{pretty, happy, funny, real}

{pretty}

Remember when I said that I'd done some sewing for Juniper over the weekend?  Well it's done!  A little jumper to wear over a onesie and leggings.

This was our 'fitting' session.  The straps cross in the back and are attached with buttons.  I needed first to see where to actually put the buttonholes.  
I got brave and even used the buttonhole foot and stitch on my sewing machine (which was kind of a pain to figure out, but I am glad that I soldiered through- there will be more buttons around here from now on). 

I love that this fabric is slightly gothic for Halloween, but is not orange and black and covered in jack-o-lanterns.  I am sort of borderline on whether I think it is truly appropriate for a baby, but it turned out so cute that I think it doesn't matter.  Fabric is Nightshade by Tula Pink in the absinthe colorway (see, so not baby appropriate, but if you don't make a Halloween baby jumper with this fabric, what then do you make with it?).

I had to take a picture as soon as I finished, even though it was 9pm and not the best light.  It just adds to its ghoulishness, no?

I actually think it might also work as a skirt (with the straps tucked in) when she is bigger.  I got the pattern here.  I was a little wary of the whole pdf pattern thing, but it was very easy.  The pattern was great (I got two others as well), but I will say that although these are billed for the 'beginning seamstress', I was glad for my sewing experience.  Yes, it was a simple pattern, but there were some details missing from the instructions about how to execute certain steps.  This wasn't a problem for me because I've done things like make a placket before, but if it was your first time sewing a dress, you might be a little confused.  Overall though, I'd recommend their patterns.  

{happy}

My cooking continues!  I am so glad that I can actually cook dinner again, and now I even have ideas for what to cook.  It's amazing.  

This recipe is the kale salad from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day. [I highly recommend this cookbook.  It is full of such good ideas for flavor combinations, and it is divided into sections by meals- including one for snacks.  It is great inspiration]. It is really not a salad (to me) since it is baked and served warm, but it is so simple and so good. It's kale and coconut ribbons (so key rather than shredded coconut) and I added tempeh, dressed with sesame oil and soy sauce, and baked until the coconut gets golden.  

You toss it with more dressing when you pull it from the oven.  Next time I'd do more dressing if I did the tempeh again, as tempeh tends to suck up liquid.  

The flowers were brought to us by our sweet friends who had them leftover from an event.  They just drive around town dropping them off at people's houses.  

{funny}

Juniper is sitting up supported pretty well now, so we set up her high chair and gave it a go.  

She loves it.  She is so stoked to be with us at the table, and I am stoked that I don't have to have her in my lap for the entire meal.  

{real}

This is what I walked into during naptime a few weeks ago.  What mom?  I just wanted to say hello to my animals

Today has been a rough day in the lymphedema department.  We had our first therapy appointment in about a month and a half yesterday and we figured out what our strategy is going to be for getting Juniper into a compression garment during the day.  Right now our plan is to meet with reps from different companies starting in February-ish so we can decide which company to go with, and we'll get Juniper into something by the spring.  We decided we don't want to wait longer than that for a number of reasons. Mainly we don't want to have any regrets down the road about not trying it sooner, and because we feel that by getting her into a garment soon, it will become her normal, and this way we [might] avoid some struggle than if we waited to introduce it when she is, say, two.  The appointment was great and all, and our OT did a good wrap on Juniper's leg, and I did what I do every time: I got my hopes up.  This morning, her leg looked great, so small in fact that I could, for the first time since she was a newborn, see some definition on her thigh.  Then I picked Juniper up after work and her leg looked as big as ever.  It is what it is, I know this, but it doesn't make it easier.  

This face, however, does make things easier