Happy very first birthday, my sweet girl, Haley! Daddy and I are so proud to call you “ours.” What a lovely disposition you have. We don’t believe in “bad” babies, but we know for a fact that you are a good one! You have been easy on us in so many ways. In one year, I have learned more about life than the previous 27 years combined. God has truly shown us what sacrificial love is by giving you to us. We hope to do our earthly best at portraying this love to you in the same way the Father loves each of His children.

A few of the lessons I have learned:

1)    Accept help! Let go of pride and let people help you when they offer. I’ll even go one step further. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Some people don’t have the gift of perceiving your needs but would still be just as willing to assist you as someone who offers. Pride says you can do it on your own. Babies remind you that we can’t afford to be prideful.

2)    Sleep when the baby sleeps. No, really. Daddy and I have decided that there is something that, biologically, forces a mama to neeeeeeed sleep when there is a sleeping baby lying in her arms. I think the Lord knows that Mama needs sleep and gives us those opportunities to rest. Don’t feel guilty about not doing the dishes or picking up the house. Remember #1? The first year gets increasingly easier, though the first few months feel like the beginning of forever. After so long, you’ll look back and realize you have more chances to catch up and the early days were so, so short. If you don’t rest, you’re more likely to stress and not enjoy the moments of peace and joy that everyone is urging you to embrace. You may think your baby never sleeps. All the more reason to take advantage of the small naps!

3)    Have mercy! I have learned to judge a lot less and to have grace on others more often. There were many times that I missed a commitment or obligation that I truly wish I had been able to keep. I had to step down from volunteer roles. I struggled in areas that I didn’t share with the general public. In these moments, I’m sure the general public drew conclusions about us that seemed obvious but were very wrong (we are lazy, we are unable to cope with life with a new baby, we should be able to do XYZ without a problem but we just don’t want to). Minding our own business has never been more important as when we want other people out of our own! Don’t think that you know the best way for other families just because of your own narrow experiences.

4)    Change of mind, change of plans! Our priorities have shifted in ways that cut out all unnecessary fluff. The term “unnecessary” also gets redefined into tighter interpretation. Those commitments I have had to back out of? They weren’t more important than my or your health. Those volunteer roles that I still get asked when I’ll be returning to… I don’t have an answer because I simply don’t know when I will feel able again. We all make time for what we really want. It’s true. It hurts to hear, but we all do it. There are a ton of things that we would all love to do but don’t. That’s either because we don’t allocate the time, money, or resources because there are more important things to us at the time that we are dedicating those resources to. It doesn’t mean you should feel guilty. Just be aware because it helps you have grace on people who don’t do the things that you wish they would do.

5)    Help your friends! I wish that I knew then what I know now. I wasn’t the best helper to my friends who had babies before I did. I love my friends, but I had no idea how to help them. I didn’t even realize how much my help might have been appreciated. If you don’t know how you can help someone who is drowning in responsibility, ask them how you can help (back to #1 again). If they won’t give you a way to help them, there are a lot of generic ways. Everyone loves a meal and dinnertime keeps happening every single day in every household. Take your friends a meal! For a new baby, because they’re sick, for any reason! Offer to run errands. Pick their kids up from school to alleviate one thing on their to-do list. If you’re really close – offer to wash their pump parts. They will likely sing your praises.

6)    Don’t have any expectations. That way, you’ll just be pleasantly surprised no matter what happens. Expectations bring disappointment. This one isn’t baby-related as much as it is just related to the last few years for us, but important advice we’ve received, all the same.

7)    Every mom thinks their baby is the cutest. It’s true, Haley. You are the most beautiful baby I have ever seen in my life! It helps that you look just like Daddy, whom I also happen to love dearly. When I look at your sweet baby face, belly, and toes, I can’t help but feel full to the brim with joy. When you lean over to give me kisses, it spills over into full laughter. Having you is a joy so complete.

By now you are wondering where your stats and achievements are! In no particular order, here are some highlights of your year:

We made it to one year of breastfeeding! This is a feat that I’m particularly proud of. I’m so grateful that my close friends and family are on the same page, making a large support system. We struggled past a tongue tie and lip tie (translation: immense pain for me, weight loss for you in the critical first weeks) and managed to persevere together. It has been a dream ever since week 5 when you had your ties revised. I will always be a huge advocate for breastfeeding and find great joy in helping other new moms meet their goals if at all possible.

Took your first steps on your birthday!! Hated your cake.

Weighing in at 18lb 0oz. and measure about 30in tall. We are upgrading you to your convertible car seat for good tomorrow!

You can say: Dada, uh-uh (for uh-oh), squeals for “meow,” and the occasional mamamama.

Baby wearing is one of the best ways to comfort you – it almost always puts you immediately to sleep. You’ve also started going for walks with me in the jogging stroller and enjoy seeing the neighborhood and kids playing outside!

Cloth diapers are working well for us. I’m thankful that daycare accepts them! They save us a lot of money but they’re mostly more comfortable for you and much, much cuter. ;)

Have traveled to Enterprise, AL (4.5hr); Atlanta, GA (3.5hr); Charleston, SC (7hr); Austin, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi, TX (16hr+).

Got 2 bottom teeth at 9m and stuck with those until 2 weeks before your birthday when the top 2 broke through.

Your favorite foods are your least favorite foods a day later, so that’s hard to keep up with. However, sweet potatoes have been a consistent favorite! That and shredded cheese. You love to feed yourself with and without a spoon.

The learning table that Jenny, Brian, and Colby got you for Christmas has been a constant hit for several months, now. You also enjoy your peekaboo, push walker, blocks, Ella, and Haley-sized chairs. You’ve been caught entertaining yourself by covering and uncovering your mouth while saying “ahhhhhhhh.” Well, that, and blowing raspberries! When you do something awesome, you love to clap and hear “yaaaaaay, Haley!” The proud smile on your face is priceless! You’ve been waving hello and bye-bye for a long time now, but your little pageant wave NEVER gets old!! Neither do your kisses. They are the sweetest thing I think I’ve ever seen!

In the whole year, you’ve had one fever at 104.5, but nothing really came of it. Eventually the fever passed and you were back to yourself in no time! You’re such a healthy baby!

Normal bedtime for you is about 7-7:30pm. Bath time is finally enjoyable within the last month, now that you’ve figured out splashing. The last 3 weeks, you’ve changed your once-wonderful sleeping habits. I think it has a lot to do with your top 2 teeth breaking through and learning to walk right now. Lullabies have helped immensely! You go RIGHT to sleep. We just can’t KEEP you asleep. Your little mind has so much going on.

You’ve never, ever liked a pacifier. Sometimes I wish you did, but then again, we’d have to take it from you later anyway.

You were dedicated at our home church, Lindsay Lane Baptist Church, in Athens, AL, on April 19, 2015, alongside your friends Andrew Jeter and Harrison Ethridge.

Chicken and Our Patio isn't a Dump Anymore!

So let's start with food! I made this recipe tonight for chicken and dumplings and it was ok. But I made dumplings from scratch. It was fun! It was almost exactly like the time I made lasagna noodles. Because I'm a weirdy and I love making things myself that are way easier to just buy at the grocery store. Here's the original photo of the dumplings:

photo credit: Tiffany at Eat at Home

And here's MY version:

Not too far off, huh? Does the fancy caption help? I just learned how to do that today.

So the verdict was that this recipe was good for a random Pinterest dinner. I added some whole milk at the end because it didn't look creamy enough. Actual cream probably would've been better. I like drop dumplings to be more like soup and I prefer these flat kind to be thicker, like you'd get at Cracker Barrel. This was more like a hybrid. Good... just not what I was going for.

In-process.

Speaking of process. Still decorating the house. We crossed off a "room" on our list: the patio. Behold, second hand furniture and clearance cushions. Yay!!

Quilt of Squares

I'm wrapping up a special quilt this mroning in my sewing room. Literally, wrapping it up to send it to Germany. It took me a while to decide on this quilt design. I have an uncle who lives in Munich that has been in the hospital for quite a while now. It took me a while to decide what would be an appropriate "I'm thinking of you" gift that isn't girly. I landed on something practical, comfortable, hopefully comforting, and not-so-girly. I hope I got it right! 

Lucky for you, I documented the process and wanna share! 

Here are some necessary tools to have before we begin! 

1. Cutting board

2. Cutting guide 

3. Rotary cutter

4. Some good scissors 

5. Obvious but I'll list it anyway: a sewing machine 

And your materials:

1. Enough fabric of various coordinating patterns to cut 192 2.5"x2.5" squares, if you are making yours the same size quilt as mine. {Or, you could just let the number of squares you have dictate your size once they are laid out.}

2. 1.5 yards of white or natural cotton fabric

3. 1.5 yards of coordinating patterned cotton fabric

4. 1.5 yards of cotton batting (or a "crib size" precut pack)

5. Cheater binding

6. Thread

Here we go!

Cut out all those squares I mentioned. This is tedious, but pretty easy. Put something good on tv and go for it! I use a guide that is 2.5" wide. That helps. 

Aren't they cute? I mean, cool... And manly... ?

Next up, make your quilt sandwich! Lay the patterned cotton fabric on your floor if you have a big, open space. Better yet, tape the corners down with painters tape or masking tape to keep it from moving. Now lay your batting on top and make sure it's lined up neatly. Next up is the white cotton piece. Same thing, line it up pretty! Speaking of lining up... Here's the fun part. Line up alllll those squares in rows in random order! 

Or, how about a not-so-random arrangement... That could be fun. Stripes? Chevron? Checkers?

I space out my squares with 1" in between on all sides. 

Now you're at the tricky part. You need to secure the squares to the layers beneath. So you can pick this thing up without everything falling off. There are 2 ways to do the: pinning or a running stitch. I pinned mine and it was really a pain. I thought it was the easy way, but next time I'll try stitching. You would just run a loose stitch (by hand) through all 3 layers, up each row. You only need to do this in one direction. The point is to hold then down and you'll pull this thread out later. So no perfection needed, here! 

Actually, the whole look of the quilt is really made by its imperfections. So don't stress much about any of it.

Time to take it to the sewing machine! Just use the regular foot and settings. {As opposed to the quilting foot and settings.} With a 1/4" seam allowance, sew down a row near the center of the quilt. Now work your way towards the outside, sewing every row on your way there. Then go do the same for the other side. You'll have something like this: 

Now, turn your quilt 90* and repeat. When you are done, you will have attached your squares to the "quilt top" and quilted all 3 layers together, all in one step! This is such a huge time saver... 

Speaking of time savers. I love a good hand-stitched binding. But, sometimes I need something done fast. You can buy double-fold binding tape and use that instead. Square up the edges of your quilt that may have been a little off. Make sure you cut back to where all 3 layers come to the edge all the way around. 

Place the edge of the quilt inside the binding. You should begin about a quarter of the way down one side, rather than on a corner. This will help make a prettier corner. 

Sew with a 1/4" seam allowance - but check to be sure you are catching the binding on the underside as well. Sometimes it's hard to get them even. I say, it won't be perfect, so don't stress too much! It's the character that makes this quilt special.

When you hit a corner, fold to resemble this: 

I usually play with it until it looks right...

When your end is about 8" from where the you started, trim your end piece to a length that allows 1/2" overlap with the beginning piece. If you're like me, you'll have to pull some stitches out of the beginning because you didn't plan ahead this far... Turn the binding strips inside out and sew the edges together with a 1/4" seam allowance. Your binding should now be the perfect length! Just finish attaching it to your quilt and voila!

You just made a quilt of squares!

Machine wash/dry it and allow those exposed edges to get all raggedy! After it's washed it gets wonderfully crinkly and soft. 

After the first wash, some threads will need to be pulled off, like so:

Easy enough? I hope so!

Well, Here's an Update

Last week or two ago, I shared my little logo with you... In case you forgot, here it is again!

I love it so much! Thanks to sweet Megan over at Bishop Place Handmade, I have a whole bunch of adorable graphics! I am so. excited. :)

Wanna see the rest? Take a peek over at my new shop. Also take note - it's located at www.honakerdesigns.com. Got myself a fancy pants website name. I'll be announcing it to the rest of the world in the morning, so consider yourself special! Because you are! 

PS - I am also working up a few tutorials to post in the near future!

Quilty Things and a Little News

Here's a throwback to my first quilted project. I made it in fall of 2010 (look! not even an engagement ring yet!). This tube of cuteness is still hanging out on my laundry room doorknob, dispensing plastic grocery bags every time I need to change out the bathroom trash. Such a lovely project for such a practical purpose... I know, I'm crazy like that. Or as my mom might say, "life's too short to get grocery bags out of an ugly dispenser." 

Here's mine and my mom's in progress. Hers is whichever looks more perfect.

I was so proud that all of my squares lined up! Then I went straight to town and bought a car that afternoon. Memories.

Here we have the quilt I wrapped up this week! I guess I still like pink and green. ;) This is another quilt made from my wedding table runners. I finally dove in and did some hand-stitched binding. Really, I don't know why I've been so afraid of it. It was easier and far quicker than I ever would have guessed! I mentally prepared to be stitching this every evening on the couch for a couple of weeks. It took a total of 3 hours stretched over 2 nights. Maybe with practice it would go even faster. 

Pretty little corner.

I'm obsessed with bunting!!

Pieced together the back. You can see the outline of the bunting, as this was the only place I quilted together all 3 layers. So far I don't think it's an issue at all having the rest unquilted. The batting has enough friction with the cotton fabric to keep the layers from separating.

I'm in love! With my quilt, my wedding, and my sewing room!

Is the suspense getting to you yet? WHERE IS THE NEWS. I've decided to create an online shop for some of my quilts and sewing projects. My mom is also planning to contribute quilt projects and crochet creations. I will add a link as soon as the shop is ready and will be probably sharing my blog to link people to my site. I guess I'm ready to open up to more than a couple of people (literally). So, what do ya think??