One of my "New Year's Resolutions" this year was to try and spend more time thinking about and perhaps making gifts for friends and family. You may remember when I was pregnant with Jacob I felt this incredible need to knit. While looking at knitting sites (I'm so lame, aren't I?) I read a comment that said when you create something yourself there's a little love that goes into each stitch. This stuck with me and so I've been attempting to gift people with mainly handmade items this year. The girls and I started the year by making a scarf for cousin Betsy's birthday and for Trish's baby shower we gave her some handmade bibs. Granted the bibs were made previously but I didn't finish them up until now. For Valentine's Day I wanted to do something special for the kids and so I spent the last week working on their gifts. I spent a lot of time cursing over stitches and pattern directions and a lot of time saying, "Okay, you guys win...I give up." Everyone in the house seemed to be content until I sat down to sew and then all Hades would break loose. Someone needed milk or a diaper change or a ladybug or paint or a snack. So, it took me the entire week but I finally finished. I arranged the items on Friday so the girls could find their gifts when they came downstairs from their naps. They had seen me working on the items and so it wasn't as if they were going to be totally surprised. Still, however, I was expecting a little excitement. Anna finally woke up and came down. She stood right by the table while I was strapping Jacob into his carseat and didn't say a word. I pointed to the table and asked, "Honey, did you see that?" She responded, "Yes, what about it?" I said, "There are your gifts. " She said, "Okay." and walked away. I was crestfallen. Later in the evening, however, she asked if she could have her presents. She and Lauren grabbed their "Hugging Hearts" and brought them into the living room for family night. I felt much better as the evening progressed because they did genuinely seem to like them and they even gave them names. Anna's heart is now called "Velvet". Lauren named hers "Spit". Here are a few pics of the kids and their gifts. I made aprons and hearts for the girls. Jacob also got a heart as well as a handmade bib and rocket. I'm still working on his little "astronaut" to go inside the rocket.
Jacob thought the heart and rocket were pretty decent...
...but he thought the bib made him look like a girl.
A little something for the grown-ups. Unfortunately, a little non-alcoholic something since I'm nursing...but still fun!
Do you like surprises? I do...especially when they're nice ones. I stopped by my friend Julie's house yesterday to drop off some pins for a project she's working on. When I got there she handed me the most beautiful vase with the most beautiful flowers. She's been such a good friend to us and I don't want to see her move to MS next week. :( I pulled the camera out to take a few pictures of the arrangement and couldn't stop shooting. I thought I'd share a few so you can enjoy the flowers as well!
