crafting : bibs

 

Sew I have this new hobby...

Well, not that new.  I challenged myself this summer to learn how to sew.  I was inspired by a bib I purchased at a little local store here... In order to make myself learn, I challenged myself to make as many as I could before a collaborative yard sale so I could try to sell some... 

I ended up making about 12 or so... and sold a grand total of 0.  The day of the yard sale, it was a yucky post-rain mess, and we didn't really advertise that there would be kids stuff there because we weren't sure who all would bring how much.  Oh well, I have had several friends have kids this past year.  

Sew inside out first with a decent margin, leaving a gap to later flip it correctly.  Cut triangles out of the curved areas and slits in the neck area so that the bulky felt can lay flat once you flip it.  Then sew a close edge to complete it.  Add a button hole and hand sew your button.

So this is my new go-to baby present.  Because like I have said before, in those early months, you just can't have enough bibs.

This week alone we have a boy almost ready to be born into our small group, and a girl coming in March to another resident couple.  The wolves were left over from my last sewing extravaganza, the other 3 I used up parts of about 3 morning naps to complete.  So much fun to be able to give these to friends!

Generally, I use felt as a structural/sort of liquid barrier from the front.  And the front is whatever cotton print I find in the fat-quarters or clearance section of various craft departments.  I try to stick to colorful prints that won't show baby food stains so terribly.  And I always prewash before I craft so that they don't shrink up after I hand them out.

As for the button closure, that was the cheapest option I could figure out without having to buy any special hardware.  I originally wanted to do magnets but those are ridiculously expensive.  And I could not be happier with how the button functions and looks.  It is super easy for parents to fasten, but secure enough that baby can't just rip it off.

Myles never complained about his...  Unfortunately he almost completely stopped wearing 

bibs right after I learned how to make them!  But he was a pretty good model for me anyway.

I love just having this to do on occasion to take care of my DIY cravings in these long days of residency.  It is a little hard to find enough time to do anything bigger like build furniture or paint a room.  Getting to do this to love on our friends is a major bonus, and making myself learn how to sew is so so so fantastic.  I have since managed to make my own pillow sham for the couch, a small curtain for the kitchen window, and a crib rail protector when Myles started chewing the crap out of his.  What have you been crafting lately?

I'm linking up at this crafting Blog Party!

Charleston

Kyle and I have had 3 quick trips to Charleston in the past 2 years.  Now, granted, they have all been in the winterish time.  But I have to say, it just is not my favorite place.  Bad weather aside... it just isn't the place to go with Kyle.  I wouldn't mind going to the historical places, touring a plantation or something; Kyle not so much.  It definitely isn't the greatest place to take a baby.  Maybe a girl's trip with my mom.  

But when your husband's residency program doesn't have a transplant team, he has to go to the nearest in-state teaching hospital for the experience.  For Kyle, that is Charleston.  So off we went.  Myles did pretty darn great in the car.  It was a 4 hour drive including stops.  He took a couple of naps and I had snacks and toys at the ready to pass back to him.  When all else failed, the kiddy music got turned on.  Works every time.

Our first afternoon there, we met a friend for lunch while Kyle was sleeping (he was coming off of a night shift).  That night we headed to a brewery I had wanted to go see.  The second trip that we made to Charleston was for an interview.  This was the only interview where spouses were NOT invited to the resident dinner (first of many things that put them towards the bottom of our list).  Thats ok.  I bought a beer in the hotel lobby and read a book.  That beer was from a local brewery called Westbrook.  It was very very interesting.  White Thai.  Try it.  So since it was so close, I really wanted to check it out since we had nothing else to do.  Kyle tried their Dry Irish Stout (very much like Guinness) and I got the Gose (a salty sour wheat beer- extremely interesting).

Sleeping arrangements were a little weird.  The hotel had Kyle in a tiny corner room which left us putting the pack-n-play right next to the door so that Myles couldn't see us when we turned off the lights.  If he could have seen us, he never would have gone to sleep.  

Kyle had Saturday off, and thanks to a recommendation, we decided to do the South Carolina Aquarium.  It didn't disappoint.  Myles really did look at some of the exhibits.  We managed to get some pretty good pictures out of it.  

Afterward we drove around forever trying to find somewhere to eat.  This is a frustrating part about Charleston and a baby.  Everyone is hungry and a lot of the restaurants that aren't in a sketchy part of town are on a one way street with parking only allowed on one side of the street.  And everyone is trying to go where you want to go.  We eventually found a brunch place a little further away that had one parking spot left.  It was amazing.  Thank you Hominy Grill.

We spent a good amount of time in the hotel room trying to get Myles to nap.  It didn't really happen much, but it was good to just have some family time alone.  Kyle had to head back to work early Sunday morning so Myles and I got on the road shortly after.  It was a good trip even if it was when the Polar Vortex decided to pay its visit.

myles oliver : monthbymonth 10

So I'm almost a week into his 10th month of life... it was a busy weekend.  I've had recuperating to do! And some work to get ready for our next round of visitors!  And more work to maybe, possibly, start getting photos for some roombyrooms.  I haven't forgotten... just had some last minute changes that I wasn't planning on in a lot of areas.  All good.  Enough about me.

Myles Oliver.  Last Saturday (the 13th) you turned 10 months old.  The past month has been full.  Basically, the day after you turned 9 months old, you had your first tooth break through.  On top.  A few days later, another.  A couple weeks later, your bottom two started in... you now have 4 teeth that have broken through... but you can really only see the top two and the tip of one.  Teething hasn't been too bad; the top were definitely worse than the bottom have been, and even then, still not bad with Tylenol.   I'm afraid dear son that you are going to have teeth like your mom.  I'm so sorry.

Midway through the month, you had your first haircut.  Mommy was overdue for one and so I figured I would get your's cut while we were there.  Charla from the church nursery was happy to do it for us.  She was so excited, and you were thrilled to get to see her!  You were a bit wiggly but Charla is pretty good at chasing you little guys in her chair.  She mostly just evened things up and got rid of the mohawk bangs.  

We managed to make it to all of your dad's flag football games this month.  You liked crawling around out there even though it was ridiculously hot most of the time.  Sometimes other babies made it out there with us.  Other times there was usually a resident's dog to keep you company.

You are so big.  You are pretty well into 9 month clothes and can fit in some 12 month stuff if I want you to.  You are still such a ham; making us laugh all the time.  You still army crawl everywhere but have shown us that you are capable of normal crawling... its just faster on hardwood floors not to.  Cruising is done without a pause and you are having fewer head-bumps.  You are doing assisted walking; sometimes with only one hand.  If we try to let go you immediately sit down.

note to self : grab the wipes before you hand the 

popsicle over to the baby.

Still eating up a storm.  I'm amazed how much fits in that little belly.  An entire banana plus your normal oatmeal for breakfast??!!  You eat everything but are particularly fond of blueberries and goldfish crackers.  You LOVE yogurt and cheese but ever since you got some half-n-half all over your face, I have decided that you are allergic/sensitive to dairy too... it seems to only be a skin thing since nothing bad happens intestinally after you eat it but I figure I would be a bad parent to keep letting you eat it all the same.  I just have to eat my yogurt while you nap now.  Thanks to Anne, I ended up ordering a set of popsicle molds but have only busted them out the one time since I didn't think through using a vibrantly colored food pouch to make them.  It  did make for a great photo op though. You are pretty good at feeding yourself most things and are busting out the pincer grasp on the daily.  Palming some things into your mouth is still more efficient though. 

You are obviously focusing much more on your motor skills than anything else.  Still only "babababababababa" coming out of that adorable mouth... sometimes "ba ba boo".  You still love people; attention from strangers makes long grocery trips possible and you love putting on your "shy" act for them.  You also fake cough when anyone around you coughs.  Its pretty funny.  Oh, and though he still won't let you touch him, you are developing a relationship with Remi the cat.  He has bouts of "crying" and you noticed it and have started "meowing" every time you see him now.  

As mentioned in my last post, your uncle came to visit and we had a blast.  He is a fantastic uncle to you.  He focused on your ability to give very wet open-mouthed kisses and took that from the very occasional level to the I love giving them to everyone all the time level.  He also taught you how to "dance".  You had occasionally waved your arm to the beat but now you twerk bounce for a hamburger birthday card song of your dad's and to Usher's Cheerios commercial.  We just have to be sure you aren't leaning over the coffee table for this because you have now hit your chin and teeth several times.

give monkey kiss 

Bedtime is still mostly 7pm.  You had about a week of wanting to be awake at 6am but have since gone back to 7am and even slept in a few times until almost 8!  You still have two good naps but they are further apart now, so I have a much nicer slot of time to get out of the house without interfering with them than I used to.

you still prefer random junk to toys any day.

Otherwise, it is your goal to go everywhere you aren't supposed to (bathrooms) and do everything you aren't supposed to do.  Taking everything off the table with a flippant toss over your shoulder is a particular joy, as well as emptying every drawer you can pull open.  You also want to eat everything.  I have fished out a lot of junk from your mouth that I never realized was hiding under our furniture in the past couple of weeks, and have found out that you seem to think the chalk drawer in the coffee table (its a chalkboard!) is your own personal snack box.  You are even perfecting the mischievous looks and giggles to go with it.

Handfull. 

myles oliver : monthbymonth 9

you are getting to be impossible to photograph each month.

I'm not sorry it has taken so long to write this... I really need to start writing things down to remember what happened in which month.  Because the way I do these... the 13th of the month ends what I can write about... and I'm late... but a lot of things have happened since the 13th.  After vacation though I tried to fit in a million social events and naps were thrown off and exhaustion ensued so here we are with me awake late on a Sunday night trying to get this finished almost a week into your 9th month of life.

I drove your dad insane while we were on vacation with comments about how you had to be 20 pounds by now since you feel so gosh darn heavy lately.  Much to his delight, I was wrong.  At your 9 month checkup (no shots this time yay!) you weighed 18 pounds 14 oz and were 29 1/4 in long.  So still a little bit of a light weight and soon to outgrow your infant car seat based on height alone. 

You were really in an awkward stage this month.  Even though you are getting to be too heavy to easily carry in the infant car seat, we still love that you fit in it because you handle restaurants and shopping a lot better when you are confined to it.  While you can safely sit in a high chair or the shopping cart, with the freedom and closer proximity to your parents, you are a little more whiney wanting to be held.  

You had your first fever inducing sickness the week before vacation.  I guess I started it.  I had some drainage and felt a little off for a couple of days and then you woke up on Sunday before church feeling warm and super snotty.  We stayed home and a good thing.  You had a fever until Wednesday.  Nothing too concerning, just your first really bad cold.  The worst was the snot because I had to use the bulb so that you could breath at night but you really really hated it.  Otherwise, extra snuggles and Tylenol were your only change to the day.  You kept chasing the cats at every opportunity.

During vacation, you figured out how to pull up on things.  You have since mastered this skill and are cruising all over everything.  I really should get things off of the tables.  No more taking my eyes off of you for even a second.  You can no longer be trusted!  

You are so wiggly.  Diaper changes have to be made with musical toys for you to hold.  If you don't have one (or something equally loud to squish) then you spend the entire time trying to flip over and jump off the table.  Which is partially our fault... we let you go off the couch head first all of the time (while we hold your ankles).  You just love it so much.

one of the only pics of you guys this month since you are scared of your 

friend most of the time.

You are still sensitive to loud noises that you aren't the one making.  Eliza is a loud little thing so a lot of your play dates are spent with you in my lap, grabbing my arm, or crying.  If she (or any other kid) is quiet then you are fantastic and spend the time "sharing" and trying to grab their hands/hair/feet/faces.

my former coworker and friend stopped through 

town on her way back to TN from ATL!

You are also really clingy.  It is much harder to get things done without you freaking out.  I mostly have to do everything during your nap times now.  I used to be able to put you in a jumper and you would entertain yourself by gleefully jumping for a long while.  Now that you are able to cruise, you like the freedom and you almost always cry when I try to put you in those.  Sometimes if you can't see me then I can get away with doing something really quick but that is mostly wishful thinking.

Ever since our trip you hate being in the car.  I don't know if it is really because you had enough of the car, I have had you way too much on the go, or if it is purely because you are teething.  On top.  You would be weird and get top teeth before bottoms like normal people.  Either way; you whine all the time in the car now.  Unless you are jabbering (only bahbahbah, you flat out refuse to say dada.. in fact you almost always blow raspberries when we try to get you to) or you are making your sweet singsongy soprano noises.  You make those noises on your own, in response to us making them, in response to your dad whistling, and in response to whistling on the radio.  

You are so awesome.  Even when you are driving me insane!

vacation vacation VACATION

I made Kyle promise that our first vacation of 2nd year would be a beach trip for just the 3 of us since all 4 of his vacations last year were spent with family/having a baby.  And he kept that promise.  :)  Of course I did all of the research and planning and booking.  I would do it even if he wasn't a resident.  Its my thing.  So I chose Hilton Head Island for its price (compared to Charleston) and relatively close proximity to us (since Myles has never been in the car longer than 2 hours... even less since getting out of that newborn sleeping phase).

daddy gave standing lessons on the beach and proper falling technique lessons in
the condo. something I am extremely grateful for now that we are home.

Myles had a play date evening with Eliza while Kyle and I had a date to see Guardians of the Galaxy the Friday before we left.  We knew we wanted to get a date in before we left for the week since no one would be there to relieve us.  The movie did not disappoint.  At all.  I laughed the whole time.

the one hour of the whole week that he would wear a hat.  

We packed up, went to church, and got on the road Sunday.  The drive without stops was 4 hours, 4 1/2-5 with stops.  We got to our condo in HHI around 5pm and then we headed to the grocery to get a few things for meals that week.  Myles was a real trooper.  We couldn't have asked for a better traveler.

I knew our condo wasn't going to be the Ritz or anything; it was obvious from the online listing that the decor hadn't been updated in a while but we weren't looking for luxury, just a short walk to the beach and pool.  Both of which this delivered.  I was surprised though to find out that the mattresses were the oldest things in the condo.  There went my plan of great sleep while away from the cats.  But I would say that if a crappy mattress is the worst part of the trip, then we were doing pretty good.  Myles slept like a champ in the provided pack-n-play the whole week.

The complex that we were staying at was surrounded by nature preserve so it was a really "natural" beach.  Not much white sand, and it was really flat so low tide was really far out.  There were also little fiddler crabs EVERYWHERE!!!  They were so funny to watch run from us when we walked at low tide.

yup all those dots are crabs

We never felt like we could stay on the beach very long since it was so miserably hot when it wasn't raining so we ventured out quite a bit to look around the island.  We did a little shopping, a little fudge sampling, a little wine tasting, and a lot of driving.  We tried to make it fun for Myles and get out of the car quite often.  Thankfully we found some swings!

We ate out at least once a day and had a few "just ok" meals and some really good ones.  Kyle and I are opposites when it comes to the beach.  I LOVE seafood and want as much of it as I can get while we are gone; he is fine with some fish, but would rather get normal food.

I LOVE the beach and all it entails (sand, sun, smell of the salt water, sound of the waves) ; he hates sand (something he confessed in the middle of the week...apparently I still don't know my husband!) so a baby covered in wet sand that can't just be brushed off is his worst nightmare.  He was a great sport though.

All in all, we had a great time as a family of 3.  We both really needed to get away.  HHI might not be my all time favorite vacation spot but it didn't disappoint either.  And obviously, Myles loved everything about the trip as well.  Except for the extra long ride back because of all the traffic we ran into.

It definitely would have been nice to have had a stay-cation and had Kyle help me do some projects around the house or let me run out and browse my favorite stores while he watched Myles, but I can not emphasize enough how much we needed to get away.  I think it really helped Kyle get to know Myles better.  I didn't realize how much of his schedule/abilities Kyle didn't know about until this trip but I guess its pretty normal with Kyle only seeing him for a few hours a day during the week.  Kyle had no idea that I froze homemade baby food and so was confused by the colorful stuff in the ice cube trays in the freezer... as he put it "you go into the kitchen and magic things happen and I feed him what you bring me".  Thats right good sir; I work magic.  It was definitely good for all of us. Even if Myles will never remember it.  Thank goodness for photos!

myles oliver : monthbymonth 8

No matter what we did while trying to take the picture, you just were not a happy camper... This was the best I could do this time :/.  You did smile in one.... with your feet up in the air... which defeats the purpose of this monthly picture :-P.

Myles Oliver you turned 8 months old on Sunday.  You are such a stinker.  You have mastered crawling on your belly.  You don't really show any interest in getting your belly off the floor though.  Except to pull up on things.  You have done that a few times on the side of the tub to watch the water fill... but otherwise we refer to it as "mountain climbing" because that is what you are doing... pulling yourself up and over things.  You explore EVERYTHING and make these excited noises and grin ear to ear the entire time you crawl.  Every time that you do, the "Everything is Awesome" becomes the theme song for your adventures in my head.

You are getting bigger too!  I just didn't realize how much!  You recently (with clothes on) weighed in around 18 pounds and about 28 inches!  I knew you were getting heavy but based on the last pediatrician's visit I was thinking maybe only 17 pounds.  No wonder you have headed more towards 9 month clothes.  Though 6mo clothes still fit you just fine.  

Weighing in brings me to your most recent doctor's visit.  This time for the allergist.  I completely expected to go in there and have them decide to do all sorts of shots on your back and everything come out negative and you in tears and me continuing to be paranoid about your food.  Boy was I wrong!  Based on the information I gave them, they did want to do an allergy test... but there were no needles... just a stiff plastic thing that they put the chosen allergens (eggs, shellfish, fish, orange, strawberry, pineapple) on and pressed it on your back.  You barely noticed.  Then I had to keep you from touching those spots for 15 minutes.  Within 3 minutes we knew you had an allergy.  Eggs.  Who know eggs were in sherbet?  Looks like you won't be having any birthday cake for your birthday.  I like pie better anyway.  We will retest in 6 months to see if you have outgrown it or not.  As for me... they recommended I be more careful about my egg intake while I breastfeed you.  They are confident that is the reason for your eczema.  I'm not going to freak out about having some bread or a muffin on occasion but no more scrambled eggs at breakfast for a while.

your first 4th of July was uneventful.  I think we went shopping and then your dad went to work.  But you were pretty darn cute for it.

Still not saying "dada".  You have occasionally made "baba" sounds but for the most part it is still "mamamama" and trilling your lips.  You do smack your lips a lot now and my favorite is where you hold your breath then slowly blow it out with your cheeks puffed and humming.  No idea where that came from but it cracks me up.

You are getting more adventurous in the pool.  Splashing like a madman.  Your friends Eliza and Grayson look at you like you are crazy but oh well.  I think this fall we are planning on giving you swim lessons at the Y.  

PaPa and Nonna came to visit one weekend.  We got a few good family photos in while they were here.  This was a spontaneous shot.  You LOVE being upside down so right when the camera started going off your dad flipped you around!

Food is still no issue for you.  I'm still buying some jars of baby food and making some.  I like making our own because I am getting to slowly get you more used to different textures and thicknesses.  I started just chopping things up in the food processor instead of liquifying it in the blender.  I think you like having that extra element to deal with when you eat.

  

you don't really share though...you both took turns stealing all the toys from each other.  the basic principle of "she has it so I want it" and vice versa.

You have also randomly shown that you know how to "share".  By this I mean you offer things to us and your friends while holding on tight to it.  I did NOT teach you this.  Just one day you were gnawing on  a teether and I asked "can I have some?"  Without missing a beat you put it in my mouth.  No joke.  I made a big deal about it and now you are biting your toys and then literally ramming them against our faces and laugh so hard when we act like we are eating them.  We should probably work on that...

we had a week with Gamma and Gampa plus the dogs. which I was sick during.  we did manage a little fun time out though.  and then Gamma got sick too.

Your sleeping habits are weird.  You are still taking 2-3 naps a day but sometimes they are awesome naps and other times you fight it forever and then only sleep for like 20 minutes.  And the past couple of days you have still wanted to go to bed at 7pm but are waking up earlier and earlier each day.  This morning was 5:50am.  I was not enthused.

I guess I should also mention that you are also sitting up really well now.  You almost never fall over unless you mean to.  You can even go from sitting to crawling relatively easily.  It has been nice to be able to just sit you next to your basket of toys and let you play while I get a few things done.  I love how independent you can be.

But you aren't always.  You have also become clingy.  Sometimes you start freaking out when you realize I am setting you down and you hook your arm around my arm or leg.  And I am not always leaving you.. I'm just sitting down with you.  Its really sweet but a little annoying too.  

But if you get too fussy and all else fails, we just go swing!  Gampa installed your own swing in the backyard and you LOVE it!  You make everything so much fun Mr. Man!