for comparative purposes only 
me at 5 weeks in a maternity shirt
a good smile from the big sister-to-be 
starting to see a little belly!
...and, a BIG belly! (that's how i looked at about 16 weeks last time)
standing emphasizes the belly less. good-bye, first trimester!
me at 17 months
My sister was born when I was just over 18 months old. When I was admitted to see my mom and first sibling, the story goes, I gave a brief “uh-huh” to the new baby and launched into telling my mom about the hospital gown they’d put over my clothes. “Horsie,” I pointed out, and “horsie,” all over the gown. (I’m probably getting this all wrong, but that’s how I remember it).
One-Yard Wonders is my absolute favorite sewing book! I refer to the “Sewing Fundamentals” section all the time, and I made H’s pinafore for her first birthday and smock for her second from patterns in it. I’m also working on its fabric barn playhouse, and have more fabric from Kathleen I want to use for two of the toddler dresses. I’ve bookmarked the “Charging Station,” “Tabletop Ironing-board Cover” (since I burnt a hole in mine), “All-you-need Sewing Kit,” “Not-Ugly Car Trash Bag,” “Matt’s Map Bag,” “Convertible Craft Apron,” “Growth Chart,” and “Checkers to Go” to make over the next year or so. It’s rare I find a book with so many patterns I really like!
Here’s your first belly photo of this pregnancy I’m 2 days shy of 12 weeks. Enjoy!
Our family’s growing again! We’re expecting to meet our second little one sometime around August or September this year. Thinking back on the last time I had a newborn, I remember how hard it was and attribute at least some of that to having no idea what to expect. This time, I’m going in prepared. I jotted down some of my expectations:
What do you expect from a newborn?
Her hands splash into the dirty kitchen sink. I remove them and roll up her wet sleeves.
“Breathe on me…”
She turns to pull a wet bowl off the dishrack. “Hands off,” I say in my nice voice.
“….breathe, oh breath of God…”
She gives me a glance, then takes one finger and pokes the bowl again.
“…breathe on me…”
Frustrated, I place her outside the kitchen, closing the sliding door between us. She bursts into tears.
“…‘til I love like you do…”
I open the door. She’s looking at me with that newly wet face. I kneel on the kitchen floor, arms open. She runs into them for a hug.
My baby can use chopsticks. She’s 20 months old. I can’t wait to see all she’ll do in the next 20 years!
When H was less than 2 months old, I wrote out her birth story to share with my friend Kathleen. I’m really glad I did, because almost 2 years later the details are not as clear in my memory as they were then!
Since then, several people have asked for our daughter’s birth story and I’ve always meant to post it online to have a link to share. So, here it is!
“Why don’t you read to her – Winnie the Pooh – that way you’ll both enjoy it?” I encouraged Baba who was frustrated with bedtime the week before Christmas. Secretly I know I can use the extra few minutes for the almost-finished “Christmas pajamas” hiding in my sewing desk.
I finish his pants to the background sound of the first chapter of that classic, then scramble to hide it behind my sewing shoebox when his voice stops. The instructions go in the drawer so as not to reveal any clues – he only knows she’s getting new pajamas (but hasn’t seen them either; they’re the same fabric). Oh, how I love this handmade Christmas.
He leaves her room – she’s asleep after just one chapter – “Did you know Winnie-the-Pooh’s name is EDWARD!?” I smile. The night before, I finished our chapter of Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates and she smiled up at me, handed me the book she’d been looking through, and waved “night-night.” Surprised, I returned the good-night and left her room. Not a peep out of her, even when her music stopped playing. Bedtime, as with everything else in our daughter’s 20 months so far, just keeps getting better and better.
