Tag Archives: growth

All in a Year: 12 Months

June 6, 2016 kittywilkin 22 Comments

And just like that, all of the blocks for Finn’s milestone quilt are finished and my baby is officially one year old. They say “babies don’t keep” but somehow it feels like the past year flew by especially quickly. I won’t even try to pretend I won’t miss this project dearly now that it’s mostly finished. I do still need to piece the top and quilt it, so no worries–you haven’t seen the last of Finn and his quilt!

Within the past week, Finn has fully mastered walking and now prefers it over crawling. He joyfully walks circles around the house, his wobbly steps getting stronger and smoother by the day. This joy of walking certainly made this photo shoot the most difficult yet! I got one, only one, photograph of Finn relatively near his final quilt block, and while it’s not as clear as I’d like, it’s staying.

Twelve months is 12 months, and not even mommy’s most sincere and pleading attempts will keep a newfound walker from walk, walk, walking! Just as a reminder, here is Finn with his very first milestone quilt block, 11 long months ago:

Isn’t it absolutely mind-blowing how much babies grow and learn in such a short time!? Life is an amazing thing.

My big kids brought home a couple of balloons from their cousin’s first birthday this weekend (we had a full family birthday weekend with both Finn and cousin Reagan born 26 hours apart), and they have become the favorite toy for all three kids. (Safety note: Yes, I know that balloons are not technically safe for babies, so I will reassure you here that I only allow Finn to play with the balloon when I am directly supervising him!) I figured giving Finn something fun to hold was my best bet at having him stand still for even a moment.

Even still, Finn would rather walk around than stand still, despite my best efforts. C’est al vie. Such is life with a brand new walker!

Add an eager almost-four-year old big brother helper, and the majority of my photos looked like this:

or, more accurately, like this:

This is part of what I have loved about this project, though. It has given me an opportunity to sit down, reflect, and write about life in the current moment. By documenting each month of my baby’s life, I’m also documenting our life as a family. With our busy lives, how often do we take a moment to write about our day? I have loved that this project has given me the motivation to write, reflect, and document the joyful milestones in Finn’s first year.

Finn continues to have a sweet and joyful disposition, complete with his newfound ability to express frustration and flop himself face down, crying, on the floor. Overall, though, he is a happy boy and a super helper. He loves to help me unload the dishwasher, taking out each utensil and holding it up for me (as long as I’m quick enough to take it within a second or two). When he does that, I always say “Thank you!” and now it sounds like he says, “Thank you!” right back. This morning while I was getting dressed, he joyfully opened my dresser drawer and started taking out folded clothes, tossing them on the floor one at a time and saying “thank you” after each one! Oh, the innocence of babes!

Finn has helped take these blocks off the wall for the very last time. Next up is squaring up the blocks and sewing the quilt top together. I’m going to give myself a month in which to do it, since it feels like an attainable goal. Setting realistic goals is still something I’m continuously working on, and something this project has helped with greatly. As much as I may have itched at times to make extra blocks, or up the ante to two blocks per month, I’m SO glad that I stuck with my original plan of one block per month, since deadlines have a funny way of sneaking up on me. Sure, it took an entire year, but all of the blocks for Finn’s quilt have been made! A finished quilt is just around the corner.

For those of you new to this project, you can see the full quilt layout plan, HERE in the 3 month post. The blocks are all completely finished now, and just as planned! You can see the full progression of Finn and his quilt’s growth HERE or by clicking the “Milestone Quilt” tab at the top of my blog. Thank you for joining me on this journey! I’m not considering the journey over just yet, since I will check in with quilt finishing progress, too, with Finn’s help of course!

I’ll end this post with a few peeks from Finn’s first birthday party. He had such a great time!

finn 1 year old birthday milestone quilt — Cheerful boy + good light = sweet shot!

Here’s to many more years of growth, joy, and family fun!

I’m linking up with Design Wall Monday, and Sew Cute Tuesday tomorrow.

Life, Quilting

The Final Stretch: 11 Months

May 6, 2016 kittywilkin 17 Comments

I’ve been here every day, experiencing every moment, yet still it’s hard to believe my baby is nearly a year old. Finn is walking more and more, beginning to talk a bit (he clear as day said “yes” when I asked him if he wanted more milk last night, and “mama” is a regular), he’s learned how to tell me when he doesn’t like something, and his wonder of the world around him only grows. I know that he has a lot more growing and developing to do, but his milestone quilt is nearly finished. I had to laugh to myself a bit a few weeks ago when Finn threw his first fit. You know the kind, where he gets his hands on something he really shouldn’t have (in this case, a pony bead that he surely would try to eat), you take it away, trying to distract him with something else, but still he whines, arches his back and makes it known that he is NOT happy. My first thought was, “Awww cute! Finn learned how to throw a fit!” True tale sign he’s my third child. While it’s still a bit cute when he throws a fit, I’m sure it will get old long before he outgrows it. But still, he’s such a blessing. Looking at these photos, you’d never think he’d be capable of throwing a fit. Now that walking and moving is old hat for Finn, this photo shoot was quite a feat. Just about as soon as I set him down standing, he’d start to walk toward me. Adorably cute, yes, but jolting movement doesn’t bode well for clear photos. Still I managed to get a few good ones, and of course I’ll be sharing them here. This month, we had some friends over during his photo shoot (which actually happened this morning!), so his friend Ronin joined him for the photos. Ronin is a few months younger than Finn, but it was fun to see them interact. Here I was asking and signing to Finn, “Where’s your friend?” I’m trying to sign all the time to Finn and it’s slowly starting to show. He finally signed “more” while eating eggs the other morning, and I think is beginning to sign “milk” and perhaps “all done”. He seems much more interested in verbal communication, and it sounds to me like he says: mama, milk, more, Maddie, Max, water, yes, and perhaps a few more. The development of a human brain blows my mind. Once again, the highlight of the day was ripping the blocks off the wall. Here Ronin looks on as Finn takes the first block down, and turns to check with Emily (Ronin’s mom) to make sure it’s ok.

finn milestone quilt 11 months — How happy do they look!?

Once I gave them the go ahead, it was a quilt block grabbing, tasting, throwing free-for-all. Ronin especially enjoyed the tactile-oral quality control job. Such adorable kids.

As you may have noticed in some of the photos above, I recently found potential backings for Finn’s milestone quilt. While doing a bit of quilt shop hopping during Maine’s April quilt shop hop, I spotted two prints that stuck with me at Mainely Sewing. After walking through the shop, I found myself coming back to these two.

They are by Stof Fabrics, which is a fabric company unfamiliar to me before now. The fabric feels sturdy and smooth, and based in Denmark, I anticipate high quality. After much deliberation, I bought a couple yards of each print, just in case. I haven’t seen them elsewhere, so I thought it was a wise purchase.

To be honest, the print that looks like birch trees was the one I thought I’d use for the backing, until seeing them hanging next to the quilt. Looking at the photo above, I’m leaning strongly toward the print on the left. I love the pops of gold in both of them, since some of the fabrics I used in the quilt blocks for the front have gold details, and the square geometric pattern reflects the log cabin structure. I can see this quilt coming together, and it’s such a fun sight!

I deliberated over which photo of Finn to use for his 11 month block photo, since this one of him carefully standing is pretty adorable, but I ultimately chose the one with him leaning over, peeking out into the kitchen where Emily and Max were talking.

This photo seems relevant to his stage of life right now–wanting to get into the mix, discover everything, and communicate and run with the big kids. He’s getting awfully tall, too! One more month before he’s a one-year-old! I’ll check in again next month to share the celebration.

For those of you new to this project, you can see the full quilt layout plan, HERE in the 3 month post. You can see the full progression of Finn and his quilt’s growth so far HERE or by clicking the “Milestone Quilt” tab at the top of my blog. Thank you for joining me on this journey!

Business, Paper piecing, Patterns, Quilting

Bean Sprout: FPP Pattern Release

April 29, 2016 kittywilkin 12 Comments

Today I am excited to release my newest foundation paper pieced (FPP) pattern, Bean Sprout. Today is arbor day, so for now I’m thinking of it as more of a tree sprout, but regardless of which species you’re growing, this block pattern is ready to roll!

To me, the bean sprout is the epitome of spring, new life, and the wonder of discovery. I have watched my children’s excitement over the first sprout of newly planted seeds, and wanted to capture that fresh promise. This block is perfect for the gardeners among you, and I can see it as a focal block in a quilt, or even turned into pillows, tote bags, wall hangings, or table runners.

You may remember my first iteration of this Bean Sprout block, which I turned into a pillow and donated to my daughter’s school for their annual fundraiser auction/raffle. Since then, I made a few tiny tweaks to the pattern to make it a bit more versatile, easier to piece, and clearer to follow. The block finishes at 8″x12″, but can easily be made into a 12″x12″ finished block by adding two side strips, which is explained in the pattern.

The pattern includes clear piecing diagrams, sewing tips, and templates for the 8″x12″ finished block, with various shading to help with accurate fabric placement. Quarter inch seam allowances are included on all pattern pieces to help ensure easy piecing, and a 1″ reference square is on every printable page so that scale can be confirmed. Full foundation paper piecing instructions are not included in the pattern, but I have a thorough paper piecing tutorial HERE. Lee Heinrich from Freshly Pieced also has a fabulous tutorial on the Bernina We All Sew blog HERE, which will ensure you will never miss corners again. Knowing all of the information in these two tutorials will help demystify FPP, or at the very least will GREATLY reduce seam ripping.

bean sprout block bring spring no matter the weather — Sew up the bean sprout block to bring spring no matter the weather!!

Bean Sprout is available for sale in my Payhip shop, at an introductory price of $2.50 through the weekend. Tuesday morning EST, it will go up to its standard price of $5.00.

I pushed spring into summer with my latest version of the block, using Cotton + Steel teals and coral that remind me of watermelon. I wanted to show the versatility of the color possibilities with this true-to-life block. While my brain initially goes to the greens and blues true to real life bean sprouts and summer sky, there are many other combinations that could work well to make the block shine! (For the avid gardeners among you, yes, I know the seedling shown is a brussel sprout plant, not a bean!)

There’s not much more exciting than seeing what others create with my patterns, so if you make this block, please use the tag #beansproutblock on social media and tag me @nightquilter. Sending an email would also work! Enjoy, spread the word, and go grow some quilts!

I’m linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday, Needle and Thread Thursday, and Let’s Bee Social.

Paper piecing, Quilting, Sewing

Make Earth Day Every Day: Grow Pillow

April 22, 2016 kittywilkin 13 Comments

Earth Day has always been one of my favorites days. I strive to fully embody the “Earth Day is Every Day” ideal with my day to day life, from adopting a whale in third grade and frequent stream clean ups as a child, to majoring in environmental science in college, to aiming to instill a love and respect for the earth and all its creatures and functions in my children. The earth is our home, and it is our responsibility to help nurture and care for it. Today seemed like the perfect day to share my newly finished pillow featuring my bean sprout foundation paper pieced pattern.

I’m calling this pillow “Grow” and it will be donated to a fundraiser auction/raffle at our local school. The theme for the fundraiser is “Growth & Gardening” so it fits perfectly!

I used my coveted Carolyn Friedlander bright green Architextures fabric (Robert Kaufman) for the sprout, with little leaves of lime linen leftover from a previous project and a dotty dark green that was in my stash, but has no selvedge. A light turquoise modern Indah batik by Me + You (Hoffman Fabrics) makes a perfect summer sky for the background. Alison Glass Sun Prints 2016 Sphere (Andover) as the border rounded out the pillow nicely. It’s bound in the remainder of the lime linen blend and backed in that same mystery, beautiful dark green fabric. I quilted the pillow front with coordinating 50wt Aurifil thread in 2800-Mint Ice, since it blends right in with both the background and the green bean sprout.

I was hoping to release the Bean Sprout Pattern today, too, but lo… life got in the way and it’s not quite ready yet. Soon, hopefully. The pattern finishes at 12″ square so I added 2″ borders all around to bring the pillow to 16″ square.

I also inserted my very first hidden zipper in the back of this pillow, which is SO exciting! I used a fabulous tutorial by S.O.T.A.K. handmade and it worked like a charm. I am definitely installing hidden zippers in the backs of all of my pillows from now on.

Now that this pillow is finished and photographed, it will be delivered to my daughter’s school for their annual fundraising auction/raffle. Last year’s donated project taught me a lot about the art of giving, and this year’s gift seems no less serendipitous. A quilted item was needed for a growth-themed fundraiser, right as I had tested my bean sprout pattern–perfect! I’m curious to see what next year brings, and I hope this pillow is able to raise some money for our local school!

I’m linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday, and TGIFF, since a finish ALWAYS warrants celebration! Now, off I go on a hike to celebrate this gorgeous Earth Day! Head on outside and love your mama!

Life, Quilting

Upward: 10 Months

April 9, 2016 kittywilkin 17 Comments

It’s hard to believe that my baby will be a year old in less than two months. They don’t lie when they say “babies don’t keep”. Finn is in the final stretch, as is his milestone quilt. I’ll warn you now: I took a LOT of photos this month. If you don’t feel like seeing far too many cute baby photos, you may want to just stop here. The rest of you may want to get a beverage and find a comfortable seat!

Finn is itching to run around with his older siblings, and that motivation is clear in his movement and development. A few days before 10 months, he took his first few (three, to be exact) small, tentative steps. Were they to mommy or daddy? No! They were to big sister Maddie, with whom he really wanted to play. He has been mastering climbing down as well as up stairs, and absolutely loves to dance. His solo standing is now quite steady.

His quilt is growing, too. Creating the blocks has become second nature, and with the extra precut strips saved from previous blocks, the new blocks go together quickly. As anticipated, the toughest part about this quilt now is the monthly photo shoot. Finn was *really* helpful this time!

While I taped the blocks to the wall as quickly as I could, Finn was helping me sort the project box for this milestone quilt. In baby terms, this means pull everything out of the box then proceed to mix around as much as possible. Oh, and taste all the things!

Taking the blocks off the wall is also a really well known and delightfully entertaining game. This month’s photo should really look like the photo above. As Finn adorably revealed. I’ve been hiding an outlet behind the blocks all these months! In a house with a million outlets and hardly any clear walls, you have to make do! He’s so proud of himself.

Finn now has four teeth, and his top two grow bigger daily. You can barely see them peeking out in this photo. Such a sweet mug!

Playing throw and catch is another favorite of 10 month-old Finn. Here we are playing with my newly made repurposed denim ball.

finn 10 months milestone quilt — I caught this gem action shot with the ball in the air!

He actually has quite an arm already, and almost always throws the ball forward instead of behind him!

He’s just SOOOO big! There are those top teeth!

With teeth comes the ability to eat more adventurous things. Toward the end of the photo shoot I discovered one of the reasons Finn was so intent on taking the blocks off the wall.

He was aiming to eat the blue painter’s tape right off the wall! Must be delicious!

So there we have it. Ten months old!

Life, Quilting

Tipping Point: 9 Months

March 5, 2016 kittywilkin 18 Comments

Finn has officially been growing on the outside as long as he grew on the inside. (Well, if you want to get really technical, he has another two weeks since he was born at 42 weeks gestation, but I’m just going with generalities a bit). This feels like the tipping point, for some reason. It’s amazing to think about the amount of growth that has happened over the past 18 months. Mind boggling, really. 18 months ago he was simply cells, and now…. wow! Life is miraculous, there’s no doubt. With month nine, I’m now working on the final row of his Milestone Quilt. Only three more blocks until it will be finished and ready to assemble. That means only three more months until my little baby will be a year old.

When I was thinking about what monthly milestones he’s been working on and meeting, and therefore which ones I wanted to document here, I immediately thought of his experiments with standing. He is getting steadier on his feet and will sometimes *briefly* let go of whatever it is he’s holding and stand on his own. Up until the photo shoot yesterday, though, these standing bouts lasted only a second or two.

You can imagine my surprise when Finn stood on his own for a few minutes, albeit propped against the wall! There’s my 9-month old boy!

As you can see, he’s still putting just about everything in his mouth, chomping at the bit as his teeth work their way in. He still has only those bottom two, but his top teeth look like they are getting close to breaking through. The drool faucet is often turned on.

I’m really loving seeing his quilt come to life. It does take some restraint to make such a simple quilt in such a long, drawn out time, but I think it is so worth it. I’m seeing my quilt-making mature as I watch my son grow, and I’m keeping the project completely manageable. This month I’m proud to say I made his block a few days in advance, and did the photoshoot yesterday. I won’t try to count how many months saw a last-minute day-of rushed shoot and late night sewing sessions. This month, I’m winning.

One of Finn’s new favorite positions is on his knees. He “stands on his knees” as Maddie likes to say, and bops up and down, chewing on a toy, or dancing along to music or just about any repetitive sound. He LOVES to dance. He still loves to smile, too.

With his increasingly steady stance, he is exploring the world with earnest. Those little hands reach and grab, trying to figure out every little thing. I’ve had to reevaluate the “safe zone” height in our house, since there have been a few large items pulled to the ground due to his exploring reach. No worries–all furniture and large items are securely fastened to the wall. Fortunately, Max made that a necessity so we are well prepared for our next active boy.

Finn still loves watching the chickens, and has begun to “talk” to them, as well as to the phone when it rings. He’s working on waving “hello” and loves to interact with others, especially his siblings.

Finn 9 month milestone quilt photo shoot — Finn “talking” to one of the friends who was here during the photoshoot. An epic 6-kid playdate was underway yesterday, but actually made the day more harmonious since everyone had a playmate.

As a year draws near, I’ve begun to think about how I want to preserve these milestone posts. While his baby book has been sorely neglected, I do have these updates each month and I’d like them to be in a preserved form. I’m thinking I will turn at least the highlights of each post (the photos and milestone accomplishments) into a book via Shutterfly. That way, Finn will have his quilt and his First Year book to look back on. I love this project more every month!

Life, Quilting

Exploration: 8 Months

February 8, 2016 kittywilkin 20 Comments

If I thought Finn was on the move last month, this month takes it literally to another level. A few days ago, I was helping Max get his socks on in the morning and casually glanced over to make sure Finn wasn’t eating anything he shouldn’t. I am so glad I did, since Finn was three steps up, headed gleefully up the stairs! He can crawl, pull up to stand, walk along with movable items, eat solid foods, and now climb stairs. I think he’s beginning to explore communication more, too, since he clearly understands the words and signs for “milk” and “food”, and anytime he sees his brother, he says, “bop!” I’m hoping he starts to sign back soon, since then the fun really begins! This kid is amazing!

As we know, as Finn grows, so does his quilt. With the eighth block finished, this is really beginning to look like a quilt!

Every month when I’m writing this post and looking at the quilt, I think perhaps I should up the ante and make two blocks per month to make it a bit larger when finished. But then, when the monthly milestone comes (and sometimes goes before a block is complete… ahem, this month), I remember that the reason I am keeping this project small is that it is meant to be attainable and fun, NOT stressful.

I’ll keep it to one block per month and will focus on the fun. At 36″x48″ finished dimensions, I think it will be the perfect drag-around size for Finn. Plus, this way if he feels like he outgrows his quilt, it can go right into the memory box (in tatters, hopefully) and I will make another one!

finn 8 month milestone quilt — Such a helpful boy!

As you can see, Finn enjoyed helping with this month’s photo shoot. All predictions related to the complexity of successfully photographing a fully mobile infant were absolutely correct! All part of the fun!

Who knows what kind of new explorations he’ll be tackling next month! Maybe he will be able to help me tape the blocks UP onto the wall instead of just pulling them off?

If you want to see the full quilt layout plan, I showed it HERE in the 3 month post. You can see the full progression of Finn and his quilt’s growth so far HERE or by clicking the “Milestone Quilt” tab at the top of my blog. It’s wild to see how he’s grown in such a seemingly short time. Four more blocks to go! Thank you for joining me in creating Finn’s milestone quilt.

Life, Quilting

Half Birthday: 6 Months

December 8, 2015 kittywilkin 16 Comments

I’m proud to report that it took me six months before I “missed” a monthly milestone quilt block deadline for Finn’s baby quilt. Saturday marked six months since Finn’s birth; his half birthday! With a block still not sewn up, but a gorgeously warm and sunny day filled with family fun on the schedule (my husband’s company holiday party for kids at the bounce house, choosing and cutting our Christmas tree, getting it home and setting it up, stringing lights, and even decorating!), there was no way I was going to meet the deadline. But, here we are ~~two~~ three* whole days later and guess what? Finn is still six months old! This is both a good practice in being gentle with myself, and a reminder that perhaps waiting until the last minute isn’t working for me in this stage of life. (*He’s teething and has a bit of a cold, so repeated wakings last night meant this post did not get up before my bedtime as hoped. Life with a baby!)

finn 6 months milestone quilt — This baby is sooooo big!

There’s always next month! Anyway, on to the fun! Finn is six months old already! He’s sitting a lot more sturdily, although still topples backward now and again. He still army crawls all over the house, but has begun to come up onto all fours and rock back and forth with a giant grin. He’s beginning to “complain” when he doesn’t like something–namely the carseat and riding in the car, but other than that he’s still a very agreeable, smiley, happy boy. Plus, I have no complaints about Finn being able to express his feelings.

I had to get more creative with this photo shoot since when I put Finn down on his back, he immediately rolls to his belly. Painters tape to the wall for the win! I’m still working on figuring out lighting, but I’m sure you can enjoy these photos even with some shadows.

I love seeing the quilt come together and feel like we are really beginning to get a glimpse of the look of the finished quilt. I know that we have no idea what Finn will be like at one year, but at least the quilt is beginning to take real shape in my mind.

Shall I set a new goal? I hope to make his 7 month block before Christmas. We’ll see if I can meet it! But I do know that even if I don’t, it’s ok. Life is life, and I am trying to enjoy every moment, even if it means I blog less, quilt less, and snuggle more. Finn is growing before my eyes, as we can all see through this project. Baby snuggles still and will always trump all else.

Happy sewing! Happy snuggling.

Design, Life, Quilting

First Quarter: 3 Months

September 5, 2015 kittywilkin 30 Comments

Time flies. Really, it does. It’s so cliche, but when it hits me how quickly hours become days, days become weeks, weeks become months, and then, surely, the months become years, it makes me slow down and remember how important it is to make the most of each moment. Three months have already passed since little Finn joined us on the outside. The first quarter of his first year is complete. I actually planned ahead this month, too, so that means a quarter of his monthly milestones baby quilt is complete.

monthly milestone quilt 3 months — “Wow, that’s growing!”

As promised, I finally settled on an overall layout and design for this quilt, and now I’m even more excited for the outcome.

I settled on a color scheme of dark and light teal and blacks/greys, both because they are fabulous colors, but also because I have plenty of teal and black/grey fabric in my scraps pile and stash. I also added a slightly skewed log cabin block to help provide the appearance of some curves and to add some interest to the overall quilt.

Finn's Monthly quilt block 2 — Monthly Milestones quilt Block 2

This month I made a Block 2, with wide light teal and narrow black/grey pieces. Creating the illusion of a curve is really quite simple with log cabin blocks. I drafted this block from the outside in, with 1″ strips on two edges and 2″ strips on the opposite two edges, ending with a 2″ square in the off-set center.

The finished quilt will require five (5) block 1s and seven (7) block 2s. Block 1 is a more improv, scrappy log cabin with strips varying in widths, but generally around 2″ or 2.5″ in width. Both blocks are quick and easy to make.

Enough about the quilt, though; I know you really want to hear about Finn! He is truly a blessing. He still loves to “talk” back and lights up whenever anyone looks him in the eye. His favorite thing as far as I can tell is having conversations with anyone who will sit and look at him, replying to his baby babble and grunts. He is generous and unbiased with his smiles, but the looks of true adoration are directed toward his siblings.

Finn just recently started finding his hands, which is really fun to watch. I love seeing him deep in thought, examining his hands and clearly working hard at figuring out how to get them to do his bidding. He grabs my arm or hand when it’s within his reach, but he’s not quite reaching out to grab things yet.

Now that I have a clear plan for the quilt, I’m even more excited to see it come together as Finn grows. While I’m tempted to up the ante to two blocks per month (one every 2 weeks feels doable), I am going to be easy on myself and stick with the one block per month plan. A finished 36″x48″ will be a great drag-around size as he grows into toddlerhood.

I’m linking up with Show off Saturday with Sew Can She.

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Life, Quilting

Growth: 2 Months

August 5, 2015 kittywilkin 20 Comments

While that first month seemed to last so long, with days and nights filled with slow baby snuggles, the second month flew by as we returned to our daily routine. My baby is two months old! With a bit over 20 minutes of sewing time (#sewtake20!) his second monthly quilt block is finished.

Finn 2 months old quilt — They are both growing!

I decided to make another teal block since I still have a lot of teal scraps. I think rather than my usual rainbow, I’m going to stick with a simple color scheme for this quilt: teal and black & white. I really need to sketch out a firm plan, so I’ll make that a goal for month three.

Finn 3 months old quilt looking around — He is so alert and interested in the world around him.

I am blessed beyond belief with this boy. He has such a peaceful demeanor, and as soon as he hit one month old, he was all smiles. He is so very interested in the world around him, and I love having “conversations” with him. After three children, I have mastered the art of the one-sided conversation, and I truly love the baby babble and expressions I get in return.

Finn 2 months — He’s telling me all about it.

Perhaps the best part about growing our family is the love between siblings. Maddie and Max love their little brother almost as much as he loves them, and seeing the sweet exchanges is heart warming, even on a crazy day.

I’m excited to see this quilt grow with my little guy, and the one-block-per-month requirement still feels more than doable (even if I did make this block last night).