Backyard oasis

I don't think life gets much better than this: sharing a soft blankie on soft grass with my favorite girl. She would jump up, walk away, and then come running back to crash down beside me.

I guess it does get a little better: sharing a raspberry frozen fruit bar! (Have you tried them? They are from Edy's. No sugar added and so refreshing! We love the strawberry/raspberry/tangarine flavor variety pack.)

New wheels

Caroline's got a new way to get around. It's really fun to ride all over Central Gardens together. We laugh about the fact that we're huffing and puffing and she gets to ride around like a princess with juice and snacks! She loves everything about it but her helmet.

Sweet corn

Any doubts that this girl is from the south? Yum!

Another and another and another

Here's a trio of dresses I made for Caroline. I can't stop myself! It's just too much fun.

This is my new favorite pattern: "Frannie" from the Children's Corner (in case you're interested). It's so cute, versitile, and easy to make. I put these 2 together in one week, thanks to a sewing day at a local shop and a couple of long naps! I already have visions of this as a corduroy jumper for the fall.


Can't catch this girl...


Aren't those bows under the arms cute?


Another "Frannie"


I love this piping.


And lastly, here's a simple sun dress with shoulder ties.

The incredible bubble wand

This is, hands down, the best $7 we've ever spent at Wal-Mart. We blow bubbles every night (no lie). If we don't get to it soon enough for the Princess, she walks around saying, "Bubble. Bubble! Bubble!" And the wacky dog loves it, too. Sometimes too much. There's just something really cool and relaxing about bubbles.

Goofy girl

Animal signs

This is just a cute clip of Caroline doing a couple of her animal baby signs. She knows a ton! It is seriously hard to get this girl to stand/sit still for a video, so I had to catch her at lunch.

We love downtown Memphis!

We had a very fun Saturday morning! We went downtown to the Memphis Farmer's Market. It was fantastic! Shame on me for not getting any pictures... I think it may become a regular Saturday morning activity for us. I can't wait to go back! We found food to create our entire Saturday night meal - goat milk marinated feta, organic steak, sweet corn, blackberry preserves, mini chocolate chess pies. I made some fresh bread for the preserves. The steak and the corn went on the grill. Our meal was fantastic! And I picked up some stone ground grits for later. Delicious!

After we had seen all there was to see at the MFM, we hopped on the trolley for a riverside loop trip. As you can see, we all love the trolley. It's one of our favorite things about Memphis. (You'll have to click on the slideshow to go to the album so you can see the video.)

Sewing the summer away

I'm getting braver with my onsie appliques. I did it all on my machine. I do like the look of hand-embroidery, but I wanted to play on my machine. I made this for one of Kevin's fellow residents who has a new daughter. I'm thinking I need to find some tee-shirts so her older sister can have one that matches. I think it's pretty cute!


This was the first successful onsie applique - made for Caroline for the 4th of July. I won't discuss the previous unsuccessful attempts.


And - surprise! - another bubble! (What number is this? Four?) This is for a dear friend's daughter. Her first birthday is next week and I thought she needed something sweet and smocked. I'm very proud of this one and can't wait to give it away. I went to a sewing session at a local store for help with the collar and sleeves. Sorry for the terrible picture. I've got to get a better one in the daylight of the smocking and the miniature piping around the sleeves and collar.

Boo-boo

Caroline and Tigger had a collision in the backyard one night about 2 weeks ago. I am so thankful that Kevin had "skin superglue" in his bag and some friends working in the ER. He fixed her up right here at home. It's healing well now and doesn't even need a bandage anymore. When we ask her if she has a boo-boo, she points to her forehead and says, "Boo-boo!"

Buddies

Mother and daughter

I'm really very flattered when people tell me Caroline looks like me! First, I think she's just beautiful. Second, most people think she looks like Kevin! Here we are (per a request from Rachel)...

A great 4th

(Click on the slideshow if you would like to go directly to the Picasa album.)

Happy Independence Day!

Artist

I like how she picked a pencil that coordinated with her shirt.

She really gets into it!

Pondering her next masterpiece...