A Sparkly Montlake Tee

Every sewist should have a go to t-shirt pattern, mine happens to be the Montlake by Straight Stitch Designs. I love the relaxed fit and the deeper neck, and I love that it goes together in under an hour.

This past holiday season I had been eyeing all of the sequin tops in stores- most of which were too small, all of which were too expensive for me. Let's be honest, my stay at home mama status doesn't give me too many reasons to wear sequins! 

And despite having zero time I picked up some of the perfffect black sequins from Joanns, and sewed myself up a new top! 

And I just love that I took the time to do it! 

Darling Josephine

I have to be honest- I tend to stick to tried and true silhouettes when I sew. When I am sewing for myself it's because I think I have a pretty good idea of what is flattering on my shape, and when I am sewing for the girls it's because I stick to what I know (i.e fitted, short bodices and full skirts). 

I know it's a little lazy of me- and truth be told, I get lazy when I sew sometimes, and that's ok. Sewing is something I do, not only as a creative outlet, but also as way of coping with stress (and when you are stressed, lazy is ok).

However, trying new things is good and exciting and fresh, so when I was given the opportunity to sew up a new to me pattern from Bella Sunshine Designs, I was super excited.  

Just an F.Y.I, this pattern was provided to me for free in exchange for marking images, and this post does contain affiliate links (I'm hoping to support my fabric problem....) But, my thoughts are my own. 

I started testing patterns for Melissa at Bella Sunshine Designs what feels like forever ago, and off the bat I know when I pick up one of her patterns it will be well drafted, true to size, I will learn at least one new sewing technique, and it will be expertly written. The Josephine Dress and Top is no exception to any of this.  The pattern comes in sizes 6 months to 12 years, and features layers and a print shop option. 

First lets talk about the style. The fitted drop waist bodice is something I have never made for my girls - and you do need to be very mindful to get the perfect fit- remember all kids are shaped differently. Melissa made this easy- just make sure you take fresh measurements, check out the sizing chart, and follow her very detailed instructions to blend sizes. 

Adeline's Josephine is a size 12 month in the chest and in length, but graded out to a 2T in the waist/hip.   

Speaking of length, the Josephine comes in three different lengths: Top, Vintage, and Dress. I went for the Vintage length because I can't get enough of Adeline's baby legs- but keep in mind it is short. 

You can only see them when she is moving around- but I made her a matching pair of ruffled bloomers to go with the dress. 

The pattern features a boat-neck (remember to listen when the pattern says to stay-stitch!) cute, tiny cap sleeves (I love the way these are sewn in), and princess seams that are great opportunity for piping- or using coordinating fabrics! 

I just love piping so I couldn't resist that option. The pattern also opts for an exposed zipper- which adds just a touch of funk to the look.

One last thing- today (3/25/2018) you can pick up the pattern for only $5.00! Just head on over to the website and use the code "sunshine sale". Make sure you also join the BSD facebook page so you can keep tabs on future sales. 

Dear Adeline

Dear Adeline, 

On your first birthday, I want to tell you that I have loved you since the very first moment I knew I carried you. I knew with every ounce of my being that you would bring our family so much joy-  that you were a missing piece meant to be with us.

Sure, the last year has been hard- harder than I ever could have imagined, but you my darling, you are wonderful. 

I am impressed by your strength- strength I felt when you were in the womb- I felt you kick and move, wiggle and twist. Your kicks were strong enough to make me stop in my tracks. Your entry to the world was a challenge and you fought every moment with me to be a part of it. I hope you are always this strong, this world needs strong women.

It's funny to say, but I like the way you view the world with caution and suspicion. Your sister bounds into life headfirst- she loves people with such faith in their goodness she is bound to get hurt- she will need you to temper her enthusiasm, just as you need her now to help break down your caution in new situations. 

  

I have been amazed that despite how suspicious you are in public you have always been loud and chatty at home. Even before you had words you had an incredible range of noises- and you can mimic almost any sound letting people know exactly what you want- and with great volume. 

You are also pretty funny, you love to dance- shaking your booty and waving your arms, and letting out the biggest laughs when you get tickled or when you blow raspberries on my belly.

Oh sweet Adeline, I wish I could keep you small forever, I so dearly love all of your baby kisses and constant hugs. I love how right now I can fix all of your problems, and even when it seems daunting and overwhelming- Mama can fix everything. 

But I know you can't stay small, every day this year I have watched you grow bigger, meet more milestones (always early), and loose more and more of your baby clumsiness. This past year we have watched you go from immobile to running! You climb stairs and stand on chairs (I really wish you wouldn't stand on chairs). You went from needing to nurse all the time to being the great consumer of...carbs...and sugar...with the occasional vegetable (you will get there with the veggies- I am sure)

You like to practice your fine moter skills by picking up every tiny toy/rock/choking hazard you can find in our less than toddler proof apartment. Right now you especially love putting things in other things- small toys inside cups and bowls, closing things in boxes, hiding things in cabinets. I am hoping that eventually this means you will like cleaning (I need at least one person in this house who helps without complaining). 

In addition to moving things around so I can't find them, you enjoy watching Sesame Street (you "sing" along with the theme song", drawing, and having books read to you. You like to walk next to the cart in the grocery store, and you scream with excitement and wave when you see the school bus. 

Adeline- Please love cats forever as much as you do right now- you get so excited you squeal and it melts my crazy cat lady heart. 

This year has also been Cordelia's first year as a sister- and she loves you as much as Papa and I love you, remember this, even when she yells at you and tells you to go away. Sisters are our best friend's forever- you will always have each other and don't let anything disrupt that. Love each other unconditionally, I always knew she needed you- and you need her just as much. 

Dear Adeline, Happy first birthday. Thank you for being part of our family. Thank you for keeping us smiling when the world seemed dark. Thank you for being our baby just when we needed you.

Love, 

Mama

Adeline's Winter "One"derland

I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to blog about Adeline's first Birthday- I'm not sure if I was too busy doing the mom thing, or just too much in denial about my last baby officially leaving babyhood and entering kid-dom?

No matter what the reason for my blogging delay, surrounded by our friends and family we celebrated Adeline's first birthday on December the 10th 2017, and it was perfect. The theme was A Winter "One"derland and held the party in the community room in our apartment building- which oddly enough was the same place we held Cordelia's first birthday. 

The whole room was decked out in silver, white, blues, and purples. We hung streamers and shinny snowflakes from the ceiling, taped transparent snowflakes to the large windows, and covered every flat surface with purple table cloths and fluffy, sparkly garland. 

 

In front of the massive fireplace I hung this banner I made that had a photo of Adeline from each month of her life. 

We of course had themed foods, which included:

*A snowman shaped cheese ball, with snowflake Ritz Crackers

*Snowman noses (baby carrots)

*Penguin snacks (goldfish)

*Snowballs (rice crispy treats)

*Polar ice caps (blue meringues) 

*Snowman decorated string cheese

*Snowman Arms (pretzel sticks)

*White chocolate snow flake pretzels 

*White cheddar poof "snow balls"

and to drink we served

"melted snow" (water) and "glacier ice" (kool aid)

A special thank you to my sister Lori for making all of our signs and labels. 

My sister Shauna made the perfect winter themed Oatmeal "Pup" cakes - the same flavor we had for Cordelia's first birthday. 

And a darling Smash cake which was eaten the most daintily of any smash cake in existence. 

The birthday girl wore a brand new mama made dress for the occasion. It was made from an almost sheer white polka dot cotton fabric, lined in lavender cotton, and has peak-a-boo white ball fringe on the bottom (to look like snow)

And don't let these photos fool you- she only kept that headband on for about 2 minutes. 

And when the party was over, and we had said all our goodbyes, put the leftovers away, and tried our best to clean up all the glitter- we both felt like this! 

Monster Dress, Take Two

Back in 2015 I made Cordelia a "monster dress" , I even blogged about it in THIS post. She wore it a lot- she thought it was really funny, and it was made out of a soft and comfy dot fabric so, unlike most of her dresses, it was super warm.  

At the time I had hundreds ideas for different monster varieties, different spikes and horns and colors- but not a single other dress was made. Cordelia wore her dress until it was a shirt with 3/4 length sleeves and I had to sneak it out of her drawer- and she has been requesting a second monster dress ever since. 

There are a couple of differences between the original monster dress and this one. Cordelia's only complaint about the first dress was that it had four fingers in the pockets. I didn't make the fingers in the pockets thinking she would use them- I just thought claw pockets would be cool and four claws seemed more monster like. However, she really wanted to be able to use the pockets like gloves- so the new dress has five claw like finger pockets.   

The cuffs also have been updated with thumb holes. Cordelia has recently started chewing thumb holes into her long sleeve shirts...it causes me great distress, so the holes are really in hopes that the dress won't get chewed on. 

I liked the texture of the dots used in the last dress, but the fabric had very little stretch and it really wasn't ideal for a pull over dress. This dress is made from Luxe fleece from Joann Fabrics. Normally the texture of fleece makes my skin crawl, but this is super soft! The blue is a fuzzy fabric from their cuddle collection. Cordelia is all about soft and fuzzy right now- so the combination is perfect. 

It is also warm enough to pass as a jacket on a above 30 degree day!

All in all, this dress makes for a pretty happy monster girl!