Baby Legs. {Mommy Monday}

Hello All,

Let me just tell you about one of my mommy finds that I am in love with...baby legs!  Jack had a few pair when he was a newborn.  I thought I would love them because of how easy it was to change diapers without having to pull off little pants or pjs.  Which it was great for that, but the main flaw was his little feet.  When they are that young you are supposed to keep their feet warm at all times, so I would put socks on top of the baby legs, and I'm sorry, but that just looked goofy.  I don't even have a picture of that. ha!

Look at how tiny his legs were!

Since Jack has started crawling I have fallen in love again.  Andrew and I were at a small baby shop in town and we found camo and red/white stripes...not girly one bit!  That was our other problem was that the patterns before were all dainty and feminine, but not these.   Jack's little knees would get red from crawling on rough carpet.  But just by putting on these fancy little inventions You too can save your baby's knees. :)

They also had baby boxers...don't you think they are the cutest things!

Here is the camo.

I have found a few tutorials in the past and have yet to make them, so naturally I can't remember which blog they were on.  But here is a very easy one, if you are feeling a little crafty. (click on the word here)


And if you don't want to pay $10/pair that you will find at boutiques or bust out your sewing machine, here is a link to one shop on etsy.  There are so many people selling these!  I have not purchased from this shop, I just thought they had a good selection and price.  Click on the image and it'll take you there.

So, baby #2 popped out a lot quicker and is much more visible that Jack was.  I also am probably 13 or 14 weeks here.  We still do not know the due date.  But just wanted to update you.

An Ode to Andrew {Family Friday}

Ok, so this really isn't an ode, but I thought it sounded clever.  Yesterday my husband celebrated his 29th year of life.  He is quite amazing if you have not met him, trust me.

He has to be away from us on a consistent basis, not because he takes weekend trips with the guys fishing and hunting, but because he works so hard to provide for us.  I would be happy if it was a guys trip! :)  This birthday makes the 4th in a row that we haven't spent together.  When we first started dating I took him cookies that said Happy Birthday Andrew, but I do not have documentation because it felt very "girlfriend-y" and we had just started dating, so I was a little embarrassed.  So, it was a good thing that I did that because he's been hard at work ever since on that special day!

This was his one big party that I just about ruined because I had my heart set on these lanterns.

This is the celebration cake from our weekend of the 4th with his family.

He is a goofy man.  He loves to make people laugh.  Jack does not belly laugh for me like he does for his Daddy.

He loves God's world.  The woods and the river are two of his dear friends.  That one of the reasons I married him :)  On our first date he took me fishing, he had already won my heart, but that sealed the deal.

He loves his family more than anything in this world.  He loves us so much that he humbly purchased a van for us because of the safety and reliability.  It was hard to make that switch, but his family comes first.

He is oh so handsome!

He keeps me grounded when I start to go a little crazy. :)

He loves playing with his son and learning about this new baby on the way.  Fatherhood came naturally to him.  It's another reason I married him.  He loves his children and wants to be the best dad to them.

Happy Birthday, my love.

I'm On the Move!!!

Breaking News:

 As of last Thursday, I AM CRAWLING!!!  Not like that baby stuff I was doing the last time I wrote.  No, I am doing the full thing!  And I pull up on anyone or anything.  Just beware, if I am crawling near your feet, I may just start climbing your legs.

Secondly, my mother is so embarrassing.  Why does she insists on showing off pictures of me without my clothes?  However, it is how I would prefer to be all of the time!

(this is me rolling my eyes)

Parenthood {Family Friday}

My view of the core of parenthood:

What a joy to be blessed with a life that God has allowed you to babysit and to guide while on this earth.  What a joy and a very scary thing.  I never expected to be so scared about having babies, until I found out we were expecting Jack.  It's not the birth part that's scary, it's the "you can make or break their life" part of it.  What a Holy thing to be so over-joyed and so scared at the same time.  It is a place where I find rest in the Father, because His peace is the only one that surpass all understanding...and let's face it, we will never understand the miracle of life and how to be a perfect parent.

8 Months and Big News! {Jack's Take Tuesday}

Hello Everyone!  

My mother finally let me back on here to catch you guys up with everything that has been going on here.  She's been keeping busy and for some reason won't allow me to get on her computer unsupervised.

First off,  as of yesterday, I AM 8 MONTHS OLD!!!!  )Thank you Sarah for telling my Mommy what the date was.)  I wish I could just put up a constant video of my life, because I am constantly doing silly things.  

 I am a growing boy!  My Great-Grandparents remind me that I am getting heavier all the time.  

I have two teeth.


 I am ready to crawl.




I jabber all the time.  My favorite word is Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma.

The other day I surprised my Mother-Dearest when she came into my room to get me up from my nap.  I figured out how to pull up on the side of my crib.  It's a good thing she and Daddy thought to move it down or else I would be busting out of that jail.

Let me back up a bit and tell you about my trip to TX.  It was very short but I did get to go to this amazing pool that my cousins live near.  Ever since then my Mommy and Daddy have been taking me swimming a lot.   

Even my feet got prune-y.

Rhett loved the slide!

Somehow my Mommy thought it would be a good idea to go down the slide with me ...she almost bit the dust and ended up on her face.  Luckily my Daddy was standing there and was able to grab me.

Nice action shot Aunt Jo!

Layla did a good job of laying around in the shade and being a cutie.  I can't wait until she can play with Rhett and me!

I love all of my cousins.  We're going to have a lot of fun together!

Now for my big announcement!....

I'm going to be a big brother!  My new sibling should arrive sometime around the first of this next year or the end of this one...who knows.  I already like to kick this Baby Bean and snuggle, and sit on.  This kid better get used to it.

Reupholstering a Chair {Mommy Monday}

Alright Friends!  I'm back after a long blog hiatus.  We are going to take a small break from the baby food segment for a little upholstery empowerment. 

When we went to my grandparent's farm a few months ago, I got to bring back this awesome chair.  It was one of their first pieces of furniture after they got married.  It was originally a wool plaid of greens and yellows...so cool, I know!  And my Grandmother reupholstered it with this geometric 70s fabric.  I had planned to keep it because I LOVED how it looked, but unfortunately, it had been attacked by mildew.  So I took it on as a project.  

Let me start off by saying, I make no claims to be a professional, nor do I think my way is the right way.  I am simply sharing an experience, so you know that if you have a project don't be afraid to take it on.  It may not be the most conventional approach, but make it happen.

1) Whenever you are doing something you don't know how to do, take pictures as you go when disassembling it.  I am going to spare you of those photo because they aren't pretty and there are a million of them.  Here is one so you can see how cool that fabric is!

2)  My materials:  I bought a 2 inch thick foam, 1 yard of fabric, burlap, batting, had my handy tools ready.

3)  Here is a shot of the bare bones of the chair.  When I took it apart the padding was the original horse hair.  That stuff lasts forever and I hadn't seen it in person before.  I was very sad to throw that out, but I was scared the mold had penetrated it.

4)  I then stapled the burlap onto the bottom and back of the chair.  I only thought to do this because it was on there when I took it apart.

Trim up the edges so there isn't any overlap.

5) Next I headed inside to cut out my pattern.  What you will not see here is the fact that I had to do this twice because I didn't take into account the size of the foam.  So I would recommend giving yourself a 2 in perimeter when you are cutting from the original fabric pattern.  This will save heartache and tears.

6)  I then laid the foam on the fabric and traced the outline of the seat and back and cut those out.  Don't expect to get it right the first time.

Note the patch job at the bottom right corner.

7)  Now I flipped the chair over and stapled the batting tightly over the foam so it holds it in place.

8)  Almost done!  Bring out the fabric and do the same thing as you did with the batting.  I chose a 70-ish inspired fabric that had a pattern that needed to be lined up...more work, but looks good.

9)  Ta-Da!  You have a finished chair!  Again, not perfect, but completed and under $40.  I still need to add some nail-head pins to the underside that's hanging down.

I've already put it to good use.  You can see it here in one of my maternity sessions.

Always,

The Barefoot Mamma