quilting crash course

My mom's friend Joy is a wonderful seamstress and quilter. When she heard I was interested in making a quilt, she flew in town to teach me. For 2 days, I ignored my house, kids and husband to start and almost finish a quilt. (My parents came over every day to babysit, so my children were not too neglected) She taught me a lot and has inspired me so much, I already ordered some fabric for my next quilt!


I love picking out fabrics and coordinating ones that go together. I was inspired to do the quilt when I came across a sweet design with trees on it. I built the quilt around that one piece of fabric using pinks, yellows, greens and oranges. I cut out all of the fabrics before Joy got here. Later, she taught me how to cut them out in a much easier way using some new tools. Like Eric says "there's a tool for every project". I'll just repeat that to him when I spend a small fortune acquiring all the necessary tools.

I have a very basic sewing machine, but it works great for all my sewing projects. You don't need a super fancy machine to get started.



Joy recommended that I get a quarter inch quilting foot and I LOVE it. I'm not very good at sewing a straight line because I'm too impatient, so it helps a ton. It basically guides the fabric so every seam you sew is 1/4th inch.



I used to get too frustrated sewing to enjoy it. Maybe it was the slippery minky and satin I used to make baby blankets that made me frustrated. Ever since I switched to cotton fabric, I must admit that I really enjoy it. I try not to worry about all the imperfections and just enjoy the process and the finished product I made with love for my family or friends.

It took me 1 and 1/2 days to learn how to quilt and sew all the patches together. I loved it so much, I decided to make it bigger. Right now it is 48" by 60" and I'm going to make it 60" by 80". Now I'm off to the fabric store to buy some more fabric so some day this quilt can go on my baby girl's bed! When I'm done with the quilt top and backing, I will ship it off to a professional for it to be quilted. I can't wait!

Thank you Joy for sharing all your wisdom with me! I had a great time and I truly appreciate it!

family reunion 2009

Saturday we did some shopping and had to hit all the touristy spots to take pictures. The kids had fun running through the giant shark, looking up at the tall lighthouse and picking out souvenirs to bring home.

Lauren once again was a trooper and a happiest little thing! She loved being out and about with us and slept great in the stroller.



Saturday night was the Curry family reunion. We always have so much fun watching the entertaining auction. Last year I was pregnant with Lauren and this year she was passed around like the sweet little doll she is. We had a great time and can't wait to do it all again next year!

fun in the sun

The beach was absolutely perfect this year. Highs in the low 90s, a light breeze and no seaweed made it so much nicer than last year. You can see how much the boys have grown since last year here and here. We met our family at the beach and had a great set up with lots of shade, food and fun.

Lauren was a dream at the beach! She was so happy sitting in her bumbo seat, splashing in her pool and sleeping in Gege's arms. We put a tiny bit of fresh water in her pool and she had so much fun splashing around. She didn't cry once in the 8 hours we were there!

Chasing seagulls

This is what having too much fun in the sun looks like!

soaking up some sunshine

Thursday we loaded up the car and headed to Port Aransas for Eric's annual family reunion. The road trip this year was much nicer than last year when we headed towards a hurricane. This year we caravaned with Eric's parents, Emmy, Abby and Jake. Jennifer and Kai weren't able to come to the reunion because Jennifer broke her collarbone and have to have surgery. We really missed them and are praying for a quick recovery for Jennifer! We were so happy the kids got to come. The boys had a great time all weekend with their cousins!

Our first stop was at the marina to help catch some piggy perch to use as bait for Vince's big fishing tournament. The boys had a blast and each caught a fish. Ethan has always said he wants to grow up to be a fisherman, so he loved it.

On our way back to the condo, we stopped at the beach to dip our feet in. Austin and Ethan did a little more than dip their feet in!

Lauren had her first dip in the ocean.

5 months old

Lauren is 5 months old today!

She has changed so much in the last month! She loves to stand up and will stand up for a long time if you hold her hands to steady her. She can roll over both ways, but hasn't discovered she could roll to get where she wants to go yet. She really enjoys sitting in her bumbo seat and playing in her exersaucers. She found her hands and loves to reach and grab for things now. Most things go instantly into her mouth. Still no teeth yet though! (I'm not complaining about that at all!)

She still eats about every three to four hours and takes three naps during the day. She goes to bed at 7 pm, usually wakes up once to eat at 4 and wakes up for the day at 7:30. We have been letting her cry some and it has really helped her to soothe herself back to sleep without me having to go plug her pacifier in her mouth ten times a night.

Look how much she has grown!

Lauren is the sweetest, cuddliest little sweetie and we love her to pieces! I LOVE this age and am enjoying every minute with her!

little angel

ethan's letters & doodles

Ethan has been loving to draw, write and color recently. He is getting really good at it too! It makes me so happy and proud to see how much he has learned and see his creativity!

Today he wrote out the entire alphabet. We said the letters together and he wrote them out without looking at anything. He was very proud and can't wait to show Daddy when he gets home from work!

it's a bird, it's a plane...

it's Super Ethan, Super Austin and Super Lauren!

The boys picked out their own fabric for their capes and I made them. They both wanted robot material and they got to pick out the colors they wanted. They had fun zooming around the yard wearing them. Now I just need to make them some masks...

I wanted to make a cape for Lauren that was the same size as the boys for when she gets bigger. I just couldn't resist happened to have some extra fabric, so I made her one for now too. She is such a cute super baby!