprint for Grandma Peggy

Collin, Keaton, and Hailey's handprints for Great Grandma Mary

And we can't forget the day of marathon cookie baking!

So, as you can see, I tend to get a little carried away sometimes and take on a million projects at once. But I like being busy, so no complaints here. My latest project is revamping our family diet to include as few processed foods as possible. Inspired by 100 Days of Real Food, I am doing my best to turn our kitchen into a "real foods" kitchen. So I'm in the process of stocking up on nuts, seeds, dried fruits, popcorn, fresh fruits and vegetables, homemade bread, plus snacks like homemade graham crackers, homemade granola, and homemade soups, sauces, hummus, etc. This isn't completely new territory for us, as we have always eaten "healthy" around here, but now I'm going the extra mile to eliminate those lingering chips, crackers, puffs, bread, jarred sauces, etc. There is a lot more to it than that, so head on over to the 100 days site to get inspired yourself!

Don't worry, Hails, I haven't forgotten about you! You have continued to be an angel for mommy and daddy and you had a blast on your second Christmas. You loved opening gifts and saying "ohh nigh (nice)!!" You got tons of new clothes, shoes, toys, books, and play food items for your new kitchen. You have your 4 wonderful grandparents to thank for the majority of your Christmas gifts - they love you so much!

Lots of QT with my grandparents lately!

Up until a couple days ago, your sleeping was great. But for the past few nights you have been putting up quite a fight when going down at night. We hope its just a phase....

As for your eating, it is getting a little better. You will now eat green beans, but not just any green beans, they have to be the fresh, long, skinny ones with a little butter on them. I can also get you to eat fresh spinach {when I ~~hide~~ put it in a smoothie....}!! More current faves are clementines {Cuties}, dried apples/bananas/strawberries, and bananas with peanut butter. You gobble down my homemade graham crackers, too.

Bean Queen

You've picked up another 10-15 single words, but still not too many two-word phrases. You do a great job of communicating though and you hardly ever throw tantrums like you did a couple months ago. Whenever you need help with something you come to me or daddy and say "hep!?" and then bring me to your dolly that is stuck in the stroller or door you need opened, etc. Another wonderful thing you do now is calling out sweetly to me and daddy when you wake up in the morning instead of crying. It's so sweet to wake up to "Mama! Dada!" Instead of ear piercing screams :)

You and daddy have a wonderfully sweet nightime routine these days. Around 6:30 he gives you a bath, puts on your jammies, blow dries your hair, brushes your teeth with "Abby Dab" {Abby Cadabby toothpaste}, reads you story books, then gathers your babies and puts you to bed. The two of you have the most genuine relationship and it melts my heart to watch you two together.

You love playing in your kitchen, with your baby dolls, watching Clifford, playing with your Little People, reading books, making towers with blocks, doing puzzles, doing the Fisher Price apps on my phone {favorite=Itsy Bitsy Spider}, and scribbling with crayons and your Magna Doodle. Your fine motor skills are insanely good for your age. You always have beads around your neck and a purse or bucket on your arm! You are a little busy-body contantly moving from one thing to the next. You are {usually...} well behaved and play great by yourself. Unless you are hungry or tired... and in that case you cling to my leg and whine until I pick you up!

Your attachment to Baby & Hoo Hoo is growing, too. You use Hoo Hoo as a pillow in your crib each night and keep Baby under your arm most of the night. It is so sweet :) You consider your {large} blanket to be one of your babies, too! The other day you insisted on eating lunch with all three of your babies.

Best Buds

You have also started to dance alot recently! It is so funny! Here is an adorable video of your early dancing skills.

My computer has been giving me a little trouble lately, so if the above video doesn't work, go HERE to see it. My favorite part is her little move around 12-14 seconds:)

And now for everyone's favorite part, an over-abundance of adorable pictures! Enjoy!

Picking out a tree at Ted Drewes: