New bed

Audra has been loving her big girl bed. I checked on her this morning, and this is what I found. Her half in, half out of bed, snoring away. She was sleeping so deeply that turning on the light to take the picture, didn't wake her up. How is that comfortable?!?
What a silly little monkey!

Winter Hat

How cute is this little hat? Finally put fabric to sewing machine and sewed up a few things from Oliver + S's Little Things to Sew.
This is the Cozy Winter Hood, which I made out of fleece. I love the ears, and so does Audra, so it's a hit and she will wear it. I love the pattern fleece for the inside of the ears and inside of hat. Just added a little teal coloured ribbon to match the inside and I think it's a successful sewing project.
Not pictured, I also made the Mittens from the book. They are the patterned fleece material and so cute! I was mildly intimidated by both patterns, but they ended up being so easy, and I am so glad I got over my pattern reading fear and just made them. I want to make so many hats because all kids should have a few of these. I am thinking I need to find some brown fleece and then she would look like a little bear!

2 Years Old!

Two years old! Wow! I still remember the day you were born. I couldn't believe that you were coming early. Jamie was all prepared and ready to go. He and I both were running on very little sleep. You were determined to come early, before Christmas, which is exactly what I didn't want to happen. I thought we had a deal. You were supposed to wait! But as we have realized, you are your own person and very strong willed. Should have known then we were in for trouble! No passive personality for you.
Through all the dealings with your MCAD and learning to adjust to no sleep, becoming a family of 3, loving and having so much fun learning, the first year flew by. Where did it go? Now I wonder, where did year 2 go?
You are so busy now. You literally have two modes, running and sleeping. You barely take a break to eat. You eat a bit then "out peeaze........!!!!!", so you can run some more.
You love people and can be very social. You love daycare and playing with all the other kids. It has definitely roughened you up playing with boys. And also made you louder. lol. You are so independent (already?) and love to do things yourself. I have to remind myself that you are not a baby anymore (as much as I would love you to stay that way) and a little girl. You like to be pretty, and will usually let me put your long hair up in pigtails. Although, if bored, you will pull out the barrets and elastics. You love to play and love your books. That makes a mamma proud! Your attention span is getting better and you can actually sit and do certain activities for more then two seconds.
Your vocabulary is getting much better. Some words are still a challenge, even for both parents. But I know you want to talk more and it's frustrating to everyone when the words don't come out. But the babble is awesome and so funny. Driving you around, it's non stop chatter in the backseat.
You love all things fun. You are such a ham, and occasionally I see some of those terrible two's showing. But that's what growing up is all about. You make us laugh all the time, and we really have to watch because the last thing I need for you to do, is think it's a good thing when you do silly things that you are not suppose to! You keep us on our toes, follow us around like a little shadow, and try to copy what we do.
You are a joy, and a special treasure. A day doesn't go by that I don't appreciate having you in our lives. It has been the best two years of our lives. I know that I speak for Jamie in saying that from both of us. He would definitely agree. Stay happy and healthy and know that we always love you so much.
Happy 2nd birthday Baby! Can't wait for the next year! xo

Angels

I never got to see your eyes,
or hold your hand, or hear your cries.
All I have are dreams of you,
those of which, will never come true.
My heart sank the day that I knew,
I would never get to meet you.
I had made plans, and had aspirations,
if only I had a little more patience.

The day I knew something was not right,
and through many tears I would have to fight.

We will not mourn for you though,
because we know you're where you need to be,
even though it isn't here with me.
You are my angel baby.
Now, forever with the angels.

None of my dreams for you will ever come true,
But, my angel baby you will always be,
in my heart forever, forever a part of me.

O Christmas Tree

Our rather large tree, who takes up so much of the corner, but is so pretty, so we'll forgive him for being a beast.
He was handpicked by Audra and Jamie, and cut down with love. I love having a real tree. The house smelt so nice when he first came in.
It is a hodge podge of ornaments, and it's always so much fun decorating. Remembering where they all came from. Christmas is all about memories right?

And my beautiful Christmas cactus is in full bloom. I bought it so many years ago, and it was tiny. It had a few forced flowers on it, I think to make you want to take it home, and then for years never bloomed again. But for some reason it loves the bay window and blooms regularly now. A few times a year at least. It's always so pretty to see.
My mom has my Babcia's and I can't even even remember how old it is now. It's huge and crazy and I know many people have gotten cuttings from it to have their own plant. Which is kinda neat. Passing the plant along.

New Glasses

What do think? Do these glasses suit her?
Either way, she loves them.
Thanks to Dad for winning them, and everyone else who donated tickets! They went to great use!

23 months

Busy is the name of the game lately. You just don't stop.
You of course are cuter then cute and your Dad and I gush way too often. But we have good reasons to!
How you are almost 2 years old is still shocking to me.
You repeat so much now. Most times it's hard to figure out what you're saying, but when we pay attention, we usually figure it out.
You always make us laugh. Sometimes you know to do it purposely, oh oh, already? Not good. But then other times you don't even know why we're laughing.
The latest obsession has been Elmo, and we can't figure out where it came from. It's like kids are naturally drawn to Elmo. You love him. It's funny when you see him sometimes, you actually whisper his name.
You saw your first snowfall, and were very excited to tell me that you saw "noooo". I guess we'll keeping working on those s sounds! You have been loving soup, just like your momma. I love how fast you gobble up pea soup or Italian wedding soup. You are also thrilled to share smoothies with mom. We both could use some extra fruit lately to help our cold. You know, that cold you brought home and gave both your Dad and I.


Here's to one more month before you hit that 24 month milestone. 2 years old. Wow. Still my baby, but really not anymore. You are a little person now, not a baby. Still hard to believe.

We Clean Up Pretty Well

We went to a wedding recently and thought I would post a picture of Jamie and I, as I feel not many of our shots make it to the blog.
Oh wait, don't get the opportunity to take many with just the two of us!

Knitting away

In an effort to keep going on my 101 list, I have been tackling some knitting projects that are not dishcloths. lol.
The top is going to be a hat for Audra for this winter, just need some assistance on the i-cord for the front. I love the wool, and have been holding on to it for quite some time. Really, why not use it up. Audra's snowsuit is going to be purple, so it will match great!

And I am loving this season's trend of cowl's. This is my first one, so quick and easy. I already have another on my needles! I love that you can wear it long as a scarf or double it and keep your neck warm. The next one I have started is smaller, so won't hang as long or be able to be doubled, but think it will be just as great. Can't have too many, winter is coming.

The Bapron

The minute I saw this tutorial for the Bapron, baby apron, I knew I needed to try it out. What a great idea. It slips through the arms and ties in the back. It's vinyl on the front so perfect for coming clean and trimmed with bias tape. How easy?


The bapron in action. Audra seems to like it well enough. When I finished sewing it, I came up to try it on her and got a very loud, NO. Ok then. She later let me put it on her and was fine with it.
I really like the way it fits her and think I could definitely scale it up and make a larger one for her.
I love Jess and all her tutorials at Craftiness is not an option. She makes some really amazing clothes for her little girls and all her tutorials make me want to sew Audra a new wardrobe! lol.
Here is her bapron tutorial:
http://www.craftinessisnotoptional.com/2011/05/bapron-tutorial.html

Moda Candy Bar, 1st project

A Moda Candy bar fabric pack. My great mom got me this for my birthday and I am just starting to crack into it. It is a four pack of 2.5" rectangles, with four different fabric lines.
The funky one is from Lisel, of Oliver + S, the others are really pretty and flowery, which might become a banner or pillow.
The funky pattern was quilted into this:

a little travel pillow for Audra for the car. Her poor little head flops around when we travel in the car, and she falls asleep, so I thought something like this would be great. I have a very ratty travel pillow in the car that I've had for years. So I traced it and then scanned it down to size. I was going to do the whole pillow kinda patchworky, but thought the soft minky would be nice for her next.
Now, if only she would keep it around her neck! I will have to put it on when she falls asleep in the car.
I still have quite a few squares left, may need to make my pillow a cover and we can match.
Is that too much? lol

22 months

I feel like these posts get closer and closer together. It probably doesn't help to not blog as much as I would like. Pesky work getting in the way again.

22 months. So close to two years old. Where has the time gone? You constantly surprise your father and I. You are so full of energy and it's great being able to see things through your little eyes. You definitely force us to stop and smell the roses. We laugh at the little things that amaze you, but when you step back, some of those things are pretty amazing.
You are growing into your own special little self. You are so much fun and each and every day is an adventure. Thank you being you. We love you so much.

Just a short post, as the 23rd will be here before I know it!

Thanksgiving

3 days, 3 turkey dinners, lots of family, and 3 very tired people. (or 2 tired adults and 1 tired toddler)
The usual busy, crazy travelling all over the place weekend began with the Rockton fair Friday night and the tour ended at the Millers for dinner last night. Thrown in were 2 opening shifts, oh wait, add another today, so 3.
3 seems to be the number.
It was good though. I didn't have to cook any turkeys, just carved one. I did make these wonderful pumpkin cupcakes that are exactly two ingredients. How you ask, that will be another post. Also made some great pumpkin snickerdoodles. Mmmmm....

Thanksgiving is always a time to count blessings. I have many in my life and can't complain. Have a job, don't love it everyday, but that's why it's called work and not fun right? I have hobbies that I love and help relieve stress and the long days sometimes. I have a wonderful person by my side, who loves me , helps me, is my rock, is a wonderful person and fantastic dad. And my monkey, it's crazy how much I love you. A mother's love, that ain't no expression, its so true. Each day I am so thankful for both of you. Neither of my loves read this, but they know how much I love them, and how thankful I am that this is my life!
Happy gobble gobble.

Rockton Fair

We only got to one fair this year. As opposed to three last year. Ah, the joys of mat leave.

Thought we'd stay close to home and visit the Rockton fair.

It's small enough, but still has lots to see and do. Audra, of course, was in heaven with all the real animals. She loved the moo-cows, and making baaa noises to the sheep. Had to watch that no hands went into the various chicken and duck cages. The big turkeys did scare her though, and she backed up pretty quick in seeing the peacocks. Much prefers the smaller birds.
This was the only animal picture I got where you can see the animal and not a little blurry miss jumping around. She was very excited to see the animals. It was so cute.

And all kids love the corn sand box. It is filled with corn kernels that act as the "sand" in the sand box. Audra loved it. Pretty much no kernels made it to the bucket with the shovel, so she decided to use her hands. She's a riot!
I love being able to take her to see the animals. It's great to see how she knows what they are even though she's only see some of them in pictures.

Turkey Shirt

A turkey shirt for my little turkey!
I couldn't resist making one. I have seen so many floating around in blog land, thought I'd try to make my own. Really, just a few shapes in various fabrics sewn on to a onesie. I left the turkey faceless and legless, just wanted to keep him simple. Or maybe her. She does have pink in her tail feathers.
We did mange to get two turkey dinners out of the shirt, not bad for a messy little girl most of the time.

Snack/treat bag

A new little snack bag, made with a pattern from my sewing with oilcloth book. I believe that this is laminated cotton, not oilcloth. And I thought in trying to keep it kid-friendly, I would line it with cotton.

Big strip of velrco keeps it closed and there is plenty of room for lots of goldfish and puffs and little jelly toddler (yucky) snacks that Audra loves!
Love the idea of using reusable bags, no plastic for snacks, and can be used over and over. Think I may need to make some for myself!

On a side note, we have all those stupid plastic hinges/locks on the cupboards so she can't get it in. Well they open a small bit so you can actually unlock them, and someones little hand is just big enough to slide into the cupboard where those jellies are kept. Might have to move those now! lol. At least she hasn't figured out how to open the plastic packaging!

New Books

I find that my little sewing obsession has lead to not only buying wonderful fabric but coveting some very amazing books. Thankfully, my great brothers supplied me with some Chapters gift cards for my birthday, that went to great use.

I did buy the Game of Throne series for my Kobo, as they were a fantastic price. Hoping to get the second one finished before it comes out next year on HBO. We'll see what happens.

Also bought:
I love this book! (Who am I kidding? I love them all) But the patterns in this book are so cute. There is a mix of everything, clothes, bags, and everything sweet for little guys! It is already covered in post it notes!
The oilcloth book is fantastic and the other one caught my eye, filled with neat clothes, and great style.
Now to get sewing!

And because I have dragged my sister into my sewing world, we split on a few great books too,
Oooooo.....not enough time in the day for all these great books!

Apple Picking

A gorgeous Sunday morning lead us to Frootogo's Farm in Waterdown, to pick some apples.
It's the same farm we went to last year to pick pumpkins. They are small, and family friendly, and love being able to support a very local farm.
They have some animals, a corn maze, and huge kids playground (that we didn't get to as the little miss was getting tired) and trees upon trees of apples.



Then there was the apple the monkey had to eat. The pictures were so hard to take as I was laughing. The sheer determination on her face and the concentration? So funny! She loved it. Ate almost a whole one then started another.

Another great tradition to start. It will eventually teach her that good food can be close. Supporting local is great, a good lesson for us all.

The baking and cooking has already started.
The crockpot turned out a stellar apple sauce, that I added raspberries and strawberries to. So good. The apples are so sweet and wonderful, that there is not a drop of added sugar to the apple sauce. I made some apple chips too, and we'll see what the little monkey thinks of them. She loved the apple sauce so much, as did we, that I think the crockpot will be filled tomorrow with much of the same.

Yay for fall being here. Yay for great apples. And yay for hanging up wreaths and leaves and pumpkins.

21 Months

I feel like these posts come quicker and quicker. How is already the 21st month? How are you going to be two so very soon? Your Aunt Kat posted a picture of you on facebook recently, from the day you were born, and I don't remember you that small. Hard to believe the little miss you've become.

You never cease to surprise me or your dad. The two of us are constantly amazed at what you do. You are so funny, and there are many times that we have to turn away because we, or I, feel like we shouldn't encourage you or your antics. You want to eat whatever we do, and watching you eat with a spoon makes me nothing short of nervous. I have seen what you can do with a spoon and yogurt. But an entire bowl of soup was eaten and I don't think a drop fell. Good job my little monkey.
You love grilled cheese, and of course ketchup. You dip, dip and dip some more. It's so cute. You even say dip, dip.

You love new things, and are such a daredevil. I feel like I chase you all the time now. Nothing seems to be safe anymore. Your new favourite thing is to jump all over your dad, which is kinda funny. He doesn't quite agree right after dinner, but humors you just the same.
As the seasons are starting to change, I have to switch out all your summer clothes and it's amazing to me that next year you won't be wearing them. You started out so small, how have you gotten so big? I look at the clothes that are hanging in your closet and I think, don't grow, I don't want you to fit into those yet.
But, the world keeps turning, you keep growing and no matter what I do, it's going to happen. We went and saw the genetics team the other day, and they are so happy for you being "normal". You have had no health episodes and that's a good thing. The less amount of health scares an Mcad child has, the better. But we always worry and do everything in our power to keep you safe and protected. We always will, that's what parents do. Hey, it's because of us you are saddled with it. You are so special and unique, one in 17,00 in Mcad terms, and one in a million in our eyes.
Happy 21st month baby.

I found this picture on Pinterest and couldn't resist posting it. It's so true and funny all at the same time!