Sew Fun!!

These past couple months I've been getting back into sewing a bit. I'd been wanting to try making dress-hand-towels for a while now. I was hoping it would be an inexpensive, but still useful and fun gift to give to my visiting teachees on their birthdays.

 

 Ryan helped me make my first one, so I could make sure I was doing it right. It turns out they're really fun and easy to make. They don't take a lot of time and they cost about $2-3 each, $4 if you want a particularly cute hand-towel for the skirt part.

The people I have made them for so far have really liked them, and it's nice to able to give them something unique and handmade with love!

When we moved into our house there was nothing covering this huge window on our front door, and anyone who came to the door could see clearly into our house. It drove me a little nuts. So, I got out some of this special cloth Kris had gotten us from Germany, because she knew how much I loved the lacy curtains everyone had there. I used some of she gave us and sewed us some curtains. Ryan mounted a curtain rod up on the door for it. I feel like they turned out really pretty. I didn't do much myself, but hem the edges and sew the top so there was a loop, but it was already a very pretty piece of fabric. Now I'm not so self-conscious about people coming to the door. We can still see out, but they can't see in. :)

Another need I felt we had was a shoe rug. Ryan had designated us a shoe corner, and I felt like it always looked like a messy pile of shoes.

 

I wanted to make this rug out of things we already had,... like old jeans and t-shirt (and scrubs) scraps. Ryan had a rug that he brought back from his mission in Brazil that was made out of just that, so I patterned our shoe rug after it.

On the bottom was a patch of denim so it could be durable. I made it shaped like a quarter-circle so it could fit nicely in the corner. Then, I cut up a bunch of 2" wide t-shirt strips. I didn't really care what colors, just what I found first. Then I drew on something of a design so I could have lines to follow as I sewed the strips on.

 

This was the time consuming part of this rug, basting and gathering the strips and then sewing them down on the rug. I was fun though to see the rug come together. I asked Jared a couple times during the process what he thought, and he said every time that it was pretty. When I was almost finished, I asked Karl and he said, "Pizza?" That made me laugh, but I guess it does look kind of like pizza.

 

When I was finished it fitted nicely in our corner and Ryan liked it too. It was a fun project to make something for our home and get a little more experience with sewing.. and I'm so grateful that with all the denim sewing I never broke a needle!

Emmaline 6 Months Old

4m3d

Last week, Emmaline turned six months old!! Since Karl was turning two and a half at basically the same time, they got to do their doctor's appointments together. Emmaline was sleepy, so she cried at the doctor this time when he wanted to listen to her heart and look in her ears. It didn't help that Karl was growling at the doctor (which Emmaline is used to), and the doctor decided to play along and growl back (which Emmaline is not used to). Emmaline was staring at him at the moment, so as soon as he growl she burst into tears, and then I don't think she was sure about him for the rest of the visit. But, she was checked out and she's doing great! After the doctor left we only waited probably a minute for the medical assistant to come give the shots, but in that time Emmaline fell asleep sitting in the car seat. She had a rude awakening when the MA stabbed a shot in her leg and then quickly put another in her other leg. Poor girl! I held her and she calmed down, and then she fell asleep again in the car. She is now 17lb 4oz and 26.5" long!

4m3d; right after she rolled over for the first time.

 During this time between turning 4 months old and 6 months old, Emmaline had a few firsts. :)

 First time rolling over: April 4th.

First time to a petting zoo: April 7th.

First canoe ride: April 30th.

4m3w

Emmaline is still a major Daddy's girl. She stares and smiles at him all the time and loves for him to hold her.

4m4w

During this time, Emmaline started to suck on her thumb when she'd get sleep. She always turns to her left side and sucks on her left thumb, and if a blanket is available she'll hold it in her right hand against her face. That's how she gets comfy. :) Now when I lay her in her crib, and she knows she's tired, she does it almost immediately after I lay her down.

5m2d

First time eating baby oatmeal: about May 3rd.

First parade: May 14th.

First time going to Lake Michigan: May 30th.

First time riding on a raft: May 30th.

5m3d

Emmaline is strong enough now to sit in her booster seat for eating, and for playing in her play-saucer.

5m5d

5m6d

 Jared's so sweet! He likes to hold Emmaline's hand when we're driving in the car; Emmaline seems to like it too. :)

5m1w

5m2w

Emmaline's first rolls were pretty cute. She'd lean and lean and once she finally rolled she'd look a little surprised to be in a different position. Now, she rolls more often, but only when she feels like she wants to see something or reach for something.

5m2w

At this age, the three words I would use to describe Emmaline would be enthusiastic, playful, and very curious about whatever she can grab. :) She still is so much fun to have around!!

6 Months Old

Memorial Day

Last week, for Memorial Day, we were mostly just excited to have Ryan-Daddy home for a week day!! First thing in the morning Ryan mowed the lawn and I made french toast. After breakfast, we headed over to Lowe's to get some more supplies, on sale, to fuel our summer projects we've been working on.

After getting home and unloading from that, we packed up and got in the car again to head to Lake Michigan. The beach we decided to go was Tunnel Park. It had a really nice sandy beach and we weren't the only ones who knew it. It was pretty crowded, but we found a nice spot to call our own.

 Our plan was to just walk along the beach and fly our kites. But, of course, we ended up playing in the water instead. It was a beautiful day and the water wasn't too bad. Karl loved walking in and out of the water all the way up to his waist, with Daddy. Jared didn't want to go in very far, he preferred to stay in the sand.

 

We had so much fun soaking up the sun and in the boys' cases... the sand. As time went on they got dirtier and dirtier.

 

Ryan-Daddy showed them how to use the wet sand to make a little sand castle.

 

 

After playing at the beach, we washed off a little bit and then went straight to Pigeon River to try out our new rafts. Emmaline and I got in one and the boys and Ryan got in the other. We hoped to row down the river a little ways and then fish. But, once again, Emmaline wasn't having her life jacket. So, I took it off her, held her, and let her drink out of my water bottle until she calmed down.

 

Once she was in my lap though, I couldn't row. So Ryan tied a rope from his raft to ours and towed us along. It turned out to be a very relaxing trip down the river for the rest of us, but Ryan had to work harder to row both our rafts. He got a lot of comments from passers-by who were impressed by what he was doing.

 

Ryan got to try a little fishing, but the spot had too much seaweed to catch on, so he soon put his rod away and rowed us back to where we docked. The boys and Emmaline were very tired after our adventures, so after getting home and taking baths they all slept very well!