And the Countdown Begins

The Butler Birthday clock has officially started the countdown. And you know how psycho I am about birthdays! It's a month before Sam's birthday and I am well on my way to planning his first birthday party. Invitations are almost completely done and I totally love how they're turning out. Here's a sneak peek of what I'm currently working on:

Cute, isn't it?

Also, I'd love to share with you Isabella's first ever scrapbook page. I tell ya, this is a girl after my own heart. The other day I was working on the invitations and she came by and said she wanted to do some scrapbooking too. Hmm, let me think about that: Absolutely! I pulled out an old photo of her and Sam, matted it, had her pick out the paper and the embellishments/flowers and she went right to work. The photo is a few months old, from my Father's Day 2008 project for Scott actually, but it was of the two of them and I just happened to have a duplicate on my desk at the time. So, without further ado here is my sweet daughter's first scrapbook masterpiece:

What do you think? Not bad for a first timer. She is so very proud of her page and keeps it stored safely in her room so that Sam doesn't get it.

So, while I'm working on Sam's invitations and Isabella is working on scrapbook layouts my Mom is earnestly working on her jewelry collection. You see for the longest time she has made and sold necklaces and earrings and bracelets and rings so that she can help pay for my Dad's medical expenses. The items that she makes are totally awesome and affordable and she's gotten a lot of interest from some of my friends and the women at our Bible Study. So I asked her to get to work on creating so that I can host on open house in the next couple of weeks and showcase her collection and she listened. This here is what her side of the room looks like:

Like I mentioned, as soon as there is enough merchandise we will be hosting an open house. I'm also planning on looking into an Etsy shop or maybe Ebay to help jump start her sales. We'll see,...

My Dad is doing well. After last Tuesday's let down at the cardiologist I received a call from the doctor on Wednesday. He explained that after reviewing most of the Mayo Clinic records we had provided him he thinks that things may be better than he had originally thought. So instead of going back in two weeks he changed my Dad's appointment to next week so that we can discuss our options.

Here he is. My Dad. Yep, laughing at one of his own jokes. He really thinks of himself as a comedian. The jury's still out on that one.

Our big boy is doing so much better and back to acting like his old adorable self. Last night he had a taste of an Oreo cookie and to say he totally loved it is a gross understatement. And the mess he made was out of this world.

Our boy turns 11 months old tomorrow and he's weighing in at a whopping 30 pounds and wearing size 24 months/2T clothes. As you can see this child of mine hasn't yet missed a single meal or found a food he doesn't like. In our house, even the dog food is a menu item if he's around.

Our big girl is also feeling much better. She had her Valentine's Party at school yesterday, so of course we had to take some pictures beforehand.

Geez! She looks so big and so grown up it absolutely kills me. Just recently she pointed out a tear on the knees of her jeans and explained that they were tearing because she was growing up so much and so fast. It would appear we have a mini "Hulk" in our house. I better get out and get this girl some bigger jeans PRONTO!

And being that Valentine's Day is tomorrow, I wanted to share with you some evidence that LOVE is indeed in the air at the Butler Home.

My Mom and Sam

Seriously! Don't you just feel like you're intruding in on their very own private moment? Honestly, there is an unbelievable bond between those two and I am so happy to have caught a glimpse of it.

Okay, I better get going and get some stuff done before the kids wake up from their naps. Talk soon!