Molly Monkey

Our good friends Jill and Terry have a 5 year old daughter named Justine. We just love Justine. She is so cute and never ceases to make us laugh. Last weekend was no exception. They came over for pizza and a movie and Justine found a raggedy doll I made for Charlotte a few months ago. It turned out just awful. I didn't follow a pattern and was trying to figure things out as I went and it just continued to get worse as I realized it wasn't going to turn out. [By the way, I thought I had a picture of it but I can't seem to find it. When I get back to Bahrain I'll take a picture so you can see how bad it turned out!] After I made the doll, I went ahead and gave it to Charlotte thinking maybe she'd love and adore it regardless of how it looked. Nah. Charlotte held it for about two seconds and then threw it on the ground. She's never looked back. I threw it in her toy box anyway hoping maybe she'd change her mind someday. Well, Justine found it last weekend and just adored it. She held it the whole night and I could tell how much she liked it, so I asked her if she wanted me to make her one. Her whole face lit up and she said, "Oh, yes! I would love that!" So we made a little deal that I would make her a doll and she would draw me a picture. Well, I didn't exactly make her a raggedy doll. Instead, I followed a free pattern from http://mmmcrafts.blogspot.com and made her a Molly Monkey. I love how it turned out and I hope Justine is happy with this instead of the raggedy doll she fell in love with! I've been wanting to make one for awhile and our little deal gave me a perfect opportunity. I'm thinking I may be making a few of these for Christmas gifts this year....

Qatar

I'm writing this post from the Marriott in Qatar! Chris had to attend a conference so Charlotte and I thought we'd tag along and enjoy the awesome hotel and amenities! We are having a great time and Chris is trying to sneak away as much as possible to enjoy the warm weather, pool, and beach along with us!

And funny enough, on our way to breakfast this morning, a black man in front of the lounge said "You are welcome". The accent and phrase was so familiar and I immediately asked, "Are you Nigerian?" He looked surprised and said, "Yes, I am." I told him we lived there for two years. We ended up talking for awhile and I found out his name was Jubilee (a very Nigerian name) and he was telling me about how he ended up in Qatar (a work visa for 3 years). He asked if Charlotte was born in Nigeria and I told him she was conceived there and then continued to say "The land is green", which was a phrase we heard every time someone found out they were pregnant or had a baby. Haha...as much as I hate Nigeria, I can honestly say that it was fun to chat with Jubilee.

Here's some pictures from our day:

Our Day

Today, Charlotte and I went to the health unit so Charlotte could get her polio vaccine and then we stayed to have lunch with Chris (mac 'n cheese...mmmm!). I'm glad it was only one shot today. In the past, she's gotten as many as 5, which I personally think is too much at once. She still cried a bit but not the heart wrenching sobs that 5 shots bring. She also got a tiny stuffed pig from the nurse, which help coax some smiles! She weighed in today at 26 lbs and is right at 80cm long (31 1/2"). I guess we'll have to bust out the 24 month clothing soon.


So Charlotte got a shot today, but what did Mommy get? Cotton candy!! We got a box today from my mother-in-law and in it was fabric we bought at JoAnn's in August. Behold the beautiful 100% cotton fabric (hence cotton candy) that I can't wait to get my hands onto and sew some cute dresses for Charlotte:

Daddy Said We Needed More Pants!

I've been sewing like crazy since I got back to Bahrain. Some dear friends are preggo so I've been trying to sew a few things for their impending arrivals. I promise that I'll make a blog about those things but not until after they've received their gifts. Although this post may give my friends a hint of what's to come.

Anyway...around the same time I was sewing some cute little curdoroy pants for the babies, Chris mentioned that Charlotte needed more pants to crawl around in. [side note: yes, Charlotte's walking, and quite well in fact, but she still likes to crawl.] So after Chris asked for more pants, I decided to take a break from sewing for my friends and I sewed a few pairs of pants for Charlotte. I really love these little pants and I hope my friends will, too. It was a very easy pattern and I love how they fit on Charlotte.

I modified the pattern by adding these leg cuffs and pockets. Can I just say that I love this tomboy look on her?

I also added these back pockets that were not on the original pattern.

These were once sweatpants of mine that I decided I no longer wanted. I repurposed them into pants for Charlotte using the original drawstring waist band. I'm sorry I didn't get a close up of that, but they turned out pretty good.

Relaxing on her Boppy.

I've had this pink corduroy print for awhile and wasn't sure what to use it for. I'm happy with how the pants turned out. I think they're cute with the plain green top.

Hmmm...what to read...what to read....

OK, so the pattern I used was Simplicity 3511:


One thing I hate about patterns is that they're seldom straightforward about sizing. Instead of being 12 mths, 18 mths, 2T, etc., they're just plain confusing and you have to guess what size it really is. The size I made is 1/2 and they say the measurements are for babies with a 19" chest, 19" waist, and an approxiamate height of 28". So I'm guessing it's supposed to be around 12-18 months, but Charlotte is almost in 24 month clothing and these pants are a bit big for her around the waist and a few inches too long. I guess this isn't a bad thing since she has room to grow and will be able to wear them longer. I'm still trying to get used to pattern sizing. I made a birthday dress for Charlotte from this pattern and I know she's going to be swimming in it on her birthday. Maybe she'll get to wear it next year, too! Ha!

Learning To Eat With A Spoon

Today we decided to try and teach Charlotte how to eat with a spoon. She did better than we thought she would, and it helped that we loaded the spoon and just had her pick it up. We did that because she wasn't figuring out how to "scoop" things onto her spoon. We've also been trying to figure out if she's a lefty or righty. We're leaning towards lefty, but it may be too soon to tell. You can let us know what you think after watching this video, which reminds me of something: I fixed the comment section so that anyone can comment whether or not you have a blogger account. I guess there was issues with that before. Enjoy the video!

Tissues

Here's what I caught Charlotte getting into tonight. At first glance, you just want to say, "No, ma'am!", but then you're reminded that sometimes you just have to laugh at your kids and their innocence. Oh the things they're amused by!

11 Months

Charlotte turned 11 months old yesterday. It's a little hard to believe that in just one month, she'll be a year old. As you may have seen in a post a few days ago, Charlotte took her first steps. Since then, she's been trying to walk everywhere. She can only go a few steps before losing her balance and taking a tumble, but she is so resilient and brave. She always gets right back up and tries again. Every time she takes a few steps, Chris and I always clap and say, "Yay!!" enthusiastically. Charlotte LOVES this and will start laughing and clapping along with us. She loves it so much that whenever she tumbles (even if it's just after one or two steps), she starts clapping and looking for us to clap with her. She's hilarious and is definitely a ham. She's always trying to make us laugh and is very successful at doing it!

Charlotte is entirely on table food now. This is really nice since I don't have to make baby food anymore and we can eat as a family at the dinner table every night. We're still trying to teach her that she can't drop her sippy cup, food, or plate from her high chair. She is getting much better with this, but every once in awhile she tests her boundaries...like this morning. It was not a good morning. Charlotte started by dropping her bottle from the high chair. I said "No, ma'am" firmly, and then as soon as I turned around, she proceeded to drop her plate. I usually put her food on a plastic kid plate, but this morning I kept it on a small Corelle plate I used to heat up her food instead of transferring it to a plastic plate like I usually would. Well guess what? The plate shattered everywhere. Mommy was not very happy with Charlotte's heart and her unwillingness to obey the first time, so she got in trouble. She didn't attempt to do the same thing at lunch, so I'd like to believe we're making progress on the obedience front. Some days you feel like you've taken two steps back (like this morning), but since being back from vacation, we really have noticed a huge difference in her. It was hard to discipline consistently on vacation since we were out of a routine and around so many family members and friends, but I know that being home, being back into a routine (with regular naps), and getting disciplined consistently is making all the difference.

Here's three pictures that I took a day shy of her 11 month birthday:


I love spaghetti...Mmmmm!!


I love it so much that it's all over my face!


I'm tough, doggie (blankie) and all. Don't mess with me!


And here's the 11 month pictures I took yesterday. As is becoming usual, Charlotte didn't want to cooperate. I wanted to get some of her standing, but she wasn't in the mood. Oh well. Maybe next month. And in case you're wondering, the adorable outfit she's wearing is something my mom made.

Getting Older

The other night when I was getting ready for bed, I noticed something white in my hair. It wasn't baby powder or lint. It was an actual hair...a gray hair. I immediately plucked it out in horror and then looked to see if there were any more. Two. Three. Four. Five. I quit counting at five. I didn't think you were supposed to get gray hair until much later in life. I'm only 27! I know there are some unfortunate people who get them in high school but I wasn't one of them so I thought I had years to go before seeing my first one. And who knows how long they've been there! It's only been a short time since I've been back to my natural color. What a sad night and sign that I'm not getting any younger. Solomon compares wisdom to gray hair, but it could also be stress...or just getting older. I'll go with Solomon on the wisdom thing. :-)