handmade Christmas 2011

Benjamin's oldest brother and his wife are expecting a little boy who is due to arrive in April. We are so happy for them. Of course I had to make a baby blanket for the new little nephew (my first nephew!), and sending it at Christmas time along with their other gifts just seemed like the logical thing to do.

Brother loved the quilt and helped me pin it together.

It took a bit of convincing before he understood

that this blanket was for his new cousin

and not for him.

As I worked on this quilt,

the bright colors, simple geometric shapes, and transportation prints

made me think of one of my boys' favorite board books:

Trucks by Byron Barton

So of course I had to get a copy

so that their cousin

can enjoy it

too.

sibling, child, and family portraits

Yes, we covered a lot of ground very quickly in this hour session--we had to because it was cold, and the little ones would not have stood for much dawdling. This was my first photo session for people whom I had never met before stepping out of my car, camera in hand, to take their photos. It was, well, good but different than anything I've ever experienced.

Two sisters asked their mom to purchase photo sessions for them for their Christmas gifts, and then they were planning on using some of the photos to give the their mom as her gift. Pretty clever. They heard about me from a mutual friend. The following are a few of my favorite photos:

The older sister and her two adorable little ones.

I have to confess that I favor photographing little boys.

They're unpredictable and uninhibited,

they have such energy and zest for life,

and they usually have some excellent, creative ideas

of photos they would like for me to take.

They never fail to make me smile.

Little girls are fun too,

but I don't have as much experience photographing them yet...

The younger sister, her fiance, and their little son.

sisters

all three little ones

monday menu

[farmers' market tomatoes--this seems so long ago now]

I am very much enjoying getting back into my routine. : ) The following are the dinners I'm planning on making this week:

M-macaroni and cheese

T-french toast

W-roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, squash

Th-black eyed pea soup (highly recommended by a friend) and fresh rolls (hopefully)

F-Benjamin's work Christmas party for the grown ups, grilled cheese for the children

I will probably also use the left over squash to try these interesting sounding squash pancakesfor lunch one day. They might be a horrible flop, but then again, they might not be. It's worth a try.

What's on your menu this week?

handmade Christmas 2011

Benjamin's family draws names for Christmas. When I draw a girl's name, it's easy to figure out what to make, but last year I drew the oldest brother's name, and this year I drew the middle brother's name. Oy. Guys are harder to sew for.

When I looked at my brother-in-law's wish list this year, though, I was pleasantly surprised to see something that I thought I could make: a sock monkey golf club cover! I found a good tutorial and ordered some rockford red heel cotton monkey socks (yes, they're actually called that!). With some trepidation (I am much more comfortable making bags than monkeys, and I do not love sewing knit fabric), I began.

When I finished I was pleasantly surprised at just how well the little fellow turned out. He came together quickly (I finished him in a single afternoon/evening.), and I was relieved to discover that knit fabric is actually easier to work with in some ways.

Yes, I am very pleased with how this little sock monkey golf club cover turned out. I hope that my brother-in-law will enjoy him!

four months

Yesterday was my little Sweet Pea's four month birthday!

I simultaneously dread and love writing these child-update posts.

I love documenting where they are, the new things they're doing.

I dread trying squish their lovely and charming,

many-faceted personalities into words.

Right now Sweet Pea...

has promoted from sleeping in her cradle to her crib in the Nook

lies in bed peacefully watching her mobile until she falls asleep

is beginning to have definite morning and afternoon naps

still likes to be swaddled to sleep

makes happy noises when she hears me coming to get her up

"launches" herself into being picked up by arching her back,

flailing her arms, and kicking her legs

is staying awake for longer periods of time

likes playing with a variety of toys

gets bored if she's in one position or playing with one toy too long

thinks it's hilarious when Little Man jumps

holds up her head with great stability

enjoys sitting up to play and look around

loves to stand with help

discovered and plays with her toes

is fascinated by studying hands

delights Brother by holding onto his fingers

still loves music

has been waking up at about 6 for the past few mornings and singing

has a sweet clear singing voice

(which is different than her talking voice)

as well as a funny little Louis Armstrong impression voice

has a charming dimple in her left cheek

loves to cuddle

hangs on tightly when held upright against someone's shoulder

has a way of charming us all

sibling photos

Recently a friend from church (Who, incidentally, also is my hair stylist and my favorite barista at our local Starbucks and whose mother altered my friend Katie's wedding dress--living in a small town is so interesting.) asked me to take some pictures of her and her brother. They wanted to have some nice photos to give their parents for gifts.

It was my first sibling photoshoot, and let me tell you, it was a lot of fun! My friend and her younger brother are good friends and have such a fun dynamic. Plus they both had so many creative ideas that I hardly felt like I was working at all! We got an impressive 87 good photos from their not-quite-hour session. Below are a few of my favorites.

Snowboarding as a family is a special part of their lives,

so taking photos of them with their snowboards was important.

Too bad there was no snow on the ground...

the stockings were hung with care

We are doing minimal Christmas decorating this year: our stockings, a tiny advent Christmas tree from my childhood, the nativity scene, and a couple of strings of white lights. Putting out any more seems so overwhelming, and taking it down seems even more so. I'm finding that the more I do simple decorations, the more I like them...

Two years ago I made coordinating stockings for our family from linens and fancy trims, but of course that was before we had Sweet Pea. So last week I pulled out my stash of stocking supplies and made a new girly stocking for her.

Our five stockings look quite nice hung in a line from our little mantle.

While I worked on the stocking, the boys kept me company. Brother pinned pieces of muslin together. Little Man cut, pinned, and hand stitched scraps of the linen together into his first sewing projects!

We we both delighted with the results. I love that the boys are getting coordinated and aware enough to enjoy observing me making things and to make their own projects alongside me, but it does make it more of a challenge to make their gifts... : ) More handmade Christmas coming soon.

monday menu

[farmers' market onions]

After a couple of weeks of culinary chaos, it feels good to be organizing again. Here's what I'm planning to make this week:

M-chicken tacos

T-pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fruit

W-tuna melt sandwiches and carrot sticks

Th-some sort of mushroomy pasta to use up the mushrooms in my refridgerator

F-crock pot chili and hopefully fresh rolls

What's on your to-make list this week?

thanksgiving trip

We spent the entire Thanksgiving week

with my in-laws

in Utah.

We had a wonderful

fun, relaxing trip.

I love my in-laws.

They are definitely near the top of my thankful list.

While we were there:

We feasted.

(But I was too busy eating to take photos.)

We sang.

We danced.

We wore our pretty clothes

and posed for pictures.

We libraried and read books.

We played.

We golfed.

(Benjamin fit in three games

and I went to the driving range twice

because I'm not good enough to really golf yet.)

We colored.

We were speechless

when my father-in-law who generally hates cats

announced his decision to get one

for my mother-in-law.

We recovered our power of speech

and got to help him choose the new kitty.

We visited the train yard

where my father-in-law works.

We gifted.

We shopped a little.

(But not on Black Friday

because we're not insane.)

We visited

The Living Planet Aquarium

where we had a ton of educational fun.

We visited

with long-lost friends.

We dated.

Yes,

it was a lovely trip indeed.

But I am oh, so glad to be back home.

handmade Christmas 2011

As you may recall from last year, I really enjoy making hand made gifts for my family. I don't go quite so far that all of the gifts are handmade (for example, crayons are pretty hard to manufacture at home...), but I do like for everybody to have a handmade gift or two.

This year I began my Christmas craftiness with gifts for my three-year-old niece. A few months ago, her mom saw a tutorial for little ruffle backpacks, loved the idea, and sent it to me (I'm the only sister-in-law who sews), so my choice for her gift was easy. I deviated from the tutorial, but the idea is basically the same.

My little niece loves pink, so I went all out, using three different shades. I like how it turned out even though the effect is rather riotous.

Inspired by a Pinterest find, my second gift to her is a store bought turtle neck embellished with my own pink and green ribbon Christmas tree applique. This was my first applique onto knit fabric. I was delighted with the result and am sure I will be doing more of it!

I'm eagerly looking forward to packaging these up and sending them to bring Christmas cheer!