The moment you’ve been waiting for. What’s in the tote???

Ok, sorry to be so mean My poor friend Jeri worried she’d have a hard time sleeping wondering what it could be! Too funny. Ladies and gentleman, we have a winner! And the winner is……
Jennee KolthofF!!!! She took a guess on facebook, So the clue I gave was that it wasn’t underwear, “although you’d wonder”. See what I mean:

Oh my word, I laughed so hard when I was done and held it up. I thought “these look like a giant pair of skivies!”

Ok, so it’s real purpose as Jennee guessed, is a shopping cart cover. When I think of my little sweet pea lunging forward to suck on the cart handle, I throw up a little in my mouth.

Ta da!

Here he is checking out his new surroundings. This was another first for him as well. Now that he’s sitting up with minimal support, I just left him this way for the quick run into the store instead of carrying him in his carseat like I usually do.

Ok so the details: It does NOT have batting in between the layers like a lot of these things do. For me, it was all about tot-ability (did I just make up a word??). If this thing was big and bulky, no WAY would I lug it around with me…baby lunging forward to suck on handle…k, so maaaybe I’d drag it round with me but I wouldn’t be happy about it. Then I would expect some sort of bag to tuck the thing in and now I’m carrying 23,45o things for my bouncing baby boy just to go to the grocery store. I kept it very simple, lightweight and practical. Most things I make for my son, I want to be able to shove into my oversized purse, or store on my wrist.
See the pocket in front above ^ and now the the teaser pic I showed you the other day:

 ---All one piece.The whole thing, with a lot of non-gentle shoving tight rolling, fits snuggly into a little wristlet for easy toting. I added a toy snap thingy (what the heck are they called??) So that we could bring Gerry along and have him STAY in the cart with him, and not end up on the floor a thousand times. And last but not least, 2 slits in the back to allow the store’s safety straps to slip through:

Can you see how Gerry is connected to the toy strap thingy? Gerry has velcro, but in case a specific toy doesn’t, I added a snap to the strap

The small slit for the safety strap.

Aaaand my carry-all pocket. I put my coupon holder and keys in there.

My lovely photo assistant, Grandpa Don, Came out to help me with the photos. **Funny story, I ask him to come over to help me “with a project” and I inform him I need to go to walmart for a shopping cart. Without batting an eye he says “oh, so I’ll need to take my truck (instead of my car with the carseat already strapped in it, like we usually take). Translation: he assumed I was going to steal a cart to bring home!! Ha ha ha. I was like “Don! 1) You think I would steal a cart???! and 2.) You were okay with that?!?!” Ha ha. When I say this man would do literally anything for Steph and I, or his grandson, I mean it. Too funny. But I digress, lets move on. Here I’ll show you how simple it is to get it in its pocket:

step 1: lay it out in front of you on the cart, shove fold sides inward and start rolling it up towards the pocket

Step 2:

Now tuck into pocket (a little sweet talking helps, I don’t condone swearing around little ones)

Step 3:

Snap her up…

Step 5:

Wipe the sweat from your brow and shout to the Gods Halleluia! And voila! You’re the coolest person in the parking lot. Yay you

Thanks for being patient with me.

-Linds

My latest project…

Can you guess what’s inside this cute little 7in x 11in tote? I’ll give you a hint, it’s NOT underwear, although you may wonder…

Isn’t she puuurty? You’ll NEVER guess what’s tucked inside

Ok, so sorry I can’t show you what’s inside yet it’s just that my house is not equipped to show you..huh? What in the WORLD could it be??? I have to get said equipment to take a picture first, THEN, my crafty friends, you will be in the know. Now that I’ve practically given it away completely, I’ll entertain some guesses…anyone?

Nighty night

-Linds

My happy baby…

Feel better now? I do

Have a great day!

-Linds

My baby is SIX months old!!!

Half a year has gone by in the blink of an eye. (Hey I’m a poet!) Definitely the best 6 months of my life. Everybody keeps saying “enjoy it to the fullest, it goes by fast! They’ll be off to college before you know it” and believe me, I have. I’m soaking.up.every.moment. I take pictures and videos daily. I have a least one good belly laugh a day because of this kid. I’m constantly in awe of his personality, intelligence, curiosity, and sense of humor. Simply put, this kid UH-maaaazes me.

It feels like just overnight he went from a little bump on a log infant to this very active, mobile little boy! I have to be on my guard every second when it comes to those little stubby arms and hands grabbing at things. He has these cat-like reflexes that astound me and before I know it, he has a fistful of hair, phone, food, nose, glasses, jewelry, fingers… you name it.

Munchin’ on those yummy hands, and believe me, they ARE yummy—I’ve tried them.

Alrighty, we saw the doc today. He got his Dtap shot again this time and didn’t make a peep! He just nursed and looked at her while she rubbed his leg with alcohol, then went back to nursing and didn’t even flinch/grimace/whimper as she gave the shot! Yay! This made it soooo much easier for momma.
So here are his stats:
Size: He is up 1 and 1/2 pounds since his 4 month checkup. He weighed in at 15lb 11oz which puts him in the 26% percentile for weight and he’s 27 inches long which is the 65% percentile for length. My little string bean . He’s wearing 6-9m clothes consistently, a size 3 diaper, and he can officially touch the ground in his walker and jumper. The doc said he’s doing awesome and right on track!
Likes: He loves putting anything in his mouth, his carseat (thank you Jesus!) sweet potatoes, jumpin’ in his jumper, his walker, grandma, his blankie, his cell phone that talks and lights up, swimming, t.v, people, his teether, and bath time.
Dislikes: Loud startling noises like vacuum, hair dryer, or running bath water, shots, pacifiers, and being ignored.
Feeding: Well we’ve done 6 whole months of nursing which I’m pretty proud of and still going strong. I just began introducing solids (and boy was I happy I waited because what a messy process it is! Sheesh). So far we’ve tried sweet potatoes (all homemade), avocado (only once and he spit it out, but looooved playing with the slimy mess. I read somewhere that the fat content of avocados is most comparable to breast milk—it’s the healthy good-for-baby-kind of fat so I intend to keep offering this one) and rice cereal. Next on the list: butternut squash, and sweet peas. He also insists on grabbing the spoon and feeding himself.
Sleeping: We seem to have hit a rough patch. Historically, he wakes up 2 times during the night during a growth spurt and I think we may be in the midst of one now. Otherwise he gets up only once in the early morning to eat and then goes back down no problem, waking up for the day at 8:30am. Can’t wait to get through this one so he’s back to sleeping 10hr stretches. As for naps, it ranges still between 30min and 2hrs. If he only takes a 30 minute nap in the morning his afternoon nap tends to be longer or we’ll slip in a third nap .
Milestones: Well he was a late bloomer in the rolling over department but once he did, he hasn’t stopped since! He has mastered the front to back roll, but seems to like being on his back so he doesn’t roll back to front much. He can sit in the upright position unsupported for minutes at a time, but don’t distract him and make him turn his head because he’ll instantly lose his balance and topple over. Also his hand grasp is awesome and purposeful.
So there you have it!

Golly look at the size of that kid!

Alrighty, time to blow this pop stand…

-Linds

My little model and muse…

You all know I’ve been making baby projects/clothes for yeeeears, obviously before I even had my own babycakes, so let me tell you how exciting it is for me to have one at my disposal to inspire me and to try thing things on as soon as they are finished. Talk about instant gratification! In the past I would just eyeball things and guestimate on measurements and wait impatiently until the mom told me if it fit or not. Not anymoooooore Now my only problem is waiting for Eli to wake up so I can see him in it. Oh the suspense, it kills me! (Cue the dramatic music).
So I was googling tutorials for big baby butt pants (for Eli’s cloth diaper bum) and stumbled upon these adorable pants over at made-by-rae.com and LOVED them:
However I didn’t really feel like paying $10 to buy the pattern :/ I thought I’d just try making a pair of pants and enlarging the bum area. Then I checked out her other free tutorials and found a basic newborn pant and she commented that the bum area is very roomy even for a cloth diapered newborn. So I printed that puppy out and just added a couple inches to the height and length and voila! Eli’s shark outfit was born!

He’s even wearing his cloth diaper here

Then taking this very basic pattern, I used Jessica’s jean design over at Running with Scissors to copy the sewing lines that make jeans look like jeans. Her tutorial, although very well done and thorough, looked too complicated for me. She lost me at the faux fly . Anyways, for Eli’s jean I made the super simple newborn pant and added the pockets to the back, but then everything else is just stitching. So there aren’t really any front pockets or fly, just good ol’ stretchy goodness. I got this super soft stretchy jean-looking material in the clearance bin at Joanne’s and still have enough to make at least 3 more pairs so I made these “jeans” for dirt cheap. Bonus!

Here a couple pics of the stitching and stuff:

Front

Back

Stitching detail. I busted it out my double needle for the first time

And now for the pics of my little stud in them:

Cloth diaper on and everything.

Booty shot

Work it, work it.

Hi punkin.

Daddy wasn’t home to help with the photo shoot, so momma had to be the camera-woman, clown, and supporter.

So what do you think?

-Linds

Eli beatboxing…

I Sure hope you aren’t getting sick of videos but now that he’s showing so much personality, pictures just aren’t cutting it.
Tonight, while eating his sweet potatoes he started making noises that sounded like he was trying to beat box. It was HIL-arious! Lately he’s just been doing it with his copious amounts of teething drool, but after trying it with sweet potatoes in his mouth and feeling it fly out, he kept doing it—to the point where momma contemplated putting on her apron :/
So the first video was me prompting/demonstrating, trying to get him to do it on his own and he started laughing at me! So I had to post this first video just because it makes me laugh watching him laugh (**note, for those of you who are Stephanie Schumann unfamiliar with the plane and hangar analogy, when feeding a baby, the spoon is the plane and the baby’s mouth is the “hangar”, It is does NOT, I repeat, does NOT have anything to do with pooping, mmm kaaay??) Lets move on:

This next one, (much shorter, I promise) is a glimpse of him doing it before he became camera shy. Too funny:

Gosh I love that kid…
-Linds
(a.k.a Mom of future white rapper) j/k.

Eli bouncin’….

I can’t even tell you how often a stupid grin spreads across my face when I’m working around the house and Eli’s in his new mercedez benz of jumpers and I hear his music playing, meaning he used his little cool hands to press the square, circle or triangle. SOOOO. stinkin’. Ca-UUTE! He’s really getting the hang of it as he swivels around in his seat and takes in a new fun toy on the opposite side. Now he jumps and goes “da-da-da-da-da“, smacking his gums like he knows exactly what he’s saying, and so should everyone else. Here’s a video clip of him bouncin’:
(**Disclaimer: it is physically impossible for me to talk to my son without raising my voice about 20 octaves…just sayin’)

Well I can officially call my widdle bitty baby boya 6 month old tomorrow. That’s HALF a freakin YEAR people! Ahhhhhh! I won’t be doing my usual monthly post though until Wednesday after we have our doc appointment, so stand by.
Over and out
-Linds