My Newest Nephew

On Friday, November 14, my sister gave birth to another beautiful (ooops...handsome) and strong healthy baby boy. This marks her 3rd son, the 5th grandson for my parents, and my 5th nephew!

Please help me to welcome the adorable Devin Jackson to the world. He weighed in at 8 lbs 12 oz, and was 22 inches long. He joins big brothers Drew and Dawson. And we are SO thrilled to be close enough watch him grow up. Here's the proud new aunt (well, one of us, at least) with her newest nephew....

It seems that November is a very popular month for babies to be born to people I know! On Tuesday, November 18, two friends also welcomed their sons. On of my best friends from high school welcomed their son, Ryan Patrick, who weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs 2 oz, and was also 22 inches long. And 12 hours away, a college friend and former coworker welcomed her son, Tyler Scott. Congrats to you both! Enjoy your sons -- they might be rough and tumble, but they are also cuddly and lovable and just plain wonderful! Blessings to you all, and to all the new babies born and to be born in the coming months.

Now we're sitting back and waiting for the birth of our newest addition in 20 weeks! Could it be the blessing of another boy? Or will Samantha be blessed with a sister? One thing is for sure...a baby will join us this spring, and we can't wait for him or her to meet the world!

Two Farmers & A Fairy Ballerina Princess

Our kids are still young enough that they don't mind mom's homemade costumes, saving us money (although I'm certain time is not saved! but worth it all the same) and giving us flexibility with their costumes. Do you know how hard it is to find a John Deere Tractor costume? Let me tell you, it's far from easy!

This year, Samantha wanted to be a fairy ballerina princess (her words). So she's kind of like Tinkerbell, she said, but a different kind of Tinkerbell. I think her costume was $10 or $15 to make -- and pretty easy! I just took a piece of elastic, sewed the ends together at the measurement appropriate for her waist, and then used 4 yards of tulle (2 yards each of 2 different colors) cut into 4 to 6 inch strips and slip-knotted them around the elastic. She wore a purple leotard that was a Christmas present two years ago (thankfully it still fit...barely, but it fit!). And then I took 1/2 yard of tulle gathered it in the middle to make fluttery wings that we pinned to her leotard. Oh yes -- to be a princess, she had to have her crown (Tinkerbell in this case.) Since it was 70 degrees here that day, she didn't freeze and we didn't have to add anything to it!

Now the boys wanted to go as John Deere tractors. Hard to imagine if you know my boys at all! Hudson went as this last year, and I learned a LOT about how to construct a tractor costume. This year I learned even more! We took cardboard boxes, painted them green (do this in a well-ventilated area, especially if you're pregnant, otherwise, well, you might end up with a migraine. It's the last thing you need the night before Halloween !) Then we used duct tape to make straps to keep them on, and added wood shims to the inside of the box for a little stability and to weight the back evenly with the front. The wheels are just paper plates. They were fun to make! And the boys were happy little farmers (hence the overalls).

All 3 kids LOVED their costumes, and that's all a mother can ask for....happy kids all sugared up on Halloween. And we survived the "week after"...but barely. That's for another day. :)

So tell me -- are any of you crazy enough to make your kids' Halloween costumes? Next year, with 4, I'm thinking Dorothy with the Tinman, Scarecrow, and the Lion. I better get to work now. :)