Sewing with my girl

 With Cam's help this weekend, I was FINALLY able to get out my sewing machine for the first time! He  helped me set it up and then baby wrangled as I got to test out my new machine.

 Naturally, Clem wanted in on the action almost immediately and I was happy to have an assistant. At first she was a bit wary and didn't want to get to close to the needle bobbing up and down, but she warmed up pretty quickly and got right in there with me.

 Then a second assistant wanted to know what kinds of fun we girls were having. In this picture I am helping guide Clem's "purse" through the sewing machine while trying to keep the cord out of Dutch's reach. That boy LOVES to chew on electrical cords.

 And here's one of our finished projects! We made a purse for Clem and two Barbie sleeping bags! It was a blast and we are both itchin' to get back to more sewing!

Happy Birthday Nolan!

 Little Nolan turned 4 this weekend! Boy, how time flies! His birthday party, on the ACTUAL day of his birth, was at Jungle Play Land in South Seattle. It was such a blast. I kind of want my birthday parties to be there! There was something for kids of all ages.

 The babies loved watching the big kids play.

 There was a big trampoline,

 and a bar for swinging.

 "Hold up. Is that cake?" Clem seems to be saying.

 There was a giant rock climbing wall and tons of fun stuff to do.

The party was perfect. We left with full bellies, Clem had pink cheeks and a smile from ear to ear.

7 Months

Our boy is 7 months already. Each month that passes I say the same thing: How did we get here so quickly??

 At 7 months, Dutch is crawling, pulling himself to standing and attempting to "cruise" along the furniture. He has just the hint of his first tooth, sharp as glass. He is eating lots of pureed veggies and has dabbled in fruits. He can say "Mama," mostly when he is upset and needs me to soothe him.

 If there was one word to describe this baby boy at 7 months of age, it would be INTENSE. His teething? Intense.
Nursing? INTENSE.
Play time? Sweetly intense.
Bath time? There's no water left in the tub from all the intense splashing going on.
Bedtime? I*N*T*E*N*S*E*

He even has intensely blue eyes!

She's Crafty!

 Every year around Thanksgiving, my sister asks "What are we doing for your birthday this year?" Usually, I either shrug or ask to do mani/pedis. This year, I was ready, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: Pinterest Party.
My original idea included apps and 'sserts (my two favorite food groups), crafts and kids. We worked together to pin ideas for food, kid crafts and Christmas crafts that my sister and I could do together. We set a date. Then Dutch got a funky stomach bug. No matter! We'd plan for the following week. Then I got the flu. It lasted a week. We missed out on Christmas crafting.
Then, when we got together for family Christmas, my sister gave me some beautiful fabric and all the materials we'd need to make a skirt together. Megan knows how to sew, I do not. My skirt to be came with a specially designed tutorial!

 So, the two oldest babies watched Brave (and later went bouncing at the Jump-Jumps with Cameron) while Dutch stole every teether Miles brought (and then later both babies slept and we really got down to work).

 Megan put me right to work. At first, I was afraid. I was petrified!

 Just kidding, it was actually super fun. I got an A+ in sewing straight lines (slowly).

 And before Megan left for the day, I had my gorgeous skirt! I would say she did somewhere between 70 and 95% of the work but I was very busy learning!

Now I definitely have the itch to get my own sewing machine and teach myself to sew. I am envisioning an entire new wardrobe.
I had the perfect pre-birthday birthday party with my crafty sister.

Dutch on the go

Cam has said all he wants for Christmas this year was for Dutch to start crawling. And on our third celebration of Christmas, that's exactly what Dutch did. Out of nowhere our boy gave up army crawling in favor of real, big boy crawling.

I love the look of pure happiness on Cam's face in this picture.

Christmas Morning

I have looked forward to a Christmas morning with TWO bundles of joy for such a long time. This Christmas was everything I had hoped for.
Our Christmas morning tradition means making Clem wait on the stairs before she can open presents. It's funny to see her anticipation building and building. I love getting her picture just as she wakes up, wild eyes and messy hair.

 All year she has asked for a pet Poodle. Preferably a PINK pet Poodle. I found the next best thing and nearly jumped with joy in the Target aisle! A stuffed Pink Poodle appropriately named Pinky Paws.

 Last year, the only thing on Clem's wishlist was a Nutcracker. Of course we got her one last year and found a baker's themed Nutcracker for this year. I'm hoping this will be the start of a new Christmas tradition for our girl.

 Dutch got a few new things for his Christmas gifts...

 but the wrapping paper was really the biggest hit.

A beautifully low-key Christmas morning was enjoyed by each of us!

Gingerbread Houses

 As is our tradition, Clementine and I made mini gingerbread houses (courtesy of Wilton) just before Christmas. In keeping with tradition, I had the flu so I sat back taking pictures rather than getting anywhere near anything edible!

 Clementine had a great time putting together the little mini houses and sneaking swiped fingerfuls of icing, a gumdrop here and there.  And Dutch had a great time watching from his front row seat.