Born to ride

A couple weekends ago, Ellie made her first trip to Valpo. She was a better traveler than I expected. She slept the first half of the trip (2 hours)  and was somewhat entertain-able the second half. I worked pretty hard for the last 45 minutes or so, pulling out anything worthy of the title "safe enough" from my purse to give her to inspect.

While there, she met some family she had never seen before, other than in pictures. It was a great visit, as no one rushed up to her or forced her to be held by them.  A large crowd can definitely be overwhelming.  She did great.

We found this vintage beauty in my grandma's garage.  Ellie's many faces crack me up constantly.

 

Miss Ellie in her high chair, playing, while mama makes some dinner! 

 

 

 A new swim hat! It happens to perfectly match the outfit she had on when it was delivered! So cute! Her new swim diaper matches the hat. Little pink and green whales! 

 She loves to cuddle with mama!

 

On a non-Ellie note (which are few and far between as she is my world), I made a small wall quilt for my office. It is my first official quilt! I'm proud of it!

 The back.

Big helper!

Ellie was helping Gigi with diaper laundry today!

Birthday Gifts

Ellie's cousin turned 2 this month. Last time she visited, she loved the Colors Book I made for Ellie. So I decided to dedicate many late nights in my sewing room, and make some special birthday presents!

I started with adorable quilted fabric letters adapted from THIS tutorial over at Happy Together. I ordered up a charm pack in Ticklish by Me & My Sister Designs for Moda. I love how they turned out!

I knew the Colors book was a must considering how much she enjoyed Ellie's. Plus, she's a great age for learning colors! So it is similar to Ellie's. It's actually better, since I learned a lot in the make-it-up-as-you-go style of Ellie's. Many of the fabrics are the same since I had some left over, but all the trims were new and different.

Then I saw a picture online of a super cute fabric crown. Every birthday girl needs a tiara!!! So I ordered up some fabric, made a crown shaped template, and away I went! It was actually really easy and the fastest project I did. None of the pictures I had seen included a veil, and I felt like some pink chiffon on the back seemed very princessy. So I did it. I also ironed on an "L" for her name on the front.

Finally, I needed a little bag for the fabric letters. First I was thinking zippered pouch, then drawstring bag, then fabric basket. It just kept evolving in my mind. I settled on a little fabric basket and went into the room to sew it up. As I was rummaging through my fabric, I saw a ruffle fabric remnant I had purchased. SO CUTE! I new I had to use that. But it would never be strong enough to hold it's shape as a basket. At least not with the supplies I had on hand. So it changed again into a little purse. And I love it! Everyone I showed wanted one in "adult size!"

I hope she loves her gifts! They were very fun to make. Sewing for little girls is my favorite crafty activity!

Mama Saree

Little Miss Grump-Grump

 Grumpy Faces!

 Oh I love that last one!

Mama Saree

6 Months Old!

My little bitty baby is already half way to a year! Where does the time go? At her 6 month check-up, she weighed in at 14 pounds, 11 ounces! She also took her shots like a champ this time. She cried, but it was only for a very, very short time. She even removed one of her pink camo band-aids the next day! She rolls both ways, but still hates, hates, hates being on her tummy.

I still enjoy the cloth diapers. Every Thursday (trash day) morning, I drive by a house that has a GIANT pampers box on the curb. That's a lot of diapers. And a lot of money. And a lot of trash that'll still be around in 100 years.

We tried some rice cereal at 4 months and 5 months, and both times, after 4 days, she decided she was having none of that. So we moved on. Last week I made her some sweet potatoes (I'm surprised there were any left for her to try, because they were delicious and I almost couldn't stop eating them!). It was a losing battle trying to get her to eat them. I read that it takes babies 15-25 times of trying a food before they truly develop a like or a dislike. I'm pretty sure it did not take Ellie that long. This week, I made her some carrots. Compared to the sweet potatoes, she loved them! Basically, she was opening her mouth enough to let them in. She only ate maybe half an ounce. I think it is fun to steam the foods, put them in my food processor, and spread them in the little baby food ice cube trays for freezing. The food tastes so fresh and REAL! I personally do not think jarred baby food tastes like the real deal. Homemade is the way to go for our family.

We had Ellie's 6 month pictures taken last night. She was super grumpy and unusually tired (of course), so we didn't get very many smiles. Here are the favorites!

 It is so fun watching her learn and discover new things/sounds/body parts! Haha! She is definitely getting her bottom teeth in. They'll make for some extra-adorable pictures, if she ever lets us see them!

I'll work on posting some of her grumpy face pictures!

That's all for now!
Mama Saree