DIY T-shirt to Baby Onesie

I love baby onesies. What I don't love are baby t-shirts. Really, who came up with the idea to put a little guy in a t-shirt that rides up every time they wiggle? Eli was given several t-shirts at baby showers, and they've just sat on the shelf because I don't like them. Now, though, I've found a way to turn t-shirts into onesies so he can wear them!

What you'll need:

• One baby t-shirt
• One onesie that's the same size (ie- both the t-shirt and the onesie in my pictures are 0-3 months)

Begin by cutting the onesie in half. I found the best place to cut is about an inch below the arm holes. This should leave you with two pieces: a little "mini shirt" and the bottom half. My friend Joy suggested using the top to make a baby dress- I think that might be another project on my list now!

Once you have your onesie cut, take the bottom half and lay it inside the t-shirt. You'll want to be sure it's placed low enough to snap the buttons, but not so low that the t-shirt looks funny. The goal is to be able to put pants on the little guy and have the t-shirt look like a real shirt. Does that make sense? :-)

Pin the onesie inside the t-shirt, and then take it to your sewing machine! Stitch a line across the t-shirt on both front and back, connecting the two pieces. You'll want to be sure you only sew the front of the t-shirt to the front of the onesie, and vice versa so that you don't sew the entire thing together. With my striped t-shirt, I sewed right along one of the stripes to conceal the stitching. (Also, because you're using knits, there is no need to finish the edges of the onesie. But, if you want, you can always serge or zigzag the top before putting the two pieces together.)

And there you have it! Easiest tutorial ever, right? Dress your little one up in some cute overalls or pants and you've got a great look!

Eli with his aunt and uncle rocking the t-shirt and overalls!

If you make this, I'd love to see your pictures! Please post links in the comments section so I can see your creation.

Weekend in Pictures

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We had a great time this weekend hanging out with friends, painting our living room, and going to the USA Pro Cycling Challenge! The Cycling Challenge is where pro cyclists ride through the entire state of Colorado in just 7 days. We were able to watch Day 6's start in Golden. We even managed to get a spot right by the starting line so we say all the cyclists take off. Also, Patrick Dempsey made an appearance. He was like 10 feet from us! Ladies, he really is as attractive in person. (Don't tell Ben, but that may have been my favorite moment of the day!) 

As you can see, Eli had an awesome time too. He rocked the Baby K'tan and his adorable hat, and slept through the start of the race.

Wednesdays on the Homefront

Cooking: I made mango curry for dinner last night and it was delicious! It's the perfect summer recipe to feed a hungry family. This morning our house smells like an Indian restaurant... fans are running at full speed! I think I need to buy some candles too.

Cleaning: Shall we make this decorating today? I bought some new curtains at Ikea last week and I love them! I've never been very good with curtains. They are usually the last thing I buy and I'm really picky. However, I always forget how much they soften a room and make it look finished! Suddenly our hand-me-down bedroom set from the 1970's doesn't look quite so bad. I'm inspired to buy curtains for the other windows in our apartment now too!

Creating: I've been working on a few sewing projects for Etsy lately. My mom lent me her new sewing machine, so I've been enjoying being spoiled by all the special features! Speaking of Etsy, I'm going to be doing a series of posts and giveaways this fall related to baby items on Etsy. Are you exited? Stay tuned for details!

Loving: This cooler weather! Fall is my very favorite time of year. I love the aspens changing color, the weather, the scarves... oh my goodness I'm so excited! Poor Ben, the moment the weather dips below 90 I'm dancing around the house talking about cinnamon and pumpkin spice lattes. I'm really hoping this fall is a season of order and peace for us as I find my new rhythm with Eli and really enjoy our life. Also, how ridiculously cute is Eli in his fall pajamas?

Living: Little man woke up at 6:45 happy as can be this morning. Not being a morning person, I was not nearly as cheerful about it. I tried putting him in bed with me, but he just laid there and hit me in the face until I got up. After a cup of coffee and some delicious cookies from a friend, I felt a great deal better! I'm thankful he normally sleeps until 8 so I have a little time to myself!

Learning: How are your mornings going? I haven't been doing nearly as well as I could be with my morning goals, but I am making progress. Most days I'm up by 8 (the goal is 7) and I've laid out clothes the night before or done the dishes a few more times than usual. I'm hoping to get better at waking up early so I can add some Pilates or yoga to my morning routine.

Well, happy Wednesday! And welcome to all my new followers from Tea on Tuesday!

Nursing Nutrition

As a nursing mama, I'm finding that I am always hungry. Like honestly, always, always hungry. I'm also eating a great deal more every day. I ate an entire Chipotle burrito by myself in one sitting a few weeks ago. I am finding it can be difficult to keep up with the amount of calories I need to maintain a healthy weight and supply for nursing. In our weight-loss obsessed culture, googling "how to gain weight" produces a disappointingly small number of results.

In addition, Eli has a milk allergy so I have had to cut out all dairy products from my diet. As you might imagine, the number one suggestion for adding calories to your diet is through dairy. So, I am on a mission to find easy ways to add healthy calories to meals for nursing mothers. And I would love your help! Please comment with any tips or suggestions, and refer your nursing friends to my blog. I'm hoping to find recipes, snack ideas and lots more! I know that weight can be a really sensitive issue, but I hope that other moms who are struggling with this will join with me so we can feed our babies and be healthy!

Making the Most of my Mornings

Crystal over at Money Saving Mom started a new series called Make the Most of Your Mornings challenging moms to make their mornings count. I have been contemplating this issue over the past couple weeks, and I really want to establish a morning routine now that fall is almost here. Because of Eli's schedule, I haven't been beginning my day until 9 or even 10 most mornings. I find myself feeling off-balance and behind all day from sleeping so late. I am not a morning person by any stretch, but I would really like to be better about starting the day off right. I've also discovered that the best time for me to have a little me time is in the morning.

Crystal has been presenting different challenges to her readers each day, which I have really been trying to utilize. Here are my morning goals so far:

1. Wake up every morning between 7:00am and 7:30am.
2. Go to bed every evening at 10:30pm (11:00pm at the latest).
3. Accomplish 5 things each evening to give my mornings a good start:
1. Lay out clothes for the next day
2. Pick up around the house for 5-10 minutes
3. Clean the kitchen
4. Make a list for the following day
5. Get ready for bed (makeup off, wash face, etc)

I'm two days in, and I've gotten up at 7:30 both days! I'm still working on bedtime, but it's been 11:30pm, then 11:00pm, and tonight it will probably be 11:00pm again. Not too bad! I've gotten 1-3 things done on my evening list each night, so I feel fairly accomplished there. I'm hoping that I can get those things done most nights to give myself some morning peace. I am so excited about this challenge, and I hope to report good results!

Would you be willing to join me in making the most of your mornings? Be sure you head over to Money Saving Mom to join Crystal's challenge! And if you do, please comment and let me know! I'd love to check in with each other and keep one another accountable.

How *Not* to Take Your Little One on Vacation

We took a trip up into the mountains this weekend with Eli. It was his first overnight trip and the little guy did great! Ben and I though... well, let's just say we're still learning how to do this whole parenting thing. Here's a few tips we learned not to do next time:

1. Carry your child around outside at high altitude on a sunny day for a few hours with no hat or sunscreen. That little red nose is something every pediatrician loves.

2. Try to put your child into your new hiking backpack marked "for children who sit well" when he hasn't even sat up yet. When he screams, just try again. It's bound to work eventually, right?

3. Realize your mistake about the sun the day before, so dress him in a jacket, pants, socks and a hat to keep out the sun. When he cries, just keep walking.

4. Lay your child down in the grass to get some wiggles out, noticing only after he's coughing that he has been shoving handfuls of grass in his mouth. Protein anyone?

5. Forget that hotel rooms are cold and put your child to bed in a onesie with no socks or pants. Although the two-chair makeshift crib was pretty awesome (it really was!), the fact that he's freezing all night was not.

6. Stick your child in a creek up to his knees. If he looks grumpy, just do it again. That means he loves it.

7. Forget to clip you child's nails for a few weeks, and then wait for him to give himself a nasty scratch on his face that bleeds for a few minutes.

In all seriousness, keep your child safe and happy, and enjoy your trip. Traveling with kids can be a lot of work, but also a lot of fun!

Growing Pains

Today is day three of intense teething. I'm beginning to wonder if the little guy is every going to pop through Eli's gums. He's been fussy, clingy, exhausted, and even feverish at times. He's constantly chewing on something and loves his teething ring. The poor guy will smile at me and make sounds like "I love you but this really hurts, Mom."

I am exhausted. I saw every single hour on the clock last night, getting up and down with him. Ben has been working long hours the past couple weeks and today he's down in southern Colorado on a construction site. He may not be home until late tonight.

I have nothing left this morning. I barely got sleep last night. I took a 5 minute shower today but had to listen to Eli screaming the whole time. I'm not sure how to keep going, but yet I have to. These are the days when, quite honestly, I want to be back at work dealing with spreadsheets and students. Yet here I am, unexpectedly a mother. Can I be surprised by joy today? I hope to be. As Eli stares up at me adoringly, I know this will all be worth while. And maybe today we'll finally see that tooth.

Dear Coffee,

I know we haven't spent a lot of time together since I got pregnant last summer. I hope you won't hold that against me today. See, my sweet son has woke up at least 10 times last night and I'm completely exhausted. Plus, my family is coming over tonight so I've got to clean the whole house and bake a dessert. So if you could give me the magical powers that come from drinking you, that would be much appreciated!

Sincerely,
A very, very tired mama

Four Months Old

Here we are at four months already! Time has really flown. The weather has been so beautiful that we did Eli's pictures outside this time. I really love how they came out!

This month Eli's personality has really begun to shine. Ben and I are having so much fun with him! He smiles, laughs and coos at us all the time.

He is even more curious this month, taking in the world around him. He particularly loves being outside and looking at trees.

Eli's had a lot of big accomplishments this month! He's rolled over both ways, laughed much more often, grabbed toys, and begun mimicking sounds we make.

Right now he's laying in his crib cooing and talking to himself. It's so cute! We stopped swaddling him last week now that he can roll over, and so it's been a challenge to keep him asleep when he has so much freedom. Sometimes when I go to get him up he's turned in the opposite direction than when we put him down.

I am still struggling with this transition, but I'm finding it is beginning to be easier. I realized this week that I cannot live in a hurry any more. Our days each have their own rhythm and I'm learning to go with the flow. Motherhood is such a huge change, but a good one. Here's to another great month!

All pictures copyright Firebird Imaging. Images may not be reproduced for any purpose.