Sew Much to See

I've been doing a bit of sewing, embroidering, and appliqueing lately and thought I'd share some of my creations (or at least the stuff that I have pictures of).

I made Madison and Delaney shirts with their names on them.  I remember when I was little and I loved having my name on stuff.

Madison modeling her shirt

I also embroidered a sweatshirt for Granny Roady.  A couple months ago she said she wanted a sweatshirt with all of her grandkids on it.  She also mentioned in passing that it should say "Granny's Gang".  I sat back and took notes and then got to work on a special shirt for her.

Granny modeling her shirt (she and Madison went to the same school of modeling)

I made Jack and Miles matching bags so they could keep all of their important stuff with them when they went swimming together over Christmas.

"Wait!  I dropped something."

And their off

I also made Jack's birthday shirt.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture of Jack in his birthday shirt so here's the best I could find...

I did not make this hat!

I have a very dear friend who is having a baby-any minute now-and I sent them a little "Welcome to the World" package last week that included a few burp cloths and a couple of my (in)famous business casual onesies.

I also just made Jack a Valentine onesie.  It's not too girlie like most things Valentine's Day related. 

Tough Love

And, of course, I've also made some bikini onesies and some pillow case dresses.

For the beach babe in your life

First thing I ever sewed unsupervised ( a few years ago)

Needless to say, Bernie (the embroidery machine) and I have been busy lately and I'm in the market for a new sewing machine.

I've enjoyed making things for Jack and his friends and family.  I've sold a few things here and there, but a majority of the things I've made I have given them away as gifts.  See anything you like?

Reward?

One of Jack's favorite things in the house is the vacuum cleaner.  I like to use it as a reward.  He just likes to use it!  He knows where we store it and if that door is not shut properly, he will get it out and push it all over the house.

Alright, I got what i want!

I can push it while crawling

I like to stand on this part

I giggle when I push the vacuum

Where's Jack?

Ahhhh, the closet of good fortune!

Let's see how I can get this thing out...

oooooooo, the vacuum!

helping Mommy vacuum

Chores

Jack has a few chores around the house.  He helps with laundry (pushes the laundry basket from the bottom of the stairs to the laundry room), picks up his toys and checks the mail.  Obviously, all of these things require quite a bit of assistance, but we are trying to instill some responsibility in our boy.

Here he is walking to the mailbox with Mommy.

Master of his Sippy Cup

After spending some time with Miles over the holidays, Jack picked up a new skill.  It took Little Lord Fauntleroy quite a while to learn to feed himself and it took even longer for him to pick up his sippy cup or bottle and drink from it.  I was a little concerned that I was going to have to go away to college with Jack if he didn't figure out how to hydrate himself.  While at dinner with Miles, we (jokingly) told Jack to observe his dear friend...I guess he really did.  Less than a week after that dinner, Jack was the master of his sippy cup!

Jack thinks he's "Mr. Big Stuff"

Demonstrating the Sit 'n Sip

Carrying the cup around in his mouth

Chug a lug

One-handed

Here he is in action...

Quite the Britican Gentleman

Jack is a fan of using utensils to eat.  He's not very good at it, but he is persistent.

First time eating with a spoon

Admiring his utensil

So proud of himself

And now the fork...

At first, he missed more than he speared

Another try with the spoon

He really has the hang of it...sometimes

It's a messy trial and error, but Jack enjoys it so much!

13 Months

Well, I might as well continue on with the craziness of monthly updates.

This month, Jack:

• is wearing size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 overnight diapers at night
• wears mostly 12 month clothes
• walks as his primary mode of transportation
• loves to climb the stairs (while supervised)
• is able to bend over to pick something up and stand back up
• is finally using his sippy cup independently
• is completely weaned and drinks whole cows milk
• eats everything...but really loves green beans, carrots, chicken quesadillas and chocolate chip cookies
• enjoys putting objects in boxes and taking them back out
• throws things behind him
• rolls a ball back and forth
• sleeps 12 hours at night
• takes 2 naps a day (1.5-3 hours each)
• enjoys playing in the pool
• can climb into and out of his chair
• attempts to eat with a spoon or fork
• scribbles with crayons
• responds to some instructions (give Mommy a kiss, come here, get your___, etc.)
• holds telephone up to his ear and babbles away
• says "Mama" and "Dada" and other indecipherable words
• eats his snack out of his snack cup (and shares with Scout frequently)

Climbing the Stairs

One of Jack's favorite things to do lately is to climb up the stairs.  In fact, he doesn't like to be carried up the stairs anymore.  If we forget and try to carry him upstairs, he contorts his body and attempts to throw himself from our arms so that he can climb.

Here he is in action:

New Years Resolution

It took me quite a while to put into words what my New Years Resolution was going to be this year.  I don't like to make the resolutions that everyone tends to make (and break) each year.  This year, my resolution is to Choose Joy every day.  I'm going to try not to be so hard on myself and just be happy.  I will not surround myself with people who seemingly don't care about me.  In the past, I have give people too many "do overs" and it's not fair to me.  My friend, Rob, decided that his mantra this year was "only good things in-if it's not good for my body, soul or state of mind I don't want it."  I think that is genius!  If people care about you, they will find a way to get in touch with you.

This past year, I tried to show my friends how it felt to be ignored (after I had been ignored by them) and most of them didn't get it.  They just thought I was being rude.  They didn't take it as a reflection on themselves.  I shouldn't have to teach you how to be a friend.  I am choosing joy this year.  I have decided that if the friendship means something to me that I must tell them when I have been hurt.  If they truly care about me they will take what I say to heart and we can move on.

When I wake up in the morning, I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood.  My goal is to choose the first one everyday!

Sous Chef

While I'm preparing dinner, Jack is usually under foot (even when someone else is there to entertain him).  The boy just likes to be in the kitchen!  I decided to give him a pan and spoon and see if that would make him happy...it did!  He loves to "cook" with Mommy and has made some wonderful creations.  Could he be the next Gordon Ramsey?

Stirring

Controlled chaos

using his measuring spoons

Having Jack occupied sure does make getting dinner on the table a lot easier.  He's happy to be close to me and I'm happy that he is doing something besides opening up the cabinets and taking everything out of them.