Moving on

It's official! We'll be saying goodbye to our current apartment at the end of July- well, August 2nd to be exact. Our new place has a spacious 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a larger kitchen and a small front yard. We are so excited that we got the place but I am NOT looking forward to packing up almost 4 years worth of accumulation. Luckily we've got plenty of time and it will be so nice to clean out some of the old stuff that's just taking up space. It's going to be so strange to have so much space!

The proud look of success

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am proud to introduce you to Brendan, the new super-roller-over-expert. OK, so he's only done it once but it was a very much anticipated event since he's been sooooo close so many times- and we couldn't be more proud! Chris was at school this morning so he wasn't here to witness the specialness and I'm a little ashamed to admit that I missed the actual act as well.

Brendan was playing on a blanket on the floor next to me this morning while I was working from home. I looked over at him and he was playing with his feet. A minute later, I looked over and he was on his tummy. I grabbed the camera and was able to capture his sweet look of victory- he was smiling so big; I think he was quite proud of himself, and he probably also thought it was hilarious that he did it while no one was watching. He does have his dad's sense of humor.

He has since shown no interest in rolling over again...

In case anyone wanted to know....

If any one of my crafty friends wants to make the cute apron that I made yesterday, you can find it here. Just thought I would pass along the fun.

Craft-mania

So I feel super crafty at the moment. I am proud to say that I busted out my sewing machine for the first time since before Brendan was born. I saw the cutest apron on another blog from the cutest girl who used to be in my ward. Luckily Angela still keeps in touch with her and had a link for it from her blog. So I was just looking around at the blog (I love finding new blogs- which is now my favorite pastime, surpassing eBay) and when I saw that apron, I had to make it too. I followed some links to various other blogs and got the instructions. Now, I am NOT very quick with a sewing machine so I was a little worried about my capabilities; luckily it was really quite easy. A friend from work, suggested a cute little fabric store and I was there that very evening picking out a cute mix of fabrics. After a few snags with the sewing machine (most of the disaster was adverted luckily with some smart help from my mom- thanks!), my apron was done. I love it!

I also made some cute little painted wooden blocks with some friends this past weekend. I'm very lucky to live downstairs from an amazing and inspiring craft goddess. She's so talented, it's almost sickening but I benefit because she invites me to these small "classes" she holds. She sets everything up, prepares all the wood (she even cuts them herself!) and the stencils, and I just show up to put it all together. I love these kinds of crafts because I don't have to think too hard or be in a super creative mood for it to work out- she's done all the hard stuff for me! But I love doing these kinds of things- I now vow to do more crafts on a regular basis. It was too fun and nothing beats the feeling of knowing that you made that with your own two hands. It's so satisfying!

Splish Splash

Today was an exciting day for Brendan (and for me). He had his first trip to the pool and I'm proud to say that it was a success. Chris and I lathered him up in SPF 50 sunscreen (that's why he's so shiny!), decked him out in his hat and his swimming suit/swim diaper, and off we were to the pool. The Mother's Group was meeting there for the weekly activity, so I decided to take the afternoon off and enjoy some time with my sweet boy. I'm so glad I did. He loved the water and was very calm the whole time- even when the older kids went splashing by and sprayed him in the face, he didn't even flinch. In fact, I think he enjoyed it. He liked to lay out on my legs with his head on my stomach and just chew on his hands while he enjoyed the warm water. The pool that we went to has an amazing children's area with shallow water (that was the perfect temperature!) surrounding a large water jungle-gym area for the older ones to play in. It was so much fun and I loved the set-up. It was so nice to be able to sit in the shallow water with Brendan and let him splash or just lounge.

He did a great job splashing, by the way. I would stand him up and one arm would just keep splashing the whole time- but only one arm... never both at the same time. He was just too cute for words. I wasn't sure how he'd react but I was hopeful since he loves his baths so much. I'm glad he liked it and I hope this means he won't be such a wimp when it comes to swimming like his mom.

Easily Amused

Today while I was changing Brendan, I was talking to him and all of a sudden he started laughing at the different words I was saying. It was so adorable and funny that I made Chris run and get the camera so we could capture this moment. I really don't know why it was so hillarious to him but it was too cute all the same. I just love this little guy!

About Chris for once

Since most of my posts relate to Brendan, I thought I'd switch things up on all of you and give you a little update on Chris.



This lovely red bike that's sitting in my living room is Chris' new bike! He sold his other one on Craig's List- which, next to ebay, is my favorite thing in the world! Then he found this sweet ride on Craig's list as well for dirt cheap and he couldn't pass it up. He and Brendan drove up to Sugar House to check it out and it turns out it's basically the bike he's been waiting for. This one is lighter and more equiped to do trials. The best thing about it, it cost less than what he sold his original bike for- so he made a profit! I hope the IRS isn't reading this.


Also noteworthy is Chris' new golf clubs. For Father's day, he picked out two hybrid clubs (from ebay so I could afford them) and he's hitting the ball really well with them. He plays about once a week so he's getting good use out of them, as well as honing his skills and getting an awesome farmer's tan. What a stud!

Other than that, it's the same old story at the Near house. We are enjoying the summer while Chris isn't in school and is able to be home with me and Brendan lots and lots.

Here's to summer!