New Projects at Rags to Stitches

I have a new collection for sale at Rags to Stitches: Crayon Clutches. Great for mommies who are on the go. The crayon clutch rolls up and can fit easily into your diaper bag. While this one is pictured with 8 crayons, you can fit up to 12 in the clutch. This is a great birthday gift idea. More to come, but this one is available to purchase for $15.

I would love for you to check out all the new items up at my store:

http://ragstostitches.storenvy.com

This is a new collection that I just made for my Mom who is attending a baby shower of a co-worker. Her co-worker is having a baby boy and they have designed a Winnie the Pooh nursery. We wanted to do something fun that would match the nursery. These fabrics are available if you would like to order a wipes clutch or burp cloths. I love the blue and green combination!

My little reader....

Afternoons are our "quiet time" around the house. Katelyn takes a nap, she gets up, has her milk and then usually reads her books while I do some sewing. It's great!! I love that she's so interested in her books and reading and often times we'll sit on the floor for hours reading some of her favorites over and over again. Katelyn is so smart and she can pick out certain books she loves to read if I ask her to go get them. Her favorites are the ones with animals. She likes to give them each kisses. Too cute!!

For me?!

This week my mom sent a couple packages of baby items for our new little addition and Katelyn has been a little jealous the boxes of gifts were not for her. Well, mid-week a box arrived for her! When we told her it was for her, she gleefully pushed the box away from us and proceeded to climb on top of it. She was so content to play with the box that it took quite a bit of coaxing to get her to get down so we could open the gift for her. Thanks Great Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Joel. I love my birthday present!!

On the Go

Katelyn has decided she wants to be like her Mama and put on her shades before she leaves the house. She has the keys in one hand, and her sunglasses in the other.

However, I think she enjoys having me put them on her so she can then take them off, hand them back to me, and patiently wait for me to do it again. =) I love her so much!

We announced to our friends and family....

by making a cake, that we were having a baby boy.

We are so excited to announce....

we're having a baby BOY!

He should be making his debut sometime early December, although during our ultrasound today they did mention it could be earlier than that. We couldn't be more thrilled!! The technician said everything looks healthy and that there are no markers for concern with both the baby and the pregnancy. So far I'm feeling great! I still don't have my full appetite back, but the doctor said as long as I'm gaining weight I'm fine. I've already started looking at baby boy clothes and fabric to make his bedding. Here's our little baby boys first pictures....

full side profile

I'm not sure if you can tell, but here he has his hand up by his head.

Our precious baby boy waving at us

If you look to the left side of this picture you can see his knees legs and his "external plumbing." It's all there... we're 100% positive!

The Dreaded Sippy Cup...

So I'm completely conflicted about the sippy cup! On one hand I feel that Katelyn is only 13 months old and I shouldn't be in such a hurry to make her give up drinking milk from a bottle, but then I feel like she's 13 months old and drinks juice from a sippy cup so why not milk?! For so many months I couldn't wait till Katelyn was ____ age so she would begin sitting up, crawling, cruising, walking, etc. But now that she's 1 I'm realizing how fast time has gone by and loosing the bottle is just one more reminder. As corny as that sounds.

Katelyn did such a great job weaning from nursing to formula, in fact she did it naturally with no issues in only a matter of weeks. It was the same way when she weaned from formula to whole milk. She loved drinking whole milk! The catch was.... from a bottle. I thought that by 13 months I could have her completely drinking her milk from a sippy cup by weaning her a little at a time. I tried a variety of sippy cups thinking that her refusal was because of the type of cup. Each time I would give in to her refusal and give her the bottle back thinking that it may take a month, but she would figure it out like a big girl. Well, Katelyn's 13 months and I'm realizing it has nothing to do with the "type" of sippy cup, it's the fact that she's loosing the comfort of a bottle. I'm also giving into the fact that cold turkey may in fact be the only way to get rid of the bottles.... unfortunately. I've been so hesitant to do this, but realized today that it's now or never. Well, maybe not never, but it could be months before it happens if I don't give her a loving shove in the right direction.

And so it begins... TODAY: Katelyn usually has a bottle around 4ish when she wakes up from her nap. She was a little confused when I handed her a sippy cup and it took her until she finished her dinner to finish the bottle, BUT she finished it.... and in the sippy cup. She didn't cry, or throw a tantrum and I didn't give up when it took a couple of hours and give her a bottle. Then came the bedtime bottle and the decision whether or not to try again. Sippy Cup was the final choice. This time I was met with aversion, frustration and a tantrum. She screamed and carried on for what seemed like a longer time then I'm sure it was, but I remained strong. I gave it to her 20 min. before bedtime in case this happened. I started to cheer and clap for her. She stopped crying and started laughing and clapping too. Then she picked up her sippy cup and began drinking her milk. YEAH! Not to say it wasn't a battle off and on before bed to have her finish, but at least I feel like we're on our way.

I'm sure many of you Mom's know exactly what I'm talking about. It's heart-breaking to watch your child struggle with change and loosing something they find so comforting. After all, aren't we like that too when our comforts are taken away from us. All in all I know this is going to have a happy ending, I just hope it doesn't take days to achieve. Lord, give me patience!

A New Adventure....

Every Mom needs one. Being a stay at home Mom I've found myself exploring my creative side over the last year. Lately, Kyle has been encouraging me to start up a little home business for friends and family that would allow me to be creative and crafty and still spend time playing games, and going on play dates with Katelyn. After some coaxing I finally was able to come up with a name and well..... I'm off!!!

Introducing Rags to Stitches Boutique

While I'm still in the middle of uploading all my items to my store, blog and Facebook page, I would love to invite you to check out what is up so far. Remember if you have a special friend in mind that's having a little bundle of joy soon, email me and we can customize something just for you.

email: ragstostitchesboutique@gmail.com

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Cousins!

The last two Wednesday's my cousin Jamie and I have gotten together to hang out with our girls and be crafty. This last Wednesday we decided to get some pictures of the girls together. There's no doubt that they are related. Look how adorable they both are!

National Chicken Day!!

Today was National Chicken Day!! We celebrated with Chick-Fil-A as they were giving away free meals if you came dressed like a cow. Kyle and I love any excuse to pull out the cow costumes and have some fun. When we walked in people started clapping because we were so "overdressed" in comparison to everyone else. hahaha!! They even took our family picture for the Chick-Fil-A website. I'll keep checking a post a link if I find it.

"Dad.... seriously?!"

"My parents are crazy!"

"I want to join in the fun!"

"We love Chick-Fil-A"

Jump, Shout, Get your Wiggles Out!

Every Tuesday morning Katelyn and I attend a Mommy & Me class at Heritage Park in Irvine. We sing songs, dance around, and play with all sorts of fun toys. So far Katelyn's favorite part of the class is free time when she gets to play in the tunnel. She goes back and forth, back and forth. It's so much fun to watch her. Her large and small motor skills as well as her coordination have really grown and she's even experimenting with climbing on everything.

Big Girl Car Seat

Look at me, I'm One and get to sit forward in my big girl car seat. YEAH!!

Play Dates with Friends

A couple weeks ago, before our friends the Fransz's moved to Georgia, Jessica and I took the girls to breakfast at Corner Bakery at the Spectrum. They had fun chatting away, sharing their breakfast and crayons. Then they chased each other around the courtyard, completely tiring Jess and I out. It was so much fun to watch Katelyn try and keep up with Ella as Katelyn had only just started walking a couple weeks earlier. Thanks for such a fun day Jess and Ella. We miss you!

Backyard play with Daddy

Today we headed to Orange to celebrate Papa Circle's 83rd birthday. Katelyn had so much fun playing in their big backyard. She played Crocket, Bubbles, and of course enjoyed being tossed in the air. Being at Kyle's grandparents made Kyle and I wish even more that we had a home with a backyard for Katelyn to play in. One day! After all we've been looking at some great homes in Mission Viejo with nice backyards.

Happy Birthday Papa, we love you!! And we look forward to spending many more birthday celebrations with you.

Happy 4th of July

To celebrate the 4th of July we headed to the beach to enjoy some good ol' American BBQ. Kyle's parents neighbor's always have a big BBQ on the 4th every year. They have the best spread of hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, deserts. So yummy! Last year Katelyn was only 3 weeks old and Kyle took her down for a little while so I could take a nap. This year Katelyn had fun playing with all the other kids and even met two teenage girls who watched her most of the time we were down there. She loved them, and I loved being able to enjoy adult conversations with everyone without worrying about Katelyn. All in all it was a beautiful day!

In other news I'm starting to feel the baby move in my tummy. I forgot what an amazing feeling that is and find myself trying to relax more so I can enjoy the babies movements. We find out on the 16th what we're having and I'm not going to lie I can't wait!