More Sewing

I spent some time last week working on the bedding for the baby's crib. I'm still not completely finished - I want to make some curtains for the room, sheets for Boden's toddler bed and a few other little things, but I've got the big stuff out of the way.

Before:


During:


(I could entertain Boden for hours just putting pins in the pin cushion!)

After:

And now it matches Boden's toddler bed with the quilt I made this summer:


And here's one of the new bookshelves we got at IKEA - Boden loves it, he can take the books on and off all by himself...and he does...mostly during naptime :) (notice how it's a bit of a disaster right now)

my new baby carrier

I've been wanting one of these mei tai carriers since I had Boden, but never could bring myself to spend the $80-$100 for one, or decide on what color/print I wanted. This time I decided to make my own - I found a basic mei tai pattern online and adapted it to fit my size and made some adjustments to make it more what I wanted. I'm so excited and can't wait to use it with our little girl in just a few months!

I made it so I could change out the panels - so far I've only made 2 panels but I'm sure I'll be making many more. I get bored of prints easily. (Which is why its hard to decorate my house...about a month after I get done I'm ready to do something different.)

Since I currently look like this:

(no, Michael was not standing on the couch to take this photo - he's just that much taller than me!)

...and don't yet have a baby to put in the carrier to model it for you (I thought about trying it out with Boden, but I think he's a little big), so here's a couple photos from the babyhawk website of this type of carrier:

So, it should look something like that...I hope. And the bonus is that i didn't have to settle on just one print, and it didn't cost me anywhere near $80.

I've actually been doing a lot of sewing lately. I made a new nursing cover for myself out of the same polka dot fabric I used for one of the carrier panels, made a nursing cover for a friend who just had a baby, and I'm working on finishing up the rest of the bedding for the crib. Every time I go to the fabric store I find more fabric that I love and want to use to make something - I just need about 10 more hours in a day and I could do it all! :)

What have the Brueseke's been up to?

This is gonna be a long one! August was a busy month for us. We're happy to be moved in and getting more and more settled into our house each day. A few weeks ago, Michael and I made the trek to Chicago to go to IKEA and get "a few" things for the new house.

I had so much fun and could have stayed there and shopped for days. Luckily for Michael we were on a time schedule and didn't get to just browse. We were on a mission. Not that we could have fit anything else in the Durango anyway :). We made a quick stop at the Crate & Barrell outlet while there too (another place I could have spent and entire day!) and found a great rug. We also got to spend a little time with our friends Andy & Kasia and their new puppy while in Chicago.

Here's just one of my many favorite purchases from IKEA (thank you Molly & John for helping me put it together!) This big shelf is going to provide lots of storage for toys, games, books, and who knows what else in the playroom side of our new living room. I can't wait to fill it all up and get organized!

We made it back from Chicago just in time to go to a Cardinals game. Boden LOVES baseball and can sit still and watch it much longer than I can. This game was extra special because Boden finally got to meet Fredbird!!!

We also got to spend some time with out-of-town family this month. Michael's step-sister Lauren came to visit with her little boy, Austin. Austin is 4 months old (well, 5 now) and such a happy baby! Boden loved playing with him and he even helped feed him a bottle.

Boden and I also made a weekend trip to Nebraska to see some of my family. Unfortunately, Boden got a stomach bug while we were there and we didn't get to see everyone we had hoped to. I still got to see some family at my cousin Michelle's wedding shower, and we hung out with my parents and sisters. Before he got sick, Boden helped blow some bubbles with Aunt Caela, help Poppa build a fire in the fire pit, and even played some guitar with Casey.

When Boden was feeling a little better, he found the energy to help water some flowers...in his underwear. (When a little kid has been throwing up on and off you eventually just quit putting clothes on them - it's just easier that way. lol.)

We've also been busy this month playing at the neighborhood playground....


and of course, eating lots of watermelon.

oh, and just 8 MORE WEEKS til our little girl is due to arrive!! Yikes! I go back and forth with being really excited and feeling completely unprepared. This pregnancy has gone by SO fast!

Hope you all are enjoying the tail end of your summer too!