My First Sewing Project!

OK, so I know I said I would have my next blog be about our time in Gold Beach, but I am so excited about my first sewing project, that I had to post about it right away!

I knew that we would get a crib in Montana, so I've been looking at crib bedding sets for awhile now. I've liked a few of them, but none of them were *exactly* what I wanted. The ones that were close to what I envisioned, were well over my price range (think upwards of $300). I obviously couldn't afford to spend that much on something Brooklyn would use for such a short period of time, yet I couldn't just settle on an "ok" bedding set for her. So, I decided to do the only plausible thing; make one for her.

Fortunately for me, Anthony's Aunt and Grandma in Montana are awesome at sewing and quilting. I found some instructions online, and the next day we went shopping! 

Originally, I wanted to do Brooklyn's room in a light/medium pink, and dark grey. However, after visiting 5 different fabric stores, and none of them having the *exact* grey I wanted (I really only wanted a solid, dark charcoal grey), I changed my mind. I decided on doing white and hot pink. 

I have never done any sewing of any kind before. OK, that's a lie. I've sewn Gunther's toys back together when he's ripped a hole in one before, but that's pretty much the extent of it. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I'll save the boring details for another day, but let's just say that it took us (Anthony's Aunt and I) 4 days to complete 2 fitted bed sheets, 6 bumper pads, and a ruffled bedskirt. LOL by the end of it, I was done. But, the end result was exactly what I had envisioned: 

*The bumpers are reversible, and I made a crib sheet in white, so it still alternates!

I am so grateful that Anthony's Aunt was willing to help me complete the perfect bedding set for Brooklyn. I love that I was able to make her something that I wanted. When she grows up, I can tell her that I made it for her all by myself (well...with a little help!). The best part (besides what I just mentioned) was the cost.

The average crib & bedding set costs anywhere from $100-$600+. My costs were as follows:

10 yards of white fabric- $22

10 yards of pink fabric- $22

6 Bumper Pads-             $30

6 yards of piping-         $4

TOTAL COST:            $78

That's right. $78 for the EXACT crib setting that I wanted. I think I made out pretty good!

Next project: Curtains and a baby blanket.

Sources:

CRIB SHEETS:

http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-crib-and-toddler-bed-sheets.html

CRIB BUMPERS:

http://sew4home.com/projects/pillows-cushions/356-stylish-baby-nursery-crib-bumpers

RUFFLED SKIRT:

http://www.positivelysplendid.com/2012/01/ruffled-crib-skirt-tutorial-nursery.html

Just for giggles, here was my inspiration (this one costs over $600):

Pretty darn close, don't ya think?!

We're in Montana!

Well, we finally made it! We are in Montana! After 2 long days of driving, we're here. Brooklyn did amazing in the car, which surprised us. She slept most of the way, and never got really fussy.

When we got to Montana, there was a little bit of snow. However, yesterday, we got hit with quite a bit of it (which i was told wasn't a lot...about 2-4 inches of snow). Here is Brooklyn in her first snow:

It is gorgeous here:

Grandpa & Grandma Mueller got Brooklyn a crib, which she LOVES! Here she is, standing up in it, and working on that second tooth!

My next post is going to be pictures from Gold Beach, and more things that happened down there!

We got S.W.A.G.

It finally happened!

Spencer has finally arrived!

Anthony and I were hoping that we would make it in time for Spencer's birth, as I was asked to photograph the afterbirth moments. With a false labor not even 12 hours after we arrived in Gold Beach, everyone was excited, and impatient about the little guy's arrival.

Courtney went into labor Saturday evening. Anthony, Brooklyn and I went up to Bay Area Hospital around 2:30 A.M., since it was a 1 1/2 hour drive, we didn't want to miss anything. 

It was a long process, but Spencer William Anthony Gallwas decided to arrive at 1:24 P.M., on March 4, 2012. He weighed in at 6 pounds, 10 3/4 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long! It was an amazing experience that I am very grateful I was a part of. 

Here are a few of the pictures I took just moments after birth:

No More Occupy the Womb!

It seems as if Brooklyn has found a career path already; Protesting. Here she is, protesting her cousin Spencer's extended stay in the womb:

 "FREE SPENCER" ONESIE--Available for purchase. Customization options available.

Brooklyn holding her picket sign

 Courtney holding Brooklyn.

On a less serious (?) note, here are a few cute pictures of Brooklyn:

 TIME TO WORK OUT!

STREEEEEEEEETCH!

Part of Brooklyn's 6 month shots. I will upload the rest of them later (and by upload, I mean take pictures of them and upload those, because I am too cheap to pay $250 for a CD of 9 pictures!).

Brooklyn Crawling

It was only a matter of time. 

Brooklyn has been army crawling since January 2012, so we knew it wouldn't be long until she was "really" crawling. We are at her great grandparents house right now, and she loves to crawl around on their floor! Here is a small clip of her crawling for her book!

She is getting way too big, way too quickly. :/ Bittersweet. I think it will only be a couple months until she is walking. Thankfully, we have our video camera so we can capture all these moments, and keep her our baby forever <3

NOTE: For some reason, the quality is crap. I'm not sure what the issue is, as when I view it on my computer it plays just fine. Blah. I'll figure it out later and upload a better video.