He’s Here!

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Laura

Welcome Mark Alton!

011 (800x533)

Born on January 3, 2013 at 10:23 pm.

030 (800x533)

He weighed 9 pounds, 4 ounces.

032 (800x533)

We are so grateful to be his parents.

038 (800x533)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

005 (800x533) (2)

Posted in Mark | 13 Comments

December Sewing: Changing Pad and Diapers for Ellie’s Doll

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Laura

OK fine, so I just can’t keep myself from sewing.  I did intend to stop sewing after I finished those flannel projects but when B2 hadn’t arrived and Christmas had come and gone, I got out my sewing machine again for one last project.  Ellie has been wanting to use B2’s diaper-changing stuff for her doll so I figured she should have her own accessories.

I made her a small changing pad identical in design to the ones we have for B2.  I also made two cloth diapers, of my own design.  The design still needs a lot of tweaking but this version was my third design modification and I didn’t have the patience to make any more versions.  So they’ll just have to work for now!

014 (533x800)

the inside of the changing pad with diaper #1

015 (533x800)The back of the changing pad with diaper #2

Yes, her baby is still bald.  She may never grow hair.  And of course, just today, I saw this design for a dolly diaper bag, which I just may attempt to sew for Ellie tomorrow if B2 hasn’t come yet! 🙂

(Of course, B2, just for the record, we’d prefer for you to come rather than for me to get that diaper bag sewn.  Just making sure you know that.)

Posted in baby, Ellie, sewing | 2 Comments

February through January Sewing: The Living Room Roman Shades

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Laura

Finally, finally, finally, I finished the living room shades! (I had to do something to keep myself from going crazy while waiting for B2.)  We’ve actually had them up and have been using them since the beginning of November but for some reason, I just never got around to fixing the cords so they would pull up and down easily and correctly.  Today I finally bought what I needed at Joann’s and ta da!  They’re done!

I made two this size:

010 (533x800)

plus one smaller one for the window in the door that goes out to our porch:

011 (533x800)

Here they are all together:

012 (800x533)

And here’s what one looks like when open:

013 (533x800)(plus a 40 and a half week belly shot if you look hard enough!)

Hooray for a [took forever but] completed project!

(In case you’re wondering, I just ran out of steam on the dining room shades.  I have the shades and the rod pockets sewn but got too big before I had time to crawl all over the floor to measure and pin on the pockets.  So hopefully, sometime this spring, I’ll be able to finish those.  And then, finally, every window on our main floor will be covered.  It will be about time – we have been married for 5 1/2 years after all! :))

Posted in baby, sewing | 11 Comments

She counts in Greek!

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Laura

Ellie still counts, “One, two, eight, mine, ten” when counting without help in English.  She sometimes adds in eleven, twelve, and eighteen for fun.  When we’re counting with her, she’ll count the whole way to ten but really doesn’t ever do it on her own.

Greek, on the other hand, is a different story.  She LOVES counting to ten in Greek and thinks it’s hilarious!  So, there you have it – a toddler who prefers to count in Greek! 🙂

In Greek, she actually counts accurately to “ten” every time with just some pronunciation mistakes.  I want to know if the pronunciation mistakes she makes are similar to what a Greek-speaking two-year-old would make.  For example, she says “lay-cah” instead of “theh-cah” for “ten” and I’m wondering if that’s a common Greek baby mistake or if it’s her English-first pronunciation interfering!  Just some geeky linguistic wonderings for you!

Posted in Ellie, movie | 3 Comments

For Some Baby News of the Less Interesting Kind

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Laura

Nik and I went to my 40-week midwife appointment yesterday.  All is well, baby is doing fine, and we’re just waiting for B2.  I did have an internal exam done but asked that I not be told the results.  I didn’t want to be told, “You’re four centimeters dilated!” and then still have to wait a week or more for the baby to come.  So we’re still in blissful ignorance of the specifics of that and are doing our best to wait patiently.

And the worst part of all this waiting?  (Prepare yourself for a little whining.)  Nik has to go back to work tomorrow, which means I’m actually going to have to take care of my child!  I’ve become thoroughly spoiled over the past week and a half of winter vacation.  I’ve slept in, taken naps when I want to, and generally been a deliciously lazy mom.  So back to the grindstone for me tomorrow.  Ellie  is going to go into “Baba-withdrawal” too I know.  She’s become thoroughly attached to him doing everything for and with her, to the extent that she doesn’t even pay attention to me anymore.  So we’ll both probably be a little whiny tomorrow, unless, of course, B2 decides to join us tonight.  We can always hope!

001 (533x800)

at 40 weeks

006 (800x533)

Posted in baby | 2 Comments

Lest the Blog Silence Be Interpreted as, “The Baby Has Come,”

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Laura

Let it be known that he or she has not.  I guess he or she just wanted a 2013 birthday.

Happy New Year!

Posted in baby | 4 Comments

Embracing the Nesting

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Laura

There’s no way the baby is ever going to come out with dirty couches right?  So as long as I’m vacuuming the living room to get rid of the Christmas tree needles, I might as well rotate the couch cushions and vacuum the inside of the couches while I’m at it.  Makes perfect sense, don’t you think?

034 (800x533)

In the interest of full disclosure, (and so you’re not overly impressed with my housekeeping skills), I don’t think I’ve EVER vacuumed them.  I guess it’s about time.

Posted in baby, cleaning | 5 Comments

Handmade Christmas 2012: Doll Carrier for Ellie

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Laura

The pattern for this doll carrier is in the same book as the doll pattern that I used to make Ellie’s doll.  I’ll be wearing our new baby a lot so I figured that Ellie might want to wear her baby too!

I love this bird print and it was fun to finally find the perfect project for it!  (I’ve used bits and pieces of it but never a large piece.)  I used coordinating solids in green, yellow, and blue for the lining, along with black corduroy for the exterior.

It’s a little bit big but hopefully that means she’ll be wearing her baby for a long time!

013 (533x800) 014 (533x800) 015 (800x533)

After opening this, Ellie immediately started calling it her “baby backpack” and also loaded it up with all sorts of other toys.  A big success! 🙂

038 - Copy (552x800)

Posted in Ellie, sewing | 6 Comments

December Sewing: Fun With Flannel

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Laura

For my last couple projects that I sewed before packing up my sewing machine, I made almost six dozen more cloth wipes for us and a baby blanket for one more friend who’s having a little girl.  That means I’ve made almost 12 dozen flannel wipes this fall and six (I think, I’ve lost track) flannel baby blankets, along with Ellie’s flannel doll bedding.  I’d say that’s enough flannel sewing to last me for awhile!

001 (800x533) 001 (800x691)

Posted in sewing | 5 Comments

Handmade Christmas 2012: Outdoor Fun

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Laura

For Nikki, Alex, and Luke, I made them presents to help enhance their fun times outdoors.  (Don’t worry – Andreas got an exercise-themed present too – just not handmade!)

For Nikki, a cushion to help make watching all those soccer games a little more comfortable (using this tutorial).

010 (800x533)

For Alex, a bicycle bucket/basket, using this tutorial.011 (800x533) 012 (800x533)

And for Luke, a water bottle holder, using this tutorial as my inspiration (although other than using her instructions for figuring out the measurements, I sewed it completely differently.)  Luke has a water bottle just like Ellie’s so hopefully, his will fit like hers! 🙂016 (533x800) 017 (533x800)My favorite part?  The frog on the bottom!

018 (533x800)Fun lining too!

Posted in family, sewing | 3 Comments