The Barefoot Baby...Then and Now

In four months time look at the difference! Same car seat, same baby, I promise!

The top picture was the day we brought her home from the hospital... November 6th

The bottom picture was after a long roap trip... March 6th

Special Donkeys...

These two little Donkeys, mommy and baby, live down the road from that first apartment I mentioned in the IKEA post below. Uncle Matt and Aunt Nicole also lived in that apartment for a short time after we did. It is a special place to all of us. It was more of a cottage, a VERY TINY cottage, on a breathtakingly beautiful farm in the heart of high class horse country. (Think of a Polo Ralph Lauren ad everywhere you look) Anyway, we used to walk down the dirt road to visit these donkeys all the time. After lunch on Saturday we took BP and BB to see them and to our surprise there was a baby donkey. It was so cute how the baby donkey kept resting its head on the mommy, nuzzling the mommy, and nursing. BP's response was, "the baby is drinking the mommy's milk."

IKEA

Saturday morning we bravely headed to IKEA with both The Barefoot Princess and The Barefoot Baby. We knew what we needed and had a plan. So we crossed our fingers and said a little prayer that everything would go smoothly. IKEA can be a little overwhelming with crowds of people, lines, waiting for pick up, and so much to look at. BP rode on the push cart while BB was in the stroller. It was a successful mission and we now have a new white pedestal table with four white French country chairs in our kitchen. We have waited about 7 years to replace the set I garbage picked for our first apartment. I owe BP and BB's Daddy big time because it took five hours to put the set together, but as the IKEA catalog boldly states on the front... Home is the Most Important Place in the World!

Bunny # 16

If you can see it under her hand, this is the pink bunny cookie The Barefoot Princess conned Uncle 'Mack' into buying her at lunch on Saturday. First she chose the yellow happy face and then asked him for the pink bunny. Uncle 'Mack' proved to be a real softie and could not refuse BP's charm. He caved and got her the pink bunny too! She was elated!

A special thanks to BP's Daddy for teaching her to wrinkle her nose when she smiles when she was like 9 months old. All my recent pictures seem to have the wrinkled nose!

Bunny # 15

A bunny toy from Chasing Fireflies. I love wooden toys and of course this one caught my eye immediately. So simple and cute!

Happy St. Patrick"s Day!!!

For me today is better and bigger than Christmas! I LOVE St. Patrick's Day! (My husband thinks I am insane) I think it is because of my heritage, but also because in my mind it also signifies the beginning of Spring. I can never remember a St. Patrick's Day that was not sunny and cheerful, like today is. So last night The Barefoot Princess and I made Irish Soda Bread and right now we have 1 corned beef in the oven and 1 in the crock pot. I am trying a new recipe this year, Thank You Keri, and tonight we are having some friends over for a traditional Irish feast. BP and BB are dressed in green with shamrocks and looking very festive today and I swear BP's hair had a hint of red today that is not their every other day! Maybe it was the bright sunshine? On the way to the gym this mroning we listened to Irish tunes and like her father she thought I was crazy too, but then she decided on the way home that she liked 'The Unicorn Song'.

So Happy St. Patrick's Day and enjoy a little corned Beef, cabbage, soda bread and of course it would not be St. Patrick's Day without a little Guiness or Bailey's.

Lancaster

The Barefoot Family spent last weekend in the heart of Amish country in Lancaster, Pennsylvannia. Well, it was not just us, but also some of our good friends and family too. It is a yearly tradition and I think this was the eighth year we made the pilgrimage to Lancaster. The Barefoot Princess has been four times including year one in my belly, and The Barefoot Baby has been twice including her belly year. While we are there for three days we first fill almost a whole hotel with our group, then we eat, attend an Amish auction, eat some more, shop, drive around, eat more, visit Amish friends, eat some more, and have lots of laughs! You cannot beat the down home cooking in this part of Pennsylvania. Don't even go there attempting to diet because one look at the homemade pies or whoopie pies and it is all over. The Barefoot Dad tried to propose to a young Amish girl when he bought and tasted a slice of chocolate cream pie!

This year the auction, which is called The Gordonville Mud Sales, was VERY MUDDY to put it mildly. I almost lost The Barefoot Princess in a mud puddle when we were looking at a playhouse in the field. If you are in the market for an Amish made quilt they normally have about 500 if them. If you need a new buggy, they have about 100 of them. If you should need a workhorse to plow your field or a trotter to pull the buggy, they have those too. There were two tents full of antiques and crafts and how could I forget the field full of farm equiptment. Apparently this was the year to buy... because the rain kept the big crowds away and you could get some really good deals.

We only spent a couple hours at the auction, the rain scared us away, I guess, and then we went to The Strasburg Railroad. At the railroad we took a train ride and went through the museum. The Barefoot Princess, who I have previously mentioned is a big Tommy (Thomas the Train) fan thought this was way cool!

After the railroad, in an attempt to get BP to take a nap, we drove to find an Amish man who makes playhouses. (Our friends spotted the playhouse earlier in the day and knew BP's Daddy was in the market for one.) We found the playhouse and the nicest young Amish man who made it and since BP was not sleeping we let her check it out. The playhouse was built better than most houses I have recently looked at with our realtor. It was adorable with a Dutch door, window boxes, shutters and even a little reading loft! We were sold and just have to let the man know what design and size we would like.

Then we were off to visit some Amish friends, Katie and Abie. After a very short visit (Katie's mom who was staying with them was not feeling well) we had a big pizza party back at the motel.

Above are some pictures from the weekend....

Elsie Beiler

Elsie Beiler is a very talented artist we found last year on our trip to Lancaster. She lives in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania and started painting after the Nickel Mines school tragedy in 2006. She was deeply affected by the shootings that took place at the Nickel Mines Amish School and wanted to paint the school as she remembered it in happier times. The first painting, titled 'Happier Days,' hangs in The Barefoot Princess' room and ironically the tragedy occured on her first birthday, October 2, 2006. The second painting, called 'Friends Forever,' is a painting of the five girls who lost their lives that day. Elsie Beiler says it was prayers and tears that mixed with her paints to create these two peices of art. I love both of these paintings, not just because they are beautiful, but also because they show such bonds of friendship and remind me of forgiveness. The Amish people were so forgiving after they had been hurt so deeply.

To find out more about Elsie Beiler or to purchase prints you can go to http://www.wengergallery.com/

Bunny #14

A classic bunny and Easter story. I found this the other day and realized that I do not have a copy of this one. I cannot believe it. As a teacher I always used the liabray's copy. I must get this for BP and BB for Easter this year!

Daisy

This perfume screams Spring to me! I absolutely LOVE the bottle. I just went to the Marc Jacobs website and ordered a free sample. This may be my new Sprin/ Summer scent???

Bunny #13

This bunny is one you can bake if you buy the Williams-Sonoma cake mold. With a little creativity and a whole lot of talent it may just look like this one??? I am not sure I could eat it after working so hard to create it.

Bunny #12

A chocolate Easter bunny guaranteed not to melt or make your waistline expand. These bunnies from Mahar Drygoods would be a great gift or a fun addition to your Easter basket!

Same Age, Same Place

A bunny banner for your fireplace. I found this on Etsy, my new favorite place to browse, and immediately thought it would be perfect for the bunny posts. I love the heirloom look of it and there are other options too. I also like the one that spells E-A-S-T-E-R.

Bunny #11

Another bunny item from Chasing Fireflies. This adorable little pink shirt with a gold screened bunny would be perfect for any little girl this Easter!

17 lbs. 7 ozs.

17.7 lbs. of pure happiness, drool, smiles, coos, snuggles, wrinkles, rolls and soft baby skin!!!

The Barefoot Baby had her four month well visit this morning and she is doing great! She did not like the shots, but with Daddy and The Barefoot Princess there for support she made it through. She is healthy and happy and developing as she should. Our pediatrician told us we could start feeding her stage one foods. She is very happy about that!

Bunny #10

Today's bunnies are Heff's (not sure if it is one f or two?) three bunnies from the television show The Girls Nextdoor, which I totally admit to watching. What can I say it makes me laugh! From left to right Holly, Kendra and Bridget.
This post was for those that were bored with the traditional bunnies.

Bunny #9

A napkin bunny from Martha Stewart. This can be found on her website with directions on how to fold and create your own napkin bunnies. Sure to impress all of your Easter guests if you accomplish this. Personally, I love to fold napkins and can fold three different styles so I am determined to figure this one out too!

March Madras

Madras, a style I have always loved, is a trend this Spring! I bought this madras bag at J. Crew this past weekend and I intend to use it as a diaper bag as soon as the weather gets a little nicer. Fingers crossed that it will be very soon! Love the shorts too!

Bunny #8

Today's Bunny is a wool and felt bunny in a basket from Etsy. I thought it was so cute and I could see The Barefoot Princess carrying it around and playing with it. So I guess it could be a toy or an Easter decoration.

I was recently informed that the daily bunny posts were boring (according to Uncle Mack and BP and BB's Daddy) and I just wanted to tell them to keep checking the blog because I have one coming this week that you will LOVE!

March 4, 2006

Here is The Barefoot Princess exactly two years ago. She was 5 months old, sitting up and playing happily with all her toys. My how the time has flown! I love to look back at these pictures. I have to laugh because The Barefoot Baby is now 4 months old and has no interest in toys. She just stares at them and then looks back at us like "you want me to play... no no no... you should be entertaining me!" BP was very happy to play with her toys and inspect and watch everything. BB wants to be held and snuggled and entertained. The differences between the two girls are amazing!

BB's Secret...

It is no secret that The Barefoot Baby has grown A LOT in the last four months. (She was four months old today and we will find out her exact weight next Monday at her well visit.) BUT the secret to her rapid growth is a sandwich now and then. Here she is having a tea party with The Barefoot Princess who insisted she sit in a chair and hold a spoon too! It cracks me up that BP wants BB to play with her all the time.

Easter Dresses

I love shopping for special holdiay dresses for BP and BB. I saw these dresses in Target, yes Target one Saturday and I thought, "how cute and simple and Laura Ashely like." I left without them and looked on the computer that evening for Easter dresses. I checked the old favorites... Gymboree. Janie and Jack, The Gap, The Wooden Soldier, The Children's Place (when did black become an Easter color?) and Chasing Fireflies. I did not find anything that I was in love with. I kept thinking about the dresses I saw in Target. Three days later I found myself back in Target and the dresses were still there. I could not resist.

No Fun Cookies...

Here is The Barefoot Princess making cookies the other day. (She keeps making this silly face every time she sees the camera.) We tried Cherrybrook Kitchen's Chocolate Chip cookies. They are peanut free, dairy free, egg free, soy free and as BP's Daddy says "fun free". I did not think the cookies were too bad and BP seemed to like them too. They are definitely not the good old-fashioned Tollhouse recipe, but in a pinch they will do.

Bunny #7

Some of The Barefoot Princess' favortie bunnies are food. These are Annie's organic healthy bunny food. We found this brand at our local grocery store in the organic section and BP loves the Bunny Pasta, Bunny Grahams and the Cheddar Bunnies. Perfect for Easter time or any other time of the year too!