Meow Dress

The dress I have been wanting for Levia has finally gone on sale! Yay! I ordered it on Monday and received it today, that was a fast delivery since it shipped on Tuesday. For anyone looking into getting cute clothes and shoes for little girls really have to check out Joy Folie, everything on that website is simply amazing! I love many of their shoes, but I'm waiting for Levia's feet to grow before I make a purchase. (She's 11 months and wearing a size 2 in infants, I'm so ready for her to rock some hard bottom shoes!) I ordered her the Cat's Meow Dress, I love every detail on it. The gold on it is just what I was looking for. Sizes start at 12 months, but since she has so many 12 month clothes I went with a size 2. I'm debating if it will be her birthday dress for when she turns 2, it seriously will be perfect!

 

 

 

 

 

Just look at the detail!

 

 

 

I can say this dress is just made so beautifully!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Ballerina Doll

Yesterday I had way too much time on my hands. Instead of going out and getting "me time" I decided to make Levia another doll. This time I decided to do a ballerina. I had no idea how it would turn out. Everything was hand sewn, I really with I knew how to use a sewing machine when it comes to projects like these. It took me several hours to finish her and I can say I am really loving it. Yeah, there are a few mistakes and she's not perfect but she was made by me with love. I hope Levia enjoys her! I do worry that she may fall apart though, who knows what Levia will do to her. Here are a few photos of Levia's ballerina.

 



Banners for Levia's Birthday

So I have officially started making some of Levia's birthday banners. It may be a few weeks too early, but I'd rather finish early than to do this all last minute. I started with her banners (2), since I had to cut many strips of cloth, lace ribbon, and tulle, I knew it would take me a while to get this done. I also made her 2 bunting banners that say "Levia" and "One". (That will go on her high chair) I don't have a theme to her birthday party just yet. For now I will share with you what I have done.

 



 

You can hardly see the tulle. (It looks amazing in person!)

A Night of Sparklers

Memorial Day weekend just passed. Though it should be a weekend of remembrance, many have lost sight of what this holiday really means. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary, we didn't celebrate or give out the usual "Happy Memorial Day" like many have been saying. We stayed home, we had our own day to us. I have lost a friend to war, though he was already out of the Military he still lost his battle. He suffered from PTSD, as much as he tried to fight it and pretend that he was okay he finally gave in. To us, his friends, it was a shock. How could we have let this happen, how did we manage to miss all the signs. The fact was, the signs were there. I would say many of us refused to acknowledge them. We didn't know how to handle it. Had we known what the outcome would be, we know we would have tried harder to save him. I catch myself missing him on random days, it can be hard. I can still remember his voice, his face. How we would grab lunch together and just talk for hours. The day we went to see the Andy Warhol exhibit at the McNay together, that was a day I will never forget. When we went to Whole Earth and he bought me a little bumble bee that I still hold close to my heart, even though he doesn't hop like he did, he holds more value than anyone could ever imagine. To end this, I just have to say. PTSD is real, if you know anyone who suffers from it, help them! You could potentially save a life.

 

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Here are a few photos of what we did as a family. Watching Levia look at sparklers was fun. It was something new she got to experience. Though I don't think she cared for it.

 

 

She may be little to understand about Memorial Day and Veteran's Day but I plan to teach her to always give thanks to those who fight for what we have no matter what branch they are. They deserve the acknowledgment and so much more.

 



Our Sick Little One

One of the days we were never looking forward to happened. Levia got sick! 11 months of perfect health was finally ruined by a stomach virus. We had to take her to the E.R. twice, her fever just didn't want to go down. At one point we were scared that it could be worse. The first Dr. didn't do anything, he just sent us home. That didn't make me feel any better. On the second trip to the E.R. we finally had a Dr. do a full check up on her. It made us feel better once we got the results. Everything was normal. Finally, I felt like someone heard us! One week has passed an our Levia is doing so much better. We were able to enjoy going to the beach and a nice walk around Pensacola these past two days.

 

 

Levia doesn't looks sick here, but our poor baby was fighting a fever all day.

 

Waiting for the Dr.

 

Levia had a little bit of dehydration.

 

Almost 4 hours in the ER, and all we could to was sit back and hold her little hand while she was being pricked with needles to have some testing run. (Daddy holding Levia's hand).

 

I had my turn it holding her. Watching her cry and scream with all the nurses around was one of the hardest things I as a mother could ever go through. You feel so helpless. Once we went home, the crying didn't stop. Levia cried so much during the days that she was sick. At one point I hugged her tight and just cried with her. I wish I could make her better from when I first saw the sign of her getting sick. I'm just very happy and blessed that Levia is back to being healthy.



Levia's First Carousel Ride

We have a beautiful carousel in the mall located in Mary Esther, (Santa Rosa Mall) but every time I go it's never on. No one is at the booth selling tickets so that we may get on and catch a ride. Today, has been just perfect. We went to the mall just to go, and BAM it was on! The lights, the music, watching children get on and go round and round with big grins on their faces was amazing. I had to make sure Levia got on. She did and she LOVED it so much. I doubt she has ever seen anything so shiny, so lit up, so bright, so magical in her life.

 

 

Levia's not sure what she's getting strapped on for, but I knew she wouldn't regret the surprise.

 

I love how she held on, it's like she knew what it was all along.

 

Time to get off. I don't think she was ready to let go of her bunny just yet.

 

I couldn't leave without taking some photos of this beautiful carousel. If you are ever in the area you must go. You won't regret it!



Family Beach Day

What a great day today was. The sun was out, the weather was great, and our trip to the beach was just perfect! We had been waiting weeks for this. All I can say is I had an amazing day. Levia got to swim around and enjoy the water. I have a feeling we are going to have a baby who loves the water. It's one thing to have her splashing in the tub and other to have her in open water. We had previously tried the swimming pool and all she did was cry, I had a feeling the beach would have her react the same way. I was wrong, she loves the beach! Who wouldn't when the beaches of Destin, Florida are crystal blue.

 

 

I love how this photo captures Levia in "Awe" with the beach. There were boats going by, people kayaking, children playing nearby, and small waves crashing against her legs.

 

Putting sunglasses on Levia can be a struggle and more when she pulls them off every two seconds. Not today, she actually kept them on for quite some time. I just love how she looks!

 

Finally a nice family photo. We never have a photo with us three, but luckily a nice older gentleman offered to take one of us. How great is that! I just love Florida so much!



11 Months Old

Hello 11 Months! You came faster than I could have imagined. Levia you have been learning so much, everyday you show me something new. You are brilliant, smart, beautiful, and very sweet. I could go on with everything that you are, you are every beautiful word that can be used towards someone times a thousand!

 

This month we have realized you have started to say a word that we both recognize. We came to the conclusion that it may indeed be your first word, that is "Chancho". (our dog) You love to talk to him, what secrets you share with him I do not know. He has grown to be your best friend, you spend countless minutes laughing at him while he zooms past you in hopes that you will one day chase him. You can't help it but think that he is just being funny. You do your best to be gentle but we all know that with time you will get better. You do your best to play fetch with him, grabbing the ball and trying your best to toss it so he can run after it and hand it to you. The ball may not travel far but he never fails to keep you happy. You both have shared some kisses, he loves to show you how much he adores you. Though we tend to get after him at times since he doesn't understand limits too well. He loves you no matter what. I'm so happy he has you.

 

 

 



Feather Headband

I finally got to one of my most anticipated projects ever. I have been wanting to make Levia a feathered headband for months, I just wasn't sure how to do it. Finally, I just told myself "do it!". I seriously have nothing to loose. If I mess up at least it was worth a shot. I am pretty impressed at how well it came out, I wish it could be a little better though. For now I will enjoy what I made her and have her wear it as much as possible. Lets just hope it never falls apart! 

 

 

 

And this is what it looks like on. I will have to update with better photos. (I took this one for my sister who lives states away, we really miss her and my niece.)

 

 

Levia's Birthday Gifts Get Wrapped

With about one month left until Levia's birthday, I already have been wrapping some of her gifts. Since her theme is pretty much a "shabby chic neutral" theme. With lots of tans, that have hints of light blue and light pink. I have not decided if I will add a little bit of a kitty cat theme to it. So we will see! For now, I'll just post up some pictures of the gift wrapping I did for her gifts. I went pretty neutral with all of them, here are a few.

 

 

This one is one of my favourites! I used a letter "L" stamp (for Levia) and just stamped rows of it. I didn't plan on it looking perfect, just as long as I put my heart into it and then some yarn to finish it off.

 

For this I used a paper lace style doilie, (Pack of 20 with 8 inch diameter doilies, bought at Publix) and some hemp cord.

 

Here I just made a simple yarn pom pom using my fingers since I made a small one.

 

I hand stamped triangles with white acrylic paint for this little gift. I used cardboard as stamps and some lace scraps I had from a previous project to add the bow.

 

I saved my favourite for last. I used the same concept as the previous one with the doilie. Only I used a dried up Orchid for the top. (The Orchid came from the flowers my husband got me for Valentine's Day, so it really means a lot to me to be able to reuse it).

 

Here is a small glimpse of what the side looks like.