sewn, sewing, will sew

I feel like a brand new woman, thanks to Charlotte’s new schedule...props to the mother-in-law again!  I now suddenly have times during the day to get some stuff done.  Now I understand that this time should be used wisely by cleaning, organizing, laundering, etc. But I am also bound to use at least one nap a day for creative purposes.  If I play my cards right and use my time wisely I think this is an attainable goal.  I have got some creative juices flowing since the birth of the cutest little girl ever, but much of my time has just been dreaming about what I could do.  So the following blog post is dedicated to what I have done, what I am working on and what I plan to get finished this summer. sewn 

I have had some cute little projects this past spring including Benjamin’s Bunnies, Charlotte’s Derby Bonnet and some really great monthly onsies (I know that these have not been sewn, but have been created by my design loving husband).

sewing

I currently have one project in the works and that is the beach quilt. It needs to be complete by mid-july, ahhh!  I really need to get working on it, I am a third finished and have a good ways to go.  The problem is all these cute, fun easy projects keep getting in the way!  Here are some of my favorite blocks that I have made so far!

will sew

Even though I have a load to do on the beach quilt I am still always in the market for a good project or two, besides promising Jay the next quilt that will be made after I finish the beach quilt will be for him.

Wish me luck, hopefully our newly adopted schedule can really enable me to get some sewing done!  I know once school starts back up in the fall I will not be getting anything finished! 

-melissa

grandma comes for a visit!

I do not know who had more fun or who teared up the most when it was time for Grandma to leave!  We had such a great time with Grandma this week!  It was great timing for her to come in so many ways.  First I was coming off of a pretty bad cold when Jenanne got here and Charlotte was unusually fussy- what a horrible combination!  But Jenanne quickly figured us all out!  I think she was in town for about fifteen minutes and she had decided that Charlotte was having a hard time burping, was uncomfortable and quickly solved the problem with some heavy pounding and gas drops...she figured all of this out by staring at me holding Charlotte for just a few minutes.  I was thoroughly impressed!

While Grandma was here she also helped us get on a schedule that involved Charlotte sleeping in her, wait for it..........crib during the day!  What a revolutionary idea!  She is now taking about four naps a day and staying down in her crib for about 45-60 minutes.  What a crazy difference it makes to have just that much free time during the day!

Besides some really hard work on Jenanne’s part, we also had some great fun.  We started every day with a great invigorating walk, followed by endless giggles from both grandma and the little girl, we had some great talks and ate like queens! 

I know that the time that she spent with us was enjoyed by everyone.  It was great to see Jenanne with the grandbaby that she has been praying for for years!  It is just the beginning of a very sweet relationship!  It was a wonderful bonding time for all three of us girls!  Jenanne’s help was priceless and her love was  immeasurable!  Thanks Grandma for your great visit!

-melissa

out of the blue we are finished with month two!

Wow! How two months can fly by!  Charlotte is getting older and it seems she changes a little every day.  Her budding personality keeps us constantly entertained.  Here are some of our favorite things about her that we are seeing as she heads into her third month from her two most adoring fans!

As Charlotte turns two months there is one thing in particular that just melts my heart.  It is definitely my favorite quality of hers for this time in her life.  Whenever I go up to feed her during the night no matter the time, midnight/two/four in the morning she always greets me with a huge open mouth gummy smile.  Sometimes it may take me a little too long to pull myself out of bed and grab a sweatshirt before heading upstairs, but no matter how long it has taken me or how upset she gets as soon as she sees me she flashes me that ridiculous smile.  It is so silly and so sweet at the same time.  It is just the thing I often need in the wee hours of the morning!  I know that/hope that this smile will change with time (I can not imagine her as a teenager or adult with that huge open mouth smile) but I am going to enjoy it while we have it.  I do not think there is one other smile on this planet that can effect me the way that her smile can.  Maybe it is just because she is mine, or maybe because she is the prettiest baby in the world!

-melissa

Two months old. It’s still hard to believe that I have shoes, books, habits, jars of salsa, etc. that have existed a lot longer than Charlotte has, so what’s my favorite part about Charlotte so far? I’d love to tell you. Probably about a month into Charlotte’s life I asked Melissa about me bottle feeding Charlotte her last meal of the day before bed. With Melissa breastfeeding I don’t get to feed Charlotte. (If you can’t understand why, you aren’t old enough to read this blog). I have always been more of a night owl than Melissa, so it works out. I go up to feed Charlotte. Melissa pumps. (Once again, if you don’t know what that means, I’m sorry). By the time I feed her, get her into her straight jacket sack so she can attain multiple hours of sleeping, Melissa is usually in bed. So what does all of that have to do with my favorite thing about Charlotte so far. Well feeding her is great, but what I really love is what she does after she’s done eating and I’m rocking her to sleep.

Most evenings she doesn’t need much rocking so I find myself just staring at her. The same way you look at a great piece of art, or like the first time you go the top of a tall building or an eiffel tower at a mid-west theme park and there’s just too much to take in, so much to look at and discover. I could stare at her for hours...

The best part and when I know I can put her in her crib is when she starts smiling in her sleep. I’m sure Charlotte is not the first baby to do this and before you say it’s gas, I assure you, you know for sure when Charlotte has gas because her farts are louder than mine...so it’s not gas. Here’s my take on the whole thing. In the morning when she wakes up or when we finally wake her up, she is all smiles and I can’t help but think that at night when she’s smiling she’s thinking about me or Melissa or milk or something that made her laugh that day.

Now, it’s also not uncommon for her eyes to roll back into her head when I’m rocking her and through the small slits all I can see is the whites of her eyes and its kind of creepy. Obviously she’s in REM sleep and she’s “mentally digesting” all of her experiences from the day. I get that. But when she smiles at night as I’m rocking her it makes my soul smile, if that makes sense? She begins and finishes each day with a smile on her face. Its just one of the lessons I’m learning from her. So before you fall asleep tonight smile and reflect. Life is short. Life is good. So takes Charlotte’s advice and smile because all is well!

-jay

derby, dedication and mothers day

We had a busy weekend; Kentucky Derby, Baby Dedication at A10 and Mother’s Day. Jay and Charlotte, ready for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday.  Charlotte sporting her handmade derby hat.  This is a great reversible bonnet pattern from a blog I read, Made by Rae.

Part of my wonderful breakfast for mother’s day.  Yummy mom pancakes and some surprises from Jay including Charlotte in her I heart mommy onesie.

We had baby dedication at A10, Charlotte slept like a champ through the whole service including when she was up on stage.  I was very thankful that we made it through the service with some grace in front of the whole church!  Her verse that she was dedicated with was: Pslam 139:14 

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

After church we went to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Sette. It was fantastic, we sat outside, it was a gorgeous day and Charlotte slept the whole time!

I also had my first glass of wine in over a year...

followed by fantastic fried mozzarella and a greek salad with salmon that I dug into before I took a picture!

At lunch, Charlotte gave me her mother’s day present.  I think she did really well, but I am pretty sure Jay helped her pick it out!

It was a great first mother’s day, full of surprises and time spent with my two favorite people!  Thanks Jay for such a memorable day!

-melissa