New Skirt

I have been in the mood for sewing a lot lately. Ada's blessing dress took me a few weeks to get done. But I was able to get this made in just a couple of days. Have I ever mentioned how very much I love to sew? If I haven't I will say it now. I absoloutely love to sew. I wish I had way more time. There is so much more I want to learn about the fascinating world of clothing construction. I love fabric. All the amazing textures and colors and patterns. I am happy in room full of fabric. OK, I'll stop now. This skirt is I think only the second thing I have made for myself that actually turned out. It's a lot harder to get things to fit an adult properly. I've got little girls' dresses down pat though. Next up...I think Marley wants me to help her make ruffle skirt out of some pink eyelet we have laying around. She's becoming a rather talented little seamstress herself these days.

Don't Forget Your Hat And Boots!

We had a few nice sunny and fairly warm days a week or two ago, but for the most part it's still pretty wintery here in the Great Northwest. Luckily Ephraim has two posessions he doesn't ever like to be without. The first being the hood to his puffy red coat. He doesn't care too much about the coat itself, just the hood. The second, his rain boots.(In this photo he brought along his sisters' pink backpack for good measure.)

From time to time he may forget the nonessentials(like pants) but rest assured he will always remember to wear his hat and boots.

Month One

Ada made it successfully through her first month in the Judd family. She is such a sweet and happy baby. She loves to eat and has managed to gain a whopping 3 1/2 pounds in her first month! Her cheeks are just so smooshable. I love fat babies and she is certainly well on her way to being fat.

Birth Story

I remember making fun of my mom and women in general when I was teenager. It seemed that whenever you got a group of women together they inevitably ended up sharing their birth stories. That of course was something I was NOT interested in at the time. Times have changed, as they often do. Having done it a few times now(given birth that is) I understand what a life altering experience it is. It's probably impossible not to talk about from time to time. So at the risk of being mocked by those teenage girls out there I'm going to share my most recent experience.

This time around I decided to have my baby at home. Kind of crazy in some peoples' view. But it made sense to me. I have been lucky enough to have all my kids naturally and the last two I had water births, which by the way I highly recommend. Plus I really hate the hospital and all the poking and prodding and waking up they do there.

I had the most wonderful midwife in the world, Dawn Wadleigh. I love her. She is extremely knowledgeable, kind, compassionate, and seemed genuinely interested in me as a person. I loved every visit.

Pregnancy seems to get a little harder each time. I would be lying if I said I enjoyed it. My back and hips hurt all the time, acid reflux is the death of me, and of course my vain side doesn't really enjoy watching my butt get wider. It's all worth it though.

Ada's due date was January 7th. I was hoping she would come just a week early so we could claim on our taxes. But that was not to be. I had a few sleepless nights thinking perhaps I was in labor and then much to my chagrin fell asleep and woke up babyless. But on Sunday the 10th sometime in the night I started having pretty painful contractions about 8-10 minutes apart. They stayed that way all night and through the morning. Even after five kids I wasn't really sure if it was the real thing. I called Dawn and my lovely friend Sarah who was going to be my doula. I asked Sarah to come and hang out with me for moral support and told Dawn we'd keep her updated. Sarah got to my house and within just a few minutes the contractions moved to only two minutes apart. Someone called Dawn, not sure who. And then in only a few more minutes they were right on top of each other. I got into the birth tub and could tell it would be only minutes until our little girl would be with us. The only hitch of course was that the midwife wasn't there yet. Everything progressed so quickly.

Sarah is going to school to become a midwife and has been a doula for quite a few people. I am very thankful for this because it was her who ended up delivering sweet little Ada Leigh. She was awesome. So calm under pressure. She even knew exactly what to do when the cord was wrapped around her neck. The whole experience was strangely peaceful and calm. I just knew that everything was as it should be and was perfect.

Dawn arrived just a few minutes later as all the kids were meeting their new little sister. She took care of all the post birth stuff while Sarah fully realized what she had just been able to do and freaked out just a little bit.

Although everything didn't go exactly as I had planned I would do it all again. It really was the best birth experience I've had. To top it all off she was born on my mom's birthday. My brother and his wife also had a baby just two hours before me. All in all a pretty exciting birthday for her.

Ada Leigh Judd

She is finally here! Ada Leigh joined the family on Sunday January 10th. We're not absolutely sure of the time but Marley says it was 4:47 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long.

I'll post all about her exciting arrival soon. I feel accomplished just getting a couple pictures put on here. But suffice it to say she is very loved by everyone. She is a sweet and perfect little baby.

This Month

I haven't gotten around to blogging (or doing much of anything) this month. I have those end of pregnancy blahs. I don't feel like doing much of anything but cleaning and organizing. Yes, I'm nesting. So here are a couple pictures I managed to take.

Thanksgiving with my family. My parents have fourteen grandchildren and two more on the way. My sister Melanie went to Spokane this year so we only had eleven of the fourteen running around shrieking with joyful mischievous delight. Here are the ones lucky enough to sit at the kids' table.

My sweet Jairus with his future wife. He loves Molly Beecher. And I'm pretty sure she loves him too.

Me and my belly. Only six more weeks to go. Crazy.

Ephraim in his bunny suit with a chocolate covered face. Halloween was a good day for this little guy.

1953

Here is a little treasure from 1953. My wonderful friend Marianne let look through her collection of vintage patterns. This beauty was just meant to be. The measurements fit Marley perfectly right now. (Marley was quite concerned that I wouldn't finish before she grew) We had just enough of this fabric in my fabric stash. And it goes perfectly with the coat I made her last winter.

I love all things vintage. How wonderful that my powers of persuasion are rubbing off on my girl. She too loves all things old fashioned. A girl after my own heart. Aislyn still just loves all things pink. I'm working on her though.

Look at this beauty! I can't believe she will be twelve in just a few months. She is a girl of many talents and a kind heart. I can't imagine life without her and all she does. If you haven't already, you should check out her blog. It often makes me giggle and is very sweet. It's on my list of blogs- upside down and right side up.