April Sh☼wers...

...Bring May fl♣wers

Some good friends threw me a baby shower last week. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised that anyone would even consider throwing you a shower when you already have 2 kids of both genders. And besides the food (ice cream sundaes and fruit) and company, I couldn't have asked for more!

Here are some of the nice gifts we received (below)...We also got a whole bag of gently used winter clothes for Kalei. Since we lived in Hawaii till Keira was 8 months old, I didn't have any winter clothing that'll fit Kalei when the next Siberian Experience hits this year. Some of the best baby shower gifts are those intended for mom. Brianna (red shirt) gave me Finding Faith and Having Hope, two LDS novels her mom has written that I've been itching to read...for those "me times" I'll need once we're in newborn mode around here. Needless to say, I've already started reading and can't put it down.

Making Room For Baby
So I spent one Saturday going through our storage and taking out Keira's old newborn stuff. There was lots to go through, but it was so fun looking back with Ryan on when she wore this or that.
For now, Baby Kalei gets 2 feet of the lower left corner of the kids' closet:

Tiny Togs

Of course I've been sewing things for Baby Kalei the past few months when I could. Did I mention that I love newborn clothes?

This onepiece was patterned after a Gymboree onepiece we already have (below). The knit fabric is from a Hanes womens shirt I found at WalMart for $1. The solid green binding is simply the reverse side of the fabric. Pink buttons woulda looked so much cuter for Miss Baby, but I'm planning on more kids someday, so maybe a future baby boy can wear it too. I used velcro behind those green buttons for ease of removal.

A balloon onesie made of thin cotton lawn...Instead of buttons, I made two button holes and threaded the fabric through to make bows. And instead of snaps at the crotch I used velcro...we'll see how well the velcro holds up.

This is one of my favorite things I've made for Baby. I found this pale pink rib knit at WalMart for like $2/yard (I think I only used half a yard). The lace trim is actually the stuff they use to make baby headbands.

Patchwork blanket. I received most of these 4"x4" pieces as a free gift when I ordered some fabric a while ago. The pale pink border is from an As-Is Ikea sheet ($1.99). That plush pink backing is actually pretty hard to sew with, it's so thick, it tends to bunch. I didn't tack the top to the back since the fleece backing sticks pretty well. It's so soft, I almost want to to use the blanket for myself.

Handpainted by Mom...yes, I need an art class, but it's always fun to play with paint.