Cottage Life

We spent the weekend in Southampton at the traditional Team Willis Cottage weekend.  This year it was a little later into the year (normally we go in June or August) but we delayed the trip due to all the babies being born.  This year meant the addition of two new members Abby (in April) and Elle (in May).  The weather didn't really cooperate but it was still nice to get away and spend time with the family.  It takes an entire cottage of adults to care for three young kids.  Between the three of them we were all pooped at the end of the day.  These are the days I have looked forward to my entire life and look forward to many more cottage weekends with the family.  It can only get easier!!!!

Girls in their matching jams!

Uncle Matt and Nephew Pub-bub (Caleb's names)

Elle Belle in her warm Laurier fleece.  Go Hawks!

Bath Time!

Haha...Aunt Lindsay left me alone with Baby Abby and Baby Elle for one minute and came back to find them in a basket!  They thought it was fun! 

All the Babies bathed, cleaned and in their pjs.

OshKosh one piece tracksuits are AMAZING.  Look how cute!

At the coffee shop with all the kiddies

Elle Belle dressed for the camp fire

Trying out the Jolly Jumper.  Wasn't too sure what to do.

An Apple a day...

  We spent Saturday at Chudleigh's Apple Orchard, and while Elle is not yet old enough to enjoy this activity, it is one of my favourite things to do in the fall.  The apples are not organic and it is by no means a money saving experience  (you would think picking them from the tree yourself would make them cheaper...think again!).  For me the trip to the farm is more about the experience and tradition of it all.  I have been going to Chudleigh's since I was just a young girl.  Each year they have added something new turning the old apple farm into a family friendly experience.  There is a play ground, pony rides, a petting zoo, swings, hay rides and of course a gift shop.  While we skipped most of the chaos, and the chi-chi families experiencing the great outdoors for the first time, we did manage to pick more apples then we will likely eat.  I love being outside in the crisp fall air, it just puts me in the mood for fall.  

  This was not Matt's first time either.  Matt and I went apple picking twice while living in Virginia.   The first time we went Matt ate an apple off the tree without washing it and had an allergic reaction.  His throat started to close in and I began to panic.  I thought I was going to have to drag him back to the hut.  He said my concern convinced him that I really did love him and we got engaged two months later. :)

Look how young and care free.  Sept. 2007

  This year we got to share this experience with Elle.  This is definitely a tradition that we will continue in the future.  The older she gets the more activities we will enjoy.  I wanted to take her on a pony ride this year but she was asleep when we past them.  Maybe next year Elle Belle!  

  This trip also held sentiment to me as it was almost one year to the day that we found out we were pregnant with Baby Elle and I started this blog.  At the time we were caught off guard having just moved to Canada and feeling unsettled, however if you read the original post (seen here) we were praising God for the little apple seed growing in my stomach.  That little apple seed has grown into our little Elle and we could not imagine our life any different right now.  Life has changed so much in the past year, but God has had a clear hand in leading Matt and I.  He has provided jobs, a home and a healthy baby girl.  We are so happy that our lives are not left to chance or to our own decisions.  Given the choice we probably wouldn't have picked this path, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is the right path and the very best days of our life.  We love our little apple seed and days spent as a family.  We can't wait for many more adventures and what the future holds.

Flo-Rid-A

  We just got back from 10 days in Florida.  While this trip was extremely stressful  to me when we started planning it before Elle was even born, it went better than I ever imagined it could.  Elle was such a trooper and continues to blow my mind at how flexible and easy going her temperament is.  People commented over and over on the plane at how good she was.  She slept for the majority of the flights and just hung in her Baby Bjorn during our layovers in Atlanta.  She loves people watching and thought the terminal tram was so fun!  I am so happy that she travelled so well.  This will save years on my life not needing to worry about how she will travel in the future.

  While in Florida Elle met tons of extended family and all Matt's friends.  We kept busy going out to lunch, taking her to the pool each day (which she LOVED) and shopping.  Elle watched two Gator games on TV (she's to young to go, but her Daddy is already counting the days until he can take her) visited her Gigi at school, and made a trip down to Orlando to visit our good friends from Virginia.  We were all worried that when she returned home she would be a nightmare for me because she was used to constant attention.  It has actually been the complete opposite.  You completely exhausted our baby girl.  She must have been running on adrenaline by the end because she has slept sooooooo well since we have been back.  Our little world traveler is tuckered out and taking full advantage of alone time in her crib to catch up.  Again can we say perfect baby?

  Matt and I just wanted everyone to know we had a wonderful trip.  We loved showing our baby girl off and letting each of you have a chance to get to know her.  Thank you all for the gifts and all the loving toward our baby girl.  She is so spoiled and lucky to have a family who loves her to bits.  We can't thank Pops and Gigi enough for all the free babysitting allowing us some time alone to relax!

Best Friends with their Grandbabies

Uncle Brian and Aunt Chelsea

Swimming with Pops and Gigi

Elle at Gigi's school sitting on Elle's desk 

Perfect baby, passed out on the floor during a loud Hudson Family dinner

Convincing Cale and Christi that it's time.....LOL Love you two!

Meeting Paw Paw and learning about technology

Matt and I enjoying the Florida Sun!

Cuddling with Grandmommy

Cheering for the Gators with Gran-Nana

Reading Mommy's Magazine on the plane

    

Slight Obsession

  When I was younger it was my dream to be a stay at home mother. I loved doing crafty things and baking.  I even wanted 10 kids at one point, so including my husband and I, we would have a birthday party every month (that's right it's Duggar, not Davis).  Anyway, I grew up and got way too much education and in doing so changed my sights to be a career woman.  When we found out we were pregnant it was exciting and fun but I was a little worried about filling my time while at home on maternity leave.  While the first month was spent strictly adjusting to life as a new mother as time went on I found myself with more time and a huge interest in Do it yourself (DIY) projects.  Now that Elle is 3 months old and finds talking to her hands more interesting than talking to me, I have some time to try out some of the things I have been reading about on other blogs and watching on decorating shows.  

  While we are currently under going a bedroom reno (which will give me lots of projects to blog about) my most recent DIY or DIM (do it myself as I like to call it) came from one of my biggest obsessions...HAIR BOWS for babies.  Nothing bothers me more than when someone asks me how old by son is.  (Note to all mothers, always include a hair bow with a blue and white outfit for a girl). I have found it very difficult to find bows here in Canada which has lead me to many hours and many dollars shopping online for the cutest bows in town.  My in-laws have also helped me with this hunt and provided us with all kinds of bows for everyday use. Since that fait-ful day Elle has not left the house without a bow.  All this to say I decided, when I added up all the money spent on bows, that I could totally do it myself for much less than I had be spending.  In doing this I could customize them for Elle's most special outfits and make matching ones for her and her cousin.  Since my niece does not have the collection that Elle does I caught her up quickly with a couple of the below images.  I watched a few tutorials on youtube and headed to work.  It was way easier than I thought and ridiculous how inexpensive it can be when you do it yourself.  I did it myself!

Here's what you need:  Glue gun, lighter, ribbon (Michaels has amazing choices and a sale bin which is super cheap), a clip (I used roller clips they were 8 for $1.29, you can also get these at Michaels but they are a little more there) string, elastic (again bought at a fabric store, you can use stretchy lace ect)  and anything else you would like to use to decorate.  I used buttons, beads and sequence, but for the most part used old things I had around the house.

Here are a few of the finished bows:

The headband on the left was inspired by a blog I follow by a super creative mother of 3.  She does a ton of crafty things that add personality and warmth to her beautiful home.  She wrote a tutorial on how to make flowers she used for a wreath on her door which you can find here.  I thought the flowers were beautiful and LOVE how they turned out on the headband...I love multipurpose.

I also love this one below.  It was inspired by a hairband I bought from Aldo for $12.00 for myself.  All I did for this one was make a band out of elastic bought at a fabric store.  Stitched the ends together then cut out a flower shape in chiffon bought in the ends section (so cheap) at a fabric store.  I staggered the flowers on top of one another, put a stitch in them and then hand stritched some sequence in the middle to add some flare.  This probably cost me $2 max to create this adorable piece.

I finished my nieces collection with some traditional bows.  I watched a few tutorials and learned a nifty trick to make your bows look perfect.  The key is to put them on clips that way they can be interchangeable on other hairbands or even beanies like the Kushi one shown below allowing you to match the bow to any outfit you would like and making different combinations look like new.  I made a hairband to clip the bows I have on however,  you can by those very cheaply online so I ordered a few generic bands to clip my personalized creations to.  The other fun thing is these bows will grow with your child.  You can order larger headbands as their head grows and then clip them onto their ponytails as there hair is long enough!  So fun!  Here's my suggestion...shop the expensive boutiques for inspiration then go to town yourself.  Not only will you be super proud of your creation, your hubby will appreciate the money saved...at least my did!