DRESS-TURNED-MAXI

 Two years ago I made Cora a dress that I planned to add straps and a ribbon to... but I didn't... so it sat around in her closet unworn. Well, she's now too big for the dress, but her waist is still small enough that it fits perfectly as a maxi skirt, so we brought it on vacation so she could get dressed up a few times. Pretty dang cute, if I do say so myself!

Dress without straps (because I couldn't decide how I wanted to do them)

Maxi skirt on my little model

Posing with some of PawPaw's pretty flowers

QUEEN ELSA

 Cora wanted an Elsa dress more than anything for her 4th birthday, but since they sold out in stores (Disney and otherwise) months ago and the ETSY sellers thus can't keep up with demand, we had to get creative. Because Cora's party is once again themed around swimming, we found an Elsa inspired leotard from an ETSY figure skating costume shop that could double as a swimsuit (since Elsa swimsuits are also sold out in stores and online, unless you want to pay hundreds of dollars, which we obviously didn't) and then worked with another ETSY children and doll clothing shop that was willing to quickly make an Elsa cape and devise a way for me to make it detachable from the leotard (and thus I learned to sew snaps). I was really happy with the finished product, and the Elsa crown that Grambot sent topped it off. Cora was one happy little ice queen this morning waiting for her party guests to arrive!

CHRISTMAS DAY

Christmas presents went like this... 

At first the kids were more excited in the train tracks we set up than in opening ANY of their wrapped presents. Eventually they got into it though, and it was slow-going as we took turns and generally opened and played with each item as we went (fine with us - that's how we wanted it to go). About halfway through though, I think James was either overwhelmed or over it, since he stopped being interested in the gifts the second he opened them... He'd just rip the paper off, set it to the side without so much as checking it out, then say "I need another present". This is exactly what we were trying to avoid (by limiting the number of gifts the kids received - we only gave them 3 each), so we were pretty disappointed. We ended up taking a 20 minute break to regroup (and refill our coffee and mimosas), then enjoyed the rest of the gift opening with slightly less rushing. The kids were definitely spoiled again this year (and we don't even have the play set delivered or set up yet!) and seem very happy with all their presents (toys, books, jammies, sheets - they love them all). James was thrilled that Santa brought him a Spider-Man suit (just like he asked for) and a pack of Spider-Man undies. There are definitely some stand-out favorites this year though: the Batman cave from Uncle Davey and Auntie Taryn, and the remote control My Little Pony car from Grambot and Pawpaw. The medical kit we made James and the bead board we got Cora are high on the list too, as well as the new bath toys they each got, though we were surprised the Lincoln Logs didn't get higher reviews...

(James' doctor kit has real tools: a pediatric blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, and reflex hammer.)

Cora got her very own backpack (she always wants to carry James') filled with girly accessories. And purple boots.

She LOVES sorting!

(Outfit change by choice, not due to an accident or spill or anything. She had gotten hot in her fleece jammies and was running around naked until I showed her the Christmas skirt I made her last year).

Jude gave Jay some big hugs

Christmas cookies (and back into the fleece jammies because she got cold...)

BRRR

Somebody woke up early this morning (5:30!) and thus ended up getting ready with mama and daddy (normally we wake the kids at 7:00 and rush them through potty, dressing, and teeth brushing, then stick them in the car with breakfast to go). She was cold after her shower, so we put her in the robe I made James two summers ago. She told me she was still cold and went and curled up into a little ball in the middle of our bedroom floor - poor baby doll.

BIRDIE SKIRT

I had plans to make a Simple DRESS this afternoon, but as I thumbed through my fabric stash past this little Tossed Birdies piece, I couldn't resist making Cora another Simple Skirt. Since she only napped for about an hour, she hung out with me upstairs in our computer/sewing room while I finished it. I figured she'd like it, since she kept coming up to the sewing machine and grabbing a handful, saying "My skirt? It's my skirt!" and trying to take it away from me. Since I didn't measure anything other than her waist (I went with the usual width of 1 yard, and used what was left for the length, 10" I think), I was sure glad it fit! Just don't look too closely at the back... I haven't sewn anything since May, and I went ahead and sewed down the top hem BEFORE sewing up the side seam, meaning I couldn't make the usual neat and tidy (and well hidden) crossover of elastic. It's not bad, but far from perfect. Oh well, Cora thinks it's cute.

(She was pretending to pick a fake plum out of the tree)

After her photo shoot (with my phone - sorry for the poor quality of pictures), she added dark plum capri tights to the outfit. It was festive. The girl gets into her clothes drawers ALL THE TIME, so I'm pretty sure we'll have a Punky Brewster on our hands in the near future... I had tried to get her into an undershirt before the photos, but she was having none of it. She was OK with her "shrug" though (Grambot, can you believe it still fits almost a full year later?!), so we just went with a little bare belly peek-a-boo.

And yes, we tried something new this afternoon with high pigtails. Just trying to figure out another way to keep her bangs out of her eyes while they grow out, so she doesn't have to wear just the Pebbles-style ponytail. Although she prefers to wear a ponytail "like Mommy" over pigtails...

SILOUETTE SHIRTS

While Jay was out of town at that conference, I finally forced myself to clean my desk (it had been a few months...) and discovered shirts I had purchased for a Silouette project. So I scanned my Designs Wishlist during naptime today and purchased 3 that I thought the kids would enjoy. When Cora woke up from nap and I showed her the birds and owl, she wanted to wear them immediately. At the same time. James was less excited. But then, he's a boy. And it's clothes. And he tends not to wake from naps as happy and perky as Cora does. Hopefully he'll like his "Chugga chugga choo-choo, whistle blowing WOO-WOO!" when he wears it next weekend (new clothes never go to daycare, because daycare ruins clothes - 'nuf said).

"JOHN BABY" AND BABY K

I attended a shower today to welcome "John Baby" (as my kids call him), as well as the impending arrival of Baby K ("Will Will's" baby sister). Lauchlin and Olivia threw a great party (with yummy food of course!) and it was fun to watch all the little guys play together. (I say guys, because Cora, the only girl in the group, wasn't there. Neither was James. They were home napping while Mama sneaked out for a kid-free afternoon and Daddy and Grandma worked hard re-building steps on the back terrace.)

John Baby with his pretty mama, Mary Beth, napping in Cora's Beco Gemini (the test-drive was a success!)

Big Brother David

Beautiful Christina and Baby K (we can't wait to see whether she has blonde hair and blue eyes like her mama!)

Big Brother Will!

Baby Grady, Manu, and Baby Leo

I made a couple of items for Baby K: this little Simple Skirt and a pair of baby pants. The skirt was fun and easy, and my best guess is that it will fit Baby K around 9-15 months, since I used Cora's first skirt as a model. The pants on the other hand, well, I could definitely tell that I've never sewed clothes for newborns before, because those tiny leg hems were tough. I aimed for 0-3 month size (using an old pair of Cora's pants I found stashed away), so I'll just have to wait and see when they actually fit the little miss. I, for one, can't wait to have another girl in our group! I only hope Cora doesn't try to run off with her like she does with her baby dolls...

BUBBLE SHORTS

When I saw her at Easter, Jean gave me 3 sets of fabric, already cut into capri/bermuda pant legs for Cora. All I had to do was sew them up. So I started with the pretty bird and butterfly fabric. And when I was done, I decided to finish off the legs differently. So I measured Cora's legs just above the knee, and finished them off with elastic to make "bubble shorts". At least, that's what I had in mind, anyway. Imagine my delight when they actually worked out as planned, and look SO CUTE on her! Gotta enjoy that bubble butt before we potty train her and sell her fluff!

BIRDIE SHORTIES

Cora outgrew her Birdie Pants. Lengthwise, anyway. And since I LOVE that fabric, I decided to turn them into shorts so that she can wear them longer (since her waist has only increased by about an inch since I first made them, and the elastic had room to spare). I cut them off just above her knee and added light pink bias tape to finish them off. Cute, eh?

And lets reminisce, shall we? Look how much her hair has grown in the past 8 months! She's still got that belly, but those legs and arms have thinned and lengthened significantly. Baby Doll is growing up!

MISS MICHELLE'S BABY SHOWER

Mama-to-be Michelle is 31 weeks with baby Isaac Lucas, Gabriel's little brother:

Part of my gift was a set of Big Brother/Little Brother shirts. This was another attempt at applique, using heat bond and quilting fabric on knit shirts. It definitely went better than last time (the "would have been adorable if I hadn't screwed it up" reindeer shirt), but I've still got a long way to go as far as getting my lines straight!

A LITTLE BIT TALLER

Cora has outgrown the first skirt I ever made her. Sad, but I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. Teeny little thing barely covers her diaper now... So, since I have a TON of cute fabric just waiting for projects, I decided a few Simple Skirts were in order. Especially now that our spring weather has ended and summer is blowing in. This particular fabric is the same one that I used to make a skirt for Addy way back when. I love the tiny little peace signs, and there are so many colors in it that shirt combos are endless. Bonus! This time I traded out the ribbon trim for double-fold bias tape (1/2"). We'll see how it washes, but the weight of the border definitely helped the skirt to maintain it's shape and hang straight. Another bonus!

SHAMROCK SHIRTS

Sorry for the unexcited faces (they were just starting to say "CHEESE!"), but this was the best photo I snapped of the shirts I made for the kids while they were still clean this morning. They really did like their "leaf" shirts, I promise!

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

We did it up for Valentine's Day this year. Oh yes we did!

(Candy grams at school. We ordered one for each of our babies, and they each got a couple extra from their classmates, so we had lots of balloons in the house tonight!)

We started off with pink pancakes for breakfast. On special heart plates. Too bad our munchkins don't really do breakfast that early in the morning (hence the reason they usually just get breakfast bars on school days).

I made James and Cora chocolate-dipped marshmallows to hand out as valentines (and cake pops for their teachers). When James saw the finished products, and after I told him he couldn't have one because they were for Valentine's Day at school, he asked me if he could give one to Maddy Kay. Then Coley. Then Abby (whose name is actually Ivy, but either he can't say it correctly, or he's convinced himself that her name is actually Abby). I didn't hear any mention of boys, so I hope he was a sport and shared with the fellas too. And yes, I made sure to send enough that James and Cora could each have a chocolate-dipped marshmallow, since I didn't want them to fight with their buddies over candy.

The kids had a Valentine's Day party at school, complete with treats and cake (and valentines, of course). They wore shirts that I made for them (using the Silouette, and patterns I purchased from their online store). James loved his "Robot with a heart" and has been asking to wear it since Saturday. I made Cora's print a tad too big though, so I had to iron it from shoulder-to-shoulder to make it fit. It still looked cute on her anyway.

HUGS! RAWR!

My little poser really enjoyed his photo shoot this morning...

Jay and I snuck away from work for a lunch date. And we had special shirts too (purchased on ETSY and WOOT, respectively, not Made By Mama). Jay's shirt has a cupid on the far left that you can't see in this photo (his shirt was titled "Love Conquers All").

The kids came home with Valentine Boxes full of treats.

Then we made heart-shaped salami and pepperoni pizza for dinner.

Happy Valentine's Day folks!

SILOUETTE

To celebrate James learning the alphabet song, I made him an ABC shirt using my Silouette (a birthday present from my mom that I finally had time to sit down and learn to use - and it's very cool!)

I see many fun projects in my future!

CHRISTMAS SHIRT VS. SKIRT

I refuse to show an up-close photo of the cute Christmas onesie I made with Amy and Jason and Jay, because after they left and I had to sew the pieces together, well, let's just say that my applique technique needs some work. OK, a lot of work. Anyway, here's my little reindeer under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

(Those are her hand prints acting as reindeer antlers, in case you can't tell from the photo.)

So, since that outfit didn't pan out how I imagined it would, I decided at the last minute (on Christmas Eve!) to make Cora a Christmas skirt to wear on the holiday. The only picture I have of her wearing it is a grainy cell phone photo at the airport though, so this close-up will have to do. I made it lots longer than her other skirt (which she's finally outgrown, height-wise), and the waist a bit on the loose side, so she should be able to wear it next December. It's pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

(I also made Eli a pair of robot PJ pants for Christmas, but forgot to take a picture before I wrapped them up and mailed them out, so hopefully D&T can snap one for me next time he wears them. I hear they fit, so that's a good start. Thank goodness I have a same-size-and-build model in the house!)