Sewing Projects

I've been bit by the sewing bug. I've had a machine for 4 or 5 years, and I only dabbled in it on occasion - I was intimidated and didn't know where to start. Last year, I made this with the help of my mom, which instilled a lot of confidence in me and then in the past couple of months I've become addicted. Some friends and I have a sewing night every few weeks, but I've been working on projects more at naptime and after Avery goes to bed.

sprucing up some old burp cloths - more on the way when I can get more thread

new larger nursing cover, because Avery was an acrobatic nurser and I flashed more people than I should have

complete with terry cloth pocket, which needs some adjustments because it's a little too loose

And - the one I'm most proud of - a throw-size rag quilt for Avery's big girl bed

rag quilt back

I've also whipped up a drool bib for the baby and a pillowcase dress for Avery, which is still in need of the ribbon ties. I have a whole set of projects in queue, just waiting for a chance to get to the store for more fabric.

♥

Baby Love

Our girl is becoming more aware of babies and baby things these days, in a good way. I'm hoping that her love for the baby doll translates to love for the little brother or sister.

She discovered the bassinet and has helped herself into on many an occasion when my back is turned.

 

All morning she's had a conversation with herself, or her baby, with running commentary such as this, "Good-night baby, sweet dreams baby...goodnight hug, goodnight kiss...sweet dreams...all done sweet dreams...lovie blanket baby...." The baby has been put to bed in the bassinet, on the couch, on the floor, on the coffee table, under the lovie, under the blanket, on top of both, with Avery on top of her (have to watch that one when the real baby arrives!!), with multiple hugs and kisses and then tossing about by the arm or leg. It's sweet to see her pretend and play in her own little world.

Birthday Weekend

"more cup-cake!"

"smoomies" - the first run in the VitaMix. This machine rocks.

the paint missed the paper by a wide margin

Birthdays these days are kind of anti-climactic. A trip to the store by yourself can be the best.gift.ever. Sleeping in ranks even higher. Luke cooked pancakes for breakfast, much to Avery's delight, and I got to sleep in til 10 (!), waking to a barricade of chairs in front of my bedroom door because Avery knows how to open doors and the lock is broken. My sister came over and surprised me with cupcakes (I broke my no-sugar rule for the big day - everyone needs cake on their birthday), though Avery had the most fun with them. Last night Luke and I had a dinner/movie date, and the fun continues when I get a massage on Wednesday. Avery and Luke also worked on a craft project for me - a nature painting, though Luke had to finish it by himself because Avery decided that she didn't like her hands being dirty and we had to wash them off. So, 28 didn't bring much hoopla like 16 or 21 did, but it was the sweetest of them all.

Outside Fun

Avery always gets dirt on the tip of her nose when we play outside.

Who needs an eraser for chalk when your shorts can do it for you?!

Uh-oh, where's Avery?!

There she is! She's so sneaky.

Oldies but Goodies

I was pulling a few pics off my mom's camera from our spontaneous trip to visit my parents this week, and I found some old pics of Avery. Oh my, I had forgotten just how bad that haircut was!! These were taken about 11 months ago.

Peach and berry picking

Keys are still a favorite, a year later

And, some funnies from February:

Today's Reasons Why I'm Crazy About Her

1. She sat in her little reading chair and read her counting book, only this time instead of just naming the animals on the pages, she said "quiet walk, quiet talk, tea". The book starts out "One is good for a quiet walk, two is right for a quiet talk, three is nice for having tea...."

2. She told me her lovie was driving the scooter, as she laid it gently over the handlebars. Later today, she gently placed it on the handlebars again, buried her face in it, and blindly drove the scooter as fast as she could into the doorway, repeatedly, laughing hysterically each time. 

3. She skipped over the yummy chicken salad salad I made, and dipped dry cereal in the dressing instead.

4. Every time she asks for something, and you repeat it back to her to clarify, she responds with "yeah" and the most hopeful look on her face.

5. She thinks the monkeys hanging off Noah's ark in her book are in trouble and acts very worried about them. We can't leave the page until she is completely sure they aren't going to fall into the flood.

6. We've read Click Clack Moo approximately 472 times since Monday. She stares at the page where Farmer Brown is furious for a very long time. I think she's worried about the cows.

7. D-Dad came to town for a couple hours for work and treated us to lunch, and she squealed with excitement when she first laid eyes on him. She then ate a bowl of sour cream for lunch, with a couple bites of quesadilla for good measure.

8. Buckles are her favorite thing, and she proceeded to buckle every stroller in Baby Earth today.

9. She smacked her lips when she gave kisses today. This also means her kisses are more slobbery.

10. She's finally tall enough to put the key in the lock (which means I don't have to lift her and hold her while helping her figure it out), and she unlocked the door with only minor assistance from me.

11. I told her Daddy would be home soon, and she yelled, "Lock!" and ran over to the front door to unlock it for him.

12. While Luke was picking out pjs for her to wear tonight, we noticed that she was pretending to fill her teacups with water from her play kitchen faucet so she could drink them. Apparently she shared some of her yummy water with Daddy after I left the room.

13. She colored on her Magna-Doodle with her crayons...not sure when this happened, but we discovered it tonight. Anyone know how to remove crayon marks? At least it wasn't the walls!

14. She always leaves the house fully accessorized, and all jewelry tends to remain in the car for days as she takes it off bit by bit. We never return back home with her wearing the same type or amount of jewelry.

High Praise

Something must have stuck with Avery after our potty-training attempt, because tonight she looked at me (as I was using the restroom), and proudly stated, "Good job, Mommy!"

Quitting Time

Day 4, 10:15 am


You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em...

I'm pulling the plug on this potty training thing. She is SO distraught this morning over it that we're just done. I don't want to scare her so much that she won't ever do it, so even though she showed great promise last night, it's over. She seemed to show all the signs of being ready, so we thought we'd try, but it's not worth it if it causes her so much heartache. We'll wait a few months and try again.

Can I Outsource This?

I think they have those doggie obedience schools where you send the dog off and he comes back completely trained. Sometimes I wish I could do that with Avery. Like during potty training.

Day 2
Tears all around. I had to give myself a time-out at one point. I began to think I wasn't cut out for this, much less parenting in general. Ready to give up.

Day 3
We took a break, risked regression (as if you could regress from zero success) and put a diaper on her, and drove a meal down to a friend and popped in at a playdate to visit another friend visiting from out of state (Hi, EMU and Bop!). She sacked out in the car on the way home, because it's been an exhausting 3 days, and after a quick lunch, down for a nap, in which she didn't nap. So up again, back to full-force potty training, and after 2 accidents, we had nothing but success the rest of the afternoon! The winning strategy? Keep her favorite shows on repeat so that she sat on the potty until she went, and then went again, and again. Full emptying here. I was so proud of her!! Now, we just need to work on getting her up and moving around and realizing when to run to the potty.