Laowai

Today was a beautiful sunny day and I felt like taking photos of my lovely loves.

We’ve been going to the Ludotek in the next town over. It’s a toy library where you pay a yearly fee and are able to check out toys for four weeks at a time. Last Friday I got a balance bike for Bea – they are very popular around here. 

Later she put on my hat and watered the plants.

Claire likes to try to crawl up the step and get out to the patio – I have to watch her closely. I’m wondering what she will get into next.

I think Bea gets her freckles from the Chapman side of the family (if you click on the photo to make it bigger you can see them a little). And I think I had long eyelashes like that when I was little.

Oh my – I’ve been putting off this post. I am so painfully aware of the fact that the days I get to spend with my girl as a baby are numbered. Her first year has been so sweet, so quick, so full. Right now she seems to be developing at breakneck speed. She’s babbling and trying out new sounds constantly. She’s crawling all around and pulling herself up with her arms to peak onto the coffee table. She’s playing so nicely and I can tell she’s really examining her toys. Sometimes she stops what she’s doing and looks up at me and our eyes meet, she seems to be checking to make sure that everything is OK. She engages us all with her big grin and scrunches up her nose when she thinks something is funny. She’ll squeal really, really loudly and wave her arms up and down when she’s excited. She puts her head on my shoulder when she’s tired. Even when she’s very tired she always gives me a smile while she’s lying in her crib and I’m singing good-night. I could listen to her giggle all day everyday and her sad baby cry, when she bumps her head, makes me run from the other end of the room to scoop her up. If she’s getting into something that she knows it forbidden she looks back and smiles right at me. She’s still chubby and squishy and baby… but not for long.

I have felt happy with my girls in the past few months.  I am so thankful for my sweet Claire E.

And now we are at the end of the Calendar girl project. I’ll have to come up with some yearly photo project that shows both my girls. I had another famous moment with my calendar photo idea – it was featured on the iVillage web site the other day. There are some other fun photo series ideas there too. Maybe I should try the picture in a picture like Jennifer is doing – Jenna holding a photo of herself from the year before holding a photo of herself from the year before….

– Sigh

Dave and Kim are here and we are having so much fun. Poor Dave was a bit like a zombie yesterday because of the jet lag.

Today was the day to explore Kim’s old stomping grounds. She spent a few years of her childhood on the other side of the lake in Au (prounouced like the beginning of ouch). 

First we found her old school. It’s a beautiful old house right on the lake and it seems like she had really fond memories of her time there.

Bea is just eating up all the attention from her Aunt and Uncle. We saw this car along the way today. I was hoping Brian and Dave could just carry it back to our place because it was obviously meant for Bea. 

Next we went to see Kim’s old house. Up the hill we went – the roses and rhododendrons are blooming everywhere.

How strange it must be to be back when she hasn’t seen the place in over 20 years. 

Tomorrow they are off to Explore Bellinzona in the Southern part of the country. I hope they get some blue skies and lots of sunshine.

I finished the shorts last night and I should probably call it quits for the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. I have visitors coming tomorrow and the guest room/sewing room looks like a tornado went through. I think the shorts are a little big right now. Bea keeps loading the pockets with her stuff so they seem like they are falling off her. I added the pink buttons to make them more tempting. It is such a challenge to actually get her to put things on, but then if she puts it on she usually likes it and won’t take it off for a few days. I used a heavier fabric, a decorating weight from IKEA so they should be good play shorts.

I’m still sewing lots this week for the Kids Clothes Week Challenge. It helps that Brian has been gone a couple evenings. Also, Bea was shattered* after swimming today so I put her to bed early. Taking advantage of the fact that four year olds can’t tell time is a motherhood perk.

I finished an extra twirly Lazy Days Skirt. And I hope to finish a pair of striped shorts for Bea tonight. I’m using the Puppet Show Shorts pattern again – they have the cutest little round pockets. I really want to whip up something for Claire E. We’ll see if I get time to do it before Dave and Kim come on Saturday. Do you think they would mind sleeping on a pile of messy fabric scraps?

* Shattered is my new word for crazy tired courtesy of my Welsh friend.

So I had this problem that took me way too long to figure out. I was getting little holes in all my knit shirts. I thought it had something to do with my pregnant belly or maybe the washing machine here. Turns out it happens when I’m in my kitchen and the button on my jeans is the same height as the edge of my counter. When I do dishes and cook the button rubs on the counter with my shirts in between and hence my drawer full of ruined shirts. Stupid huh. Anyway I can’t wear the shirts out of the house, and I can’t just throw them out so I made a couple into some shirts for Bea. I roughly followed this tutorial and then I added the penguin and the B with freezer paper stencils. They are pretty basic but I’m happy with them since in the past I’ve been really frustrated when sewing knits. Let’s just hope Bea will want to wear them.

UPDATE: She likes it, she likes it

I’m doing the Kid’s Clothes Week Challenge (KCWC). It’s a challenge to spend at least an hour a day making kid’s clothes for one week. Elsie Marley leads the way on her blog and has tons of ideas and inspiration. I’m telling you all this because if I say it I will do it. Here’s what I want to work on: Bea needs some shorts or maybe a skirt. I have a bunch of old knit shirts that I would like to refashion into shirts or nighties for Bea. And I would like to make something pretty for Claire. We’ll see how far I get.

Taking a cue from the Elsie Marley blog, here’s some of the fabric I might use this week:

And here’s a photo of a tired little girl:

We celebrated Claire’s Birthday on Saturday. What do you do for a one-year-old’s birthday? You give them a piece of cake and watch them get messy. It’s all a distraction and a way to keep Mommy busy so she doesn’t start sobbing in the middle of the party. 

I made a bear cake for our Claire Bear. Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting (thanks for the yummy recipe Julie). Bea really, really wanted to help, but some things I just want to do on my own. From now on I will be making and decorating the cake the night before so I don’t have to disappoint Bea and tell her no – you can’t help with this project. This is Mommy’s silly way of showing her love and I want to do it all by myself!

I have no idea what we’re doing but Ooooh I am so excited!

Bea helped make paper chains and star decorations.

Birthday kisses from Mommy.

Right, let’s get down to business. The messy business.

Hold the presses – uh – how does this work again? We forgot to light the candle and sing Happy Birthday. This is our 5th Birthday party as a family, seems like Brian and I would have figured out the order of things by now. Candle in cake, sing, then eat the cake. Duh.

Big sister helped extinguish the candle.

Happy Birthday Claire we love you.

Kathy insists that I write something to somehow compensate for the fact that we didn’t do anything this year. I suggested e-card but I’m stuck writing this.

Claire pretty much likes everyone at the moment and is willing to let you mess with her ridiculous hair if you ask nicely.

You must believe me when I say that I was not actually doing Sodoku but instead being ironic with my mother’s principle pastime.

She is not afraid to push her chocolate addiction on others. I’ll never forget how furious I was when I came into the room at Christmas to find my mom stuffing a piece of fudge with nuts into Claire’s mouth. It was Christmas and Claire was seven months. “Mom? Nuts? What the hell?” – “Oh don’t worry. I don’t think there were many in that piece.”

Mom is able to play with Bea for hours without getting annoyed by being bossed around or being told to make inanimate objects “talk and walk.” Most people are bored to tears while it appears Mom might even enjoy it.

Glad they’re having fun. I think I was out for a run during this moment.

Pictures like this make me proud. Proud not that my mom is able to connect so easily with the girls but instead I am proud reflecting that I was able to end up relatively normal despite the odds.

Happy mother’s day.