Flower Power

I'm so excited for this dress!! The other night I decided to make Emalyn a matching skirt since Gabs claims she doesn't like hers. [I made one for Gabs a couple weeks ago, scroll down for that post - I had to bribe her to wear it and she complained the entire time she wore it!!]

Anyway, I didn't want it to be exactly the same, so I decided to make it a summery dress. I didn't have a pattern, just whipped it up in one night, thanks to my new serger! Super cute!! Now I have to wait until she's walking to let her wear it. Her other dresses get SO DIRTY from crawling all the time!

Oh, here are some inside-out photos so you can see what a beautiful job the serger did! (go ahead and click on them to enlarge) I had to take a shot of both machines, because they worked so hard as a team for this one :)

My projects

This first one is of my camera strap (so hard to get a shot of the strap w/the camera it's attached to!), a nursing cover (I thought the fabric was pretty funny), and a foam pad for Gabs to lay down on in our tiled family room.
This sock monkey quilt was a gift for a new baby, and I liked it so much I made one for me too (although it's sitting unfinished calling my name every night...)
I got a new ruffler foot for my sewing machine and I figured out how to use it! I made this doll blanket to see if I could get the hang of adding a ruffled border instead or regular binding and it worked!!
This was a table runner I made for Isa's class auction. Each class at their elementary school was in charge of a gift basket and each had a theme. Isa's class was "Mexican", so I found these fabrics pretty cheap (I'm SO not a fan of the southwest look) and made it for them. Bren's class was "chocolate", but I can't seem to remember if I did anything? hmmm...
Cupcake pincushions that were made at my friend's sewing party! I made the little one first and it was definitely a "rough draft", so I went home and made another one and it turned out a lot better.

My cousin Gina wanted me to make a carseat cover and I really hadn't seen/heard of this kind of thing. She found a picture for me to follow and I tried it. The first was my rough draft (sensing a theme here?? I could fill a closet w/them!) and the bottom picture is the one I made for her. Turned out pretty cute! Back to my monkey quilt :)

New Skirt

I made Gabriela a new skirt last week, thanks to my NEW SERGER!! Really, thanks to North Carolina & her tax return :) When I told her I wanted to take a picture of the skirt, she insisted that I take it while she jumped! I just held the button down and snapped away...not the best quality w/a flash, but oh well. It turned out pretty cute.

Achievements

Here is Brendan's last pinewood derby! He had a blast building it with help from his Grandpa Rock this year. Brendan came in 2nd place in his age group, and 3rd overall. He was a good sport and really enjoyed it.

All of the 3rd graders this year had to do a science project, so Isa decided to see how long it took different types of cheese to mold. Unfortunately she has a forgetful mother, who was preoccupied with managing 4 children after school on her own until bedtime every night (Danny's new 2nd job keeps him until 8:30pm and then it takes 40 minutes to get home). So, a couple days before it was due, we realized we still hadn't bought any cheese, so we changed it to apples and how quickly the different types brown :) Since we had 6 different varieties, and 3/4 of each apple left, I cut them into thin slices and Isa passed them out in class. Her presentation went well and was a hit! [We finished the board the morning of. Whew!!] She got 100% on her project and I was pretty proud :)

Gabriela's achievement was that she didn't lose any teeth this last week! Poor kid got smashed in the face 3 times in one week. Things tend to happen in 3's we've found, but we were hoping for more variety, not all in the same exact spot!! First, was when we were in Utah last week; she was running down a ramp, tripped and landed flat on her face. Her lips and nose were swollen, scratched, and bruised. Then on Wednesday she was riding in a neighbor's wagon (with another little boy) w/a broken wheel and the older brother who was pulling turned too quickly and over it went. Gabs face planted and the little boy got a good-sized bump on his head. There was blood this time, and sore teeth, but luckily her teeth weren't loose. She cut up the inside of her lip, and had a scratched and swollen nose again. Lucky #3 happened on Friday when we were shopping for our own wagon. Isa and Gabs came out of a toy aisle at Target, stepped into the main aisle, and a man and his wife were coming with a cart full of things. They didn't see them and BAM, right into her poor face again!! She had welts right away, and criss-cross patterns all over her forehead, nose, & cheek.

The girls LOVE their new wagon and Emalyn doesn't like to get out at all! She stayed in it all Friday and Saturday.

Saturday morning was weed pulling time. Ug. So, as a treat after the front yard was done, we went out to Jamba Juice. Mmmmm, tasty! Bren & Isa split one, Danny & Gabriela split one, I got my own, but had them pour a little into a tiny cup for Emalyn. She loved it! I can't wait to pull weeds in the backyard next week, just for the reward!!

Emalyn

So, my sister Cajsa, had a baby a few weeks ago (Adison) and I was able to fly up for a week and a half to visit her. I took Emalyn with me and we had so much fun hanging out!! Cajsa and I went shopping (some window, some actual purchases) and I got some great deals on clearance clothes. I got this little sailor outfit (kind of corny I know, but as separate pieces it'll be great). It was quite an experience trying to run errands w/2 babies on different eating/sleeping schedules!! Serveral people asked if they were both mine, and I would say "thankfully no!" They are exactly 12 months apart - I would die. I now have more respect and empathy for women who have children that close together. I had them for only a couple of hours by myself and it got pretty crazy. Lissa introduced the ipod to Emalyn and she is now obsessed! She is growing up way too fast!! Emalyn is just under 20 lbs (all my others weighed that much at 4-5 months!) and is still not interested in walking. She can stand on her own for a few seconds, but only when bribed :) If you try and "walk" with her, she'll march like a soldier and then just keep both her legs up in the air!! She's got some strong abs. Ema can say a few words, "mama, papa, brendan, blanket, ball, baby, book, up, down, go-go, & see that", and then signs "milk, eat, please, more, ball, baby, book", and understands quite a bit more. I'm sure there are more things she can say/sign but those are the more important ones that I can think of. She is a little bit of a picky eater, but eager to try everything. Her favorite thing to do is play outside w/her siblings.

Adison

Here are some cute photos I got of Adison while I was visiting. Also, a collage of my little girls holding Adison. You have to enlarge it and check out the top two of Adison's eyes!! I think she knows Gabriela's SPIRIT!!

Antelope Island

We went to antelope island, only a few miles from Cajsa & Brad's, and really enjoyed it, although it was pretty cold! We saw buffalo (Tricia calls them "bubbalo") and antelope, and then we went on a short hike to the top of a peak. Bren & Isa did great and got to the top where we took pictures (which looked terrifying to me, but Brad assured me it was safe behind them).

We found these buffalo statues so we got some funny pictures :)

Adison's Blessing

On March 1st, my brother-in-law, Brad blessed his baby, and our family was able to drive up and be there for the weekend. It was a beautiful blessing and there was an abundance of love with both sides of the family there. Adison was gorgeous and content.