11th Anniversary Age of Adaline Date September 30, 2015

In this post: All the details on our Age of Adaline date plus anniversary pictures, and chalkboard door art.

Hello dear ones! I know it’s been a good while since my last post. I promise I haven’t forgotten you. I have so much to share with you and a lot of catching up to do. I wanted to skip ahead and share this extra special date. I hope it inspires you. Here’s how we celebrated our 11th anniversary, our Age of Adaline date (based on the movie).

Lover’s silhouette chalkboard art~ I used the silhouette from a picture of Chris and I. You’ll see the picture on the collage poster board I made. It’s in the middle

Anniversary Collage Poster Board~ I printed out black and white pictures of us throughout the years. I glued pieces of old wall paper I found at Goodwill, onto poster board from The Dollar Tree. I put a poem I had written in the middle.

Here is the poem. You may link to this post, but don’t copy it. Thanks!

The Story of Us” by Amber Dover

“Let everyone see, the rhythm and rhyme of you and me. As we grow old, every storm we can weather. Let us never go cold, because we’re better together. Every kiss is a song, of the sweetest pain. The roses and the thorns; we two remain. I love you.”

My first set for our date.

The set after we went antique shopping.

My Vintage Look

I did as many finger curls on my head as I could. I used a peach lipstick. I added a peach belt to a dress I had to give me that 1940’s style. The big necklace Chris bought me the night before from a street vendor, a lady handmade it.

The Agenda

The night before our Adaline date we got in the vintage mood by listening to jazz live at The Loft in down town. I attempted to put victory curls in my hair but it didn’t turn out quite right.

Me reading to the kids when we got back.

Age of Adaline Date (what I got pictures of)

• Antique shopping

The guys and I went antique “window” shopping (meaning we didn’t buy anything at this place).

Messing around…

We did pay to check out the lunchbox museum.

We finished with lunch at Steak n Shake because it always has a vintage feel. Then my parents got Michael so Chris and I could have some romance.

Here’s my anniversary present: a vintage type writer from either the 1930’s or 1940’s. It works too. We got it at a thrift store.

• Read Braille

• Gigi’s cupcakes~ Wedding Cake is an amazing flavor!

• chili dogs and cream soda

• Romantic photos

• Star gazing

We used the star app on my tablet.

• Speak Portuguese ~We looked up “I love you” and I wrote it on the type writer

• Poetry and slow dancing I didn’t get pictures of

Random funny pic of Leeland partying with us.

God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Age of Adaline on Pinterest:

More of our Date Nights:

Date ideas on Pinterest:

 

Summer Crafts 2015 Part 2 August 19, 2015

In this post: Ocean crafts and study. Plus a shell study.

Hello dear ones, this Summer we used our crafts to decorate the homeschool room for the beginning of the year. We have a sea theme. So we got a head start. Here are pictures and you can find the links on my Pinterest at the end.

Michael was given two big boxes of shells from my grandma and grandpa. He used them to decorate our homeschool room.

He also made a shell notebook.

He made necklaces as well and gave them to his buddies. Then Michael did a shell lapbook.

Michael did an ocean animal lapbook. He checked out books on ocean animals from the library.

I bought ocean paper and covered our school door and the area near the reading pool. I got the ocean creature cut outs from the Dollar Tree awhile back. I used bubble wrap to make the bubbles, and crepe paper for the seaweed.

I stapled ribbon to shower caps to make the jelly fish. I hung blue and green crepe paper to make the room feel like it was under the sea.

Michael made these origami boats.

Leeland and I made this starfish with his feet.

The jelly fish are from Michael and Leeland’s hands.

Michael made a crab, an oyster, and coral from egg cartons. I made coral from split pool noodles.

I drew the octopus and Michael splattered it with paint.

Michael made a puffer fish using a fork (not pictured).

We made socktopuses from socks.

Michael and I put together this ocean diorama.

We put foam stickers on the bottom of our flip flops and made these nifty prints. We hope to leave cool impressions in the sand when we go to the beach.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~ Amber Dover

PS: Michael’s Lego creation

Life with Baby: Super Baby vs. Bat Baby August 18, 2015

Hello dear ones! This Life with Baby post speaks for itself. May you be inspired! God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Other Life with Baby posts:
Cloth Diapers
https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/life-with-baby-cloth-diapers/
Breastfeeding and Baby Wearing
https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/life-with-baby-breastfeeding-baby-wearing/
Monthly Pictures
https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/07/08/life-with-baby-cuteness-overload/
Baby School
https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/life-with-baby-baby-school/
Hacks
https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/07/23/life-with-baby-hacks/

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/life-with-baby-sleep-and-a-birth-shadow-box/

Downtown Date Night August 10, 2015

Date Night Challenge: Tour your downtown and tell me about your experience in the comments.

Hello dear ones! Chris and I have lived in this area for almost eleven years, but recently had our first date in downtown. It was magical.

We walked the streets and listened to different musicians.

Here’s a talented band playing outside of Iron Bank Coffee.

We went inside my favorite writing spot for some pictures…

and some sweets.

We ran into our music minister playing at Picasso’s Pizza.

Then we took a carriage ride with a guy who looks like Apollo from Brain Games. He shared some of the history of the downtown buildings…like how the Springer Opera House is supposed to be haunted.

This was our last date in Chris’ Jeep. Sadly, he had to trade it in. My hubby’s knees were making it hard for him to drive stick. Now he has a truck. Someone bought the Jeep already. Hopefully they will take care of “Sponge Bob” for us.

Last wash…

God bless and remember the High King lives! ~ Amber Dover

Other dates on this blog:

Date ideas on Pinterest:

Annabelle’s Birthday and Doggy Daycare July 30, 2015

Hello dear ones! Our French bulldog, Annabelle Antoinette, turned two this July. She’s also started going to doggy daycare every now and then. I can’t give her the full attention she needs, since the baby was born. Plus she loves socializing with other doggies. Here are some pictures from Annabelle’s experiences. Enjoy!

I bought Annabelle’s dress, stuffed turtle, and doggy cake at Petsmart.

I got the pink decorations at the Dollar Tree. I bought cupcakes for us humans.

We played “doggy” music found at this link:

http://www.whenpoochcomestoshove.com/dog-party-ideas-puppy-pawty-music/

Then we told dog jokes:

http://www.ducksters.com/jokesforkids/dogs.php

The cat was not invited, but Tessa, our other dog, did get some cake.

Annabelle’s dress which she wore to daycare that day.

Annabelle hanging with her buddies at daycare.

For more posts about Annabelle, go to the category called Annabelle on the right side of my
blog.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Life with Baby: Hacks July 23, 2015

Hello dear ones! Welcome to another Life with Baby post. So I’ve tried out several hacks or tricks if you will when it comes to baby care. Some of these ideas I found on Pinterest; others I thought of myself but later found on Pinterest. There’s nothing new under the sun, right? I hope these help you!

Pool noodles~ These things are great for loads of stuff. Who knew they could help with baby too! I actually thought of this and then found it online as well. I used pool noodles to keep Leeland from scooting off the bed when I changed him. Now that he’s older and starting to flip over, I just change him in his crib (which is super easy now that it’s a co-sleeper. See below). Why take up space and buy an expensive changing table?

Wipes container ~ You can reuse a wipes container to store all the small baby items like pacifiers, grooming tools, and medicine.

Diaper station~ I found this cart at Walmart back near the laundry department. It’s small and it rolls. I put diapers and burp cloths in the drawers. I have my homemade wipes on top. I keep the solution in a wipes warmer and I keep the cloths in a mesh bag. I have my wet bag for cloth diapers hanging nearby. I just changed the room around so it looks a little different than this picture. Still it’s similar. I keep a small trashcan nearby for disposable diapers (yes, we still use those at times…especially the weekends).

Finding space for baby’s clothes~ I use these rolling plastic tubs and just roll them under the crib. I have two. One for current clothes and another for diapers and clothes Leeland will be able to wear months later.

Mesh bag for bibs, cloth baby wipes, and blankets. The pack of bags comes in three sizes. I have these bibs hanging on a chair in the kitchen. That works well for us since we have no more drawer space in there.

A plastic tub in the bathroom for the baby’s towels and rags. 

Turning our crib into a co-sleeper~ I’ll do a whole ‘nuther post on sleep at another time (Lord willing). But for now here is the link we used to do this. I found it and my husband did most of the work. Sleep is so much easier this way and it’s safe. You can kind of see another rolling cart behind the crib. I keep baby bedding in that one. I can actually walk behind the crib now. You can see that we keep Leeland’s stuffed animals hanging above. I can just turn on his little turtle light above him and it fills the ceiling with stars. I don’t worry about him smothering.

http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/turn-your-crib-into-cosleeper.html

One last hack and it is soooo helpful. Plastic linky rings. These things are awesome! I can hook the rings to anything…Leeland’s stroller, car seat, crib, play mat, or his bouncy seat. I can then hook toys to the rings. I like to hook foam letters for Leeland to chew on. You can see them in the picture above, attached to the crib.

Well God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Pinterest ideas:   https://www.pinterest.com/doverette/all-baby/

Other Life with Baby posts:

Cloth Diapers
https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/life-with-baby-cloth-diapers/

Breastfeeding and Baby Wearing

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/life-with-baby-breastfeeding-baby-wearing/

Monthly Pictures

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/07/08/life-with-baby-cuteness-overload/

Baby School

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/07/16/life-with-baby-baby-school/

Sleep

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/life-with-baby-sleep-and-a-birth-shadow-box/

Fourth of July Crafts and Our Second Family Olympics 2015 July 17, 2015

Hello dear ones, I hope you are well. Two years ago we had our first Family Olympics. You can find the link here: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/my-family-rocks-sunday-2013-family-olympics/

This year we spent Independence Day having our second Family Olympics. I also have July 4th crafts to share with you. Here we go :).

We made 4th of July T-shirts.

 

Michael and Chris tie dyed a red, white, and blue shirt.

 

I used Leeland’s hand print and craft sticks to make this  U.S. flag onesie.

Michael did a lapbook on the U.S. flag. Link here:

 

http://www.currclick.com/product/72074/United-States-Flag–Speedy-Lapbook

Then Michael made me a red, white, and blue necklace out of beads.

We also did a state lapbook. Link here: http://www.currclick.com/product/76669/United-States-Alabama–Speedy-Lapbook

Then my mom came over for…

 

Family Olympics

 

I really love this event and I can’t wait until the next one. We should really have winter Olympics as well. We began by making our personal flags to represent us in the games.

We used index cards to keep score. Here are the events:

• Archery

Michael

My Step Dad Kim

Mom

Chris

Me

Leeland

• Foam Sword fighting

Me and Mom~ This was fun, but a word to the wise…make sure you zip up the trampoline if you use it. When Michael and I were sword fighting he actually fell through the unzipped part of the trampoline screen. Thankfully he didn’t hit his head too hard. It was scary though.

• Airplane Toss

• Egg Race

• Sac Race

Then just for fun:

• Parachute games

• Michael’s 4th grade piano recital. He played The Star Spangled Banner and Amazing Grace.

 

All of us won at least one medal, but Kim won the trophy.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

More ideas:

 

Father’s Day Crafts & Our Trip to Jesup 2015

Hello dear ones! This past Father’s Day we visited our hometown and everyone got to meet the new baby. Leeland and Michael also made homemade crafts for Chris. It was a special Father’s Day. Here’s what we did:

I printed out a Father’s Day poem from here:

Then I put the boys’ foot prints on it. I also printed out a Darth Vader poster.

I helped the boys make Father’s Day books.

I stapled Daddy surveys to the back of the books. Here’s the link:

So we visited our hometown and saw our families. We saw Chris’ dad…

and we visited where my Dad is buried.

We visited my Granny.

My family didn’t want to let Leeland go.

Granny

My Uncle

My Aunt

My other grandparents

I loved playing with this Chess set as a kid.

Chris’ mom playing with Leeland

Chris’ older brother and Michael trying out his 3D plastic making pen.

Well, God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Life with Baby: Baby School July 16, 2015

Hello dear ones! I’ve got another Life with Baby post for you. Don’t worry. I’m not trying to teach Leeland how to read already ;). Basically, there are different games you can do with babies to help their development and just to have fun. I get weekly updates from Baby Center: http://www.babycenter.com/baby . Anywho, they suggest games that go along with the baby’s development. They’re simple games like peek a boo and bicycling baby’s legs.

I set toys out. Leeland started grabbing things several weeks ago. So I offer him rattles and I attach chew-able items on connectable rings. I read baby books to him and I sing songs. I clap his hands together and play Patty Cake. I sing songs like Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and He’s got the Whole World in His Hands.

I put Leeland on his Boppy or a play mat for tummy time. He’s at the age where I can roll him back and forth to encourage rolling over. Anywho, this is normal baby play but I call it baby school because I have to remind myself to do these things. It’s been so long since I’ve had a little one. I wouldn’t have naturally thought to do some of these games. Here’s a good example: talking through a toilet paper tube in funny voices. I would’ve never thought of that on my own.

Oh, and we can’t forget nap time. That’s the best part of the day!

Here are some more pics of “Baby School”:

Don’t forget field trips!

Big Bubba likes to read to the baby.

Leeland likes talking to the baby in the mirror.

How do you play with your infant? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comment section :). God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

More Life with Baby posts:

Cloth Diapers
https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/life-with-baby-cloth-diapers/

Breastfeeding and Baby Wearing

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/life-with-baby-breastfeeding-baby-wearing/

Monthly Pictures

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/07/08/life-with-baby-cuteness-overload/

Hacks

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/07/23/life-with-baby-hacks/

Sleep

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/life-with-baby-sleep-and-a-birth-shadow-box/

Chester Talks to the Birds

Hello dear ones! I’ve been neglectful of our fur family when it comes to blogging. Let’s fix that. I’ve introduced Chester, our slightly evil cat, before. Winchester is his full name. My hubby Chris put this video of Chester on his youtube channel. This is Chester talking to the birds. He only makes this chirping sound when he’s watching birds. I’ve never seen a cat do this before. It cracks us up!

When Chester isn’t being evil he is sleeping or eating….usually eating my food. If I leave my cereal out for a minute, he will jump on the counter and eat it. Chester doesn’t discriminate. No food is safe from his vicious appetite. He will eat cookies. He will drink hot tea. He will steal your supper. Beware!

Chester has for the most part left the baby alone. But lately the baby’s wiggly arms have tempted him. We found Chester swatting through the crib the other day. Thankfully he is declawed. So now Chester has to sleep in Michael’s room at night.

Remember, Chester is watching you! Always watching… 😛

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover