Transformation Tuesday

This was actually my first little hand-me-down makeover I tackled.  While looking through the boys' baby clothes for some reason this 0-3 month baby Gap onesie of Jackson's stuck out to me and I thought the funny doggy could work for a girl too.  Since Jackson was a winter baby and Elle is a late summer baby first thing I did was chopped off the sleeves to make it weather appropriate.  I then decided to just make a little tank out of it and chopped off the legs and hemmed it up.  Lastly I glamed it up a bit with some hand sewn sequins.  I think little miss is going to sparkle in this little get up.

Transformation Tuesday

This week's transformations are for the home.  We've moved a lot in our almost eight years of marriage.  And it seems that every time we move we have a new decorating aesthetic.  Or maybe because this is the first time we've really full out decorated our home exactly how we wanted to.  Either way I had a lot of unused decor sitting in boxes in the shed out back and it dawned on me one day that I should repurpose some of them.  James came to me one day with a DIY idea he wanted to contribute to Elle's nursery.  We gathered all the needed materials except didn't know what he was going to use as the base for the project.  We finally just decided on getting some wood and painting it out.  Then I realized I had lots of unused wood in the form of old signs I had in our last home.  I simply spray painted one of them white and James took the transformation from there.  He taped a cut out of our home state on the board, hammered tiny gold nails all around it and then a heart near the center of the state where we reside in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area.  He then wrapped string around the outer nails, bringing them all together around the center nails.  I think it turned out great and makes a sweet touch to the nursery.  Nothing better than something made with love, especially by Daddy.

 

My second home transformation started with a large sign we used to have on some shelving behind our sofa in our last home.  I hadn't found a place for it in the new house so it sat in a closet.  I had the thought one day to screw some small hooks into it and turn it into a much needed jewelery organizer for my bathroom.

Me and My Boys

I decided last minute that I would really love to do a little maternity photo shoot and absolutely wanted to include my boys.  In my two experiences adding another child to the family I get really sentimental towards the end thinking about how life is going to change for my children as they welcome a new sibling.  While I've been trying hard to soak in this summer with my boys its growing increasingly hard to keep up the energy I need to provide them with the kind of summer I really wanted.  Not to mention my crazy hormones which cause me to lose my patience with them on the daily and often become  frustrated with the daunting task of having to parent them in general.  Luckily my girlfriend was able to capture this moment in time for me and give me something beautiful and positive to look back on once all the guilt-ridden feelings of my shortcomings during this time have faded away.  I just love all the energy in the boys and their faces and actions, which are just so very them.  I love that although I wanted to read one of our big brother books, Jackson insisted on Peek a Who?- a favorite of his for some time now.  I even love the black and white of Ben and I.  There is clearly some frustration on my face as he wasn't a completely willing participant during that point of the shoot.  He's not smiling or looking all that happy in general.  But that's life and that's us.  He's my first born and I now I expect a lot out of him a lot of the time.  We grow frustrated with each other daily.  We can say unkind things to each other and raise our voices at each other.  But we are both quick to ask for forgiveness and offer forgiveness.  We are learning and we are growing, and I am so grateful to be on this journey with him (notice our smiling faces in the last photo of the day).  He made me a momma and he was just the funniest companion ever when Jackson was born; experiencing it all right alongside of me.  I can't wait to see him with his baby sister.  He already glows when he is around his baby cousin, Emma and loves to make her smile, is thrilled when he can get her to stop crying, and loves to teach her anything he can think of (pointing out different body parts to her or listing off as many fruits as he can think of).  Jackson, like his behavior during this photo shoot, is my big unknown.  He spent his time running in between my room and his gathering his books after my friend suggested that we read a book for the photos.  It was a challenge to get him to sit still with me on the bed and show my bump any kind of loving.  But then we had a moment when I was laying on the bed taking solo pictures where he climbed up and snuggled next to me and we had a quiet moment together.  I don't always know what to expect from him but he hugs and kisses my tummy any chance he can get (except for during this shoot of course), and he loves to talk about baby and be in her nursery with me.  Gentleness will be our main struggle but I'm so excited to see my baby boy interact with his baby sister, and both sad and excited to see how he will grow through the experience of becoming a big brother.  I know his smallness and baby-ness is going to instantly be diminished in comparison to the teeny tiny bundle soon to enter our home.  Things are about to change probably more than I am even prepared for, but it's such a thrilling time and I am growing less patient by the day to get this new life started already.  

Transformation Tuesday

I'm including two transformations today since I already failed at my goal of a weekly post last week.  First up is this striped Polo button up romper that I believe actually dates back to Ben's baby days.  The first chop I made was the legs, chopping it off just below the four buttons.  I then added a nice classic lace to the bottom in an off white to go with the classic Polo feeling.  I then chopped off the sleeves and the collar and used a big strip that I cut off from the bottom to create a strap.  This part was tricky for me and didn't end up perfect but I attached the long strap to the top of the dress and sewed in elastic to the front and back to create a gathered effect.  I hope it ends up fitting her right because the top is a bit wonky. 

Next up is a Sweet Peanut long sleeve button up of Jacksons.  I believe it was 6-12 months so I knew I had the length to work with to make an itty bitty dress.  I left the original bottom heam line but just took in the sides about an inch and a half on each side.  Then I chopped off the collar and the sleeves.  I simply added a little elastic to the arms to give them a more feminine touch and there you have it.  A sweet classic dress for zero dollars.  I must admit I'm pretty addicted to this.  It's super rewarding to create something with your own hands, plus the fact that it's much quicker than creating something from scratch, plus it appeals to my frugalness.  Leaves me more money for accessories- shoes and bows are my weaknesses.  

Transformation Tuesday

When I searched through all our baby stuff a while ago, I started to pull things that could also work for baby girl and some other things I thought could work with some tweaking.  So far I have had a fun time transforming some of those items into cute pieces for baby girl.  I thought that I would start a weekly (for a while until my ideas run out) post where I showcase some of my transformations.  First up is a button-down onesie of Jackson's (size 12-18 months).

My first thought was to keep the onesie and the elastic legs and turn it into a romper.  I first cut off the sleeves and the collar and was going to make it into a sleeveless romper.  I wasn't really feeling it, so I kept chopping.  I chopped the elastic legs off and turned it into a shirt.  Then I decided to add some lace trim on the sleeves and I love how it turned out.  I really chopped out a lot of material from the sides to make it much smaller than it's original 12-18 months size so baby girl can wear it while it's still warm after she's born.  It measures around a 0-3 month size now.  I plan on pairing it with these soft chambray bloomers I also made and a large felt bow.  Can't wait to see my girl rocking her new top.

Always an Adventure

Today we ventured to a new park in a nearby town to check out what all the hype was about regarding a giant slide. It did not disappoint but man did it make me nervous. The boys flew down the thing and it was solid cement. They had a good time and went several rounds on it until Ben decided to send Jackson down solo against my wishes and I made us go. They were ready anyway.

The park grounds were so gorgeous and then as we were walking back to our car the most beautiful view of the bay and the city caught our eyes. Then we looked down into the side of the hill and there was a gorgeous rosé garden. The boys made their very pregnant mama walk and climb all around exploring the grounds. We are talking lots and lots of stairs with no hand rails. I'm going to put myself into labor soon if I keep adventuring with my crew like today. Which wouldn't be such a bad thing. I'm ready for this girl.

Just Beachy

We have this amazing beach only about twenty minutes away from our home.  And since James has "hired" Ben to do door-to-door flyers for our business in the city where it's located, we've been frequenting it before we do our job.  The boys have been absolutely loving the beach.  They can seriously dig for hours and I can finally trust Jackson to not just go running for the ocean every few minutes.  It's been surprisingly warm our last couple of visits, so on this particular occasion I was not prepared for them to get in the water, as you'll see as you scroll down.  We happened to find the perfect little pool of water protected from the ocean by a large sandy bank.  It was warm and only about six inches deep so the boys couldn't resist.  I love it because I can sit back in my chair, relax, feel the breeze, and just watch the boys from a distance enjoying themselves.  Life is going to change soon for my little crew and I; just trying to soak in the rest of our summer and create some good memories.  Hoping for several more beachy days before d-day and maybe one more with baby sister in tote before Ben heads off to kindergarten end of next month. : )