recycled memories: or how Gabriel's shirt became Liam's

Before I met Gabriel, before his mom married Kenny, and before they moved from Oregon to San Diego, Gabriel was best buds with Kent. They did everything together: riding bikes, listening to Queen, climbing trees. They even wore matching shirts.

How cute is this?
Gabriel has hung onto this shirt for all of these years, and finally decided that I could use it to make something special for Liam. I have always loved this shirt. It's incredibly soft cotton, and the pattern is fantastic: beach vibes without being in-your-face-aloha. But the best part is the memories it holds of two boys who proudly wore their matchy shirts.

Now, Liam is part of the club.

I used Rae's Tutorial for how to convert a man's shirt into a boy's, combined with "Kai's Shirt Pattern" from Heather Ross' Weekend Sewing. It only took a bit of the afternoon to complete, and I must say, the result is perfect.

I'm planning to use the same technique to round out Liam's spring/summer wardrobe. Some pants and shorts are in the works, too. More to come.

let the birthday festivities begin

Liam's birthday is still two weeks away, but his first birthday package came in the mail today. We decided to let him open the package early, thinking he'll appreciate his gifts more if he isn't bombarded with them all at the same time.

This package came all the way from the farm in Iowa. Uncle Jim and Aunt Janelle sure know how to pick a great Liam gift.

Oooh, the anticipation.

It's Elmo!

He needed to put Elmo on right away.

Of course, no Elmo is complete without his very own Elmo to snuggle. It looks like this boy is all set.
Thank you, Jim and Janelle for such a great gift. Now, if we can persuade him to take it off from time to time, we'll be doing good.

Spring, is that really you?

The weather this weekend was amazing: into the 70's, slightly breezy, just a little cloud cover. After what has seemed like the longest winter, this breath of Spring was certainly refreshing. It made for another great weekend.

Saturday morning, Gabriel took Liam on a walk to the park while I went and helped my sister clean the childcare center where she and my mom work (a little extra income...). Liam walked the entire way to the park downtown, about a mile, and then had a blast with his daddy on the playground and throwing rocks into the creek. I came home to a very happy boy, with all of the bruises and scratched on his knees to prove it.

While Liam napped, Gabriel and Mr. Tony cut another round of logs for our woodstove. This should last us until the cooler weather is long gone. Hopefully.

And I made granola.

We have been making, eating, and loving homemade granola for a few months now. It is more cost effective than any store-bought cereals, and the taste is that much better, too. Our current favorite recipe is from one of my daily blog-reads, Chez Beeper Bebe. We love her Winter Granola, but what is homemade granola without a few personal modifications?

I substituted:

• slivered almonds for the pecans
• sesame seeds for the pepitas
• honey for the maple syrup
• all craisins for the apples (this week I left out the fruit entirely)

It's just the right balance of sweet and crucnhy for our taste. We've been enjoying it with cold milk, homemade yogurt, and dry as a crunchy snack.

After his nap, Liam joined Gabriel outside to wash the car. This was probably the highlight of his day.
Especially the soapy water bucket.

We finished up the weekend with stories before bed. We're reading lots of I'm-a-big-brother-themed books.

Craft Hope for Haiti

Here is my long overdue update on Craft Hope for Haiti:

All of my items sold within the first few days, and were shipped off to buyers in Australia, Canada, New York, and Missouri.

It was fun to be able to connect with others all around the globe, and even just across the state line, through something as meaningful and still simple as handmade goods.

I know that my contribution was just a very small part in the relief effort, but the problems in Haiti continue to abound as do my thoughts and prayers for those in need.

Green Baby Guide giveaways

In celebration of their newly released book, The Green Baby Guide is hosting some fabulous giveaways.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for today's Green Baby Gift Basket Giveaway. It would be perfect for a certain little boy who is pushing against my ribs as I type...

You can view all of their giveaways by clicking over to The Green Baby Guide, and you can take a peek at my review of their book here.

imagination

Amy posts a lot of pictures of Jonathan's lego creations, and they are always amazing. Full of creativity and lots of imagination. He has some competition now.

Enter Liam's creation (his own design):

This is a cat.

It meows.

It can play on the stairs.

It also doubles as a chew toy.

a little bit of static