pay it forward

I just love things like this. As I am so excited to receive something from my awesome friend, Heidi, I also look forward to making a few handmade things of my own...

(I can't promise how quick I'll get to it... hopefully before baby comes along and takes up all my time....)

the little jelly bean

Last week I went in for my (hopefully) last ultrasound. My doctor was a little concerned since I was measuring small. So I was anxious to do the ultrasound to make sure she was growing and developing alright.

(At this point you should roughly measure the same amount of cm as you are weeks along. At 31 weeks, I measured 27 cm and at 32 weeks I measured 29 cm.)

The ultrasound definitely put me at ease. She's approximately 5 lbs 2 oz, which for her gestational age, puts her in the 80th percentile. Go figure... how can a kid that big on the charts make me measure small? She must really be packed in there! The amount of kicking and punching she does to me tells me she'd like more room.... sorry baby!

This is a picture of her profile. You can see her little nose towards the upper middle. And her hands are above her face to the top left.

Lady Cook Day

Every so often (maybe once a year or so) the Cook ladies (my mom-in-law and all her daughters and daughters-in-law) get together for a fun filled evening. This time we made it a fun filled day... which was exactly what I needed!

We started the day at JoAnn Fabric to pick out fabric to make a few baby quilts. There are three of us pregnant right now, so it seemed like a fun activity to do as sisters.


Then we went out to lunch, (on Mom's tab since she's awesome! Thanks Mom!)

Yeah, what better place for lunch than this beautiful little restaurant!!


Then we went to my in-laws' house to get to work on the blankets. And of course we talked and talked and talked the whole time!!

We had a delicious salad for dinner, then topped off the evening with some chocolate/white chocolate/caramel dipping.... YUMMM!

We dipped all sorts of yumminess: strawberries, bananas, apples, marshmallows, cinnamon bears, pretzels, Ritz crackers, Rice Krispy Treats and I'm sure there was more that I'm forgetting....

Then we went back to work on the quilts. And thanks to Jason's sister, Holly, (who apparently loves me so much!!) we finished the one we were making for my little one. (Holly was the only one confident enough to sew with the different types of fabric involved with mine!) So I'm glad she was willing to stay up until 12:30 AM with me to finish it!! (She flew in from CA so I knew if we didn't finish it that night... it might never get done!) She did an awesome job!!

Shelly, Jason's little sister who is due 2 weeks before me, got most of her blanket done, she just needs to put the front and back together... and it is super cute too!!

I feel so blessed to have such awesome sisters-in-law... and they are all so creative too! It was so fun to put all our ideas together and come up with some cute stuff. I would never have come up with the design or combination of fabrics on my own, that's for sure! (Thanks Jenny for the awesome design!)

So, since I know you're just dying to see what my baby's first quilt looks like, here it is!



The main part is a "beautiful little princess" that "lived in an enchanted castle."

And on the back is the soft and comfy raised dot minky fabric....


I totally love it and I had so much fun being together with all the girls to pick it out and make it.

It was worth not getting home until 1 am... and being completely exhausted the entire next day!

lil notebooks

Sometime ago for a Relief Society activity I learned how to make new notebooks with old stuff. I made a Lightning McQueen one for Sam and he loves it.... and so does Livia.... so that's why I decided it was time to make more.

They are great for having in church to keep the kids (mostly) quiet, so I thought I'd share the process in case you wanted to make some for your little angels.

Items needed:
A box
Scratch paper
Thread or string
Clamps
Electric drill

First find a box and cut off the front and the back. Some box ideas are fruit snacks, crackers, or cereal. (For a cereal box just cut to the correct size.)


Next find plenty of scratch paper and fold in half (with the used side inside) and put the folded edge on the right side of the new cover. (So the open edge will be in the binding.) And clamp it with clips.


Then mark where the holes need to be drilled and take the edge of a scissors to make a slight cut for the book to open without hurting the binding.

Using an electric drill, make the holes down the left side, making sure to get it all the way through all the pages and back cover.


Take some string or thick thread (I doubled mine) and start the first half of a criss-cross bind. Make sure to keep it tight so it doesn't get too loose when you're done.


Then start the other half of the criss-cross going back down.


And tie off the two loose ends.


And ta-da! You have a new little book with a happy little cover!


And a happy little girl who loves Ariel!


They also work great for stickers... since all kids think they need to pull off every sticker they find and stick it somewhere....