One By One

First Official Haircut

After looking at this year's Halloween pictures, the decision was made that Jake really needed a haircut. The poor baby was titling his head up in nearly ever picture so he could see from underneath his hair! And he needed a real haircut, not a mommy-cutting-the-bangs look.

So we made a trip to Kids Kuts this week.

 

 

 

He was quite the trooper, and only complained a couple of times. Kids Kuts was great - they had a car-chair and small toys that we could distract Jake with during the cutting. And the hairdresser was great - she easily maneuvered around Jake's squirming with ease. We will definitely be going back.

Thanks for stopping by and reading!

Monkey See Monkey Do

After receiving a hand-sewn romper from Cora recently, I decided that I just had to make one out of flannel in order to beef-up Jake's fall and winter wardrobe.

 

This is an OOP New Look romper pattern. I added a few inches to the length to get a longer pant look. The monkey flannel print came from a recent Joann's purchase.  

I finished off the facings by stitching the interfacing to the facing pieces prior to fusing. All the inside seams are serged. My hope is that it will survive toddler-wear-and-tear and multiple washing for quite awhile.

I did attempt some modeling shots, although they are not the best. Capturing a toddler on the run has been challenging. I do have to say he's the cutest monkey ever!

 

 

I guess I added too much length because we have to roll the bottoms about an inch. But, maybe he'll get taller over the next couple of months and it won't be a problem for too long.

Thanks for stopping by and reading!

Our Halloween Turtle

For Halloween this year Jake was a turtle. Just the cutest turtle ever!

 

 

Using Simplicity 2527 I sewed up only the shell portions, figuring that making the fleece jumper would be risky since we never really know what the weather is going to be like on Halloween in San Diego. I'm glad I didn't make it, because it was a bit on the warm side. Instead he's in a store bought onesie and pants.

There was quite a bit of baby-wrangling going on, though, because you know, go figure that Jake didn't want it on or want to keep it on.

 

A big thanks to Kris (who stopped by to spend the night during her crazy work trip) for snapping off the photos as quick as she could!

The Proof

Yes, although Jake took his first steps about two months ago, that was the only action we saw in regards to "walking on his own". One step here, two steps there. About four weeks ago he started holding our hand to walk - which was more than adorable.

But three days ago it happened! He started walking on his own, just like that. DH put together a really cute video, be sure to turn on the volume :)

Jake Walking from Singletrack Zen on Vimeo.

Isn't he just the cutest thing ever?!?

First Steps!

I am a very proud mommy! Our little man took his first unsupported steps yesterday!!

Jake's First Steps from Singletrack Zen on Vimeo.

I see lots of practicing in our future :)

Baby Sewing - Take 2

Another wee-baby was born the middle of May, this time a boy!

Look familiar? Yep, it's another Jackie Clark romper!

I used flannel this time, and the larger size. Hopefully by the time this baby is ready to wear it it will be cool out!

And I just couldn't help myself...

Yep, a couple more onesies. I have no idea where I got these dinosaur designs, I must have had them on the computer for awhile.

And one last thing

A quilt! I saw this panel after I found out that wee-baby was going to be a boy, and I just couldn't help myself.

One Year!

We made it!! Jake turned one on Saturday!!

There are so many wonderful pictures from the celebration so I'm just picking (quite?) a few of my favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

As you may notice, Jake is wearing his rocket ship romper and that his party was space themed. Thank you to everyone who came and helped us share this huge milestone with our now "toddler" :)

Baby Sewing - Take 1

Baby sewing is so much fun. The pattern pieces are small, they don't require a huge amount of fabric, "fitting" usually isn't an issue, and it always turns out so cute!

A bebe girl was born the middle of May, and this wee dress is for her. It is Simplicity 2905. I dug the fabric up from the stash (been trying to make good use out of stash lately! go me!). The buttons are a purchase from Common Threads. The pattern was straightforward and simple. The only hiccup I had was with the gathering on the front where the bodice meets the dress. It was my own issue though, not one from the pattern. I took the simple route and used steam-a-seam to attach the ribbon details prior to stitching it on by machine (no pinning that way!).

While I was at it, I picked up some onesies and had some fun on the embroidery front! How cute are these?!

Two of the designs I got from Designs by Sick during a $2 sale. The one on the left I added the letters to as bebe's middle name is Starr, so I decided to be a little creative with a monogram.

The onesies can be a little tricky to embroider at first. But once I figured it out, it's addicting. I picked some up for Jake, too, now I just need to come up with some cute designs!!

Romper-crazy

So, I've got myself a new sewing space. A pretty awesome sewing space that is separate from the house and allows me to sneak away and make as much noise as I want.

But that's a post for another day. It has however allowed me the time to get more sewing done! Yay!

First up are a couple of rompers for Jake. I wanted to get as much use out of this pattern before he outgrows it (which will be soon I think).

This pair I started at my parent's house in TN when we were there the beginning of May. My mom actually had the fabric in her stash, earmarked for an outfit for Jake. Since she had not gotten to them yet, she gave me the fabric to make them instead since I really like the Jackie Clark pattern.

 

And a shot of them in action:

Check out my crazy-hair-day!

The second pair I started at home, and finished up in a couple of days

No modeled shot yet, someone will be wearing these to his first birthday party next week :)

Have I said how much I love this pattern? It has it's issues, but the results are just so cute! I'm already on the largest size possible - I am going to be really sad when Jake outgrows this.

Eleven (and a half!) Months

Our baby is growing up so fast! It's so hard to believe that he'll be a year old in two weeks!!

This is really a fantastic age. There are so many new things he is learning and discovering. It seems like there is something new each day. Some of the most fun ones:

Cause and effect. With toys and people. He's also more aware of his surroundings and what people (and a cat) are doing around him. He has also figured out that he can leave a room, to say chase a cat or play with a toy, and leave daddy and mommy behind!

Imitation. Especially with laughing. When we laugh, he laughs. It's hysterical!

Signing. We think he is signing "more" to us. Well, his adaptation for "more." Were not sure though because he does it when it makes sense from him to want more of something, but he also does it when it doesn't make sense. So, we're just going with it.

Finger-foods. This is a double-edged sword. Is some aspects it's great, because we don't have to actually spoon-feed him every meal. On the flip, it's very messy and it's just so much more fun to drop our food by the handfuls to the floor! Case in point...

Vocalization. Jake's voice is changing, less baby-like noises and more toddler-like noises, and he's practicing all kinds of new noises all the time. He says mama and dada, among other things, but not directed at anyone (we can't wait for that!).

Cruising. No walking yet, but lots of cruising. Jake is much faster a crawling too. He's a speed demon. One second he's there, the other he's not. I really can't wait for walking, I hope it comes on soon.

And we still can't wait to be able to flip that car-seat around. In addition to the fact that he doesn't like to ride in the car, he KNOWS he doesn't like to ride in the car, and he can MAKE IT KNOWN that he doesn't like it. Fun times. We know that there is a lot of literature out there about leaving babies rear-facing until age two, or until they reach the weight limit for the seat model (ours is 35lbs, we think Jake is about 26-27lbs). We're not sure what we are going to do yet - some days we want to flip it, other days we worry about the safety.

Twelve months in less than two weeks! We can't wait.