Quiet Book: Dress Me Doll & Armoire

I've been casually working on these two pages for a while and I love how they turned out! This is a two page spread of a "Dress Me Doll" and her "Armoire" to store her outfits.

I got the inspiration from this blog which provides the template for the doll and some basic clothes. Her underwear are the soft side of velcro sewn on for the clothes to stick to. I free-handed the mannikin which has the soft side of black velcro on it for clothes to hang. 

These are my favorite outfits: Polka Dot PJs & a Ballerina outfit

This page is her armoire which I free-handed and although it's not perfect the girls will love it. I used buttons for the door knobs. 

Inside are 2 dresses, 2 shirts, 2 pair of pants, & 2 shirts. I used round sticky dot velcro on the back and although they are sticky I still secured them down. All clothes are two layers to add stability to the felt.

This is inside of the armoire without the clothes. I used the soft side of velcro to make rods to hang the clothes on and added a pocket at the bottom for extra storage.

Scarlett is 2 Months Old!

Scarlett turned 2 months old yesterday but unfortunately she was very sick. She woke up with a fever and we had a pediatrician appointment already scheduled for 8:30am for her 2 month shots. When we got there she had soaked through her outfit and car seat padding from sweat. She was 100.9 when they took her temperature (although I'm sure she had been higher). Her well visit quickly turned into a sick visit. We were sent to Methodist Children's Hospital for a thorough work up due to her young age. They drew a CBC, blood cultures, a respiratory viral panel, a cath UA and administered a shot of Rocephin. At 4pm she was 101.5 and miserable! Our pediatrician is wonderful and called me last night from her cell phone and again today (even though she was off). Her CBC was normal, respiratory viral panel was negative, but her urine is growing 40,000 gram negative rods. Most likely the bacteria growing is E. coli (we will know tomorrow). Once you get a fever from a UTI it is typically considered pyleonephritis at that point (a kidney infection). Due to her age she should be hospitalized for IV antibiotics. Since Cody & I have medical backgrounds the pediatrician trusts us enough for us to make the decision. Scarlett has not had anymore fever and is nursing fine so we decided to continue Rocephin injections today and tomorrow instead of going to the hospital. She will have to get a renal ultrasound and a repeat urine specimen once she is cleared due to her age.

She was content this morning so I took her monthly pictures:

Reese's 3 Year Growth Stats

I've been meaning to post Reese's 3 year statistics for a few weeks now...oops!

Height: 38.7 inches (85%)

Weight: 30 lbs 4 oz (47%)

Body Mass Index (BMI): 8%!

Reese grew 5 inches over the past year jumping from 58% to the 85% for height! Her BMI went from 24% to 8% and the pediatrician said "good job"!

Reese is "long & lean"!

Quiet Book: Braid My Tail

Every little girl needs to learn how to braid hair! 

With Reese's infatuation with "purple zebra" I knew this would be PERFECT! The mane is pieces of leftover feather boa from Reese's party hat I made. I free handed the zebra body out of zebra felt.

For the tail: first I sewed 6 strands of yarn going horizontally in a circle (my best attempt at a circle at least)

Then I sewed another 6 strands going vertically in a straight line

I got the inspiration from this blog and followed these hair sewing instructions.

Playtime!

I wanted to start learning how to edit my photos better so I took bunch of  pictures of the girls playing on Monday (while Scarlett was napping) so I could try some new settings. 

Enjoy!

Aren't they just ADORABLE?!

Quiet Book: Ballet Shoe

A quiet book typically contains a shoe page to teach the child how to tie a shoe or even lace but most templates out there are for boy style shoes. I just love this little ballet shoe as an alternative for girls! This page was super easy and quick to make.

(remember I will be mounting my 9x9 fabric squares to fleece pages most likely to add stability and a more finished look)

I got the idea for the ballet shoe from this blog and the template is provided here!

Our Sweet Baby Is Growing Up...

Now that all four of Emma's incisors (K9s) have cut through (at the same time for that matter) we have decided it was time to convert her crib to a toddler bed!! Emma thought it was so much fun crawling into bed herself :)

 She had no problems adjusting and went right to sleep like a good girl! She sleeps with THREE dogs, Sully the monster, a giraffe pillow pet, two snuggle blankets and a glowworm!

Emma randomly started saying "apple" yesterday!

She's definitely not a little baby anymore!

Reese's Purple Zebra 3rd Birthday Party

Reese's 3rd birthday party was WILD! We had 16 little zebras running around :) We couldn't have asked for a better turn out! It was chilly out but no one seemed to care ;) Enjoy the pictures!!! (details at bottom)

Calling All Purple Zebras!!

The Dessert Buffet

Purple Sprinkles Cake

Purple Zebra Cake with Cake Glaze

Cupcake Towers

Candied Popcorn, Pretzels, & M&Ms

I need to say THANK YOU to Aunt Ashley for doing a fabulous job making this:

Pin The Tail On The Zebra

Glue the Stripes on the Zebra

Z is for Zebra Coloring Station

Purple Zebra Ball Pit

Favors: Mini Pinatas To-Go

The girls got bracelets made by my sister

Party Like An Animal! Zebra Mask Favors

The Birthday Girl (notice the purple nails)!

Mason, Reese & Emma

Mason

Elise & Sarah

Mason, Emma, Reese & "Banana"

Reese Coloring Her Purple Zebra with "Banana"

The Sweatman Men

Pin the tail on the zebra was a lot of fun!

Sarah was the winner (prize: zebra coloring book)

What's a Party without a Pinata?!

Josh gave the pinata a beating!

Elise used a one handed technique :)

Sarah got after it!

"Banana" loosened it up!

Zachary created a weak spot!

Ezekiel almost busted it!

Shae got the candy flying!

Papa & Aunt Ashley

Our Long Distance Travelers: Papa, Uncle Nathan & Shae

Kasi & Mason

Singing Happy Birthday got a bit overwhelming for this little zebra:

Recruiting help to blow out the candles

Purple Rainbow Cake with Sprinkles

Purple Zebra Cake

Since Reese didn't want to wear her party hat, Uncle Kenneth decided to be a champ!

Our Littlest Zebra had some good babysitters while Mommy & Daddy were focused on Reese:

Scarlett & Great Grandma

Scarlett & Meme

Scarlett & Nana

Scarlett & Uncle Nathan

Scarlett & Papa

Scarlett & Aunt Ashley & Future Uncle Victor

Emma

Wiped Out!

THANK YOU to each and every "zebra" who helped Reese celebrate turning THREE!!!  I wasn't able to capture pictures of every zebra but we know who you are ;) We couldn't have had such a wonderful party without you!

Details:

Zebra Ballons/Candles/Plates/Napkins: Hobby Lobby

Zebra Party Hat: made by me (zebra felt, stiff Pellon, and a purple boa)

Purple Zebra Tissue Poms: made by me (tutorial)

Purple Sprinkles Cake: made by me using Funfetti cake mix, Regal Purple Gel Food Coloring, homemade buttercream icing & Lavender nonpareil sprinkles (inspiration)

Purple Zebra Cake: made by me using this recipe & I added a cake glaze since it tasted a little plain without

Birthday Girl Shirt: Etsy

Littlest Zebra Outfit: Walmart

Mini Pinatas To Go: made by me

Treat Cones: made by me (tutorial)

Zebra Masks: made by me (image printed on cardstock and modge podged to foam)

Pin the Tail: made by my sister freehand using felt

Zebra Coloring Pages: here

Glue the Stripes: here

Zebra Ball Pit: is a zebra pool we already had from Target

Purple Zebra Pinata: made by me (tutorial)