Little style

So it looks like the DVF for baby Gap stuff is out. It is cute, but dang it's kind of pricey. I really like this Fred Flintsone-ish T-shirt dress, but it's $43 and I think my $43 would be better spent on some salt water sandals that she will wear every day and I can save for (still TBD) future baby.

What is it about kid's clothes that are so tempting? I never buy stuff for myself anymore, I could basically leave my house in a gunny sack these days, but putting M in cute outfits delights me. My mom got her this pair of Neon Chartreuse skinny jeans that made me squeal with delight. I squealed. Out loud. Upon taking them out of the dryer. I tried to get a picture of her in them, but she was more interested in throwing my phone around and rolling in the duvet that was on the floor.

We're not going to win any photo contests with that one, but you get my drift.

My guilty pleasure these days is going through the clothes I have saved (from thrifting, hand me downs, etc.) for her as she grows and just laying them out and then refolding them and putting them away. When me and my sister were littles, my mom's aunt who was a seamstress in Vienna would send us clothes she had made for our dolls. I wonder if this is where my love of hand crafted apparel comes from?

The Hat that won't be worn...

It has been so crazy hot this last week (hello sunburned neck I received when walking home from the Duff the other day) so I figured I better get going on making M a summer hat. The thing is, she hates wearing hats, like hates it, pulls them off right away. Is this all toddlers? I have surely seen other tots in the park with sunhats on. It is extra sad because I have an unholy love of hats.

Anyways I digress, I decided to make the same one I made last summer for her from the Sewn With Love book by Fiona Bell.

I really love this book, I made some stuff from the baby section for her last summer and I am super excited that I can finally make all the cute things for toddlers in there!

This is the third time I've made it and I'm kind of a pro at it now which feels nice. I had to make the pattern bigger since she is too big for the baby version, but it worked out just fine. It lasted on her head about 23 seconds before it was yanked off, I did manage to grab a shot of the front and the back for our viewing pleasure.

I made it pink so that people can stop calling her a boy. I heard people in Ikea the other day talking about her and the daughter was saying to her father, no la nina, la nina and pointing at her pink shoes. I like pink as much as the next guy, but feel no need to drape her it just because she is a girl.

Next up for sewing projects? The vintage inspired pyjamas from the same book....feels good to be making things again, I missed you sewing machine!

Notes from the Editor...

Here are some pics from our week. It seemed to take forever for the weekend to come and now sadly it has gone. We have been having some amazing sunny days which means hanging out in the windows when we are inside and in the parks when we are outside.

  We managed to finish off a few house projects in the last couple of weeks that helped say good bye to the last of the boxes. Here's a pic of our new shelves that we did last weekend. (we still have to get the rest of our books from Babi's so it looks a little spare).

and I finished the window seat cushion and curtains too!

Now if I only had time to lay there and read....one of these years it'll happen.  AND we got this amazing new plant that I am in love with. We locked eyes across the Home Depot Hot house and I knew I wasn't leaving without it. Here it is with the red balloon Kristen and Kyle brought over for Maude to replace her yellow friend. I kind of think maybe balloons should always be a part of everyone's life....balloons can solve all our problems you guys, and if they can't, they can at least brighten up the corner of a room. Hope you all had an amazing weekend!

Mickey and Maude

The Papa has been working day and night on a project at work so it has been me vs baby+dog around here for the last 3 days and I think we are all feeling the affects. I've got to hand it to single moms, ladies I don't know how you do this by yourself all the time.

In good news the weather has been AMAZOID lately and we hit up the park with one of Maude's first friend's Mickey. Mickey is exactly 2 years and 1 day older than Maude and they are frickin cute together.  M has met swings before, but this was her first slide experience and I think it was most agreeable. As usual I dressed both of us completely inaccurately for the weather, I mean I know it's been nice, but it's still winter, why do I think jackets are no longer needed. Good thing I happened to have her Scottish Rastafarian tam in the stroller basket!

Looks like we have some more teeth coming in up top, where in Zeus's name is the rest of her bottom teeth? Still holding at 2.

This whole "Spring" thing is really hitting the spot right about now. I think we made it dudes....long live Spring (well Summer, but Spring will do for now)!

14 months

I forgot to post this last week, we are still without car and am knee deep in laundry piles. We did manage to finish making our wall of shelves this weekend which makes me SO happy! Bit by bit we are getting things done around here. I also managed to hang out with some good friends and eat amazing home made pizza, which was my last hurrah to gluten for awhile. Life is going to be pretty sad without bread OR cheese in it. If you need me I will be eating rice alone in the corner for the next little while.

when it rains, it pours...

What a crazy day! It started out good, I went all the way up to Don Mills and Lawrence to see if these fabric thingies were on sale at Anthro because I want to make a cushion for the bench seat out of them and Anthro always has great sales.

They were, success...until the car didn't start right away....and the check engine light came on....and then smoke started coming out of the hood in a serious way. Long story short, we got towed back downtown then I took 2 streetcars and a bus in the rain and when I got off the bus, my umbrella stroller was broken so I carried a 25 lb toddler, two bags and a stroller all the way home. What a crazy adventure, so glad to be home with a steaming cup of Krakus right now.

I have no pictures of this adventure since my hands were more than full, here is a stock photo of someone else on a different adventure.

fin

The balloon got closer and closer to the ground and was still loved....

until we got home from a walk and it was lying at ground level. Her love turned to hate as she tried to stomp it to an early death. This is how I like to remember Yellow Balloon in the Autumn of it's life.

Not sad and greasy with twisted string lying on the kitchen floor.

It continues....

The Balloon is operating at about 50% right now...hopefully the bloom of their love wears out before the bloom of it's youth does....

the love affair continues...

M rolled out of bed this morning and promptly got her new best friend yellow balloon. SO we woke up to this;

Good thing the camera was so close. Have you ever seen such unadulterated adoration? She cackled with delight as she double fisted breakfast and balloon.

I snuck us out the door to go to swimming sans balloon, but they reconnected as soon as we got home. I fear the balloon will not last the week....

It's all about the balloon

We braved the sub zero temps to go out to the Musket for Schnitzel with Babi tonight.  M fell asleep in the car and woke up at 6pm in the restaurant. The rare 5 pm nap that happens never ends well. She always wakes up grumpy at that time and it means we are looking at a 10pm bedtime bare minimum.

Our only saving grace was this lone yellow balloon she found in a dark corner of the restaurant. She clung to that thing like it was gelfling essence all through dinner, all the way home, switching hands only to take her jacket off. It was freezing when we got home so we decided to throw the whole family into a hot bath. She wouldn't even let go of the balloon in the bath...

Or while drying....

After putting on jammies, she just kind of lay in bed staring at it's yellow beauty...

When will this love affair end?

Update; 11pm

Also of note...

So when you become a mom you stop having time for a lot of things in your life. It starts with personal activities like yoga and movie watching as well as personal hygiene. Who has time to shower/cut your nails/pluck eyebrows?  Well for the last few days, weeks maybe I have been noticing that my foot has been hurting and today I looked at it and found a piece of glass was stuck in it. I have now become a person that doesn't have time to remove shards of glass from my body. I hope my head doesn't get cut off this weekend....it might take me a few days to notice.

What a world...what a world...

We experienced a true toddler meltdown yesterday at Ikea. To be fair it was a whole day of car seats and strollers and one missed nap. How much fun is doing errands and shopping for a 1.16 year old? 0% fun.

I always thought I would have one of those babies that was super chilled out. I have heard through the grapevine that I was a "good" baby and Ivan is super laid back. M is what they call Precocious I guess. Here are some questionable signs I have noticed as of late; she sometimes likes to hit her own head into the wall over and over,  she growls when she doesn't like what is happening, she likes to harass my person and then cackle like a she demon from the netherworlds. One thing is for sure, life with you dear Maude will never be boring.

Here she is in the back seat with Ollie...we managed to fit 2 adult humans, 2 babies with car seats, 2 giant strollers, lots of vintage loot and some Ikea plants into our little red car. They are hamming it up for the camera and pretending they don't hate car seats!