Kenley's new dress

I sewed a dress for Kenley! It's pretty cute, if I do say so myself. Of course, I'm not showing you any detail shots or the wonky back that I will have to alter if she is actually going to wear it, but... it was a good first attempt.

This project started with Dana's great tutorial, then a fun Threadless hoodsie that was stained and getting too small.


I decided to stitch around the colored letters before I added it to the dress for an extra detail.


I used the fabric from my new Mac and Cheese shirt for the dress fabric. I've never really sewed with knit before and I have lots to learn. The yoke part around the top was very frustrating because it curled so much that I couldn't iron it properly or keep it straight. In retrospect, if I had cut the strip against the grain of the fabric instead of with, it probably would have worked better.


I made Kenley do some modeling after her nap. It is still pretty big, and needs a little tweaking, but hopefully she'll have fun toddling around in it this summer.

What's the deal, lady?

Gimmee that camera!

Ok, cheese!

She's not standing on her own yet, but I managed to prop her up well enough to take a quick picture!

Happy 2nd Birthday Sadie!

You came to us about a year and a half ago, Miss Sadie, and you've been keeping us on our toes ever since. We were thinking about getting a puppy, but your special situation forced us to make a decision quicker than we planned.


I think most people would say that the puppy years are over after 2, but apparently labs have a longer puppy-hood than most breeds. Even so, I can see you maturing in the way you carry yourself and the way you interact with our family. We still have a long way to go in greeting new people *calmly* and approaching other dogs without making them feel anxious.


I'm so glad that you and Lachlan will be able to grow up together. You are gentle with both kids and watch them closely, especially when we are playing outside. Lachlan loves to feed you and take you for walks and especially to set you free from your kennel. Kenley gets so excited to see you and waves her arms like crazy - then usually cries when you leave the area.


Bill gives you a hard time, but he loves it when you slowly creep up until you are sitting up on his lap - all 50 lbs.


We love you, in spite of all the hole-digging, couch-sitting, wire-chewing and craziness you bring to the party. Good girl, Sadie.


Ha! I had forgotten all about the Story of the Frog until I went back looking for photos in my blog archives.


Sadie and the Snow

(p.s. Lachlan suggested we have a robot party for you, but I convinced him that you'd enjoy a new toy more).

So, a funny thing happened on Twitter...

A couple weeks ago, I was tweeting about what was for dinner (you know, pretty much the thing that everyone makes fun of Twitter about)...
and I was swiftly tweeted back by the Twitter account of @kraftmacncheese. I checked out the link, entered my address (it seemed like a legit website)...
and I received this link from the site to retweet on my account. Then I forgot about the whole thing until...
I received this package in the mail! It had 5 boxes of Mac & Cheese (5 different varieties for our tasting pleasure), the card explaining the #MacJinx, and this hilarious tshirt. Now *that* is some quality internet marketing, if you ask me. The shirt is big enough for me, but I have every intention of reworking it so that L can wear it instead.

Lately

L insisted on pushing Kenley in the stroller when we went for a walk the other day.

• Feeling a little deja vu after Lachlan had another scary episode of breathing trouble and Kenley's birthmark that ulcerated last year is having some complications again. They are both fine and both issues are under control. Also feeling thankful that they are generally healthy children and we don't face worries about their health on a daily basis.

a few more pages on Flickr

• Made an 8x8 scrapbook with photos and a few words from our spring break trip to Florida. It was a quick book to put together since I kept a simple layout for the pages and repeated it throughout the book. We (especially Lachlan) are enjoying reliving the sunny moments on the beach and family fun.

at least part of the garden will be inspired by this book

• Dreaming about Spring, just like everyone else in Iowa. I bought some seeds and plan to start some of them inside this weekend. The garden has been cleared of last year's overgrown grass and weeds and is ready to be tilled (now to find someone to do the tilling...)

Fun birthday wreath here

• Birthday party planning and started a new pinboard for kids' party inspiration on Pinterest.



• Enjoying some new-to-me blogs like Iowa Girl Eats (now I think I need a donut pan!), Katie Licht (inspiring art journals), and Lisa Leonard (jewelry designer, but I love her all around style).


• On pins and needles waiting to find out when the new iPhone will be released. Rumors are out there that the iPhone 5 won't be coming in June (like previous models), but later in the year. I'm holding out with my shattered screen until I can get the latest & greatest, so come on Apple!


• Browsing my newest craft book Big Little Felt Universe and planning some felt food making. This book is full of adorable felt ideas - and not just food - laptops, camping gear, tools, plants and more. It is quite hilarious and adorable.

Oh, and I downloaded Martha Stewart's egg decorating app. I just couldn't resist. Only $.99!

What have you been up to lately?

Kenley at 9 months

Kenley, we’ve been joking that you’re going to skip crawling and go straight to walking because you have no interest in being on your tummy at all. Whatever you decide to do is fine with me, because you’re just a pleasure to be around. You are content to sit and play with your toys while we work and play around you. You also love the jumperoo and the exersaucer for standing up and playing.

One big development is that you are doing much better in the “going to sleep” department. Carissa (your babysitter) and I worked on a new routine of reading, rocking and singing and then laying you down in your crib for naptime (one in the morning, one in the afternoon). The first week or so you would fuss and cry for about 15 minutes before falling asleep but now you often just quietly fall asleep on your own. It has made a big difference in the amount you sleep at night, too, although you still wake up once or twice overnight.
I admit that I’ve been a little lazy in introducing new foods this month, but I can tell that you’re ready to branch out into more finger foods. It is fun to watch you reach out and carefully pick up a single Cheerio or other snack. You are definitely interested in eating whenever everyone else is sitting down to eat. I still breastfeed you four or five times a day (including once in the night) but you’re spacing those times out as you eat more solid foods.
When we’re out, people often comment about what a calm and serious baby you are. You really inspect the new people around you. When you are comfortable at home, we hear all sorts of sounds, including your trademark growl and recently mama and dada sounds. Today we were all in bed together and you rolled over and said “dada” straight to your dad, I’m sure of it.

We just got back from a week long spring break trip and you were a super traveler. When we went out to dinner each night, you spent most of the time playing with a spoon and/or a straw. You loved the extra attention from your nana and pop po and cousins and you were interested in feeling the sand and shells on the beach.

At the beach

WIP - Hipstamatic monthly album

I love my iPhone (who doesn't?) and one of my favorite apps is the Hipstamatic photo app. I capture many moments from our daily life with this app - A) because I always have my phone with me and B) because it is fun to experiment with the different films, lenses and flashes.
I am not attempting a daily Project Life album this year (like I did in 2010) because I did not get farther than the summer months in that project (although I have good intentions of still completing it, since I did take daily photos through the end of the year). I wanted to come up with a yearlong project that could document our daily lives in a similar way, but in a low-maintenance format.
I have also been learning about digital scrapbooking via a class at Jessica Sprague's website called "Up and Running with Photoshop". I've had PS Elements since last year and I'd like to be able to use it to create projects and pages. I don't have any intention of giving up my favorite paper-scrapping hobby, but I do think digital scrapbooking adds another interesting layer to my memory-keeping.
Using my new (and still quite limited) knowledge of Photoshop Elements, I used a template to create these pages about my favorite Hipstamatic photos from January and February. I plan to make a pair of digital pages at the end of each month, then at the end of the year have them printed in a 8"x8" (or 12x12?) book.

What makes this great is that I have the template and formatting saved on my laptop, so when I want to make a new page, I just have to drop in the photos and text. Easy Peasy.

Here are the supplies I used:
In Stitches Layered Template by Robyn Meierotto
graph paper from this Neutral Paper Pack (part of the supplies from my PSE class)
month stamps are from Robyn's Dated Months and Days 2011 kit
(I also downloaded her Kraft Fun Day kit, it is sooo cute, can't wait to use that!)
font is Constantina

linking up with Be Colorful's "Motivated Monday" again:



Happy Monday everyone!