Beach Vacation

We just got back from vacation. One whole week in a a beautiful, ocean view, beach house in Carlsbad.  It was so lovely and a much needed time away as a family.  Last year,  I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Joy and because of the high risk situations we were not able to join Josh's family on their annual trip.  So, this year,  we were definitely ready for a vacation on the beach.

Joy LOVED the beach.   All she did was play in the sand and smile.

Naps were rare.
d
She ALMOST ate a sandcrab.  Almost.


She did have some rough moments. Finger sucking at the beach is not good.

Claire also loved the beach and spent all day running, and jumping in the waves.
 


 She loves playing Grandpa and Grandma.
 
She also enjoyed looking for sand crabs - which is my favorite thing to do at the beach.
A little time was spent drawing and writing in the sand,
a few sand wars were started.

 We had a lot of family time.
 






And Josh and I enjoyed watching the sisters play and love each other.

   

 

 

 

 It was a special and fun filled week. Now, we must re-adjust to reality.

Carseat Cooler Tutorial

I am quite flattered by the response that my carseat cooler received after someone pinned it to Pinterest.
My blog had more views in one day than in its lifetime!  After many kind encouragements in the comment section, I thought. "Maybe I will try and sell them."  I had to make a new one for Claire since it vanished from the church freezer after VBS and Joy needed one as well.  I made Claire's exactly the same as in my previous post, just a plain rectangle. But Joy's carseat was shaped differently at the top so I made her's in a different shape.  After making these two, it became very clear that I will NOT be making these to sell.  What a pain!  A couple here and there is fine but I definitely don't have the time or patience to mass produce them.  I decided to put together a tutorial for anyone who was interested in them.

This my first tutorial so....yeah.  and I'm not a photographer.

First, you will need to look at your carseat, figure out how long and wide it needs to be.  In my experience, the fabric should be 10.5 inches wide and 25.5 inches long.  Once you have the right size and shape to fit our seat, cut 2 pieces of your decorative fabric, 1 piece of the thermal fabric. (I used an old felty blanket for Claire's and a bassinet mattress pad for Joy's.  Any thick fabric that will keep the ice blocks insulted will do.) And 1 piece of knit fabric.



Next, sandwich the the thermal layer between the decorative pieces so the right sides off the decorative print are facing out.

Likes so.

Pin well and baste all 3 layers together around the outside edges.

Then, attach bias tape to one edge of the print cover and one edge of the knit.  This will be the side that open up to slide in the ice blocks.

Then sew the two pieces together around the 3 sides that don't have bias tape to make a pocket

Next, you will need to get a ruler and measure out sections to hold the ice blocks.  If you use the blocks that I recommend then each pocket needs to be exactly 4.25 inches.  Any more and the blocks with slide out too easily, any less and you will never get the blocks in.

Make your line 4.25 inches away from your sewn edge.  From that line measue .25 inch and make a buffer line. 

Then use that line to measure your next 4.25 space. The quarter inch space allows the blocks to fit better and give the seat cooler an overall better appearance.

After you make 2 spaces on the bottom half or foot of the cooler, then , go to the top or head of the cooler to mark your other 3.  The little space it creates is about 2 inches is right about where the cooler will bend to "sit" in the carseat.

You are almost done!  Now just sew along your lines to create the pockets for the ice blocks. 

Lastly, sew the bias tape all along the outside or the cooler to finish it off.

You are done! Insert your ice blocks!

(The plain rectangle version)

Roll it up and stick it in your freezer. 

On days that we have a lot of errands to run, I put the coolers in an isulated igloo bag so they stay cool while we are driving. When we arrive at our destination, I throw them on the seats so the girls will be welcomed back to the car with cold, refreshing seats.  My coolers stay cold for a good 6 hours, and that's in the Arizona heat!

Good luck!

VBS Shirt Make-over.

Claire was SO excited for VBS this year.  A whole week of class with her friends, games, stories, snacks, dancing and singing..... every 4-year old's dream... well, at least Claire's dream anyway.

 

When she saw that Josh and I had our official Amazing Wonders Aviation t-shirts on she wanted one too.  Unfortunately, she was swimming in the child's small but I figured I could make it work and got it anyway.  

Never promise a 4 year-old that you will fix their shirt for them "by tomorrow" unless you really have the time to.   The next morning I got up a 6am (we had to be at church by 8am) and started on the shirt. Joy woke up shortly after and I let her destroy my sewing drawer so she could keep busy while I worked. 

I decided to go with the famous Warhol Dress pattern by Dana over at Made.  I tried making it a few years ago but Claire was too small so it just didn't turn out right.  

This time it came out just right!

Ready for take off!

 

 I was thrilled with the results and so was Claire!  

I plan on refashioning many more VBS and camp t-shirts in the future.

Walkabout

Our little Joybug is officially walking!  She started "stepping" about a month ago but I don't consider it walking until they choose walking over crawling as their main mode of transportation.   

Here she is showing off her skills at 10.5 months old and 15.5 lbs!

Miracles Never Cease

We have been swimming. 


A lot.



Remember that I had previously mentioned that we put Claire in the City of Phoenix swim class?  Well, it was fantastic for her!

After I signed her up I knew they would not let her stay in the class because of her extreme anxiety and would label her as "unteachable", so I began seriously working with her on getting used to getting her face wet.  After repeated dunking, screaming, crying, shaking and choking, I realized the root of the problem was that she didn't know how to hold her breath.  Everytime she went under, her mouth and eyes opened wider than anyone would think possible and she would inhale water. 

I had her practice holding her breath in the tub and in our little pool in our backyard.  I had to physically force her head in the water and I would count to 3 and then let her up.  She eventually figured it out.  ( I was unaware that this is something that had to be taught but that's Claire for you)

 

A few days later, we went to a graduation party and the people had a spa attached to the pool.  Claire thought it was a pool "for little girls" and was very confident in it.  All of a sudden she said "Watch this Mama!", held her breathe and went completely underwater.  I almost fainted!  I was so proud and surprised!  She kept doing it and decided it was fun but was still nervous.  The following day was her first swim class and I was so anxious to see how she would do.  She did great! 



Still a little apprehensive but amazingly willing to try new things.  She was so proud of herself and kept commenting on how brave she was. 

She even went down the big slide all by herself the first day but after experiencing how turbulent the water was at the bottom she opted to ride with the teacher the next time.
 

Last week we went to a public pool with my mom and there was a little boy there who was 8 years old.  She kept telling him to "watch this!"  She would pop under water for a brief second and then pop back up.  He was unimpressed and would say "Watch THIS" and dive underwater to get a dive toy and swim a few feet under water.  Peer pressure can be a wonderful thing.  She tried swimming underwater and grew more confident in her abilites.  By the end of the day she was jumping off the side of the pool into the shallow water and would ride on my back and we would go underwater together for a short distance.

The real miracle came when my mom bought her a swim mask that covers her eyes and nose.  She immediately loved it and started swimming underwater.  We were blown away! It was a sight I thought we would never see. She has been practicing and practicing and yesterday she made her greatest accomplishment.  Watch this!  (the pool is 8 feet deep and she knows it)



No floaties, no ring, no screaming or crying.  She can officially swim!  She will not drown if she falls in a pool!  I am so extremely proud of her!  It is so much more fun to swim now.  "I can go everywhere!"  She exclaimed. 

She is currently working in doing a flip in the water and doing fancy jumps off the diving board! She even tried diving last night but each try resulted in a face/belly flop. 

All she wants to do now is swim, we spend a couple of hours each morning and a couple of hours each evening in the pool.

What a transformation!   We are so proud of our new little fish!

Driveway Race

I hate when I go for weeks without blogging.  As always it's because we've been busy.  Claire's birthday celebrations, swim class, and VBS all kept me going from one thing to the next. Josh left for kids camp last Sunday so we (the girls and I).  Went to my parents' house for the week. We've had a great time!  It is so nice to have outside space to play.

A few days ago, Joy had her first ride in the Little Tikes coupe.

It was a tight squeeze for both of them in there so Claire got on her scooter,

 and we pulled the car with a rope.

 You can see the excitment and glee on her little face.

 This video is very long  but I don't have the time or patience to

edit it so watch it for as long as you can stand.

 That went on for quite awhile and Joy eventually got tired and wanted out.

She started pushing the car all over the driveway and street. 

 We all jumped in the pool afterward; both girls were beet red! 

It was a fun and precious evening!