Baby Sewing

I’ve been busy sewing for baby lately! Rather than double post, if you’re interested you can see the goodies that have been posted over on the Monkey Stitch blog, by clicking here.

Swing Set!

Last fall, the grandparents got together to purchase a swing set for the boys. It has been an amazing gift that I can tell (especially with another boy on the way) we’ll be enjoying for MANY years.

A HUGE thanks to Daddy, Meemaw and Papa for building it- no small task. There are still a couple of parts to get up- the awning over the tower and a little picnic table that goes underneath. Then, once we get mulch underneath we’ll be ready to go!

We’ve already enjoyed lots of outside cousin playdates.

Gee, what’s that on your face, Charlie?

I had Charlie out in his cute, newly made outfit to snap some pictures of him in it…

until he found the dirt pile.

(This would be his reaction to me removing him from the dirt pile.)

Ah, boys… whatcha gonna do?

Charlie's new cart cover!

I recently made Charlie a shopping cart/high chair cover, and I think it's pretty cute if I do say so myself- although not as cute as the kid in it! Check out MonkeyStitch soon to see how easy it was!

Super Bowl 2010

Every year for as long as we've been married, Kenny, Allison, Mike and I have watched the Super Bowl together. Last year the game started late enough, and the babes were small enough that by halftime they were in bed and we actually watched some of the game (and the commercials!).

This year, not so much. We also had some very special friends over (who, I of course didn't get any pictures of, but whose blog has some fun pictures of the night) and the mamas spent most of our time at the kitchen table catching up.

This video cracks me up, and explains why I probably only watched a total of 3 plays of the game...

In case you can't tell, they're yelling something about wanting "grapes in a bowl."

They finally get their bowl of grapes.

I just love how this picture looks. The boys look a lot alike to me in it, too! Check out this post that Allison wrote to see about the last time they wore these coordinating shirts.

New V-Day Shirts

I'd been in a little of a creative funk lately, but last week I found a little of my sewing mojo. As a result, some very special kids around here got some Monkey Stitch Valentine's Day outfits. :-)

Jack, Kennison and Colton will be stylin in their matching LOVE shirts.

 

Charlie got a little outfit, and his girlfriend Madi got a matching one! I sewed a little piece of velcro on the pocket of a hoodie, then made these little removable hearts with velcro backs to stick on. Each got an initial heart, plus one with a luv saying, candy heart style. Charlie's says "Be Mine"...

and Madi's says "Luv U." After V-Day I'll be able to make a little animal or something to velcro to Charlie's so he's not wearing hearts for three more months. :-)

 

I found these little outfits (you can't see in the pics, but they have matching yoga pants) at Walmart a while ago for $1 an outfit, and I've been saving them for a very special project... I thought this was the perfect way to use them!

Some Handmade Christmas Gifts

Our Christmas was all about the homemade this year... and let me tell you I have never had more fun Christmasing (I made that word up as a little girl and it's stuck in our family :-) than I did this year! Making things for the ones you love is one of the best ways to celebrate the holiday!

Here are a few samples of what the Friedrichs are giving this year! Sorry I didn't link to any tutorials (some of these were from tutorials and some are my own design)... my bookmarks have disappeared, and I can't find them. Anybody know how to fix that- it's driving me nuts!

For the kiddos in our lives (including our own!):

Chalkboard Placemats

Coco and Jack each got a tool belt to go with a helmet/goggle set I found on clearance after Christmas last year

Play 'n Store Mats filled with various goodies (more on these later!)

A Baby Sling and Patchwork Scarves for the girlies

 

Felt Mr. Potato Head

 

Crinkle Taggie Squares, Stuffed Taggie Elephants, and Cloth Teething Rings for the Babes

And, of course, the obligatory Christmas Shirt :-)

For the grown-ups:

 

Fabric Postcards with a Fabric Writing Pen

Coffee Cozies with Felt Designs

iPod/iPhone/cell phone holders

...and a few others which shall be revealed after the recipients (aka grandparents) receive them! :-)

You can also check out Monkey Stitch, if you want, to see the Christmas Gifts Allison and I worked on for other people this season. :-)

And, I was happy to get the chance to whip up some reusable gift bags this year, too!

Family Fun

We had the chance to spend some time with Mike's extended family for baby Hunter's 1st birthday last week. Would you believe that I didn't get a single picture of the birthday boy?!

I did get a picture of the craziness that is Jack and his cousins playing! They were having stroller races (in doll strollers, what else?!) around the kitchen island.

 

It was fun. It was loud.

It was sweet.

 

What a blessing it is to be near family!

Here's a picture of the shirt I made for Hunter.

Words cannot describe the love Hunter's parents have for John Deere. EVERYTHING in this boy's life is Deere or camo. Even his name... Hunter Beau. So it was only appropriate that I help mark this occasion with a John Deere themed shirt. I also made him four mini beanbags with tractors on them, but forgot to get photos. They are cute. You'll just have to trust me. :-)

I also had the boys in matching brown shirts and overalls, but didn't think to get a picture of them together. They were cute too. And I'm sure you'll trust me on that one. :-)

Homemade Birthday, Part I

I've been bound and determined to limit the amount of "stuff" Jack gets for his birthday this year. So I decided a while ago to only give him homemade gifts for his birthday and Christmas this year. Here, I'll give a glimpse of what he's getting from us.

Here is what he's getting on his actual birthday tomorrow (Thursday) from Mama, Daddy and Charlie:

A shirt based on his very favorite show, Dinosaur Train. The main character, Buddy, is peeking out from behind the 2, which is part of the train. I'm so pleased with how it turned out and I'm pretty sure he's going to LOVE it.

A shirt and crown for his family indoor picnic party in a few weeks. He'll probably be less excited about this, but I think it's fun!

Front

 

Back

Crown

 

Check back soon to see what he's getting at his picnic party!

All Things Crafty

Just a few more updates of my crafty endeavors...

About a week before Charlie was born I decided I HAD to make a car seat blanket cover. Then I learned about rag quilts... and it was all over. I took a bunch of the smaller receiving blankets I knew (from experience with Jack) we wouldn't be able to swaddle with, and came up with this fun quilt. It will be fun for tummy time, with lots of patterns and shapes, and the sewn on ribbons mean that it ties onto the car seat perfectly to protect Charlie from the wind and coldness that I know is coming. When he's out of the infant carrier stage, they'll tie onto the stroller. Please ignore the squares that aren't well aligned. This cemented my decision that quilting is not really my thing.

Here is is on the car seat! The best part is, instead of taking it off every time, it works perfectly to just flip the front piece over the top to make a hood!

Here are the shoes I (finally!) made for Lindsay's cutie pie Natalie! I just adore the ribbon flowers that Allison taught me to make.

 

This is an I-spy quilt I made for Jack. He likes it sometimes, but not as much as I'd hoped. We've taken it grocery shopping a few times and it does keep him occupied, with me asking him to find certain objects. I backed it with transportation-themed flannel, so he can turn it over and play with his cars/ trains on it.

Finally, this is a magnetic paper doll set I made for Jack. I found templates in one of my mom's education books, colored them, then printed them out on magnetic paper and cut them out. Jack has actually played with this more than I thought he would, and "talks" to little magnetic Jack while he dresses him- so cute!