A Doll a Week Challenge

I don't think I've mentioned anything about my recent creative project. I started an Etsy shop to sell dolls I make about 2 months ago. I have sold a few and have a few in the shop already made. (If you are interested, check out my shop: Ruth Mae Handmade.) 

As I am learning and creating more, I decided to give myself the challenge of making one different doll a week (meaning using a different pattern that I have never used before). The photos below show the 4th doll I have made since I started this project. I am kind of excited about her!

The thing I really love about this doll is that she is made from an old pair of linen pants. I am also way excited to get to try my hand at free-motion quilting using my one line face drawings on this doll.

This is the first time I've done hair. It's definitely going to take a little practice before I get the hair attached decently. For this one, I think it looks okay, but it will probably take some quick wear once Sofia plays with her a bit more!

I am thinking of making this one again but doubling the size of the pattern for next week's doll...

Meeting the new doll. We have formal introductions with each new doll.

Most dolls get kisses. This sweet doll definitely got a few tonight.

The dress can totally be changed (once I make another one!)

New Year's Eve

Happy New Year!!

Cheers to a wonderful 2013 and to more wonderful in 2014! 

We rung the new year in with a family dinner party. What better way to celebrate the ending of a year and the beginning of a new one than with some of our favorite people! I am excited for years of NYE parties with our Portland fams. 

Sofia got to wear her party dress and party leg warmers. The dress was Zia's picked out by P. P was quite excited to see S wearing it! In this picture, P is asking Sofia for a hug.

Which she happily gave him. (can't believe she understands! My baby is growing up!!)

The hug turned into a full-on cousin cuddle session! Sofia never cuddles up like this! She's definitely a fan of her older cuz! 

We got Z in for some cuddles too. 

And it continued!

Even through a little disturbance from Z.

Of course, Sofia took a break to make sure P had a belly button. She checked about 17 times.

After the cuddle session, the girls started the party. We've got the lead singer in Uncle Bric's socks singing Jingle Bells and Ashes, Ashes. We've got the dancer/crowd entertainer/guitar player/clapper/button pusher to her right.

Of course no party can get started without some help from Uncle Seth!

Sofia loves loves loves their table and chairs. I think we are going to go this weekend and get her some of her own! 

Maybe a new tradition: Candles to ring in the new year? Same as last year, we celebrated the new year on NYC time.

This year, we had brownies, candles, champagne for the adults, and the slowest version of Auld Lang Syne I have ever heard (followed by some techno violinist).

Our night ended with some extra rides on Zia's cow. Lucky girl, Super Aunt Jac took her on LOTS of circles - way more than her mama and dadda do downstairs on her new ride!

And the two girls together!

It is so fun to see Sofia at her Aunt and Uncle's house. She is becoming such a little person. Seeing her be so independent from me and playing with all her family members is such great fun for me! I have loved every moment of this last year with our little family of 3 and our extended family. I cannot wait for another FABULOUS year!

Sofia Photo a Day Week 5

12.26.13

12.27.13

12.28.13

12.29.13

12.30.13

12.31.13

Almost 14 Months Old

If I ever intended to write monthly updates (or at least some regular ones) I failed. I hope I have taken enough photos to document Sofia's changes (there have been many), but since Seth has updated my computer (it's over 7 years old but feels like a brand new one!), I am feeling a little more motivated to sit down and use it! 

Being a parent to Sofia has been So. Much. Fun. Either people didn't really mention how fun parenting was or maybe the fun disappears and they forgot ;) or maybe I just didn't really understand enough to hear them... but having a kid is Great fun! I fill my days watching my sweet girl grow, change, learn, and play. 

We have used signs off and on since Sofia was 6 months old. Most of which she hasn't quite picked up. I think maybe I got a little discouraged and wasn't as consistent with a number of signs. She picked up the milk sign about a month ago. She also started doing the all done sign. Then these two signs became one in the same, and they stood for everything she was trying to say from milk to get me out of this high chair to give me that [insert object] now. Recently she started doing the sign pictured above. We think it stands for more (which is actually done by pinching your fingers all together and then meeting them at the tips). Here she's telling me she wants me to push her some more. 

After Christmas I went through Sofia's toys to sort some of her baby ones out, organize her bins, and make room for all her new toys. She found this while I was sorting and began stacking. It's not the easiest task for her because those wooden circles just don't go on the way they are supposed to! Yet, it is amazing to see her be able to do something new (which happens at least once daily & I don't think I'll ever grow tired of seeing!)

This is another example of the fun. What fun it was for me to throw all her stuffed toys on top of her and bury her on the couch!

While we try to limit screen time, Sofia has discovered a love for Daddy's computer. She moves the mouse and watches it move around the screen. He's quite proud of his baby computer nerd. If you look at this next week's daily photos, you'll also see one of her "playing" a computer game. Oh... I don't think I can leave the baby unsupervised with Daddy any longer!

I remember a while back my sister-in-law asked me for ideas of snacks to feed my niece. I don't think I was much help, nor did I understand why she (the queen of awesome snack trays) needed any advice from me... Now I do. Sofia eats a little bit of a lot of stuff. I am often standing in the kitchen trying to figure out what else I can feed her. She does have a few favorites lately though - kale puffs (with puffed rice -the puffed millet just won't do), avocado, pinto beans, pears and apples, and broccoli. As for our food testing situation. It's been almost a year since we started cutting foods. We continue to add foods back in testing them for 3 days at a time. Right now we are testing oranges. Yum. We've also had lots of successes, and our only recently failure was butter. Sooo no dairy in our near future. With our more recent successes, we've found a few places that we can eat out - 2 yummy burger places and 2 breakfast places. I do need to try to find a few more places... our diet is just so specific that it's kind of hard... We don't quite fit a vegan diet (we do with no dairy but we can't do soy and that seems to be a common sub) or a vegetarian (meat eaters here). We can eat paleo for the most part, but paleo restaurants aren't that common. I also like to eat at places that make it easy to know what their ingredients are, and also accommodating and understanding to food issues.

Sofia continues to love reading and books. Her favorites are flip books, and luckily our wonderful library has some great options for her. And speaking of the library. Little Miss loves to go there. The sweet little chairs and table are quite fun to climb up and sit at (all by herself). Her mama needs to make her mind up about what chair and table set to get her, and soon! She needs to have her own! (I think we'll just go with the Ikea set and get it already.) 

Don't Tell Daddy What Mommy Let You Do....

She was quite proud of her new trick!

Good thing Daddy was at work! He would have been too worried about what might happen if she fell to let her do this :) He's super sweet about keeping Sofia from getting hurt!