Dresses and Swimming

It took quite a while to get Alyssa down for a nap. But since she is napping here goes...

We went swimming (as we do a few times a week since we work at a pool) and Alyssa is quite the ladies man...She had a swim date (or met a friend, who is a boy, at the pool and went swimming as Joe would call it) with her friend Gabriel. Whose mom also used to work at the pool so it is perfect for us to take them swimming!!!

Aren't they just adorable? They had fun playing and swimming together! Alyssa of course had to shove her hands in his mouth...

While nursing when going to sleep she does that to me too...not quite sure why, I guess she wants me to eat like she is?!?! hehehe I can't wait until they are both bigger and able to run around together and talk to each other! It will be so fun! I am glad we have people in our lives whom she can play with! Friends are the BEST! 

While swimming she also learned how to crawl out of the baby pool on the stairs all by her self! Isn't she only supposed to be 9 months old? My little munchkin is WAY too independent! But I love every second of it! It is such a joy to watch everything she learns and teaches herself. She is such the little Curious George! She also went under the water...

And she didn't even cry! What a BIG girl! Gabriel went under for the first time also, he didn't cry either (they must be meant to be)...hehehe

Since I didn't get to finish Alyss'a party dress for next weekend the other night when my little princess had a hard night, I finished it (and made Tori's dress) last night! 

I LOVE it! I am getting much better at it! I love that it is Tinkerbell (for Toribell) and it has purple butterflies ( my favorites.) I got pretty lucky with this fabric. Here is Victoria's dress...

And a close up of the top.

It was much more difficult to make hers. I didn't have one of her t-shirts to use as my guide...so hopefully it fits!! I pretty much just went for it...with a lot of stopping to think, and looking at Alyssa's. Although I pretty much just went for it with Alyssa's, I at least was able to try it on her as I went. I am hopeful and excited for her to try it on. 

I keep wanting to make a tutorial on how to make it...I start off very well with taking pictures...but then I get wrapped up in it and forget to take pictures. Next time I will ask my husband to come out and by my photographer and just take pictures the whole time. Here is how I started though...

Making the "pattern" and my first cut

I just lay the paper towel (I like using them to trace the piece of clothing I am going to use) over the shirt and sketch the arm opening. The top is the only part I use a "pattern." I just go with what looks right for the rest. It is pretty easy. After cutting the top part I cit it for the length of the top of the dress then fold over a couple inches from the top and start sewing with elastic thread (which I discovered and learned to use from my all time favorite blog, Make it and Love it. It is full of tutorials, sewing tips, and all kinds of wonderfulness. I discovered her site through pinterest a while back and once Alyssa started sleeping at night I pulled out my sewing machine and started creating! I credit my starting to sew again to her blog and the fact that I am now able to create on my own with out needed a tutorial is a blessing! I LOVE IT! I love being able to see something (I have been taking pictures of things I see in the store or online so I can sew them myself) or think of something that I think about be cute and just make it! It is such an awesome feeling. Finishing an item (and trying it on Alyssa and knowing it fits/works) is wonderful! I did make myself a shirt last week and I was super happy with out the top came out...but I made it too short...It is cute...and I will try again and it will be perfect! I do want to try to find the fabric I used and just add it to the bottom, because that is how the shirt I used as my guide is, I just didn't buy enough of the fabric to do that (or Joann's didn't have anymore of it, since they are selling everything to move to the new store, maybe the new store which open next week will have it!!) So hopefully I will have a wonderful story to tell in the next few weeks about how I fixed my shirt...

And lastly for today...

My three candlesticks I have collect over the past few weeks to make cake stands for Alyssa's first birthday. The glass and wood ones I got at Marshals and the white one I found at Ikea yesterday! I plan on doing this and this. I found clear glass plates at the Dollar Store, but they have a sharp bottom circle, so I am not sure how well it will work. But I plan on trying tonight. If it doesn't I saw some at the Goodwill that should work (I bought one and then dropped and broke it while cleaning it.) I want to use the tall wooden one for Alyssa's cake. I plan on making her this cake. Not the recipe, just the design. I am so very excited! And hopefully I will be able to use the glass one for the guests' cake. I hope it end up being sturdy enough, I guess we will find out. And I just bought the while one because it was so cute, I will find something to do with it...any ideas would be wonderful! 

Thanks for reading! Hopefully I will get to create something great tonight since I already cleaned the house (steam cleaned the kitchen and all, even cupboards!!) during Alyssa's first nap, just have to put the dishes away and then I can escape to the garage with baby monitor in hand :) 

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