2014 in Review

Who doesn't love a photo year in review?!  Putting this together took about 10 minutes this year since I did all the formatting last year :)  It was pretty hard to pick just 1 image from each month, so I decided not to stress over it and just pick one that looks good in a circle.  Enjoy!

Early December

Tatum's best little friend.  They do preschool together and it is the highlight of Tatum's life. Here they are squeezing lemons for letter L lemonade!  Her girlfriend has 3 other siblings, but for T, this is the chance she knows she will get a friend to play with and she cherishes it.  Just this week she started begging me to "Have a friend over, mama?!"

CHRISTMAS JAMMIES!  I wanted jammies to T so badly and thought if I want them I better make them!  I even have a bit of extra fabric so you may see jammies similar to these in years to come.  This was my first time sewing with knits (unless you count a swimsuit, which is a little different, and didn't come out a raging success...) and I couldn't be happier!  Amy with Peek-A-Boo Patterns does such a good job and the fit and instructions really make it easy to sew!  This was also my first time using a double needle on my regular machine and it rocked my world. I love sewing because I can get exactly the look I want and exactly the fit I want- which is saying something for a skinny skinny girl who can't normally keep her pants up!  

My New York Threads tag made it into a clothing item!

I fulfilled all my doll orders from the flash sale.  That was fun and a nice change from bedding, but it was indeed a flash sale and I won't be another any time soon.  But while I was at it I made a "baby sister doll" for our newest.  The original "Tatum" doll is on the left and the new doll on the right.  It has become "the doll" and Tatum cares for her, kisses her and treats her as the baby sister.  I had to make an executive decision about hair color, and well, I went with orange.  We'll see!

Oh, and, an elf!  I only had a knit in solid red, so he's a little stuffy, but a fun decoration nonetheless!

Tate and I have been doing Christmas projects every day.  Thank goodness we have Valentines and St. Patricks coming after Christmas because the girl fixates on holidays!  She loves marshmallows and this snowman was a hit!  I only wish I'd taken a picture of her project less than 24 hours later once she'd sneaked all the marshmallows off the page and ripped it to shreds.  Hope Elmer's Glue doesn't kill you!

They have been filming at the top of our street for a while.  Let me tell you, that crew takes over!  Like, 12+ trailers with crews and food tables and cameras galore.  At first we thought it must be an ebola documentary, but under further investigation, it is a new comic show for Netflix.  Pretty random and I'll likely never see it, but the guys on the street say that they are throwing "SO MUCH MONEY" at this thing that I will surely hear about it!

Things got pretty cold for a week or so after Thanksgiving, but now it is back up in the 30's so we are managing.  We have a bunch to do before leaving for a California Christmas.  Tatum and I fly a few days before Scott- I guess just one more cross country flight solo.  But flying alone with a child sounds EASY since I have a confirmed seat and since Tate has her own seat!  No problem.  Scott is working like a maniac to do prepare for his finals, and is doing a darn good job!  We haven't seen him for about 2 weeks and Tatum's behavior is showing it.  She needs some wrestle time with Dad.  

Until next time!

xo

Thanksgiving 2014

The feast:

I took the table settings pretty seriously:

And I tried 2 new pie recipes, which were delicious, except for when we tried to bake the pie and the turkey together, and the pie crust burnt to a crisp since it got bumped into the side of the oven.  Scott scraped off the blackened part and I think it worked out just fine.  And it was delicious!

We are really grateful we had family out here for Thanksgiving this year!  What fun!

Scott tried to teach me how to do the turkey, but I didn't pay attention in secret hopes that this will be his job forever :)

On Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving, we went down to see the parade balloons getting inflated.  It was cold and raining, just like last year.

And after the meal, we had a little minute to win it competition!  I just came up with these games after the meal, so they were super easy and truly only have supplies that you probably have at home.

Stack can-plate-can and top with plastic dinosaur to signify that you are finished!  Lots of these activities didn't take a minute, so we just timed everyone, first place got 1 point, 5th place got 5 points, and the goal is to end up with the LEAST amount of points.  It was a good way to do it for an each man for himself minute to win it series.

The next game was lining up jenga blocks with only your non-dominant hand, then knocking them over.  When the last one falls your time stops.

Cotton ball transfers was our funniest game.  Once your time starts, put vaseline on your nose, and then transfer cotton balls from one plate to the next!  There is strategy in how much vaseline you apply!

I cut up the front of the stuffing box and had everyone complete the puzzle.  This was really hard, I should have cut them easier.  And the people to compete near the end had a total advantage after watching it be done a few times.

The feather toss- I taped some nails to weight the bottom of feathers, then had people throw them into a bowl about 3 feet away. (Tatum's was easier, needless to say!)  I used two different kinds of nails which weighted the feathers differently and made for a bit of a challenge.  

We ended the night with Home Alone 2- Lost in New York and had lots of laughs!  

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hathaway Thanksgiving Trip

We had a really great time with the Hathaways over Thanksgiving.  Thanks for coming, family!

 We hit all the classics.

 And tried a new place- Chinatown Ice Cream factory is as good as they say!

 Did a little window shopping

 Look- 56 degrees!  We had some super warm days, some pretty cold days.

 Baby bump on the Brooklyn Bridge:

We tried out a new Indian place in the West Village.  If Scott has anything to do with restaurant selection, we will always be eating ethnic, 70% of the time, Indian.  

 And for my birthday, the girls went to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular!  I loved it!

 And I requested 26 high kicks in honor of my birthday :)

 Our fave bacon and scallop soup from the Lobster Place in Chelsea Market.

 And my own key lime cheesecake!

 Uncle John lets Tatum ride the fun way!

And... this was supposed to be a different post, but I accidentally uploaded all the photos here, so 2 in 1:

I feel way bigger this time around, but apparently I'm not that much...  Though, I did show wayyyy sooner and am definitely bigger now at 22 weeks!

 We took a trip up to the 215's to check out Columbia's C and boathouse for the rowing team.  This is BYUs version of Y mountain!

 My friend Elyse came in November and we had a fun time around the city!

 Tatum tried out a class at Kidville near Union Square, going to the younger class was a good move because she felt older/in charge of the other kids instead of threatened like usual.

 We took a hike with Brenda in early November-- always always a good time!

 Just pondering life.

 Scott was really encouraging of Tatum as a hiker.  I think he is realizing that girls will be his backpacking buddies for life :)

Great views!  But mostly just great to get OUT of the city and breathe a little fresh air!

 This is West Point College.

 And, dolls.  I did a flash sale for Christmas dolls and did a ton of sewing this month!  Now, I am sewing like a maniac trying to work 3 weeks ahead so I don't have to bring sewing gear with me to California for Christmas.  I have 1 week more to work, wish me luck! 

xo,

Stefanie