Paper at Four

I've decided that when you're four,

there is almost no such thing as amounts.

Pretty much everything is pretty much limitless.

Money, snacks, energy, time, options, ability... and paper.

How many reams of paper does it take to perfect the art of doodling?

Drawing snakes, lizards, and mostly people?

Well, at least one around here! :)

Oh, and we won't even mention tape...
Notice we now use USPS Priority Mail packing tape? It's true.

I've been trying to label some of the more memorable or distinct pictures with what he says when he shows them to me.


Not too long ago Cooper asked me if Santa could deliver pets. I clarified that, indeed, he brings all kinds of pets. And so began Cooper's wavering between wanting a chameleon or a leopard gecko from the jolly guy this year. Still three months away? You're tellin' me!


Anyhow, this drawing below, Coop showed me and said, "This is a leopard gecko. Remember to give this to Santa with his cookies and candy canes." September 19th. And, indeed, when I wrote on the page I spelled gecko 'geico'... nice!

Usually Coop draws people- a large head with stick limbs. Cutest thing ever :)
I noticed that whenever he pointed out which one was me, I never had any hair. I asked him why once and he "fixed" me to look like this:

And asked, "Mom, whats that thing on the back of your head that hangs down called?"
Hmmm... think I might wear a ponytail a bit too frequently???
So, now I know that the figure in his pictures looking more like an apple than a human is actually me!

I think the drawing that brings the biggest smile to my face

is still one of the very first "people" he ever drew this past June:

He handed me this very paper and said, "Look, Mom, it's you!"

I'm quite sure I busted up laughing right then!

Never looked better.

Halloween Flashback

Last year I was in Super Saturday/ Craft Show mode around Halloween time

and didn't get our costume pics even posted!

I loved how Cooper's shark costume turned out and thought it was worth posting this year should it be useful for someone else! Tragically, this is the only decent picture I have of him as a shark, but he really did look great!

I scoured to find grey clothing, specifically a hoodie. I ended up using two different shades, but it worked great. I used the templates from Martha Stewart for the gills and eyes and cut them out of felt.
I drew my own shark tail by looking at an actual picture of one! One side of the fin was smaller and thinner than the other, along with some small "dorsal fin" pieces at the sides. I had to sew two pieces of felt together to get the length. I also put a darker shade of grey felt on top of a lighter shade and stuck cardboard between the two to get it to be a bit sturdy.
I hand drew a fin shape and Stephen cut it out on cardboard, using  four different pieces to make it dimensional. Then I used about ten or twelve sticky back velcro circles to keep it on him!
 The teeth around the hoodie are made from stiffened felt, which worked great! Cooper loved this costume- he was in heaven when the kids at our ward Halloween party let him chase them around!
I realize that's all pretty confusing without any pictures to go with it, but I know I was scrambling when it came to making a shark costume for the most part, so hopefully it will be helpful to some degree for someone!

2009:

Can you believe these little guys!

Just two years ago and they look like babies!

I guess they were, but wow its crazy to see the changes so blatantly!

Coop loved his green hair as a pumpkin :)

Favorite Yet

When I first saw this backpack tutorial from noodlehead more than a year ago, I loved it! I thought it was the cutest thing and wished I could wrap my head around the instructions well enough to attempt it myself. Or was I still wishing I could even fathom how to thread my bobbin at that point? :/  At any rate, it was beyond me then!
When Coop started preschool, the little drawstring bags I had made previously just weren't cutting it, so I looked it over again and put my own twist on to make him something more sturdy- I was so happy with the results!

 I used an old, torn pair of Stephen's pants to make the base and got creative with the hems to save myself some work! Using the hems made it so I didn't have to turn any tubes! I was able to use a back pocket to create a pocket on the inside rather than sew one into the front. Cooper picked out the fabrics and patches he wanted himself!

 

 I wanted this to be less of an issue staying on his shoulder than normal drawstring backpacks seem to be, so I sewed the straps on the back and used some cord Stephen had and a cord lock to create the drawstring portion instead- I love this change and it works really well! The casing portion of this tutorial is awesome- I really like how it turned out so polished just naturally! And, indeed, I used my handy safety pin alternative to string the cord. ;)

I daresay my favorite thing I've sewn yet... :)

Die Hards

 It's October now.

But it's been 80 degrees or so still...

and we love the beach.

It's not over 'til it's over, eh? :)

Last week I took the boys to Jensen's Grove for some late afternoon fun.

I told them this would likely be the last visit of the year.

And as I watched them play,

that thought made me want to soak it all in even more.

The excited looks on their faces over swimming and digging and minnow fishing.

The beach was all but completely empty.

I wondered why actually- it really was warm enough and then some.

It occurred to me that these footprints

won't look the same next year....

I Confess...

The first conversation I ever had with Stephen, I told him that

I "just wasn't an animal person."

Little did I know that he was the zoo!

If he had his way, he'd own some massive pet store!

He prefers English Pointers and keeps a pair of them to be able to have and sell puppies... which, as you probably guess, we happen to have right now! These little guys (ten of them-wow!) are about to go their separate ways, but for now, the boys are sure enjoying them!

I confess, they are awfully cute

and I really liked these pics of the boys with them!