I finally got my terrific twosome in a photo together.  They look so darn SERENE in this photo.  Have no fear. Minutes later, she spit up all over him.  He screamed  ”PUKE!” directly in her left ear and proceeded to let go of her.  She survived, but the photoshoot was over.  

Thanks VERY MUCH for taking the time to vote for Island Auntie’s proposal.  The top dog is putting up a good fight, but my little sister is close behind in second place.  If you have another vote in you, please feel free to have another click. I failed to mention that folks are able to vote once a day until the voting closes on March 31.   And if you are a family member, you’d better be going back to that site each and every day to vote, or the next time we see you, I’ll get my little girl to puke on you too.

Happy St. Pat’s to you.  Hope everyone is having a great week!

This is likely the last photo this blog will see of our Little Guy as an only child.  And yes,  I will likely be prompted to come up with a new, ingenious nickname for him.

Christmas morning 2008.  The year that Thomas (pronounced “hummus”) the Tank Engine and his numerous friends took over our home.  Cheers!

Last weekend, we had a small birthday party for our little guy with family and a handful of his wee pals at our home.

It was a simple affair. Chicken pot pie for dinner and chocolate cake with ice cream for dessert. We did a little crafting–the kids decorated shrinky dinks, which are still waiting to be shrunk. Mostly though, they just played and danced and batted balloons around the dining room, laughing all the while.

Originally I had planned to bake some sugar cookies and let the kids frost and sprinkle them. But then I considered the mess, and decided that shrinky dinks would be more manageable. For the goodie bags, I kept with the cookie baking theme. I made little aprons and stuffed them in a bag with some cookie cutters and sprinkles. The aprons were based on this pattern.  The ticking fabric was supposed to become a tree skirt, but I just couldn’t get those little red and white striped aprons out of my head.  Our tree goes naked for one more year. Such is life.

This weekend, our little family of three will celebrate the “real” birthday with lunch and Italian pastry in Boston’s North End. It will be a nice, quiet way to celebrate the fantastic first two years of the life of our sweet little boy.

I had this brilliant idea to get our Christmas card picture all wrapped up while we were on vacation this summer on Cape Cod.  My plan was to “dress up” the Little Guy in his Christmas pajamas, let him run loose on the beach in the morning, and snap away.  I like to have a front and a back to our Christmas card, so I needed a shot of his face and his back.  Morning is normally his most chipper time, so I thought this would be a easy.  No such luck.  He woke up very grumpy that day, and I never got that perfect shot.  So, just for fun, I thought I’d show you bits of the beach photo shoot that will not grace our Christmas card this year.  And in the meantime, will blather about a few things that have been on my mind.

Actually, I like this one and would have used it for the back of the card.

A few words about my favorite little guy who is almost two.  I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I feel like he is maturing.  We haven’t had many pre-dinner meltdowns lately, and in the morning he can wait the five minutes that it takes to make oatmeal rather than freak out and demand cold cereal.  Our Little Guy has made a fairly smooth transition to sleeping in his “big boy” bed.  His favorite words lately are “home”, “wee wee” (his nickname for a beloved auntie), and “baby no!”–which I translate to mean “that baby that is still in your belly cannot touch my [train, truck, doggie] when s/he comes out!”  Yeah, pretty awesome.  A sign of good things to come, for sure. Almost every evening he requests that we turn on the radio in the kitchen and have a family dance party.  Two years old is a very good time!

His second birthday party is less than two weeks away, so I am putting aside some of the Christmas crafting to focus on that.  If anyone has any good ideas for a simple craft or activity that can be done with 4 two-year-olds, I’d love to hear your ideas.  I know what I am doing for the goodie bags and that will involve some crafting.  The cake will be pretty simple–a train theme–since choo choos are his most favorite thing ever these days.

On the Christmas crafting front, I am making good progress.  I am dying to post some pictures of three special little gifts that my mom (Grandmama) and I worked on together, but I can’t because the mom’s of the recipients check in with this blog all too frequently.  I have made some things that I can post before Christmas and will do that soon.  Just have to get around to taking photos.

I have been having a lot of fun trying to sew things that I have never tried before.  I keep wanting to add to my list, but I really have to curb that inclination.  I’m not getting stressed out about my to-do list and am just enjoying the process.  I figure I could always give some late gifts if I don’t finish.  I have the week after Christmas off from work so there will be plenty of time for sewing during naps.

Yeah.  So.  I definitely have to get back to work on that Christmas card.  Plan B is to take a close up of his (hopefully smiling) face so that I don’t have to worry about the outfit.  Will let you know how that works out.  And if I get stuck, I will definitely take Anna up on her offer to help.

I am knee-deep in top secret Christmas gift projects.  Two of the projects will be made from this stack of fabrics.  It’s Cake Rock Beach by Joelle Hoverson for Moda.  I have also made some good progress on my Little Guy’s hexagon quilt, though I still have a long way to go.  My plan is to finish up all of my other Christmas sewing in November, and then focus only on his quilt starting December 1.  It will be all hand pieced, so it will be nice to sit by the tree and stitch without having to listen to the whir of the machine.  That project does not have to be kept a secret, since the Little Guy has little interest in what I write in this space.  I hope to do a few progress reports along the way.  It is slow going, so I will need the cheer leading!

Speaking of the Little Guy, he has been up to some serious structure building with the blocks that Architect Uncle made for him last Christmas.  I love his big, booming smile in this photo.  He has been talking a lot more these days.  “Get UP!” – first thing in the morning.  “Hurry!” – when we are trying to get out the door.  “Trick or Treat!” – when he wants candy from his Halloween stash.  You get the idea.  It’s adorable.

Thanks to everyone who said hello during my little cookbook giveaway.  I have to say I was astonished to receive so many kind comments.  People beyond my circle of family and friends really do follow this little blog–wow! There were a good number of questions about the cookbook that I will address in a future post.  The winner of the cookbook, fabric, and bird ornament was Vanessa.  Vanessa, please let me know your mailing address and preference in fabric so that I can mail that package off to you.  My email is acyder at gmail dot com.

Halloween was a great fun. First stop was Grandmama’s where we were greeted by a live scarecrow. Grandmama was nowhere to be found, but the scarecrow was very welcoming and gave our panda a special little Halloween package of treats. Then we went to Grammy and Grandpa’s to pick up the Little Panda’s sidekick, Kungfu Panda, also known as Adventure Auntie.

The Little Guy was intrigued by Kungfu Panda’s black nose.

We set out to trick-or-treat around the block, stopping at jack-o-lantern’s on the way so that our Little Panda could feed them candy. He came up with that idea all by himself. Clever little bear.

Our Little Panda loved everything about the whole evening. He wouldn’t let us skip a house and insisted on carrying his bucket of treats, which was filled to the brim, all on his own. When we got home, he dumped his loot on the floor and played with it. Then he figured out what was inside those shiny packages and had a taste. Four M&M’s and a half a Hershey’s miniature later, we had ourselves one satisfied little trick-or-treater.

The Cydermaker and I had a blast, too. Hope your holiday was as fun as ours!

P.S. I did make his costume. It is made of fleece; I didn’t use a pattern. It has its share of raw edges and goof ups, but it’s just a costume so that was just fine with me. The detached hood and paws (which I forgot to have him wear) were based on this excellent pattern. Oh, and here he is last year as a monkey:

You may have already figured this out, because I tend to call my husband the Cydermaker in this space, but I will spell it out for you just in case. The reason why this blog is called Apple Cyder is because my husband presses his own apple cyder. There you have it. Mystery revealed.

The Cydermaker’s grandparents used to own a cyder mill in our mutual hometown (where we live now) and he worked there when he was young. The mill is gone, but my husband carries on the tradition, albeit in much smaller scale, during the fall and winter months in our backyard.

I gave him the cyder press for Christmas four years ago. I could not have come up with a more self-serving gift because the cyder that he makes is simply the best tasting ever.

Our little guy agrees. We let him have the inaugural mug of the season this year and he gulped down the whole thing in no time.

Isn’t fall the best?

We are just back from a great week-long vacation on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The best part of the trip was watching two cousins meet for the first time. Our little guy and Alpine Baby got along just fine. The kisses (him) and face pats (her) were plentiful. I know he is missing his little cousin as much as I am missing her mom because he giggled and grabbed for the computer monitor any time Alpine Baby’s sweet little face made an appearance as we looked over the vacation photos this morning. Sigh… Good thing my BFF and her girls will be in town tomorrow to help fill the void.

Another apron.  This one was a birthday gift for my running friend Roxy.  We met a few years ago through work, though she jumped shipped a while ago.  She now works for a college that is a lot closer to her home, though I really think she should ditch the day job and start work as a stand-up comedian.   She is a funny girl.  We still stay in touch and since we first met, she has run a gazillion road races.  (We have a plan to transform all of those road race tshirts of hers into a quilt at some point this fall.)   The main fabric used to make the apron is more Freshcut by Heather Bailey.  This time I used a little grosgrain ribbon as trim.  I’m not sure about the name of the fabric I used for the little pocket.  This was a fun little number to make.  Happy Birthday Roxy!

What’s up with the unrelated photo below?  Nothing really.  My kid likes watermelon, gets very messy while he chomps on it, and takes a mean photo.  He’s super happy because he gets to meet his little cousin Alpine Baby in two short days!

Sometimes when our family goes on a road trip we take my husband’s pick-up truck in lieu of my four door hatchback.  The only time we really do this is when we need extra cargo space to lug a small fishing boat, for example.  The Cydermaker’s truck is a two-door/two-seater with a small area behind the front seats that has two smaller “seats” that pull down from the side of the vehicle.  Since there is no safe way to accommodate a car seat in the “jump seat” area, the little guy gets to sit up front with dad while I squeeze into the back area.

Most would think of this as a downgrade in seating arrangements for me, but the truth is that it makes for a much smoother ride.  Smoother in the sense that, while mom is certainly less comfortable than normal, the kiddo is waaaay happier because he has a front row view of all the action.  He oohs and ahhhs at the big trucks and is entertained the entire way.  I snapped these two shots while we were sitting in traffic on the way home from a weekend in Maine.  It won’t be long before we will probably have to trade the smaller pickup for a more family friendly one, so it was nice to get a few shots that will serve as a reminder of my time in the back seat.

P.S.  Family members:  My flickr account is updated, so if you’d like to see photos of the little guy in Maine and wherever else we visited in July, click in.  (I have to designate you as “family” or “friend” so that you can view all of the family photos.  Otherwise, only a few of the shots will show up. All of the crafty stuff is public.)

Lots of people and little things have been making me smile lately.  Here’s the list:

-My BFF who recently asked me if I would be her new baby girl’s godmother.  I am so honored by this request.  She really cracked me up because she began the conversation with something like, “You don’t have to say yes, I won’t be offended, but….”  She is nuts!  I am so excited for this new role and am looking forward to the christening in October.   

-All the sweet baby-on-the-way well wishes from my last post.  Thanks so much.  It was fun to receive your little notes.  They make the idea of having another baby even more exciting (and real).

-A very kind woman who took the time to leave me a terribly thoughtful comment about the “clever cape” pattern.  I don’t believe she has a blog; I would link to her if she did.  The pattern is downloaded a few times everyday, put Stephanie was the first person to let me know that she made it for her son.  She sent photos too.  Here is what she said:  My son turned three yesterday so about two weeks ago I started looking for cape patterns (he is VERY imaginative and I knew he’d enjoy a real cape vs. the blanket with a safety pin he’s been using).  I just started searching the web for free patterns and I found this cape, it’s much cuter than anything else I found so I printed and made it on Friday night – it’s darling, THANK YOU! As soon as it was tied on him he ran all the way around the park, arms properly outstretched.  You can smile knowing that a little person out west is enjoying his very own ‘clever little cape’.”  Thanks Stephanie!  Your note and photos made me smile, for sure.  Your boy is a handsome little one.  Happy belated birthday to him.

-Grammy’s story about a co-worker of hers who made a shrinky dink bracelet using my tutorial and photos from her flower garden.  How cool is that?  I’m hoping Grammy will snag a photo one of these days when she gets a chance.

-A very close friend’s latest sewing project.  It is going to be amazing once it is finished.  I am dying to get a preview.  (You know who you are.  I will trade you a belly pic for a project-in-progress pic.)

-My kiddo’s “chicken arm” run.   The little guy bends one of his arms like a little chicken when he really gets going when he is running.  It is hilarious, and I was so glad to capture it with my camera. (Top photo.)

-A tiny bit of patchwork that has helped me get over my sewing blahs and has reminded me that quilts are really what I like to work on the most.

Have I mention recently how great my kid is? One and a half is a really good time. There are a few things about him that I’ve been wanting to record, so I thought I’d jot them down here.

When he wakes up in the morning, our little guy sings sweetly and plays in his crib until it’s really time to come out, and then he calls for his ma-ma and da-da until one of us rolls out of bed and goes to his room to say good morning. I think the biggest reward for being the one to take the “early shift” is the bounding enthusiasm with which you are greeted when you walk into the kiddo’s bedroom. When I say bounding, I mean it, as he jumps up and down with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen. And then when you pick him up and out of the crib, you are in for the biggest and best full-body hug you have ever received—two little pairs of skinny arms and legs wrapped tightly around your neck and torso. It really is one of the best feelings.

Bedtime is pretty great these days too. In fact, the other night (I swear I am not lying) the little guy read me a story for the first time. Granted the book is very basic and only really consists of the words “night-night” and a roaring, improvised “whoa!” But still, he said “night night” and “whoa!” at all the right times, and absolutely amazed his mom. After we read a few stories, he slinks off the twin bed, walks over to his crib and tries to pull himself up. It’s his way of saying, “OK, Mom. I am tired. Can you put me in here?.” And then he rubs his little face in his blankie, lets me cover him up, and says “night night” with that little smile that gets me every time.

His favorite foods lately have been strawberries picked from our garden and eggs from out neighbors’ chickens. He won’t touch strawberries that have been chilled from the refrigerator; he likes them garden-temp. But really, who doesn’t? (Note the strawberry juice on his face in the photos.) And now he’s being a bit selective about eggs—he can distinguish fresh from store-bought. Smart little bugger.

He shoots hoops every morning with a basketball set that was given to him by a good friend, and plays wiffle ball pretty much every evening. We’ve been pool hopping at Papa’s house as well as at the homes of some other local friends, and his favorite part is jumping in. When he is swinging, he repeats the word “Mama” until I give him a big old underdog push. And while I run underneath that swing holding my gorgeous baby boy, I have to yell UNDERDOG! Nothing less will do.

Everyday lately has been so much fun. But slow down little man; it seems like it is going by so fast. You are starting to make me understand all those seasoned parents who say that having kids makes time pass really quickly.

This last photo was taken at a recent family party. My aunt and uncle have the most amazing swing set.

Dear Dad,

Happy Father’s Day! I could go on and on about the many reasons why I love you, but Mom says you would probably prefer that I keep the mush off the internet, so we will write you a nice card to tell you all of that. But I would like to tell you that you are the BEST DAD EVER and I really hope that I grow up to be just like you. (That’s why I keep practicing driving your truck.)

I LOVE YOU DADDY!

Love,

The Little Guy

P.S. I need to lobby Mom for a new blog nickname, as I am not looking so little these days. OK–must go hit some more wiffle balls and shoot a few hoops before the day’s end.

As was the case in many parts of the country, it was hot as heck in our area this weekend.    On Saturday, after a morning trip to the beach, the little guy was having trouble napping in the heat.  So instead of fighting that battle, I put an old blanket on the living room floor, added a few pillows, and just sat there with my munchkin.  The Cydermaker turned on the baseball game and joined us on the blanket too.  And there we were, just being a family.  And you know what.  It was really nice. 

Both my husband and I can be real busy bodies when we are around the house.  Usually one of us is off tending to something else (the yard, garden, dishes, laundry etc.) while the other is playing with the kiddo.  Having all three of us sitting on that floor, with nothing else to do but “be” was truly great.  Sounds so basic, I know, but honestly, it just doesn’t happen that often.  There’s nothing like a heatwave to bring a family together! 

The photo was not taken this weekend.  It was too hot to drag around the camera.  It was taken on Memorial Day.  Grammy was sporting a spiffy patriotic ‘do-rag, and the little guy thought it was pretty funny. 

It was just silly how much this kiddo enjoyed playing in the sprinkler for the first time.

Even getting pelted off the head was fun. It’s starting to feel like summertime!

We had a very nice long weekend. The highlight for the little guy was his new sandbox–a Christmas present from Grandmama. Can you tell he loves his new gift?

It’s not always pretty, but the little guy is happily feeding himself these days. It’s a bit messier at mealtime, but we actually get to eat along with him (rather than feed him and watch our warm food go cold), so we’re cool with it. I love that Redhead Auntie caught him kicking off his shoe in the top photo. He does that at every meal so its great to have a shot of it.

I know, I know. It’s hard to contain yourself when you read all the exciting news that emanates from your computer screen when you check in with this blog. I bet you are just sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for me to tell you all about our entrance into the grand era of potty training.

I love Mother’s Day because I am a newish mom and the day feels like a bonus day.  An extra birthday of sorts. I also love the day because it gives us the chance to celebrate our moms and thank them for all the wonderful and generous things they do. We live very close to Grandmama (my mom) and Grammy (his mom) and I cannot say enough about how much of a blessing it is to have them nearby. Not only do both Grandmothers accept impromptu babysitting requests at the drop of a hat, but they also send over food and other goodies — just because. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Seriously. The list is endless. So, because we can never say it enough–THANKS MOMS! You are the best.

We invited our families over on Sunday for an outdoor Mother’s Day brunch. Grammy brought this beautiful apple cake and my mom brought a delicious quiche. We probably should have insisted that they take a day off from kitchen duties, but well, they offered… and they are really good cooks.

I made Grammy this bag, which compliments our strawberry patch beautifully.

I was happy with how it came out except for one small goof that happened when I sewed on the ruffle. You may be able to spot a little bit of raw edges poking out in the top right corner of the bag in the photo below. Just a tiny mistake. The kind of mistake a sewista grandmother can appreciate (and pretend not to notice).

This was my first attempt at 1) sewing a ruffle and 2) using fusible interfacing. I am always afraid of “firsts” when it comes to sewing, but neither task was all that difficult. Getting the bias fabric to go around the handle loop was a little tricky, but I used a zig-zag stitch and that seemed to hold it in place well. I think I may make another bag like this one but change the width so that it holds two bottles of wine. (I think this one is wide enough to hold three.) The bag was inspired by Amy Butler’s Chelsea Bag but I didn’t use a pattern. I came up with my own dimensions, made the handles round instead of rectangular, and added the ruffle. It is reversible and has a pocket inside. I love the lining fabric. So sweet and old-fashioned. I plan to use moreo f it to make myself a mini-quilt to drape over a certain little white rocking chair at some point soon.

P.S. That sweet little Mother’s Day flower (top photo) was made by my boy, with heavy assistance from his wonderful daycare provider. Three cheers for artsy craftsy mommy gifts!

The little guy has been sleeping consistently until 6.30 am these days, so early morning blogging is quickly becoming a thing of the past. (Brilliant!) No offense to my little blog.  As much as I enjoy boring everyone with the details of my-so-called-life*, I enjoy sleep even more, so I am very happy about this recent turn of events.  Besides that, I don’t have much to say today, but I did want to share some images from the kiddo’s first fishing trip.

And here is a little hand stitching detail from my functional felt project.

*Did anyone ever watch My So-Called Life?  Loved that show and all its teen angst. 

The little guy took a trip to the zoo with Grandmama, my godmother, and two friends recently. My godmother took this shot. She’s taken many photos of my siblings and me over the years so its nice to see her continue the tradition with my kiddo. I am pretty sure she took these photos of my sisters in 1984.

Over the last few years, I completed three projects that involved digitizing tons of old family photos. Two projects, a cookbook for my mom and an album for my dad, used photos of my family; the other featured the Cydermaker’s family. It is great to have these files at my fingertips because I am able to create all sorts of little personal gifts and decorations using them. Christmas ornaments, note cards, advent calendars, cake toppers – you name it. I’d like to make those images more accessible to the rest of our family members because it is so much fun to browse through them. For now they sit idle on my hard-drive and backed-up on disc. I’ve added that task to the to-do list. Family members, stay tuned.

On the sewing project front, Mother’s Day gifts are coming along nicely. One down; two more to go. I am enjoying my new adventure in felting in particular because it has presented the opportunity to do some hand stitching — a great change of pace. I am also getting ever closer to completing my BFF’s baby quilt. Finally, two people (with great crafty blogs) asked about how I made Adventure Auntie’s charm bracelet, so I updated that post and explained the process. The sidebar now has a link.

In BIG family news, City Auntie has plans to move closer to home! We will miss our visits with her in New York, but are so thrilled that we will be able to see her more often around these parts. If anyone knows of anyone looking to hire a talented and hardworking newspaper layout editor/designer, I know of a lovely gal who is looking for a job in the Boston area.

Lots of random little thoughts swirling around in my head. First the bad news. Creamsickle kicked the bucket yesterday. She lasted more than two months so I think that is respectable as far as the life of a goldfish goes. The sad thing is that “fishy” is one of about seven words in the little guy’s vocabulary. It looks like we might be in the market for a new family pet. One that looks like a creamsickle.

I’ve started up my running habit again. There was a very long hiatus (November-April) but my scare-the-townfolk-pale-legs are pounding the pavement with the kiddo once again. It feels good. And it fits nicely into our routine. My jogging partner is a lot heavier than he was last October, but he is also a lot more fun now, pointing out the trees and cars and houses and fellow joggers/bikers/walkers as we go. Last fall, he was guaranteed to snooze.

I have several little projects in the works and a plan to try something new. Felting. Motivation comes from here. My plan is to “up-cycle” a bunch of old wool sweaters by felting them and creating something useful. As far as I can tell so far, felting is accomplished by washing and drying wool in high heat. If local folks have any 100% wool sweaters they are looking to get rid of, the donation bin is open.

I missed the opportunity to say goodbye to a work friend who moved recently. And I don’t have her new digits. You know who you are, so if you are reading, could you shoot me a quick email so that I can be in touch? Oh, and I know that other friends of yours are scouring the internet looking for you too because some of them end up at this blog. Poor people do a search of your name but all they find here is a bunch of hokey crafts and photos of cute kids!

I just heard some big news today that my idea of utopia may be coming a little bit closer to reality by the fall. (A VERY BIG YAY!) More on that great news later.

A very quick rundown of weekend highlights includes:

-watching our garden grow

-catching the little guy kissing the oven and then giggling hysterically afterwards

-visits from not one, but two, aunties

-a great outdoor dinner with two girlfriends (gourmet ice cream sandwiches included)

-a bonfire for the guys; a good long chat for the girls

-a visit from the BBQ (steak and ribs) fairy – thanks Grandpa!

-a fishing trip with friends for dad

-a long nap on the lawn with the little guy for mom.

Hope your weekend was great too.

I made a clever little cape.

And guess what? You can make one too.

Because I also made a “clever little cape” pattern and tutorial — just for you. Click on the link, print the pdf, and give it a whirl. Then put your clever little cape on a clever little person and watch them whirl. Fun. Fun. Fun.

The last time I made a bunch of these capes was on Valentine’s Day for the kiddo and his pals. Different versions of this cape could be made to celebrate any holiday really. They could also serve as birthday party favors or be included as part of a gift. The one pictured here has been sent to the little guy’s good friend Goose. (Say that one five times fast.) I adorned it with a goose applique in honor of his nickname.

There are some other excellent cape-making tutorials residing in Bloglandia. Mine is not better, just different. One that I found has pleats and another offers an actual superhero applique. I looked at both of them when I first wanted to make a cape, but decided that I 1) was too chicken to try pleating and 2) wanted to incorporate grosgrain ribbon and a collar. And that, folks, is how apple cyder’s clever little cape was born. Yes, I know. Another riveting story to power you through your adventures in crafting. (Oh, and you can find another example of a kid’s cape here.)

If you decide to make a cape and find that the instructions are difficult to follow, please be in touch and let me know. Also, I’d love to see what you come up with, so send links/photos of your capes or add it to the flickr group.

One last thing and then I’ll shut up. If you are going to give this a shot, keep in mind that this cape is meant for play. If you make a small error or two, don’t worry about it. Pardon the lecture. It’s just that I am guessing there are others out there like me who sometimes have trouble parting with their inner perfectionist when it comes to sewing. Does that ring a bell?

OK. Once again, here is my “clever little cape” pattern and tutorial.

This weekend we went camping for the first time as a family of three. We slept in a cabin, not a tent, which was a very good thing because there was (surprise!) a good amount of snow at our destination. The adorable one-room cabin had a roomy front porch and was furnished with a wood-burning stove, beds, a table and chairs. We went hiking, goofed around at the camp site, and on Saturday afternoon, the little guy and I went for a road trip to Williamstown, MA while the Cydermaker went fishing on his own.

We were surrounded by the beauty of nature all weekend long, but the only half decent shots I managed to capture were a series of photos of the kiddo chomping on the dregs of a bag of Doritos. In my defense, it was the most entertaining part of the trip. Can you tell that he enjoyed himself?

Yeah. Pretty disgusting. But kind of funny too.

Oh. And if you were hoping to find something crafty today, join the toy makers on their journey to Australia and fashion yourself a paper kangaroo or a dizzy koala.  Gotta love free paper toys!

On my recent trip to Park City to visit my sister, her husband and their new baby, I had forgotten to bring a pair of sunglasses. Alpine Auntie kindly lent me a pair and then told me that I could keep them because I looked so spiffy in them. The little guy has taken a liking to them and grabs them off my face any chance he gets. He looks pretty spiffy himself, don’t you think?

Last night I caught my munchkin walking backwards in the kitchen. What’s up with that? I was away for four days of his life and he figures out how to moonwalk? That little bugger. This latest stunt made me feel like I missed out on A LOT while I was gone.

These photos are of some bibs that I made for Alpine Baby. The “pattern” is based on a favorite bib that we use here. The light blue/cream colored fabric is oilcloth, so food can be wiped away easily. I can’t remember the name of the maker of that fabric but I really like it.

I used the remainder of my Freshcut stash on the reverse side of one bib and a Joel Dewberry print on the other one. I decided to go with snap closures rather than velcro because I don’t like how velcro snags other articles of clothing in the laundry.

I had a really nice time last night with my BFF who is in town with her kiddo for April vacation. In addition to a belated birthday gift for Adventure Auntie, I am working on a quilt for my BFF’s baby-to-be who is due in June. I love the fabric I am using and will probably post a photo of it before the blanket is finished.

I have been meaning to note that while I was away on my trip, my freezer paper photo stencil tutorial was mentioned on a popular sewing blog called Sew, Mama, Sew. Thanks to Beth at SMS for the shout out! Visit their blog if you have a chance. It is an excellent resource.

OK–That’s all from here for now.