The Bag

Here's how the bag turned out.

This is the outside.

Here's the inside-it has six side pockets. It's reversible, so this could be the outside, but I thought pockets on the inside would give me a smaller chance of dumping stuff out of the pockets.

And here it is full of stuff. A loaded diaper bag! Now (maybe) I won't lose my keys or camera at the bottom of my bag.

As with the bonnet, if I make it again, I'll do a few things differently. I was surprised by how tall it is. The dimensions are listed on the pattern envelope, but I was still surprised. It looks more like a beach bag than a diaper bag. I have to admit, though, I'm not a big purse carrier, and some people carry purses this big. So I'm sure I'll get used to it. One thing's for sure, though-with a bag this big, I don't think anyone can walk off with it and go unnoticed!

Brotherly Love

Touching toes

Jonathan's idea. :)

Fun Times with Friends

I had these pictures in the correct order, but Blogger switched them around, and I'm not going to switch them back. This is supposed to be a quick hobby, right? So, here goes...

We've had some fun times with kid friends and grownup friends over the past few days. I've been especially thankful, since this is Jeff's busy season and we haven't seen him very much. Today, my longtime friend, Sarah, made the drive to see us-along with her fantastic boys, Paul and Levi. It's so great to live within driving distance of Sarah again. I hadn't seen Levi since he was a baby, and gosh, he has gotten super cute. Here he is riding Chico.

Sarah had not met Grace yet. Here is Grace giving her the "you're not my mommy" treatment. It's just a little cry, but it's clear what she means. Don't be sad, Grace, we love Sarah!

Yesterday, we joined a MOPS activity and went to one of those bouncy house places. This isn't a great picture, but I really love it. Jonathan, Jen, and Ella are going down a super fast, tall slide.

Jonathan must have gone up and down dozens of times. We really had fun and were so glad that Jen and the girls could join us.

Last week, I got to see Heidi and Jen, and Jonathan got to play with their kids. And Ella and Delia's toys.

Here are some of the kids together: Andrew, Ella, Anika, and Delia (the girls were playing dress-up.) Kathryn, age 1, is not pictured. I really enjoyed the conversations with the mommies.

Back to today. The big boys went to Lego land in Jonathan's room and could have stayed there for the whole day. This gave Levi full freedom in the playroom and gave Sarah and I a chance to catch up while Grace napped. I'm really thankful for visits with friends!

More Sewing

It goes in spurts! I found two patterns online and got amazing deals on each one. They both came in the mail yesterday. This one...

was from sewbaby.com on clearance. (If you ever purchase from them, be sure to sign up for their email newsletter first, because they give you 10% off of your order if you do.) Believe it or not, Jonathan was very anxious for me to make a bonnet for Gracie. Since I had everything I needed on hand, I gave the pattern a trial run. Here's how her bonnet turned out (just pretend that it matches her romper):

And from the side:

(Caroline, do you recognize the fabric?)

Grace has been drawing her knees up under her belly, which reminds me that she won't stay put in one place for many more months! It's hard to capture on camera, but you can see one knee under her thinking about learning to crawl someday.

And here's the other pattern I got. $2 on eBay!!! I'll post when I have a bag finished. It won't be as fast as the bonnet. I have to pay some attention to my house for now!

Jonathan Took These Pictures...

Corduroy

I won something! Yay! I won last week's Great Monday Give at Vintage Children's Books My Kid Loves. Now we'll have a copy of Corduroy for our library!

Sewing Again

I had these aprons cut out last summer before we found out that Gracie was on the way. After we found out, I didn't have the energy to sew. After I got my energy back, I was too uncomfortable to sit still to sew. It's fun to sneak in a little bit of time here and there to sew again.

Sunday Best

Proud

Yes, I'm a proud mom. He wrote his name!

I was truly afraid he'd learn how to read before he'd learn to write his name. That didn't happen! This is his first attempt, and also his first success, at writing his name without help remembering which letter to write or how to write it. I have a kiddo who only likes to try things if he's sure he already knows how to do them. That particular character trait makes it hard for him to learn new things...we're working on it.

Paci

She prefers her thumb, so I just let her play with her pacifiers. But, she really enjoys grabbing one to chew on if she can get it into her mouth. Pretty cute.