We now have an almost (1 week!) 4yo (very silly) boy:

And his very close to 2yo sister:

They do keep me busy! But, a nice new simple blog interface might help me catch up again here. I hope so!

I’ve known Austin since he was a tiny little furball puppy- he’s actually nephew to our Elwood- and the genetic link is obvious, as they are both total weirdos.

George was a rescue pup- but, seriously- who WOULDN’T love this dog? He is such a spunky little guy- so sweet and 99% good (which is pretty much 98% more than most dachshunds). We keep trying to trade a few of ours for him… but, his mama is too smart to let that happen.

And while we all enjoyed having them (and especially Kate ), I’m pretty sure our old fart dogs were exhausted just from watching them run around. It’s never more apparent that Geisha, Jake, Woody, Lynx and Leo aren’t puppies anymore- than when we have young dogs in the house!

Phew. Until next time, boys! I’ll work on my throwing arm.

On his sister’s birthday- it got even longer before we made it to a haircut. I love it longer, but, it’s SO thick, so it’s much easier to take care of when it’s shorter.

And last week, post haircut, wearing one of those funny faces he likes to make for the camera and his “special hat” from his Thanksgiving feast at school.

Anyway, I’m slogging through the pictures I’ve taken over the past couple months- and sometimes last month I finally photographed a bunch of things I’d made. This goes back quite a ways, though- and my brain is on strike- so, don’t expect many details.

Little kimono top from a really good tutorial.

Another little dress from Sandi Henderson’s Claire pattern- one of my favorites for little girls.

This was a quick little peasant dress from a- maybe Simplicity?- pattern.

Minky and ruffly diaper covers- really quick projects, especially wish a serger (instead of making casings, just serge the elastic to the waist and legs, fold over and stitch in place).

This one is pretty recent- Sienna pattern form LilBlueBoo. REALLY quick project- made from an old skirt and an old tank top. Took about an hour from start to finish. I’ve made a few more that haven’t been photographed yet and have a bunch more to make- they’re so cute and comfy for her!

This is months old- not even sure it fits her anymore! But, a really quick project and I love that it’s completely reversible.

A little sweater that’s not quite finished, but, maybe as finished as it ever will be. It was my first time dying wool- and I loved it!

And finally, some recently dyed yarn- I love how it looks together and can’t wait to see how it knits up!

Phew.

She ended up with a stomach bug that lasted almost a full week- it sucked! What a crappy birthday present life handed her. But, she’s back to her normal darling self again, and we did eventually get to take her smash cake pictures.

I’ll have more soon- I’m still recovering from a lack of sleep last week, I think!

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Gabe’s first day at school was Wednesday, and woah. This was the “before” picture in which he looked the *least* freaked out. He looked so tiny and nervous- so cute! He didn’t cry, though- and broke my heart a little by walking away with his director without even a glance back at me!

And after preschool! They have all the kids in the yard when pick-up time comes around for the part-timers, and when I pulled up, Gabe was busy hopping off the slightly raised pathway into the sand with some of the other boys. They all ran up to the gate shouting “A mommy or daddy is here!” SO cute.

Thursday started a little tough. His dad did the drop-off, and it was going fine… until one of the other newbies arrived. Sobbing. Gabe joined him. And his dad had to give him a big hug and hand him over. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m glad it wasn’t me!

When I got there at p/u time, I was a little more stealthy and just sat and watched him for a minute- he sure wasn’t scarred from his rough start. He was spinning around on the huge tire swing with two of the girls from his class- laughing his little butt off. His directress let me know that he’d stopped crying after just a few minutes that morning, and had had another great day!

Friday started out fine- no tears! And he was a little annoyed with me when I came to get him this time- he REALLY loves that tire swing and didn’t want to stop!

We are just thrilled with his preschool and the staff. He has some of the cutest classmates, too. He’s talked about drawing lines with pencils, snack-time, playing in the sandbox, pouring water (a typical Montessori exercise) and the bunnies and chickens. He’s obviously been working on letters this week, too- he pointed to a P and a B and called them “pah P” and “bah B” when I was reading his bedtime stories to him. How very Montessori of him!

I wish I could be a fly on the wall there one day and see how his day goes without him knowing I’m watching!

Unfortunately, Gabe has brought home his first preschool cold, too. There are so many great things about his new experiences that we’ll just have to forgive this one negative aspect of being around so many other kids. But, boo- poor kiddo.

And it fits MUCH better than the size M does (though I’m sure she’ll grow into the first one). She is absolutely fascinated by the big buttons, though- so, if I make this again, I might just stitch the shoulders together- it slips over her head, anyway. Those are the bloomers included in the pattern, by the way- I like the pattern for them a lot.

Now there’s need for a shirt AND some pants! Good thing her brother knows how to open closet doors.

Uh- oh. Shirts and shorts are in the dressers, not Gwen’s closet! (Note the THREE GARBAGE BAGS FULL of outgrown clothes from Aunt Kelly and Sophie- and there’s more!!!) And yes, Gabe has been in underpants for several months now- I haven’t bragged about that yet!

And here’s a little peasant dress I made from Portabello Pixie’s Claire pattern a while back. Finally got around to photographing it! The pettiskirt actually looks really fun under it- it makes it poof out and the pink ruffles peak out of the bottom! I’ll have to get a shot of that one day!