Jun
21
2010525. Little girls playing with a paper bag
526. Stone fruit season: peaches, cherries, and plums!
527. A great 9 month check-up
528. A clean kitchen table (if only for a moment)
529. Cherry Pie
530. Pool finally opened and enjoyed
532. Laughter (by all parties) in a moment of trial
533. The ability to create one of the marks of my Creator
534. Husband washed diapers
535. Hail and Thunderstorms and displayed power
536. A laptop rendered useless (and me rendered more useful)
537. A small epiphany
538. Hugs from little arms.
Jun
20
2010
This sweet little dress will grow into a top as your daughter grows older. It fits my daughters (with chest circumfrences of 17″ and 19″) and should fit until the chest circumference is between 22-24″ (according to my Oliver and S pattern sizing chart that is about at 3-4T)
This dress should be easily accomplished by a beginner: all the pieces are rectangles, all the seams are straight and honestly the hardest part is gathering the skirt to fit into the tiny circumference of the bodice. It takes about 3 1/2 hours to finish or about 2 naptimes of 9 month old twins.
To see these dresses in Year 2 and Year 3 click these links. They’re still going strong! Materials:
- 1/2 yard of printed fabric (Mine is Amy Butlers Belle Eyelashes in Okra)
- 1/4 yard of coordinating solid colored fabric (Mine was Chocolate Linen that I had in my stash though I would recommend a lighter weight fabric for the shirring)
- 8″ of 1/4″ elastic
- Elastic shirring thread
- Coordinating thread for your fabrics
Instructions:
- Cut a 15″ by the width of your fabric piece from your half yard. If you wanted a longer dress/top you could use the entire 19″. I was working with a 30″ piece leftover from making myself a skirt so I just sliced it in half so I could make one for each girl.
- From your solid fabric cut the following
- 2- 3″ by 10″ rectangles for the bodice front
- 2- 3″ by 14″ rectangles for the bodice back
- 2- 2″ by 10″ rectangles for the straps
- Fold the 2″ by 10″ straps in half lengthwise. Using a 1/4″ seam sew the long seam and one end of each strap. Clip corners and turn right side out. Press. Rae’s strap tutorial is a great visual demonstration of this step.
- Measure and mark 3″ from each side the center of your back bodice length.
- Pin the two bodice backs together sandwiching the straps at the marks you just made. Sew along this length with a 1/2″ seam. Trim the seam allowance to about 1/4″. Turn right side out and press.
- Sew the front bodice pieces together lengthwise with a 1/2″ seam. Turn right side out and press.
- Shir the back bodice using the elastic thread. Start shirring 3/8″ from the top seam. Shir in regular intervals leaving about 3/4″ at the bottom. (My piece has a extra line of shirring between the first two because my heavier weight linen made it difficult for the elastic to gather near the seam. This photo is of the elastic on the back of the piece).
- Steam your shirring with you iron so it gathers up.
- Thread your 8″ piece of elastic down the casing between the top seam and the first line of shirring. Stitch both ends of your elastic down at the ends.
- Fold open and turn your front bodice piece inside out. Position the front bodice piece over the shirred back bodice like a sandwich. Pin and sew a 1/2″ seam. (I hope the photo is clear! This step is hard to describe.) Repeat with the other side.
- Clip corners and turn front bodice right side out.
- I’m sure there is a better way to do this, but this is how I attached the front straps. Measure 2.5″ from the center on both sides of the front bodice piece. Reach into the seam and rip one stitch. Spread the opening with your fingers until you can fit the strap end into the hole.
- Try the bodice onto your child and pin the straps into position. I left mine loose so that they would have room to grow. For my girls the final strap measurement was 8″. I did not trim the strap end so that when they grow taller I could rip the top stitching and lengthen the strap easily.
- Top stitch the front bodice piece to attach the straps and close your opening.
- Using your patterned fabric sew the 15″ edges together to make a cylinder. Use 1/2″ seam allowance. Press open. Finish your seam how you prefer (I actually used the selvages so I didn’t have to finish the seam.)
- Turn up a 1/2″ hem or use a rolled hem at the bottom of the skirt.
- Mark the skirt into quarters using your seam as one point.
- Sew 2 lines of basting stitches around the top edge of your skirt. Pulling on the bobbin threads gather your skirt to fit inside your bodice.
- Matching your quarter points to the seams and bodice center front and back, pin the skirt right side next to right side of bodice. Use a ton of pins. (I put my skirt seam at the side seam since most of the time I’m staring at the back side of my crawlers these days and didn’t want the seam in the back).
- Sew a 1/2″ seam. Sew again 1/4″ from the edge. Remove basting stitches and trim seam. Finish seam with serger, an overlock stitch, or with bias tape (as I did).
- Steam over the back bodice to adjust the shirring and press skirt/bodice if necessary.
I hope you enjoy making these little dresses and would love to see your finished pieces over in the Grow Up Together Dress Group on Flickr.
Jun
14
2010493. Fireflies!
494. The girls in the swimming pool 🙂
495. TWO AND A HALF HOUR NAP after the swimming pool
496. Auntie Jo putting the babies to bed and staying home so we could go on a date
497. Sitting on a swing in the park with Derek holding hands
498. Paying Auntie Jo for babysitting with a banana split
499. Music
500. Bronwyn’s two new teeth and their almost unnoticable arrival
501. Giddily taping carseat boxes together and cutting holes in them to make a crawling tunnel for the girls
502. Using the crawling tunnel for an effective gate to keep my crawlers out of the kitchen
503. My husband loving me through irrational tears
504. Playdate with all the Shepherding group babies
505. The miraculous way God is caring for baby Brandt as he recovers from his Norwood Surgery and makes strides toward coming home.
506. Aeralind’s hysterical “Rarr! I’m a Monster face!” She scrunches up her little noise and opens her mouth and screams/smiles wide while crawling toward me. Personally, I can’t decide whether I should run from the mischief I see in those little eyes or scoop her up and cover her with kisses!
507. Making the girls cute little bubble sunsuits for a total cost of $7.47
508. Taking the girls downtown to play in the fountains with other MoMs in the local club
509. Free Chick-fil-a (again. We never get tired of those coupons in the mail!)
510. Derek giving me 2 hours to myself fabric shopping with a gift card that my sister gave me at Christmas
511. 2 Yards of Amy Butler’s Belle line in Eyelash for $9 waiting to be turned into a summer skirt for me. My sister will be so proud. 
512. Derek getting groceries for me while I sewed and the babies napped
513. Bananas for $.33 a pound. Between the girls and my smoothie obsession, we go through bananas quick! I’ve even been known to buy the girls weight in bananas all at once 🙂
514. Peaches in season
515. Tiny plums at the farmers market that taste like bits of heaven
516. Watching the girls crawl under Derek’s desk in a bit of a game. They love it when he moves them.
517. The thrift store cherry pitter my sister gave me in action. I can’t believe we pitted an entire bag of cherries to freeze in less than 20 minutes.
518. The girls are growing so well! Bronwyn is 16 lb 11 oz and Aeralind is 16 lb 7 oz . That is over triple their birthweights.
519. The girls barely flinching for their 9 month vaccination.
520. Sharing all the season foods with my sweet babies.
521. Recieving thousands of smiles each day.
522. Watching the girls sit calmly next to one another and play with their sister’s outfit.
523. Oh the squealing and shrieking and screaming and pure joy!
524. Being introduced to the sluggard living inside of me.
Jun
11
2010That last month just flew by. I wish I could freeze time and keep these girls as they are right now. I know it I say it every month lately , but I just cannot imagine my girls becoming any more fun! This month brought on full mobility for both babies and they are just loving the freedom to roam around. Honestly, I’m loving it too (although I thought I dreaded it). Mobility brought with it a sweet contentedness and the joy of me being the one worth moving toward.
As you can imagine, getting both babies to stay put long enough for a photo is quite the adventure these days 🙂
Let me start in reverse birth order for a change.
Bronwyn Hope
Bronwyn, you are sitting in my lap right now and smacking the desk because you’re cutting your second bottom tooth in one week and just can’t manage to sleep. Your bottom right poked through on Sunday and your bottom left is greeting us today. You’re really not too bad when teething, but the naps sure do become impossible!
Bronwyn, you are just so quirky! Your ‘crawl’ is a beautiful inch worm. You start on all fours but then slide your left toes into the ground and plop your belly down. You drag your lower body using the brute strength of your arms with a little push from those toes. Your inch worm is actually almost as efficient as Aeralind’s full crawl minus the fact that it’s nearly impossible for you to go straight. Yesterday you inched all around the Bouncing Babies room and stole toys from every toddler who would let you.
You also are really into meals at the moment. If I don’t give you food fast enough you grunt and growl at me. If your sister touches your bib, you will roar at her. If the food on your tray doesn’t look as good as sisters, you’ll help yourself to her food. Mealtimes are very rarely dull anymore! You are my traditional sippy cup child, though unfortunately for mommy you haven’t figured out how to tip it back on your own yet.
I can’t get over how much you love making noises right now. Not so much squealing like a pterodactyl anymore, but using objects to make noise. You’ll crawl on over to the entry way to smack the vinyl flooring. You love that sound. You also are content to shake rattles or bang toys together or on other objects as often as you can. Noise and the fact that you can cause noise just fascinates you.
You are ticklish on your tummy and love when I do “Goosey Goosey Gander” It makes you so excited. You are also ticklish under your chin though you pretend not to be. You love being held and will snuggle right up to me if I pick you up. You try to hold parsnips between your toes when you’re eating finger food. You pretend to suck your thumb, but really you are just chewing on it (sometimes while saying a very nasal “gulla gulla gulla”). Oh my sweet Bronwyn baby, I wish I could bottle you up as you are now and just enjoy you like this for months!
Aeralind Grace
If ever there was a child as persistent, independent, and hard headed as I am, you, dear Aeralind, are that child. I’ve been trying to teach you not to suck your thumb at the table. When you finally understood that I wasn’t going to allow that no matter what. you looked at me with mischief in your eyes and stuck your other thumb in your mouth just to make sure I would be as consistent on that side! Since you’ve awoken, I’ve had to haul you out from under the desk more times that I care to count.
I really don’t mind your persistent spirit. I actually love watching you figure things out. For the first two weeks of your 8th month, you were thisclose to crawling. Every day you would get on all fours and rock. Then you’d lift one hand in the air. Then you’d lift one foot in the air. Then you’d push forward and collapse in a heap of limbs. And you’d repeat those actions over and over every single waking moment (and lots of moments when you should have been sleeping, too). Finally, on May 28th it all came together and you haven’t looked back. Your independent spirit is so excited to have the blessing of mobility.
Within days of crawling you had also mastered the feat of sitting up from your tummy. Now you’re trying to master crawling over large objects like your sister or me or wipes boxes or anything else in your path. You also are pretty obsessed with putting your hands on something in front of you and rocking back and forth on your knees. Occasionally you’ll stick a foot under you too. I’m pretty sure you’re going to pull up to stand before 11 months and I’m afraid you’ll be an early walker!
You’re going through a talking phase right now. You talk and squeal and crawl all over the place. It’s a cheerful talking and it’s helpful because when I’m not looking at you, I still have a general idea what you’re in to :-p You’ve even been known to sit down a bit and start a conversation with Bronwyn and then next thing I know the two of you are shrieking back and forth about some concept foreign to me. When you get really excited you’ll scrunch up your little nose and crawl right at one of us, squealing and grinning all the while!
Aeralind, you are fearless. You put both arms over the side of our king bed and just stare down at the floor. You stalk the cats as soon as they are in the house and have even managed to corner them a couple of times (luckily for them the whole screaming thing warns them you’re coming now). You know how to drink out of a straw cup! You can find even the tiniest thread in the carpet and put them in your mouth. You will pull down the bumper to stare at me as soon as I come to get you from a nap. You bang toys on the side of your crib if I don’t get you fast enough. You will not eat butternut squash puree. You beg food off of anyone in your line of sight who is eating. You are ticklish on your feet and your tummy and you think your daddy is hysterical. Sweet independent Aeralind, don’t grow up too quickly
I love you two more than peanut butter loves jelly. I am so excited about the surprises your 9th month will bring!
