I love that I do these updates, even though I should certainly be getting more sleep (groan only 5.5 hours yesterday broken up into three unsatisfying bits).
I like to do it because I am glad to have this time to focus on sweet Ben. She really does get less pictures take of her, the second child syndrome I was sure would “not happen with my child.” Ha.
There are so many things I like about being a parent. And one thing I really hate, the lack of sleep. But I like to tell myself that I can always use this specialized training if ever I am held hostage and some kind of sleep deprivation is used on me. But I guess I’m just an optimist like that.
I like that having kids has made me more patient. I like that it makes me see the world a different way. I like that I can clearly see how different people can be… right from the minute they are born. See little Bennet, Miss 3% on the scales? That doesn’t stop her from figuring out how to get off my (not so close to the ground) bed. I really thing she may be the kind that does not see obstacles, but just challenges (she may also be the kind of child who gives her mother a heart attack). Today she was so close to walking. I thought she would do it while Bj was at work, so I’ve tried slowing her progress a bit, it would be lovely for him to see it first. I’m planing a baby obstacle course for this weekend so we can get her to do it when we’re all paying attention.
I read back over last month’s post and it’s funny that I was even worried about food at all. She had just started eating last month, and already she is saying no thanks to my lovingly prepared baby food (by spraying it all over herself and me). She would rather have what we’re having so I’ve obliged her. Can babies have fish and eggs? I keep meaning to look this up. I very much hope that we are rounding the corner on her food issues, this mama is DYING FOR YOGURT. Oh the fresh berries in the yard. I want a parfait like you would not believe. I have I really not had (even the tiniest trace amount of) dairy in 8 months?!?! That doesn’t even seem possible. I didn’t think I had that kind of will power, but that darling face certainly does make it easier. I am glad I can have soy, and thus, gum again though.
Enough about me. What else about Bennet? She has started the great baby language that I LOVE. She talks in it constantly and it reminded me that I needed to step up my sign language game so she can communicate with me more successfully. I signed to Tuesday all the time (I grew up learning to sign), and she had quite the large amount of signs by two, though she knows very few now. We watched a little baby signing time clip and Bennet thought it was great. I think she’d probably thing any screen thing was great, but I don’t intend to test that theory.
She is super expressive and has a great, “you have got to be kidding me” look. I need to get that one down. Tuesday and her still love each other, though she is going for more of Tuesday’s “set ups” which is unfortunate. I’ve already pulled a Playmobil flip flop from her mouth. We have dog gates around said set-ups now.
She wears trainers most of the time at home. I do realize that the only reason she really needs anything is because of me. It is just so much work to take her potty all the time that I fall back on trainers. By so much work, I mean, it interrupts what I want to do. So then I feel selfish and guilty. She really doesn’t seem to care and I rarely have to deal with poop so I’m going to give myself a break…. well I’ll try. I did take her to the grocery store in a trainer and was glad that she didn’t pee on me.
My love affair with my children continues. I just feel so lucky. My mom had a birthday and we hosted. Bj made fish tacos. Bill asked us what we thought we would be doing on our 55th birthdays. Hmm. More of this I think. Family, friends… grandchildren? Well, hopefully someday. After all babies are so wonderful.
10 months, 9 months, 8 months, 7 months, 6 months, 5 months, 4 months, 3 months, 2 months, 1 month.
Celebrating crafts, kids and the everyday through photographs.
-
-
Tuesday was tiny, Bennet is tinier! Add to that starting EC earlier than we did with Tuesday and there are not many trainers that fit my wee girl. I did find these from Charlie Banana (it doubles as a swim diaper) and got one. SO cute. But since I sew and my friend showed me a great (free) pattern that mostly uses scraps of fabric I just couldn’t justify buying more!
I took the smallest size and made it even smaller. Though the small size is rated for 0-6 months it was easy enough to customize the rise (length from crotch up to the top of the waistband) and leg and waist openings. My babies never had much chunk on them so making these openings smaller was key. The tutorial on her site is great, but I thought I would show you the modifications I made and give a few tips if you’re interested. The pattern goes up to 3-4 years so while I made these teeny tiny for Elimination Communication they could be made big for older kid potty training too!
Here are all the pieces I cut out: four pieces of flannel for the absorbent layer (just scraps, old Pjs work great for this), a waistband and two legbands cut from spandex pants I was never going to fit back into (Adidas running pants, I loved working with this material, but old swimsuits and nice tees also work. Anything with 2 way stretch – just pull the material each way and see if both ways stretch, if yes, it’s two way stretch), the two big pieces are the main panel. I cut one out of a soft old tee and one out of fleece. This is different than the pattern. I have no waterproof layer, but the fleece gives a little protection, enough for me since I change her after one pee anyway.
Here is what I’ve done now. The leg and waistbands have been sewn right sides together (I chained pieced them since that slippery material always wants to get eaten by the machine). I tried this step with my serger and didn’t like the results, for me the regular stitch here is just fine. I did a messy zig zag to tack the four layers of flannel onto the old tee shirt. No one will see this so don’t bother with perfection here.
I’ve flipped the flannel to the inside and laid it next to the fleece outer layer. Right sides together, pinning the edges to grab the tee shirt (inner) layer and outer layer (four layers total) I sew up the side. Since I have one I use a serger, regular stitches will work. The waist and leg bands have been pressed wrong sides together (I open the seams up).
Serged edges are neat and tidy, but the leg openings are a bit wild with all those layers so the next step I added to tame them before trying to put on the bands.
I flipped it right side out to show you, but I find it easier to sew from the inside. Just a simple zig zag, doesn’t have to be pretty, really it only temporarily holds it in place so that you can put on leg bands.
No pictures of that part because it is a real struggle. These things are TINY and it is all I can do to get them around my machine. See original tutorial she has a good picture. My tip if you’re having trouble would be to skip serging the leg bands, especially if you are doing something for 14 lbs and under babies. They are crazy small! I really hate this part, but the slipping and sliding (and cussing under my breath) is worth it in the end.
Really a great little trainer. And the reason for the t-shirt layer becomes apparent. This way from the outside you don’t see any stitching where the soaker is held into place. I think this looks much nicer and am so pleased my friend came up with this work around. It adds a little bit of extra time, so it may not be worth it to you, but I’m sold on this.
Here’s a stack next to the tiniest undies we own: Under the Nile XXXS, or about for a average one year old. The trainers may look bigger, but you can see the leg openings are actually smaller, which is what matters here. The green trainer shown uses anti pill fleece, which I recommend, and an old tee shirt that I loved to death that was 2 way stretch.
It was hard to get a shot of her in these things as you can see, so here is a video of her in action!
That was a prototype that wasn’t quite to the size I was aiming for, so it’s a little big, but as you can see works great when she moves. The adorable shirt is from this Etsy shop of my friend Sciarrino. -
Oh my little kitchen. 9.5 x 12.5 feet (including the walkway to get to the basement) was just getting so overrun. Really I had just crowded too much in there I think. I didn’t take full before pictures, but you saw the disaster it was the other day. When we went to put in the french doors I moved everything out of the small corner cabinets in the dining room and realized just how dusty things there were. We haven’t changed much about what was in them for years. Now that Tuesday can reach up there I thought I should put the china up and out of the way. But there was no where in the kitchen for it to go.
Time for a complete clean out. I pulled everything off every shelf. I cleaned, purged and put it all back together.
The basket of chips was me finally giving in to the fact that we always have chips and they need a place to go besides crammed next to the microwave or crunched up in a drawer. Bj has already taken his coffee maker thing off of the tray so I might have some convincing to do on some of the reorganization.
The bulk of my time was spent here, moving things around to better suit us and what we use most often. I’ve talked about my dishes here (always on the lookout for them!). I probably still kept too many serving dishes, but I really do like to entertain. This is the longest I’ve gone with out throwing a shower of some sort!
And I took all of this out and reorganized and labeled (easy since they are just chalkboard labels I cut with my Silhouette). We only have this cupboard, one drawer and our refrigerator and freezer for food. If I get something in bulk I can store it in the basement (where my preserves are – out of the light), otherwise everything has to fit in this kitchen. When I’m on top of my game in the meal planning department this is no problem. When I’m not random crap gets bought and builds up here.
(Please ignore the pineapple, they were 10 for $10 and I haven’t had a chance to process and freeze them yet). Our pots and pans go here, one drawer is all tea, another small cooking utensils and the last well, it’s the drawer we all have in the kitchen! The bins hold baking supplies, parts to our small kitchen appliances, cookie cutters and I have a whole bin dedicated to popsicle making. This buffet thing from Ikea is not the best, it does block the walkway to the basement a bit, but we needed the space. In the corner of this picture you can see our learning tower. It’s a testament to how much we use and love it that we make it work in this small kitchen!
Recycling bin, and my spice cabinet. And my cutie. We have a gate here and can also close the door going to the basement for safety.
(from our yard: strawberries and mint)
I stayed up too late (12:30) working on this, but you know that super satisfied feeling you have completing something big? When you go to bed and are just so happy you finished the thing? That was me. I was so pleased with myself. So happy I did it all. It cost me all of zero dollars to feel like I was getting a completely re-organized and updated kitchen (the basket I found in another room).
Now, what to cook…
recent posts
archives
2 page layouts 8.5×11 layouts 12×12 layouts Alaska birthday birthday party brads canning Carmen Chloe crew girls dining room DIY elimination communication fair fall food front yard hair Halloween iPhone misting Montessori newborn nighttime night time oregon oregon coast oregon state fair organization painting painting with kids party portland punches ribbon salem Sciarrino scrapbooking sewing on scrapbooking Silhouette sleep toddler Tuesday tulips