Micah-isms

Micah has is own quirky personality! Here are some of the adorable things he has been doing lately to let his little personality shine:

Loves to where shoes- all the time! He will come up to me and say "Shoes? Shoes?" (Not to confused with "juice" or any other word that Mommy tries to guess...) He wants to wear shoes as soon as he gets up in the morning, when he gets up from his nap, and asks to wear them to bed at night. And not just any shoes. He has to wear one puppy shoe and one turtle shoe. He is very adamant on this point. I lost one of the turtle shoes a long time ago. Then I lost of of the puppy shoes. So, for a while there was no choice but to wear both. But, I found the other puppy shoe a few days ago and put them both on Micah and put the turtle on on Benji. Well, Micah would not have it! He fussed and whinned and pointed and "pleased" until I asked him, "Do you want the turtle?" to which he replied with an enthusiastic "YEAH!" So I switched the shoes and he was a happy camper. 

He has also gotten opinionated about what he wears. His current favorite thing to wear is short-alls. Too cute! 

Bed Skirt

On Thursday I was feeling crafty and decided to make a bed skirt for Aaron and my bed. We have never had one in the 3 years we have been married and I have wanted one for a while. I've looked at some online and in the stores but they are expensive! So, after perusing some craft sites and sewers blogs, I decided to make one myself.

I bought some white sheets from Burlington Coat Factory (Queen set for $15!!!) I measured the depth, length, and width of the bed. The depth was 17'' so I cut an 18'' strip on the long ends of the sheet. Then I cut 18'' on each of the short sides and sewed them together so they would be long enough for the short end of the bed. Since I used the edge of the sheet for the bottom of the bedskirt, there was no hemming involved! YEA! I pinned the strips on the bed and marked where I wanted box pleats. Then I sewed the pleats (one in the middle of each strip and one at each corner) and sewed all the strips together. Then I took the mattress off the bed and safety pinned it too the box spring. Yes, safety pinned it! I saw that on one of the websites I looked at before I made it. Yeah, it was a little lazy but now one can tell since all the ends are tucked under once the mattress is back on. And it looks great! I feel like we are finally getting a "grown-up" bedroom. Still needs a little work, decorations, new dresser etc....but the bed skirt is a start! Enjoy the photos!

NOTE: the only down side to pinning the skirt on instead of sewing a huge square of material to each piece of the skirt is that the skirt is not really machine washable since I didn't finished the edged. I guess if I wanted to wash it, I could zig-zag all the edge before I threw it in the watch, then iron and pin back on. 

Signing Time

(I realized I haven't blogged in two weeks! Don't know how many people read this but I thought I should update!)

The boys' new favorite thing is "Signing Time" videos. We get them from the library and the love them! They ask to watch them and when I pop in the DVD they get hysterical with excitement. "Signing Time" teaches babies and kids sign language. They are made by a mom whose daughter (who also stars in "Signing Time") is deaf. The videos use lots of kid friendly tactics, some animation and original songs to teach signs. The boys are really picking up a lot. They love to sign and they are so stinkin' cute! Here are some signs that they have learned recently-

Dog- pat the leg (this is also their favorite word to say!)

Tiger- your hands are claws on your cheeks

Fish- move your hand like a fish swimming in water

Bird- move your thumb and forefinger like a beak opening and closing by your mouth (they have known this one for a while but it is still a favorite)

Grapes- "peck" up your arm with the opposite hand, like clumps of grapes on your arm

Sleep- stroke your fingers over your face, ending in a pinching motion

They are saying and signing new words every day. I love it and I know they do too. Every time they sign a word, they clap and and say "YEA!" I love these videos! Christmas or birthday presents, anyone? www.signingtime.com. I would highly recommend them. My favorite one so far is "Leah's Farm." Check them out from your local library!

With more independence in language comes more opinions about what they do like and don't like, and what they want to do and don't want to do. "No!" is also a favorite word these days, often accompanied by high pitched shrieks! I am praying for patience daily. But, even on the "worst" days (there aren't TOO many of those), Micah and Benji always come up and kiss and hug me. Micah, especially, is very affectionate. Oftentimes, I will be in the kitchen cooking or cleaning up and I feel two little hands on my backside and a big kiss will be planted right on my butt! I guess that tells you how tall their are! :) 

The boys were 20 months yesterday! I can't believe it! They will be 2 (TWO!!!!) in only four months. Where has the time gone?