Newborn hooded towel set

Here is a quick project I made a couple months ago. I've been trying to make more baby things instead of buying. It takes more time, obviously, but it saves money, and I can make it look however I want! I had some infant towel sets saved from when Kade was a baby, but they were made with very thin material, and don't seem like they would be very warm or snuggly!

For this towel, I used a super soft white bathrobe of mine. The zipper had broken, and I never wore it very often anyway. For the front of the hood, and the back of the towel, I used some black and white hounds-tooth cotton fabric that I found at the thrift store (3 yards for $2!). For the binding, I used a lime green ikea sheet from my son's toddler bed, which we don't have any more. I also made a matching washcloth and two mits.


Kade picked out the black ribbon with the skeletons on it to use as tags.

Here it is in use. It is too small to use for very long, but it's super cute, and doesn't Cole look warm and snuggly all wrapped up in it? :)

Snow days!

We're in the midst of the big snowstorm of 2012 here in the northwest! So far we have about 12 inches, and it's still coming down.

On Sunday, Kade went sledding and made this GIANT 7 foot tall snowman with his aunt and daddy. But, I've been trying to think of fun ways Kade can enjoy the snow by himself. We don't have any neighbor kids, and I can't take a newborn baby outside in this weather to play with him myself, so Kade is really lonely!

We didn't have any carrots or small rocks for his face, so we used a rotten banana and bottle caps!


Here are some of the things I've suggested to him to have fun by himself:

~Fill a spray bottle with colored water and spray designs onto the snow
~Pack bowls with snow and make bricks to build
~Write or draw in the snow by making huge letters or shapes with his tracks
~Use a ruler and measure different areas to see where the snow is the deepest

Do you have any more ideas? I'd love to hear them! :)

The best Christmas present ever!

I went into labor on Christmas day,
and had my baby the next day!!
I am over-the-moon happy.
He is so precious :)

Baby Cole

December 26th, 2011
7 pounds 4 ounces
19.25" long

Baby gifts!

My littlest niece is turning One in a few weeks, and I was having a hard time trying to decide just what I would make her! For Christmas, I made her a Bella Bunny:




(The first ever Bella Bunny was for her big sister!)

I have been making so many things for Christmas, not to mention having non stop contractions for days (weeks, really) and getting ready for this baby to arrive any day, plus Kade's birthday was a couple weeks ago, and I have more family members and friends with birthdays within the next couple weeks as well. My brain is a little fried! Running on empty! But then I saw this really cute project in one of Addi's mom's Pinterest boards, and I thought it would be the perfect gift! Thank goodness for all these ideas and tutorials all over the internet, they save me from having to think of stuff for myself all the time!

It's called a Modular Star, and I think babies/toddlers would *love* it because it's very easy to grab on to, soft, and colorful! The hardest part was choosing the fabrics. I ended up using 30 different prints, and cut 2 triangles (I used a cardboard template and my rotary cutter) from each print. This project is perfect for all those little scraps!!! Here are all 60 of my triangles, ready for the next step:


I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's done! I may have to make one for my baby too, although that can wait a little while. And there are still a few Christmas projects that I'm rushing to finish in time. I think it will be pretty quick to come together though, I'm so excited!

Last five Sock Monkey Ornaments!

I am all out of this fabric now, and it's out of print. I'm hoping to find more somewhere, but until then, these are the last five sock monkey ornaments! These ornaments are perfectly puffy, bright and cheery, and are great for little kids too! They are in the shop. There's still time to order before Christmas! :)

Let the countdown begin!

It's December 1st, the beginning of a month we have been waiting for, for a long time! Kade told me last night that this December was going to be the best ever.

He woke up this morning and remembered to say "Bunny Bunny" first thing. I don't know what the story behind that is, but Kade said his teacher told him doing that will give him good luck for the whole month. This is the first month where he actually remembered to say it at the right time, so he is convinced it will work.

Kade's 8th birthday is tomorrow. It's also popcorn day and crazy hair day at school, which makes it even more fun! Jeremy and I will bring birthday treats to school in the afternoon. Kade gets to choose where we'll have dinner, and he's very excited for presents and cake, and a family birthday party on Sunday!

His wish of becoming a big brother will also come true this month. As long as baby isn't too overdue, he'll be born within the next few weeks!

Kade also loves it when we get out the Advent Calendar on December 1st! I made this one last year:




Each little matchbox compartment holds a small chocolate. I'm also doing something new this year to go along with the Advent Calendar. I got a bunch of Christmas books from around the house, the thrift store, and the used book store, and wrapped them all individually, labeling them from 1-24. Kade will get to unwrap the book that corresponds with the number (the date) on the Advent Calendar, and we'll read the book before bed. I love Christmas books!

One last good thing (well definitely not the last, but the last one I'll mention right now!) about December is that Kade got through the entire month of November without getting a fever! That may not seem like such a big deal, but for Kade and his medical issues, it's huge!! It's been months...and months... since he's gone so long without getting a fever. He is so happy and proud of himself for staying healthy. I hope we can keep it going throughout the rest of the year!

Getting ready for baby!

I still have almost 6 weeks to go before I'm 40 weeks, but I just have this feeling baby might decide to arrive a little sooner. Maybe that's just wishful thinking, but that feeling sure helps me get motivated to finish up getting ready!

Here is my 32 week baby belly. Pregnancy might beat me up, make me tired, make my hips hurt so bad that at times I can't walk, and keep me up at night, but I wouldn't change it for the world! This is what I've been praying for, for years and years, and I'd go through anything for this baby! I LOVE being pregnant, feeling my little baby roll around, kick me, get the hiccups, and stretch. I love how my huge baby belly looks (that will probably change after I have him, lets just be honest! lol), I love how my son and my husband give my belly love and hugs and talk to baby. But I can't wait until this is over, and I'm holding my baby in my arms! :)


This little felt garland is one of the things I made in the past few days. It was pretty simple, *here* are some easy instructions if you'd like to make one too. After making this, I am especially glad that we chose a name with only four letters! I used some invisible thread to hang this, so it appears to be floating. I also cut out some little felt stars that match the mobile that I made.


The star mobile is inspired by *this* pin. My mom and dad had some branches in their yard from a storm, and we found the perfect one for this project! I used the free die-cut machine at Ben Franklin to cut a bunch of stars from glittery card stock. Invisible thread is sandwiched in between the stars, glued together with tacky glue.


Here it is from what will be baby's view :)


And here is baby's little space, all ready for him! Until we move into our new house next spring, he has to share our room. I bought the hanging organizer from Amazon for $14, and it holds burp rags, socks, onesies, jammies, lotions, diapers, wipes, and all that good stuff. The rest of baby's clothes, blankets, toys, etc. are in a dresser in Kade's room.

The funny green stuffed animal with the blue mohawk on the shelf is from Build A Bear Workshop. Kade made it for baby, and there is a sound recording in his paw of Kade saying, "I love you baby brother!" It's adorable :)

The baby owl print is from Pseudooctopus. I found the breathable bumper at the thrift store, brand new for $3. My mom made the beautiful rag quilt hanging on the cradle. My sister and brother-in-law gave us the travel bed that we're using as a changing station. The little stars sleeper hanging below the shelf will be what baby wears home from the hospital.

Isn't there a song or something that says, "nobody puts baby in the corner"? I don't know what it's from. WE put baby in a corner, and a mighty cute one at that! It will be fun to decorate a whole bedroom for baby in a few months, but until then, I'm happy with this! Now I just need to pack some bags, and we'll be all ready for baby to come! Now that this is checked off my list, I better get to work on the other dozens of projects!