new year! gung ho, etc

you know when you haven't done something in so long that the lapse itself becomes a kind of barrier?  well, i've been meaning to catch-up, upload xmas photos, etc etc etc, but here we are, as-is.

i bought coco some weird clothes today and when i showed him surprisingly he was as excited as me. we put them on and he wanted to go run in the hall and have his photo taken.  mission accomplished.

Lazy Friday post...

We've had quite the random Friday...

But first, Cole is awesome. He is all for standing and trying it out every chance he gets. Check him out this evening:



I like how weird our living room looks in that video, like all our furniture is crammed into one corner. We're using a small, crazy 70's vinyl-covered ottoman that I've meant to reupholster for a really long time as a coffee table so that Cole doesn't bonk his head on the real one, I keep squishing it between the chair and the couch to block off more pointy corners and I got all my fabric in big IKEA tubs out of the closet for my project the other day and am using it to block the fireplace so Cole can't scratch at the chain curtains. Ahh - so cluttered in here!

Anyway, (more) long rambling to follow. I think I pinched a nerve in my lower back yesterday while hovering over Cole trying to dress him as he tried to get away, so I've spent today lurching around like a zombie, trying not to twist or bend. I seem to need to do that a lot... I'm sitting gingerly as we speak. Ow, ow, ow. It's probably a good thing that playdate plans got rescheduled (hope little C feels better soon!) because I really doubt that I could have kept a handle on Cole in a wide open space with my current range of mobility!

But what to do with the day now that we had no plans? I wanted to take Cole swimming but was afraid that my back would seize up in the pool and then what would become of us? Ruled out walking because of pant issues (more on that later) and back pain. So we took the car up to West Vancouver to do a little shopping at Whole Foods and Michaels (had to get my hands on some of these awesome Christmas stamps for I don't know what reason).

Also had to return the most adorable pajamas that I got for Cole recently. When I put them on him we noticed that they were a little on the small side, although they were 6-12 months size. When I took a second look at them on, I realized they were for a girl! The cute puckered shoulders gave it away. I would have kept them anyway if they fit, but two strikes means a return in my book.

Speaking of clothes, I really need some new ones, evidently. The other day I walked through some dog poop and it got on the bottom of my favourite comfy jeans. Yesterday in the rain I wore my back up jeans and got them all soaked and gravelly in the rain. I tossed them both in the wash very diligently, but realized as I went to get dressed right before we were leaving today that I forgot to turn on the dryer... Faced with wet pants, I went to the closet. I should state that I have many pairs of jeans and other pants too, but none of them fit. Still have like 15 baby pounds to lose... The only other jeans that fit haven't been hemmed and are like six inches too long. Who do they make pants for? I'm 5'5 and a normal height among all the women I know. I have enough skirts to get me to Christmas eve without wearing doubles, but I figured then I'd have to search around for tights from two years ago, since last winter's maternity tights all went in the trash. So what choices was I left with? White or camo capri pants, the rattiest pair of sweatpants that I wear when the others are in the laundry or maternity dress pants. Yeah, I chose the latter... At least with a coat on they looked nice, but weirdly nice for walking around with a baby in the middle of the day. And even if noone else knew they were maternity pants, I did...

Embarrassing clothes for babies

I've finished my first item of actual clothing for Cole! Not an easy task, actually. The sewing part was certainly manageable, but there really is a lack of simple, modern sewing patterns out there for baby boy clothing. And the fabric selection tends to veer to either extreme, either girly or very truck/car/puppy related... So, one must get creative...

Here is Cole's new playsuit! The size is 12 - 18 months, so he can wear it in the Spring/Summer.

It's from the amazing line of Oliver + S patterns and uses Amy Butler's fabric for the shorts, with the most hilarious lucky cat fabric for the top. Technically, it's a Japanese dishtowel from Daiso that I added to my fabric stash a little while ago while shopping with Cole for bento supplies. And it uses buttons! With actual, functional buttonholes!!! This was a big step - until now I've only used snaps on anything and grudgingly accepted zippers in the case of skirts. Buttons open up a whole new world of options.

Cole loves Lucky Cats - otherwise known in our house as "bathtime kitty". We have a lucky cat (Maneki Neko) piggy bank in the kitchen that Cole is mightily amused by during his bathtime. Here is the inspiration:

The timing was perfect to finish this project. I just received two new Oliver + S patterns in the mail - the sandbox pants and kimono pajamas. I can't wait to start - pants should be a cinch. And I have many more hilarious/embarrassing/unique fabrics ready for Cole.