Family Pictures

in april, we went to Floyd Lamb Park to get our family pictures taken. the last time we took family pictures was at the Picture People when preslyn was a baby and it was an absolute nightmare! because of that experience, i was very stressed out about them, but when the day finally arrived everything went smoothly. all the kids were so good and did exactly what the photographer asked them to do. no tantrums... no tears... no wiggles... no frowns... and no waiting for two hours! we went with Erin Hatch Photography and she did a great job. you can visit her website at erinhatchphotography.com. here are the rest of the pictures that i didn't use to decorate my blog:)

Children's Museum and Visitors!

My sister Milin and her husband Jake came to visit us in April with their cute little boy Tean. It was fun hanging out with Milin. On one of the days we took the little kids to the Lied Children's Museum. It was a lot of fun. While we were driving, Tean would start crying out of the blue. Then, he would stop. This happened several times so I started watching from my rear-view mirror. Broyden would slowly reach his hand out and touch Tean's car seat, which would bring Tean to tears. Broyden seemed fascinated at his ability to do this:) It was fun to watch them wrestle and play.

CUTE TEAN

PRESLYN AND BROYDEN
PRINCESS WITH PIZAZZ!

BROYDEN AND TEAN LOVED THE CAR

FRIENDLY FIREMAN

BIG BUBBLES AND WET TOES!

FEATHER DUCKS

PILOT PRESLYN AND HER CREW

NOT TOO TASTY!

MOON SAND--THE BIGGEST HIT OF THE DAY

CRAFTY TEAN AND HIS CUTE MOMMY

PLAYING HOUSE

SHAPES

THANKS MILIN AND JAKE FOR VISITING! WE HAD A GREAT TIME!

Birthday and Visitors

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON!!!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!!

We were lucky to be able to celebrate Aaron's birthday with a visit from Nathan and Daisy (my brother and sister-in-law) and their kids. Demarie and Preslyn had so much fun with their cousins and Broyden was obsessed with holding the baby:)

Lion King

Mommy/daughter date to Lion King. We had a great time!

Nursery Boy

This picture was taken on March 27th, but I haven't got a chance to post it yet! It was his first official day of being in nursery!!!! Broyden loved it and did great. He is holding the picture that he colored, but he kept moving it, so I never got a good view. Isn't he handsome? He sits so good and tries to sing along with the songs. He has started singing parts to "I am a Child of God." I love how he puckers his lips and holds out the word "do----!" Maybe I'll post a video someday:)

Demarie's Doll House

So, for Christmas, the girls got a beautiful doll house, completely furnished (it even came with a piano). Well, this sparked Demarie's imagination, and she immediately went to work creating her own dollhouse! I thought it was pretty creative!

A shelf with a toy box full of toys (there is even an American Girl doll in the toy basket), a window with stick window panes, and a big screen tv mounted to the wall. If you look closely, you can tell that they are watching the Little Mermaid.

A view of the inside. There is a bed with a beautiful paper blanket and cotton ball pillows, a rug, and table and chairs. There are even dishes and yummy food on the table.

Guess which doll house gets played with the most? :)

How to Survive With Your American Girl Doll

If you are reading this post and have not went through the American Girl doll experience with your daughter, be so grateful!!!! Not only are these dolls very expensive, but their outfits and other accessories cost more than what I spend on my own daughter's clothes:)

If you are reading this post and have a daughter that is obsessed with the American Girl doll dream, be so grateful!!!! These dolls are adorable and you can order them to look like your daughter. I have to admit, I get excited when my daughter asks me to help her put on one of the doll's outfits or to comb her hair. I've watched Demarie's imagination go wild with her new friend.

So, if these dolls and all that comes with them are so expensive, how do you live the American Girl doll dream and still survive with money in your wallet? That was the question that I asked myself as I watched my daughter flip through the magazine and ask if she could get this outfit or that. Suddenly, I had a great idea! I have two bags stuffed full of baby clothes in my garage. Would it be possible to alter them and make my own American Girl doll outfits? So, my daughter and I rummaged through the baby clothes and picked a few outfits that didn't look "babyish" (because her doll "is NOT a baby! It is an American Girl doll!")

Here are my finished projects so far:


Every American Girl doll needs a pair of warm pajamas to cuddle up in at night, right? This was my first sewing attempt to make pajamas from a 0-3 month sleep and play outfit. I even managed to whip out some matching warm slippers so that her feet don't get cold (an essential for Las Vegas!). I wish I would have taken a before and after picture of the outfit!

With Spring around the corner, I just knew that Demarie's American girl doll would need a new Easter dress. Here is the before picture of a cute 0-3 month dress that Preslyn wore when she was a baby.

And here is the after picture... a beautiful spring Easter dress! I was pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to take the dress apart and making it into a completely different dress!

I wish the picture was better, but here is a view from the back. Not sure if you can see the purple flower buttons, but I did have to point them out just to show that I actually made button holes!!! The best part of the whole project: My daughter LOVED it! The second best part of the whole project: It was FREE!