YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY

About three months ago I posted a sneak peak of the quilt I was making for Baby Dos. Well I finished it like the day after that post but never got around to the blogging portion. Good story, I know. Anyway. Since then I've kind of been on a sewing kick and I feel like you honestly can't have too many blankets. Baby Dos will never be able to claim she was shafted in the new baby stuff department. For the record I only sewed one blanket for Finley.

*You can tell how long ago I finished these quilts, they all have massive creases in them from being stored up and away from Finley so she doesn't claim them as her own. So I apologize for the wrinkly pictures.

For the diagonal stripe blanket I wanted to try out a Self Binding Blanket. It was really nice to complete a project without any hand sewing, but it kind of felt like cheating. I'm not sure why. I used the tutorials found on this amazing quilting blog. Start to finish this took me about 2 hours, but it will definitely go faster the next time now that I understand the entire concept and I don't have to look at the directions every 3 seconds.

Since I'm having another summer baby I understand that having a thin blanket is a must. However, I still felt like this munchkin would appreciate something cozy. So I made this quilt with minky baking but no batting. It's the perfect weight for snuggling in an air conditioned house - outside in the Alabama summer humidity not so much. For this blanket I wanted to try doing rounded corners (I'm never doing square corners again) and making my own bias binding tape. The binding was a learning experience. It's a lot of work, but it's a nice option to get exactly what you want.

This last quilt is the official quilt of Baby Dos. This is more of a toddler size quilt (Finley is just now sleeping with the one I made her) but I wanted it to last into toddlerhood. It has a minky back and satin binding and it's diagonally machine quilted. I love it. Even Finley keeps trying to take it for her own. I hope she learns to like hers a little more because it will only be a matter of time before Baby Dos will not stand for getting her blanket stolen by her big sister.

So TA-DA that is my super exciting explanation of the blankets I've sewn lately! Sorry. Sewing is so soothing for me and it has helped relieve the extra stress of this upheaval in our lives. Which is nice since I can't really do much nesting. I have some burp cloths to sew together and some onesies to redo and I'm all set in the baby crafting department. Which is nice since it looks like this baby will be born on or before June 1st. By the way - have I mentioned we are having this baby in Illinois before we move? Yep, my almost worst nightmare is happening. I'm moving to a brand new state and house with a 6 day old baby. Yikes.

BDAY

Yesterday I entered the last year of my 20s. And I got to spend the day with this munchkin buns.  A trip to Target, a picnic at the park, and then a nap.

Then a generous babysitter came to watch the Finners while Brad took me to my favorite place, and his least favorite - Cracker Barrel. And then to a movie. It was a good day. Something we all needed after such a rough month.

EASTER IN PICTURES

Easter pictures! With the "hopeful" house undergoing inspection and appraisal in Alabama we took off for the weekend to Naperville. It was a nice two day getaway made all the better by Easter. Finley got to do an egg hunt with two of her cousins and we got to eat a ginormous Easter dinner feast that I didn't have to cook! And I finally saw Hunger Games. BOUT TIME.

Finley didn't really get the part about collecting eggs but once we showed her what was inside she definitely knew it was a good thing to get as many as possible. However, she did not like reaching into the tall grass no matter how much candy was involved.

So Finley has a BFF. And it's Grandpa. Like serious BFF. Before I packed up her room there were pictures of all her grandparents as kids hanging near her crib. Now almost everyday she points to the place on the wall that used to hang a picture of Grandpa and asks, "Grandpa?" I'm sure those pictures will be one of the first things we unpack and hang when we move. And she will certainly miss seeing him as often since our visits will dwindle to once or twice a year. She likes Grandma too just not as much as Grandpa. It's okay, everyone knows.

I'm telling you... two peas in a pod.

 

Did you marry into any interesting holiday traditions? In Brad's family the Easter Bunny hides the basket. So when you wake up you could spend 5 minutes or 5 hours looking for your basket. There are infamous tales of woe of kids crying in defeat after believing they didn't get a basket that year. We'll have to ease ourselves into the epic hiding spots. For now we had to practically sit Finley under the table next to her basket to understand that there were presents and candy to be had.

And a shout out to Baby Dos. Next year you'll be trying to steal Finley's candy and she'll probably tell on you.

31 WEEKS - BABY DOS

This picture was actually taken last week at 30 weeks, so imagine me just a bit larger and with a more uncomfortable look on my face. Here is the rundown on the latest:

- Still no back pain this time around. Huzzah! That was my biggest complaint at this stage. SO thankful I don't have to deal with that, I'm guessing it's because it feels like I'm carrying this baby so much higher so maybe my posture is better?? That can't be it. Who knows why. All I know is I'm happy about that fact for sure.

- Baby Dos still does not have an official name although we do have it down to a list of three with a very clear front runner. We feel again like we can't make any declarations until we see this little biscuit for the first time. Let's just say there must be some presidential inspiration in the air since it's an election year.

- At my last appointment her heart rate was going strong and I'm measuring right on track.

- I'm feeling lots of movement all day long and her favorite place seems to be on my right side. She used to prefer the left side but that changed a few weeks ago. Finley was also always on my right side.

- At least 5 people that I routinely see (neighbor, grocery story clerk...) told me within the last week that they didn't realize I was pregnant. Seriously? I really hope it's because my winter clothes were concealing it and spring clothes are more revealing of a protruding belly because it feels like I've been pregnant for 10 years.

- When we ask Finley if she wants to say "Hi" to Baby Sister she'll come over to my belly and wave and say "Oh, Hi!" and then give it a kiss. I think I've mentioned this on a post before... but she still does it almost everyday. She also started saying, "Awwww, Baby." Whenever she sees a picture of one or one on TV or even with her own dolls. I guess I have been cooing and "awwwing" over babies lately. It must be getting about that time!

- I've gone through a bunch of food cravings/phases this time around as well: cheese, nutella, berries, tuna. And now all I want to eat is cereal. Although that might partly be due to laziness. All I can say is eating this much cereal has given me major college flashbacks. I'm pretty sure all I ate for five years was Special K and Oh's. My current favorite is Grape Nut Flakes. When I'm feeling fancy I eat it parfait style with some greek yogurt instead of milk. I know. Watch out!

**Fingers crossed! We are thisclose to finally getting a house. Looks like our move date will officially be the last week of May. Yep, you read that right. One week before my due date. Stay tuned... more to come on that can of worms on a later post.

I WEAR MY SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT

You know what early spring weather makes you do? Buy your toddler ridiculously unnecessary but awesome sunglasses. Finley loves them and surprisingly hasn't broken them yet. And it's so funny to see her try to mimic the way I put them on top of my head.

I'd like to add Glazebrook Park to the things we will most definitely miss when we move. We are literally there at least three times a week. There's a lake with a walking trail plus a great park. So I put on my walking shoes and waddle my way around the lake with Finley in the BOB and then she gets to play afterwards. It's the perfect activity for both of us. Yesterday she actually went down the big tube slide by herself and I almost cried. She's becoming more of a toddler and less of a baby everyday. It makes me nostalgic because these days of it being just us two are quickly dwindling. And I feel like I can't really enjoy it because we have so much going on. Soon it will be "the girls" instead of just "Finley," which I'm really excited about but it still makes me a little weepy.

Wait, this isn't right?

When she arrives she likes to take a tour of everything on the playground and give it all a three second try. Then she spends the rest of the time on the slide.

Classic example of her running away from me.

Picnic at the park.

Singing and dancing for people walking by. Such a ham.