New baby blankets!

Recently I was commissioned to make some blankets for some new baby boys. This is exciting to me because I usually make stuff for girls (seeing as I have one and all). The backing/binding on both is baby corduroy...so soft.

And this a taggy blanket for my friend's 2 year old son.

 

And I recently decided to try out satin blanket binding (hot pink!)...so my guinea pig was Tatiana...because she really needed another blanket (sarcasm).

And I leave you on this beautiful Saturday with a preview of some fall photos I took of our baby girl today...

Wordless Wednesday

I realize it's "wordless," but two things..

1.) Side sleeper since 10/05/2010.

2.) This photo was taken at 9:00pm *happy sigh* :) ...Just last month I couldn't get her to go to bed until midnight - 1am. Now it's usually 10:30ish....but 9:00pm? Now that is something I have no words for... :)

Play time...what happened to my sleepy newborn!?

Babies are amazing. They go from limited mobility to not being able to sit still so quickly. While we're definitely still in the limited mobility category, Tatiana is starting to graduate out of her bouncer...pretty soon she's going to render it completely obsolete in her little world. Lucky for us there's a multitude of other "baby entertainers" (a.k.a. my arms need a break/wait let me throw this quick load of laundry in/the timer on the oven is going off). So we've had the play gym out for awhile (thanks to my great friend Heather for that wonderful piece of baby entertainment!) and this past weekend we tried out the jumperoo at Nana's house. Nana's house is fully stocked...crib, swing, walker, jumperoo, lots of books, tons of toys, etc... Lucky us, and lucky baby T!

Hey mom, watch this...I'm about to show you what a big girl I am, and how ridiculous this bouncer is...wait for it...wait for it...

And here I go...look at me try to sit up! Seriously...this girl attempts so many sit ups a day she should have rock hard abs by now!

The handy play gym.

 My girls.

And here's what happens when you play too hard...you pass out, toys in hands, as your parents stand above you and say "awwww..."

And the ultimate...the jumperoo! She only likes it for about 5 minutes at a time right now, but I think that's pretty good considering she's not even quite 3 1/2 months old yet.



Itty bitty feet barely touching the ground...and that's with the jumperoo on the lowest setting.

 

She was definitely grabbing for those toys!

"What do you want? I'm busy..."


And now...some pictures of my adorable family....

Everyone likes to cuddle in our house...

"HAH! I am so funny!"

I love this photo...she looks like such a smooshy little cupcake. Did I mention how much I love this girl!? :)

Fabulous Friday, Fabulous Fall

Fall is in full swing. It's beaaaautiful out! The other night I went for a walk, just Tatiana and I. Bjorn stayed home to stain the deck and the dogs hung out with him. It was a bit chilly and windy out, so I bundled T and out we went. I didn't see one other person out walking! Usually there are tons of people out jogging and walking their dogs in our neighborhood, especially at the park. It was so peaceful and beautiful. I love the contrast of a crisp blue sky against the colorful fall leaves, especially white birch trees with their bright yellow leaves. Since it was already about 6:30 at the time the moon was also starting to come out, it was big and full and beautiful in the blue sky.

Yesterday T and I went to breakfast with Nana (Bjorn's mom) and some other girls in the family. We met up with Mia, who is Bjorn's moms aunt. I never got to meet Bjorn's grandma (who would have been Tatiana's great grandma) so to be able to have his great aunt/his grandma's sister in our life is really a blessing. Mia is such a sweet lady, I don't think anyone could find one bad thing to say about her, unless you don't like sweet and loving people!

With Great Aunt Mia.

With Nana.

Hanging out in the Baby Bjorn carrier. I stood in front of the mirror with her in the carrier and she noticed herself, but mostly she was making eye contact with me in the mirror and smiling and cooing. :)

And a little photo shoot from the other day... Daddy was super helpful during it, he made Baby T explode with smiles.

I'm looking forward to a beautiful fall weekend with my little family...can't wait! :) Oh and because I have been severely neglecting the furry members of our family when it comes to blogging, here's a photo of them entertaining themselves the other night.

Happy Friday!

Opportunities Missed...

Photo of  Nancy Weston Levy, courtesy of Ted Sherarts ( http://sherarts.blogspot.com/ ), a wonderful professor I took many photography classes with. Check out his blog for some amazing photos.


I just found out tonight that someone who has had a profound impact on my life has passed away. I am so sad. I never knew I had an interest in art history until as an art major I was required to take a couple art history courses. Enter Nancy Weston Levy, or as we were all to call her, Dr. Weston (this was before she got remarried, and took on the last name Levy). I eagerly signed up for many art history courses (after taking a required course I discovered that art history and Dr. Weston were both amazing, and together were even better) and looked forward to every class even though the tests and papers could be murder. Tests in Dr. Weston's classes consisted of complete memorization...of several chapters in a text book...which could amount to memorizing 60+ art works, the title of each art work, the artists of each artwork, the date, the style (cubism, impressionism, etc...), and a paragraphs worth of why this piece of art fit into the style category it was placed in, as well as miscellaneous other information about the work and its artist. I can't tell you how many nights I spent in the basement of the library on campus furiously studying for one of Dr.Weston's tests...sometimes 8+ hours, staying as late as the library was open.

My very last semester before I graduated I took a class with Dr. Weston called The Holocaust and Art. This class definitely changed my life, I never have viewed life the same since. I learned how precious every life is, and what a miracle it is that we get to live each day God gives us. And now I have this complete miracle of life, our baby girl, Tatiana, and I am so lucky and blessed.

Tonight I am sad, and totally kicking myself. For years now I have thought "I should write Dr. Weston a letter and tell her what a great impact she had on my life and just update her on what I am up to now." Now that opportunity is no longer available to me and I am angry at myself. I have learned another life lesson... if you want to tell someone something, do it now, because you never know when it may be entirely too late. Dr. Weston also taught me (and many other students) other important things...how to be professional, courteous, timely, and a good respectable human being. Nancy Weston Levy, you will be VERY missed, but NEVER forgotten. I will always remember you very fondly...for I can not look at an art book, a painting at a museum, or pictures of ancient Rome without thinking of you. Dr. Weston, I hope you are having a fabulous time on the other side and enjoying a diet coke just like you did at every single class of yours I attended.

Wordless Wednesday

Halloween costume? CHECK.

Well Nana (Bjorn's mom) has finished making Tatiana's first ever Halloween costume. I will give you one hint:

And because our baby has a picture crazy mom, here's a few randoms for the day...

I busted out her highchair (we have a space saver version...because not everyone has a house that can accommodate oversize sofas, pool tables, king size poster beds, etc...) and she seems to like it. She makes me somewhat nervous in her bouncer since she can lift her head and legs up at the same time now. So this is a good solution if I need my hands free (you know...to actually make dinner, do laundry, etc...). And check her out holding onto her toys! SO proud. :)

May I introduce the cutest baby booties EVER. CHECK IT. Baby T is totally stylin' in these. I love them. They stay on over a pair of socks and leggings, but she still has some room to grow into them. And they were only $15 and are handmade! Of course they are from Etsy... check out TinyToesBaby on Etsy to get your own pair! I think they are pretty gender neutral, if I had a boy he'd be rockin' these too.

3 Months! Wait...wasn't I just pregnant yesterday?

Holy bananas...I have a 3 month old baby as of this past Saturday. Lets see what the cupcake has been up to now that she's reached the ripe old age of  93 days....Tatiana is...

- 12lbs, 2oz and 23.5 inches long ...at birth she was 8lbs 2oz, and 20.5 inches long. And oh man I am feeling the weight difference when I lug her around in her car seat!

- A side sleeper! This doesn't surprise me since her comfort position is being held on her side with her face against my (or whoevers) body. One day she just rolled on her side in her crib and I tried putting her back on her back several times and she'd just pop right back on her side. She seems to be able to comfort herself to sleep in this position really well too, so it's worked out great for bed time.

- Completely obsessed with trying to sit up. Anytime you lay her down on her changing pad, play gym, and even in her bouncer she starts lifting her head and legs at the same time. This means I now keep a super close eye on her when she's on the changing pad and in her bouncer.

- Totally against tummy time. She H A T E S it! Even if I put a pillow or the boppy under her so she's on an angle she gets quite upset.

- Very smiley, especially in the morning and when on her changing pad. She thinks a lot of things are funny, and I'm pretty sure she does a baby laugh, but no real discernible giggle quite yet.

- Too big for size 1 Huggies diapers, although size 1 Pampers are still fitting just fine. We're also using size 1-2 Huggies and will start the 1-2 Pampers soon.

- Getting good at holding onto and gripping things such as toys and links. If I put her in her highchair or bouncer with toys in reach she grabs them and holds onto them.

Well last Thursday we also found out she has a mild case of acid reflux. While I know all babies technically have a little bit of acid reflux the pediatrician meant more than just the normal. While we were at the doctor she of course spit up numerous times and when the doctor was holding her she said she noticed stuff come up her throat and then go back down a couple times. Since Baby T isn't overly fussy and can start solids next month the pediatrician didn't recommend any medication or changing her formula. But this would explain why she often screams at the bottle even when we know she's hungry, and also why she pretty much has to wear a bib all day long.

Here's some photos of our 3 month old girl...

And have I mentioned yet that I have a pretty good inclination that Tatiana is gonna be a Daddy's girl...

Wordless Wednesday

Oh apple orchard how I love thee...

So since I first found out I was pregnant I've dreamed of taking my baby to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch. That day arrived yesterday. Baby T was outfitted in her 'Cutest Pumpkin in the Patch' onesie from Baby Gap. This onesie has a strange history to me... When we found out we were pregnant the first time my mother in law bought this onesie in a size that would fit a baby due in May. But, then we had a miscarriage and my mother in law figured she should return it since a baby born that much later wouldn't fit in the size she bought come fall time.Once we miscarried my doctor suggested waiting two months before trying again. Well I don't listen very well and once I lost that baby all I wanted was...a BABY. So low and behold we were pregnant again very soon. Well my mother in law never got around to returning it and she gave it back to us... and guess what, it FITS Tatiana, so seeing her wear it is very bitter sweet... it's sad because I remember the miscarriage and what it was like to lose that baby, but also happy because look at this freaking A-DORABLE baby we now have!

The apple orchard was insanely busy, but we did manage to pick two decent pumpkins from the picked over pumpkin patch and buy some apples and other goodies...

 She was not happy being placed among the pumpkins.

The best face she would give for the camera.

Hanging out with Nana after the apple orchard.

P.S. The blog has a new name and look...I still need to update some things though. Oh and I know that in my older posts the pictures are now too large for this new format of blog...but I'm not going back to update any of that!