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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

oversized rustic Christmas star

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we broke out our Christmas stuff.
Yay!! On Saturday I put up the Christmas lights. Silly me didn't test them before putting them up because hey, they worked last year when we took them down, so why wouldn't they work now, right? Well, most of them don't work. So now I get to drag the ladder out and test each bulb one by one.
On Sunday we put up our Christmas tree and our special "symbols of Christ" Christmas ornaments that Jason's mom gave us the first year we were married. I sure love these ornaments! 
Yesterday afternoon the girls helped me test a recipe for cooking class--a little Christmas tree snack and project in one--and then we put up the rest of our Christmas decorations (we have a lot). We finished decorating our tree for Family Home Evening, while listening to the Chipmunks, just like we did when I was a kid.
Today I was hanging out on Pinterest when I saw this awesome giant star. I really loved it. I really had to have it.  But I am the cheapest person alive and I didn't even want to spend $5 on yardsticks. Plus Juno was asleep so I couldn't go to the store for any supplies and I didn't want to wait. I needed instant craft gratification.
Luckily, my neighbor's old wooden fence saved the day!
Are you sick of me using my neighbor's old wooden fence for craft projects? I've used it as my headboard in our new master bedroom, a window shade, and in my garage mud room. I'm almost out of it, so this is probably my last old wood fence project.


 I cut the boards down to about 3 1/2 feet and arranged them in a simple star shape. I overlapped the ends so that each point has a rounded end on top (instead of the straight edge that I cut). Then I screwed each point together. DONE in about 15 minutes!


It's a very big star. I put it on the mantle and wrapped Christmas lights around it. I really love it. Next year I might hang it outside the house on the chimney, still wrapped in lights.


What are you doing to get ready for Christmas?

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Juno is two!

I think I might cry while writing this post.
My baby Juno Kate is no longer a baby (to anyone but her mother, that is).
{Just about 10 minutes old in this picture}

Today is her second birthday!! I can't believe that it's only been two years since she joined our family; it feels like she's been a part of it forever. She adores her big sisters and her "da" (and maybe me, too) and we all adore her. She is developing such a funny little personality and she is definitely a third child! I'm constantly surprised by how independent she is.
She is constantly climbing, running, jumping, and bouncing around the house. No one would ever, ever guess that she had (has?) hip dysplasia and spent 1/4 of her first year in a body cast. She has a follow-up next week, but as far as I can tell, her hip is doing great.
She has a severe speech delay. Most 24 month olds can say around 50 words and are putting words together in 2-3 word sentences. Juno says a grand total of three "words", has three signs, and has made up multiple gestures which she uses to communicate with us. She's never babbled in strings of consonants or babbled with inflection, although she does grunt with inflection. For being nonverbal, she can actually communicate very effectively through pointing and her signs/gestures. I almost always know what she wants. And she definitely understands 95% of what we say to her. She starts speech therapy through Early Intervention in a few weeks and I know that will really help get her to where she needs to be. In the meantime, I almost enjoy that she's nonverbal because I feel like it will keep her my baby a little longer!


Juno loves this BYU sweatshirt that was Jason's when he was two. She wears it every chance she can get and throws tantrums when she sees me putting it in the laundry basket. If I'm not careful, she grabs it out of the dirty clothes and hides it in her room so I can't wash it. 
She is not afraid of letting you know when she's mad. She furrows her brow, shakes her finger in your faces and says "Bop! Bop bop bop bop bop BOP!!" or shields whatever she thinks you're stealing from her with her body and screams "Bop! My, my, my!" With two older sisters, she had to learn to defend her property pretty early.
We are so grateful for Juno and the joy she brings to our family and home. Odds are she'll be our last child, so I'm trying to enjoy every single little moment with her. She's a fun girl!

Thursday, November 8, 2012

learning to read

My darling Tempe Joann has been in kindergarten for two months now. She loves going to school. In fact, I don't think she's made a single negative comment about school yet!
She also actually loves doing her homework. I know, I know, it won't last so I'm enjoying it now. We try to make it fun by having "Homework Club" every night: one parent takes Juno upstairs to play and get ready for bed, and the other parent supervises Homework Club. The big girls do their homework (Helena colors or something) while listening to their favorite songs (Gangnum Style, anyone??) and eating snacks. It's fun.
Tempe is especially thrilled to be learning to read. Her teacher sends a beginning reader book home every day and Tempe is always so excited to sit down and read them!




I can't wait until she can really read on her own. Tempe is really going to love being able to flop down with a good book whenever she wants--just like her mom and dad do!