First time spaghetti

I covered Kaylee with a big piece of fabric because I thought she would enjoy eating spaghetti with her hands, but she would only eat off of a fork. She's not this smooth with a fork but she's getting there.

(This should be animated with 3 pictures.)

Who needs a pattern when...

you have Holt bloodlines! ;) My last attempt with a pattern went awry, so today I drew my own pattern out of plain white paper and made a summer top for Kaylee.

Believe it or not, this one is actually my "test" shirt because I didn't want to ruin the fabric I really want to make the top out of. I have a couple of things to adjust about the pattern, but this one turned out great! I am really proud of my sewing skills...who knew I had this in me!?! I get really excited when the buttonholes work. I still had to get out the sewing machine manual to walk myself through the steps, but they came out perfect!

The fabric is from my mom's stash. There is so much of this particular fabric that I "might" make the same top for me! Matching mom and daughter outfits! We'll see...that will take a lot of white paper to make a pattern for my size. ha!

**UPDATE** I suppose I should have waited to blog until after I tried the shirt ON Kaylee! I had to add 2 pleats in the front to make it fit. It actually makes the shirt look even cuter, in my opinion. The arm holes are big enough and it's long enough that I'll be able to let out the pleats and the top can grow with her!

And here is the next project! I can't wait to put this one on her! Stay tuned for pics!

Kayteedids on Zibbet!

I have been a sew-aholic and bow-aholic this last week, and my shop is finally up and running. I've switched over to Zibbet from Etsy, due to Etsy's selling costs and over-crowdedness. (this is a blog with made up words apparently) I really, truly am seeking feedback from my friends (you) so please send me an email, leave a comment, or call me with any suggestions!!

I am also in need of a more professional looking banner for my Zibbet page. There is a weird size requirement and I cannot figure out how to get it to work. So, I am offering 1 lb of Starbucks coffee to whoever wants to make me a digital banner! Contact me for the specifics if you are interested.

Kisses through the door

'Sew' cute!

Well, I finished the outfit for Kaylee. I followed the 9 month pattern size but it is definitely an 18 month size at least. This is why I don't try to make clothes. So much for it being a cute summer outfit. Now it will have to be an "out of season" winter outfit. Sigh. It's not like I can tell her to hold still while I measure her. Nor can you try the outfit on her with things pinned together. Double sigh. I do love it though and I am proud of my sewing. AND I learned how to make button holes! So it was a mostly-successful project.


On a more successful note, I also made this shirt...without a pattern! Granted it's the easiest thing in the world to sew, but maybe I should just go with the patterns in my head rather than store bought ones. It's a "pillowcase" shirt based on the "pillowcase dresses" that are the newest fad (out here at least). It looks super cute with Kaylee's jean capris. I suppose I could have made it a dress, but that would have required making a matching underwear/diaper cover thingy. Plus I like the look of it over the jeans. :)

(this fabric was from my mom's collection so it's extra special)

Family resemblance

I found this picture of Mandy at 11 months and thought she looks like Kaylee.

Happy Mother's Day

Me and my mom 1978

Mom and Mandy 1980

Daddy's girl

I'd like a Tall Vanilla Latte with extra whip please!

(just kidding, it's water)

We went to visit Daddy at work yesterday. We sat on the patio eating organic, all natural fruit leather and washed it down with some delicious triple filtered water. What a big girl!

Thankful for a wonderful 10 months!

I know I say it every month, but I can't believe another one has passed by. 10 months old already! Kaylee just keeps impressing us daily. I've noticed that when I tell parents of multiples about something cute Kaylee did, I tend to get a courtesy smile and nod as if to say "she's definitely a first time mom". I imagine that could be said about our blog too. But to that I say, I absolutely love rejoicing in every aspect of my baby. I am thankful she is healthy, is developing on track, and is a very happy baby. I've recently been around a mom who does not take joy in her children and verbally expresses her angst to anyone in earshot. It makes me sad but has really pointed out to me just how important it is to notice the small things and take pride in every aspect of my child. Instead of getting frustrated when she cries and I can't figure it out, I praise God that I HAVE a baby to hold and love. When she wakes up at 4am wide awake wanting to "talk" to me, I thank God for these mother-daughter "conversations" and pray that they will continue into her adulthood. (if she's like me, she'll talk my ear off even as a high schooler - those are conversations with my mom that I cherish to this day). And this might sound crazy, but poopy diapers even give me reason to be thankful. Her internal systems work right! Sometimes you just have to get creative at wording what your thankful for.

Anyway, on to the monthly update. Kaylee loves to dance to pretty much any song but especially computer generated songs (called midi files, or something like that). She's finally put two and two together to figure out that when she pushes the buttons on toys, they make sounds. So now she can continue her dancing without mommy or daddy having to keep pushing buttons for her. Another step towards independence! Still no crawling, but she likes to roll and wiggle to get places. She continues to eat so well and typically eats whatever we're having for dinner. She could eat chicken flavored rice (rice-a-roni but a healthier version) all day if we let her.

(Don't worry, there isn't as much rice in her hand as it looks)

She has just figured out "sharing". If she has food in her hand, she'll take a bite and then want to put it in your mouth. Same with toys. You have to take the item or she gets mad. But then she wants it back, so I guess she's learning how to let people "borrow" not share. haha She has also started mimicking us. If we talk using our hands, she does too. This is her mimicking my scrunched face.

She also is less interested in taking pictures than she used to be. She is easily distracted by anything and everything.

She's sleeping through the night, typically anywhere from 10-12 hours straight. And she finally has her 2 bottom front teeth! Mommy is relieved about that one, I actually had a dream that she still didn't have teeth at 2 years old. whew!

And lastly, the dogs still love her. She thinks they're funny and they love to clean up the floor after she eats. It's a win-win situation.

March showers bring April flowers...at least in NC that's how it works

After a week of being sick with the stomach flu, a random rash, and unknown allergies we had to get outside for a breather...but not breathing in too deeply because the pollen is ridiculous and we don't need those allergies too.

Back in November John planted a Crape Myrtle tree for Kaylee. Here she is then, and now:



Last year at this time I was 6 months pregnant!


And this year we have a 9 1/2 month old!






And just a random shot of Kaylee's funny sleeping positions, yes she's sound asleep like this.

(it was 90 degrees here last week which explains the lack of pj's)