Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Food and a Tear

Our friends had their baby yesterday! A little beautiful healthy girl. Everyone was praying for her because she decided to come out 4 weeks early! We won't be able to meet the little one until Friday though. She is staying in the NICU for a few days and may only be visited by mom and dad. We were able to celebrate with mom and dad and new big brother though.

Alison and I made them some chicken and rice (brought to them via a 'I Can't Believe it's not Butter' bucket, recycle!!) with lots of veggies in it. My friend Monica is a fitness instructor and is all about a healthy lifestyle. She is the most disciplined person I have ever met and she isn't even in the military!


big brother and mommy

Alison was making lots noise but was really behaving well. Here she is with our friend, Ben (father to new baby).



They really appreciated the food. I remember how much Chris and I wanted a real meal when we were in the hospital having Alison, and we were just there for two nights! The first one I was in labor though and couldn’t eat anything. Anyways we were ready to have a real meal and Ben and Monica are going to be hanging out at the hospital for a few more days still. Bummer...
Monica's mom is flying here in a few days but until then Ben is busy taking care of everyone. He might be dropping their son off at our place tomorrow so he can run some errands. I don't have plans and their son is such a sweetheart.

We got home a little after six and Alison had fallen asleep in her car seat so I brought her in and left her in the living room so she could sleep as long as she wanted to. When she woke up in the dark living room, alone and strapped into the car seat (which she isn't the biggest fan of) she started crying. There isn't anything too remarkable about this story other then the fact that Alison shed her first tear. I saw the glisten of the tear and stopped taking her out of the car seat to take a picture of this first of many tears she will shed over her lifetime. (hopefully not too many tears and hopefully most of them will be from joy). 


You can see the glimmer of her first tear on her right cheek by her cute little nose.

My little baby is growing up a little more everyday.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Look Who's Four!

It was four months ago today when my beautiful daughter made her debute!

Newborn Alison

I don't know it it feels like four months ago... sometimes it feels like yesterday and other times it feels like Alison has always been here.

One Month:
 Sportting her OU cheer outfit!

Two Months:

hangin' out in my kickin' coaster!

Three Months:

"I still don't like baths"

And Today Four Months!

Outside!

Things Alison has accomplished her first 4 monthsn and a few things we've learned about her:

  1. captured the hearts of all her family!

  2. smiled

  3. giggled (only a little though)

  4. turned over from her back to her tummy

  5. turned over from her tummy to her back

  6. Slept for 8 hours stright!

  7. gained weight to now be the healthy weigh tof 14 lbs

  8. grabs things (especially mommy's hair!)

  9. coos, sometimes very loudly

  10. babbles (diffrent then the coo becuase it seems like she is actually trying to talk)

  11. can hold her head up with ease

  12. smiles when she sees someone walking towards her to pick her up.

  13. can hold onto the coffee table and balance herself standing up for about five seconds

  14. likes to be carried around and talked to

  15. has pooped on daddy 

  16. has spit up on almost everyone she meets

  17. snuggles her stuffed monkey with a two armed hug

  18. is fascinated with the camera/camcorder

  19. can kind of move herself around in her jumper (the thing that hooks to the door frame)

  20. can fit her entire fist in her mouth

  21. has dicovered its easier to just put one finger in her mouth then the whole fist

  22. has gone to two birthday parties, two baby showers, two potlucks, a bunch of church services, one trip to the hospital to welcome a new baby into the world, and one trip to the library where she was really good.

  23. decided she doesn't like pacifiers the day after daddy bought her 12 of them

  24. sucks her bottom lip

  25. can blow rasberries

  26. loves to be in her swing

  27. doen't like a bath but will tolerate it if you take one with her

  28. has tasted an apple slice that mommy let her suck on (with mommy holding the apple slice of course)

  29. like to watch the cats walk around but hasn't grabbed for them...yet...

  30. is her mommy's pride and joy as is obvious by anyone who knows me or reads this blog.
Good night baby Alison! Happy Four Months!


Sunday, March 28, 2010

Potluck and Oggi's

I'm sure you are aware by now that Easter is upon us. My daughter and I were at church this morning and we were listening to the story about Judas and why he might have betrayed Jesus. It was a good sermon and Alison must have thought so too because she let out several loud "OOOOOOOs". Causing the people around me to giggle, my face to turn a pretty shade of pink, and causing Alison to smile in delight at the sound of her own voice.

 I guess I should start thinking about taking her into the baby room so I (and those around me) can listen to the sermon in peace but I don't know... what if she gets hungry? Also I don't really know the ladies in the baby room very well... and... I love my Alison and don't want to drop her off on someone else. I guess it's all a part of your baby growing up.

Here is a picture of Alison's Easter basket. I really wanted to get one big enough so I could put her inside it and take her picture but those were a bit more expensive, this one was $8 at Michaels (40% off) and I added the flowers and the bow from left over diaper cake decorations.

I know she won't be hunting eggs but...its just not an easter basket without them!

After church I drove home to pick up my bowl of wild rice for the pot luck at one of my church friend's home. Ali was sleeping in the car so it was one of those quick rush-in rush-out jobs. By the way apparently wild rice is not that great of a pot luck side dish... I think two people had some, one being me. I love wild rice I thought most people did...guess not. Most people seem to stop by and pick something up like KFC or a fruit tray on the way over since its right after church. I got up early this morning and made rice so it would be relatively fresh. I think next time I might buy something too (we have potluck about once every month or two). Chris wasn't able to come with us; he was getting ready for a trip. Alison wants to go with daddy on his trip!

Alison did not have as much fun at the potluck, she was still tired and the 30 minutes of sleep she got in the car was obviously not enough. Everyone wanted to hold her and she didn't want to be held by anyone but mommy. We ended up staying for about an hour most of which I was upstairs alone with Ali feeding her. 
Alison and I were both pretty tired when we got home. We took a 3 hour nap and then woke up to get dressed for an outing to Oggi's Pizza. If you've never had Oggi's you're missing out, its really great. It is a pizza place but they have the best salads! 

We walked to Oggi's, (Ali rode in her stroller) I really love it when we walk to places. It gives you the chance to notice how beautiful things are. We saw a few humming birds, something we wouldn't have noticed if we would have taken the car. We were meeting up with one of Chris' friends and his friend's girlfriend. Chris' friend is now living in Texas so it was nice to catch up and for them to meet Alison.

Here is a not so great picture of me and Ali at Oggi's (the hubs doesn't like taking pictures, he has a get it over with philosophy which really clashes with my take at least two pictures in case one doesn't turn out. You could say we drive each other a little nuts when it comes to picture taking. I love it, Chris not so much. Bummer for me though becuase I don't have very many nice pictures of me and Alison and Chris has a bunch, oh well...)

No plans tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get to those library books! I only have a few more days left before we have to return them!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Baby Shower

Alison and I attended another baby shower today! It really is raining babies! Here is Alison with one of our good friends who attended the shower also:
Today was such a beautiful day. The shower was held at Mommy-to-be's sister's house. We spent most of the time outside in the back yard. Alison was asleep for the first thirty minutes but when she woke up she charmed the pants off everyone with her smiles and coos. I was soo happy she was being such a little cupcake! 

Speaking of cake, the diaper cake was a success! Nothing fell off and the ribbons stayed tied! My husband Chris carried it in for me so I wouldn't have to juggle the cake, the baby and a diaper bag or have to make a second trip out to the car. What a sweetheart he followed me to the shower so he could help me and to also give his congratulations to the mom-to-be. Mom-to-be's husband is on deployment, thankfully most of her family lives really close. I couldn't imagine doing the whole pregnancy thing by yourself, not saying that I couldn't do it but I certainly wouldn't want to.  

The other women at the shower asked her to hold the diaper cake up so they could all see it and some even took pictures of it. (I know pride is a sin so I'm going to say that I felt satisfaction at a job well done and at having given a gift that was well recieved.) Anyways, here is a picture:


First Time with a Babysitter!

Alison did something today she has never done before! She went to someone else’s house to be baby sat (my mom baby sat Ali at our house when she was visiting). My friend Nurse-Mom wanted to do something nice for us in return for watching her son so she offered to baby sit Alison so we could have some Ali-free time.
My friend came over and picked Alison up around 1:30. I was prepared. I think maybe a little overly so.

Here is what I packed for Ali:

1. one warm blanket
2. one light blanket
3. talking bear
4. snuggle monkey
5. baby wash cloth
6. burp cloth
7. receiving blanket
8. lots of diapers and wipes
9. an extra outfit
10. pajamas
11. frozen and fresh milk (and two packets of formula in case she was really hungry)
12. Bumbo
13. Moses basket
14. IPod (with the baby App)

And I'm sure a few others things I forgot to mention. I loaded everything up in my car (the car seat uses a base that’s really hard to take out and install so I loaned my car to my friend as well, should I add that to my list??)

Alison was taking a nap when Nurse-Mom came to pick her up so we waited till she woke then loaded her and her diaper bag into the car.

I wasn’t nervous about Nurse-Mom watching Alison because well she is a neonatal nurse and knows everything about babies, being honest Alison is probably safer with her then she is with me so there was no worry about her safety but, I know this sounds silly, I didn't want Alison to feel like I was giving her away or abandoning her
.
When Nurse-Mom drove my car out of the garage and down the street I had the most unsettling urge to run after my car and tell her I changed my mind, Alison would be just fine staying at home, who needs alone time with their husband anyways?
I didn't run after the car but I did call my parents. Both of them. Of course being my parents they made me feel better, my mom assuring me that Alison wouldn't feel abandoned and my dad laughing and telling me the same thing.

What did I do with my new found freedom? When the hubs got home we went to Michaels to buy the decorations for the diaper cake and then to Babies'R'Us to get something off her registry (we had a hard time finding anything so we just bought some cute clothes!) Then we went on a date, the first one since my mom went back to Oklahoma over a month ago.

We went out to eat, TGI Fridays and then went home where Chris took a long nap and I worked on the diaper cake. I know we spend our freedom at home?! Yes we did and it was nice being able to decorate the diaper cake without having to take a break (putting together the cake I changed Alison's diaper, fed her, put her down for a nap and of course entertained her when she was awake, if you look back at the diaper cake pictures you can see when she went down for her nap via the empty Bumbo).
Even though it was nice to be able to go out to eat and being able to do something without having to take a baby break, I sure was happy when it was time to pick our little girl up!

We drove Nurse-Mom's car to her house and picked up Alison who was asleep (we picked her up at almost 8pm) and took our little girl home. And now she is asleep in her room, in her crib and will probably wake up sometime soon wanting to be fed by mommy and I'll thank my lucky stars that I have such a beautiful, wonderful little girl that God's entrusted me to take care of.

Diaper Cake

I am attending a baby shower tomorrow and I really wanted to make a diaper cake! I recieved one at my church baby shower and loved it. The ladies at my church are really so talented. For shower gifts I've learned how to make a diaper cake and a diaper wreath from them (plan on seeing the diaper wreath in a few months as I hope on making one for Fitness-Mom to take when I visit her in the hospital!)

This was my first attempt at a diaper cake and I think it turned out really well! I wanted to share with you how to make one too!

What you need:
  1. empty paper towel roll 
  2.  60 diapers (I used size 2 Huggies)
  3. 3 sizes of rubber bands (thin ones to wrap around diapers, medium and large thick ones for holding the cake together)

When rolling up the diaper's make sure you roll from the top so the when your done you see the nice smooth edge of the bottom fold instead of a bunch of ruffly edges. Secure with rubber band.
Here is my newborn helper Alison showing a newly rolled diaper:

The first thing you need to do is fill your paper towel roll. Do this by rolling three diapers and shoving down into the tube. The third one should be sticking out the top a little.
Then start building the base:
You want to build the base by first wrapping 7 diapers around the tube (all diapers have been rolled and secured except for the ones I used inside the tube). Use the thick rubber band to secure to tube. The next layer of the base is 12 diapers, use the meduim thick rubber band to secure:

And then the last layer of the base is 18 rolled diapers also with the medium thick band to hold.
To add the next layer put the rubber band around previous layer and then just add the diapers to it.
For the second tier of the cake add two layers of diapers. 1st layer 7 diapers and 2nd layer 13 diapers.
The top tier is 7 diapers and the boring part is almost over! Turn the diapers so the folds face inward (in the picture you clearly notice the ones that the fold is readily visible). And the final fun step to the diaper cake is decorate!
Wrap ribbon around the cake to hide the rubber bands. I added fake flowers and then of course little gifts. I added a St. Jude teddy bear (they donate a few dollars for reasearch!) a snuggle dog blanket, 4 jumpers (rolled up and tied together with blue 'bundle of joy' ribbon), 2 wooden cars and a rubber duck. I fastened the ribbon with tape and everything else with ribbon wire.

Here is the back of the cake:
Sorry the pictures are so dark, it's night and our house relies heavily on the California sun for illumination!

Babysitter

I always love being able to help someone and Thursday I was given the opportunity to help my friend Nurse Mom. Being a nurse she sometimes has to work long hours. Her husband is also a deployed Marine so she is playing single-mom for awhile.

Anyways she asked me if I would pick up her son from daycare and watch him for a few hours. Of course I was happy to but still a little nervous. It would be the first time I cared for my daughter and someone else's child at the same time. Her son is a very active 3 year old boy and boy did he wear me out! I thought having a baby was tiring! Imagine if we could replicate the energy of a toddler?? We would be the most productive people EVER.

Here is a picture of the sidewalk chalk art we did in the backyard: (sorry about the shadow!)
Nurse-mom's son really likes boats and pirate ships so I tried my hand at drawing a boat! I added some fish too!

The thing he had the most fun playing with though was my excersise ball (which is still sitting outside waiting to be washed off)

Our backyard is pretty typical for Southern California, small but thankfully its big enough to play kick ball with a 3 year old.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

101 Simple Pleasures

I started to read an article, really a list, of simple pleasures posted on Yahoo news today. When I got to number thirty I thought I might try my hand at it. I stopped reading so I wouldn’t be too influenced by their list. Here goes:

1. Reading
2. Smell of a new book/bookstore
3. Baby smile

4. Hugs
5. Naps
6. Eating brownies while they are still warm
7. Side walk chalk
8. Finishing a project
9. Taking a hot bath without the baby waking up
10. Baby App, and other gizmo’s that make life easier
11. Orange juice
12. Embroidery
13. Quilting
14. Drawing
15. Hot tea (especially if you have tea cookies too!)
16. Clothes/towels straight from the dryer
17. Snuggling with my family

18. Church and church socials
19. Skype
20. Live music
21. French club
22. Cards sending and receiving
23. Scented oil (the kind you heat with a little candle and makes your room smell wonderful!)
24. Pretty clothes
25. Fresh nail polish
26. Fresh haircut
27. Massage from someone you love
28. When a cat sits in my lap without having to be bribed.
29. Clean house
30. Someone else’s cooking
31. The shelves my dad built in the garage
32. Listening to my mom talk to my daughter over the speaker phone (and my daughter baby talking back!)
33. The random notes, pictures and care packages from Grandma Brown
34. Looking at old pictures and love emails/ scrapbooking
35. Dressing my daughter up

36. Taking pictures of my daughter and husband
37. Balboa park & free organ concerts there
38. Going on walks in a park with family

39. Going to the beach
40. Dinner with friends
41. My husband’s cologne
42. Having someone brush my hair
43. Nice weather
44. Dancing
45. When my daughter finds something new (like her foot) or tries to talk.
46. Fuzzy socks
47. The hubs doing my laundry and folding it
48. Free internet radio
49. Blogging
50. Face book
51. Jewelry
52. Art (love looking at websites like the toymaker!)
53. Swimming
54. Play dough smell
55. Board/card games
56. Sales
57. Shopping (even if you don’t buy anything)
58. Looking at replicas and miniatures
59. Doll houses (can’t wait till Ali wants one!)
60. Fabric softener and dryer sheets
61. Flowers
62. Colored pens
63. Making lists
64. Boppy pillow

65. Looking at fabric (and feeling it) and patterns
66. Coupons
67. The way carpet feels and looks after you vacuum
68. Learning to do something new
69. Watching my husband play with Alison (especially when he does airplane with her and has her fly around the house)
70. When I get phone calls from friends/family for no reason other than they want to chat
71. The pride I feel for my family
72. Giving gifts
73. Being able to help someone
74. Singing
75. The warmth of the sun (with sunscreen!)
76. Holidays

77. Decorations for holidays
78. Living in a nice neighborhood
79. People doting over my baby
80. Alison falling asleep while I’m holding her
81. Being a mom
82. Feather pillow
83. Dreaming about the future
84. Bubbles
85. Watching Alison stare at herself in the mirror
86. Free healthcare (the military kind not the Obama kind)
87. Remembering your dream from the night before
88. The feeling of accomplishment you get after working out
89. Love
90. Donating stuff (both the feeling of de-cluttering and also the feeling of helping people out)
91. Being able to fix something
92. Silky pajamas
93. Being excited about something
94. Toys
95. Glider chair in my daughter’s bedroom

(my dad in glider chair)
96. Giving my cats treats
97. Giving my husband treats and writing notes to put in his lunch sack
98. Watching children walk home with their parents from school and knowing that I’ll get to do that with Ali someday
99. Fitting into pre-pregnancy jeans
100. Baby farts (they make me laugh)
101. Marshmallows

I just finished reading their list and I have to add old photo booths. I love those!! They have one at the photography museum in Balboa park, another thing I love museums.

What are your 'Simple Pleasures?'

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Southwest

I recently changed my entire plane trip for $4. I am still in shock at how cheap it was. I changed not only my return date but my leave date and seriously it was $4 (actually a little less I think it was around $3.80). Not to mention Southwest has cleverly kept themselves as one of the only airlines that isn't going to start charging a baggage fee (their commercials make me laugh). Anyways, Southwest #1 in my books.

Traveling on a plane with a baby.... I'll let you know how that goes. Needless to say I'm a little nervious about it.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Trying to be Responsible

So, being responsible I filled out the census and set it on the coffee table (to be later taken to the mail box). Unfortunatly last night I spilled a glass of scotch on the darn thing.

How you might ask? Let me start at the begining, I was feeding Alison and putting her to bed and my husband was downstairs playing his rented God of War video game (I know I'm married to a nerd but he's married to someone who acts like an old lady) Anyways he had poured himself a little glass of scotch and had set in on our coffee table which is really this cubbie table with 4 removable trays on top (normally pretty handy) Of course I didn't see him pour a glass so I didn't know it was there.

So the little scotch glass is barely peaking up over the lip of one of the coffee table trays and also on that tray is a candy jar with yes, you guessed it, chocolate. I reached across to grasp one of these coveted little chocolates and knocked the glass over spilling it all over our census. Really? Is my luck that bad? yes, it is.

In case your wondering I'm not going to send it in. I can just imagine if we did:

Census Guy- "Whoah! This must have come from some bachlor pad! It reeks of booze!"
The guy in my head is smiling with delight as he remembers his booze filled college years.
He opens our form and his smile slowly drops as he reads on. Phrases like "poor baby" and "child services" flit through his mind, a tear slowly forms in his eye as he remembers his father's drinking problem and how it broke his family apart....

Maybe I can find a non-booze soaked form at the library... I think I remmeber seeing them there when we went on Friday. If not, Ali will just have to wait till she's ten to be counted. Stupid short glass!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Toy Maker

I just happened across The Toy Maker and was blown away! It's a web site where you can print out these beautiful paper toys templates. You just cut them out and put them together!

The creator/artist is Marilyn Scott-Waters. I bet if we were to look inside her head it would be a kind of Wonderland in there, so creative! She also offers a Toy Maker book on Amazon and has illustrated a book, The Search for Vile Things, that I've already added to my Amazon wish list!


My favorite paper toy is the Tooth Fairy Gazebo!!

I think it would be way more fun putting your tooth in this cute little gazebo then shoving it under your pillow; and who knows what you might find in the gazebo the next morning?! Oh of course just so the tooth fairy knows it's meant for her there is also a sign you can print out as well:



All the paper toys are free to print out. This website makes me excited for when Alison is old enough to want to do arts and crafts projects! Bless creative people like Marilyn for sharing their talent with us 'wish-we-were-that-creative' types!

Baby Shower

The Nesting Boxes were a hit! Mommy-to-be loves them as did everyone else at the shower. Most of the women there had never seen or heard of nesting boxes and found them to be very charming.

Can you see my gift? (its the little box by the table leg)
New mommy got a lot of gifts, several of them handmade. We really have a great church full of talented individuals. The thing I like most about our church is its small enough that even if you don't know everyone's name you at least start to recognize them after a while. We have been going to our church for almost two years.

Mommy-to-be looking at the gift we got for her. She liked that they were blocks but didn't take up much space when stored as she and her husband live in a condo.

Overall Alison and I enjoyed her first Ladies Church Social. Here she is being held by one of the ladies:

Baby Shower Gift

Whats this?

(March 20) Normally I like to do my shopping for gifts well in advanced but sometimes it just doesn't seem to be in the cards. For example, there is a baby shower tomorrow at church and just this morning I got around to get a gift! (Shame on me I know!) but it turned out to be a really good thing.

Today we also had a birthday party to attend at my friends house who lives almost two hours away so I didn't have time to make the usual trip to Babies'R'Us like I normally do for a baby gift but instead went to a little toy store that was a lot closer. The name kind of threw me off, Totally Thomas Toy Depot, as in Thomas the Train but I decided to give it a go.

I was so excited to see some super classic toys! They carry brands like Calico Critters (loved these when I was little!) and Lamaze baby toys, Eeboo, and of course Melissa and Doug (PS,  Melissa and Doug are having a contest to win a stable and horses play set at their web site click here).

So whats in the present? The Melissa and Doug Nesting Boxes, so cute! They are blocks and little buckets all at the same time not to mention beautiful, brightly colored and displaying letters of the alphabet. I will admit it was hard to give them as a gift (they are so cute I wanted to keep them for Alison!) unfortunatly they only had one set of the nesting boxes.

 I am really excited to give this!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Party Girl

We had so much fun at Katelyn's Birthday party! Everyone was really nice and there were so many little girls running around in fairy wings it was like a backyard butterfly garden. It made me really glad that I had made Alison an outfit (although we did take the tutu off after she spit up on it a couple times).  Here is Ali and daddy:


My friend's wife, our wonderful hostess, really outdid herself. She had made wings and magic fairy wands for all the little girls (including Alison!) she had also hung colorful paper lanterns all over the backyard, hung paper garland over the eave of the house and of course had balloons scattered thought.

They rented a tinker bell bouncy house that was a big hit with all the little kids, Alison was quite fascinated with it, and had tables set up for the adults to sit, watch and enjoy. She made a cupcake-cake using homemade frosting that was some of the best frosting I've ever had (I might have to get her to give me the recipe!). It was easily the nicest 2-year-old birthday party I've ever attended. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Here is Alison at home posing for mommy in her fairy outfit:

Here is a view from the rear!

  

Friday, March 19, 2010

Fantastically Fairy!

Today was a pretty busy day. Remember when I went to see Alice in Wonderland with some friends? Well I left my cell phone at the daddy dare care house and today I finally drove the twenty + minutes to get it back. It wasn't a bad thing though because I got to visit with one of my favorite girlfriends and get get lots of hugs from her adorable, super-blond little boy (maybe I should leave my phone more often!).

After that Alison and I visited the newly built 99-cent store close to where we live. I went there for some wrapping paper and a bow for the party tomorrow (I hate spending a lot of money on something that is just going to get torn up and thrown away and the dollar store always has pretty paper and bows) and ended up leaving with said items as well as a few other things including fuzzy bunny ears for Alison. I really love the 99 cent store, you can buy dumb stuff that you don't really need and some stuff you do need and not feel at all guilty about it.

I also finished making Alison's fairy costume! The birthday party tomorrow is a fairy theme. I finished the skirt last night so I was able to try it on Ali. Here she is with the skirt on as well as the bunny ears (I couldn't resist):
The ears have wire in them so they are posable (yea!). She is going to be the cutest bunny at church come Easter Sunday.

The fairy skirt is a no-sew tutu, I used the directions from this informative youtube video. I did however use a different material that has sparkles already in it. I used Fray Check on all the edges because this material, although really pretty and much softer then tulle, frays pretty easily. I used one yard of fabric spreading it out evenly along the ribbon and I think it makes it look more like a fairy skirt then a tutu since it has more room to hang. Also Alison is pretty small around the middle! I do wish I would have cut the edges into a point instead of leaving it squared, I think that would have made it look even more fairy-esk. 

 
The wings were sooo easy to make, it seriously took maybe 15 minutes. I didn't want to use wires on the wings because they are for a three month old who spends most of her time lying on her back or leaning against something. I used some plastic wrap, the kind you buy to wrap around a basket and then heat it up with a hairdryer; I bought an entire roll at Michaels for $5. I am sure you can use any kind of plastic wrap you want.

I drew one side of the wings freehanded with a permanent marker, a little bigger than the actual size you want so you can sew inside the lines that way you can cut the marker lines off when you're finished, I folded the 'paper' in half and traced what I had drawn for the other side of the wing so it would be even (like how we used to cut circles out in grade school). Then I put another piece of plastic on top the wings I had just drawn (for size reference) and drew a second set of smaller wings using the same method.

Using two sheets of plastic wrap for each set of wings I sewed just inside of the lines. After cutting out both sets of wings I sewed them together and crinkled them up to make them look more wing like and get rid of the static cling! Easy as pie (the frozen kind).  
Here my lovely cat Lucy demonstrates how even a cat can become a fairy with a nice set of wings!
I plan on hand sewing the wings to Alison's purple onsie (it's in the wash right now, spit up...) and voila my little princess will be transformed into an adorable fairy!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Library

Alison had her first trip to the library today. Lucky for us there is a branch library in walking distance of our house so I loaded Ali up in her stroller and we enjoyed some of the wonderful Southern California weather.


Here Alison is in front of some mystery novels. She was really good and kept pretty quiet the whole time. I think she enjoyed seeing all the books. We ended up checking out a first foods book that has a bunch of baby food recipes and talks about when you should introduce different foods. I thought I might get a leg up on the baby food thing as when the time comes we are planning on making our own. I also got an embroidery book that has instructions on how to do some really pretty flowers. I will write more about the books later after I have more time to look at them.


Here is Alison half dozing on the walk back home. She doesn't have any sun hats that fit (this one is for a six month old) but I figured wearing a hat that was too big was better then no hat at all, and it obviously really kept the sun out of her eyes!

Alice in Wonderland

This past Sunday my husband organized a 'daddy daycare' so myself and 2 of my other mommy friends could go see a movie (what a great guy huh?) The dads got together at one house to watch the kids and we (the mommies) went to go see Alice in Wonderland! I loved the visual aspects of the movie. I am a big Tim Burton fan, if I could have a house designed by anyone I would want one designed by him. It might be a little creepy but I bet it would be oodles of fun.

Anyways the movie: I liked it! I knew from reading reviews that it wasn’t going to be the classic Alice in Wonderland story. I think this made the movie going experience more exciting, not knowing what to expect.

I think the movie came together quite well. I was surprised to see that it was a darker, defeated Wonderland because all the movie posters seem to be so bright and vibrant. Alice was not a child in this movie but she came in as the reluctant hero, stepping in to defeat the monster dragon-esk jabberwocky. I don’t doubt that I will see this movie again (not in theaters of course I think our little jabberwocky gave the hubs a run for his money!) but it’s going to go on our Netflix queue!

St. Patty's Day 2010

Having a baby changes a lot! Last year (while I was pregnant) we went to an Irish pub in Carlsbad. O’Sullivan’s, where we waited in line forever to get in (there is a reason the place is awesome for St. P’s Day). There were musicians, river dancers and of course really great Irish food (I still remember the corned beef and cabbage…we are going to have to go back there it was soo good!).

This year with our 3 month old daughter Alison I couldn’t imagine standing in line to go into a pub where it’s 1) packed 2) full of drunk people and 3) loud with revelry and music. My daughter would have not enjoyed herself one little bit and that means mommy and daddy wouldn’t enjoy themselves either.

So for this Alison’s first St. Patrick’s Day we went to another one of our favorite dinner spots Hon Sushi in Oceanside. Instead of drinking green beer and eating Irish fare we had green tea and raw fish. I am happy to report that Alison did pretty great. I was a little worried because we were meeting up with my husband’s work friends at 6:30 and normally Alison is in bed by then. So she was up way past her bedtime, even considering daylight savings, and managed to only have one fit of unhappiness which required a trip out to the trusty hatch-back where I fed and diapered her and we (the hubs and I) traded sitting outside with her until she calmed down enough to come back inside, still sleepy but not upset about it.


It was fun dressing her up in some green clothes (she doesn’t have very many). Her green pants are actually pretty huge on her but it worked and thanks to JG (my mom) she has a ready stock of hair bows in an array of colors at her disposal. My husband thought she looked like a little watermelon sporting the green and pink.

This weekend Ali is attending her first girl’s birthday party! She has already attended a little boy’s b-day party (she was the only girl there and she was only a month old at the time, not that three months is that much older!) and on Sunday she will be attending her first ladies social at church! (it’s a baby shower for one of the members). Its turning out to be a big weekend for our little family!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Girly Dress

I made this dress while I was pregnant. The pattern is an Easy Stitch'n Save by McCall's M4421. I really wanted to use a big bright pattern. I used some big pink buttons on the straps and frilly little lace pink with polka dots on the bloomers.
 
 
Right now its too big for my little Ali but in a few months time she will be big enough for it! I can't wait to see her wear it!