Good morning

For the first time in three weeks, Chris was here when I woke up. And we were woken up by a babbling baby. I was still tired so I let Parker talk to us for a while before picking him up. Lo and behold, he was on his back. This kid sleepy on his stomach so he had rolled over!

Peter Pan Girl's Uniform

My neighbor asked me if I could re-create a school uniform dress shirt for her little girl like the one found here. I had been itching to sew something and undertook this project fast. (After being found on Amazon though, my neighbor said I didn't need to make it anymore. Too bad, I had to try.)

With a similar shirt, I drafted out a pattern. Measuring to make sure everything will fit together is the biggest step. And now, I have a pattern to whip up more anytime.

I was also really happy to work on a dress shirt again. Some of the fun things they can include are self-lined yokes, and plackets for the sleeves.

Whipping up this beauty was easy. I only ran into one problem at the end. Sometimes, my machine likes to eat up buttonholes. Luckily this happened on my last one on a cuff. So besides replacing a cuff,  there were no hiccups.

I tried out something new with this shirt as well. Because the collar didn't extend to to the edges, there was going to be a seam at the neckline. Most shirts have binding sewn over the seam to keep it enclosed. I did this and it worked out great. I can't wait to finish more shirts with exposed seams like this.

Hopefully soon I can get my little neighbor to model it for me, since I only snapped a few sad pictures before handing it over. The things I learned were totally worth the time.

Also, I've found it is hard to find a great quality white cotton that won't be too see-through. After purchasing some cotton I wasn't happy with, I ended up using a white sheet. Sheets can be low quality as well, so double check before buying any. Mine was a good quality Ralph Lauren top sheet. Also as temping as it is to use the finished edges for hems, don't! The seaming won't match and the fabric can pull.

If anyone is interested, I may make a tutorial for some elements such as the neck binding, faced yoke, and plackets, as well as upload my size 8 pattern.

Parker | 3 months

Parker is no longer a newborn.. sniff sniff! This boy is acting so big and it doesn't help that he is so long. I can tell a big difference in nursing him that his legs dangle off the side of our rocker. At three months he still is not the best sleeper. There have been a few nights of 6-7 hours, but we are usually up a few times in the night. At about 6 am I pull him into bed with me. After a few small feedings we finally get up for the day between 8:30 and 9 am.

Parker loves to eat his hands and a few days ago found interest in his toys. He can pick them up and chew on them. Also he sucks in his bottom lip--so cute! He moves more, has a strong neck, and we are working on rolling over. He is very smiley throughout the day as long as he is not tired. When he is tired, he just wants held, sucks on his bink, and will fall asleep relatively quickly.

This boy still does not like the car or the bathtub. He loves to talk and play with his daddy. Yesterday he actually laughed while dad changed his diaper. He usually smiles for for me and he thinks pooping his pants is funny, silly boy. When he babbles, he makes the "ma" sound so hopefully he will be able to say mom. :) Parker is always looking around and has gone on more walks with mom. He doesn't last long though and just wants to be held. He is a mama's boy though, and besides wanting to get more done around the house most day, I am glad to have all this time with him.

Perfect moment

A moment ago I just laid down my baby in his bed for the night. I did not want to. He had fallen asleep in my arms so perfectly content that I wanted to hold him forever. His sweet face, his hand twitching, and his long rhythmic breaths all so serene. These perfect moments make me so full of gratitude that I am his mother.

2 Months

Last week Parker turned two months old! At his doctor's appointment on the 6th, he weighed in at 11 lbs 11 oz (50%) and 24 inches (90+%!). Chris was able to come at the end of the visit to help with shots since I was probably more of a baby about it than Parker! He did pretty well, only crying until his daddy held him again. There were however lots of cuddles for a fussy baby the next few days.

This little boy is getting more fun every day! He has full on conversations with his dad as he is getting more vocal. He is also getting stronger and can hold his head up when laying on his belly. The smiles also started and he is generally a happy boy unless he is tired and wants to cuddle. Parker is very demanding and loves attention. If I leave him for more than a minute, he starts to fuss. I come back and everything is fine, he just doesn't like to be left alone. This past week he also set a new sleep record of 6 hours! Lately he has been going down early around 7 or 8 and waking up 2 times in the night. However he does stay awake for quite a while and wants to play. We got a rattle and are trying to get him to hold things deliberately, but he is not interested yet. However, he has found his hands and tries to eat his whole fist, getting mad when it doesn't all fit.

This boy is growing up so fast! It feels like we are out if the newborn stage since he does so much. I love my Parker boy!