kate's baby quilt

Keeping up the trend in my office, my co-worker Kate is having a baby, due Christmas Day (if you're counting, which I bet you're not, that's the 5th baby this year for my floor).  This is the same pattern that I entered into the quilt show, and it works well for a baby quilt!  Kate is pregnant with her second daughter, and her department invited me to their baby shower.  I was hoarding a charm pack of Bonnie and Camille's "Miss Kate" and knew it was fate to use it for this quilt.  Kate's not a pastel pink-kind of gal, so the fun bright colors were right on par - green, navy, turquoise, orange, red, and salmon pink.  I used the salmon pink as the center circles.

I quilted in the ditch for the nine-patches and borders, then used a stencil for the center of the dresden plates.  I then quilted around the dresden plate.  The backing a light turquoise polka dot.

The baby shower was this week, and Kate loved the quilt!  This is a pattern I'm sticking in my back pocket for future baby showers - I love how it turned out.

barrett: 30 months old

Barrett is officially 2.5 years old today!  Happy half-birthday, Barrett!  Let me tell you a story about Barrett.  Every day when I get home from work, I go upstairs through the garage/basement.  Barrett hears me close the door between the garage and basement, and by the time I've climbed those stairs, he's already torn open the door at the top of the stairs.  And with a big drooly grin, he announces, "Mommy's home!  Hi, Mommy!  Hi!" and he leans in for his hug and doesn't let go quickly.  It's the best way to come home, and I look forward to it every day.  That is this kid.

Barrett loves being outdoors, and I'm not looking forward to when the soon-to-be-cold weather will keep him indoors.  I guess we'll just have to bundle up and suck it up that our kids would prefer to be outside!  He just goes, running, swinging, Cozy Coupe driving for hours.  He also loves his books, especially when he gets a Peppa Pig book read to him.  And he's taken to drawing all over Britton's math homework.  He's just expressing my opinion of Common Core, as far as I'm concerned!  

Likes:  Halloween candy (especially Reese's cups), playing in the dirt at Memaw and PawPaw's house, yelling for Britton when it's time for dinner

Dislikes:  when rain ruins his outdoor fun

75 months old

So, meerkat was in Barrett's closet, and there's no way I'm risking waking that kid up, so the carrot filled in.  Who owns a stuffed carrot?  Yep, this girl.  Speaking of carrots, Britton wants a new fish (her old betta fish was named Carrot Blueberry Broccoli).  I think I may have to give in, because she's also been telling me about her friend's hamster and another friend's kitten, so maybe the fish gets me out of having to say "no" to any other critters!  

Britton is doing well at school, and loves reading every night.  I think she's tiring of doing homework, because it cuts into free-for-all playing with friends and kicking back with "Fresh Beat Band" episodes, but luckily it's not too time-intensive.  Her class started weekly spelling tests a couple of weeks ago and she's nailing them.

Every night I tickle Britton's back while singing (badly) "You are My Sunshine."  I've done it since she was a baby.  But lately, instead of a song, Britton wants a story about me and Aunt Jessica.  She always requests it the same - "Tell me a story about you and Aunt Jessica when you were kids."  I've racked my brain for stories, and now I've run out and might need Aunt Jessica to remind me of some!

Likes:  Halloween candy, dancing, Shopkins, drawing every night in her diary

Dislikes:  transitioning from reading to bedtime (she likes to take her time brushing her teeth and using the bathroom)

trick or treat!

Another Halloween has come and gone!  This year Britton wanted to be a rainbow, so I asked her to design her costume.  Britton pulled out her rainbow of smelly markers and drew a dress, which I took with me to Joanns to select fabric.  Every color is one she picked out, and I added the white pom pom trim for fun.  I saw the princess crown and thought it looked like a sun, so I spray painted it yellow and then covered it in gold glitter.  

Barrett is George Pig, the little brother from Peppa Pig.  I found the blue shirt at Joanns (my second home, really), and ordered the pig hat and dinosaur from Amazon.  Barrett wasn't really in the Halloween spirit, other than chain-eating Dum Dum lollipops!  He went trick-or-treating to one house then wanted to go back home and hang out with Memaw.

This is the first year that Britton wanted to go trick-or-treating with her friends.  Without me.  I wasn't ready for it - I was putting out candy and looking for shoes, and Britton comes up and asks if she can go trick-or-treating with our neighbors.  Man, it stung.  Memaw and I had planned to take her, and the hubs was getting ready to come too, and we couldn't compete with the 8 and 10 year olds across the street.  Like Memaw said, you never know when it's coming.

I'm going to go comfort myself in Britton's trick-or-treat candy stash.  I suspect I will never be ready for this little girl to grow up!