~ My First Attempt Making A Rag Quilt ~

At Hannah's baby shower, my sister made her a beautiful rag quilt. Hannah loves it and uses it all the time. 

(This is where I would insert a picture of Hannah and her rag quilt; however, I can not find one picture of Hannah and her rag quilt anywhere! You will just have to trust me when I tell you she loves it.) 

I wanted to make one for Lilly because these really are the cutest quilts EVER!

It's not perfect but I am extremely happy with how it turned out.

Here is how I did it : 

#1. Pick your fabric. I went with flannel because it is really soft.

My quilt is five squares by five squares so I pick five different, half a yard, fabric patterns. 

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#2. Cut fabric into eight by eight inch squares.

I ended up cutting 50 eight by eight inch squares . . . . this was by far the most time consuming part.

 

#3. Place the fabric ugly sides together.

This will give you twenty five squares.

#4. Sew around all twenty five squares leaving a half inch boarder.

#5. Lay all the squares on the floor and arrange them into the pattern you like.

#6. Start pinning each horizontal row together. Then sew along the same half an each line from before.

#7. Now pin the horizontal rows together. Making sure the top of the fabric is facing up and the bottom is facing down. This way you will see if the top is folding over when it goes through the machine. (I hope that makes sense.)

#8. Time to start snipping. 

Snip along all the squares being careful not to snip into the thread.

#9. Once done, place into the washing machine with no detergent. Once the cycle is done shake off all the fluff. Then place into the dryer with no dryer sheet.

 Repeat the process, this time with detergent and a dryer sheet.

#10. ALL DONE! 

Once Lilly Belle is here I will definitely post a picture of her with her quilt : )

If you need more detailed instructions YouTube has a ton of how to videos. 

This is my favorite : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-LQfYXrG_Q

~ 37 Weeks Along With Lilly Belle ~

I am now officially considered full term!

So Lilly can come NOW . . . . . please.

I'm feeling good. I went and got my hair done by my friend Shelly (this pic was before.)

I'm trying to get as much of my house packed up before Lilly arrives. Not an easy task when you want to do this and that and your body says nope too much. . . frustrating!

In case you were wondering . . . .

Weight gain : At my last doctors appointment I weighed 158lbs. 

That is a total weight gain of 33lbs. 

158lbs was also the amount the weighed when I went into labor with Hannah.

Maternity Clothes : I think it is pretty evident now that I live in yoga pants and tank tops : )

Sleep : Who can really sleep at nine months pregnant when they have to get up and pee three times a night? Not me

Movement : Lilly is a fidget. I feel her moving throughout the day and I love it!

Sickness : I am still taking my anti nausea pills. Pregnancy really would be completely miserable without them.

Symptoms : I'm at that stage where it takes forever to get comfortable.

I'm also losing energy fast, and find myself having to take a nap in the middle of the day.

Belly Button/Ankles : My belly button is still in. . . . barely but yes still in.

My ankles on the other hand are starting to swell : (

Emotions : I'm so fed up with being big. I'm getting anxious because I still have a lot to do when it comes to preparing my house for a move. 

Mostly, I am excited to meet this little girl.

Looking Ahead : Still got to work on getting that hospital bag ready to go.

~ Weekend Wrap-Up : Daddy Daughter Date ~

My little Hannah was SO excited on go on a date with Daddy. 

She loves her Daddy!

I asked Aaron to take lots of pictures on their date; however, Aaron hates taking pictures (especially if he is in it,) and he isn't the best photo taker. I'm not at all complaining. I'm just happy I got any pictures of their adorable Daddy Daughter Date. 

First stop on their date was some yummy breakfast.

Our favorite breakfast place is called The Broken Yolk in Oceanside, CA. 

Hannah loves to play with the jam containers while we wait for our food to arrive. 

Aaron said they were playing a matching game which Hannah of course won because she makes up the rules as she goes. : )

Hey whatever keeps a three year old happy.

Hannah always orders the Mickey Mouse pancake with sausage.

If she could she would eat pancakes and hot dogs everyday. 

After breakfast. it was off to the cinema. 

Hannah and Aaron went and saw Home. 

They both loved it! 

Hannah was telling me all about the characters Oh and Tip. . . I didn't understand much but it was fun to see her excitement as she retold the entire movie.

She also told me Daddy let her have lemonade and popcorn. : )

I love the relationship these two have.

 They seriously make my heart melt. 

I also had a great day. 

Although I missed spending it with my loves, I loved getting my hair done and munching on chocolate.

~ Hannah's Summer Time Gymboree Haul ~

It's GymBuck time!!

Hannah and I went to Gymboree and Gymboree Outlet to get some summer clothes. 

I kept asking Hannah what she liked, but she was more interested in the little TV they had playing. 

Oh well, I was happy to pick out the clothes I liked : )

(links to available items down below)

Sequin Stripe Heart Tee

Striped Leggings

Jacquard Dot Yellow Dress

~ Our Weekend Wrap-UP ~

Saturday

I love lazy Saturday mornings.
Our only goal on Saturday was to organize the garage. This way we can start moving boxes from the house to the garage for our upcoming move.

While Aaron started organizing the garage, Hannah and I went to buy some delicious doughnuts. Hannah choose strawberry frosted with sprinkles, Aaron got a variety, and I stuck with the only doughnut I ever get, chocolate frosted.

After our not so healthy yet delicious breakfast, it was back to work.

Aaron and Hannah worked so hard. I didn't realize just how much stuff we had accumulated till we started doing this. There was also a lot of bug killing taking place. I am so grateful Aaron was able to do that because I hate bugs! 

Now, we have a very organized garage; however, it did come at a price. 

Hannah learned that gravity can sometimes suck. She tripped, at full three year old running speed, and went straight down on the concrete. She scraped up her elbow and knee pretty good. Luckily, Daddy hugs are very powerful and she was back helping in no time. 

That night, we rented the new movie, Penguins. 

Hannah found it hilarious and I have to agree. I told my Dad he has to rent it. 

Sunday

I love Sundays!  

 I always feel inspired to work harder than I did the previous week.

This Sunday, one of the speakers talked about President Henry B. Eyring's talk from General Women's Conference. It was entitled, The Comforter. It talks about our responsibility to willingly help bear one another's burdens. Something I don't think I'm very good at but hope to improve on.

The rest of church went really well. As primary choirister, I get to listen to primary children singing these wonderful songs.
 Hannah was singing, I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, so loud and with such energy. I was one proud Mummy and primary choirister :)

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and eating my favourite homemade cookies, banana oatmeal chocolate chip : )

Getting Ready For Lilly Belle

I am so excited! I am only one month away from meeting this gorgeous baby girl! 

Our house is now being filled with the cutest baby stuff. 

These are just some of my newborn baby essentials.

(links down below)

Arm's Reach Mini Co Sleeper

With moving a couple weeks after Lilly is born, we needed something travel friendly. This is the perfect size and folds up pretty small. I love that it sits right next to my side of the bed. And bonus, I got an amazing deal on it!

Car Seat + Car Seat Cover

Originally, I thought an infant car seat was one thing I could do with out. I quickly realized, after a day of running errands with a very energetic three year old, an infant car seat was a MUST! 

The car seat cover was made by my very talented sister, and is super cute.

A Swing

This swing was my lifesaver with Hannah. I could put her in it and then was free to clean, cook, or just relax for ten minutes. She loved being in it. I'm hoping Lilly Belle will love it too. 

Clothes

Onesies - I figure with it being summer time soon Lilly will mostly only wear onesies.

Babygrow/Sleeper - these are my favorite item of clothing. Babies just look so cute and cuddly in them : )

Hats and Leggings - not sure I will need to use these much; however, they are good to have on hand.

 Cloths and Bibs

To clean up all that spit up and drool.

Boppy

Although I didn't breastfeed with Hannah, I still found the boppy came in so handy. 

Blankets

I have tons of blankets. Some are super thick for when winter eventually comes again, and others are really thin. I love cuddles and blankets.

SwaddleMe and A Wrap

I'll be honest, I suck at swaddling! When I saw these dummy proof swaddlers, I knew I needed to try them. Now I hope they work.

The wrap was something I really wanted to try. I love the idea of having Lilly close to me as we walk around. I did a lot of research on different wraps before deciding on the solly wrap. I fell in love. They even make one for big sister and she loves it!

Diapers and Wipes

Not excited to clean up poop and pee again, but look how cute these diapers are!

Hairbows

No baby girl of mine can go without her hair accessories : )

I also have a whale tub and an infant bouncy seat but they are still in the garage waiting to be cleaned. Going to do that this weekend. . . . . hopefully

links to some of the items mentioned above

arms reach co sleeper 

baby trend infant car seat

swing

boppy

receiving blankets

swaddlePod and swaddleMe

solly baby wrap

honest company diapers and wipes

whale tub

Hannah Betty's Birth Story

Hannah's Birth Story

On Wednesday October 12th, I had my 40 week appointment. I, of course, explained to my doctor that I was miserable and wanted this baby out. I was hoping he would pick up on my hint to be induced right now. He did not. Instead, he told me I would have Hannah this weekend. Feeling down, I headed home. 

On Friday October 14th, I woke up at 2:30am and was sure I had just felt my first contraction. After I felt it again, I woke up Aaron and let him know I was going to lay on the couch and watch some TV. I was too excited to sleep. Aaron headed off to work around 7am. I called him about an hour later begging him to come home. I wasn't in much pain, but just wanted the company. Aaron had no complaints about leaving work and headed home.  

My Mum told me the best thing to do while in labour was, first, stay home as long as possible, and second, walk, walk, walk. Aaron and I walked around our neighborhood again and again. Around 5pm, I felt it would be best to head to the hospital. 

I walked into the labor and delivery and was told to walk for 30 mins, then they would check me and decide if they were going to admit me. My first thought was no way I was going back home so please let me be more then a couple centimeters. After 30 mins, the nurse checked me. She seemed pretty surprised that I was 5 centimeters!!! I WAS ECSTATIC! I was halfway to the end of this torture. Next, came a lot of discussions about pain medicine. The nurse thought it would be in my best interest to get the epidural. Around 7pm, I got the epidural. The amazing, wonderful, best thing ever epidural!  The rest of my labor went pretty fast. The doctor came in and broke my water.

Unfortunately, it was not clear. The doctor let me know what would happen after Hannah's delivery. He said he would suction her and that there would be the nursery staff present just in case.

Around 11:30, I started what the nurse called "practice pushes." My friend, Meredith, had told me you think you are pushing as hard as you can but you can push harder. I truly believe that, and tried to push harder and harder with every push. The down side was all that pushing was causing a lot of pressure on my stomach, and so I would push then vomit, push then vomit, push then vomit. I also had to wear an oxyen mask, but I didn't mind that. In fact, I thought it really helped. Finally, after an hour of pushing, at 12:37am on October 15th, my perfect, beautiful, baby girl was born. She was everything I had been dreaming

about. I fell in love with her the second I found out I was pregnant. I fell deeper in love the second I saw her, and continue to fall in love with her more and more everyday.