The Long Winter

I've been quiet around here for the past couple months, but I'm finally coming out of hibernation! It has been a long winter for us, with much colder than average temperatures, several significant snowfalls and cabin fever hitting us hard. Even now towards the end of April, we have only had a handful of warm days, and our furnace is still getting a nice workout.

Here are some photos of our rapidly growing little girls and life around the Campbell Castle during this time:

Making fitted cloth diapers

I made my first fitted diaper today using an old prefold I already had but never use anymore. I think it turned out great, and I cannot wait to use it! It seems a bit smaller than I would have liked, so it won't fit Peanut but should fit Snowflake perfectly. I used a tutorial I found online for these: http://www.thehandmadedress.blogspot.com/2012/12/diaper-tutorial-how-to-make-fitted-from.html?m=1

I plan on making several more of these to add to our cloth diaper rotation so I don't have to wash every other day.

Baking Bread

One thing I have committed to making myself for our family is our bread. We feel so much better when we have homemade bread and I feel at ease knowing exactly what's in it. I use out bread maker for our everyday bread, but I bake the sourdough in the oven. The sourdough is actually the easiest! I bake it in a deep baking dish and no kneading is required, just a long rise time. I made my our starter from scratch so I am really pleased with how well it has been doing.

The last photo is a kid friendly way to eat chili! Recipe from family circle magazine.

Snowflake is 13 months old now and doing well. She is very advanced in her motor and language skills compared to her sister and she is still getting plenty of momma milk! I love watching her little personality take shape!

Easy Toddler Jumper

Recently Peanut has been in need of some larger dresses. I decided to take advantage of the 99 cent simplicity pattern sale at hobby lobby and bought some new patterns and clearance fabric. I sewed up this bright jumper very quickly. The sizing was larger than I wanted but ensures she will be able to wear it for some time. I love how versatile it is- she can layer it for warmth or wear with a t-shirt in the spring/summer.

New year!

Happy 2013! Here are some snapshots of what has been happening around our home lately! Preschool, snow, birthday, cloth bottoms and a new play area.

Christmas craziness

Christmas has definitely been different this year now that we have 2 children. More fun, more toys and presents and much busier! We are up wrapping presents for the second night in a row. Actually, Daddy C is wrapping, I am instructing from my perch on the couch, cuddled up with a bowl of popcorn and cookies on the side!

Blogging on the go!

This blog post is being published on my iPhone! I am excited for this since I think it will help me to post more often.

Today we finished up our Christmas cookies for our friends and neighbors. Dallas had a blast licking the spoon and would also run off with a piece of cookie dough every so often. She tried to use the cookie cutters but was not very successful at it. We made no bake cookies (my first time ever making them- so easy too) and sugar cookies. We kept the sugar cookies plain since I figured there was enough sugar in them already!

Dahlia's birthday is next week - I cannot believe how fast the time has gone! We are looking forward to celebrating her first Christmas together.