Monday, February 6, 2017

Almost to One

Christmas until now has flown by. It did the same to some extent when I was pregnant with these girls too. I wish I could slow this last month down just a tad more and drink in all the baby more than ever before. With 5 kids it is really hard to do that. I can see why big families just keep doing this. Although, Anthony and I both agree we are ready to move past the baby stage. Each month we inch closer to a year is bitter sweet. I look towards the future of sleep, no diapers, and doing older kid things like amusement parks. I still lovingly look at babyhood and kind of wish we could keep one around. Unfortunately it brings a lack of sleep and demands I am ready to move past. Instead I look towards the future of grand babies a long ways out!! 



The personalities are beginning to shine with these two. 


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They look so chubby, but in reality I believe they are the smallest any of our kids have been at this point. They are not tiny by any means, but they are not huge either. 


Annlise

Anthony and I marvel at this girl every day. For her being so somber and serious her first few months she now makes up for it times ten. She is a very expressive child. She is a people person through and through. She will do whatever it takes to show off and get your attention. Although she still does not say dad just mom. 


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Temper tantrums are her thing. She has hurt her head more times than I can count. When she doesn't like something she throws herself backwards. This has resulted in many times crashing out of my hands if I am on the floor with her. She figured that will hurt her head so now instead she goes forward. The girl is flexible. Because of this Anthony calls her Hammerhead. She just has a big old noggin and clangs it around even in sleep. We all have been the victims of the hammerhead in the middle of the night while she sleeps. 


She loves to play Peek-a-Boo with any clothes or blankets. She covers her face and we say, "where's Annalise?" Then she takes it off and giggles when we say, "There she is."


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She only has eyes for Anthony when he gets home from work. She snubs everybody and screams if he won't pick her up. She just loves him to pieces. She is the blueberry queen and would eat pounds a day if I let her. 
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She can now stand by herself. She loves when other people sing to her. She also loves to sit and play by herself with toys. We love her to pieces even with all those temper tantrums.

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Daphne

This child is just busy! She is a little explorer through and through. She does not throw fits like Annalise and is much easier to keep out of things. You can tell her no and she looks smiles and finds something else to do. She does like to snuggle, but on her own terms. Bed time is her favorite time to snuggle. She is shy also when people want to hold her. She will smile at them all day long, but if they try to hold her or touch she ends in a fit of tears it seems. 




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She loves to sing and dance. She things she is a monster like Ari and roars and waves her hands in the air. She also plays pat-a-cake and is now patting her hands.

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She is loud too. She has learned to scream like the older kids and does it just to get attention. Anthony has taken up calling her Doo. She responds to it usually which is funny. She loves any electronic she can get her hands on and squeals with delight if she succeeds. She loves bananas. She screams at the baby gate if she can see them on the counter.

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She is very close to standing, but is not as balanced as Annalise is.

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Happy 11 months sweet girls!



Friday, January 27, 2017

My Favorite Children's Pajama Patterns

I have been wanting to start a series like this for a while and had some photographs taken. I just have not had the time to put into it. I get a lot of questions about sewing on my Instagram account and messages in general or questions. It usually pertains to fabric places and patterns. So for the next few weeks I am going to be answering some questions. 

Today we are talking children's pjs. This is where it began for me. I wanted matching pjs for the kids every year and I wanted to make them. I dreamed of flowly flannel nightgowns trimmed with lace and comfy flannel pjs for the bosy. Then I fell in love with the world of knits. It was intimidating because I didn't know the lingo or where to even begin. I joined my first pattern group and the rest is history. 


Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop  was my first look into the world of PDF patterns. They are so much easier to navigate. Amy does an amazing job with ink and paper conservation. They are always a delight to use. The majority of my patterns come from her. 

My go to knit kids pj pattern are the Alex and Anna PJs . They are comfy and so practical for kids. There are summer and winter versions and I have made both. For material I prefer cotton lycra. It just holds up so well.  Sometimes Joannes I can find stuff, but it just does not last as well. For Christmas this year I sewed 6 pairs of these. 3 pairs went off to nieces and nephews. This fabric was bought from Girl Charlee . For the budget friendly person, Girl Charlee has some great options. I do not find the fabric quality as nice though. For a lot of kids clothes I actually buy my fabric through Amy at Peek-A-Boo fabrics. I buy when it is on clearance for the following year. It saves money and they don't even care.


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For a wonderful little nightgown this is my favorite. You can modify it for short sleeve, no ruffle sleeve, no ruffle at the bottom etc. It just is a very versatile pattern and can be used with flannel or cotton. Knit would be easy to do also probably sizing down. Lilliana has a summer and winter one. She loves them. I made this one for my niece. I am told she won't take it off. The fabric was bought around Christmas Time from Peek-A-Boo. It is a Riley and Blake print.



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I made these pjs for the girls this year. While they are really really cute, they were a pain! They were either too much for me at the time. I had just marathon sewed a ton for Christmas presents or it was a bad pattern. I can't decide. Needless to say I probably will not ever make this pattern again. I just didn't even enjoy it. The pattern is Lil' Long Johns . The fabric is Cotton Lycra from Peek-A-Boo with leftovers from the older kids pjs. Cotton Lycra solids are very reasonable. If you can't afford a lot of prints do solids with accents in prints. It will save your budget.



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Last but not least, a free pattern! Pajama Party Pants are free if you join the Peek-A-Boo pattern facebook page she has a coupon for this pattern for free. I made these for my nephew. The flannel came from Joanne's. It was so soft too! I have flannel to make the other kids some. It is on my list of projects that never ends:)

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I hope that was helpful for my favorite kids patterns. Let me know if there is anything you would like to know. I can try to answer in future posts. 

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Week 3-365

I don't think I got a picture everyday this week thanks to the stomach flu, but that is ok!




15. Early Birthday Present to get ears pierced, so her aunt could do it.-More to come on her birthday


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16. Breakfast Shenanigans




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17. The Stomach flu begins again with Daphne-Doo...no pictures

18. Daphne is better and I took a trip to Sams with Eli. I came home to 3 sick kids. Eli would join them through the night. The babies had fun playing in the boxes 


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19. After a really long rough night the kids were still sick. Ari was beginning to recover. The babies wouldn't leave him alone though. I ended up playing Jenga with him halfway through the day as he was bouncing around and needed somebody to play with. 
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20. Inauguration Day-Yes we watch them all whether we like or approve of them. I learned this as a kid. It is History and I feel very important. Much can be learned and taught how government works. 


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21. Fifty Degrees with no snow, in Michigan, in January, a rare thing-My view from my room. 


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Stay tuned for Friday, I have a plan to bring an entire series on sewing with favorite fabrics, patterns, and more. I get asked a lot of questions on Instagram and in general so I thought it would be fun to share some things and show off some of my creations. I am hoping for it to become a weekly post. 



Monday, January 23, 2017

10 months Old Sweet Girls

Once again 23 days past the day they actually turned 10 months. So we are fast approaching 11 months which means they are almost one and this might break my heart, but yet give me so much excitement for the future. 


This was planned to be done the first week of January until the stomach flu hit. Then I recovered from that. Only for it to hit this past week again. Needless to say I am still trying to crawl out from that mess. Thankfully I was the only one that did not get it this time, but this mama is exhausted. 



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Wrangling them is pretty near impossible these days, but I made some progress with the help of Ari. I thought surrounding them in pillows would help. They weren't real thrilled with that.


Annalise

She has become PURE goon. She just loves to make faces and make us laugh. She just barely has begun saying Dad. Go figure tonight she said teeth though. We are also finding she is the stubborn of the two. She throws fits like non of the other kids did at this point and we are constantly telling her no for that. She LOVES food now. She won't let me feed her, but wants to do it on her own. If it spicey or savory that is her favorite. She has begun to stand on her own if we start her. She loves to be naked. She is a very happy baby. 


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Daphne

Daphne has learned the art of screaming from her older siblings. Needless to say that isn't the most enjoyable thing. She tells us yes and no when she wants things by shaking or nodding her head. No is her favorite. Anytime anybody says no she shakes her head. I is pretty cute. She is also a goon, but in a different way. She loves oatmeal. She is busy busy busy. She has started to lean away from the couch to stand on her own. She still loves Ari to pieces even if he is mean to her. She is always performing for anybody that will watch. She also loves to sing and dance. She is also very a very happy baby. 


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Monday, January 16, 2017

365-Week 2



7. Flashlight


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8. Legoland Discovery-Christmas Experience Gift from Mom and Dad


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9. "Today"

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10. Daddy is Home-Their favorite time of the day 


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11. Phone Thief Number 1, and always so proud when she manages to swipe it.
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12. Cookie Baking-Self Portrait of Motherhood

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13. Getting Ready with mom, also phone thief number 2

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Sunday, January 8, 2017

365-Week 1

Last year I set the goal of doing a 365. I have been in a rut for several years with my camera. Basically, after it was sent into Nikon 3 times to be completely replaced it threw me off my love of photography and put me in a big funk. It has been a good thing in some aspects, but I miss it and I felt maybe committing to one picture everyday for a year might pull me out of my creative rut and at least get me using it again. I have been using some prompts, so that will be fun to add different perspective that way. Some days may have more than one picture too. So far I have been pretty successful and completed one week. My goal is to post every Monday for the previous week. We will see how it goes life is crazy. If I set goals, they usually happen though. Some photos will be awesome what an amazing picture, and some are just going to be poorly lit and purely snapshots, but they will be our life so that is what counts. 


Week 1


1-Babyhood

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Day 2-Reflection

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Day 3-Two 



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Day 4- Self Portrait of Motherhood-Sick Days

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Day 5-Boredom leads to chaos (mom is sick and doesn't care)


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Day 6 -Happy 


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Day 7- Board Game Night


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