Mason's Room

There are still some things I need to finish up (artwork) and I'd like to eventually get more up on the walls, but here it is!

Close-up of the shelf.

There's even some little friends waiting in the bed for him- a whale, sea turtle and tag blanket.

38 Weeks!

I know, Mason's already here, but here's what I looked like Monday evening. Huge and totally uncomfortable. I feel a lot better now.

Some Wrapped Up Crafts

Man, I was lucky I got these things finished just in time!

I kept an old guest towel (who knows why) that had some bleach stains on it. It was a REALLY big one, and I thought it would be fun to make a few bibs for Mason with all the little scraps from his room decor. I traced one of Brighton's bibs that she wears right now so that they would all be a good size (was able to cut out 9!), and then went at it with applique and fabric paint! I also had a whole bunch of premade binding packages that I was able to use on some of them. It was a great way to practice.

I also made this blanket, inspired by the one here, with some left over scraps. I didn't win the giveaway, so I figured I would stop being lazy and make one myself.

And while I haven't gotten around to making the twelve that Dale requested, I did throw together some burp cloths before Mason's arrival using an old hand towel (the green one) and left over scraps.

My Little Baker

We bought Brighton this little stool so that she could use it to wash her hands, help me out in the kitchen, and just be more involved with what I was doing in the kitchen, rather than be trampled underfoot all the time.

I was craving chocolate chip cookies and decided to whip some up, and have Miss B help me out. She loves watching the mixer, and loved it even more when I let her lick the spoon. She doesn't realize how lucky she is. Mason will always have to share the leftover dough with her- but she gets it all to herself right now.

Yummy!

Baby Mason!

Baby Mason decided to make his arrival a little bit early. I'll update you on the whole story, and a few things that we did BEFORE having the baby come along as soon as I've rested a little bit. But I know you'll all want to see a picture of our little man!Not too happy being out of the womb! And having thermometers shoved in all the wrong places. He's got a little bit of hair!

Mason John

8 lbs 2 oz

19 1/2 inches

26 August 2009 at 11:01 am

(I'll have to double check who was closest in guessing, but some of you did quite amazing!)

The proud papa! We're all doing great and can't wait to show him off.

News And My Thanktimony

Just thought I'd update you all here (since pretty much everyone I know reads our blog) rather than call each and every one of you to give you the latest news.

Most of you who are in our ward know that we left a wee bit early from church on Sunday. I'd been having regular contractions (like every 5 minutes) for a few days but during Sunday school, they really started to get a little painful. We hurried home and called the Dr. who had us come to the hospital to just check things out.

They hooked me up to monitor little Mason and my contractions, then checked me to see if I was dilating or effacing at all. I was 50% effaced and dilated to 3 cm. After a few hours, and many more contractions (still every 5 minutes, and some quite painful) there was no progress, so the Dr. sent us home. Bummer.

I suppose it's good because I'm not really full term (38 weeks) until Monday. I'd hate to have a preemie who needs to be incubated and not be able to bring the little man home. I'm still having contractions, but the Dr. told me not to worry about coming in until they bring me to tears. Hmmm... I have a REALLY high pain tolerance (REALLY) and Brighton was born in 4 hours. Makes me a little nervous about Mason coming in the car.

But the good news is that Dale put me on bed rest, so I'm off the hook for doing ANY cleaning of any sort. I know, I'm lucky, right? He's going to take care of everything for me. And my sister comes into town tonight. So if Mason decides to come in the next little while, we'll have her to help out in the middle of the night.

Which brings me to my "Thanktimony." I just want to express mine and Dale's deep feelings of gratitude that we have all of you who are nearby. Not having any family around during these times is a bit rough, and sad, but it's so heartwarming to know that so many of our ward "family" has reached out to help. Thank you for all your facebook comments, phones calls, and emails of concern and for offering to take care of Brighton for us. We are truly blessed to have you all.

Something I thought that might be fun: Leave a comment with your guess on the day you think Mason will "drop in," weight, length and if you think he'll be bald or have a head full of hair! Whoever's the closest, we'll name the baby after.*

Brighton's Stats:
Brighton was born 5 days early, but we induced. Mason's due date is September 7th.
Brighton weighed 8 lbs 5 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.
And Brighton had so much hair we didn't know what to do with it! Seriously, check her out:

*Really, we won't, but that would be fun, huh?

On A Walk

We went for a walk Tuesday evening. I was feeling good and had some energy, and we thought Brighton might enjoy some playtime at the park near our house. We took along the camera just in case there were some photo opps.

Brighton played on the swings with Daddy.

She's laughing and having a good time!

Going down the big slide all by herself! She LOVES slides. We told her we were going to the park and she immediately said, "Slide?"

I found these little critters while I was sitting on a bench, resting. Aren't they so cool? Growing up in Arizona, I can't recall ever seeing a snail (maybe there were some itty bitty ones), let alone one with these giant shells. Brighton thought they were fun, too.

I thought I would get some more camera practice by snagging a picture of this spider. I think spiders are the most disgusting things in the world, but their webs are cool and I liked how this guy was just hanging out in the middle.

On our walk we picked some wild blackberries. Yum! I think Brighton and I actually ate more than went in the bag. Oh well.

Dale got this spider hanging out on the blackberry bushes.

We also found this wasp nest in one of the fence posts. Pretty cool, huh? Again, I don't REALLY like bugs, but these guys were interesting to see just hanging out at home.

And here's me on our walk, searching for the ripest berries. Gotta feed that belly.

Brighton's Birthday Outfit

It's still some time away, but with B's birthday falling a month after Mason's birth, I'm not sure I'd get around to making her something. So I've started early!

I've been working on so many things lately, but this is the only thing that's actually FINISHED and not a gift, so it's really the only thing I can share at the moment.
SOOOO long ago I saw this tutorial, and I went out and bought a quilt pack at Joann's to make it into a skirt for Brighton. So now I've finally gotten around to it. There's a few other fabric scraps that I added in too. I hemmed it A LOT so she should be able to fit in it for a long time, as long as she doesn't grow "out" too much.
I was going to applique a "2" on the shirt but decided to make something that she can wear for a while. I know, she'll be two for an entire year, but I'm not really excited about her wearing a "2" on her shirt forever. I saw this tutorial and thought it would be perfect to match her skirt!
Alright! One more thing to check off the list!

Hanging Out Sunday Afternoon

Yesterday turned into a gorgeous day so we enjoyed some time out in the yard. My friend Heather came over and brought her last two Labradoodle puppies to play with Brighton and Sawyer.

Dale happened to snap some shots of me and the belly. It's poking its way out there! I'm 36 weeks today and I CANNOT wait for little Mason to come. I've been trying to keep myself busy with crafts EVERY SINGLE DAY (no, really) so that I can take my mind off of the anticipation of his arrival. 19 Days until we induce!

Brighton finally wore her village frock that I made for her a few months ago. It's still a little big, but I got so sick of seeing it in her closet and not having her wear it! Dale thinks she looks like a pirate and kept saying in a Jerry Seinfeld voice, "but I don't wanna be a pirate." I DON'T think she looks like pirate and refused to laugh at his joke.

I made a hair clip for her, too. I used the same technique that I used for the shirt I made my sister, making a rose out of knit using this tutorial.

She just looks so cute! I can't wait to make some more frocks for her as she gets bigger!

Brighton's Nursery

Dale is under the impression that Brighton got the shaft when it came to having her baby room decorated because Mason's is SOO incredibly awesome. I didn't know how to sew back then, and was totally uncrafty, but I think it was a great baby room.

I figured I'd share it with you before Mason's big "unveiling," for those who never got to see it in all its girly cuteness.

*Sorry too, for the really horrible pictures. These were taken with our old camera, and the lighting is never really all that great in this room anyways.*

There's the wonderful green chair that pretty much dictated what colors we'd be using for Mason's room.
The valance I found at the second hand store, and it just so happened to match her bedding- brand, colors and everything. It was a lucky find.
My sister made the cork board hanging on the left side of the window. It held pictures of B's ultrasound, and first cards, as well as a family picture.
The pink blanket on the chair was my grandma's baby blanket that her grandma made- very special.
And it's sort of hiding, but there's a square pillow in the chair that a friend made for B's first birthday.
The picture on the right of the window is one of my favorites- tulips in a tin can. I love this picture, and I've now stolen it back and am going to hang it in my sewing room.
You can also see the laundry basket that never got relined and stayed blue- oh well.

Here's the changing table wall. I made the BLH letters myself, and thought I was amazingly crafty for attempting it.
My sisters made the hair clip holder that you can just see (hot pink with the green B on it) peaking over the edge of the crib.
Not too much going on in this part of the room, though we used to have a "baby's first year" calender hanging on the other side of the changing table. It was packed away as soon as B turned one.

Nothing really great about this wall- it's the door to the room, this little wall, and the door to the closet. But I love the picture that is hanging here- it went so well with the pink and green in the room. I'm still trying to decide where to hang it in B's new room.
The little hanging hook thing on the wall was a hand me down from my mom and has a few precious things hanging on it:
1. A pearl baby bracelet that Dale gave to B her first Christmas.
2. An antique bib, with beautiful embroidery, that my mom gave to B.
3. A letter "B" with pearls on it.
4. A little hanging sign that I found at an antique store that says, "baby's room."

And finally, the bed. The sign above the crib says, "the Princess sleeps here." My mom found this at an antique store.
The "crown-like" decoration above the bed with the curtains, was a hand me down from my mom, too. It used to be in one of my sister's rooms, I think.
And you can see the bed skirt that was much too long. I made Mason's so that it won't ever look like this.

All in all, I think her room was fun. A very girly pink and green, and full of meaningful things. My only regret is that we never ended up painting the room. I just couldn't decide what color I wanted and then B was here, and we just never got around to it. So now you can see what we had to work with, and the drastic change from girly room, to awesome boy room. I really can't wait to show you!

Child's Apron From A Kitchen Towel Tutorial

Another project I worked on this past week- making B her very own apron out of a kitchen towel! Since a few of you have little ones of your own, I thought I would share what I did and then you can make one of your own if you want!

What you need:

a kitchen towel

OR a fat quarter or fabric scrap that measures at least 19" x 19.5"

some bias tape (either buy some, or make some- needs to be cut on the bias if you make it)

and obvs your basic sewing supplies

I bought the towel that I used at TJMaxx for $2 with the intention of making it into an apron for B. So find a kitchen towel of your own to use (it's nice because all the edges are finished, so you won't have to do it) or you could use a fat quarter or other scrap to whip one up.

*If you're using a towel, skip step 1 and go to step 2.*

Step 1. Hem the long sides (19.5") first by folding over 1/4" and pressing and then folding over 1/4" again and top stitching. Do the same with the bottom edge. Press. Now skip to step 3, yay!

Step 2. Fold your towel in half lengthwise and trim off the top so that it's now 19" long.

Step 3. On the unhemmed top edge, measure up from the fold 3.5". From your hemmed bottom edge, measure over 11" on your hemmed side edges. Cut out a curve joining those two measurements.

Step 4. Fold over your top edge 1/4" and press.

Step 5. Fold the top edge over again, press, pin in place and top stitch. Press again. (you can also just use bias tape to cover this raw edge if you're feeling extra lazy)

Nicely pressed, top stitched top!

Starting to look like an apron!

Step 6. Attach your bias tape to the curved edges leaving a 16" tail on each end for tying.

Viola! One super cute and fabulous kid's apron in 5 minutes!

What Sawyer Did During The Heat Wave Of '09

We were all hot, even the dog. He literally panted all day and all night. He couldn't drink enough water, or put enough belly on the cold tile. He spent Tuesday night sleeping in front of his own fan. I felt so terrible for him that I got him up out of bed in the early morning and gave him the hair cut of his life.

He looks miserable already, but that could just be his "I'm putting up with Brighton trying to brush me" face. He's had his traditional Westie cut for his entire life- three years.

He still seems a little embarrassed by being so naked but I can tell he feels so much better. Plus, with a baby coming he'll be easier for me to take care of for a little while: with his daily brushing, weekly nail clipping, weekly baths, and bi-monthly shots, the short hair will be more manageable.