FACT:

Bears eat beets.

(Just a little "The Office" humor for you.)

But, supposedly beets also make good....wait for it....

...dye for Easter eggs.

Who would've guessed.

LBB goes completely berserk shows a slight aversion to artificial dyes, and it got me to questioning how good is it to have your eggs be SOAKED in artificial dye. Not that there's anything wrong with it...if LBB wasn't sensitive to those darn dyes, I'd so be buying the dye kits with the cute little rabbit on them.

But, he is sensitive.

And by golly, sometimes that dye leaks onto the egg itself. And that just can't be good.

So, this year we are attempting to dye our eggs the "natural" way. So far I've made red-purplish dye (using the beets) and blue dye (using red cabbage.) No word yet on how they look on eggs, but sitting in bowl, the colors are beautiful. We use brown eggs, and according to some different things I've read about natural dying, these natural dyes look beautifully muted on them. We're pretty psyched.

What about you? Have you ever dyed eggs naturally? Would you? (And if you want to see the recipe for making the dyes, click HERE.)

I'll let you know how they turned out. :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

From our family to yours, best wishes

for a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving!

We hope the day brings plenty of family love,

time to reflect on all you've been blessed with,

and a nice full belly at the end of the day!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Beginning Fall Decorating

I'm a tad behind in getting my Autumn decor up, and I think they are buried somewhere in the garage...so until my hubby goes on an expedition to find the bin, I decided to make a few things for around the house. I've been so inspired my all those cute little felt leaf garlands I've been seeing around the internet, and I decided to make one for our humble abode. It was soooo simple. In fact, so simple I was able to complete it in an evening with LBB by my side. :) I hung it across our IKEA expedit unit that is in the dining room...

...and I had left over garland. So, I stood there, looking around trying to decide what a good use for it would be. And then I looked up...at our new dining room lamp that is gorgeous (and completely free and installed for us...it's moments like this that I LOVE apartment living, haha.) Those beautiful wrought iron curves just screamed for a little autumn festiveness. So, I wrapped some of the garland around each curve of the lamp, and voila!

Dear Sweet Hubby came home and just loved it. :) I also made a garland for my bedroom, but haven't gotten a picture of that yet...I need to get our decor up so we can have our Annual Family Fall-ebration. :) I'll take more pics then. :)

Merry Christmas Eve!

I've always loved Christmas, and once my Dear Sweet Hubby and I got married, I spent most Christmases wishing we had a little one in the house. :) And for good reason, as I can see now! Little ones add so much to Christmas...and I know this will become even more true over the next few years as LBB really gets into Christmas and knows what it is about!

Today we spent the morning coloring pictures of the Christmas story and reading his Children's Bible. :) I showed him one of his Shleich sheep and explained how shepherds take care of sheep. As we read the Christmas story from his Bible, everytime I said "Baby Jesus" LBB did the sign language sign for baby. (Such a smartie...now if I can just get him to say it!)

After he wakes up from his nap (which is really a second part of his morning nap...he woke up for a few minutes, quickly showed he was still very sleepy, and was promptly cuddled and tucked into his bed), we are going to make some cookies for Santa and listen to some Christmas music. Then soon after Dear Sweet Hubby should be home, and we can enjoy the beginning of a 2 1/2 day vacation with Daddy!

I love the holidays...but I love them even more now that I am a mommy. I love being in the kitchen and hearing a present being unwrapped by a sweet little boy who doesn't know any better yet. :) I love putting my LBB to bed and having the light of his Christmas tree filling his room. I love cuddling up on the couch and watching Christmas movies and reading Christmas stories. So many new memories...so many treasured moments.

And it's not even Christmas yet! Have a very merry Christmas just in case I don't post tomorrow!!!!

One small step for mankind...

...is apparently one GIANT leap for a 25 pound little boy. :)

I would've sworn months ago that LBB would be walking before his first birthday. But, now that his first birthday is only 20 days away, I wouldn't put betting money on it. He can do it, because we've seen him take 3 or 4 steps here and there...but he just doesn't want to do it. And when he sets his mind on something, he sets his mind on something. :) He's a bit stubborn that way.

Last night, LBB was standing with only one hand lightly resting on Dear Sweet Hubby's chair, and Dear Sweet Hubby handed LBB his sippy. LBB took it, held it with both hands, stood there while he was drinking it, and then even bounced around to the Christmas music for a few minutes. And then...he realized he wasn't holding onto anything, freaked out, and plopped right down.

Now we can't get him to stand for anything. :) But, I do have a feeling he is getting close. Once in a while he will hold onto something with just a fingertip, and look as if he is contemplating whether or not he wants to go for it. One of these days I know he'll just get up and go...but until then he is going to be extremely stubborn about it all. :) I have to remember that he will walk when he is ready...until then he is going to do what he wants in the mobility department!

Oh...and speaking of sippy's, did I mention that LBB is completely bottle-free now? All sippy's, all day. Yay for LBB! (And yay for Mommy...bottles take so much time to wash!)

And can you believe, only 38 days until Christmas!?!?! WHOA! I've been a busy little bee getting ready for Thanksgiving, LBB's birthday, and Christmas...and now I've really got to get my bottom in gear! LOL!