She's TWO! (Party Scenes)

As much as I tried to remind myself that the most important thing about my daughter's birthday was spending time with her, the urge to bake a special little girl cake just for her overcame me.  My plans to simply make a display of cupcakes were set aside, and I turned to parenting.com for cake ideas.  There was a pretty butterfly cake decorated with candy, and I gave it a shot.  It was more work than I had anticipated.  Although I thoroughly enjoy baking, I do not thoroughly enjoy what seems to me to be rather tedious decorating.  In the end I was glad I had put forth effort, though, because all the kids at the party couldn't wait to get a special piece decorated with candies.

Sling & Swing

Here is the little crew out for a swing.  Ryan is in tow in the sling, of course!

Little Van Gogh

Maddie, like her big brother, loves painting these days.  In hopes of saving some of her little shirts I made her a quick smock.  This one is from Simplicity 3802 and it is really simple.  The only change I made is using 1/2" bias tape rather than 1/4".  I just used what I had on hand, and I thought the 1/4" might be a bit of a pain to work with.

Let's hope all those starry, starry night-esque swirls hide the messier side of her creative little endeavors.

Stars in Alignment???

Somehow all three little boogers are sleeping at the same time, and I AM (child) FREE!!!  It is a gorgeous November day - the temperature has to be near 60.  We all went for a walk earlier and the chicken noodle soup is cooking.  I just wanted to take a few minutes for a quick update since Ryan is nearing his 6 month mark - yikes.  Somebody stop this train!

She's Almost 2!

Mention her birthday and a myriad of images of the last two years flashes through my mind.  One of my favorites is the memory of holding her in the hospital with a feeling of utter bliss and relief.  Hers was a fast and furious delivery - in retrospect it was my easiest, though "easy" is but a relative term here.  The labor was 100% natural - ouch.  On the other hand, I was supremely proud of that fact, and the euphoria that followed the traumatic event remains unparalled.  I finally had my little girl, and my body did what it was supposed to do.  But, this post was not supposed to be about me...

Little Madeleine is quite a chatterbox.  She counts to ten and beyond, sings Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star as her big brother practices it on trombone - I have never seen or heard a cuter duet!  She also sings the alphabet and has added in the word "Ryan" as one of the letters.  (I find this precious as I added a "KH" to my alphabet at about the same age and then insisted my younger brother sing it the same way.)  She has also picked up the word "stupid" from Sponge Bob.  Of course she knows when to use it as well.  Today, for example, when she couldn't get her leggings on she threw them on the floor and said, "Stupid, stupid pants."  What can you do?

I will be turning my kitchen in a cupcake bakery next weekend and having the whole family over.  I am really looking forward to all the festivities, and I am glad she is turning two. Mostly, though, I am thankful to have so many wonderful memories already. 

Goats!!!

I can't really say why I love these little goats so much.  Maybe it's because they remind me of my childhood fascination with Hello Kitty.  Whatever the reason, I find it a bit funny that these are the only "kids" I will be adding to my family.

Mixing different prints and making a soft and safe toy is fun, and the pattern is really easy to make.  I purcahsed it from a seller on Etsy.  There is a bit of a learning curve to these for me because I have never free hand embroidered little faces like this, so please don't look too closely at them.  It's my first time stuffing goat arms and legs, too.

Halloween Bits

Halloween was so much fun this year.  I think the pictures speak for themselves!

Jennifer's Bag

My friend Jennifer asked me to make her a bag, and she picked out this fabric from Amy Butler.  It was a bit more challenging working with such a geometric print, but I am pleased with it (and I hope she is, too).