I am in love with a Cricut

Cricut Expression to be exact. I have been able to do so many things with it in the few short months I have owned it. For Christmas gifts, I took glass coffee mugs and etched initials on them for co-workers (used vinyl as stencils for etching cream). I did the Elmo decorations for Andrew's party. And...I put Andrew's name on his bedroom wall in vinyl! Andrew's response to the Cricut cutting the vinyl was "that's awesome". He loves having his name on his wall. My sister's friend said it looks "very Pottery Barn-ish". I think that is a pretty big compliment.
Here is the wall...

Nothing fancy, but it does look sharp in person. I am looking forward to using my Cricut for stuff in my own house.

Elmo Restaurant

K and I got Andrew this Elmo Restaurant for his birthday. Abby set it up so it was ready when he got home. He started playing with it immediately. Here are a few videos of him serving Abby. Too freakin' cute!

Take 1


Take 2


Take 3

Hangin' out

After Andrew's party, we hung out and enjoyed the gorgeous weather.

Photos from Andrew's Party

Andrew's birthday party

We had quite the busy day. Andrew had his 3rd birthday party today at Jumping Genius. Everyone had a great time...adults and children. The cake and the favors were a hit. Andrew had a wonderful time running around like a mad man. Needless to say, we were exhausted when we got home. After some intense napping, we had a nice evening at home. I was able to get sushi from my favorite sushi restaurant (Arigato) and enjoyed some one-on-one time with Andrew. Abby, Nick, Jen, and Sergio went out to spend the evening celebrating a friend's birthday, so I offered to stay home with the kiddos. My night is now ending with Andrew singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star into the baby monitor. Life couldn't get any better right at this moment. Well, my hunny could be here with me.

(Pictures will be posted tomorrow!)

Elmo crazy

I have been diligently working on the decorations for Andrew's birthday party this Saturday. I am beside myself with excitement. The decorations are going to be AWESOME! Well, at least in my opinion they are. I could not have done these without my new love, my Cricut Expression. The Sesame Street cartridge was released in December and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time. It couldn't get here fast enough. I can't wait for Andrew to see everything for his party. Here is a sneak peek at the decorations.

I will post photos of the party when I get home from Cali. 4 days until party time!

Kookie Krazy

Abby found out about Kookie Krazy from a friend and thought it would be fun to check it out with Andrew.
We had the best time. Andrew picked out the cookie dough and the toppings he wanted. The three of us created a pretty yummy cookie I must say. There was even some extra toppings to nibble on while we created.


Andrew's creation:

• Blue sugar cookie dough
• Oreo cookie pieces
• Hershey Kissables
• M&Ms
  

Picking out the dough

Choosing the toppings






















Let's get started!

A little help from Mommy...

Finger licking good!

Ready for the oven...

And now we wait...thank goodness for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Andrew didn't blink. It was the first time he had ever seen it.
Let's eat!

Christmas 2008 Pictures

As promised...

I just loved my Aunt Kathy's tree. I am going to do this!

Pictures...

I can honestly say I am uploading pictures for Christmas right at this moment. So I will have them posted soon!

Bittersweet evening...

I received a phone call this evening from a very close friend's husband asking if he and two of their three children could stay with us until the end of February. The reason they need to stay with us...they are moving to Las Vegas and my friend and the baby leave on Friday!!! I am so happy for them and this great opportunity. I am sad that they won't be a few minutes from us anymore. But now we have a place to stay in Vegas!

Happy 2009!

I know I have been a bad blogger. Please forgive me. I will be back soon with photos from Christmas and other adventures while in L.A.