A Sweet Baby Day-Gown

I got a little crafty this weekend and wanted to share the results!

Like it? I do too! Caroline wore one similar to this home from the hospital when she was born. By the way, that was before I "decided" I could sew, so I did not make C's. But two and a half years later it's a different story.

A few notes: I did not have a true pattern for this.  I just eyeballed it.  Also, as cute as the ribbon detail was at her empire waist, Caroline's version quickly became hard to put on and off because there was zero give in the fabric.  Lastly, I do not have a monogramming machine, so I chose an iron-on applique.  But your possibilities are endless on the top portion.

Here's a quick tutorial in pictures for you (as well as a recap for me to remember in the future how I did this).

This is a gift, so I prewashed all my materials in sensitive detergent to help the mom-to-be.

Again, I was "eyeballing" my measurements, but I used my rotary cutting blade to turn my onesie into a cropped top.

I am learning to love my serger!  I turned the minky-dot fabric right-sides in and serged it into a tube. I think I've been told this fabric frays very little, so a zig-zag stitch would probably work, too.

 Now, at this point I was a little conflicted.  At first I thought I wanted a line of elastic at the empire waist.  But I was reminded that on li'l ones, the elastic will ride up easily.  Also, the casing I sewed for the elastic got bulky in a hurry!  So I was given the following advice which I happily followed:

First I serged the top of the minky dot skirt (not pictured).  Then, in the before/above and after/below pictures, I stretched the onesie top wide and then zig-zag attached the minky-dot skirt to it.

The result was a piece that did not lay completely flat (giving a slightly ruffled illusion) and that also kept a little give for growing baby tummies!  Exactly what I wanted.

If you love putting babies in gowns, which I do, you love that they have that great length and cinchable bottoms.  Because this is for a girl, I wanted some extra oomph!  So I decided to cinch the bottom with coordinating ribbon.  First I sewed a button hole into the would-be ribbon casing...

(By the way, I am so proud of myself for learning this skill!)

...then I hemmed up the skirt forming the ribbon casing.  I fed my ribbon into the gown and tied it with a big bow!

I think the mommy-to-be will love this custom made, original gift idea.  If not, I can always give her some necessary diapers, etc.  If you know this mommy-to-be, don't tell her about this blog until after this weekend when her shower occurs.  Honestly, I should be sad she doesn't read my blog, but not today!

Weekend Recap

This weekend was special...Papa Joe (my dad) was in town!  He is the only parent on either Bobby's or my side of the family who doesn't (technically) live in town.  His job keeps him on the road about 80% of the time.  So when I do see him, I realize how much I wish I saw him more often...sniff, sniff.

Friday afternoon he and my sweet Aunt Joyce (one of dad's 3 sisters) came over to visit with the kids.  We were so preoccupied by visiting and just being in the moment that we took no pictures.  My Aunt Joyce is a fabulous seamstress, and when she spotted a project I was teetering with, she gave me some great pointers!  More on that in an upcoming post.  That night we all went to a local Mexican eatery.  Is it just me?  I could maybe eat Mexican every other day of the week with Italian filling in the gaps.  I love some flavor-rich food!  Pregnant me was tempted by the consumption of margaritas at our table!  I sure do miss those salty-rimmed, tequila-filled beverages!

On Saturday morning Rob had a soccer game, and my dad and Aunt Joyce got to see him play. Speaking of soccer, Rob is really improving in such a short time. He realizes he needs to be in better control of the ball, and he seems to understand the need for defending the ball.

One thing that is much less static is Caroline's attention span during the games.  Open fields + CC = wide open trouble!  She's my little wild child!  Just look at that expression below!

In the picture above, the game is done!  We didn't win but we had fun again! 

I'm still not getting used to this tunnel concept.  I have never seen it before.  After the traditional "good-game" handshaking lines, all the parents form a tunnel and both teams get to run about 3 laps through it.  Yes it's cool, but who thought this up?

(clockwise from top left) Joyce, Joe, Rob, and Caroline

Saturday afternoon I took Rob to see Disney's Chimpanzee movie.  Seriously cute documentary!  He and I both loved it!  Then Kristy and Jason came over for an impromptu dinner and card playing evening.

Today was a lazy Sunday.  We had the weirdest weather.  It was a gorgeous, cobalt-blue skied day but the wind was almost 30-mph.  Crazy!  Soccer pictures were taken and here's a sneak peek:



To my beloved Ehl family, I am me because of you!  Thank you for being half of my whole.  I love you all even if we see each other less frequently than others.  Dad, be safe out there and here is "until next time..."

Prince of Peace Will Rock You!

  
Rob's 4th (and final) musical show was last Thursday at Prince of Peace.  In the fall, they always do a Thanksgiving-themed show (read about them here).  In the spring it varies.  This year's theme was Rock and Roll.  It was so cute!  The show was followed by an art show in their classrooms where their art was on display.

 All of the kids carried inflatable guitars.  Clearly (above) nerves were not affecting him at all.

 In the picture above, that's Rob not looking at me...arg!

Photo below, how cute is the gym with its Rock-N-Roll decorations?

For the 4s' "Finale" song, they sang the Beatles' "I Wanna Hold Your Hand".  I love this shot above.  Ah, the innocence of young friendships!

Rob standing proudly amidst his art.

Rob and Ms. Dana.  We have been so blessed by her as a teacher this year!

Buddies Rob and Carson!

Happy Easter! (A Recap in Pictures)

We had a lovely Easter weekend!  On Saturday we went to lunch hosted by Jonathan and Laura in their new house!  Laura really went all out, too!  She was quite the happy, newlywed hostess!  We had a spiral ham, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, green beans, and a terrific Easter chocolate cake made especially by you-know-who!  (That would be ME for those of you who lean towards the slow side.)

Think Rob loved my cake?

Saturday afternoon turned out to be a great, lazy afternoon at home with the kiddos.  Bobby went to the ballpark to coach, but when he got home we geared up for the next morning.

Sunday morning we woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had paid our house a visit!  The kids were super excited!  We went to early church which is a change for us.  We are usually an 11:00 AM service kind of family.  So hustling and bustling on Sunday morning took some getting used to.  But thanks to Bobby's steadfast ways, we were on time!

I was so excited to see on Twitter and other social media how many people were mentioning Christ's rising from the dead on Easter morning.  I really worry that today's society is doing everything in its power to shove Christianity into a closet or allow it to collect dust high upon a shelf.  Every single holiday has gone so commercial!  I have to admit that I lead a lot of commercialism in our home, too.  It is a struggle for me to raise good Christian children; I struggle with setting an example for them first and foremost.   But on Easter Sunday, I tried to mention Christ plenty of times more than eggs, bunnies, cake, etc.

After church we headed to my mom's for lunch.  Oh...my...goodness she made an Easter staple for us.  I was not raised on hams and gravies.  For every holiday we had some derivative of this:

 ...pictured above is the results of a two-day cooking event...homemade lasagna with secret family-recipe sauce and all the works! It's wonderful! We had a plethora of desserts to sample, then it was on to a very exciting egg hunt for the kids!

Well, it's time for a few "shots" and then we will call this day done!

I love this woman!

I love this man!

Me and my sister-from-another-mister!

This is real life on film...sometimes you just have to put the camera down!

Happy Easter, everyone!  This holiday is a wrap!