anna's apron

Anna is at the age where she loves being in the kitchen and watching everything I do. So this year for Christmas I decided to make her an apron. I found some adorable fat quarters at Material Girls Quilts, but I couldn't find a pattern online that I loved, so I designed my own instead. My friend Paula is super talented in every way, so last week she helped me make a pattern based on my apron design. (Thank goodness for Paula! I can't even imagine how it would have turned out with my long neglected (and not that great in the first place) sewing skills. It actually looks professional thanks to her! She is amazing! :) It has four little pockets in the front to hold anna's stirring spoons and spatulas. It only took a few hours to make the pattern and sew it! I was beyond thrilled at how it turned out!

If you love it like I do, check back after the holiday craziness for the pattern and instructions.

baby foxley

Wow. It is like November never even registered with my blogging brain. Can I blame it on the approaching stress of the holidays? Or maybe...can I blame it on...our brand new baby foxley due to arrive this spring? Travis and I are so excited for this new addition to our rapidly growing family. Once again, we won't be finding out the gender of the peanut, so don't try to convince us otherwise! ;) Anna has no clue what is about to rock her world, but she does love being around other kids and babies, so we think this will be ok with her (cross our fingers!). Once again, this pregnancy has left me pretty sick, tired, and I feel so blessed to have a good sport and support like Travis by my side through it all. (Although, I am not sure how blessed he feels at the moment! :) )

Here is the first picture of the peanut: (It looks exactly like a little teddy bear to me!)

picking apples

Anna and I took a much needed break from the day-to-day grind and went with Aunt Jen and cousins to pick some apples. It was the most beautiful fall day—sunny and warm—perfect weather to enjoy a long sleeve shirt. Anna loved the goats and she was actually a pretty good little helper. She picked up all the fallen apples off the grass and put them in her own little bag. She loved it.

Here are a few more pics of our great fall day…

the smell of grapes and fire in the fall

You'll never guess what I actually did this week... I did some CANNING!!!!! Yes. It is true. I went last Saturday to pick grapes at Aunt Jolene and Ralphie's house. They were delicious concord grapes, and I got about two grocery sacks full. I borrowed a steam juicer and was able to get 11 quarts of juice concentrate! Only Mom will understand the satisfaction that comes from hearing the tiny "pop" as each one self-seals. Ahhhh.

Anna tried dusting the stove today while I was steaming grapes and caught the duster on fire. No one was injured, and no property was damaged (besides the duster). Phew! She is now not allowed to dust in the kitchen anymore.

dancing anna

Anna has become quite the dancer lately…the radio, tv commercials, the hymns at church…anything will get those little arms moving. Here is Anna's choreography to The Office theme song. Enjoy!

Dancing Anna from Travis Foxley on Vimeo.

open for business!

For the last few months I have been working feverishly on a new, exciting project…and it just went live TODAY! It is a site called myLDSmemories.com, and I am so pleased with how it turned out. It is a site with free software so you can make your own hardbound, personalized photo Memory Books! You can make books from scratch, or simply drop your own photos into the pre-designed themed pages. You can have a beautiful, hardbound book in minutes! ;) Ok. I sound like a salesman now, but I truly am genuinely excited about this site and the products available. So, check it out here, if you like what you see, spread the word! (You can click through some sample books right on the home page.) EVERYONE also GETS 50% OFF DURING OCTOBER…so you should all make a book now! ;) Ok. I'll stop.

pot stirrer

Thanks again to Jen (Travis's super talented sister) who did this cute photo shoot with Anna. Love the pics!

so much to do...

so little daylight.

Another month had flown by, and I have to admit I was shocked when I checked my own blog and saw I was a whole month behind. I am a blogging disaster. In my defense, the summer can be a little crazy. Here are some of the things we have been up to...



This year I tried my hand at gardening again in our community garden. It started off strong. The little plants looked so promising, but unfortunately, my blog was not the only thing that has been slightly neglected this summer. It did ok. Maybe next year. Here is a picture of the happier times in the garden.



Anna finally started getting her teeth this summer. Here is a rare glimpse of the first snaggletooth. It performed solo for quite some time, but now it has been joined by another snaggletooth and two buckies on the top.



Anna LOVES the water. Here she is with her cousins at the splash park.



Anna has so many great facial expressions. Here are a few.





She refuses to walk most of the time now...she likes to run.



If you can't tell from the picture...Anna LOVES to swing.



And anything that she knows she shouldn't get into...she does it anyway. What a trickster.

happy birthday

watermelon

Tomorrow Anna turns one! I can't believe it has been a year already! It is amazing to think how much she has grown up and learned in just one little year. She is such a blessing to Travis and I, and we love her so much. She makes us laugh, smile, roll our eyes, and yes...she even makes us a little crazy! We love being parents to our cute and sweet little girl. Happy birthday, Anna!

waving & walking

Anna must be practicing for the pageant runway already. Waving & walking—two of her most favorite activities. Now, if she can chew gum at the same time, we might just have a genius on our hands. :)

She is pretty much a pro at walking now. She is back and forth, and into EVERYTHING! She gets REALLY excited whenever we put her shoes on because she knows she is probably going to get to walk outside—which is so much cooler than inside. Duh! Chasing her around is a full-time job. It makes me tired thinking about it.

Anna also likes to wave. She has several different types of waves. Two of my favorites are the the full-arm swing and the one where she puts her hand by her cheek and while keeping her arm tucked close to her, just moves her hand back and forth just slightly. The latter is usually accompanied by a cheery and drawn out "Hi" sound.

My favorite though is how Anna waves at everyone and everything that she sees—people sitting near us in restaurants, cars driving down the road, and heavy machinery building houses in our neighborhood. Every morning she even waves to all the people she sees on tv waving to the camera on the Today Show. At least we know she's friendly!

Here is a video taken two months ago of Anna taking her very first unassisted steps. Enjoy!

Anna's First Steps from Travis Foxley on Vimeo.

studio j

My great and talented sister-in-law, Jen (of Studio J Photography) took these family pictures of us. She is amazing! We now have family pictures in our home! Thanks, Jen!

sunny days

In May, Anna and I were lucky enough to go to St. George to spend a week with my sister, Lindsay, and her kiddies, Drew and Dawson. We had so much fun hanging out, laughing, swimming, and eating. The kids loved playing together, and I loved having the time to catch up with my awesome little sister. She is the bomb! :)

Here is a music video I made in iMovie of the "Sunny Days" highlights. Enjoy!

Sunny Days from Travis Foxley on Vimeo.

favorite things

Travis made this cute movie of Anna and her favorite things. We chose this song because every time Anna hears the Lagoon ads (featuring the song "You're So Good For Me" by Sonnett) she gets super excited and starts friendly-yelling lots (where she yells REALLY loud in short repeated spurts, but she is not mad—hmmm—actually, very similar to her behavior in sacrament meeting—which is why we spend most of the time in the hall). Anyway, she loves it. I do too. Enjoy the movie!

Anna's Favorite Things from Travis Foxley on Vimeo.

happy 4th!

a little fishy

We have always called Anna our little monkey, but I think we need to rethink that nickname due to recent events. We just finished mom & tot swimming lessons, and we both had a ball. Anna is now our little fishy! She LOVES the water like nobody's business. Anna loves to go underwater, bob up and down, "jump" into the water, and, boy, does she love to splash! Needless to say, there was always quite a bit of distance between Anna (the splasher) and I (the splashee) and the other moms and tots. I don't blame them one bit! :)

sweet & sour meatballs

Yes. It is true. I live. And, finally, I am posting to my long neglected blog...about meatballs.

Here is the recipe for the Sweet & Sour Meatballs that so many of you raved about at card club! ;)

1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1/4 C bbq sauce
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
1 green pepper, diced
1 bag herb seasoned meatballs (I just used the frozen Italian meatballs from costco. Worked like a charm.)

Fill the crock pot with the meatballs. Whisk first five ingredients to make sauce. Pour over meatballs. Cook 4 to 5 hours total. Half way through cooking time, add pineapple and green pepper.

Easy.

Yum.

easter dress

Happy (late) Easter! I love taking photos, and Anna is always right there and (usually) looking so cute! :) I can't help it. She is an easy target. Here are a few of my favorites.

Photo shoot is over, Mom!