pony tail wearin'...
toenail paintin'...
play dough playin'...
quilt-stitchin'...
guitar-learnin'...
big-time poopin'...
wilderness campin'...
...family.
{right eye}
{left eye}our overnight stay in san francisco did NOT disappoint. it was a much-needed getaway for all three of us {and the first ever for kristen!}. i'm pretty sure it will become a tradition.
we stayed in the park 55 hotel right in union square, to satisfy all of our shopping needs.
delicious meals were eaten in peace {without asking for high chairs},
beauty rest was had {without waking up before we wanted},
ice cream was devoured {without slobbery double dipping},
many items were purchased {for screaming deals, might i add},
a movie was watched {to which we all fell peacefully asleep},
and mommies were rejuvenated...
...can't wait to do it again.
*and, of course there are no pictures, but...the dads did a great job of taking care of the kids. they went on a paddle boat ride at a local park and took the kids swimming. what they don't know is that because they did such a good job, they will inevitably be doing it again...soon.
Smocked Sundress:
*tutorial from marthastewart.com.
*get enough fabric to go TWICE around your little girl. the elastic thread brings it in quite a bit
*elastic thread can be found in many colors at any fabric/notions store...but it's used in the bobbin, so you shouldn't see it in the finished product.
The Shirt Dress:
*tutorial from dana-made-it
*use at least a men's size large shirt for a 2T-3T dress, long sleeves preferred
*i would have made the neck part of the sleeves a little bit smaller (not 10 inches - maybe 8 or so).
*ironing as you go is KEY
Square {ish} bottomed hobo lunchbag:
*tutorial from sewing notions
*ironing it down into the triangle makes it MUCH easier!
enjoy!!
see, this is what i was talking about by doing lots of projects. i finished the sundress tuesday, the shirt dress thursday and the bag this morning.
my first creation used to look like this:
until i found it in the Goodwill pile and just about had a heart attack. i LOVE this shirt. it's ryan's. he calls it his fruit shirt and thinks it's just a bit too girly. but i love it.
so i salvaged it and turned it into this:
now THAT'S girly.
the tutorial said it should take about 2-3 hours and was skill level easy. i must be a really bad seamstress if that's the norm. it took me at least 3x as long {even had to create my own pattern} and i had to fudge it a bit because you should use at least a men's size large shirt for leah's age...and we almost didn't have enough fabric. but i think it will work! it was definitely a bit more advanced. i even added some extra touches like a tag on the side and in the collar...and a double hem at the bottom to make it look more professional. hehehe. 
and this is leah's new little tote (okay, i might steal it once in awhile). we can put diapers, wipes, treats, etc. into it when we go places. and i just loved the fabric, so i couldn't resist. tutorial said 2-3 hours and they were right (from creating the pattern to tying the knot)! super super easy. it looks funny in these pictures. definitely cuter in real life. 
i'm pretty sure i can count on ONE hand the number of times i went to a public park growing up. i vaguely remember stopping at a park on a road trip to eat our lunch {the one time we didn't use our lovely red and white checkered hospital pillows instead}. okay, that might be it. i can't remember another time.
my friends out here and i were talking about this one day. we never remember going to the park as little kids and we had no idea why.
um...because we had backyards!
well, since we will never come close to owing enough california real estate to include living quarters AND grass, we go to the park! a lot. it's a necessity to get out of our 1000 sq. foot apartment and enjoy the great outdoors. and we can even do it in january.
leah is getting better and better at navigating the playground. we sit, we explore, we climb, we slide, we swing, we sip, we play.
today, leah learned how to drink from a drinking fountain. in the past she just splashed her hands in, but today she took a sip. and was pleasantly surprised. so she took another. and another. i think i was holding her at the fountain for about 10 minutes. i even took this picture while holding and waiting. that's talent.
leah's new favorite is walking this great expanse. she is completely content just wandering on her own and doesn't want to turn around to come back. if she reaches the end, she turns to the left or right and comes back maybe 10 feet...and then goes to the end again. sometimes we play ring around the rosies in the field...that girl is a giggle box.
and both grandmas will be happy to know that, even though we don't have our own garden, and therefore, no weeds, we are still teaching her to pull her own weight. the girl is a green thumb waiting to happen.
we ALWAYS wear our park pants {no reason to ruin perfectly good clothes}.
and then we eat our apples on the walk home.
i am the queen of staring projects and not finishing them {quickly}. i usually finish, it just takes me awhile.
i've also noticed that i tend to gather more and more projects the busier i am. i think creating things is a way for me to kind of relax, so when i'm busy with other things, it's an outlet for me.
but that creates a problem.
already busy + extra creating = even more busy.
oh well.
this is one of my newest creations. the EASIEST sundress in the world. honestly. anyone can make this. it's not even real smocking. you use elastic thread in your bobbin and the work is done for you. rectangle + elastic thread + 2 hems + straps. done.
it's a little long because i did the length guesswork while her highness was sleeping. i do want it long-ish, but i think i'm going to take the hem up a little.
and doesn't it match her new shoes PERFECTLY? did i mention leah woke up about 2 weeks ago and none of her shoes fit? not a single pair. so, we've been doing some shoe shopping at our house. it's a good thing, though. the poor girl was in size 4 shoes (12 month olds wear them) for about a year. time to move on.
and while she's such a cute model, here are some leah-isms as of late:
she is obsessed. obsessed. with grass. she could play with it, pick at it, stare at it, pull it, throw it, {eat it}, for hours.
and she's doing really well with her walking, but if there is any sort of reasonably sized crack, she resorts to her once-famous elephant walk. so cute.
...but i won't.
But I want to.
I've tried nine times - yes NINE times - to run a half marathon in under 2 hours. 1:59:59 is all I'm askin' here folks. And I can't seem to do it.
Sure, for some of those races {cough cough, Nike Women's, cough cough} it just wasn't attainable. But yesterday, I ran in the See Jane Run half marathon in Alameda, CA. It's flat. It's nearly at sea-level. And I had trained at a 9-minute mile pace and under.
{aren't running pictures just beautiful?!}we've done more than just watch American Idol at our house...we also watch Biggest Loser, Dancing with the Stars, Castle, The Office, 30 Rock and lots of other stuff. And...
a bit of leisurely reading (and toenail painting)...
enjoying our new fan (it really works!)...
a bit of working out...
a yummy memorial day bbq with these beauties (and their cute families)...
a baby shower for a beautiful new mom and a precious baby girl (while ryan and leah had a picnic in her room to stay out of our hair)...
and a memorial weekend hike with these guys... 
poor, poor livvy got car sick on the way up (as in tossed her cookies car sick)...but her parents made up for it by carrying her around in her chariot for the duration of the hike. you can't tell from the picture, but they were feeding her grapes as they walked. and p.s. remember to bring your jacket on a hike. no matter what. it was warm when we started...and then all those clouds rolled in. freeeeeeeeezing. leah looks really cute with a red nose.
more to come. in the next 46 hours: two baby showers, one piano recital, one half marathon, one carnival...and probably something that i've forgotten about. i'm off...
