Dear McCord,

Tonight I wrapped my arms around you,

and we said your prayers. 

You, at 6 1/2 months,

are grabbing everything in sight -

my hair, mouth, and cheek. 

But tonight,

you wrapped your hand around my finger,

pulled it in close to your face, 

and held it until you fell asleep. 

And there we sat, in the nursery -

me holding you holding me,

and at that moment,

my heart grew bigger. 

Happy Birthday Gee Gee

Love, your favorite wise guys!

If you've never heard of picnik - go check it out!  It is a free site that allows you to make edits to your photos.  For instance in the above photo, I created a frame (rounded corners), type (several fonts are available), and stickers (birthday hats and moustaches).  I also used picnik to create the "Life on Surrey Lane" blog header.  There is a great tutorial on how to use picnik to create fun things like cupcake toppers over at one of my favorite blogs, homemade by jill. 

Retail Therapy

We've been a little cooped up the past week or so, so what better way to rebound than to browse around an antique store?!!  I love it when my friend Jess blogs about her great vintage finds, so following her lead, here are a few treasures I brought home. 

17 pieces of flatware to accompany my hotel silver I bought off of e-bay a few years ago - $2

this is a picture I took before polishing - I'm only about half way finished with the rest

2 vintage patterns - $1 each

I can't wait to sew these for the summer!

A whole Fisher Price community for McCord to chew on - $2

He loves the cowboy!



And today we went to Michael's to check out their Valentine's goodies and found this fund DIY necklace - $1

if you have a little girl in your life, this would make a great gift! 

It comes with an elastic thread and is oh so easy to make.  I added these beads that I already had at home.

I think it's kind of fun in a kitschy sort of way.



And Mc loves it!

Valentine's Onesie DIY & Other Randomness

Continuing the trend of seasonal onesies, (Thanksgiving and Christmas) I thought I'd make a Valentine's onesie for Mc.  A lot of the Valentine appliques I've seen on etsy are so very girly, so here's a tutorial for a little boy featuring his favorite dog.  For more information on using Wonder Under and stabilizer, refer to this post. 

I printed out an old picture of Rocky in 8 x 10 format so his profile would be enlarged.

 Trace the silhouette of the dog using a sharpie and cut it out.  Then apply Wonder Under to the wrong side of the fabrics you plan to use. 

My sewing machine has a stitch function that sews letters, so I stitched out McCord's name on the fabric to be the Valentine.  Then I made a little collar out of the polka dot fabric for Rocky. 

 Fuse the pieces to your onesie and apply stabilizer to underside of onesie.

 Stitch around the perimeter of your design. 

 Now, if you notice, Mc is sporting 3/4 sleeves with this onesie...and it was almost impossible to snap! Hard lesson learned - even if the size says 6-9 months, try it on your baby before you wash and applique it.  If anyone knows a baby named McCord who could use a Valentine's onesie - probably sized 0 - 3 months, let me know.  We've got the perfect one!

Also, Bo gave me some amaryllis bulbs for Christmas.  I planted them in these glass containers with a couple of hyacinths that I had left over from last year. Here are some pictures from a few weeks ago. 

 ...and this is what we found today!  What a nice thing to see after staying up the past 5 nights with a baby with bronchiolitis!

Sledders on Surrey Lane

A Surrey Lane tradition - when it snows, all the kids come out to play!  We will surely miss this good family fun.  The next owners of our house are in for a treat!

ps - The photographer who did McCord's newborn photo shoot is having a contest on her blog to vote for the best photo.  Obviously we're a little partial.  If you'd like to vote for (ahem!) PHOTO #12, then click here.  And of course, you'll have our undying gratitude!

Surrey Lane is For Sale

After lots of thought, Bo and I have decided to put our house on the market.  We realize that this is a terrible time to sell, so we are listing it on a wing and a prayer with the hopes that the perfect buyer will walk through the door.  We could use your help, fellow blog readers (all 5 of you...counting my mom and dad!).  The house is listed in the Piedmont MLS and Charlotte MLS by CRS Realty.   Borrowing a phrase from my favorite person, Antoine Dodson, be sure to "tell yo kids, tell yo wife!" We've placed a contingency offer on another house with a little more square footage and a larger lot.  We love Surrey Lane and have put a lot of love into this previously neglected property.  We hope that the next owner will love it as much as we do.  As for McCord's maple, well, I've already contacted Rollinghills Nursery, and they've agreed to move it to our new house, so it will come with us.

7 reasons you’ll fall for 2007 Surrey Lane

1 - Completely renovated, colonial-style home with new granite kitchen, bathrooms, appliances, roof, fence, HVAC, & deck 2 - Half-acre lot surrounded by hardwoods, dogwoods and azaleas 3 - Great schools - York Road Elementary, Rawlinson Road Middle, Northwestern High School 4 - This home feels brand new in a desirable well-established neighborhood 5 - Nearby creek makes neighborhood home to owls, deer, rabbits and songbirds 6 - Screened porch, spacious deck, and vast backyard are perfect for outdoor entertaining 7 - Safe and friendly neighborhood

McCord is 6 Months Old!

Dear McCord,

Your Daddy and I are amazed at how quickly 6 months has flown by.  It seems like yesterday that we planted your maple, and now both of you have seen a half a year on Surrey Lane. 

This has been a huge month of discovery for you and it is so fun to watch you learn new things every day. 

• You sprouted your two bottom teeth!  You've been working on these for about 3 months now and they strarted to break the surface the day after Christmas when you were one week shy of your 6 month birthday.
• You're sitting up on your own but still need a little bit of help to make sure you don't wobble over.
• For a couple of days in a row, I noticed that you'd smash your face into mine, coming at me with a wide-open drooly mouth - and finally, I figured out that you were trying to kiss me, but you just couldn't figure out how to pucker up your lips!!!  Sometimes, you'll give a drooly open mouth kiss, sometimes you'll stick out your tongue - either way, your Daddy and I can't get enough!



A "McCord Kiss" looks something like this coming straight for your lips



You've mastered rolling over and can move half-way across the room in the blink of an eye rolling like a log

• You love to grab things with your hand - anything that's in front of you, like my nose and your daddy's chin
• You've taken a keen interest in Rocky, Hank, and Jackson, and love to hold your hand out and feel their fur
• We've been working on eating rice cereal, and like a true Redmond, you enjoy mealtime!
• While you've always enjoyed music, this month we've really noticed you noticing music - especially when we sing your Kindermusic songs around the house.  Your favorite song is "Hello, hello!  Let's sing together!" followed by your Daddy singing the Beatles' "Norweigan Wood."  You have quite eclectic taste for a 6 month old!
• Your Daddy and I enjoy watching your personality emerge.  In your younger months, you were quite the social butterfly, talking and smiling at everyone, and now we've started to see an endearing, shyer side of McCord.  You were invited to a Christmas party with lots of other babies, and we noticed that you were really reserved for the first 45 minutes or so until you'd warmed up to everyone.  Eventually, you began smiling, laughing, and doing your signature happy squeal, but not until you had gotten used to everyone. 
• Here you are pictured with your two favorite things: Daddy and Marley.  Marley is a great friend - he's always there for naptime and he lets you suck on his ears with no complaint! 

• Here a couple of pictures I snapped of you at your 6 month check-up.  This was the first time we were in the penguin room, and you look like you just took a plunge with them and are all wrapped up in your warm blanket.  At your appointment, you weighed 16 lbs. 2 oz (25th percentile) and measured in at 26 1/2 inches (95th percentile).  No wonder all your pants are short on you!  It's time to pack up the 3 - 6 month clothes and dive into the 6 - 9 month old hand-me-downs from cousin Bayer!

And finally, one of your biggest accomplishments this month is that you have learned how to put your paci in your mouth all by yourself.  I'll never forget, I was laying in the bed and I heard you bumping around in your crib - I looked at the video monitor, and in complete darkness, you managed to feel around your crib for your paci, locate it, and put it in your mouth! 

Happy 6 month birthday McCord!  We love you and treasure each day we have to watch you grow and develop.   

50 Second Prozac

Need a boost today? Or just a little energizer? Just discovered this cute video. Someone tell me, how do you raise a child to be so positive?

Personalized Onesie DIY

I've been working on these today.

They make great gifts and are simple enough to make.  Here's what you need:

• blank onesie
• iron-on tear-away stabilizer
• fusible transfer paper (like Wonder Under) and pressing cloth
• scrap fabric
• computer print-out of initials (I used the font Georgia and increased the size)
• sissors
• iron
• sewing machine
• thread
• sharpie

1 - First, iron the fusible transfer web to the wrong side of your scrap fabrics following the directions on the package.  You are preparing your scrap fabrics to eventually be ironed/fused to your onesie.

I used Wonder Under that I purchased at Hancock's - it's sold by the yard, so you just have to ask a sales person to cut it for you.  I used less than 1/8 of a yard for this project.

2 - Next, trace the reverse image of each initial with a sharpie onto the paper-side of your scrap fabric (now lined with Wonder Under) and cut out each initial.

3 - Iron your stabilizer onto the inside of the onesie where you plan to put the initials.  The stabilizer is necessary since you are sewing onto a knit fabric - it keeps your stiches from puckering.  Hancock's also sells this.  This package was about $3 and I only used a small portion of it.

4 - Take the initials you just cut out and position them on the chest of your onesie.  Make sure there is plenty of stabilizer on the reverse-side of the onesie.

5 - Peel off the paper backing on each initial left over from the Wonder Under.  Reposition initials on onesie and set with iron following directions on Wonder Under package.

6 - Using your sewing machine, stitch around each initial remembering to backstitch at the beginning and end of each initial.  This could also be done using a needle and thread if you don't have a sewing machine. 

7 - Inside out onesie and tear away stabilizer on inside.  Trim all of your threads. 

And here's the finished project - This one is for a sweet friend of mine who just had a little boy named Jackson. 

And my model is sleeping upstairs, otherwise, I'd include a picture here of him wearing his new onesie.  I'll try to capture one of him later this week.   

Happy New Year

I love all things vintage.  A few years ago, I found a handful of vintage postcards at an antique store and purchased a few Christmas and New Year themed ones.  My favorites are addressed with old stamps and have a message scripted to someone on the backside in careful handwriting that looks vintage in itself.  Here are a few of the poems on the New Year cards:

Good wishes greet thee,

Good fortune speed thee

And hapiness crown thy lot.

and

Happy New Year Thought

Let us this New Year's Day do something to lessen the world's sadness and increase its joys; and not this day only, but every day of our lives. 

a good resolution in 1909 and still a good resolution in 2011

A Glad New Year

Upon your home may glad New Year fling a bountiful measure of every good thing

...and a few Christmasy things I wish we could keep out all year:

A pair of vintage children's books from Gee Gee. 

Both books used to be her's as a baby.  If you look closely, you can see this one is addressed to her, Frances Perrin Toole in 1954, and now she's addressed it to McCord. 

Bo's first Christmas ornament - it lost its bale to hang from the tree, but we carefully position it in a place of honor on our tree each year. 

...and now we have 2 more special ornaments to add to the tree.

Meet Ernie, the elf - a gift from Aiya.  Not only is he an adorable decoration, but he's moonlights as an advent calendar too.  We've enjoyed placing an ornament on McCord's tree each day this advent.  

Goodbye to a very special year for our family. We look forward to all that 2011 has in store.  We wish you and yours a happy and healthy 2011!