Huckleberry Time

We love huckleberry time.  We joined Mark's brother and sister on Friday afternoon and stayed overnight.  There was a huge thunderstorm during most of the night.  We had lost the rain fly to our tent and borrowed a tarp to keep us from getting wet.  It only blew off once.  We picked about two gallons of huckleberries, which is good because our supply was basically non-existent.  It was Albric's first time picking.  On Saturday Mark was up picking and I could see another storm rolling in.  I prayed that I would be able to pack up our tent before the rain hit.  I had Calvin and a couple of his cousins helping me. Albric was really sad, but his Aunt Nicole held him.  My prayer was answered, because the rain didn't come until I was zipping the tent bag closed.  We enjoyed sharing dinner together on Saturday night. I ended up getting a migraine, which wasn't the best way to end the trip, but overall we had a great time.  I hope next year we'll be able to spend more time picking huckleberries. 

This is how Calvin fell asleep. With his hand on Albric's cheek.

4 New Amigurumi Creations

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but this year I decided to make little amigurumi toys for all my nieces and nephews for their birthdays.  After I created Alcott the Elephant for a neighbor, I felt more confident to create more of my own amigurumi designs.  The first one I did was a snake for my nephew.  I had Mark 3D print a black tongue for it.  We put a wire inside it to make it bendable. 

The next little creature I made was a fox for my nephew.  It was fun and I think it turned out really cute.

The next one I designed was a white owl.  A nephew on Mark's side loves owls, and a niece on my side specifically requested a white owl.  It was cool that I was able to make it twice by following my own pattern. 

My latest creation was given to a nephew last night at his birthday party.  After asking him his favorite animal, he said, "Calerpillar."  When he opened it he hugged it and I think he really likes it.  I really like it too. 

These little creatures make me proud of my creativity.  I have loved taking what I have learned from other projects and applying it to these.  I hope that my knowledge will increase and I will get better at designing.  In the near future, I plan to crochet a moose, and a salamander.  I hope they will turn out as cute as these.

Albric's First Haircut

When we had Calvin's hair cut for the first time, we had Mark's brother do the cutting, and it was hard.  Calvin was scared and cried the whole time.  Mark has been bugging me to cut Albric's hair for a while, and since we had a formal event to attend, I begrudgingly decided to do it.  First, I cut Calvin's hair.  I put Albric in the bathtub so he wouldn't get Calvin's cut hair everywhere.  He watched Calvin get his hair cut.  When it was his turn, I took before pictures and then started.  He did really good at sitting still.  His hair was so long and fine and had a hint of red in it.  Now that it is cut, the red is gone, and he looks like a little boy.  His natural mohawk is tiny now.  He wouldn't let me take a good after picture, but here you go. 

Before

Before.  Notice the curls above his ears.

Before

Before

After. He was trying to grab my phone.

After

After

After. I think you you can see his "mohawk" in this one.

Here we are at the wedding reception of our nephew the next day.

Albric is One!!

My little Albric turned one last week.  He can go up and down stairs, he can sign "milk" and "more." He says "Hi" and "Mom" and "Dad."  He loves Calvin and playing with him.  He can climb onto our couch and our coffee table.  We had two parties for him.  On the Lindsay side we did it on Father's Day.  We had him eat his own little cake and open presents.  On the Johnson side we did it on Saturday.  We had water balloons and squirters, which ended up in a huge water fight between nephews and cousins.  It was tons of fun.  We had cake and homemade ice cream.  My sister brought her cotton candy machine.  It was a blast.  For his birthday I made a huge dragon as big as he is.  He wasn't too impressed I think, because he saw me making it.  It is too big for him to carry, but I hope someday he will come to love it.  He really loved his gift from his Birthday Buddy, my Aunt Debi.  She gave him an interactive puppy.  I think it was his favorite gift.  I was absentminded and couldn't find my phone to take his picture at the party.  I can't believe how quickly this year has gone.  I love Albric and I am so glad he joined our family. 

Albric is Eleven Months Old

Albric turned eleven months old yesterday.  He is very good at walking.  He still has the occasional tumble and is still getting bruises on his head from falling into stuff.  He loves to get in my kitchen cupboard and pull all my pots and pans out.  He also has discovered how to open the toilet seat.  He loves to play with Calvin and explore everything he can.  He didn't get any more teeth this month.   He can shake his head, "no" and nod his head to say, "yes."  He gives very good hugs, and sometimes kisses.  We love him a lot and can't believe how close his birthday is.