hankie bonnet...

Everyone is back to being healthy at our house. Gavin gets bragging rights for being the only one who did not catch the bug. Yes, that is right, poor Baby Teagan was sick last Tuesday. Her bout was fast though and she made a quick recovery.

I have a lot to share about what the Bowers have been up to, but I have been wanting to share this gift idea...

...forever and decided today is the day. The best thing about this gift is it is simple, inexpensive, but oh so special.

During my pregnancy my mom and dad were so good in getting us a cleaning lady to come while I was on bed rest. Best gift ever!! Joyce was her name, and she so sweetly gave the kids gifts after Teagan was born. One of the gifts was a hankie bonnet.

 I thought it was the sweetest thing! A bonnet for the baby to wear now, and then a hankie to use on their wedding day. You include this poem with the gift.

 If I were to give this gift I would probably print the poem on a nice piece of paper and tuck it and the bonnet inside an envelope for keeping.

It looks pretty simple to make, just a little folding and handstiching in the front and back.

 Hopefully you can see the simple hand-stitches in this photo.

Here are complete directions from this website on how to make one. You can even buy a hankie on their site!

I have cut and pasted the directions here for your use too:

Materials Needed Any handkerchief White Needle and Thread 1/4in Wide Ribbon Embellishments (Optional)
Directions How To Make A Hankie Bonnet Iron the handkerchief flat Fold one edge approximately one inch (this will be the back on the hankie). Depending the size of the hankie or the way you would like the bonnet to look, you may want to adjust this fold anywhere from 1 to 2 inches. Fold the opposite edge toward the first fold approximately 3 inches. Again, this length of this fold may depend on the size of your hankie. Make sure to leave some space between the two rows of lace. Press both folded edges with an iron. (Figure 2) Open the hankie and hand stitch running stitches along the first fold. Do not knot or finish this stitch off. Refold the hankie along the pressed line. Now with the first fold, pull on the thread to gather the hanky into a bonnet. (Figure 3) When the desired size is reached, secure the thread and finish the bonnet off by adding ribbon at the back of the bonnet. (Figure 4) Now with the second fold, take each corner and fold a small edge into the hankie (this will form a small triangle inside the bonnet) (Figure 5) Add a length of ribbon for tying onto each corner of the front of the bonnet. If desired, add small embellishments to add a decorative touch. (Figure 6) Congratulations you have made a wonderful hankie bonnet Hankie Bonnet Poem I am just a little hankie, as square as can be; But with a stitch or two, they've made a bonnet out of me. I'll be worn home from the hospital, and on special days, And then I'll be carefully pressed and neatly packed away. Then on the wedding, I have been told, Every well dressed Bride must have something old. So what would be more fitting than to find Little Old Me, A few stitches snipped and a wedding handkerchief I will be! And if per chance, it is a boy, someday he still will wed. So to his Bride he can present the handkerchief once worn upon his head.

Figure 1	Figure 2	Figure 3	Figure 4	Figure 5
Figure 6

hippity hoppity easter is on its way...

I am making this post quick because this momma is tired! But I wanted to share this stuff before it was old news!

We have been busy getting ready for the Easter Bunny. Here is what we have been up to this week...

Gavin's big new skill he is proud of is cutting with scissors... so he made and Easter basket where he cut pieces of green paper for grass and made glitter eggs to add. What kid doesn't love glitter? He had so much fun using the glitter he made one more big egg. He was very excited about the BIG egg. He is into anything big, especially getting BIG chips. :)

On Friday the kids and I (that sounds so weird!) made Easter treats.

I tried to go simple with everything this holiday. Life with a newborn is a bit crazy so we just made Rice Krispi treats and added Easter M & M's. Gavin loved stirring the marshmallows as they melted. The only problem was the M & M's all broke apart in the process of mixing and they are pretty sweet, but I will say the pan is already half way gone.

Today we dyed eggs. Mark and I felt pretty good that we survived dying eggs with a 2 year old. And yes, you will notice Teagan would not let us leave her out of the big activity.

 ...explaining to baby sister about the process.

 ...check out that tongue!

 We did have one spill right after this last picture. Luckily it was the yellow dye on the dark wood floors. Whew.

Tonight before Gavin's bedtime we placed the Easter eggs outside for the Easter bunny along with a carrot.

I have to say the boy is so pumped for this holiday. He has been talking all week that the Easter bunny is coming. I am pretty excited too and must go. A little girl needs to be fed soon and I won't think about through the night yet! We are headed to sunrise service tomorrow on the beach, my favorite part of Easter. Hope you have a wonderful day!

little hands, little feet...

I actually was able to complete a creative project yesterday. I had Teagan make some hand and footprints to frame for her room.

But while I was working with Teagan I spied another sweet hand and decide to make prints of the new siblings.

I love how it turned out. And I thought it was perfect too that Teagan is 2 weeks old and Gavin is 2 years old. Gavin's big hand next to Teagan's reminded me how fast this infant stage goes.

I'll try to post more about the big brother soon.

gavin's room...

Finally... pictures of the sweet boy's room. He still LOVES it and I like how it turned out too!

We kept the baseball theme for his room so I re-used the photos of the baseball stadiums and his name in the Red Sox font that you saw here. I found really cute madras print shams at Potterybarn Kids that matched a quilt that was passed down in my family. I love the bright colors.

 Gavin LOVES his truck sheets. I hear him sometimes counting the excavators and dump trucks when he is supposed to be sleeping! These sheets were on sale at Potterybarn Kids and were a Christmas gift, just like the madras shams.

 Gavin's red chair was a Christmas gift from Santa, again from Potterybarn Kids. Boy I wish I still worked for Potterybarn and got my discount!!

 He also likes his new bookshelf and toy bucket shelf. Mark's mom found the bucket shelf at a garage sale and the bookshelf came from Ikea.

 I love his artwork cable that I actually, badly, snuck onto Teagan's registry to receive 10% off. But how cute is it and it holds all his wonderful creative creations!

 I do need to work on two things... the first is I have got to do something about a laundry bag. This is the one he is using now! Does it look familiar to anyone??!!

 I also need to figure out a way to cover these french doors, there are actually two to make a double french door. We started having a problem with Gavin peeking out behind the coverings when he was supposed to be in bed sleeping, the little pickle. Now I have them covered completely with paper taped to the window panes which is not to attractive. Any suggestions?

 Thanks!

a sneak peek...

I continue to be pregnant!! I went to Target this morning and then Gavin and I went to the park. I am hoping to make shamrock cookies with him this afternoon!

I wanted to give you a sneak peek of the nursery. I am not ready for the big reveal yet because there are a few finishing touches, but here is a little peek...

I am so excited! I am hoping to show you Gavin's room tomorrow. I really love how it turned out, but I haven't had a chance to take pictures when he is not sleeping!

milestones...

I have always felt milestones in Gavin's life with both happiness and pride AND tender sadness. When he was first born everyone, even strangers, told us how fast he would grow and now I tell new parents this same thing. Time really flies!! We are getting ready to embark on a new milestone, moving Gavin from his crib to a big bed. I can't believe it! Even though he is not attempting to climb out of his crib I think it is about time. He looks pretty big on his little mattress. And yes, we have to get it ready for his little sister! My mom and Mark painted his new room this weekend. and I am slowly setting everything up. Today, when I put Gavin down for a nap, he actually got upset and said he wanted to get in his new bed. I better finish things!! In my eyes he is still my little baby, but I think he is ready to become a big boy.

I can't believe it was a little over two years ago we were preparing this room for our sweet Gavin's arrival.

Luckily our renters did not paint the walls and we were able to set his room back the way it was. I will admit, it was the one room I had such a hard time packing. I cried! I am glad Gavin got to enjoy it after we moved back.

 We did a baseball theme for Gavin's room. The joke was that we chose sky blue and baseball diamond dirt orange for the walls. I was able to download of the Internet the same font the Boston Red Sox use and printed Gavin's name in it.

 I painted a plain white table cloth with a baseball, grass and ants.

 I also printed out pictures from the Internet of our favorite and most famous baseball stadiums. Fenway, the old Yankee, Wrigley, the old Tiger stadium and Coors Field are all included.

 Luckily this couch is white and Fenway green striped to fit into the design scheme. If anyone is not a Red Sox fan this color green is sacred to fans! You can actually find out the panetone number of this color!

I actually was glad to get some pictures for his baby book. I admit, things were too crazy when he was first born that I never took pictures before we moved!!

I will definitely share some pictures when his new room is completed... hopefully soon! I know Gavin is ready!