We've had two births this month.  An additional family members to our extended family circle -- one on the Mortier side, and another on the Macaraeg side. 

Help me welcome, the most recent...

Ryan David Rogers

Ryan was born to my sister, Cheryl, and David Rogers.  He was born July 30, 2011 at 2:49 pm (UTC+ 8; Philippines Time).  He weighed 8 lbs 6 ounces and 20.5 inches long. Mommy and baby are doing very well.  Congratulations to the proud parents, David and Cheryl, and big sister, Shoshanna! :)  We are so happy for the added blessing of Ryan into your lives, and we can not wait to see him in person (and you all) sometime soon.

Madelynn Renee Mortier

We're happy to welcome Madelynn, born to my sister-in-law, Kelley and my husband's brother, Jason Mortier.  She was born on July 13, 2011 at 2:27 pm.  She weighed in at 8 lbs 15 oz, and was 20 inches long. We've been able to visit with the family and see Madelynn for the first time. What a wonderful blessing to the (Jason & Kelley) Mortier household for the added blessing of their 3rd child.  Congratulations again, Jason, Kelley, big sister Sophia, and big brother, Joshua!

One of my favorite things I like doing, which makes me happy and kind of a stress reliever, is doing crafts... sewing, crocheting -- creating things!  My recent sewing project is a Sleep/Nap Roll-up Mat (or if you ask Jeb, he'll say... it's a sleeping bag -- which, essentially it is).  I've seen a few toddlers here and there that has this cute, little roll-up nap mats and I've been wanting for a while to get one for my kids.  Everytime I think of getting one, I end up not... thinking  I will much rather like to make one custom-made myself!

My two older kids are visiting their grandparents for a few days, so I thought to do it (less distraction).  I searched online for instructions on how-to, and found this adorable DIY Nap Mat/Bed Roll.  I modified it just a tad bit by making my mat a bit smaller, and made the attached blanket width longer.  Anyhow, I am very pleased at how it turned out!  And my Peaches already loves it! :)

Built-in Pillow

Sleep Mat

Carry strap

Velcro tab closures

Rolled-up mat

Click to see more pictures! :)

Patriotic cupcake-cake. Jeb added a neat touch of adding 2 sparklers on both sides when he presented it to us! :)

This year was my first official Fourth of July celebration being a U.S. Citizen.  We weren't really planning anything, but on Sunday (the 3rd), it so happened some friends of ours are in the area and see if they could stop by (since we've opened the invitiation to them earlier on). We then decided to have an impromptu little party. :)  So, we had out little festivities Sunday -- Fun, Food, Friends and Karaoke!  Monday (Fourth of July), we had it easy and just relaxed.  We made some Filipino-style BBQ chicken (Jeb cooked it in a gas grill for me, which actually turned out pretty good, since I was insisting on cooking it over coal fire), had some jello shots and cupcakes left-over from the previous day.  Later that night, we went out for a drive around our town to watch some fireworks show.  We were able to see a few shows, in the comfort of our vehicle with the AC on, and without having to be eaten alive by mosquitoes! :)  The kids enjoyed it too, and had fun holding the sparklers (not inside our truck, by the way) .

One negative about being the photographer... you hardly or are never in any of the pictures!  Well, we...  and I did have a lot of fun and thankful to our friends and my family for making it a special and fun day.

Our gallery is not working (maintenance) at the moment, so I just put the pictures in here. Click to see all.

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I'm loving my sewing machine and creating new projects!  Aubrey is outgrowing a lot of her PJs and nightgowns, and I wanted to try to make her a nightgown.  Yesterday, I looked up some patterns and instructions and found this adorable nightgown!  I have a lot of extra and old white tshirts that my husband does not use anymore, soI used them for the nightgowns.  Besides, tshirts are jersey-knit cotton and have that nice cozy, comfy soft feeling to it when you wear them so it is perfect for a nightgown!  The shirts are also great for practicing and experimenting with!  The pattern I found, used an old vintage pillow case (which you can also use).  Anyway, last night I decided to make matching nightgowns for both girls, added a lil' finishing touch flower to the front and we have some nighties for the girls!  Aubrey prefers a nightgown to PJs a lot of times. :)  I plan to make more nightgowns similar to this, with nicer fabrics and heavier ones (with long sleeves) for when it gets to be cooler out.  This particular pattern/nightgown is very easy to make! :)

My girls loved it so much, they wore it all day today, not wanting to take it off up until we had to go out later this afternoon.

Anyone interested to try and make this nightgown, here is the pattern and instructions for it: http://gingercake.typepad.com/files/nightgownpdf.pdf