Dear Elliott,

Could you be any sweeter? I absolutely love the way you only fall asleep if you're holding my hand with both of your little hands and with our faces smooshed together. I love the way you smile and giggle in your sleep. You are an amazing blessing. I remind myself daily how lucky I am to have such a healthy sweet baby boy. [Your sister isn't too bad either.]



Thanks for putting up with all the hugs and kisses,
Mama

new to me - homemades

So recently I've joined/started a sewing circle. We've set it up so each month someone new picks a project for us all to go home and make and then the next month we bring out projects to show and tell. Here is month #3's project, which I must say I was not super excited about but LOVE now. I think I may branch out in the apparel fabrics more. So far the clothes I have made for myself have been kind of boring. Must embrace prints.


I used regular old cotton for one side and linen for the other. This makes the perfect combo for a Pacific North West spring scarf.

Another first for me: homemade deodorant. I had so much fun with this, I can definitely see more homemade hygiene products in my future!


My only complaint with this is that it almost smells TOO good. During the making process I had to keep reminding myself it. was. not. food. YUMMY!
I will be sure to use the left over coconut oil for food because, seriously, YUMMY. Oh, the recipe I used is here

Park Play

Everytime we drive by a playground Bella reminds me she is making good choices.



Elliott has fun too.


Is there anything this mobi wrap can't do?

Good for the Soul Gardening

We have been spending more and more time outside now that spring has warmed us up a bit. I hardly close the door during these nice days, trying to soak up as much of it as possible. Bella had her first introduction to mud pies (which surprisingly went a lot neater than I would have guessed). She is loving her new shovel set and spends most of her afternoons outside digging in the dirt.




This little girl was very excited to see her seeds sprout and is already hard at work getting their new home ready.

There is a Mama Under There Somewhere

Give in.

Mama-Mades for the Boy

Elliott is quickly out growing everything I had for him so I have had to make a few quick trips to the thrift shops. Here's a 1$ onesie I reverse appliqued to add some my-mama-loves-me-so-much-she-modified-my-clothes touch. [Or maybe it's: my-mama-is-a-big-dork-so-she-modified-my-clothes touch]



Ooo how exciting it is to see his sweet little baby feet in these booties I made for him when he was still just a little bump in my belly. I must say these are my favorite booties and not just because they are cuter than anything I see in the store for boys (and free) but they stay on. Anyone who has held a baby can appreciate that!

I am not the only one being creative around here:

I love the looks she gives me when she knows she is up to no good. When I turned around in my chair and saw her on the floor decorating her legs I asked her what she was doing. She froze and gave me this "I know this isn't how markers are suppose to used... I wonder what mama's reaction will be look." Can I just tell you how much I love this look WHEN, and only when, it is not a big deal? I told her her legs looked beautiful and when she was done we had to take a bath. We had a great time in the blue bath afterward.

My first PNW planting season.

Here we go! Pacific North West budget gardening. Wish us luck.


Bella has been showing a lot of interest in letters and words lately so I've been trying to incorporate them into everything we do which is really pretty easy with gardening because who remembers where they planted what seeds anyway? I wrote the name of the plants we were planting on the egg carton flap and let Bella pick which seeds she wanted to plant and then match the first letter of the word on the seed package to the word on the cartons. She did really well. I have a feeling she will be an early reader.

Siblings

I am loving: