She's Here!

FINALLY. I thought it would never happen, but our little baby girl is here and we're all SO IN LOVE!!!!

AND...after so much agonizing, fretting, changing my mind, and finally making a decision, we named this baby. HONESTLY...why does it have to be so hard?! Every name I had picked out just wasn't working on her and we just had to go with a name that my Love Nugget and I both liked simultaneously. SO...she is:

Brooke Emma Welker

February 11th * 1:15 p.m.

7 lbs. 4 oz. 19 in.

*Emma is my mom's name - both of my girls are each named after a grandmother now. {GASP!} HOW precious.*

I think it's funny that Brooke was the LEAST popular pick from all of you! Good thing I follow my own drummer, eh? Labor and delivery couldn't have gone better. I'm not going to say that it's easy, but comparatively, I had a very simple, easy ordeal.

PERFECT! Now I get to snuggle with this tiny little thing and I'm loving every minute of it!!! {She's so small - her nugget head is like the size of an orange!}

Now...if we can avoid the ever-annoying baby acne, I'll be ecstatic! I can't wait to take some great photos of her!

Oh, and thanks to everyone for playing "Name That Baby" with me! That was so much fun!!! I loved hearing everybody's ideas!!! Very cool.

Fabric

Hey Girls! Here's some fabric info for those of you who were asking.

This batch of heaven came from Z & S Fabrics during one of their sales. If you sign up to receive emails, you'll know when they're marking things down. I got all of mine for 20% off! Scroll over to "Fabric by Manufacturer" and click "Free Spirit" - from there all of these can be found.

#1 on top: "Nicey Jane" in cream by Heather Bailey, Free Spirit

#2: (can't see this one very well but it's beautiful with orange poppies all over) "Dolce" in orange by Tanya Whelan, Free Spirit

#3: (the green one) "Nicey Jane" in green by Heather Bailey, Free Spirit

#4: (yellow) "Dance With Me" by Jennifer Paganelli, Free Spirit

#5: (turquoise) "Flower Power" by Jennifer Paganelli, Free Spirit

The cute bumpy, dotted fabric from my baby blankets came from Jo-Ann's. (there were some asking about that fabric, too)

More great fabric places:

JCaroline Fabrics - I usually get most of my stuff from here.

Fabric Shack

Fashionable Fabrics

Fat Quarter Shop

**Also, may I add that sewing PETRIFIES me, scares me to death, and makes me crazy. {cringe} Thanks for the nice comments, though. You're all way too kind! Honestly, though, I stick to easy projects. The things I sew are very basic because I have the hardest time following those darn pattern instructions. The only way I was able to tackle that dress is from lots and lots of practice, tears, ruined projects, and high blood pressure. haha!

Like I always say, if I can do it, anybody can! {if you really knew me, you would understand how right I am. Kadie, tell them what an idiot I am!} And if you're nervous or unsure, find a friend who can help you out - it's amazing how many people would be willing to help you if you ask.

Baby Love!

"I'm in LOVE, I'm in LOVE, and I don't care who knows it!"--Buddy the Elf

I've been busy lately, to say the least. I found this vintage pattern at J0Ann's and the white cotton dress with embroidery caught my attention. I want to do an embroidered dress like that to match my cute booties! {aaak!} I'm dying from the cuteness!

So I bought the pattern, came home, and started my 'practice' dress and now that I have it figured out, I can make the white one without swearing up a storm. Sewing patterns are NOT fun for me and I have to go really slow...but CHECK IT OUT! I'm so in love with this little dress.

(the fabric is Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market...love it...yumm)

I've been making other stuff, too. Baby bibs, simple blankies, and even a little baby bling! I got the bib pattern from "Made by Petchy" and I tweaked it a little bit because I didn't like the perfectly round shape of it - and I love them! Now my child will have something pretty to barf all over!

Wellll, I think I've got enough crap for this baby!!! Maybe not. You can never have too many cute things, right?!

Until the big day, I'll stay busy and LOOK at what came in the mail!!! (last picture below) MORE yummy fabric!!! I screamed out loud when it came! I'm such a nerd!!! What else shall I make?!!!

Baby Booties Masterpiece

I love these shoes so much I can't even stand it. Think they would look cute on a necklace? Who knew making a little pair of baby shoes would be so darn fun?! I want a pair of these in my size - I wonder if I can make that happen???....prob'ly not.

A huge thanks to Heather Bailey for the UH-DORABLE pattern on her blog - and to my friends at the DMC Floss company for making the most beautiful thread. Seriously - it's all in the thread, girls. I used two different strands (see photo at bottom) - the green for the vine and the pink for the flowers....and I got this!!!! {aaak!}

Okay, so now all I can say is that these shoes better fit my child because...OH MY GOSH...I'll have a seizure.

Seriously folks - I stitched these shoes in an hour (and I just mean the hand-stitching, not the whole pinning and sewing thing) If you refer to my handy stitch guide, you could whip out a pair in no time for yourself. Just get some white felt, the shoe pattern, some floss and a needle and go at it, honey. (I got my felt at Jo-Ann's on the bolt.) The stitching is really, really, really easy. Play with it and see for yourself.


Of course, I couldn't just make the shoes - I had to have a onesie to go with them. A girl's gotta match, right?



If you do make a pair, I'm going to give one teensy pointer - (referring to the photo with the pins in the shoe) make sure you line up the top toes and the heel, secure, and then go around the edges. If you get puckering, don't worry, try to smooth them out the best you can without unpinning the toes and heel.

Up next: white on white. I'M DYING!!!

Let's Have Some Fun...

Okay, so we might as well have a little fun, right?! On the sidebar of this blog is a poll list with little girl names that I sort of like. I don't like a whole lot of girl names, which makes this hard for me, but I DO have one favorite. Not that I will base my choice on what anybody thinks, but I'm curious...which one is YOUR fave?!

**I'm LOVING all of this great feedback!!!**

Nesting

...."recently my wife has gotten a little lazy......or as she likes to call it, 'pregnant'..."

Jokes.com
Jim Gaffigan - Pregnant
comedians.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

LOVE that guy. And it's so true about the lazy part - I don't even comb my hair anymore because it takes so much effort! So my projects lately have been 'lazy' projects where I can sit on the couch and pretty much do nothing. But SERIOUSLY...I have not slowed down until now, so I think I'm entitled to chill for the next little while.

In my lazy, lounging state, I stitched up the softest, coziest little hats! {little scream} and despite what the

photographs might depict, these are so tiny! I made them 'newborn nugget' size and I'm dying from the cuteness. AND...I'm almost done with that cute blanket - excited to get that finished.

IF I can get motivated, today's nesting project is going to be some little booties from Heather Bailey's pattern. I want a HUNDRED of these things!!! I'm excited because I know EXACTLY what I want to do...now if only I could get some motivation ... wish me luck...

Hello Out There!

Hi to everyone out there! I hope you all had a FABULOUS Christmas holiday!!! I'm sure you have been as busy as I have been... {WHEW!} The Christmas whirlwind is over and I'm proud to say that my focus was on my family and kids, enjoying the special moments with them, rather than the usual hustle and bustle I seem to get overwhelmed with. I wanted my kids to get out of their crazy mindset of what they wanted for Christmas, so I had them play "Santa's Helper" for a few other children we know whose parents needed a little Christmas help - and they did great! What a good thing it is for kids to focus on someone else instead of themselves!

ANYWAY...check out this gorgeous cardinal I found perched in a bush outside my back door! Isn't he stunning?! Red is my fave color - so I love when I see splashes of red in the gray of winter.

...So now on to preparing for the new year - lots of excitement to come! { I have this phobia of psycho stalkers who cut babies out of women...so I'm reluctant to talk about my "condition" - but it's going along well! } I'll keep you posted on when the big moment happens, but I've got a little while longer yet, so now I get to focus my attention on making adorable baby stuff!!!

'kay, well have a HAPPY New Year!

Cute Chocolate Cups

Who says you can't have berries in the winter?! They're so gorgeous!

I found these cute Wilton chocolate molds at Jo-Ann's and they are FUN!!! We had a party for a friend today and I couldn't resist sharing my beautiful little chocolate cups & berries!!! They're super easy to use and work up fast, and I love how they look filled with yummy stuff. {{Ahh!}} ...PLUS, you get to eat the dishes, so cleanup is easy...

My Baby is DONE!!!

{AAAKKK!!!} It's done, girls! Can you believe it?! I can't even see from the tears!!! {...give me a minute to compose myself...} I really feel like I've given birth to something here - all of the creation process, time, and patience has resulted in a 3-month ordeal!!! {if only real childbirth were this easy.}

I think I'm going to stitch some snowflakes on the tree, and maybe something cute on the star - but I'm in no hurry! It's up and hanging and I can always add the details whenever I want!

It's gorgeous, perfect, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I almost feel like it needs a name and social security number. AND...how am I going to put this away when Christmas is over?! Guess it has to hang in my bedroom because you just don't treat a living, breathing, beautiful thing like that.

I love you, Santa and Baby Jesus!

And here are some pics of my beautiful Peppermint Tree! Another thing that occupied so much of my time at the beginning of the month - but it has to be done right! You don't MESS with the tree...

This precious little box with the slit in the top is our "mailbox" where the kids can put notes in there for each other! It's become one of our traditions and I love it because it makes them think and look for good things to write about their siblings! {ingenious, I know...}

I LOVE Christmas time!!!

Exhausted

This picture pretty much sums up how I feel! For those of you wondering what on earth has happened to my advent calendar post, it hasn't happened yet...I'm STILL finishing it. OY! I'm still in love with it even though it's now December 4th and my time limit came and went. Because I want to do it right and not slop it together, I'm going to {hopefully} finish it this weekend for good.

We had...Thanksgiving weekend = BUSY, my anniversary {gaspity gasp!} which included a fun-filled, quick trip to Chicago - LOVED IT - we got back on Tuesday night, and this entire week has been full of Christmas decorating {fun!}, shopping, and taking care of kids. My projects have to take a back-seat when it comes to the family, so that's the deal.

How about all of YOU?! Are you enjoying the Holidays and getting things decorated?!