A few of our favorite things...

I have definitely been a little behind in posting lately!  With a Christmas Market behind, a little boy who crawls faster every day, I sent off my last Etsy order yesterday, trying to get Christmas together for our little family, I haven't had much time to do things like blog posts, or if I do have the time, I just want to sit still for a few minutes!  Last week was a crazy one too!  I realized that within one week, N and I had 6 performances, 4 rehearsals, 6 church services, and I'm sure a few other things - which is very normal for us at holiday time, but this is the first time we have gone through all of that with a baby!

So, here are some of our favorite things:

Chewing on celery with Daddy

Discovering ornaments for the first time!

This is one of Mama's favorites:

That little sliver of light that comes through in the mornings.

Mama's favorite 'green' cleaner:

Hehe!  I couldn't resist!  This is a recipe for my favorite all purpose cleaner...

(all measurements are approximate - I don't measure mine, and it works fine every time!)

1/4 cup vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon borax (optional)

a dash of dish soap

2 cups of hot water

A few drops of tea tree oil (optional)

(this just smells nice, and has disinfectant properties - we had it for the diaper wipe solution that we use for H's cloth wipes)

Put all ingredients in a spray bottle, and happy cleaning! (I just pour everything in a squirt bottle - unmeasured - and fill the rest with hot water)

I love using this as it is - 'green,' I don't have to worry about chemicals if I use it around H, and it does a much better job than other cleaners!  I use this to clean the counter tops, tables, and even mop the floor with it!  There were some spots on our OLD kitchen floor that never would come up, and I put a little of this on it, and the spots came right off!

Because cooking/doing the dishes/etc has become difficult due to a baby who likes to try to get into the dishwasher, pull things out of cabinets, and use drawer nobs as teethers, I wanted something in the kitchen that he could play with.  I eventually want to make a set of alphabet letters for the fridge, but for now, we have a jungle!

My mama (H's SweetHart) drew these little monkeys for H as a little artwork for his room, but I took them and scanned them, printed them on some fabric paper, and sewed them together with a little batting and felt, and voila!  A jungle!  The tree and leaves are made out of felt and two layers of batting, the critters (5 monkeys, two owls, a mama opossum and her babies, and two snails) all have one layer of batting and felt on the backs.  They all have between one and four magnets (depending on their size) sewn into them (no parts to come off and become a choking hazard).

 

H likes to take them off, bring them to Leonard, chew on them, and look at them.  For now, this is enough, but I hope that one day he will actually play with them and create stories.  Mama also sent me some sheep, deer, and a camel that I think will be used in a forest in the future....

Other things Mama loves:

 

squeezable baby cheeks, arms and legs, N, seeing Leonard sleeping on the bed 23 hours of the day, having home-made bread (I'm going to make a sour-dough starter today), egg-nog ice cream with our ice cream maker, Christmas trees, making things, tutorials on the internet, the fact that N will be off work for two whole weeks!!!

How to treat a lady:

Today Isabella came over to play with H and I so I thought I would take a minute to teach him a few valuable lessons.  It's never too early, right?

So:  How to treat a lady:

 Always offer plenty of foot rubs.

Dote on her often!

Know the importance of holding hands.

And, most importantly, know when to put on your camouflage pajamas

and HIDE!!!!

A new craft.... (do I have a crafting problem?)

Teeth!

I love the sweet style and look of Waldorf dolls, and I had made a simple star baby in the Waldorf style a few months ago, and was a little wary of trying to make a full doll. But, after finishing making all of the gear for an upcoming festival, I decided to jump right in! They are not as difficult as I thought, though there is a lot of manipulating that takes place, and a certain amount of letting the doll be what it will be. So, after all of that and a few sore fingers later (there is a lot of hand stitching involved) I ended up with these two little boys! I think they turned out pretty cute! I learned a few new techniques too!

Don't you wish you had hair like this???

Next task is to make some cute clothes to cover them! I was tempted to call title this post "Faux-Dorf's" because they use all synthetic materials instead of the natural wool/bamboo/cotton that they are supposed to be made with. Nathan wouldn't let me do that though.... I thought it was clever though!


A little cuteness to leave you with:


Our laundry machine is out back behind our house, I was in the shower and N was going to go get the fluff (cloth diapers) from the dryer. He came in and showed me this!!! It was so cute that I made him take a picture. Aren't you glad?

My little helper!

H has been such a big helper lately!!! He has helped me pick out music for the church choir that I direct. It has been so much nicer now that he can sit up pretty well by himself. I can plop him down and give him a toy (or a music catalog) and he will be happily occupied for a few minutes! But, then I don't get much done because he is soooo cute that I just simply must pick him up and snuggle him!

Could you resist this smile?

I have joined up with the local MOPS group. The first meeting was yesterday, and I think I will enjoy it. There was a lot of sitting and chatting/waiting, and I would enjoy a little more structure. But - it is a good chance for me to socialize and meet other mothers, and a good chance for H to begin to socialize a little. So, we'll see!
H went to Mopettes (like a church nursery) and the sweet grandmother that was in the baby room said that he is so 'squeezable.' Chubby cheeks, arms, legs - he is definitely oh so squeezable and snuggly!!!

An etsy order ready to go from my shop.

An upcoming project that I am very excited about!
I have been sewing so much lately that it will be nice to switch to crocheting for awhile!

My boys, craft update and labor day

My boys!!!

(they all look happy...

...except Leonard)

This is the finished project from the picture I posted the other day!

A "My body" book - the kind where it teaches babies where their body parts are.  But, this one, instead of having pictures of other babies has all pictures of H's body!!!  It is a soft accordion book.  You can see more pictures of it in my Etsy shop!!!

 

Checking out Grandpa Harry on Labor Day

 

Zucchini, anyone????

Being fed by GrandMissy

Leonard's Words of Wisdom

 

When you see a need - fulfill it!

bookmark?

  

and a picture of an upcoming project! 
I will post pictures of the finished project in a few days!

Hoo's that?

      

Three little owls that I enjoyed making from some baby socks.  They were surprisingly easy, and tremendously fun!  They hang from the handle on H's car seat.  He loves to bat at them with his hands, occasionally getting one into his mouth!

The cutest owl of all:

We have a lot of plain white onesies, and this was was just begging to have an owl on it.  This is one of my favorite simple things to do.  They also make quick, easy, and inexpensive gifts for babies!

What is that???

What does my child have on his head??? It is my version of a Moboleez - basically a wide brimmed sun hat, intended for nursing. So, instead of you wearing a nursing cover or shawl, your baby wears this hat and the brim covers you. I made this one (it was very easy to make once I got the measurements right) and he actually handles it better than he does a nursing cover (which he is always trying to grab). The only thing I haven't figured out is how to get myself ready to nurse. Once I am all un-hooked and ready, I can latch him on and he nurses fine, but how do I cover myself while getting un-hooked???

I am still not entirely comfortable nursing in public - even totally covered - but there are some people who have it down!!! While we were in CA, I saw many people nursing on the street with no cover - while I was inside in the corner of a restaurant with a nursing cover and my mother strategically placed to give cover and privacy. I just like to be in the comfort of my own home, or among family while nursing.

Have you seen Michelle Duggar nursing on TV? She is always modestly covered, the baby is never waving it's arm around, and she always looks comfortable and natural. Teaching the kids - nursing, reading at a local school - nursing, shopping - nursing. Maybe I will become this efficient and comfortable with our next child...

Full and happy!!!

Excuse this post - I don't intend to talk about this all the time, I just marvel at how some women are totally comfortable nursing covered and uncovered in public. I love being able to provide my baby with the nutrients he needs, I feel strong that my body can continue to support his life outside the womb, I love the closeness and attachment that I feel to him because of the nursing relationship, but I just am not comfortable doing it in public. But, maybe this hat will be the answer!!!

Nanny's house

I have many memories of my grandmother, Nanny's home. It has always been one of my favorite places. It has a wonderful smell - a smell that would always be on packages that came from her house - the smell of clean laundry, lavender, something cooking and love. Many summer vacations were spent there, and since coming here for school six years ago - every Sunday afternoon has been spent there as well.


At the kitchen table, many meals with family, playing spoons with the cousins, sitting in Gary's or Daddy's seat, Papa eating cereal with a fork, introducing Nathan to Nanny and my parents, "Taco Sunday's," and now playing with H.

I was trying to capture a smile -
but I got this....
is he trying to tell us what he thinks of pictures?

In the backyard, playing, playing, playing, running, the old shed, swinging with Nanny, watching out for wasps, family pictures after Papa's funeral, family pictures after my Junior and Senior recitals....
H is wearing a Feldman Brothers outfit that Nathan's school gave us. I wanted to make sure he got to wear it before he outgrew it, and Nanny's is the perfect place for pictures!
I think Nathan missed the memo about wearing blue and white today....

Leonard the Watch-Cat

We went to visit Nathan's parents today, and we brought both Leonard and Harrison. They still live in the home that Nathan grew up in, so it was fun to bring H there.
Leonard, on the other hand, was very nervous. He 'meowed' the whole way there and then kept trying to climb under the couch. Once he found a window that he could look out of - he felt a lot better!


But, when we came home, H was sleeping in the swing and I looked around the corner to find this:
He stayed there for a few minutes too, like he was trying to make sure that we didn't try to do anything like this morning's adventure again!

Well...

When do you decide that your baby just won't take a bottle?

Do you just accept it?
Or keep trying?