Whit's End & Camp What-a-Nut

Focus on the Family is in Colorado Springs and they have a visitor's center. There are a lot of things to do. They have a room for 4 and under and Elise really likes to play there! Everything is super soft. It's called Camp What-a Nut!


Elise likes climbing the bridge.

They also have things for older kids to do. Like a giant slide, an airplane to walk through and a room where you can dress up like the characters from Adventures in Odyssey. They have a theater where kids can watch movies. There's a lot more, that we haven't seen.

They also have Whit's End Soda Shoppe. Elise and I had lunch there.

Here's her cheese face!

We had smiley potatoes and baked chicken nuggets with Apple juice and a chocolate chip cookie! It was a great morning! I'm glad that it's so close and we can go as often as we want!

After nap time, Elise decided she doesn't like wearing clothes these days. She fusses when I try to put clothes on her.

16 Months

Today my beautiful daughter turned 16 months old! I say it every month but, I truly can not believe how fast the time has gone! She is growing and learning so quickly! This morning she pointed to her toes and said: "toeie" (not quite sure how to spell that!) It was so cute!


So I thought I would share some of my favorite pictures of the last 16 months! I hope you enjoy!



Minutes after her birth! May 26th!



June-My parents were visiting!

July-My brother was visiting!

August- She just woke from a nap.

September

October

November-We were taking pictures for Christmas gifts!

December- The first of 2 time she got to meet my Grandpa before he passed. I will cherish this picture for the rest of my life!

January-Almost walking! She did start walking this month. Shortly after this picture was taken!

February-She met a new friend at the zoo!

March-She loves being outside!

April-Daddy practicing his photography on a beautiful subject!

May-Can't belive she's one! Celebrating her birthday!

June-Visiting Grandma & Grandpa in Michigan! Chilling at the pool!

July-Our first month in Colorado and we are loving it!

August-I walked in with my sunglasses on my head and she immediatly went to get hers and put them on her head like Mommy!

September-Eric has taken some way better pictures, but I have yet to see them!

She is growing so much! It seems like everyday her baby legs are disapearing more! She is learning more words and can do so many things all by herself! She loves being my little helper. She likes to hand me the dishes from the dishwasher when we are unloading and she helps put the clothes from the washer in to the dryer and she really likes to help pour the laundry detergent in the washer!

We've discovered The Backyardigans and Wonder Pets and she loves watching them! She has become quite the little climber, I think I have The Little Gym to thank in part for that! She loves it there!

Well, I think that is all for now! I hope you enjoyed all the fun photos of my little love!

New With Funky Sprouts

I've been working on some new products for my business, Funky Sprouts. I thought I would post some pictures for you to see and tell me what you think. I am working on a lot more new items, so look for them soon! Below are some pictures of the products. Please tell me what you think!

Bow Board

Boys Reversible pants with accent on the back side of the pants.

Appliqued Shirts

Boys Spring/Fall Jacket

Something New Everyday

Little E is growing SO fast! She will be 16 months at the end of the month! Time flies, it seems when you have a little one.

She finally likes playing in the big bathtub. She really enjoyed her baby bathtub, but wouldn't even sit in the water in the big bath until last week. Previously, baths would consist of me washing her body as quickly as possible and getting her out. The other day I made her sit down and she just started playing. Now everytime she takes a bath, she I usually have to make her get out!

She has somewhat of a mullet these days. LOL! The back of her hair has been long enough to do pigtails for a while, but I finally worked up the nerve to try them yesterday. I was afraid of hurting her and turning her off to getting her hair done at a young age. I think she looks adorable and I want her to have pigtails all the time now! I can't get them to stay in though. If you have any suggestions, feel free to share!

Little E is ready for fall with her Croc boots we got her in the spring for $5. They are regularly $40! We would never spend that kind of money on shoes that she'll out grow in 2 months, but we can handle $5! She loves them and cries when we take them off! I think she would sleep in them if we let her!

This morning she accomplished a new feat! She is now able to climb in the rocking chair in her room! She now loves to climb up there and rock as hard as she can. It makes me a little nervous!

I entered Little E in a local photo contest. They have one for every month. She didn't win that contest, but they also choose a Fun Photo every week and her picture was selected as a Fun Photo! She won a free month at Gymboree! Below is the photo that won!

She is learning a lot as we continue our class at The Little Gym! She loves it and is very independent! We have been doing forward rolls in class since we started. Yesterday, she started trying them on her own at home. She can't get over, but she will put her head and hands on the floor and look at me through her legs. She looks like she's saying, "Okay Mommy, I'm ready!"

She is trying to say new words everyday! She is starting to say Momma more and more. She has said Dada for several months now. She has been signing all done since she was about 6 months old, but this morning as she signed, she also said, "All Done"! It was very cute! She baby talks none stop! There are very few moments when it is quiet in our house! LOL!

In front of our apartment, they used rocks to decorate with and Little E loves to pick up rocks! She has to fill her little hands until she can't carry them all and tries to bring them all upstairs! She has quite a collection and we can't walk by the rocks without her stopping!

She also LOVES shoes! If she sees that we are walking by them, she starts to take off her shoes! She is also starting to help dress herself.

On another note, please pray for my friendwho is 21 weeks pregnant. She was admitted to the hospital when they found hercervix open 1 cm and the amniotic sac dropped into the opening. This opens doors for infections and/or pre-term labor. Pray that everything goes back where it belongs and that there will be no pre-term labor. The baby is perfectly healthy, but is way too small!

What's Going On

Eric had an interview on Wednesday and we were hopeful that he would get the job. He got the call today that he didn't get it. They offered him a Substitute position where he would fill in at several locations if people were sick. The bad thing is that they are all over the Denver area and since we currently live in Colorado Springs, that would be a lot of gas money and no guarantee of hours. He's not sure if he's going to take it or not.

It was discouraging for Eric to not get the job. He has applied for a ton of jobs he was very interested in and hasn't had any luck. He has a job currently, but does not enjoy it at all and it doesn't pay much. I'm sure you all know how important it is to have a job you like, especially for guys.

On a lighter note, Little E and I went to the library on Thursday for Toddler Storytime! We had fun. She fell asleep on the way there, so she was a little hesitate to get involved. She just sat on my lap and observed the other kids. They played with scarfs at the end and she ended up crying when we had to put them back. I think it was because she was sleepy though, because she usually does really well with clean up time at The Little Gym. I didn't get a chance to really talk to anyone because Little E was throwing a little fit about putting the scarfs back. We checked out the books afterward and Little E got to check one out. She LOVES books and was running all over pulling books out. She's not a big fan of board books these days, but is still a little too ruff with paper books, so I'm not quite ready to check anything but board books out from the library.

At The Little Gym this last week we learned a song that was really cute! It's called Toe-Knee Chest-Nut (Nut=head). So the words are Toe Knee Chest Nut Nose Eye Love You, Toe Knee Nose, Toe Knee Nose. Then you sing it again. So obviously you touch each corresponding body part when you sing it! It's hard to explain, but really cute! I've talked to some of the women at The Little Gym, but haven't gotten a chance to develop any friendships. I know I need to make more of an effort to step out and talk to people. I just need to make myself do it.

Little E has learned some body parts! Her favorite is her Bell (Belly)! She lifts up her shirt and sticks her finger in her belly button. We ask her where her belly is and she points right to it! She even knows the difference if you ask about different peoples bellies! She is catching on to nose currently! She calls it No. Today while I was laying her down for her nap, she pointed at my nose and said No several times and the pointed at her nose and did the same thing. She's having a hard time with the s, but it is SO cute! She's also been trying to say Snack, Sit and Shoes, but they all sound very similar.

She is down to just one nap. Most days she does really well. We pushed her bedtime back to 8pm in hopes that she will start sleeping in a little later. She's been waking up between 6 and 6:30am recently. Eric really likes to have time in the morning to read and have some time to himself beofre anyone gets up. Little E's early mornings have hindered that a little bit. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who gets up with her, so I can sleep in a little!

Besides Eric's job situation, we are doing great! We love Colorado Springs! There are so many things to do that cost little or no money! We've done lots of hiking, there are multiple parks that are wonderful, There is a fun kids area that is free at Focus on the Family and there is a huge play area at the mall. I'm learning of more and more things to do practically everyday! I have also been to several Farmer's Markets!

We watched Food Inc. about a week or so and it totally changed my perspective on what I am feeding my family. If you haven't watched, it I would recommend it! It reveals a LOT about the environment that our foods come from. Particularly Cows and Chickens. It is amazing! I can't believe it, it almost made sick. So, we have been shopping at our local Whole Foods (how did I survive without this store?) and Farmer's Markets! Surprisingly, you can buy organic ground beef from grass fed cows and free range chicken for about the same price you can buy the other stuff, corn fed cows (They have a hard time digesting it) and chickens who are kept in the dark their whole lives! Anyway, watch Food Inc! It'll change your life!

Well, I think that's all for now! Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend!