Babes First Easter

Daxton had his first Easter and was completely spoiled! Grandma made his cute little Easter basket! And my little cowboy his own pair of boots. I can't wait for him to grow into them! 

My mom always does an awesome Easter egg hunt for us and we always love it! We have been in chocolate heaven for the past week!

Easter weekend Daxton started solids! I love how much he loves food :) He didn't really know what to do with it but was really liking it! 

He loved playing with the Easter eggs but really wanted the candy :) I can tell he is gonna have a sweet tooth!

We loved being out of the city and Dax being able to explore different things. It was nice to recharge! We were extremely lucky to be able to celebrate the Resurrection of our Savior and hear from our wonderful leaders! There were a lot of things that I needed to hear and am very grateful that I get the chance to start over and be better.

DIY Baby Moccasins

I have been loving the baby moccasins and finally found a couple patterns on Pinterest that I really liked. Thank goodness for Pinterest right, it has everything you'll ever want! I've made my own tutorial for those interested. It was a fun little project but it wasn't without some headaches. :)

What you'll need:

-Some kind of leather like material(you'll want it to be durable, this is on the outside)

-Cotton material for the inside lining

-Thread

-1/4" elastic 

-Tissue or wax paper(I used tissue paper)

Note: Some people used special needles and feet but I wanted to complete this project at the lowest cost possible.

I started out by choosing my fabric. I went to Joann's and they had a couple options. Not as many for boys. I'm sure that if I went online I could find a lot better selection but since I didn't want to wait I just went with a basic brown color. I'm not sure what the correct name of the fabric is, I just call it pleather. The liner fabric can be any kind of cotton.

I got my pattern here and went to work.

I pinned and cut out each piece. Then I cut the fringe.

 You start by sewing the fringe and toe piece together I used a 1/2" seam allowance. Then sew the heel piece in half using a 3/8" seam allowance. Thread the elastic through and then secure it on the ends by sewing it.

 Then sew the heel piece to the fringe in a U shape as shone above. This part was confusing to me until I played around with the pieces and figured it out. I suggest doing the same. After that add the toe liner piece so that it will sit on the inside.

After you've folded the liner piece inside you are ready to add the sole. Using a 1/4" seam allowance sew the liner and the outside to the rest of the moccasin with the liner facing out. It's best if you can do this step using a serger. It will give you a better finish. If you are like me however and don't have one a regular sewing machine works fine.

I would suggest reading a couple different tutorials before you start because each is going to give you different ideas which will help. Also use the tissue paper on top whenever you are sewing the pleather on the outside. I didn't start this way and it was a mess. It wouldn't go through my machine and then the threads would knot. Once your done sewing you just tear the tissue paper off.

Dax now has cute little moccasins and wears them most of the time even though he is still getting used to wearing shoes.

MIA

I've been MIA for the past few weeks! We had computer issues and we finally got our new one. Good timing tax refund! :) I will now be back in business but for now here is what we have been up to via pictures.

Sam's family had pictures taken at Christmas time and we just got some back these were just a couple of my favorites.

Made Dax a couple of bow ties! Makes him look so grown up!

And those eyes are to die for!

Because daddy likes to be silly!

I can't believe my baby will be four months old this week! And to top it off he rolled over for his first time!

Dax's Birth Story

9:30 AM- We arrived at the hospital so I could be induced, they got me hooked up on the IV and settled in for what would be a long journey! 

11:30 AM- The doctor finally showed up to prescribe the pitocin to me.

12:30 PM- The doctor broke my water.

4 PMish- I got the epidural (heaven)!

4 PM - 9 PM- They check my dialation about every hour, it was pretty slow going.

9:00 PM- Made Sam call the doctor because I couldn't wait any longer. They checked me and I was dialated to a 10!

9:20 PM- Started pushing.

11:14 PM- Dax was born!

Ever since I can remember I imagined having a baby (the IV, epidural, contractions, and the baby physically coming out) to be incredibly painful. And maybe for some it is, but for me it was not. I'm glad now that I imagined it to be so painful because in reality after each one of those events I thought, hmm, that wasn't so bad. 

Keep in mind I did have an epidural so I can't promise anything to those who don't get it. The IV was painful and annoying the whole time, that was probably my least favorite part! I also thought breaking my water hurt but you don't really feel anything. Obviously the contractions started to hurt or I wouldn't have got the epidural. I imagine not having the epidural is quite painful. You always hear about how big the epidural needle is so that freaked me out. When he came in to give it to me I just didn't look at it. Didn't didn't really hurt at all and I had immediate relief! After that all you feel is pressure with the contractions and it gets stronger and stronger. Eventually it was so intense I knew it was time. 

We started the pushing process which lasted 2 hrs and it was exhausting. There is nothing more annoying to me than having the doctor tell you to push just a little harder when you are already pushing as hard as you can! When he would say that I wanted to say, "Oh, I thought I wasn't suppose to be pushing as hard as I could yet!" I did have to get an epesiotomy. It's really weird to feel yourself being cut but not feel pain with it. 

Finally the whole thing is over and you don't have a care in the world besides holding your baby for the first time. The complete joy, peace, and love that come with it are amazing! 

Overall, I had a really good experience. The doctors, nurses, and hospital were all amazing and I came out with no horror story's except the pain of having your baby go to the NICU.

P.s. You will be starving the whole time and all you get is flavored ice chips! It sucks, and if your husband is anything like mine he won't sneak you anything to eat! :)

Daxton's Blessing

On December 7th we were lucky enough to bless Daxton in my parents ward. We did it there so more of our family could be there. Sam's family was also there but we didn't get any pictures with them and only a few with my family.

4 Generations

My mom made his little tux and I couldn't have loved it more. It is so cute and will be an awesome keepsake!

He slept through the whole blessing thank goodness!

4 Generations (bet you can't tell we are related!)

It was a great day and we are thankful to all of our friends and family that were able to be a part of it.

Telling the Fam/Boy or Girl?

Telling your family you're going to have a baby is so much fun! Especially when it's the first one on one side! We told my family by coming home on a Sunday and giving my parents these mugs I made:

                                       

They were so excited and we immediately told everyone else in the family. My mom has been waiting for this forever so this baby will definitely be spoiled! 

Sam's family is planning a big Christmas celebration so we made an RSVP and added a plus 1.

A few weeks went by and then we made the announcement public. We went to our first Dr.s appointment, got to hear the heartbeat which was awesome! A lot more weeks went by with prepping what we could and a few Dr.s app. 

    

Finally we were able to see the gender! We could have waited till 20 weeks and it would have been free but I couldn't wait much to my husbands dismay. We paid the extra fee at 16 weeks and went in. I read a million things about what you could do so the baby would be moving so we for sure could see what gender it was. I drake orange juice for breakfast, and a coke throughout the day. Basically anything thing that had sugar! We were able to tell pretty quickly that it was a HE! My brothers were going to be excited because they wanted a nefew! We told our familys with this crossword puzzle.

We are so excited for our little guy and mommy is so excited to start shopping for you!

When Two Becomes Three!

   We have the most exciting news!

                                      

Sam and I had started talking about starting our family but, we had decided to wait until he would be done with his undergrad at UVU. Well, one thing led to another and we knew there was a chance that I would become pregnant earlier. For half of January and February we debated on wether or not I was pregnant. The only difference I felt was being hungry all the time but told myself it was all in my brain. 

February 13th rolled around and I had, had enough waiting. I decided to go get a test thinking that if it turned out positive I would wait until the next day (Valentines Day) and tell Sam. I ran over to Target and picked two up. Let me just tell you it's not very fun buying the tests. You feel like everyone in the whole store knows what you just picked up! 

Home I go to gloriously urinate on a stick. This is where I start freaking out and suddenly I can't go! Finally a little makes an appearance, I start to worry it's not enough but there's nothing I can do. I make up my mind to set a timer and not sit there and stare at it. Never has time gone by more slowly! The time is up and I'm afraid to look at it. Finally, I do and I see it, I'm pregnant! No way, it's probably wrong, so I google if it can be. Nope can't really get a false positive so I am indeed pregnant. 

I had made up my mind to tell Sam tomorrow but I suddenly can't wait. I have to tell someone! I run over to his work and he is of course surprised to see me. I tell him we need to talk so we go somewhere a little quieter. First thing I say is you were right (I would always tease him that I wasn't going to tell him when I was pregnant, and he always told me I wouldn't be able to wait) he's confused at this point and I'm somehow able to tell him. He's shocked, happy and amazed. Then we go over all the details like when it will be born and how excited we are. Eventually he feeds me (something he will be doing a lot of) and then I go to work.

After I got over the initial shock that I was pregnant, I started to worry. I don't think there's anyway you can't. Even though we weren't expecting it this soon I was already attached and it's so hard to just wait and see if everything will work out. Plus, it's so hard to just go living life not telling anyone! 

We are so excited and will now start dreaming of everything that needs to get done. Also just a tip, don't google anything about pregnancy, it will just freak you out!

Sewing with Minky

Tips to Keep You Sane

Minky, we all love it, we all want it, but actually sewing with it can get difficult. Lets be honest we've all had the "fun" of unpicking the minky because of tucks or stretching. I've complied a list of tips and tricks to help you have a pleasant experience while sewing minky.

1. If you're going to be sewing minky with any other type of fabric you'll want to wash it first, since minky doesn't shrink and most other fabrics do.

2. A walking foot will save your life! It helps to evenly feed all layers of the fabric, if you don't have one and don't want to get one then I suggest laying the minky on bottom. But really, just get a walking foot, you'll thank yourself in the end.

3. Use a long stitch, 4 is usually best.

4. Remember that minky has a nap so position it the way you would like it to lay.

5. DO NOT iron minky, it will melt it!

6. Pin EVERY 1"! Even 2" can cause stretching and tucking.

7. Minky is heavy (especially when wet) so I would suggest using a half inch seam so the edges are not being weighed down and being pulled out.

I hope that you find some help from the tips and keep on loving minky!