Dyeing Playsilks

You may be wondering why I bought Kool-Aid and why in the world I would take a picture of it!  Well, I used it to dye silk scarves, other wise known as playsilks.  I have been wanting to try this craft for a while now since Jack is at the perfect age for a game of peek-a-boo.  As many of you know, I prefer open ended, natural toys.  Actually, toys that light up and make noise cause me to cringe!  A playsilk is a perfect imaginative toy.  It can become a cape, blanket, belt, headpiece, decoration, streamer, fort... really anything a child can come up with!  It really is a fun process (well, maybe except for the rinsing and rinsing...) and older children will enjoy helping you.

I purchased 3 different sizes (35x35, 22x22, 6x24) from www.dharmatrading.com and they included 1 (8x54) free with my first purchase!  There are lots of tutorials on the web which I found very helpful.  I do recommend pre-washing the silks first.  I only did that for one of mine and it took the dye the best.  I also used gloves and I highly recommend them especially if you don't want rainbow colored hands!  As a side note: kool-aid dyeing also works on wool but I haven't tried that yet.

 The silks soaking up the dye.  The big metal bowl was for the blue silk which I did at a later date.

Jack was part of the process minus the Kool-Aid!

 The finished project!

In my experience, kids play more with their toys when they have a proper place for them and when they can see them.  For now, ours are in a basket, crib, carseat...

 He seems to really enjoy them!

Well, metal mixing bowls are fun too! :-)

I see many more of these in our future!  I think I am ready to try out the fort sized one but maybe I should wait a few more years!

Baby Jack

Click here to view this photo book larger

When I registered at Target for my baby shower they gave me a free gift card to make a baby book.  I thought I would share it with all of you! 

4th of July Weekend

The holiday weekend was full of family, friends, food, fireworks and fun!  On Saturday, we had lunch with Seth's parents.  It was such a yummy lunch and I'm so thankful for the leftovers :-)  

Yum!

Jack seemed to enjoy all the festivities.  He always likes it when someone is paying attention to only him!  After his nap, we braved the heat to check out Grammy's garden.

 

Saturday night after Seth and I put Jack to bed we headed out to the backyard for a fireworks show.  We saw the city's display and then we saw the ones over the mountain!  We kept joking how being just a few feet outside of the house without the baby felt very much like a date!  Hey, new parents will take them in any form :-) There was no church Sunday evening so our friends Joe and Sarah came over for our second cookout of the weekend! We are so thankful for Christian friends and we always enjoy their sweet fellowship.

"I'm just hanging out!"

Summer Wedding!

Lately, we have been doing our best to beat the heat with plenty of fresh smoothies and watermelon!  The past couple of weeks have been super hot with temps in the high 90's and the real feel in the 100's!

Jack loves watermelon!

 There was one event we were looking forward to even with the heat and that was a friend's outdoor wedding.  It just so happened to be on a farm and the views of the mountains were breathtaking! 

 The bride with her Dad

 The reception in the distance

Grammy giving kisses with a good shot of all 4 of Jack's teeth!

Such a goofy kid!

 Family photo

Jack handled the heat by drinking LOTS of Grammy's water!

Jack was quite the hit at the reception with his random bursts of laughter and expression of hunger with twirling hands and feet!  That is until the heat and tiredness took over and we had to head for home.  All in all, it was a wonderful day celebrating a new marriage with the bride and groom!

7 Months!

Jack turned 7 months last weekend!  All of a sudden he seems so big to me!  I'm sure it has to do with the fact that he is sitting on his own, eating food and now has 4 teeth!  He also is getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth.  Sometimes it feels like they change overnight!

Laura, my friend from college, came for a visit last Saturday too.  She brought her sister, Lindsay and daughter, Lorelai who will turn 3 this month.  We had a great time catching up on each other's lives and laughing about the old (and new) days!

(On a side note... Lorelai broke her leg this week and will be in a cast for 6 weeks!  I'm sure they could all use your prayers!) 

Happy Father's Day!

Jack got his Dad chocolate covered almonds!

Happy Father's Day to both of our Dads!  We are so blessed to have Dads that are saved and raised us in Christ centered homes.  Thank you for your wonderful examples.  We love you!

Seth was off from work this weekend so we had a great time spoiling him!  I had been working on putting together a picture/video movie of Seth and Jack on our new computer.  We presented that to him on Saturday and it was a hit!  It may have to become an annual gift!  It sure was fun to look back over the months and see how much Jack has grown.  It is hard to believe that it has only been 7 months since Jack was born! 

I know it meant so much to Seth to be able to celebrate this holiday as a father.  He thoroughly enjoys being a Dad and I can say with certainty that I have enjoyed watching him become one!  Jack is so blessed to have him as his Dad and Jack's love for him is already evident.  We love you Seth!

Sitting Pretty!

While we were in NY, Jack started to sit on his own better.  I guess all that practice paid off because recently he has been doing a lot more of it.  He stays upright for longer periods of time and catches his balance now when he starts to tip.

The other day we decided to document his new skill outside.  He was really enjoying all the sights and sounds and when the wind blew he would scrunch up his little face and smile!  So cute!

He showed off his sitting some more inside!

Good job Jack!