Yay for cousins!

We're at my mama's this weekend with all of my siblings. I'm the oldest of four and it's always a party when we get together. Seriously. There is always laughing and games and food and photos and playing and music and dancing and cookies and MORE!

I love that we all love each other! My mama loves it too. She's in heaven with a full house.

My sister Sarri's daughter, Grace, got a new tent for Christmas. See how much fun the littles are having?

Also, Jo got a schmancy new tutu from Grandma Annie. Her dress-up closet is going to be killer!

Follow along...

Now that we've successfully celebrated Christmas in Chicago, we head out to Iowa tomorrow. My family has no idea what's in store for them!

As usual, I'll be tweeting and Instagramming. Feel free to follow me here. I promise there will be lots of laughs and food and fun...maybe even some dancing. Oh yeah, and babies! And probably some sewing. And beer.

merry merry merry

Merry Christmas from us to you!

We had to re-take this pic over and over because it looked like the star was coming out of my head. I think we finally got it figured out.

Zulily alert - Holiday dresses

So Jo already has her Christmas dress (thanks, Grandma Annie, but I'm super tempted to scoop any of these dresses up from Zulily...if only they could arrive by Christmas. The London childrenswear brand, LIHO, is definitely my fave.

all photos are from Zulily.com 

blergh

I'm sick today, which is unfortunate on so many levels. Also, my hair looks great. It's too bad I've only been in bed.

It's kind of a big deal...

Nick took the last final of his MBA last night, so tonight we are celebrating with a beer tasting party at our house. Lucky Baby Jo gets to spend the night with Grandma Jackie. This will be Jo's first night away from both of us. It's kind of a big deal -- for all of us -- including Grandma.

I've put together the list of things to send with Grandma including:

1. pajamas
2. change of outfits
3. bottle
4. toys
5. bath stuff
6. diapers
7. outlet covers
8. books
9. binkies
10. Daddy Doll
11. portable crib
12. snacks

Yes...all of this for one night. Grandma is super excited! We are too, and only a little nervous. Not because we don't trust Nick's mom (we totally do), but I imagine any first-time parent is nervous when their child is away from them for the first time...right? Right? I don't want to be the mom that asks for text message updates tonight and tomorrow...but I'm going to be that mom. 

Nick and I will pick Jo up tomorrow morning. It's going to be so weird. 

Party time!

mini social alert - dress sale

the mini social is having a dress sale! here are my faves:

left to right: cherry pop picnic, hopscotch, kids velour wrap

Jo doesn't need any dresses right now so I'm just browsing...and taking notes for later.

I am so lucky.

I have had a great day.

The nasty cold I got last week is subsiding and I can breathe through my nose again.

Jo is getting sillier by the day. She loves to make faces and dance around and I just love it.

I had two sales in the Etsy shop today to people who love what we make. 

Nick came home from his first day at a new job and we had dinner as a family.

I went to a meeting with other theatre artistic directors and we talked about making art.

Jo woke up when I came home and I got to rock her back to sleep.

I am so lucky.

Celebrating Cyber Monday!

15% off everything in the shop -- today only with code: CYBERMONDAYYAY.

Hooray!!

Sick baby = sick mama

Jo got her first cold last week. Gross. Plus a fever. She's been sick before, but not with anything like this. The only good thing about it was that she wanted lots of snuggles and kisses, which means I'm sick now too.

How did we get through it? Well, lots of rest. We were lucky to be around family for Thanksgiving and they helped take care of both of us.

Also, Jo has been nursing a lot. Almost all day and night on the really rough days. It helps keep her hydrated and, of course, is super comforting. Nursing a sniffling baby is definitely interesting, but I've learned to keep a tissue or rag handy to wipe up the snot.

We've also started putting a baby bandana on Jo every day she's sick. It keeps her neck warm and can also be used as a snot rag.

Note: I wrote this post on Monday. Then Jo got something that resembled the flu and Nick came down with the plague. I'm still healthy, just tired. Fingers crossed. I wish moms could take sick days.

Gearing up for the holidays!

Ok, now that Thanksgiving is over, I'm getting the Etsy shop in gear for the gift-giving season! It's time to crank out ninja pants and whip up baby bandanas and kimono tops. I'll be making lots of everything! We love to do custom orders as well, so just shout if you want something special*.

*just a tiny bit of shameless self-promotion

Color-coded

I finally organized my fabric in my office/studio and sorted everything by color. I actually found a few things that I had totally forgotten about. Surprise!

Now I'm on the hunt for a thread/bobbin holder that isn't huge so I can keep my spools and bobbins color coded. Here's how I'm storing them now. It's certainly colorful -- just the way I like it.

Nursing Jewelry Wishlist

Jo has been doing this thing lately where she pulls at my hair and scratches my neck when she nurses, which is especially annoying if I'm putting her to sleep or I'm trying to sleep as well.

What to do? Well, I've tried to put my hair up, but then she just pulls it out of the ponytail and that hurts. I'm not cutting my hair. I try to hold her little hand, but she hates that. I think it's time to try some nursing jewelry.

Here's what is on my list so far (also throwing a little Etsy love out there):

KangarooCare on Etsy

MarineParents on Etsy

Koukko on Etsy (This store is Finnish!)

This made my day

If you didn't know already, my mama, sister, and I started an Etsy store about a year ago. It's called Lilla Barn (which means little child in Swedish). We make super cool things for mamas and kids. It's great fun. Really. Our growth on Etsy has been slow, but steady. Each month we get more and more purchases, which is super fabulous. 

We've taken care to make every detail matter -- from our logo to our product photos to the craftsmanship we put into each item including how we package and send things.

Today I got this message from a customer in Europe:

My order arrived this morning. I LOVE THEM!!!!!!! Thank you so much, seriously. I'm not an expert in sewing but the pants (both) are very well made. The fabric is excellent quality so it will hold many washes to came with a VERY active 8 month old.  

I'm no expert, but I notice the details: The eco-friendly biodegradable package; the pants came carefully (and lovely) wrapped in purple smooth paper like you meant it to be a gift to your customers! 

If this is your dream, seriously in reality you make things that are full of care and love. Thank you again for sharing your talent, creativity and good quality materials with all of us. See you soon (I promise).

I smiled as soon as I read it. It was a pretty big smile. I'm having so much fun with Lilla Barn that I don't really need validation to keep going, but damn, it felt good.

Food Fun

Jo is in full feeding-herself mode. I think a lot of it has to do with her new (new to us) highchair. It's white and cute and used and we love it. It also folds/unfolds into a desk for her when she's a bit older -- kind of like a Transformer. A baby Transformer. That transforms into a desk not a car. And it doesn't talk.

Anyway, she really likes the foot rest for her little tootsies.

Zucchini and macaroni and cheese are her current food faves. This kid can chow down steamed zucchini like you wouldn't believe. And macaroni and cheese is like crack for babies. She stuffs it in her mouth like she hasn't eaten for days.

She won't eat anything that resembles meat (or fake meat), but we're not too worried about that. She's getting protein from dairy, eggs, and of course, breast milk.

Now that we need baby eating utensils, I've been on the prowl. Here are a few fun pieces that I've found.

Farmyard friends | Master silverplate

Reed & Barton has a great range of basics in silver, silver plated, and stainless steel.

Arne Jacobsen cutlery set for Georg Jensen

Georg Jensen is a Scandinavian company focused on " the simplicity of life, the Nordic light, clean water, and fresh air." Yes, please.

Sleepy Songs

Lately I've been singing Jo to sleep. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but it's a nice ritual to get into.

My brain goes to songs that are pretty and maybe a little bit sad. Here's what's been on "repeat" lately before nap/bedtime:

Across the Great Divide - Nancy Griffith

The Grass is Blue - Dolly Parton. (side note: I saw Dolly in concert when I was 6 months pregnant, so Jo became a fan at an early age.)

Sweet is the Melody - Iris Dement

I Don't Want to Live on the Moon - Sesame Street

Egg Baby - SALE

There's a sale at Egg Baby until Wednesday. Get 25% off full priced items. Use code: SANDY 

Do it! I've had my eye on these sweet little baby clothes for some time now. 

 

Normal? What normal?

Jo's sleeping habits change weekly. Some weeks it seems like she welcomes sleep, and some she wants to stay up late running circles around the living room squealing. Some weeks she clings to her daddy doll and binky and some she wants to be sung to. Some weeks she may even sleep through the night at least once.

Almost every night Jo goes to sleep between 7-8pm. She almost always wakes up at least once before Nick and I go to bed -- one of us will go in and help her get back to sleep. She'll sleep in her room until around 3am and get up again. This is when I bring her into bed with us where she sleeps off and on until around 6am. Nick often asks me if this is normal. I always answer that every baby is different...and then I quietly wonder if this is normal. It's hard to know.

So instead of thinking about "normal" I think about what seems right for us. I do know that Jo needs help getting back to sleep, and I'm ok with that. She rarely sleeps through the night, and I'm ok with that. I'm also really ok with bringing her into our bed. It's easier for us both to fall asleep together. She will eventually want to sleep on her own as well as through the night.

So yeah, this is Jo's normal. 

The other night I was rocking her back to sleep in her room wishing I was back in my office working on a project. She was taking up all of my precious evening time. Then I thought to myself, "She's not always going to be this small. She's not always going to want to be rocked to sleep. She's not always going to be comforted in my arms. Just be present." And I sat there with my arms around her and enjoyed it.

We were both just where we needed to be. That's our normal.

On the road again...

We're headed to Indiana. Yeah, you heard me. We're off to Bloomington this weekend so Nick can take part in the Hilly 100. Jo and I are going to cheer him on. Hooray for bikes!

Don't worry, you can follow along on Twitter. As usual, I'll be posting pics. 

koolabah

Koolabah is a super cool Swedish brand that has fabulous urban unisex clothes for babes. Oh yeah, and it's all organic. 

Clean lines + Japanese inspiration + neutral color/designs + Nordic sensibility = AWESOMENESS

The cool clothes in this post are on the mini social right now. But be sure to check out what else koolabah has on their site. 

I like to bake.

Yep, it's true. I like to bake. Cook? Not so much. Bake? Yes. I found this little recipe for whole-wheat apricot muffins for Jo's birthday. I think I like them much more than she does -- I've made them three times since her birthday.

You can find the recipe here. I go ahead and double it to make mini muffins for my little babe and big muffins for me.

Birthday Brunch: A photo essay

We had a lovely birthday brunch last week for Jo's 1st birthday. Close family was there, we had good food, and a lot of laughing took place. Take a look for yourself.

Grandma Jackie brought a special birthday tiara.

 She kept it on for quite a bit.

Then she shared with everyone.

 I made muffins. Look for recipes later this week!

 PRESENTS!

 This pic is a little blurry, but I love the look on Jo's face.

 Mound of books.

 Cooper got to wear the tiara as well.

 Sooz came over and made bacon-wrapped eggs.

 We tried to take a family photo.

 And now you will see quite a few pics of my little baby girl eating her birthday food.

 Jo got a bunch of new instruments to play with. Auntie Kristen is trying out the maracas.

Shakin' it!