Henry Lately

Recently Henry has been changing and growing so much. Sometimes I look at him or watch him do something and I am overwhelmed by how big he is. I realized that I haven't been that great lately at documenting his new talents and interests. I hope I will still be able to take note of his development after we have two kids to account for. I am so used to having one child and I feel so blessed that I have been able to pay Henry so much attention and not miss anything. I'm sure at first it will have to be a conscious effort. But for now my attention is his, so here is what I have observed of late.

Pages of letter. You try sounding out this really long word...

• As mentioned before, Henry is super interested in letters and numbers these days. "What do 1 and 0 make?" Or "Da, Da, Daddy" are common exclamations or questions around these parts. He loves noticing letters in signs as we drive around and is becoming more aware of the sounds letters make. He also loves for us to spell things for him or for us to translate the words he is trying to spell. "What is H-I-L-T-Y?" Or he will write letters on a page and ask us to read it. Even if there are no vowels he thoroughly enjoys it when we read what he has written. One day he wanted me to tell him letter for letter how to spell "Clean up the markers" and he wrote it out on a paper. 

All ready for the Kiss Sample, it was supposed to be a kissy face.

• When we come home, Henry will run up the stairs and shout "Get ready for the Kiss Sample!" He perches between the rails and we each get a kiss as we ascend the stairs. 
• For Christmas we got him lots of new games and only recently has he showed true interest in learning them and playing with us. His new favorite is Go Fish and since he can't hold the cards in his hand, he lays them on the table. Its adorable. Go Fish is fun because he doesn't care if he wins or loses. We also play SNAP which is another card game and he loves it but hates to lose. We try hard to make sure he both wins and loses while playing games because we don't want him to be that kid. He also loves playing Cootie and Super Why Letter Bingo. Playing games with him is so fun, I love it. Sometimes he sneaks in cheating so we have to nip that in the bud but most of the time he is a good sport.

Henry's Self Portrait, Age 4

• Henry has started protesting when we tell him he can't do something or ask him to stop doing something. He'll close his eyes, clench his fists, thrust them to his sides and say "Fine." He says it with an angry sigh or with a scary angry voice. Then he stalks off to be alone in his room. Or sometimes he'll lay down in protest. We're working on dealing with anger and disappointment. 
• One of the great things about him being four years old is that Henry totally understands this whole new baby thing. He talks about how she is in my tummy and how she is going to come in the summer. He wants her name to be Henrietta. Since he has to come to some of my doctor's appointments he has been able to see her in ultrasounds and listen to her heart. He has lots of questions about monitors and ultrasound cameras and I try to explain everything and help it be not scary. 

Henry was the spotlight in primary! I love that his teachers helped him fill this out and its a total surprise when he brings it home. 

• Henry is super sweet and loving. He loves to tell us that he loves us and will shout it out any place. He also loves giving hugs and kisses and receiving affection on his own terms. He loves to show us how much he loves us with his hands, throwing them back really wide. He loves us a lot. 
• Henry is now in a booster seat! Bye bye carseat, bye bye baby. And the great thing is, if I reach around and unbuckle him, he can open the car door and climb out by himself. 
• One thing that we have been lax on is bedtime routines. This is totally laziness on our part as parents but recently we have held strong to some new things and it has been so nice. Each night we have him put on his own pajamas by himself, Steve helps him brush his teeth, then we read scriptures in his bed, say prayers and I kiss him good night. Steve then tells him 1-3 stories depending on his obedience in the routine and then sings him one song. Steve used to have to sit in his room with him while he fell asleep and then we moved it to Steve sitting outside his room in a chair. Well we finally cut the cord and Steve just leaves and we keep the door open so he can hear us and knows we're in the living room and he totally falls asleep on his own. Having this strict routine has totally helped him and us and will be especially essential once the baby comes.

Number practicing. He makes pages of these and the letter ones daily. Yeah, we buy computer paper by the ream. 

• Henry got into Pre-K for the fall. They do a state run lottery here so there is no guarantee your child will get in. He is going to be in school this fall and has to wear a uniform. He is so excited and honestly so am I. 

A drawing of Princess Leis and the Emperor, he has a green light saber. 

• He is still Star Wars and Angry Bird obsessed. He is often R2D2 and I am Princess Leia. He enjoys making Lego starships for all of his characters complete with laser guns. I honestly don't mind this obsession because he is so imaginative with it. He has also become pretty good at drawing his favorite characters.

For Valentine's Day Henry got really into learning to draw hearts. He made me this Valentine which he taped up on the wall next to my bed. 

• Henry had his first big punishment for doing something naughty. He totally chewed up my phone charger, the part that goes into my phone and I was livid. Lucky for him we didn't find it until he was already asleep. He got one whole week without video games or playing on our phones. This is a serious consequence for him but it totally worked and went much smoother than I expected. When he would ask to play we would remind him he wasn't allowed to and he would tell us why. 
• The other day we were at Firehouse Subs and he got up with his cup and started walking away. When asked where he was going, he responded "I'll be right back, I'm going to get a refill." Raised right. 
• Common phrases right now are "What's the point?" "I'm going to freak out." "He will be amazed." 

baby crafting: zebra wall hanging

When we got Henry's new dresser, I knew I would be moving his old dresser out into the living room to be the baby's new dresser and changing table. It fits perfectly squeezed in between the kid's room on the left and the bathroom on the right. All her 0-3 month clothes fill the drawers and the cabinet has the next size all ready to go. I wanted something to hang above it to tie the whole space together. I found this awesome wall hanging from a french children's blog and fell in love with the charming banner carrying zebra. 

 Here is the inspiration photo. 

So now looking at them side by side, my zebra is a little squatter and not as graceful looking. Ha ha. Oh well. Once you forget what the original looks like it looks pretty cute and enough like a zebra that it is not such a big deal. 

I vow to never compare them again in the future. 

 I didn't put together a tutorial on this as I was just copying someone else's design for personal use. But here is the gist of what I did. The size is large, one yard of fabric (36X44"), I bought two yards of fabric so I could have a nice finished back . I just bought a natural cotton muslin as I wanted the banner to be white. I used black wool felt for the zebra and heat n bonded it in place. I tried hard to match the design of the original by just eyeballing it. I also laid everything out before ironing into place. The banner is just white cotton with colorful wool felt squares and other fabric scraps. 

The only sewing I did was sewing the back to the front and then sewing the casing for the dowels. I also sewed on the pom poms but it was all very basic and minimal. 

To make it a wall hanging, I bought two 36" dowels and inserted them into the panel so the hanging would hang straight. Adding the pink pom poms really helps the design pop especially against our cream walls. Steve even mentioned that it would look better against a colorful wall but I definitely don't want to paint and I didn't think his enthusiasm would translate into a solo painting project. 

I have another art project in the works for above the crib and it is "rest" friendly. Meaning I can do it while sitting in my favorite chair watching Parenthood. 

Henry at the Park

I had a rare bit of luck at the park taking pictures of Henry. He kept saying "Take a lot of pictures of me, Mommy." Done and Done. A willing subject is always welcome. And I feel like this little photo shoot truly captures so much about my boy.

eaten: biscuits and gravy

During Spring Break, Steve and I spent some much needed time together just hanging out alone while Henry was at preschool. We would drop him off, run errands, go shopping and go out to breakfast. One day we went to Cracker Barrel because I had a $10 gift card. Our love for biscuits and gravy was reawakened and Steve requested to have it for dinner one night. We love breakfast for dinner, could it be any easier? And this is a great meal to add to our rotation.

I made Ina Garten's super simple biscuit recipe and this one skillet sausage gravy from Bob Evans. If you have nightmares of making gravy on Thanksgiving, forget all about those and try this recipe. It is easy and quick and fool proof. Serve with eggs and fruit on the side and you have a pretty amazing breakfast or in our case, dinner.

I halved the gravy recipe since it is just 2.5 of us. For the biscuits I left out the chives and also didn't do the egg wash. And I substituted milk for the half and half. Oh and since I am not fancy enough to have biscuit cutters, I just use cookie cutters. Who doesn't want to eat star shaped biscuits? I guess you could also just use a cup but where is the fun in that...

Recipe and Picture from Bob Evans

Sausage Gravy
1 pound bulk sausage
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
Salt and Pepper to taste

Crumble and cook sausage in a skillet over medium heat until browned. Stir in flour and mix until dissolved. Gradually pour in milk. Cook over medium until thick and bubbly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot over biscuits.


Chive Biscuits
Recipe from Ina Garten

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

3/4 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup chopped fresh chives or fresh parsley leaves

1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash


Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. With the mixer on low, add the half-and-half and beat until just mixed. Add the chives and mix until just combined.

Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and knead lightly into a rectangle 3/4-inch thick. Cut out rounds with a 2 1/2-inch round cutter and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush with the egg wash.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are firm. Serve warm.

oh baby baby: gold sequined pencil skirt

So you know I lead the music at church. Its one of my many growing talents. Well anyway I totally tripped when I got up to lead a song on Sunday. Luckily I caught myself but it was embarrassing and I immediately started sweating and smiling to cover it up. Only a couple more Sundays of that left.

When you are pregnant and love skirts and dresses and have to wear one almost every day either to teach seminary or go to church, you suddenly realize that maternity skirt options are limited. This time I really lucked out with dresses but sometimes separates are easier and give you more options. I had one fantastic knit pencil skirt from the Gap last time and figured I could use it as a pattern to make another one.

Over Christmas I made a special trip to Joann Fabrics with the intent of finding a unique knit to make into a skirt. If you have experience shopping for knit yardage you know it can be tricky. Well I fell hard for this gold sequined sweater knit. You can actually still buy it here.

 I bought a yard of it and whipped it into the most comfy skirt ever. Okay lets be honest, sequins totally itch but I am willing to suffer for style. I love how it looks with simple fitted tees and I like it paired with flowier tops like this olive green tunic. This top is another great find from H&M. Its non maternity but since it is stretchy and voluminous, it works.

And I think it is going to work as a non maternity skirt too which is awesome because I would hate to pack it away. Thank heavens for knit!

 And whether paired with ankle boots, sandals or bright orange and gold heels, its a win win. I scored these heels at Last Chance also in Arizona and fell in love with the super soft leather and fun gold strap. I think I scared my mother in law a little when I showed up with them in line. I am definitely not afraid of color!

I used a combination of these easy maternity skirt tutorials (pencil skirt here...comfy elastic band skirt here) and I used an old skirt as a basic pattern. Happy Belly Sewing!

baby crafting: baby tank and dress

It seems like eons ago that I made all these clothes. Maybe I subconsciously knew that my final pregnant weeks would be "take it easy" weeks. I don't regret spending all of January and February getting my nesting craft on.

baby tank, 3-6 mon

Today I am reviewing his super cute baby tank pattern and tutorial from DanaMade. All her patterns are easy to follow and adjust to your own style. I pretty much made these as she directed using her pattern and her technique for the knit bias tape. She gives a couple of ways of finishing each style, some with bows and ties and some with completely sewn necklines like the ones I did.

I found her method of attaching the bias tape in the correct way the most useful and helpful. And if you choose to do it this way, I would first attach it to the wrong side of the fabric and then fold over to the right side so your exposed stitching is the better stitching.

baby tank dress, 3-6 mons

I made a couple of tanks, the one above and below in fun knits from Joann Fabrics. You might recognize the striped fabric from another shirt I made but that one was over-dyed pink. The bias tapes were cut from old t shirts. The tank dress above was made by simply extending the length of the tank. I used an existing dress for the length and followed the lines of the tank in the a-line shape. This vintage knit I found at a yard sale and have been hanging on to it for years, I love it combined with the white trim. Its sporty and summery.

baby tank, 3-6 mons

oh baby baby: square maternity top

I actually really like buying maternity clothes. Why not celebrate your changing body with awesome new clothes? Sadly, they don't offer a lot in way of variety. If you like prints, which I do, you are limited to stripes. And of course there are lots of solids. Why is everything so bland? Probably because they assume you will just buy basics to get you through your ten months. And since it is only ten months, I don't want to spend a ton of money but I still want to look cute and have fun things to wear.

Naturally I would turn to sewing my own clothes.

So I remembered this simple square top tutorial from over at Cotton and Curls that I had success with and decided to make some maternity versions. I was also inspired by her use of florals in this maternity top and thought I could definitely whip up something cute and different.

I started by using her tutorial with a few changes. I wanted to combine knit and cotton fabric to make a tee that was both flattering and fun. I stripped down to a tank and measured my body (scary, huh?) Just kidding, I have no concept of largeness anymore so I am actually going to share my measurements with you. Gasp.
I wanted the front to be the knit so it would cling in all the right places and the back to be the cotton. Remember, knit has stretch and cotton doesn't. I didn't want the cotton in the front being too blousy as I like to emphasize my shape instead of hide it. Who am I kidding? There is no hiding anything these days.

For her square tops, she has you measure yourself at your widest part--hips--and then measure your length from your shoulder to however long you want it to be. I took the basic concept but adjusted for a belly. I measured my widest part (belly/hip area) and got 43". Then I measured my back (17") and my front (26") separately at my widest part. I measured from my shoulder to under my belly and got 28". So using this info I cut out my rectangles adding a few inches for seams and to make the back a little fuller but the front a little snugger since I wanted the knit to cling instead of drape. I actually ended up using the following measurements for each shirt: knit front 28" L X 25"W and cotton back 28" L X 27" W. Then proceed to follow her directions except make sure you line up the sides, your front will be smaller than your back.

I love how this turned out. The blue knit front is actually the back of one of Steve's old t-shirts rescued from the goodwill pile. The back is a delicious floral I spied at a thrift store. Its so kitschy. I was going to make it into a dress for baby girl but got selfish. (There is some leftover for her.) I also love how this looks with a belt to snug things up around my waist.

Then I made another one because I just couldn't help myself. A white polka dot knit from the clearance bin at Walmart and a cotton floral I have been hanging onto for years make quite the unexpected combination. And since I had spent all that time sizing the first one just right, I had a pattern for this one and it went way faster.

This one has a much better length sleeve. I think I am going to have to add a cuffed sleeve to the blue one as it is a little short and I don't want to worry about layering in the heat.

I'm ready for summer.
Well almost.
I am afraid it is going to get so hot.
I should make a stack of these.
Pronto.

Since the original post and wearing both of these shirts I have made a few changes. I did add a cuffed sleeve to the blue one. I also realized that I don't love loose pregnancy clothing. There is comfy and then there is frumpy. So I added darts to the front of them which took them in a bit, see how it better hugs my belly? I copied the darts from my favorite H&M Mama tees. I also took the white one in a bit as it was a little bigger to begin with.