June 3-10

I have a big scary sewing machine foot called a ruffler foot that I used for the first time ever this week.  It's supposed to make a nice even ruffle AND attach it to other material at the same time.  How exciting!  I decided to test it on the curtain I was making to cover the crawl space in the basement.  Since it was my first attempt (and only a basement curtain), I decided not to get too fancy: I would simply make ruffles in my existing material without bothering to attach the ruffle to other fabric as well.  After reading the back of the package three times and consulting a sewing machine accessory book, I finally figured out how to attach the foot to my machine, fed some fabric in, and... no ruffles.  Something is wrong.  Enter the internet.  Google is wonderful, and directed me to a site where I discovered that I had to hook part of the foot over the needle shank so that it can properly count stitches.  Of course.  That done, I tried again, but immediately stopped because I couldn't actually figure out where I was supposed to be feeding the fabric.  How hard can it be?  You try it.  There are at least three plausible choices.  Anyway, Google to the rescue again.  This time I found a youtube video where someone demonstrated how to shove the material in at the back and thread it through the prongs at the front and voila.  Ruffles.  Not so hard, I thought.  So I left the video up, just in case, shoved my material in at the back, threaded it through the prongs at the front, and tentatively pressed the foot pedal.  Lo and behold, there were loud noises, and I was getting ruffles!  I was so excited that I stopped immediately and went to get Bryan so that he could witness this marvel.  After ruffling the curtain, I put hooks up downstairs, attached grommets at appropriate intervals (good thing I bought two packs, because I ruined about every third grommet), cut out a hole for the large square metal thing on our basement ceiling, and hung the curtain.  And that is the story of how the basement curtain came to be.  :)  Pictures of the curtain and Bryan's bumper pool table after the break.

Okay, now that you've read my curtain story, here's the Olivia update:

Now proficient at standing, sitting, walking along furniture (parents, walls, baskets, etc.), crawling, and spinning in circles while seated, Olivia is a force to be reckoned with.  This precocious young lady is into anything and everything, especially the things she's supposed to stay away from, such as mom's library books or the box that hides all the computer cords.  Stubborn as her mother, she doesn't take "no" for an answer and is quick to tears at the thought that she might be denied access to something.  Ever mindful of her audience, she is also quick to stop the tears and smile endearingly up at her parents, especially if she thinks she might gain something by such actions.  She enjoys exploring the house during the day and playing with Daddy when he comes home from work in the evening.

Olivia has toys.  I promise.  You'd never know it if you watched her moving around the house, though.  Her "toys" of choice -- that is, the ones that she holds on to and doesn't immediately discard and is reluctant to relinquish -- have thus far in her life been an odd, but rather ordinary assortment.  A cup.  My old cell phone with the battery removed (to keep her from throwing my current cell phone and/or calling China -- although she DID try to text Danielle once while I was on the phone with Justine, and that could have been fun).  Her toy box.  No, not the toys, just the box.  And, most recently, one of her wipes.  For clarification purposes, it should be noted that we use cloth wipes, so she's not carrying around a WetOne, just a square of material that is essentially a baby washcloth.  She even took it to bed with her the other night.  The good thing about the wipe is that we have about three dozen and only three different colors, so when the green one she's using gets dirty I can just fish out another green one to give her and she's none the wiser.

Little girl dresses are short.  For some reason, manufacturers think that a dress should just barely clear the butt of a baby.  And when you have a tall baby, that's even shorter.  So Olivia's 12 month dresses fit perfectly except that she has an 18 month t-shirt that's longer.  Don't get me wrong, she IS pretty cute with her little cloth diapered butt sticking out the bottom of her dress, especially if I'm on top of things and manage to color coordinate somewhat.  But I thought perhaps she should have something longer for church. Enter the 10-minute Onesie Dress.  It took me half an hour, but that's because a certain little girl woke up from her nap when I was three minutes in.  I just used some leftover fabric that, coincidentally, matches my kitchen curtains.  Okay, not coincidentally.  It is my kitchen curtain material.  I had extra, and it's cute.  Of course, this led me to channel Captain Von Trapp and proclaim, "Do you mean to tell me that my children have been roaming about Salzburg dressed up in nothing but some old drapes?"  Why yes, yes they have.  And they look cute in those drapes.  :)

We have a sheer curtain that separates one side of our house from the other.  When I carry Olivia through the curtain, we go THROUGH the curtain.  I usually don't bother moving it to one side.  When she's on her own, though, the curtain must be moved before she can get through the doorway.  I find it amusing to sit on one side and watch her concerted efforts to move the curtain out of her way (after she finishes using it for peek-a-boo, of course).

Naptime has gotten more interesting, because sometimes Olivia is content to sit quietly in her crib and play after waking up.  And sometimes she is upset about being down for a nap, and plays for a bit out of protest before falling asleep.  Unfortunately, there is little to do in a crib.  Ever the improviser, Olivia has managed to find a few things to keep her busy.  For instance, here is what her room normally looks like:

And here is her room after a nap:

Note the completely unrepentant look on her face (also the burp cloths in the crib with her):

 And, lest you think that she only causes havoc when already behind bars:

We've used room darkening curtains in Olivia's room ever since we discovered that she slept better in the dark.  Now that she can move the curtain, however (see above picture), she's caught on to our plot.  Wednesday night I went in to check on her after putting her down for bed and saw her standing up.  That in and of itself is not unusual, as she is often standing up in bed.  Typically she's standing in the corner closest to the door, though, so as to better position herself for rescue.  On Wednesday, she was standing over by the window, holding the curtain open and crying at the daylight.  :(

Also this week: On Friday, Olivia cut BOTH top middle teeth!  No wonder she was cranky Thursday night.

Pictures and Video:

Olivia Conquers the Curtain

At Oma and Opa's:

In her dress:

Playing peek-a-boo with Daddy's shirt:

The basement:

And a game:

50 points to the first person to correctly identify what is wrong with this car .