Baby Projects

WARNING: I am terrible at taking cute pictures of my projects... so just deal with the mediocre ones!!!

 I am happy to say that I have gotten most of my baby projects completed! It's getting to the point where it is uncomfortable to sew because I can't bend over too well to cut and piece fabric... so I'm glad that my big projects are done! 

Now I just have a few odd and ends projects, like dresses, bows and skirts. I have a ton of fabric left from this bedding, so I think I'm going to be like The Sound of Music and make her some cute dresses from this left over fabric!!

I saw this fabric collection online by Riley Blake and I knew that I wanted to use the fabric for Elise's bedding... but I guess a lot of other people loved it too, because it was pretty much SOLD OUT everywhere I looked online! I used this pattern for my quilt, and it calls for a charm pack, but I couldn't find a charm pack in this collection, so I just got a layer cake and then cut it down to my 5" squares.  After I made the quilt and had the fabric in hand, I was able to make a better decision about what I wanted for the bumper pads and bed skirt.  So then I had to order yardage for it... which was another challenge, but I got everything I wanted! 

I quilted my quilt on my machine, and found that this product is my new best friend! It was seriously awesome and made quilting it a cinch, because I didn't have to worry about the underneath layers puckering. 

If I could change one thing about it, I would probably use cream sashing/lattice instead of the yellow, because it turned out a little more yellow than I would've liked, but I ended up loving it still! 

I had originally order that red polka dot fabric for the binding, but when I got the fabric and saw how YELLOW the other fabric was, I couldn't do the full binding in that because it looked too much like McDonalds. HA! But luckily, because I used a layer cake instead of a charm pack, I had extra 5" squares that I cut in half and pieced together for the binding, and I actually LOVE it. 

This was before I washed it... now it's all cute and wrinkly! Oh and ignore the fact that one of my rows got flipped so I have some fabrics that are the same RIGHT next to each other... argh! Oh well. 

I waited until we had the gender confirmed a second time to put her name on it. I know, I know... how can we choose a name without seeing her? Well let's just say that with Bennett and Elise, we KNEW when it was the right name.  As long as it's a girl, this will be her name!

I cut out her name with my new Silhouette (thanks Mimi!!) and then ironed it on with that Wonder Under stuff... Because of how it was quilting and where I was placing the name, I couldn't machine stitch around her name, so I did it by hand after it was all completed.  

This is a close up of the lattice quilting... I quilted it from the other side and just went a 1/4" in on all my blocks.  

I took Bennett's bedding off today so I could take some pictures of the girls bedding, but it isn't quite the same, because the walls are green (we'll be painting them, most likely!!) and the crib is on it's lowest setting for Bennett, so the skirt is dragging. BUT you get the general idea!

I used this tutorial from Elle Apparel for the bumper pads and skirt, but I will have to say, it was VERY vague.  I had to figure most of it out myself... For one, I used different sized foam, so my measurements were different, and for two, she didn't go into detail very much about how to do anything haha.  So if you are going to attempt this, either use a different tutorial, or CALL ME and I'll help you! But overall, I love how it turned out... I also used her piping tutorial on her blog to cover my piping.  

I LOVE the bumpers! I really just think they are adorable... the pictures do NOT do them justice.  And the skirt, of course, is so cute too, but it will look better when it's not dragging.  Soon enough! 

I used the same fabric for the outside that I used for the backing on the quilt...

 This is the carseat canopy I made... it was just fabric that I had in my stash, but I love how it turned out! I have made them before, and just generally follow Bennett's for the pattern, but used this tutorial for the bows... and it adds a TON of cuteness! I love it.  The underside is just the same green.

I found this flannel in my fabric stash, and I'm so glad I had it, because I LOVE it! I ordered this forever ago from fabric.com when it was on clearance, and it's just been sitting there for a few years.  But it's perfect for a nice soft receiving blanket.  

Ditto with the bluish one... I know it's blue, but it's got flowers and cute birdies and things so it's good for a girl!!

I also got some awesome gauze fabric that my mother-in-law ordered for me from fabric.com.  I wanted to make some of those Aden and Anais swaddle blankets, cause I had one for Bennett and loved it.  We found the fabric for about $2-3 a yard. WAY cheaper than those blankets cost! And I just folded the sides under twice and stitched around the outside.  So easy and so cute.  No pictures, but I made a white, pink and purplish one... go order yourself some fabric and make some blankets! 

Well there you go. That's what I've been up to lately.  We can't wait for this little girl to get here! OH and here's an updated Belly picture from Sunday (30 weeks): 

Halloween

We went trick-or-treating last night! This was Bennett's first time because he was so little last year.  It was an adventure, I'll tell you that! He loved to run between the houses, but if I tried to redirect him toward a house, he would scream and cry.  He would say "trick or treat" so cute! And then he would say "danks" (thanks). 

It took me about half way to realize that the reason he was crying so much was because he had this giant bucket of candy and he couldn't eat any of it! So we fixed that problem right away and gave him a piece of chocolate :)  Here's our cute little monkey:

Practicing saying "trick or treat"

He did NOT want to sit still... but we needed a group picture, right? :)

Enjoying the beginning of a long night.. haha

Cute little monkey...

He tripped and fell with his bucket...

All the other kiddos helped him put it back in his bucket... sweet!

Fixing the problem...

Sorting through our candy (aka putting what we don't want back in the bowl for other trick or treaters :D )

Me discovering that Krista had "Frooties" in her bowl. WHAT?? I drove around to 4 different stores looking for them! I have looked online for weeks to possibly ship them to my house because they are my FAVORITE candy of all time. Sigh... I'm going to wait til I go to Utah. Macey's grocery store sells them there. Why can't ACME be like Macey's?

My two cute monkeys :D

Happy Halloween everyone!

Fall Time

We've been having a pretty good fall here in Philadelphia.  Bryan has been doing great in school {working his behind off, but it's paying off!}. Bennett is growing like a weed and talking like a two-year old.  And me? I'm starting to feel much better.  

When I was pregnant with Bennett, I was in my last semester at BYU and so I was forced to stay busy and preoccupied.  But I was pretty sick with him until about 20 weeks.  As much as I LOVE being home with Bennett all day, it definitely makes this pregnancy seem to go by much slower.  I know some would say the opposite, because having a toddler keeps them busy.  But really, I feel like I've been sick and pregnant FOREVER! But this time around I'm starting to feel the nausea wear off a little earlier. YAY! I'm almost 16 weeks and I am able to keep most food down and eat most meals.  But I really do love being pregnant.  It is so much fun to feel that baby move in there.  Yes! I've already felt my baby moving for about a week and a half... I guess it's an active one :) 

Fall here is much different than in Utah.  Heavens, they already have had snow there! It seems like fall here just takes its sweet time... and thats ok with me. I love this season. The colors, the smells, the weather, the clothes, I love it! 

Bryan had been asking me for a while to make a batch of cookies for his lunches.  I FINALLY felt good enough and so I solicited the help of munchkin. He LOVED it. He especially loved eating the chocolate chips :) See his little stash on the counter behind him? 

This is what he would do when I told him to say "cheese" He would lean over the chair like that! Silly boy...

"Umm... yum, yum!"

Mama's little helper

High fives!

We carved pumpkins last night.  I don't know why we procrastinated this tradition, but we did. We could've done it while we were waiting out the hurricane, but we just kinda vegged out then :) This was Bennett's first REAL time carving pumpkins because he didn't really get into it much last year.  He is so funny! He's kind of OCD and doesn't like his hands to be dirty so he didn't really touch any of the slime.  

He was so intent on what Bryan was doing. I know, I know, this isn't the best place for him to be with a knife so close, but Bry insisted he was fine... 

Joining in on the action, and he LOVED it :)

Playing with our finished pumpkin.  So fun!

love/hate

So I have a love/hate relationship with blogging...can I tell you about it?

I think blogs are wonderful things for connecting, sharing our thoughts and day to day activities, keeping a journal, posting pictures, etc. I love reading other people's blogs and seeing how put together they are and how perfect their lives are... wait, did I just say that? 

Let me just say. No one is perfect.

No matter how much their blog makes it seem. 

I am not a creative and spunky writer. I feel like I can't blog because I have nothing creative or funny to say.  But that's ok, right? I am documenting my life as it really is. This is me, and if I'm too boring, then skip over the words and look at the pictures. haha!

I feel like I have to blog in order to keep up with the other women in the blogosphere who have millions of children and sew all of their children's clothes and make gourmet meals for their family every night and who craft everything in their home and who always have a picture perfect house and look like a model. Of course, NO ONE IS ACTUALLY LIKE THIS.  This is just my imagination creating horrible awful unrealities! I admire those women who can do it all... I really do! But I, for one, am definitely not one of them.  

So this is me, setting aside unnecessary feelings of jealousy and appreciating what I have and what I can do. I have lots of talents and THE cutest baby on earth.  But I also have lots of imperfections and struggle with many things! 

But I am a person too. With my laundry that needs to be done, my bathroom that needs to be cleaned, my floor that needs to vacuumed, my sewing projects that need to be finished, my bedroom that needs to be picked up, my make-up that needs to be done, I am a person just like you.  I KNOW that all those darling women who seem to be perfect have obstacles like this too.  They just aren't voiced. And thats okay.  But don't be alarmed or bothered if I tell you the REAL parts of my life.  Because this is me!

Here's to new beginnings for me. I really like my blog! Because it allows me a place to tell about my life. 

Oh and I haven't said this on here yet.  I'm PREGNANT! Which is probably where all this emotional ranting is coming from... :D Due April 20th. 

Love this boy... And he has my knees... poor thing :)

Our last few days...

Well we really are down to the count.  Only 5 more full days here in Utah! Until we leave for California, that is... 

Bennett has been doing lots of this:

And this:

And this:

Baby Signing Time is his favorite!


We had a Duffin cousin dinner on Sunday... the last one that we will be able to go to! Thanks Amy for putting it together.

Bennett LOVED Beckham's little backpack and was running around in circles for probably ten minutes with it on!

Here are the girls:

Such beautiful cousins!

And the boys:

We went to Seven Peaks on Monday for probably the last time.  It was overcast and so it wasn't busy at all! We still enjoyed playing in the warm water.  Bennett is just a little water bug! (He wouldn't look in any of the pictures because he was so enthralled with the water!)

He wasn't so sure about this... haha!

About 1/2 a second later he got dunked and did NOT like that!

Like mother, like son...

Then it started to POUR rain... ice cold rain! We ran to our stuff, threw everything in bags, wrapped up our little screaming babe and ran out of the park! We were kinda done after that... haha

This morning I ran over to my grandma's house to see my little sister leave for college.  She's the youngest and it is so weird to see her leave home! Jayni got back from Europe last night at around midnight, so she was there too telling her wild adventures of her travels home!

Just five more days til we head out of town! And 19 more days til  Bry leaves with the moving truck... ahh! So so so excited :D