Turned Creative

This was one of the first dresses I made. I figure it's pretty hard to mess up a pillowcase dress (?). I made a matching diaper cover, and a sweater too. To be perfectly honest, I knit the sweater with the intent of giving it to a friend for her new baby. It was the first sweater I had made. It took so long and I had gotten too attached to it. So, I kept it (blushing). I'm a horrible friend, I know! There are a TON of pillowcase dress patterns out there. This one's free and easy, it's from Prudent Baby. The diaper cover was, again, from Made by Rae . The sweater is a variation from this pattern , by Knitting At Knoon .

The biggest troublemaker in my house is this pup: She's six months old today. A handful of months ago we didn't know if she was going to live. She was 3 pounds of sweetness that we couldn't NOT help. Today she's over 14 pounds (!) of spunk. Happy half birthday Bean.

A few years ago...let's say 4 or 5, my MIL bought me an old Kenmore sewing machine. I fiddled around with it a bit, but wasn't as consumed with it as I thought I'd be. After all, it was nearly as old as I was. Newer machines are quieter, lighter, and embroider (depending on the model). After several months, the old machine found it's way into a basement corner. My Mom was considering getting rid of my Grandmother's machine (also a Kenmore). She offered me the machine feet (or I took them, I can't remember) ;)   The feet resurrected my interest in sewing, but again, was short lived. Fast forward to a few months ago. There are so CUTE pattern out there! I'd been spending some time on a craft/sewing machine board that was a subset of a baby message board I frequent. These ladies inspired me. I got out the old machine, and have been sewing since. I no longer want a new lightweight/quiet machine. Well, maybe I do, but I know it won't be as sturdy as my ...

Brinley turned three months old yesterday. The girls and I had a quick mini session after work to celebrate. Three outfits, one snack, and a diaper change later - here's what we came up with: I love that smile! She kept putting the skirt in her mouth.  Almost there...  Got it! Cady's at an age where she doesn't quite know how to smile - so we laughed instead ;) An outtake...John T-Rex Podstawa (aka "Bud") refuses to stay out of the pictures we take. Usually we put him in my bedroom. This shot didn't work out for many reason :) Paige Avery Brinley's talking to the big girls Yep - I made them hold hands - they look thrilled, right? Cadence is such a trooper...really - she is. Look at Brinley's left hand. Notice how close it is to Cady's hair? She kept pulling it. Cady took it like a champ. Brin's just smiling like she's doing nothing wrong. 

Technically Justin isn't a senior anymore - he graduated in June. He's super smart and musically inclined. He's headed to Mizzou in the fall.  Justin plays the trumpet - you might be able to catch a glimpse of him at some of the football games this fall - he'll be part of the marching band. He's so cute - isn't he? Thanks Vaska and Justin for letting be part of the experience - I had a lot of fun!

Now that Brinley is a bit bigger, we've upped her reflux meds. It still works great for controlling the pain. For the other tummy troubles, Dr. M recommended probiotics. BioGaia to be exact. It's a teeny bottle, retailing at just over $32. That's about $6 per milliliter. For reals. To give you an idea of the size, here it is next to a 4 oz bottle. Just 5 little drops a day will lead to good 'gut' health (as proclaimed by the box). So it will be well worth it. Wish us luck.

Baby P is 12 weeks old today! If you look closely, you'll see how wet her onesie is. It never fails, the minute I put her in something dry, she spits up again :) Kid's lucky she's so adorable. Her awesome Aunt Monica bought her a Bumbo seat the other day. Sometimes B loves it, sometimes she's just to sleepy to sit up in it. Pictured below, she's practicing her sign-language. Fist in her mouth means "feed me now." I grabbed the camera and snapped one quick one before finally giving in and feeding her. I know what you're thinking, and no, generally I don't withhold food from the poor gal. It's just that she wants to eat every hour because she spits up so much that her tummy is empty and/or her tummy hurts and she thinks she's hungry. So I try to be SURE she's hungry before feeding her.  And here she is with her Grandma A.

Brinley says "Happy 4th!" She's 11 weeks old today. Why yes, she IS very pretty in her 4th of July dress. Thanks for noticing. She always holds that little left fist up to her face when JP holds her We watched fireworks at the lake. It was so pretty. Scorching hot, but pretty. The older girls were in the water and I didn't get any shots of them :/  that seems to be a trend. I did manage to snap one sunset shot.