Mexico.

What can I say about Mexico?
I love Mexico. Hot weather, beautiful beaches, friendly people. The perfect combination for a perfectly relaxing vacation.
Unless you add kids.

At which point it becomes utterly exhausting.
To be honest, coming home from Mexico, I couldn’t even remember if we’d had a good time. It was so busy and so hot and just so tiring!

But then I looked through all of the pictures I’d taken and I remembered that, yes, we had a wonderful time. I don’t really ever want to do it again, but it was a lot of fun.

We traveled with my sister and her three kids. So if you’re good at math, you know that means 7 kids. All under 7 years old. We got a lot of crazy looks in airports. Well, and everywhere else too, really.

The kids did travel well though; only the littles cried a few times. Traveling with Ivy was like traveling with a honey badger, but at least she was a happy honey badger.

The kids all had such a great time in Mexico. They loved the pool and they loved the beach and they loved the food. It was so hot and we did so much walking but they were such little troopers, all of them.

It was so nice for the kids to be able to spend so much time with their cousins. The days we did spend apart we were asked over and over again where the girls were.

Ivy was constantly doted on by everyone, but especially by her cousins. She just ate it up. She loves her big girl cousins so much.

It was a busy week with my sister getting married. We missed out on some stuff simply because we had four kids to take care of, which is too bad, but that’s the way it goes I guess! I don’t even really have any pictures of my sister on her wedding day!

(Do you see Ivy napping on the balcony?)

The first day we were in Mexico the ocean was so calm, you could see fish and even rays swimming around. It freaked the kids out a bit, but once they worked up the nerve, they had a great time in there. Except Oliver, he never would try it out.

He would go in to his ankles, and that was fine, but mostly he was happy to just play in the sand. Nothing beats the sand and a shovel and pail, really.

Our resort had hammocks everywhere, which was great because it meant we didn’t have to go back to the room for naps ever. Ivy slept a couple times a day, and even Oliver climbed in to a hammock for a nap every day. To be honest, Oliver probably did the most relaxing of any of us, lucky guy.

There was one brief stretch of time on our last day that we got to be child-free with my sister and brother-in-law and brother and sister-in-law. We really packed a lot of good times into those precious few hours.

Even though it was not a peaceful or relaxing holiday by any means, we had a really great time as a family. It was nice to have a whole week to just play.

Mexico, I hope I see you again soon. Just maybe without the kids next time.

Ivy :: 16 months.

It’s been awhile since I did an Ivy update, and she just turned 16 months (whaaaa?) so it seemed like a good time to do it.

This little lady, whoah, she gives us a run for our money.

She is such a little firecracker. She knows what she wants. And what she doesn’t want. And she’s not afraid to tell you. By screaming bloody murder if you don’t comply.

I hauled her off screaming and kicking under my arm so many times in Mexico, it wasn’t even funny. She seems too cute to be a tyrant, but she is.

Oh but she’s also just so sweet. She’ll just melt your heart over and over again (usually just about around the time you’re ready to sell her to the circus…). She’s full of hugs, and kisses, and the biggest smiles.

She’s such a little adventurer; ready for fun and up for new experiences at all times. She has no fear, which causes us great fear. At the waterpark in Mexico she went under the water so many times, she probably swallowed half the pool, but she always came up smiling, and ready to do it again. She loves life.

She’s so friendly. Walking around the resort in Mexico, she waved at practically everyone. She’s started saying “Hi!” (sounds more like “aaaah!”) and she’s also nodding enthusiastically and sometimes even says yes, which sounds more like “ass” at this time, but hey, she’s a baby so she can get away with it.

She’s got her dad wrapped right around her finger, and she sure loves him so much too. She is always so excited to see him, and still calls most of us “Dada!”, although I’m starting to get Mama more often, finally!

We just love this little baby so intensely. She brings all of us so much joy and so many laughs (oh she has her brothers just about rolling on the floor they’re laughing so hard sometimes!). I’m sure she has many, many time-outs ahead of her, but I’m confident she’s going to be a really great kid. The life of the party, probably. Love you little princess!

Oliver says.

A crying Oliver in his bed just told me:

“You need to cuddle me! That will make the tears go back up in my head!”

And so it did.

He is three now.

Oliver turned three while we were in Mexico. He was very excited about having his birthday.

We bought him a new bathing suit. He asked for one, and then picked it out, and then told me to just bring it home and wrap it up. So I did. The boys bought him a small Mater and Captain Hook. He played with those two little toys all week in Mexico. He’s easy to please.

I can hardly believe my baby boy is three already. He’s such a fun kid; easy-going, relaxed, and friendly. He can be such a little show-off sometimes, and we honestly really love that, since our oldest two have typically been so shy as littles.

Besides a couple months when he was a newborn, he’s generally been such an easy kid. He plays so well by himself, but happily plays with others too (unless it’s a certain little sister). The last six months or so haven’t been the easiest with him, though. He’s been extremely emotional and cries easily and often, it seems. He’s a master pouter, and regularly uses the phrases, “But I’m sad! I’m upset! I’m crying!” etc, etc. It’s getting a bit old and I hope he outgrows it and we see more of his happy little self again soon.

I just love Oliver’s silly little personality. He loves the camera/iPhone/iPad and as soon as he sees it is asking for you to take a picture of him (after which he insists on editing and sharing his picture via Instagram).

He’s a sweet little boy, always making good use of his imagination and a variety of sound effects. He loves building with legos, playing with any kind of “twoys”, and coloring.

He still usually really loves bathtime, although his baths are becoming more and more infrequent lately. He’s just too busy I think.

He loves his family, and he loves me. He is quick to tell me he loves me, always wants a cuddle or a hug, and gives kisses freely. The other day we were looking at a magazine together and he saw a perfume ad featuring Penelope Cruz. He said to me, “She’s pwetty.” Then he said, “She wooks wike you.” (Melt.) And then he went on to say, “I willy wike you.”

I really like you too Oliver. So so much.

Happy birthday baby boy.

Home again.

We are back from a very fun, very hot, and very exhausting week in the Mayan Riviera!

We got home at midnight last night and are still recuperating- Ivy napped for 4 1/2 hours this afternoon! (Confession: I napped for three!)
I have managed to whittle down all the pictures I took so I am left with only 290 of my favorites. That’s not even an exaggeration at all.
Anyway, hope to be back soon and share some more with you!

Sewing for holidays :: camera strap, bag, and passport wallet.

So in the last month I’ve made four tutus, nine pocket squares, a camera bag, camera strap, and a passport wallet.

The tutus turned out freaking awesome, but you’ll have to wait until after the wedding to see them. Same with the pocket squares, but believe me when I say a two year old with a pocket square is an adorable thing.

Everything else I sewed in the last two days, and I feel ever-so-productive! Heck, I even cleaned out the fridge today! (But only because I don’t want Neil’s grandma, who’s house sitting next week, to be grossed out by my fridge.)

Anyway, on to the goods. My camera needed a new strap cover that fit properly, and I really wanted one with a lens cap pocket, because I put that thing down in the oddest places and then of course can never find it again. Hopefully that won’t happen with my new strap.

One of my favorite parts is the little bit of patchwork on the back of the strap. I didn’t have enough of the yellow and so I had to piece it with some other fabrics. I really love how it turned out.

I also made a little drawstring bag to put my camera in. It is lined and I put a layer of fusible fleece in there to give it a little more protection. I just wanted something small enough to throw in a bigger bag, and I think this will do the trick perfectly.

I followed this tutorial to make the bag. The only thing I did differently was that I didn’t sew in a casing. I didn’t feel like having it too “ruffly”. It was a really nice tutorial; a super easy way to make a lined bag.

Theeeeeeen I made a passport wallet. Neil was going to buy one the other day (apparently he didn’t think our ziploc bag was classy enough?) and I was all like, “No! I’ll make one!” and then I actually did! I used this pattern and I love it!

One of the things I love about it is the pocket on the back- perfect for holding travel documents or whatever else!

I love how it turned out. It really is much nicer than a ziploc bag.

Now my sewing for Mexico is all done, thank goodness. I am so ready to get outta here and get on the beach!

They got big.

The big boys’ passports expired so we got them new ones.

I honestly can’t believe how much they’ve “grown up” in the last couple years.

Seriously, where did my babies go??