One of a kind!

My mom is not just an average sewer, she is what I would call a seamstress! She could make lots and lots of money if she wanted to making custom and handmade creations of all sorts and varieties. Luckily for me, she would rather share her talents spending hours on projects for my home and her grandchildren! My girls have loved many of Grammie's creations and Isabelle loves to go to the fabric store just so she can pick out some crazy fabric to have Grammie sew into something. (We were just at JoAnns last week where Belle purchased some Fancy Nancy fabric for a new slip...which is an entire different and much needed future post!) I do own a sewing machine but I am afraid that the natural sewing gene skipped right over me and landed from Tara to Alex! Both my sisters can and do sew things often and it was them who bought me my sewing machine trying to force the talent out of me. It's so silly that even when a button falls off Ben's suit coat Belle says, "We will have to ask Grammie to fix it!" As far as she is concerned, Grammie can sew ANYTHING! And I believe it just may be true!

When we were expecting baby Olivia I planned to buy a new crib bedding set since Grammie had graciously handmade Isabelle's set piecing together 8 different colorful fabrics that Ben actually designed on an Excel spreadsheet. It was a lot of work for her with many ruffles and bows and tucks and so I just assumed we would not go down that road again! Much to my surprise, when I mentioned to my mom that we should be looking for some fun crib bedding while we were out and about she quickly offered her services once again. And she also had a great idea...not only would she sew the baby a new crib set but she would make big sister Isabelle a matching duvet cover for her comforter and both girls adorable curtains for their new bedrooms!

Off to the fabric store we went yet again! My mom, Isabelle, Alee and I spent quite a while looking and looking and not finding exactly what we had in mind. We wanted something fun and grown-up for Isabelle but also soft and delicate for Olivia. Finally after looking down every aisle many times, we spotted one bolt we must have missed and instantly fell in love! It was the perfect combination with swirly vines and flowers mixed with words like believe, sing and play! We then called multiple stores and bought all the Heidi Grace designed fabric that we could find. It was more money than Ben could believe and yards and yards of fabric for Grammie to become overwhelmed by!

In just a few short weeks the rooms were complete! They turned out even cuter than we imagined and both girls love their handmade bedding! How fortunate to be blessed by so much hard work from Grammie and of course the sewing hasn't stopped there. She is constantly surrounded by stacks of fabrics and ideas of projects that everyone has for her! I guess when her children rallied and bought her a Serger it may have been slightly selfish!

April showers brings May flowers

Time has a way of flying by, but luckily I have remembered to grab the camera several times lately to catch some of these fun memories we call life! We have continued to keep our constant action lifestyle and have introduced Olivia to a few new Texas cities and long car rides!

We traveled to Dallas to bid Uncle Seth farewell as he left to serve a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Tahiti. Being the party planner that she is, Isabelle spent hours decorating the garage and turning it into an island paradise to celebrate Seth's departure. We sang and danced, played Wii, jumped on the trampoline, went mini-golfing, where Isabelle's first put ended in a hole-in-one and drove go-carts. It was a fun weekend spent with one of our favorite Uncles and we wish Seth much luck on his new adventure! (It's weird to think the next time he sees his nieces they will be 6 and 2 years old.)

We also traveled to Houston where Isabelle played "doctor" to Grandpa Elmo learning the correct way to give him his IV antibiotics and how to flush his port system. The real nurse even let Belle take his temperature, and Dr. Cosby was thrilled to wear her medical coat and took her job very serious. We were also able to celebrate Grammie's birthday with a Luau Texas-style! Isabelle once again decorated her heart out and we enjoyed the nice weather with a BBQ on the patio and lots and lots of bubble blowing!

Our days were also full with both girls getting well-checks and a total of 10 immunization shots between the two of them with fevers to follow, of course while Dad was out of town on business. We celebrated Mother's Day and joined Angelina Ballerina downtown at a Tea Party with the San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet where Isabelle was served real tea in a ceramic tea cup and asked for hers with sugar and lemon! (She then tasted it and decided she wasn't much of a "real" tea fan!) We made the short trek to New Braunfels and cheered Aunt Alee on as she competed and finished her first Biathlon with energy to spare and we had fun swimming with Uncle Gordon on his birthday here at home over Memorial Day.

All the while, little Olivia continues to grow, although at two months she was just a wee 10lbs. She smiles and giggles and loves to coo and talk. She has rolled over both directions and is working on becoming a good napper. (We are hopeful she will do better at this than her big sister did.) She still is very agreeable in her carseat and loves to bathe especially with Isabelle.

Life is good when it is busy, but I can't help wishing that time would slow down just a little bit and let me thoroughly enjoy my girls at the exact ages that they are. Although sometimes it is tough, it is good to be SO loved!