1000 times

If you kiss Claire's neck 1000 times, she wouldn't get bored with it.

It's a good thing because I could literally kiss it 1000 times.

And I could watch her daddy kiss her 1000 times as well. Just melts my heart.

Sketchbook 3 Winner

And the winner of the Sketchbook 3 class is..............

Rebecca said...

I have taken classes through Jessica Sprague and Big Picture Classes. I am taking "Finding Your Way" right now, and I am really enjoying it.

Kelly's class looks awesome! I would love to win a spot!

March 21, 2011 9:33 PM

Please send an email to april@studiocalico.com to claim your prize.

sneak peeks

Wow, I'm late this month posting my sneaks and I've only got 3 for you. I wanted to do sooooooooo much more with this kit because it's one of my favorites in a long time, but I just didn't have the bandwidth this month.

"bandwidth" - that's a Greg-term. Doesn't it sound so corporate?


This sneak uses 100% the main kit: SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. If you're not signed up to get this, we again expect it to sell out. Hopefully not as fast as the main kits have in the last couple months, but you never know. Trust me, you don't want to miss out and as it has papers that are exclusive from Studio Calico AND Cosmo Cricket. Isn't that exciting?

So, email waitinglist@studiocalico.com if you want to start your subscription with this kit. Christine will set you up right, I'm sure. Then, on the 27th, you'll get to order add-ons early, which you can see in the sneaks below.

This sneak uses the main kit + Make 'em Laugh + Tap Dance.

And, this one uses Moses Supposes + the main kit. I think this is my favorite layout this month, although it's kind of a toss up between this one and the first sneak I showed. Both have Claire pictures, so they're obviously cute!

Best wishes and fast fingers on getting the add-ons you want this month!

sketchbook 3

I'm incredibly excited to participate with Kelly's new Sketchbook 3 class. I've already gotten my sketch to work on and am itching to create. There's so many amazingly talented scrapbookers and cardmakers in this bunch that it'll be well worth your money to sign up. I'm sure of it.

You can find all the information you need here, but in the meantime, Kelly is letting me give away a spot to one of my blog readers. Just leave me a comment here letting me know if you've ever taken an online class and if so, which was your favorite.



Some additional info:

Join Kelly Purkey and friends for Sketchbook 3! This is a self-paced four week class filled with fresh sketches, easy instructions, beautiful examples, and lots of fun. From April 4th to April 29th a PDF will be delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. By the end of the class, you'll have a complete sketchbook of 12 original sketches, 38 layouts, and an additional 38 sketches based on those creative pages. All of the examples are brand new layouts, exclusive to this class... you won't see them anywhere else. The best part is that you will be receiving an example layout from Kelly for each of the sketches, along with two (or more) example layouts from a very talented contributor. Each PDF for Sketchbook 3 will also include a card designed by the amazing Jennifer McGuire based on the daily sketch.

The class will also include a private message board for questions and sharing ideas on the Studio Calico website. Visit Kelly's blog (http://www.kellypurkey.typepad.com) for more information and to see the full list of contributors.

determined

This is probably another one of those don't-judge-me posts, but hey, why not? I'm on a roll.

I'm determined that Claire will like animals. Specifically dogs. Next cows. But, I don't want her to get too attached to them in case we need to eat one.

Addy: Yes mommy. Please tell me exactly what you would like me to do and I will pose for you.
Claire: These round things...could they be EYEBALLS???? I like eyeballs. Hmm...no, definitely not eyeballs.
Jett: Doh. I'll do every trick in the book and hope I get something right and end up at the treat jar.



From the time we brought Claire home from the hospital, we've allowed the dogs almost 100% (supervised) access to her. They can sniff her, nuzzle her, lay next to her, as much as they want.

Sometimes that means an occasional lick takes place, which causes Claire to bat her eyes and open her mouth wider, which incites more licking, to which I have to step in.

Already, I can tell they love her so much. All my worries about them being jealous of her have flown out the window. They care for her and protect her. When she cries, it bothers them (probably more than it does me...).

I love that I can measure her growth next to them. I just wish I could get all 3 of them to stay still long enough for the shutter to close. Any tips there?

4 months

I said "good morning" to my 4-month-old precious girl and thought about how I want to press the pause button and make this wonderful experience as a mommy slow down.

I mean, look at THAT face!

Why can't she stay this way forever?

And while I was talking to her, she rolled over and I thought, "hmmmm did she hit puberty already?"

This photo makes me laugh so hard.

At 4 months, Claire enjoys chewing on her fingers, and occasionally gagging herself.

She's started sleeping with a little blanket and loves wadding it up and burying her head in it while going to sleep at night. I'm trying to keep her from getting attached to just one, so we have 3 we rotate.

She's been consistently sleeping through the night, but this past week has stretched that to 12 hours. And, before you comment on how lucky I am, let me say, I've worked HARD for that. And, I'm sure there's some luck in there, too.

She's mastered the push-up and is rolling over occasionally.

She loves to "fly" and do anything that involves motion.

And, she's loved more than ever.

is she breathing under there?

This is the photo I received via text from Greg.

p
a
n
i
c
!
!
!

Let's just say it's a good thing we have a video monitor. It paid off.

ETA: We're good parents and she was being supervised. Just thought I'd add that.
After reading (and deleting) some of the comments, I think some must think we allow Claire to sleep this way. We don't. I repeat, she was being supervised. She wasn't in danger and I know the guidelines for what to put in a baby's bed.

one year ago, today

I found out I was pregnant with this cute baby.

I remember clearly, but read my earlier post anyway, just for the fun of it. I didn't want to wait until Greg's birthday (3/12) to find out, which is when our beta test was scheduled. I was terrified it would be bad news and ruin his birthday, so I tested myself a day early and thankfully it was good news.

It's strange how I can still remember how scared I was taking that pregnancy test. I remember sitting there shaking in fear.

What a difference a year makes, though. Today I got to hold and kiss and wipe slobber off our cute baby.

And tomorrow? Well, Greg gets to celebrate his first birthday as a daddy. What a precious gift that is...and totally makes up for the fact that I haven't bought him a thing.

march sneaks

At this point, I'm so happy to have completed 3 layouts for the March gallery. I like having deadlines and goals each much, yet there's so much I want to document for Claire. But so little time to do it in. Such is life.

I love this layout mainly because of the title. Claire was born on November 12, 2010. Love that. I made the layout above with the main kit plus Mossy Knoll.

Another Claire layout, this one made entirely with the main kit.

Lastly, another Claire layout made with the Wildflower add-on, worn lipstick ink, and Mister Huey White.

Kits go on sale for subscribers at noon on Sunday. Be quick!

has it really been 3 months already?

You have changed sooooooooooo much since you were born.

Mainly in the cheek area.

I love how you've filled out and have such squishy cheeks and have kept those gorgeous blue eyes. Today, you weighed in at 12 lbs and measured 23.75". I had asked the doctor at your last appointment if you were gaining weight too fast. He said you were at a good weight, you just needed to double your birth weigh by 6 months.

Gulp.

I said, "Well she's almost there now!"

He assuaged my worries by telling me you were small at birth so it's just fine that you've gained what you have. Whew!


You have your daddy's long eyelashes and your mommy's funky eyebrows.

I'm sorry. Didn't mean to pass that along, but I'm afraid I have.
I'll purchase a good pair of tweezers for you tomorrow.

We still can't find socks that fit your feet AND stay on.

Attention Entrepreneurs: There is a market for cute socks that stay on infants' wiggly feet.

You are obsessed with your hands. They stay near your mouth most of the time (so hand-kissers, stay away from Claire please!). You study them and lick them.

You are obsessed with your mermaid toy and have become so much more verbal towards toys and people. When you're awake, you can be heard cooing and gooing almost constantly. I love hearing your sweet voice.

I can't believe how quickly these 3 months have passed and like Stephanie, I'm trying to enjoy "it" and soak everything in.

Also, I'm trying not to buy every cute hairband I find. THAT's the difficult part of having a girl for sure!