Almost 1

I can't believe how quickly this first year has gone by. I realized that in less than a month, Jack will be one. I started thinking about his birthday party and began planning. I also wanted to make something for the party. I was inspired by Katie's banners, so I made one for Jack (and Ryan wants to use it too).

To show our family what a big boy he is becoming, Jack started walking! He is still unsteady, but he's gone from taking a three steps at a time, to walking across the living room. We are so proud of him. I was thinking that 11 months ago, he could do nothing for himself, and now he's walking. WOW.

Mud Brothers

Yesterday, Phil and Ryan dug a pit in our backyard and today the pit was filled with water. Ryan had a great time digging, splashing, and covering himself with mud. He kept yelling out, "I'm getting PIG DIRTY!!!!!!"

Jack kept going over to the pit, but I would pull him back and tell him no mud. He would cry, and cry, and stick his lip out. Finally, I relented, stripped his cute little outfit off, and let him have at it.

Ryan yelled out, "We're mud brothers," and dropped a splat of mud on Jack's head. Jack giggled hysterically, as mud dripped down his face. They splashed, they screamed, they squished mud, and they dug. I have two BOYS on my hands.

They both sobbed when it was over and we had to have a bath. I have a feeling they'll be spending some time this summer in the mud pit.

Jack 11 months!

I can't believe that Jack is already 11 months old. This first year is flying by.

• Jack is crawling everywhere and cruising along every piece of furniture. He pulls anything down that he can reach. He also likes to empty the bib and towel drawer in the kitchen.
• He can stand on his own, but can't take a step by himself yet. He LOVES to hold our hands and walk.
• He is stubborn and opinionated and if we don't do what he wants, he lets us know.
• He thinks he is a big boy, but his baby body is holding him back.
• He continues to love Ryan and wants to do everything he does. Ryan usually loves his little shadow, but sometimes gets really frustrated when Jack doesn't do things "right" (i.e., mess up his train tracks, or rows of cars that he has arranged).
• Jack LOVES strawberries and sobs when he doesn't have any left. He also likes bananas and green beans. His other favorite is Ritz crackers. He also seems to like beans. Today we tried eggs again and he actually liked them.
• Jack is a BIG boy. He is 32 inches and 24 lbs. He wears 18 month clothes.
• Jack LOVES his blankie and has to crawl over to it every so often, rub his face on it, and suck his fingers.
• He is a little shy around a lot of people. When he's a little intimidated, he'll feel his blanket, suck his fingers, and need me to hold him.
• He loves animals and gets super excited to see Rita, or Mario, or Jed.
• Jack likes to crawl while pushing a car, making "broom, broom," sounds.
• He is fascinated by wheels and loves to spin them, just like Ryan did.
• He has decided he is one of the "guys" and when all the guys are outside, and he is inside with me, he'll go to the back door and yell to be let out.
• I love when he needs to come over for a little cuddle.

Happy 11 months Jack!

Jack has become REALLY attached to his blanket

I love that little grin

He's all eyes for his big brother

He thinks he is such a big boy

My Ryan

Spring Top Contest

Hey everyone, I entered a sewing contest on Made By Rae and 2 of my tops are featured on her blog today! Even though this doesn't mean I'm a finalist, I just thought it was cool. Check out some of the entries. They are guaranteed to inspire.

New patio and the finishing of some other projects

Phil and I put our tax return dollars to work and finally had a patio cover built. We also had enough money to get patio furniture. We LOVE our new patio. On most sunny days, we've eaten dinner outside. The kids love playing out there and I love having a place to relax while I hang out with them.

I also received some strawberry plant seedlings so I borrowed my sister's strawberry pots and planted them. I didn't think they'd survive, but already some leaves have grown. Hopefully we'll get a few strawberries too.

For some strange reason, when our builder poured our concrete, he wouldn't pour it up to the side of the house. So the boys and I went down to Lowe's, filled our cart with 22 pavers and other gardening supplies, then I pushed all of this, along with 2 little boys, up to the register. I put the pavers in the non-cemented area, and voila, a finished patio was born.

Ryan and I also started a little science experiment with some seeds this week. We bought this tray with little circles of peat moss in it. Each circle has a tiny divet in the center. First you add enough water to make them double in size. Then you plant a few seeds in each one and cover them with peat. Last, you cover them with a lid, making them look like a tray of brownies (which is what Phil thought he was coming home too).

We did this on Monday and today we had some seeds sprout. We will transfer the herbs to pots outside once they get bigger. I think I will also do this with my class when we study plants. These have all been fun projects and I'm glad I get to enjoy the results.

Sewing Room Make-over

Well, the notion that family was coming to town and needed a place to stay lit a fire under me and I finally tackled the sewing room/guest room. I used fabric I already had from redoing the church nursery, some old cardboard from diaper boxes, and a can of white paint that's been on the shelf in the garage for a couple of years. I also used a lot of elbow grease and time, but here's what my sewing room looks like now.

Phil gave me permission to take his old desk and paint it white and make it my new cutting table. I love it all so much. The colors make me happy and the white looks so clean. And speaking of clean, no, my sewing room will never, ever look this clean, ever, ever, ever again. I think this is the first time I've cleaned up and put away the ironing board in months.

Once the air mattress is inflated and linens are put on, I think it will be a very nice guest room.

New Old Shirt

On Fridays at school, we have color day. We don't have to wear a staff shirt, but we try to wear our school colors. Our staff shirts are men's t-shirts, which are never flattering. I was tired of mine, and I wanted to revamp this shirt into something I would like to wear. I found this website that has several tutorials on embellishing t-shirts, which helped me to make this shirt.

• I first decided to cut off the bottom edge of my shirt. I tried it on and and folded it up until it hit where I felt it was flattering, and cut it off. It was 3".
• Next, I pulled out my patterns and found a scoop neck that I liked. I cut my neckline to that shape. I did this both on the front and back, but then thought I ruined it because the back of the neckline should have been higher. I finally realized I could gather the neck edge which would also bring it in so the sleeve seams would actually be on my shoulders. I also finished the neck off with a strip of binding to make it more secure.

• Using the cut off edge of the t-shirt, I cut an 1 1/4" strip, then gathered it down the middle. I arranged these strips on the front of the shirt to my liking, which also hid the logo.
• Next I cut a 1" strip and gathered it down the middle and wound it up to make the flowers. More details for making the flowers can be found on the website I linked above.

• I still had a bit of the remaining logo on the back of the shirt. I cut a little strip of the leftover ruffle and sewed it over the logo. You can see a bit of it peaking out in this picture.
• Last, I finally tried it on again, rolled the sleeves until they fell where I like them, measured, and cut them off. Again, it was 3".

Now I have a shirt I would be happy to wear anywhere on any day of the week. I'm now shopping in my closet and in my scraps to revamp more of my wardrobe. I can't wait to redo another shirt.