Boys Drool...

At least my baby boy will be doing that very soon, I know! Anyways, since I am not technically inclined, I couldn't figure out how to put comments on the album I just posted, so the easiest thing to do it just make another post...

These pics were taken in July at JCP. Usually I take the girls pics and try to do something fun and creative for their yearly pics, but this year my body is doing all the "creating" it can handle, and the free sitting fee with my portrait card was just calling my name. I thought the lady did such a nice job we just bought the cd with all the pics on it. I decided to make an album of our last "Girls Hurrah" and thought you might like to see it, even if it is kinda small.

We just had our first day of school today and hopefully I can post some pics of that and recent sewing projects soon!

Girls Rule!

Click here to view this photo book larger

The Jackpot!

I hit the jackpot today and I just know my mom, my thrifty sister and my hubby will all be so proud of me!

I've been frustrated because I just need a few fall long sleeve tops to get me through until buddy decides to make his appearance... but there are none to be found. Most maternity places I have checked are just not getting things out yet... probably due to the wonderfully HOT weather we've been having and no one else cares about fall clothes yet. My request I feel has been simple... I just want a few long sleeve t-shirts with the ruching on the sides... they are comfy and flattering (two very important things when you are getting BIG FAST!)

So, I stopped by the local used store today (it's right next to our JoAnn Fabrics store - yay!) just to see if they had anything yet. Well, my jackpot was 5 new long sleeve tops for $22.00! Oh yeah, baby! Two of them were the kind with the ruching (just what I wanted) and all of them in colors I like to wear:) So, since one of those t-shirts at Motherhood is $25.oo and they almost never go on sale, I'm quite pumped about my jackpot:) And another added bonus is that one of them says it's a nursing top, so I'll have one shirt that will be handy now and later! Plus nursing tops are expensive and nobody buys them, right? I could just say it's my lucky day, but I know way better than that... God is in the details and I believe he cares about us so infinitely... I know he put those tops there just for me! Praise God for my jackpot!

Oh, and here's a few pics of some of my recent food cravings. I think I have been whining to Ted all summer long about just wanting a chicken sandwhich with mozzarella cheese, pineapple and ranch dressing on top... Of course there is never one of these on the menu. Well, when we had our getaway a few weeks ago, lo and behold, a chicken sandwhich with pineapple... YUMM DELISH! It was missing the ranch and cheese, but hey it was a great compromise:)
And with all of our children I have craved watermelon. If you put it in front of me I probably won't even share with you, or my kids! One night we didn't want to spend a million bucks to eat dinner out so we went to the grocery store and this is what looked good to me. Since we were in a hotel room I could not really cut it up, so a plastic spoon did the job just fine. And no, I did not share with Ted. (But I did share with my growing boy:)) Oh, looking at this pic just makes me want more... I think there's still some in the fridge!
Oh and here's a random pic of a purple cone flower we saw at a flower garden while on our getaway... I love cone flowers and they seem to be thriving despite the intolerable heat. Way to be persistent! A good reminder for all of us to hang in there...

My New Diaper Bag!

OK, here it is... my new diaper bag that I sewed recently for our newest family member, who is set to arrive around the first part of November. Yep, that's right, it's a bouncing baby BOY!

I cannot tell you how shocked we were to find out this news. That might sound silly to some, but we really didn't think it possible to have a boy. You see, I am from a family of all girls and so far me and my sisters have all had GIRLS! I kept asking the doctor, are you SURE? He said that the picture of his boyness was the clearest he's ever seen... and he's been delivering babies for awhile!

So, after the initial shock I have slowly warmed up to the idea that my pink reign has to end. To start the celebration of more manliness in the West household, I made a cute (or should I say handsome?) bag of browns and blues to tote all of his stuff in. (Hey any excuse to make a new purse is a good excuse!)

I've also made him the most soft and snuggly blanket from a fabric called minky that I will try to post soon. It's so cuddly though that I think he will have to share it with mommy... (and I've found the girls already trying to steal it too!)

I just cracked out the blue paint today, as our guest room is currently the most lovely shade of pink... but that just won't work for our little buckaroo. That's right a cowboy for the Wests, how fun. We've been dreaming up cowboy names and you can feel free to submit your ideas just for fun! It's hard to decide on a good boy name! And mom, YES, I have your submission already (GEORGE STRAIT)! I did start this bag with a pattern, but altered it quite a bit to get the bag you see here. I added the blue strip on the top, quilted it to make it more durable and added pockets to the inside for diaper and wipe compartments. I kinda want to use it now but I better just be patient!

Well, it's time to get this mama off to bed because Mr. Cowboy seems to be a night owl and likes to groove as soon as I lay down! He's even woken me up at night with his line dancin' and foot stompin':)

Cowboys and Pirates

And speaking of men who work hard, here's another man that is also one of the hardest working men I've ever known. Ted has had the privilege of riding in a couple of rodeo's this summer with one of our friends from church who has horses and invited Ted to join in the fun. And talk about stress relief for someone who works so hard... Can you tell he is totally in his glory here? Yes, if Ted and Emelia have it their way land and horses are not too far off in our future... He says its thrilling to be in the ring even though it is for only a few minutes at a time. I think its almost as much fun the see the joy on his face as it is when we see it on our children's faces.

Oh, and here were some of our on-lookers for the event. Cowgirls and pirates..

I think he's still looking for his ship or something...

Ted and the girls also got to take a quick spin on the horses in between events.

Its hard to see Hannah but she is on Ted's horse with him.

Daddy with his girls...

And Oompa even got to take a quick spin on Jett!

Daddy-O

The girls and I stopped by my dad's job site last week to see what he's been up to. He has his own excavating business and the girls have always been impressed by Oompa's big machines and that he can run them all by himself. I've always been proud of that fact too. He is one of the most hard working men I know and I know that his hard work and dedication bring such honor and glory to the Lord. Here are the three thinkers all deep in thought about the work to be done...
Oompa let the girls crawl through the "tunnels" for a few minutes and they loved it!

Me and my Daddy-o!

Pioneer Girl

In March Emelia was invited to join her cousins for a day at a pioneer school up in the cities. The girls were to dress in pioneer outfits and bring their lunches in a pie tin with a towel or basket. Since we did not have pioneer clothes Mommy stayed up into the wee hours sewing one night to "git' er' done". This was right in the middle of my pukey pregnancy stage and I still think its insane that I did it! But, what we won't do for our kids, right? Actually we had been planning to make pioneer outfits already, so it was a good excuse to put the pedal to the metal. Except that Hannah's outfit is still at the stage of "washed fabric". Meaning that is all the further I have gotten on hers. The fabric is washed and neatly folded...Anyways, Emelia wanted her outfit to look like the Kirsten American Girl, who came from Sweden to live in Minnesota.
I'm happy with how it turned out and even happier that she has put it on a few times since to play pioneer.
Here she is with her cousins all ready and waiting for the school "marm" to ring the bell for school to start.
She had a great time and got to see what it was like to go to school in the "olden days".

Locks of Love

Back in February Miss Hannah decided to have her hair cut off for Locks of Love. She was born with a lot of hair and it has always grown very fast! Here is a before shot of all her long glorious hair...Are you sure you want to do this, little girl? Yep, she's sure. When she makes up her mind there's almost no changing it!
Here we go... First they put it into a braid.
Snip, Snip!
Now for some stylin' and dryin'...
Oh, my goodness, what a cutie! I can't tell if she looks more grown up or more like a "little girl". She was quite proud of her braided ponytail!
And sissy decided to join in the fun for a cut too!

Sunsets and Silhouettes

Just last week my honey and I got away for a few days of R&R before baby #3 arrives. My awesome cousin and her hubby let us stay at their lovely lake home in northern Minnesota. I hardly think there is any other place in the world so wonderful as northern Minnesota. Yes, I am biased, but I love the smell of pine trees and a sunset on any one of our 10,000 lakes is almost always majestic! Thank you God for creating Minnesota!Mr. T got a few chances to throw out a line from the dock and I enjoyed capturing these peaceful moments he had. These will be good to look at in the middle of January when baby is screaming in the middle of the night and it's like 80 below zero outside! (OK, so you can't have it all in MN, but it still is mostly GREAT!)
And while I watched the sunset and Mr. Fisherman I got the great idea that he might like to take a picture of my silhouette too! (He loves being forced to be the photographer:)) I'd say he did a mighty fine job, hugh? The only YIKES part is that I still have 3 months to go. I'm pretty sure I will look like a beluga whale soon, and some of my summer clothes are getting TIGHT! Uff Dah as we say up nort' here!
Oh, and you still want to know what we are having? Well, I just finished my diaper bag and I will show it to you soon and let you take a WILD GUESS as to what kind of baby we are working hard on growing! I'll give you a hint... it is for sure a boy or a girl! Yes, I'm getting kind of sassy in my stage of largeness, I know. Until next time...