Look What I Made!

My creative energy has come alive in the last few weeks. I blame this on my new addiction to the All Things Thrifty and Etsy websites. I have spent many hours on these sites admiring what people have created or recreated to make into something fabulous.

All that time admiring other's creations inspired me to make a few things of my own. It started when my friend Jodi asked me to make her an apron that she can wear while she is pregnant (baby due in early august) and that she can also wear it after she's not so pregnant. This is a challenge as most aprons go straight across your waist and if you haven't been around a very pregnant person, there isn't much of a waist to be found. So i designed a pattern with this in mind, something that would accommodate a belly, but lie flat when the belly is gone. My mom saved the day and helped me take my design and concept to actual apron and did all of the "advanced" sewing for me, but i did all the detail and basic sewing. I loved how it turned out and it looked especially cute on Miss Jodi who also loved it. Here she is modeling it for me.

After I completed that I moved on to a wreath for our door. I needed a break from sewing

as my fingers were sore from being poked and handling the rough material. I fell in love with a wreath made out of sea glass on a beach cottage website (sorry i can't find it again to link it) and figured i could pull that off. Lucky for me my mom and granny had quite the beach glass collections and were willing to hand them down to me so i could give this a try. I was worried i wouldn't have enough but surprisingly this wreath doesn't take all that much glass and I had a ton left over. It was a quick and therapeutic art project as I sat there with my hot glue gun and buckets of glass. I was able to finish it within one of Nolan's naps and i only suffered 2nd degree burns on two of my fingers, bonus!

I think next time I'll leave off the brown glass as that made it look more like a recycling project then beach glass but it's still pretty cute.

I just picked up the fabric i needed for my sister's apron so it's back to sewing. But that will have to wait a few weeks because we're going on vacation! First to Ocean Shores for the 4th of July and then on to Bend, Oregon for a family wedding. Stay posted for pics and stories from our adventures.

I LOVE this City!

I love Seattle. I consider it my home, and when I'm away I miss it like a family member. I think it's because i have so many great memories here and very few negative. I take it personally when people insult it or say it's not as good as their hometown. I frequently read the top ten lists online or in magazines for things like best places to live, raise a family, have a picnic, whatever, just to be sure that Seattle is on it (and it often is) and if it's not i seriously consider writing the author to take a closer look at the Emerald City.

I never dreamt that we would be able to buy a house and raise our son in the city where we fell in love, but here we are. I never knew that the city that I loved as a single teenager would remain so important to me at this stage in my life. But Seattle offers so much to families, there are hundreds of things to do everyday and right in our backyard.

Last weekend reminded me why i love it here so much. It was one of those perfect Seattle days. I had to go to Ballard in search for the perfect fabric for a project I'm working on. It was a sunny Sunday, there was great music on the radio and no traffic! We pulled up to Joann's and there was an open spot right up front!! We found our fabric and on the way out I look across the street and there is this adorable little park with lots of Nolan sized kids playing. So we wandered on over to check it out. It turns out it wasn't just a park but a skate and water park!

I was so pleased with this great find, i let Nolan play in the water despite us being horribly unprepared for getting wet. He was dressed in play clothes (not a swim suit or swim diaper), I had no towels, sunscreen or even another diaper to change him into but I said screw it, when do we get to do things like this?

I rarely allow myself to be spontaneous although I always wish I could let go of my plan out every detail tendencies and just let things fall into place. I want Nolan to find joy in the little things each day offers not just the well planned, perfectly executed ones. It felt great to let loose and splash around in this hidden little gem and Nolan loved the surprise. He wound up soaked through and very pleased with himself. Luckily I had a picnic blanket in the back that we used to dry off and I drove home a very happy, naked toddler. It was a very good day.

Clarification

It has been brought to my attention that my last post was a bit melancholy. No need to worry about me, I am not going though a blue period I promise! Although this Seattle weather is zapping my energy, ugh! I guess this is the problem with blogging, tone can be misinterpreted.

Just for clarification, I am quite comfortable in my mommy-dom these days. I won't lie, I have my moments of impatience and confusion (what do you do when your toddler won't hold still for a diaper change?) but I am feeling very optimistic.

I mean this doubt thing isn't new for me. When he was younger I was worrying about is he pooping enough? How much spit up is too much spit up? If I bring him out into the gross germ-y world and he gets sick will I ever forgive myself? I just didn't blog about it, and I kind of wish I had.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I want this blog to capture all my experiences as a parent, good and bad, doubts and celebrations. So one day I can look back and realize all these ups and downs are part of the journey. Hopefully it will remind me that whatever we are dealing with at that time will soon be forgotten. Sorry to cause any of you concern!

And because no post should be without a picture, here you go. A picture of Nolan from almost one year ago. He was so chunky back then!

One Giant Step

Saying I am aching for Nolan start walking is an understatement. He is almost 17 months old and although this places him in the "late walker" category its not officially a delay for another month. He has taken a few encouraging steps but I definitely wouldn't classify him as a "walker".

I can't even count how many times I've been told not to worry, babies develop on their own time, or that I should be grateful for these extra few months of not chasing down a toddler. I know these comments are meant well but that doesn't change the fact that his delays have opened a Pandora's box of concerns for us. What if this delay is just the first symptom of a larger developmental problem? Will he always be behind his peers? Is it something I did/didn't do that caused this?

Luckily Nolan is oblivious to the fact that he is the only one of his friends that isn't walking yet. But as he cheerfully scoots among his peers I fight guilt, shame and embarrassment of failing to keep my child on track. After talking with other mommy/parenting friends I'm convinced that these feelings might just be part of the parenting experience. One friend who's child is walking is embarrassed because her child isn't talking, another baby won't give up their binky, and another has a complex about never being able to breast-feed. It makes me wonder if parenting is possible without all the doubt and second guessing? Maybe by the second one?

I know deep down that one day he will decide that he wants to walk and it will be done and all of this worry will be forgotten (or more likely the worry will be about something new). Until that day I will encourage every little step he takes toward becoming a true walker.

On that note, one giant step he took this week was walking behind his walker. I have been trying to get him to do this for months and last night when i put it in front of him he took two timid steps forward and then started high tailing around the living room, like this is something he does all the time. Of course, I got it all on video, this is honestly the first few minutes of him playing with this thing.