Summertime Dress: Take 2

I attempted to make this very same dress almost three years ago (that seems so long ago!), but didn't do the greatest job.  I liked the idea of it, but in execution, it was too big and baggy and I hardly ever wore it.

But!  I decided to give it another go this week, with much better results.  Here it is, the perfect little summertime dress:


The front and back are identical crossovers (which I guess technically makes this dress reversible.  Spill mustard on one side at a BBQ?  No prob, just flip it around!).  This dress also features three of my all-time favorite things:  a wacky pattern (elephants!), pockets, and, of course, an elastic waistband.  Another bonus for me in this season of my life:  breastfeeding friendly!

More Summertime Dresses to come, now that I have the pattern down to a science!

Viva-ing in Las Vegas: Hiking Springs Mountains National Recreation Area

This weekend we took our second little family hike (here's the first!).  This time, we headed to the local mountain area known to locals as Mount Charleston, but the official name is either Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest or Spring Mountains National Recreation Area...as you can see, even the sign below says both.  About 30 minutes from the north edge of Las Vegas, this is a gorgeous area perfect for a day trip; there are dozens of trails to choose from and even a ski/snowboard area in the winter!

We chose Sawmill Loop trail because it was only 1.3 miles and had less than 100 feet of elevation change.  Sounds about right for taking a baby along!

The views were beautiful, the weather perfect, the sun shining brightly.  We could not have picked a more perfect day.

Nor could we have chosen a more ridiculous hat to put our baby in (isn't that the best thing about babies?  You can dress them however you want and they can't say anything about it!).

 Spring was springing!  Along with the ol' obligatory cactus.  We are still in the desert, after all.

Then AA decided he didn't want to be in the ErgoBaby anymore and would rather be physically carried in someone's arms the rest of the trail.  The better to feel the trees, I suppose!

How un-Las-Vegas-like does this picture feel with that gorgeous mountain in the back?  Just so beautiful!

Please allow me to take the rest of this post to post more baby ridiculousness that is so cute I can't even deal with it:

THE HAT.

 THE PANTS.

 THE STARE.

 And for the baby who insists on being carried, the only thing that will do is THE LION KING POSE.

My Week in Motherhood

>  No matter what time of day it is, if he's hungry, tired, wet, or grumpy, no matter how bad or good he may feel, the Mario Bros. song will always, ALWAYS get a smile.  [see photo above]

>  AA has now had a runny nose for 20 days straight.  A week ago, he gained a sore throat, cough, and wheezing on top of that.  To say we've been a little bit miserable would be an understatement.  There is nothing more pathetic than a sad baby...and there's also nothing more hilarious.  Obviously I feel horrible that he feels horrible, but sometimes he's just so melodramatic about it, I have to hold in my laughter.

>  Caring for a sick baby is almost as exhausting as being sick yourself.  It has been yet another lesson in "So this is how my mother felt!"  I remember how comforting and better it felt to be near my mom when I was sick as a kid; it is incredibly humbling to know that I'm doing the same for AA now, too.

> One morning this week, I started singing "The Circle of Life" to AA while he sat in his high chair and I emptied the dishwasher, and I got so overwhelmed by emotion, I couldn't finish.  Not even because I was thinking about the meaning of life or anything deep...I just literally love The Lion King to the point of tears.

>  As the sickness stuck around and each day got a little harder, I noticed that I slowly devolved into a total slob.  On Monday, I had fixed hair, make-up on, and wore real clothes; today, I have day 3 hair, no make up, and wore sweats.  Just ran out of energy!

>  I want, need, and will possibly physically and mentally collapse if I don't get a little break this weekend.  Scott has promised me 3 baby-free hours out of the house!  I'm imagining something simple:  a Target trip without a car seat in the cart, a smoothie while I sit in the sun at a park, and maybe even an afternoon matinee.  Isn't it amazing how in just 4 months an afternoon like that has become a total luxury - and something that has to be planned in advance?!

>  I am now a woman who picks her child's boogers and wipes his nose on her clothes.

>  This evening during the witching hour, I took AA for a quick stroll outside before we started to put him to bed.  All of a sudden, I realized I was standing barefooted in my front yard with a baby on my hip.  It may sound silly, but that's what I always pictured being a mom would look like.  And there I was, doing it.  Finally.  I've arrived at the place I've been dreaming of.  And it feels really good.

A Homemade Baby Toy

A few weeks ago while browsing around Etsy, I notice an abundance of something called "crinkle toys."  I had never heard of these or seen them, but there were TONS of shops selling them, so I figured they must be something babies like!

Essentially, they are just squares of fabric with something inside them that crinkles and a few looped ribbons on the sides.  Seems easy enough for a seamstress like me!

I took about 20 minutes one day and sewed together 8 5" squares, cut up 2 plastic bags and stuffed them inside, and put 4 different colored and textured ribbons along the outside.  Simplest sewing project ever - and AA even watched me do it.

Verdict:  OBSESSION.  Turns out all a baby wants in life is to have his senses stimulated, and this thing appeals to AA's sight (bright colors), sound (crinkling), and touch (textures).  [And technically, it appeals to his sense of taste too, I suppose, since he puts it in his mouth all the time, but I can't imagine it's very delicious!]

It was fun to be able to make a toy for AA instead of just buying him another rattle or teething ring...and even more fun that it's one of his very favorite things.  Make this Mama feel like a winner :)

Book I Read in March

Room by Emma Donoghue

Room is one of those books that I felt like I got asked about over and over when it came out; as in, "Have you read Room yet?"  I finally got around to it about three years later - I'm so on top of things.  And, just like last month's book about a woman's dead husband and sick only child, I have no idea why it would be in my best interest to read a book about a young mother and her son who are trapped in an 11x11 room for five years just a few months after giving birth to my first child with whom I stay home all day, but that's what I did. 

And I LOVED THIS BOOK. 

Narrated by five-year-old Jack, who has never been outside the shack his mother's kidnapper has kept her in for the past seven years, his tiny world is contained entirely in a space shared by himself and his Ma.  She has created a fulfilling life for him the best she possibly can considering the circumstances, but it can only last so long, and Jack's mind is totally blown upon hearing the news that the world outside Room is real.  While this would be a gripping story no matter how it is told, seeing it all through Jack's innocent eyes and reading it through his limited-knowledge, child's voice makes the whole thing so compelling and addicting that I would have easily read it all in one sitting if I could have.  This is a new addition to my all-time favorites list, no question.

[Author Emma Donoghue just came out with a new novel a few days ago:  Frog Music.  Adding that to my to-read list!]

Four Generations

Our house was full last weekend.  Bursting at the seams, in fact.  With baby smiles and good food and reminiscing and lots of hugs.  An AA and a Mama and a Daddy and a Grandma and a Grandad and a Mimi and a Papa Ted.  Four generations of one family, all under one roof.

AA is lucky enough to have six living great-grandparents.  Six!  Over the weekend, he was able to meet his first two:  my incredibly loving grandparents.  And AA just happens to be their very first great-grandchild, too.  Watching them meet warmed my heart in a way I didn't know was possible.  Hearing them tell him how sweet and cute and wonderful he was brought tears to my eyes.  Knowing how much they love him overwhelms my soul.

This is the first version of a four generation picture we are so blessed and excited to take many more times with AA's four other great-grandparents as well.

These are some of the people I will tell AA about for the rest of his life:  my Grandma and Grandpa, his Mimi and Papa Ted.  I will tell him how they spent the weekend reading him books and playing with his toys and talking to him about anything and everything and hugging him when he cried.  I'll tell him that they spent 36 hours in a car just to see him face-to-face.  I'll tell him his every smile made them so, so happy.  I'll tell him that's what love is.