Dusted off my trusty machine...

I love sewing.

I don't claim to be good at it. I can't even follow a simple pattern.

But there is something so fun about going to the fabric store, picking out the designs that catch your eye, and then cutting, pinning, folding, tucking and stitching your way to a new creation.

That final moment...drumroll...when you finish the last row of stitches, remove the pins and...hold your breath as you turn it right side out and hope for the best.


Now that my son is 3.5 months old, he seems to have settled into a nice little naptime routine on the days that we are both home. 1.5 hours in the morning, and 2.5 hrs in the afternoon. I'll take it! And it means that mommy has time to sew when she decides to ignore the fact that there are bathrooms that need to be cleaned, bills that need to be paid, laundry that needs to be folded...you get the idea.

Today was one such day. My fingers were just itching to start the new project for which I went shopping yesterday. I have decided (after being sick and tired of changing my outfit five times a day, and his outfit ten times a day) that we need some more burp clothes around this house. And, the fun part is, now I know what the gender of my baby is (at least I really hope I know by now), so I decided to go boy all the way. Monsters. Aliens. Dinosaurs. Bugs. ewww.

I was so excited to cut and sew on my new huge table. All that work space, it's a shame it doesn't get used more often for the various crafts that I wish I could get accomplished.

So this post will be a kinda sorta tutorial...I'll just tell you what I did for this project.
First, and this step is very important, I chose some good listening tunes. Florence seemed to fit the mood for me.

Next, I cut out the material. I used terry cloth for the backs and different flannel prints for the front.

Next I sewed the print and the terry cloth together with 'right' sides facing each other.(I left a little gap on one edge through which I could turn it inside out)

After turning it right side out, I sewed the gap closed with a tiny seam (set it to 0, like so)

Part-way through, it took a focused effort on my part to stay in the house and not strap on my boots and take a walk outside through the most lovely, HUGE snowflakes I have ever seen! (somehow I don't think my baby would appreciate being ripped from his nap to trek along with me). I felt like I was trapped in a snow globe.

Photos don't do these flakes justice. They literally looked like pieces of batting falling from heaven. I wonder if that's what it looked like when manna fell out of the sky for the Israelites....
Anyways, I digress...
After ironing to make the edges lie nice and flat, I used a zig-zag stitch in a contrasting thread to secure the cloth together and to add some fun interest.

I tried to ignore my boy as he looked at me accusingly and wondered why I was sewing instead of feeding him

And later on I tried to ignore him and sew, but I couldn't help snapping a few shots of him doing tummy time. On a side note, I wonder if he had nightmares that night after seeing his distorted reflection in that plastic mirror. Poor kid.

So, after about two or three days of working on this (things take a bit longer with a baby!), I finally finished the project and I was very happy with how they turned out. Now already almost every one has been lovingly christened by Will.

February 14th fun...

No matter who you are, or where you are, we hope that you  have somebody to love.

<3
<3
<3
<3
<3

Happy
Valentines
Day

From our house to yours!

<3
<3
<3
<3
<3
<3
<3
<3

Train up a child in the way he should go...

This week a woman from our church came to bring a little new baby gift for our little guy.
It was a brand new beginners Bible, and she wrote a nice inscription on the front.

They read some stories from it together

And then we prayed with him.

And took a photo to commemorate the special occasion (as always :)

It was very sweet.
Thank you Miss Clara

3 months!

Sigh...my boy celebrated his 3 month birthday this week.
Yesterday, I sadly came to terms with the fact that he is no longer 8-12 lbs and I choked back tears as I grudgingly retired all of his 3 month outfits...sob...as I was packing them up, I found one that he never even got a chance to wear...and how appropriate was the script sprawled across the front of it

It's amazing that it is possible to feel this conflicted as a mom: equal parts excitement and pride on the one hand, pride about how his growth is right on track and he's reaching all his milestones and "isn't he just the cutest growing-est little man?" and then sadness and mourning about the loss of his tiny cuddly size and the disappearance of newborn reflexes and "wasn't he just the tiniest, itty-bittiest little baby boy?"
I suspect this conflict never eases off...hence my mom crying at my baptism, crying at my graduation, crying at my wedding, crying when I got pregnant, crying when I delivered her grandson...I know now, from my short 3 months of experience, that those are tears of joy...mixed with the slightly bittersweet sentimentality a mother feels for the loss of her little baby.....

Anyways, along the lines of the "isn't it exciting how much he is learning and growing!?" train of thought, I will share with you my favorite pics demonstrating some things he's doing at 3 months.

 He has learned how to drool...and he does not hold back...

He has learned to hate tummy time less...

(Not sure if I have seen a baby with a rounder face. I probably don't need to point out that his cheeks have probably doubled in size since his 2 month pictures were taken :)

He loves to watch himself and others in the mirror. He smiles and squeals at himself and all around looks proud as a peacock when he sees his reflecion....no, we are not raising a vain child...

He has figured out how to get not one, but TWO fists in his mouth

He thoroughly enjoys standing, anywhere, anyhow

 He has discovered his tongue...so now it rarely stays in his mouth

But for all the changes, he is still my little baby boy...

He still rocks the Harrison Ford half-smile

He still gets mad

And sad

And he is still super happy and just loving life

Happy 3 months my sweet William Levi!

(Oh yes, and did I mention his eyes are still blue? This brown-eyed mom is crossing her fingers! :)

It's all in the text...

There is a Biblical proverb that says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6).
In moments of seriousness, I take this to mean that we are to we raise our child to know the difference between right and wrong, to respect and value life, to honor his parents, and to love Jesus.

However, in moments of levity, perhaps a looser translation...?

I'm just sayin' :)

The Mobile

When I was registering for baby items, I decided that I wanted to have a crib mobile. But since I put so much thought and energy into designing the nursery to have a certain look, I didn't want the look ruined by a big old gaudy plastic noisy mobile. I wanted something more "vintage" or "organic" looking. I was registering on Amazon and I was able to find some mobiles that fit the description but I thought they were pretty pricey for what they were. Consequently, the thought eventually occurred to me that I could just make my own. How did it go? Well, let's not say that it was a decision I came to regret, but it was certainly one that made me realize why they were priced that way on Amazon. I took on the project and dragged future Grammy with me for the ride. First we picked out trim and felt at the fabric store.

I found an owl template and inspiration on this sewing blog and then we had to just get to work snipping and cutting and measuring and tracing

Check out that stylish Grammy! And notice how Sam always has to be a part of the action. 

Anyways, after we cut and assembled the owl pieces of felt, they had to be sewn and glued together, and then stuffed with batting. My wonderful sisters (at the time, future aunties who were so excited about the prospect of a nephew they didn't mind being roped into a crafting project for his new room) helped me with that step, but I sadly didn't get any pictures. 

Next, we had to string up each owl from the top of it's head and then put little stars on each string. Turns out the new and splendidly long dining room table comes in handy for crafting!

Here they are all assembled...and Sam is already devising and scheming to get his paws on them

The next step proved to be much harder than anticipated, hence the paucity of photographs - i.e. none. You may notice that the mobile in the blog above was fashioned from dowel rods...well my hubby had the idea of using sticks instead. I found some sticks outside and then we had to drill holes through them without cracking the sticks and then string each owl from a corner and try to get it to balance level. Not an easy feat! But thanks to some ingenuity from Grammy, the feat was accomplished and the project was complete. 

Now it hangs in a place of honor above the crib in little Will's room.

I think the little owls are just the cutest, especially those beady little button eyes

Here is the view that my little guy sees...or as close as I could get to reproducing it without actually climbing into the crib myself

And here he is, at the tender age of only 4 weeks, already enjoying it.