One Year Old!

We made it! I am feeling very accomplished today... looking back at a year ago, and what was about to happen. Isla was born one year ago at 1:32 pm, so in 24 minutes if I am going by the clock on this computer. To have survived this year is nothing short of amazing, so I am pretty proud of Sean and myself today :)

Isla woke up bright and early this morning, came to play in the big bed, ate some breakfast and got down to opening her presents from Sean and I. She really enjoyed ripping the wrapping paper and taking a look at what was hiding inside. 

For about a month, I have been working on Isla's birthday book. I was inspired by pinterest, and wanted to make this special soft book for Isla to enjoy. I finally finished it a few days ago, and I think it turned out pretty well! Next time, I would definitely think ahead and make the pages double-sized so that it just requires me to sew one seam down the middle to bind the book instead of having to create the outer cover, but I think it ended up looking pretty nice. Isla has enjoyed looking and pointing at all of the pictures. She loves pointing at Sean and yelling "DA"- super cute. 

It is crazy to look back at the pictures and videos to see how much she has changed. Recently, I have noticed a massive change... just the last couple weeks. She started her first few days of daycare and is really enjoying it, so maybe it is that which makes her seem a bit older. There are other things though:

- Running! Isla has not only mastered the walking skill, but she is determined that she is ready to move onto running. Last night she was flying around the house, but her little legs can't always keep up just yet. Hence, her first bloody lip yesterday from falling on a ball. 

- Chasing after the cats: This goes along with the "running", but Isla's new favourite game is to chase Miso and Pierogie around the house screaming. They aren't such fans of this game, but play into it by running away. 

- Signs: Isla is super proud of herself about being able to sign, say and point to a picture of a ball. There is a picture of a ball in her bath book, and she will flip the page to it and shout "ball", while doing the sign. She also learned how to sign "kitty" recently and loves to point to the cats and sign at the same time. 

- Laugh: Sure, she always smiled and giggled a little bit, but recently it has been a louder, more intentional laugh. She will run around laughing, and thinks it's funny if she gets you to laugh with her. Tickle her, and her laugh becomes uncontrollable. So cute!

Isla's official birthday party is tomorrow, so I will post all of her birthday pictures then!

Happy birthday sweet little girl- I love you!

First Birthday Quiet Book

So awhile ago, I decided that I wanted to make a quiet book for Isla's birthday. I wanted it to be special, and have messages from family in it so that it was a neat thing for her to look back on when she is bigger. Right now, she LOVES looking at pictures of herself and people she knows, so I think she will really enjoy it. 

After lots and lots and lots of sewing, I have finished all of the individual pages as you can see below:

You will have to just tilt your head to the side to get a good idea, since I am not sure how to rotate pictures on Blogger! 

So, now that I have the individual pages finished (I still have to stuff them with filling), I am trying to decide how on Earth I am going to bind them together. I am not keen on grommets or tying ribbons as Isla is just small and put everything in her mouth. Ribbons would come undone, and I hate the idea of her sucking on cheap metal. 

Any ideas of how to sew the pages together???