Sewing projects

I'm trying to organize my life a little better this year. To this end, I've designated Friday nights (and sometimes Saturday) to sewing. Sigh, these aren't date nights because they are when Brian is working hard at the restaurant, so I'm home with the kiddos until the wee hours of the morning. In with just the first weeks of the year, I've found this method working...so far. I start thinking about the project early in the week, mentally planning what fabric to use, what pattern to try, what new technique to test, etc. With all the pre-planning, I'm pumped up and roaring to go to start on Friday after the boys hit their beds.

Besides the little blue dragon slippers, here are the things I've finished up...

Valentine shirts for the boys. Since I didn't get Christmas shirts done for them in time, I was determine to do up V-day shirts by the end of January. Both were bought shirts with a bit of freezer paper stenciling on it. For Jude: Red shirt with "Hug Me" on it. For Tamlin: Striped shirt with a broken red heart and "Heart Breaker" on it. Brian liked them and commented that he needed one too. I said sure! I wonder if he'll like "Stud Muffin" or "Love Machine" better? This might just be this weekend's project :-)


A-line Valentine jumper for my niece. Last time at Jo-anne's with the Sis, she mentioned that she liked the retro-like A-line jumpers. I had picked up some fun red print fabric and was moved to give it a go with an on-line tutorial from Ikat blog. Making the ruffle for the bottom of the dress took the longest because I had to gather it all by hand 'cause I haven't mastered doing it via my ol' machine yet. However, The Beast serger helped tons with finishing the seems beautifully. With this jumper, I got to try machine sewing button holes and buttons for the first time. Thank you youtube for the video on how to attach and work my auto-button-holer foot thingy :-) I'm pleased with the results, and loved that Tam loved modeling it for me too.

Flared Jumper for my niece and matching mini-dress for dolly. I had this fabric pre-Christmas, and even had the pieces for the jumper all cut out. I just didn't get it sewn together before the holidays struck and chaos ensued. I was able to whip it together because it was the same pattern I had used for a different jumper that I DID get done for Christmas giving. The doll dresses are fun little mini-dresses that I love to sew. I had always wanted matching outfits with my dollies, so I hope she likes these too. Plus it gives me an excuse to use lace, ribbon, rhinestones, and such!

What's on the to-do list?
This weekend I might whip up the Valentine's shirts for Brian and myself. I also want to finish a flannel crib sheet for Jude, so he can use it while the whether is still chilly. And then? Well, I have fabric and pattern and tutorial to finish a fancy dress for my niece for maybe Easter. I also have a bit of fun tie-dye fabric for a cute little skirt. In my head I want to do up a Princess-y dress utilizing embroidered sheer curtains I salvaged from a rummage sale. I want to do cool petti-skirts for both Tam and my niece (boys love to twirl in skirts too). Oh, and bunnies for Easter since I want to try to keep this going as a tradition for the boys from Momma. Some cute doll clothes for our friends' little girl who turns 3 in May. And anything else that flits across my head... but I think the shirts, sheet, and fancy dress are next in the queue because I have everything to make those work already.

Wordless Wednesday - Snow Angels

Tamlin and Ciearra making Snow Angels

More on our sledding experiences soon!

Big little man

Tam has started to master a few "manly" skills:
1. pulling his own pants up and down
2. peeing standing up

Great job, my big little man!

Jude lately

What has Jude been up to lately?
He's now 8 months old and learning all about winter weather and snow :-)

It seems his tummy troubles are better, but still with him. We still have him on the lactose free milk, but we cut back on his medicine because it wasn't making much of a difference for him. He gets anywhere from 3 to 6 six ounce bottles a day and 2 to 3 meals. We have also introduced the sippy cup. This one needs to be held up and sucked on (no straw) and Jude is really only interested in it as something to hit against his highchair and then dump on the floor. Tamlin's been helping to show Jude how work the cup and help hold it up to his mouth...but Jude hasn't got it quite yet.

I think that Jude's teeth are bothering him and he's teething like mad. He puts everything in his mouth right now...often to rub the object against his gums. And, of course, he's drooling too. But, no teeth .. . yet.

Food is going in his mouth too. He loves to eat, especially if he sees the rest of us eating. We've tried most baby foods to great success. The best (or worst) was his reaction to green bean puree. The look he gave me after that first spoonful spoke overtures of "what the heck is this!" and "Good Lord, that's disgusting!" and "Yuck!" Funny. Jude's also becoming engaged in trying to feed himself. I'll give him a bowl of Cheerios or puffs and just let him practice getting them from the bowl into his mouth. I would say he's got about 50% success currently. What is Jude's favorite food? Socks. Mostly his socks. Loves these and tries at every chance he gets to get the buggers into his mouth. With success, he squeals with delight.

Jude still isn't consistently sleeping all the way through the night. Most evenings he stirs around 11pm for at least a binky and a pat. Then, he wakes somewhere between 3 and 5am. Sometimes he can be soothed back to sleep. Sometimes he ends up in our bed cuddled up. Sometimes nothing helps and we take him downstairs for a bottle. Brian and I trade off on who gets the early shift, but both of us are fairly exhausted most of the time.

We've given up with rolling over, but Jude is really working on crawling or even walking. He'll get up on all fours now while on the floor on his belly. Sometimes he'll start rocking while up there, but still hasn't figured out what to do with his feet. He loves to pull himself to a standing position while holding someone's hands. His balance while upright is far from great, but he's working on it. And such grins he gives us while standing up like a big boy...Priceless.

His vocalizations lately are still squeals and raspberries, but more often "babababa" is heard too when he's happy and trying to talk to you. We have just started signs with him, like we did with Tamlin (who has been helping with this new endeavour). Right now, we just show him milk, more, and food. I think he's been trying to mimic the milk sign (fist moving like you're milking a cow)...but Brian thinks he is just waving.

Does he have favorite toys yet, besides socks? A red bristle block is something he likes munching on, but he just as often drops it off the side of his crib. Spoons in general are favorite toys to band and chew on. He doesn't snuggle up with any toys while sleeping, but he likes gnawing on stuffed animals, especially ones with long noses or ribbon tags. He's just started getting into toys with nobs and switches to move. We have one of those activity boards in the playpen and that will hold his attention for a good amount of time. Very recently, I brought out the colorful toy piano that plays songs when keys are pressed and this "new" toy has been a hit. Both Brian and I suspect that Jude is / will be more interested in music than Tamlin. Jude often tries to "sing" with us, especially during hymns at church. He also snuggles right up with Brian while he's singing low notes. He's much more interested in banging one toy against another in a staccato rhythm and in investigating toys that make musical sounds. I hope he keeps up this delight! In the picture here, Tamlin is practicing his conducting skills while Jude plays the piano. Too sweet.

Preschool

Tam has now been at Preschool for two and half weeks (so 5 sessions). Oh my, he absolutely loves it. They play outside at the start of the day, then play inside, read stories, share toys, sing songs, make messes, paint, eat snacks, etc. for the rest of the 2 hours. I get a note in his totebag each day that denotes what their learning topic was does and what went down in the classroom. The totebag is brilliant; each kid gets the same style bright red bag with their name on it that they bring each day. Tam easily recognizes the bag...and has started recognizing his name too, or at least the"T."
So far, Tam's been learning about snow and birds. This means he's been drawing / painting birds at school and telling me about penguins and home. One of the things he talked on about was how he "skating" in class on the tile floor in his socks and that his slippers weren't slippery enough.

He has even had a turn already at the "Share bag." This is a smallish tote that a kid utilizes to bring home something he likes to share with the class during circle time. Any guesses as to what Tam brought in? Oh, yeah. He shared one of his McQueen cars. :-)

Now how did I choose this school? 1. I knew where it was located, and that it was down the road from my work. 2. They had an opening in the 3year old program starting in January. 3. The price was pretty reasonable. I did visit before enrolling Tam, but really, all I noticed was that the kids seemed happy and the teachers seemed nice (no massive hysterics, crying, blood, torture, vomit, etc.). The school does brag that they have small classes, 14 students max, with two certified teachers.

Well, I finally remembered to bring my camera with me when I picked up Tam this Tuesday. He gave me the grand tour of the classroom showing off some of the key toys...especially the trucks and garages.

He also pointed out some of his art projects...like doily snowman and sparkly snowflakes. I'm always a bit surprised when the artwork is recognizable and not just random...and that he has some narrative to say about it.

Then, he had to tell me that he was too tired to get his boots and coat on! He was tired until Jude started to poke at him and I mentioned that we were leaving for lunch. Then, he jumped up and asked if we could go do the "elcalator". This is his mash-up universal term for escalators and elevators. His classroom is on the 2.5 floor, so there is an elevator to ride. . . and yes, we usually ride down in it if he asks nicely.

All in all, I'm pleased with the place, the program, the learning, the teachers, and how much fun Tam is having. Good thing, because I have already put down a deposit on their 4-year old program for next fall!

Wordless Wednesday - Snow

Finally, we got a bit of snow here, now that it is January. Brian hates shoveling it. I hate driving in it. But, Tamlin loves playing in it. . . with trucks and snow plows, of course.