Gracie's Christmas Dress [Refashion]

Last year I poured my heart and soul into a special glittery Snowflake Dress for Grace's first Christmas.

Pretty Baby last Christmas :)

As I'd hoped, it did still fit this year. Unfortunately, the proportions were just funny. The high yoke with the super full skirt underneath looked too "infant" for my walking, talking little girl. But I'm mad in love with this fabric and concept - I'm not one to let it go to waste, especially 2 days before Christmas when my fabric budget is empty and the stash only holds cotton and a couple scraps from last year.

This year. Fits - but doesn't look good

So what's a good seamstress to do? Why, fussy cut a new bodice and replace it, of course! There was just enough satin fabric to pull this off. I literally had nothing worth keeping left - the last scraps went into the trash can. The sleeves are cut against the grain, but it's not enough to notice. I had to lose a couple inches of skirt at the waist due to the previous scalloped front, but it's still plenty long enough (maybe even for next year? A 3 year dress!)

Singing in the Christmas program

The bodice is the back-button shirt pattern with short sleeves taken from Heirloom Sewing for Jack and Jill by Martha Pullen. I was pleased that the "short" sleeves are elbow length - I prefer this look. I used bias cut strips of the cream from the underskirt to bind the sleeves and neckline. Since I only had the 2 buttons from the original bodice, I used those as decoration on the front and hid black snaps in the placket on the back. This is the original skirt which, after trimming off the scallops and arm holes, is just a big rectangle gathered on.
 

 My only disappointment is that in my haste to finish, I only used my pinking shears on the seams. Apparantly that isn't a good solution for satin - it frayed out and part of the waist seem has pulled separate at this point. Thankfully that happened right as we were packing into the car for home on Christmas eve, so she got through both church services without her dress falling apart. I have a couple scraps of satin bias left, and of course tons of cotton, so my plan is to go back after New Year's and encase the seams in bias. That should keep it sturdy - right? I'm pretty new to this whole satin thing. Cotton is definitely my friend.

Removing the stickers the big kids were to stand on

Oh! Can you see her giant hair flower? It's scrap organza from the skirt. I melted it over a candle. Way too much fun. Directions are here for my pyro friends with small girls. Or big girls - I made one for myself too so we matched :D

And then, she was one [Photobomb!]

My goodness. What a difference a year makes! It's Miss Gracie Abigail's very first birthday today and I couldn't be happier.

Minutes old

 It's hard to believe she was ever this tiny. But not this angry - lol, that part is VERY easy to believe. We've become very familiar with the crinkled cranky face over the past 366 days (it's leap year, remember?!)



One of the few times she actually liked the swing; right after our first outting at 4 days old

She's been full of spirit since the minute she was born. Always curious. Always engaged. Always inspiring SOME kind of reaction from me: delighted, frustrated, sad, heart-warmed... anything but apathy. 


Still working on that lazy eye...

  She didn't stay little long...



Trying to sit quietly for a wedding in November



 She got big, and got even more of an opinion. She was crawling in early November and firmly refused anything but table foods around Thanksgiving. Then came babbling, and screaming at Daddy :)

Thanks for the great pix, Joanna!

 And now, my big 1 year old can hardly be called a baby. She's not quite a toddler yet... but look how grown up she's looking. She can have a conversation with me (without words, of course). We can play games - real games - together every day. As much as I fell in love with my precious newborn, I'm even more head over heels for this little person in my life who grabs my face and calls me "mama" (But then licks my nose. I think she thinks it's kissing.)

Happy Birthday, Gracie Abigail!

White Wool Diaper Shorts

I'm not good at sitting still. So when I realized right before leaving that the drive to the Bible conference in Milwaukee would take over 5hr each way, AND that I didn't have any car-appropriate projects currently underway, I had a brief moment of panic. Then I remembered the random skein of white wool I'd purchased for some project I never got around to. A quick rearrangement of my knitting bag later, I was out to door and ready to knit these darling little shorts: For those of you who don't cloth diaper or use wool diapers, wool is pretty awesome. It is a natural fiber that is both breathable and water resistant. You use it over an absorbant diaper (I prefer fitteds, but prefolds or flats work well, too). Without a man-made fiber barrier, air is able to flow all the way to Baby's skin. Wool pushes pee back into the absorbant diaper as well as letting some evaporate. I always chose wool if Grace's skin is looking red or rashy. Any hint of issue clears up so quickly.

I knit these out of Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool in "Natural," using the "Sheepy Pants" pattern. It knits up so simply! These are huge (I'm terrible with guage... maybe if I actually knit a guage swatch I'd do better...) but since she's only getting bigger they'll certainly work. I really love the Sheepy Pants pattern. I'll probably make up some more before the summer comes on full force.

The plan for these is to wear them under the sudden abundance of cute little sundresses we just recieved in a bag of hand-me-downs. But they work equally well with t shirts (and you can see them, then!). And yes... my little mover is essentially walking. She can if she wants, but usually isn't brave enough to let go. My how her nearly 11 months has just flown by!

Spring!

This is probably my favorite week of the whole year. Finally, all the windows can be flung open with a reasonable expectation of not having to be closed again (at least until AC time). Finally, I can plant my baby plants and lust longingly for fresh tomato salads. And, finally, I can spend hours outside with Grace and our friends, not doing much of anything and enjoying EVERY minute.

My dear friend has a little girl who is just a few weeks younger than Grace. She's in the habit of doing pictures regularly, and when she decided to shoot the 9 month pictures, she invited Grace and I to join! We dressed up our spring flowers, dragged out some props, and let them play for the camera.

At least until they got bored... It was a blast!

The only downside is now I DESPERATELY want their house. As you can tell, they live in the middle of absolutely nowhere, near a dot on the map appropriately named "Cornland, IL." Seriously! I didn't believe it the first time. But alas! There it is. And one day I'll live out that way, too, in the middle of nothing with pretty grass and clean sky. God willing!

Photo credits belong to my sweet friend :)

Slumber Party

When one of my dear friends told me her husband was having surgery, I didn't hesitate to offer to watch their little girl while they both needed to be at the hospital. Only later to I realize the implication of having 2 little high-energy girlies running around my house. But my lovely girlies turned out to be more fun that I could have expected. I miss having slumber parties!

This was the first time we've had any of Gracie's friends over without their moms in tow (I love playdates). We had our fair share of tears, but so much laughter as well.

It was Grace's first time in the big tub! Before now I've always kept her in the smaller infant tub, mostly because it uses less water. But what's a slumber party without a splash-fest!?!

Then, of course, semi-naked, cloth-bummed story time. I can't get enough of big, fluffy, cloth diapered babies. M. is cloth diapered only part-time at home, and not at nighttime, so I extra stuffed hers just for insurance. Look how fluffy!

I think I had more fun than the girls did. I can't help but think how much fun Grace would be as a sister. And how much fun I'd have being busy with two.

Oh bother... now I've got baby fever :D!

Grace's Snowflake Christmas Dress

I have waited what seems like forever to make a baby Christmas dress. Here's to a life-goal being completed!
I dreamed of a gown with so much fluff my sweet girl would be hard to hold. I wanted something that was a lovely blend of classic and modern; suitable for Christmas but beyond that into the rest of the winter - who wants to spend hours on a dress that will only be worn once?


I found Simplicity 2392, a reprint from the 1950s. So cute! And it was exactly what I was looking for :) I chose black satin for the top. The skirt is one layer of cream satin and one layer of sheer organza printed with glitter snowflakes. Can you see them?

Although I followed the back of the envelope in regards to sizing, the dress is huge (as you can probably tell). The only alteration I made was to lengthen the sleeves to be long - it is winter after all! As big as it is, I have high hopes this will fit NEXT Christmas as well. I know I can't put her in it on a regular Sunday because she'll destroy it in the nursery. Again, maybe when she's walking next year it will be more practical.

But practical or not, I most certainly had fun making it!

Fashion Statement

Let's do a little math on inequalities.

Whatever is clean + Whatever fits + Whatever is warm + Whatever is on the top of the pile DOES NOT EQUAL Whatever matches.

Sigh. I try... really. But you'd never know by 5pm.

Your baby eats WHAT?

No offense to the fine baby food companies (ahem), but baby food is gross. Seriously yucky stuff. So I tried to do solids the "right" way... pureeing my own veggies, shoveling it in her mouth three times a day, trying to distract her enough to open her mouth... but it took WAY too long, was way too messy, and quite frankly, was not a pleasant experience for anyone. Totally frustrating.

Beef stew and blueberries - definately a favorite!

That's when I gave up. I read a book called "Baby Led Weaning" by Gill Rapely. Full disclosure: this not a scientific book. The only scientific study referenced in it was done in the early part of the century. It's full of first-person testimonials, which are interesting but definately not scientific. That being said, I found a lot of logic and rational thought in it. Primarily, do you really think that moms through the ages spent hours pureeing food for their babies? Or wasting so much time trying to spoon-feed little ones who clearly don't desire to be spoon-fed? I doubt it. I don't buy everything in the book, but the basic concept seems sound. So, last week (just in time for Thanksgiving), we switched our approach: Gracie eats what we eat.

Chicken noodle soup

She's actually doing surprisingly well with it. I know she's eating (we cloth diaper... use your imagination), and actually eating a lot more than I thought she would. She's tried pretty much everything I've put in front of her. Sure, it's messy... but you should have seen what we were dealing with when spoon-feeding. Believe it or not, this is cleaner. And she's SOOO happy! We all sit down for our meals together, with Gracie getting a small portion of whatever the meal is. Sometimes I'll cook her something a tiny bit different: last night we had fish but I didn't season her piece, and for lunch today I didn't put sauce on her pasta. But that's minor in the grand scheme of things. We're teaching her not only what food is, but also what family mealtime is. She's a part of our family, and family mealtime is something we very much believe in.

Some kind of sherbert, and yes it's a spoon, but her face is priceless!
This kid makes the best faces.

Has anyone else done this, or something similar? I have a couple friends here that have done solids basically this way. It just seems so natural. Thoughts?

Action Shots: Grace's Coat

Because baby clothes are way cuter on the baby instead of the table :D

It's almost a pefect fit. Just a little loose, so it should fit throughout the cold season. This is a toddler size 1/2. LOL, I didn't even know they made a size 1/2!

You can see how the fullness hits just above her bum, and it only buttons to her waist. As wiggly as she is nowadays, this keeps everything nicely out of the way. And as Gillian suggested, I did skip the bow - there's enough going against me already trying to get this kid in a carseat. I don't need anything extra!

Humbling my Mother's Heart

Job 40 :3 Then Job answered the LORD and said,
4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You?
I lay my hand on my mouth.
5 “Once I have spoken, and I will not answer;
Even twice, and I will add nothing more.”

Today has been extremely humbling in my journey as a mother. For the past several days, Gracie's been cranky as can be. I chalked it up to teething; when the teeth didn't appear, I claimed she was tired, since she's been waking up more at night. Then, God forgive me, I credited it to her having a temper and a spirited personality like both her father and me. It wasn't any of those things.

My poor baby was hungry.

I've been seeing it for a few days and stubbornly refusing the truth. You see, through all my doubts and worries, I've been prideful in my heart about breast feeding. I'd never say it out loud, but I'd think in my heart, "Those women who suppliment gave up too easily." Or, "Formula-feeding moms are selfish, not wanting to give of themselves for their babies." And maybe, for some of them that is true. But not all. And maybe, not even most.

God's been gracious enough to chip away at the beam in my eye. One friend told me this morning of her heartbreak when, for some unknown reason, her milk never came in and they couldn't afford the expensive options offered by the lactation consultants. And then, I spent the morning together at the library with a new friend, watching our sweet daughters roll around on the carpet in the board book area. She's used formula pretty much since her baby was born, because she needed gall bladder surgery. It was possible to nurse, but she'd have to forgo pain medications before, during, and after this excruciatingly painful procedure. After a day of trying to "muscle through it" she realized she'd be a much better mother in less pain.

And now, you can add me. I don't know why, but at 4 1/2 months, my milk is drying up. I don't have an explaination or an excuse. But what I do know is that my darling has been suffering from my stubbornness. I gave her her first bottle at 3pm, after which she truly giggled for the first time in her life. At bedtime she received her 2nd, and went to sleep without a single tear for the first time in weeks. I'm heartbroken and happy at the same time: heartbroken for not being "enough" for her; happy because she's at peace.

I guess I would have had to learn this lesson sooner or later - no mother is "enough" for her children. Only God can provide everything even a very small human heart needs. I've got a constant chatter running through my head: "It isn't too late, you can try harder, pray harder, want it more..." But then, whose power am I leaning on? Who am I trying to trust? No matter what I do, I can't fix this myself. And it is more Godly to submit to him.

I'm still nursing. I'm feeding her bottles afterwards, though, and today at both times she took a full 4oz of formula. I hope to keep nursing for a very long time, at least in a small way, but we'll see what God plans. And while I'm definately praying my supply rebounds, doing some small things to encourage that (bring on the oatmeal!), I'm not going to make Grace sacrifice any longer for my prideful needs. That way, I know she'll be fed, and hopefully, someday, I'll be a better mother for her out of all this.

Hungry Baby

Photobomb! My pretty baby loves eating :)

Silly Gracie, only one spoon fits at a time!

Mmm Peaches!

Love that face. Gracie can't get enough of apples, either. I actually don't know if she's getting anything, but she's enjoying the slobber fest.

Sad baby. Dinner wasn't coming fast enough so she chewed on Daddy's arm instead.