Once There Was A Snowman, Snowman, Snowman!

Daci has been SOO into snowmen this year.  She wakes up every morning and asks if there is snow so she can build a snowman with daddy.  Since there hasn't been any snow (don't I live in Chicago?!), we decided to build our own indoor snowmen. I saw these on pinterest and fell in love!  Carly and I have been trying to do a craft a week with the girls and thought these were just perfect. We followed the tutorial on this site, but tweaked a few things to make them our own.  If you can't tell from the pictures below....the girls loved this craft!  I think Carly and I may have liked it even more :)  I mean c'mon, look how adorable they are!

Filling the socks with beans (I didn't have enough rice).  Don't mind that Daci doesn't have any pants on, it was an accomplishment getting at shirt on her :)

Leni filling her sock with beans

 Then, I kinda forgot to take pics of the middle steps.  Whoops :)

Daci loving the snowmen

So proud

Aren't they cute!?

The girls with their snowmen

Eleni was proud too :)

And now he sits on our hutch next to the Christmas Trees!

Ornament Making

Today I was working on the last of my handmade Christmas gifts and I set Daci up at the table beside me with a craft of her own.  I wasn't sure if she would be able to do it by herself, but I thought I would let her start and if she needed me, then I would help her finish it.  Remember those beaded candy cane ornaments you did as a kid in school?  I wanted Daci to do one of those this year and looked everywhere for the supplies.  All the craft stores had those kinds of beads but they were multi colored, really expensive, and you had to buy a ton of them.  I was frustrated and decided to give up on the idea until one day I was in the holiday section at hobby lobby and they had little ornament kits for $1!  Score!  So today was the day that I pulled them out and Daci LOVED it!  I explained what a pattern was and told her to do it red then white then red then white.  I didn't really think she would get it but right away she started saying "Red then white, red then white" as she put each bead on!  I was so impressed!  I said, "Daci you are so good at making a pattern!"  She said, "I know!  Like Mickey Mouse!"  That right there made me feel 100% better about letting her watch tv :)  Haha!  She learned something from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, wahoo!  After about 10 beads she got sick of the pattern and wanted to do it her own way.  But, at least she knows what a pattern is :)

Concentrating very hard

Showing off her pattern

After 45 minutes of stringing beads....and giving up on the pattern :)

Its a candy cane!

She hung two of them on the tree...do you see them?  She is very proud :)

Keeping busy!

We've been keeping busy here at the Roberts household!  I like to keep myself distracted so I don't think about how soon it is til the babies come and also so I don't think about how far away it is :)

Daci and Eleni had fun fingerpainting for the first time:

We had our Ward Christmas Party last weekend.  It was so fun for me to get out and see everyone!

How cute is she anyway?

I started the 12 Days of Christmas for Rick.  I wanted him to have a special Christmas since he has been doing so much for me lately.  Our van was pretty much our gift to each other this year so I thought I would do little, inexpensive but meaningful things for him each day.  One morning I woke up at 5am and made him breakfast for work.  This is a huge thing for me.  I'm sorry, but getting up in the morning to do breakfast is just not my thing.  But, I know that he absolutely loves a good breakfast, so I did it for him :)  I made him stuffed strawberry and cream cheese french toast.  He loved it!

I also have been doing a bunch of papercrafting for gifts.  I made 60 cards in one day.  20 of 3 different designs.  It took me quite a while but I am happy with how they turned out!

I love this birthday card I made.  Sadly, the picture doesn't do it justice.  The colors are all really pretty together.  Close To My Heart teamed up with Cricut and made an awesome cartridge!  Both the cupcake and the roses are cut from the Cricut, then I embossed, glittered, and bejeweled the cupcake and rolled the flowers.  I love that even though they all cut out identical, they all look different once you roll them,

I also made this "4You" card

And this "Thank you" card

We also have been working on this dresser for the babies' room.  I found this on the side of the road on trash day and swiped it :)  It was pretty sad looking when I found it.  It had never been sanded and was spray painted white.  It was also missing the two top side by side drawers.  We sanded and painted the whole thing and Rick turned the missing spot into a shelf.  I found these cute baskets and knobs.  I absolutely love the finished product!  What do you think?  Sidenote:  Hobby Lobby only had 7 ceramic knobs.  I ordered another one and it should be here next week :)

I was 33 weeks yesterday.  Exactly five weeks to go!  I set my induction for Jan. 19th at 7:15am.  That is my 38 week mark.  The doctors said that anytime after 37 weeks the twins would be just fine to be born and they would go straight home with me.  My mom gets in when I am 37 weeks and 3 days.  I'm thinking that would be the perfect day for my body to decide to go into labor :)  We are really excited and anxious!

Mail!

Like I said in my last post, we have a tradition in our family where the kids get an ornament at Christmastime from my grandparents and my parents have also carried this on with Daci.  Daci is so excited about Christmas, and with me not being able to shop very much, I have done a lot of online shopping.  Every afternoon when the doorbell rings she yells, "More presents!?"  I usually have to tell her that they are for Christmas, and then she pouts for a while :)  But this week she got two different packages in the mail!  The first was from my grandparents.  They sent her her ornament and she was so excited to open it, she couldn't even wait to get her coat off or have me help her.

Trying to open it by herself

Trying REALLY hard to open it herself :)

I finally got her to take her coat off and sit down, I cut the top of the envelope open and she went to town

Seeing her ornament for the first time

Proudly showing off her Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus ornament.  Thanks GG and Great Grandpa O!!

Yesterday a big package came in the mail from my mom with all of our Christmas presents and Daci's ornament.  She was so happy when I finally gave her one she could open....she was getting more and more frustrated with each package I told her to put under the tree :)

Here is the progression of this present opening:

Finally got her box

Ripping it open

Pulling out the bubble wrapped ornament.... "What is it!?" she yelled excitedly :)

"IT'S HELLO KITTY!"

Hanging it on the tree

So proud of her new ornament :)

I LOVE Christmas with kids. It is the BEST. Can't wait til Christmas day :)

Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!!

 We have had a fun last few days here!  Last Thursday I turned 31 weeks and everything is still looking good :)  Here is a photo:

In case you were thinking that I still look somewhat small, the next photo will give you a better idea of how I look relative to normal people :)  Poor Rick looks like he is being swallowed by my tummy! Today I uploaded some pictures to the computer and Daci saw one of me and goes, "Woah!  You are FAT!" I said, "Hey! No I'm not, I'm just pregnant!" She said, very seriously, shaking her head, with her eyebrows raised, "Nope, you are FAT!" So sad :(  But so true.  I don't know how I'm going to handle the growth that is going to happen in the next few weeks.  I am already dying!

 Rick's company's Christmas Party was held at a restaurant downtown called Vivo.  I was so excited my doctors said I could go if I promised to sit during the party.  It was so much fun to actually put normal clothes on, do my hair and makeup, and get out of the house!!

Carly and Micah at Vivo

This weekend we spent a lot of time decorating the house and setting up the Christmas Tree!  I knew it would be fun this year with Daci, but I didn't know how much fun!  She had a blast putting on the ornaments!  This is our first Christmas Tree since we have been married.  I bought brown and gold ornaments and turquoise ribbon to wrap around the tree.  Then, we hung all of my childhood ornaments. My grandparents always sent their grandkids an ornament each year.  Daci absolutely LOVED looking at all my fun ornaments and finding a good place for them to hang.  Daci has also accumulated some ornaments since my grandparents decided when their grandkids start having kids, that they get the ornaments instead.  My mom has also decided to carry on the tradition so Daci gets ornaments from my grandparents and my parents each Christmas.  She was so excited to hang all of her special ornaments!

After the tree was done she kept jumping up and down and saying, "Hooray! Its Christmas!"

This is one of my favorite ornaments.  My Great Grandma gave it to me in 1988!

I also have a ton of beautiful ballerinas

I've been working on a bunch of crafts in my bedrest days.  We put them all up this weekend.  I made a banner that says "Holiday" and I got a garland and some pretty picks to go across the top of the hutch. 

I did white pennants and random stamped holly leaves and berries, then I made red accordian flowers and sponged some chipboard letters red and covered them with glitter

Here is the lower half of our hutch:

I made these the same way as I made my candy corns for Halloween.  I wrapped strofoam cones in green yarn and then attached sparkly pom poms for ornaments.  For the stars I sponged chipboard stars in yellow then covered them in glitter.  I attached them to toothpicks and stuck them in the top.

My mom (www.karenpedersen.blogspot.com) designed this cute little box.  It is an advent calendar.  There are 24 tiles inside, each with a special activity to do as you count down to Christmas.

The big 12X12 box is one that my mom designed a few years ago.  I store my Christmas cards that I get in it.  I found those peppermint picks at JoAnns and put them in a clear vase.

I bought a bag of cinnamon scented pinecones at JoAnns and glittered them. I put them in this glass vase and my house smells like Christmas!  

Here is our banister.

Our three handmade stockings.  My mom made me my stocking for my very first Christmas.  It is white lace with green ribbon and my name is cross stitched in green.  Rick's mom made him his stocking for his first Christmas as well.  She cross stitched the whole thing. I made Daci her stocking for her very first Christmas.  Its not traditional Christmas colors but I think it still turned out cute :)  I love that we all have handmade stockings from our moms!

Some of the pretty picks in our garland on the banister

And on my kitchen table I have a Nutcracker (I was in the Nutcracker ballet 10 years in a row, it has a special place in my heart) and a bowl of the cinnamon glittered pincones

This is the first year I have decorated my house for Christmas and it is so much fun to get in the spirit!  Its even more fun to have a child that is so excited about it :)