Just The Two Of Us (almost :o) )

A few weeks ago we took a few family pictures right after church (before anyone had a chance to get their clothes dirty :o) ) Things went well for the first few minutes, and all of a sudden Josiah decided he no longer wanted his picture taken. So even though this looks like it's just the two of us here having a great day, what you don't see is the craziness of two little boys running around us while one little boy is sitting in a chair waiting for a better attitude to come along so we can finish :o)

It's just life I guess. We didn't get any amazing shots but we did get a few good ones, so I still call it a success!

Here's the picture not cropped with the attitude adjustment going on behind us :o)
  

I guess it's bad of me to think this is so funny, but as a parent if you can't find a little humor in even these kinds of moments you'll go crazy!
I'm not sure if it was that the step was dirty or cold or both, but he didn't want to sit on it.

Still not quite there yet.

Getting better. Samuel was doing his best to make him laugh.

 Then Samuel thought he could sneak up behind him to give some tickles.

And it worked :o)

Samuel and Caleb were very cooperative at least!

Caleb turned 2 two days before, so he wore his new birthday outfit to church. I'll post more pics of that soon.

A Simple Skirt

I had been meaning to make this skirt for months, but it just never made it to the top of my never-ending list of what to sew next.

 I wish I would have made it sooner, since we've had a pretty mild winter and I could have worn it a good bit through this pregnancy, but it will still get plenty of use. I saved my scraps, so after this baby is born I can put a real waistband on it and have a not-pregnant me-sized skirt :o)

It started as a dress a friend gave me, so all I did was cut the top off, add darts in the back and a BIG pleat in the front, and sew on an elastic waistband that I ripped off of some really ugly maternity pants that I don't even remember where they came from. Took about 1 hour because I added a lining too. 

Easy comfy and cute!

I enjoyed wearing my newish boots with my newer boot socks that Tim gave me for Christmas!!

This was Jan.1st and I think around 60 something degrees :o). I'm loving this SC winter!!!

Maternity Jeans

I'm so happy and relieved with how these jeans turned out! So happy I have something to wear now and relieved that I didn't waste my money on this first attempt :o)

I used the only other pair of jeans that I own as a pattern just by laying them out carefully and tracing around all the pieces and then making a bit of adjustment around the belly area and waistband (they were not maternity jeans).

 I knew I wanted a really wide waistband in the back that would curve down to a more normal-looking size in the front. I put a huge piece of elastic in the back (but not pulled tight at all), to give comfort and a bit of security against having an unwanted crack moment :o)

I copied the design on the pockets from my other pair and think it looks pretty good!

So I'm about to get a little personal and then a lot personal so please forgive me in advance.

You can see better here just how high the waistband is in the back and low in the front. Even though there is only elastic in the back, I made sure I cut the fabric so the stretchiest part would be going around me, so they are really comfortable and I still have room to grow.

Now to get REALLY personal :o) It took some time to get the fit I wanted, keeping room to grow a bit more but without looking sloppy now. I'm very happy not to look like I'm wearing "mom jeans" :o)

This is me a few weeks ago at 26 weeks.

I think I've doubled in size from then to now! I'll try to get another belly shot soon.

I got the fabric at Hancock with a 40% off coupon, and by the time I got jean thread and needles they cost about $15. I just went back and got 1 more yard to make an after-baby size pair while there was a big sale, and because I already have thread and needles this next pair will only cost $7.50!!!  I used just over 1 yard for this pair, but for my regular size exactly 1 yard should be just right (that's using fabric that is 50-60 inches wide).

Christmas!!

I finished Caleb's stocking right before filling them on Christmas eve :o)

We were traveling last year on Christmas, so Caleb didn't have one yet.

We woke the boys up early so we could open a few things with them before going to my parents' so there was lots of crazy hair all around!

Caleb wasn't quite sure what was going on, but it all seemed like fun.

I thought their dump and shake method was pretty funny!

Everyone got much-needed new socks.

Tim thinks Caleb is thanking Jesus for his soda :o)

Caleb was the first one to get into his chocolate. Not a surprise :o)

Tim spent weeks on ebay looking for the perfect micro machines for the boys. He had so much fun finding them and the boys have had so much fun playing with them this week!

Samuel's belt broke a few weeks before, and that and socks with no holes were the things he asked for the most :o)
I'm so glad they can be so happy and thankful with little things!

Josiah was the only one that got something made by me. I wasn't planning on having any other presents for them other than the micro machines because they get so much with my family being so big. But when I found this guitar fabric I couldn't help myself! So we got Samuel a belt, so he would have something else, and I knew Caleb wouldn't know or care if he didnt have a second present, so I didn't worry about making anything for him (everyone did have homemade pj's that I made earlier this year and I made mine earlier that week :o) ).

Their aunt Laurie sent them Big, fun coloring books!

Even I got new socks :o)

Samuel didn't waste any time putting his on.

I can't believe how big this little guy has gotten! I really can't believe he turned 2 yesterday!!!

So many tiny cars are all over our house right now!

It's ok though, because it's also given many hours of quiet playing :o).