Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Williamswereavinababyeetzaboy Family

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and that you and yours are as blessed in the New Year as we were in 2010.

We have had a super busy year with a wedding, first birthday, new house, new puppy...etc...and from the looks of things have no plans of slowing down in 2011. Having an 18 month old by itself keeps a person running non stop. We are very excited for all of the new adventures 2011 has in store for us. Lara continues to amaze us on a regular basis with her awesomeness (I am her mother and allowed to think she is the greatest child ever born). She knows 40 different signs and says : Mom, Daddy, Water, Cheese, Sawyer, Papa, Gamma, Uh oh, and M&Ms and is working on tons of new words. She LOVES to dance and run around in the nude...and is dabbling in the world of using the big girl potty.

Baby BROTHER Williams is also growing like a weed and practicing his ninja skills on my insides. We are 24 weeks along as I write this. We are over the moon to be adding a boy to the clan (poor Steven is drowning in estrogen). He is currently measuring on the larger side and after his sister weighed in at almost 9 lbs a week early, we will most likely be looking at an arrival date of early April rather than closer to the 19th. Only time will tell.

We will keep you posted. See you in 2011!

Love,
The Williams Family
Steven, Kari, Lara, Baby Boy, & Sawyer

Lara's view on boys....

Steven has been training Lara, in true daddy fashion, to know she should not be interested in dating boys until she is 30.

For those of you who haven't heard....

The Williams family has a bun in the oven....we are adding another pumpkin to our patch (seasonal...cute right?)....however you would like to say it...Along with the blooming flowers (or blizzards...you never know here) of spring 2011 will come Baby W #2.

I am 14 weeks and 3 days TODAY (thanks Babycenter) so the 1st trimester is behind me. We are due April 19th. We saw Dr. Hutchens last week and got to hear a strong 160 bpm heart beat which was incredible. I have been feeling....well sleepy and nauseous, but day by day that has been getting much better.

We are beyond excited and feel incredibly blessed that God has entrusted us with yet another beautiful gift. Lara knows where "her baby" is and loves to "give her baby a kiss". My greatest memories of my childhood involve my brother and I am very excited for L to be blessed with joys and, lets be honest, trials of siblinghood. However if she has a little brother/sister as great as my crazy brother...she will be a lucky girl and BW2 is incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful big sister.

  We have our next appointment and ultrasound Dec. 1st at 21 weeks to make sure BW2 is healthy and all is well so please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers in that department.

Love you all.

Williams Out.

Fruit Loop

Found this while going through files on the computer. Just a fun shoot with Kayla K at about 8 months.

Oldie McOld Pants

(You will want to scroll to the bottom of the page and pause the music before you watch the videos.)

13 months old....she is walking all over the place...flexing her sass muscle....and has an uncanny ability to find exactly the thing she shouldn't be doing or thing she shouldn't be playing with...and do/play with it. She is no longer my chubby monkey infant who is perfectly happy snuggling up on my chest and rocking. It makes me tear up a little when I think about it too much.

But on the flip side, she wakes up in the morning even cooler than she was the day before. The rate at which she learns continues to blow my mind. She has started doing things because she thinks she's funny...loves books, pushing her dolly in a stroller, "helping" me in the kitchen....So its really a decent trade off.

She is also very polite....I forgot to ask her to sign it in the video below, but she can now sign "please"....and signs it when she wants something. She also knows that is the appropriate sign when I ask "How do you ask nicely?" Brilliant I tell you....brilliant.

And now, without further adoo.... are some vids of the Wolliams house celeb herself.

Here she is doing a little walking....she's still trying to find her balance....so hopefully it will be a little while yet before she gets to runnin'.


And signing....we LOVE Baby Signing Time at our house....Banana, Cracker, and Baby are new ones...so they are still a little goofy. But she does the same motion everytime we go over them...so its a step in the right direction.

The Cake

I haven't posted any photos from Larapalooza....(a.k.a. her 1st Bday). I know...I'm a borderline terrible mother.
So here you go. I am starting with the cake...mostly because it is a sentimental cake (if for no one else, for me). You see, when I turned one many many years ago, there was this cake....a 3D panda bear cake. It was a little bit of a family tradition (made by my auntie Lynette). Well I decided Lara (and the future Wolliams babies) should have this very same cake for her first birthday. Only one problem....I had really never seriously emersed myself in a legitimate cake making project. Oh well....when has that ever stopped me? So I hit up Hobby Lobby and what do you know...good ol Wilton still makes the exact same cake pan as the one used in 1987 at Karipalooza. I snatched it up and this little guy was born. Lara destroyed him...but it was absolutely worth the time and energy. I love sentimental traditions and while I know she doesn't appreciate them now, if she is anything like me, I know she will in the future.

And here is our baby girl..... not to sure about her cake being on fire...and the lovely mess she made killing my artistic creation.

She still had black frosting in her ears the next day at her 1year doctor's appointment....despite tremendous scrubbing. Sign of the perfect 1st birthday party....

A lil' sneak preview for the homies....

Here is a sneak peak of L's 1 year photos that were done, as always, by the fantastic Kayla K. We just did them yesterday afternoon at the park two blocks from the house. Talk about fast turn-around. Just when I think she cannot top L's last set of pictures.....she goes and does something like this.

You are the greatest thing about me...

Thank you, my beautiful daughter, for the most blessed year of my life. It has gone by so fast, and while thinking of that fact makes me an emotional puddle of goo, watching you grow and learn is the most rewarding and exciting thing I have ever experienced. You are the greatest gift I have ever been given and the greatest thing I have ever done. Happy Birthday Loopy. I love you.

-Mom

It's Official...

We went and got ourselves hitched last weekend. It was truly an amazing day. Here is just a taste of some of our photos for your visual stimulation...

Twice in one day....

For those who haven't heard, we are in the process of purchasing a house....which of course most importantly means I will actually be able to decorate. I have been focused on Lara's room for the time being and while browsing vinyl wall decals on my favorite site ever I came across this...

Which made me giggle a little bit to myself....It is from Xpressions That Stick. She has really cute stuff that is really affordably priced as wall vinyl goes.

I can almost garuntee this little number is going in Lara's fab new room at the new house. Just a taste of things to come....

With May 9th in mind....

You are the poem I dreamed of writing...

The Masterpiece I longed to paint...

You are the shining star

I reached for in my ever hopeful quest

for life fufilled

You are My Child

Now with all things

I Am Blessed.

Easter Bread

As much as I have always loved the holidays....having L around has made me even more excited and dedicated to create lasting tradition. In my attempt to add to our Easter tradition repetiore I decided to take a stab at....drum roll....

Easter Egg Braid Bread

(recipe can be found here...we doubled it)

Initially I thought I would be aided in this endeavor by my mother....but in a surprising change of events...I was joined in the kitchen by this ellusive kitchen helper...

I was pretty amped about this bread...and while Steven pootied out after the bread was mixed....I remained enthusiastic.

The bread turned out great....if I do say so myself. And most importantly, it was delicious. Definitely added to list of yearly Easter traditions for years to come.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter in the event you weren't a stop on the Wolliams family Easter Tour 2010.....(don't feel bad if you weren't...it was pretty much just Minot for a day and then Washburn...)

Cue the Emotional PBS Music....

The greatest insight I have gained since becoming a mother is the following:

"Count your blessings. Take nothing for granted. There are people who would give anything to comfort their crying baby, wake up at 5 am to play, deal with a cranky toddler or a sassy teenager because they no longer have their child with them."

I am having an emotional day today (greatly attributed to the return of Aunt Rose)....and when that happens I feel compelled to write so bear with me.

I am thankful for the aforementioned insight because it has been the most wonderful gift. I will take Lara at her crankiest because it means she is with me....it is a wonderful reminder when you start to get frustrated...

So count your blessings today.....even if they are crabby :)

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

This post really has nothing to do with Blackjack...though Steven did have $75 worth of good luck at it about a week ago....

I love to cook. I really do. However, between work, Lara, "mini business", and trying to spend time nuturing my relationship with Steven and my relationship with myself....cooking has sort of fallen by the wayside in our house. I am passionate about healthy eating and while I have researched and made sure Lara is getting a good start in nutrition, Steven's and my eating habits have become pretty lack luster.

SO...in an attempt to get back to cooking, I have decided to plan out our dinner meals in advance for the week. Additionally, to make myself accountable to my new "program"...I plan to blog about it, posting photo proof of dinner, sharing recipes we try. With the help of the Kraft website I have planned the menu for the week (starting tomorrow).

Enjoy...

Plan for the upcoming week-
Sunday - BBQ Roasted Chicken w/ Parmesan Potatoes
Monday - Bruschetta Minute Steaks
Tuesday - Skillet Chicken & Vegetables Parmesan
Wednesday - Sweet 'n Sour Meatball Simmer
Thursday - Chicken Nacho Bake
Friday - In Valley City for a concert...Steven fends for himself...
Saturday - Roast Pork Tenderloin Supper

Wolliams Out...

Smarti Pants

We have been verging on the cloth diaper movement for a while know. For those of you who don't know, we use Gdiapers at our house with the flushable inserts. LOVE Them....However...the inserts are pricey, as are the cloth inserts for them.
I have litterally been researching the crap out of different brands of cloth diapers, trying to decide which ones to try, itching to take the plunge....(we even have L's nursery set up for cloth diaper use)....The money you save and the eco benefits are great (remember...hippie mom over here).
Maybe it is a sign that Smarti Pants is having a giveaway. You can enter to win 3 of their cloth diapers....Standard entries for this day and age....Become a fan on facebook, follow them on twitter (sorry...won't happen, refuse to twitter)...blog about the giveaway (tada!)....and "re-tweeting" about the giveaway....
I wish I could say we use them and I could tell you how awesome they are....but we don't. HOWEVER, absolutely believe that if we were to win, there will be a full fledge review of their awesomeness.

Wolliams Out...

I'm Yours

Steven and I celebrated Valentine's Day this past weekend with a much needed date. After some good food, a great movie, and laughing until I cried and almost peed my pants, I was yet again reminded of how lucky I am to have such an amazing man in my life.

Love you babe...I'm yours...I dedicate this song to you.....

Valentine Upcycling

I love any excuse I can find to be crafty....the longer you know me the more you will come to see this (my own father was shocked within the last year at my craftiness). Before Lara, I never really had an excuse to flex my "craft muscle". Valentine's Day is coming up and Lara has two of the greatest little "daycare brothers" so of course they needed some cool Valentines. Instead of candy I decided to "upcycle" some old crayons (see photo's below).

With a little help from Mama Peg, I gathered just some of the crayons that have inhabited the infamous Wollmuth Craft Closet since I was still in elementary school. Luckily for me, Dad, for whatever reason, has missed the craft closet on his "cleaning binges".

These were super easy to make and I think they turned out cute. Definitely something I will make again. I was tempted to go a step further in the name of "greenness" and make paper out of the crayon wrappings....but alas...another day, another time....maybe when I win the lottery and can just stay at home being crafty and hanging out with my awesome kid all day.

Here is a play by play in the event you have too many crayons layin' around your pad and want to attempt this project....

Materials:

- Old busted crayons (the older and more broken, the better)

- Your mold of choice (in my case a silicone baking pan? I got on sale at hobby lobby)

- an oven, or microwave....up to you

- Drawstring baggies

You can sort the crayon pieces by color as specifically as you would like....or you can toss whatever colors tickle your fancy all together and see what you get. For my purpose I combined similar colored crayons (yellow ended up with green because there were only two yellow crayons in the whole bag mom donated)

I would imagine using an oven safe mold would be easiest as you put the crayon bits in the mold and into the oven at 350 until melted (about 6-8 minutes). You can use regular candy molds, but then you have to melt the crayons in a separate container and pour the wax into the mold (when I attempt this I will blog how that adventure goes).

Let cool...pop 'em out...and there you go....

Schnazzy huh? All that's left is dividing them up and packaging them....What a cute product from something old and broken....

Delish Indulgence....

On a random trip to Walmart the other night to get milk I stumbled upon Bolthouse Farms beverages on sale for $1.70 (usually a whopping $3.50/L)...quite the deal right? I drank the Green Goodness when I was pregnant with Lara (Steven was repulsed by the stuff) and was pretty excited to find it on sale. I stocked up, but this time went with the protien drinks and a couple liters of C-Boost (mango, cherry, and one other fruit that escapes me at the moment) for myself, figuring Steven wouldn't touch it....

I was wrong. Mocha Cappucino has become a huge hit at our house. It is great for me to have at work in the morning and is an awesome/healthier substitute to coffee. I went back today to stock up while the sale is still on.

C-Boost...also tasty...in fact I am pretty impressed with the line as a whole. And since it is all-natural and "no sugar added" is it really considered an "indulgence?"

Tutus and Hair Pretties

I have found my new creative outlet....and it definitely isn't one I would have guessed. I have fallen in love with making tutus and hair bows/headbands. I always tried to pick up cute headbands on the rare occasion I found one here in good ol ND. Other than odering off of etsy.com, options here are pretty limited. I made the two tutus for Lara's 6 month pictures and really enjoyed it. Then I decided to take matters into my own hands on the cute headband front and taught myself how to make those as well.

Luckily for me, in showing off Kayla's awesome work on Lara's pictures, I got my first request to make a tutu with a matching headband. Here is how it turned out...can't lie I'm pretty proud of it...

I also made Larue a cute Valentines headband... Lack of cute hair accessories for my little girl....solved.

Two more requests for tutu's today....the birth of a mini business perhaps? I wouldn't be upset...Lara can only wear so many tutus....

Floor Seats to the Wizards

We took Larue to her first Wizards game this past Tuesday. This being her first game, we decided to do so in style with floor seats, litterally on the Wizards' bench....cus we are pretty big time like that. Lara LOVED it....and even managed to snag a nap amidst all the chaos. She got all kinds of attention from the coach and players after the game and was dubbed the team's lucky charm.... invited back whenever we want.

Our baby is a super model....

In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I had the day off from work. SO... Lara and I headed over to Kayla's studio for a 6 month photo session. Here are some of the highlights...


Our child is the best little model. We are very very lucky. She let us play around with photos and outfit changes for an hour and a half before she had finally had enough. Baby Gap model??