The Barbie House

The winter is almost over.  Our indoor play will be moving outdoors soon, but not before we finish the Barbie House.

The outdoor patio. 

Little Girl's Pink Room 

Barbie's Room with Crib and baby.  We love closet for storing little things.

Purple bathroom.

Barbie's Living Room with entertainment center and flatscreen TV.

Barbie's Kitchen,  Microwave is on top of the refrigerator.  All cabinets open and close.  There is a sink, stove, oven, and table and chairs. 

Everyone loves the Barbie house.

Grace was the designer.  Anne helped with most of the painting.  James wanted to help, but he's messy so most things were completed while he was sleeping.  My friend Julia surprised us with all the furniture.  She is quite an artistic and creative lady, not to mention super thoughtful.

Special Guest and Cupcakes

We had a special guest at our house for a week.  Meet Compass, the best parakeet ever!

The girls liked him quite a bit.  Since Compass liked to use James's head for a landing pad, James stayed away from the bird. 

In the beginning Compass was only allowed out of the cage if he was in the bathroom, because he was a bit tricky to recapture.

Edwin is thinking about becoming a peg-legged pirate with a parakeet.  What do you think?

Anne is much braver than her sister, and her mother for that fact.  Most of us enjoyed Compass more in the cage, but Anne liked everything about Compass, especially his little tickly nibble-like kisses.

I preferred Compass in the cage singing in the morning with the birds outside, and chatting with us during meal time. 

The girls wanted to have a surprise partry for their dad with special cupcakes.

They spent the day planning and drawing their cupcake plans.  Anne wanted a spider cake.

James wanted frosting, candy and more frosting, please.

Edwin made a spider cake which he promptly gobbled up.

Grace made a beach.  Water with stepping stones and islands.  Sand with buckets, shovels, and rocks.

It was quite a week indeed.

Daddy Daughter Date

While I was home sick in bed and James was napping,

Edwin took the girls on a daddy-daughter date. 

Home Projects

The weather is cold again and the snow is falling.  We are trying to stay happy and busy in the house here are a few things we have been doing.

Edwin finished his quilt.

I think it's lovely and I can't wait to make some pillow shams to match.

I've been making baby blankets for charities, bibs for gifts, and these adorable diapers for the girls' dolls.

The kids have been home sick a whole lot lately.  Many days have been spent on the sofa with drippy noses, coughs, and high fevers.  I'm sure looking forward to spring and good health.

Grace and Anne have been busy on the Barbie house.  We have a few final touches and then I think it will be complete...stay tooned.

Snow Days

A few outdoor activities we enjoy when the weather is above zero.

Who said parks were only for warm weather.  A swing is a swing any time of year!

Edwin is modeling the girls' hat while shoveling.  Grandma knitted them for the kids last year and everyone has worn it this winter!

My neighbor Paul came over after we received about 18" of snow overnight.  Edwin was at the hospital for the night and couldn't get home.  I was going to wait until James's naptime to tackle this project, but the neighbor got it done first.  What a guy.  I think he did everyone's sidewalk and driveway that morning.

The snow drift we found next door.

Edwin dug out a snow cave for the kids.