Who you calling a chicken?

I just finished sewing Marcus a chicken jumper and matching hat. I used to have chickens when I lived in Alexandria with my mom. So, I just couldn't resist buying and making something out of this fabric.

Doug's Hole in One!

Have you ever met one of those types of people who always seems to be lucky? Well, my husband Doug is one of those guys. The other day, he got his first hole in one. The funny thing is that Doug has not been golfing for very long. I guess you can say he is just lucky!

For all of the details, check out this page:
http://www.galioncc.com/id18.html

Marcus makes his first Sign!

For the past few weeks, I have been trying to teach Marcus to sign. I have always though that teaching hearing babies to sign is a pretty cool concept. What mother or father hasn't wondered what their baby was trying to tell them with their coos and babbles? I think it is also amazing to find out just how much babies understand about the world around them--even at just a few months of age.

I first heard of teaching babies to sign when I saw the movie "Meet the Fockers." (Which is a funny movie if you haven't seen it.) Little Jack, grandson of Grandpa Jack (played by Robert De Niro) is taught baby sign language using American Sign Language signs for communication purposes. Well, as you can guess, they get lots of mileage out of the baby doing the sign for poop and things like that.

I have to admit, that before I had a baby of my own, I thought teaching a baby to sign was something that only crazy-supper-moms did. But, after actually having a baby, I just couldn't resist trying it out. (Or maybe I am becoming a crazy-super-mom??!!)

Well, we have been doing the ASL sign for milk every time we nurse Marcus. But, I have to admit that I wasn't being all that consistent with it. But, last Friday, Marcus shocked me when he actually made the sign for milk. Then, later on that day, my mom was holding Marcus while I was out of the room. I guess, Marcus looked up at her and started to make the sign with his hands. When she didn't do anything, he kept on doing it, and doing it. Finally, she called me into the room and asked me what he was doing with his hand. I was shocked, Marcus was hungry, and was trying to tell her that he needed to nurse. He didn't cry of fuss, he simply used his sign to communicate his needs. After that, I was hooked.

Other cools things to check out:
Video of Baby Signing (this way you know what to look for)
Research on Baby Signing
Benefits of Teaching Baby to Sign

AARGH....there be a pirate!

This September, we are going to take a family vacation to South Carolina. This will be very exciting, because it will be the first time Marcus will ever get to see the ocean. Going on the vacation will be Doug, Marcus, myself, Dean, and my mom.

When I was pregnant with Marcus, my mom and me took a trip down there. One of the favorite things that we did (or should I say tried to do) was the Pirate Boat Ride. The pirate boat ride was in Georgetown, SC on the river. When we tried to do the Pirate Boat Ride the last time, the boats departure was delayed because of bad weather. So, we hung out at this pirate themed gift shop & pirate themed bar while we waited for the weather to clear. It was there that we noticed that the entire ships crew (who were, by the way, dressed head to toe like pirates) sat down to get a couple of shots of something at the bar. Then, they washed those shots down with a couple of more shots. I admit that at the time, I thought this was kind of strange. But, I convinced myself that everything was still okay. I thought, "Hey, its not like they are steering the boat...they are just the pirate-dressed-crew. " But, after another 60 minutes went by, the "pirates" started to get obviously drunk at the bar. (When I say drunk, I mean DRUNK. One had to be carried away to his car to sleep it off after nearly collapsing.) Then, they all started using the most terrible, fowl language really loudly at the bar. It was at that moment that it occurred to me that these people really must think they are pirates! Talk about getting into character. Needless to say we left the dock without going on the pirate ride. But, my mom and I still laugh about the experience today.

In the spirit of the Pirate Boat Ride story, my mom and I decided that Marcus needed his own pirate outfit to wear on the vacation. So, I went over to her house, and we set up our sewing machines on her dining room table. My mom worked on sewing a patchwork quilt, and I worked on sewing Marcus a pirate jumper. The sewing machine you see me using in this picture was a Mother's day gift from my mom. (Yes, she gave me a present for mother's day.) It has an on board computer, and can do all sorts of embroidery stitches. It makes sewing so easy, even I can do it!

Well, the pirate jumper came out really cute. Marcus got the biggest smile on his face when he got to try it on for the first time. I think it was because his mommy had been paying so much attention to that pirate fabric all day. So, he must have figured it was something special.

This pattern was really easy to sew. I got it finished in one day...while watching a baby...so that is saying something. I bought some other fabric at the store, so before we leave for vacation I am hoping to finish 3 other jumpers. Stay tuned for future pictures!

You might be wondering what Marcus was doing while my mom and I sewed. Well, the answer to that question is that he was completely trashing my mom's house! We spread out toys all over the floor so that he could practice crawling around. Marcus got so tired, that he laid down and took a nap right there on his blanket on the floor! You can see him in this picture sprawled out...almost in mid-crawl.




Awhile ago, I had ordered some custom sewing labels to sew into the things I made. This was the first time I got to use them. They turned out really cool!

Marcus has gained mobility!!!

We have reached a new era in the Holmes house. Marcus has begun crawling...nothing is safe!

Comfest!

Ahhhh...summer time.

In C-Bus, summer time and street festivals go hand-in-hand. Every weekend in the summer, there are usually several festivals going on. Each festival has its own atmosphere and different things to see and do. Some of my favorite are the Jazz and Rib Fest and the Arts Festival. But, probably the festival to end all festivals in Columbus would be Comfest.

(Pics-Doug, Marcus, and Cathy at Jeff and Nicole's apartment getting ready to head out to comfest. Jeff and Nicole live right on the park.)

Comfest (short for "Community Festival") is held in gooddale park near High St. in the Short North area of Columbus. There are tons of street vendors selling everything from jewelry to tied died t-shirts. There is live music and entertainment all day until about midnight on six different stages. Not to mention great food from many of Columbus's local restaurants and markets.

(Pic- Our friends relaxing in the grass.)

Comfest really has something for everyone. Artist love displaying & selling there artwork. Political activist are there in full effect protesting everything from pollution to the war in Iraq. Music fans can pack a bag and sit in the grass all day enjoying the fresh air and their choice of performances. Others simply love having an excuse to drink beer in the park. (Our friends fall into the last category.)

(Pic-Cathy and Doug smile for the camera.)

Doug and I went up this weekend to comfest to meet up with some of our friends. We don't really get to go out to much now that we have the baby. So, it was really fun getting to hang out with all of them. Marcus had a blast crawling around on the blanket. He, of course, was the center of attention. I wore Marcus around after awhile in the mai-tei until he fell asleep.

(Pic: Cathy, Marcus, and Doug sit in the grass at Comfest)

After enjoying some wonderful street-fair food. :) We walked around to look at some of the many vendors. I've recently met a great group of Moms who I have become friends with (more about that later.) One of the moms had her own booth there, and we dropped by to say hello to her.

(Pic-Marcus falls asleep on me while I am wearing him around.)

While we were there, I also ran into one of my best friends from high school: Cassie Kibler. She was there with her husband Justin, and her little boy Cooper. It was SO good to see them.

All in all, it was a great weekend filled with old friends and new ones.

Car-Cart-Cover

I just finished sewing a shopping cart cover that I have been working on for what seems like weeks. (Man! Is it hard to sew with a baby or what?!) It is suppose to look like a miniature version of the car Doug drives.

The entire body is padded inside with fleece, and the outside is lined in flannel. This makes it all soft and cozy.

I appliquéd felt headlights and a rickrack grill to the front. The front also has three toy holders to keep Marcus's toys from falling on the floor when he tosses them overboard. The back has felt appliqué taillights, and special vanity plates that say "MARCUS". It also has three pockets to hold toys, diapers, wipes, or whatever else I may need to survive a grocery trip.
Inside, there are two elastic pockets on each side to hold snacks, drinks, (or MORE toys).
Last night, Marcus got to test drive his car-cart-cover for the first time. The good news is that it fit the shopping cart basket. The bad news, is after all that work, he only wanted to sit in it for like 10 mins, then it was back in the mai tei* for him! Oh well, I am sure when he gets a little older, we will get a little more use out of it.

*No, not the tropical cocktail...a mai tei is a type of baby carrier. Ours is a baby hawk.

For more pictures, check out the Holmes Family Photo Album.

Maxin and Relaxin at the Columbus Zoo

For father's day this year, Doug said that all he wanted was to go out and play golf. Well, Doug definitely got his wish. Doug, his brother, mom, and dad all went out and enjoyed a full day of golf, playing 36 holes!

Meanwhile, my mom, Dean, Marcus, and I all went to the zoo. This was Marcus's first time at the zoo, and he LOVED it! He really was the most well behaved kid at the zoo--and I am not just saying that because I am his mother. ;)


I wasn't really sure how he would react to seeing the animals up close. So, a few days before we went to the zoo, I took Marcus to the WPL (Westerville Public Library), and checked out just about every book they owned on zoos and zoo animals. We spent the next couple days looking at pictures of lions, zebras, monkeys, etc. Well, I think that this definitely helped Marcus to appreciate seeing the animals, because every time he saw something he recognized from the books, he would laugh and squeal with delight.



It was also HOT the day we went to the zoo (mid 90's)...so I was worried about bringing a little baby out in the heat. However, once again, Marcus did great. I slathered him in SPF 45+, filled his stroller full of fun baby toys, gave him some baby "shades", and then gave him a little sippy cup full of crushed ices to sip on. (No, he's not spoiled at all!!) As you can see from the pictures, he was as cool as a cucumber.





Marcus also got to go on a Merry- go- Round for the first time that day. He was the youngest rider!

For more family pictures visit:
Holmes Family Photo Album

Rock Art

As you might have heard, my mom recently had surgery on her left ankle. To make matters worse, her right knee has been giving her problems. So, she has literally been left without a good leg to stand on. Now, she is spending her days recovering in a wheel chair. To help the time pass, Marcus and I have been trying to go over and keep her company as much as possible.

The other day, we were looking for a fun craft (and CHEAP) craft project. We got the idea to go out and paint some rocks. After all, you can't get much cheaper than free rocks...right?

I painted some pictures of my cats. Lulu is the gray kitty, and Spock is the black kitty.

My mom's masterpieces is a portrait of me holding Marcus. She calls the piece "Mama and Baba". For those of you who don't speak babynese, "Mama" is what Marcus calls me, and "Baba" is how he says baby.

For more family pictures visit:
Holmes Family Photo Album