I have bought a few cheap little fold up shopping bags that live in my handbag. They fold up nice and compact and are much easier and nicer to use than the 'green bags'.
How hard could it be to whip one up out of some fabric I thought? A while back I got some end of bolts of fabric from spotlight. Great patterns for the older boys, I plan to make some summer PJ pants from it and maybe even new quilt covers (I got about 15 m of each one!) and it worked out to only about 50c/m. what did I have to loose? (Except my sanity maybe!!!!) All I had to do was unpick a bag ( I had one that was starting to come undone at the seam anyway), draft a pattern from it, cut out the fabric and sew it up! An hour or so I thought - no worries! More like two and a half !!!!
I guess it wasnt really that hard. Ive never really used bias binding before and I hate pinning things before I sew. Note to self - when trying to use said binding always pin it first to avoid unpicking and having to fix!!!! 
I sewed, unpicked and re sewed two of the four sections before I finally admited defeat and pinned it first..LOL it was then still a little tricky, but so much quicker and easier! Its a little rough around the edges, and apart from having a bit of trouble getting the biding to sit nicely around the flap section, Im really happy with the way it turned out.
Should be a handy bag for one of the boys...if Isaac will let anyone else near it!!!I can see quite a few of these getting made. I also want to try and draft a pattern for the black "greenbag" that I tend to cart all the kids stuff around in. Its the perfect size, but its pretty ordinary to look at - just need to find some suitable fabric and I will have a go!
This weeks topic- favourite things. I choose Jacintas gorgeous little toes - there is just something cute about baby toes - they are still so soft and squidgy and cute. I took this shot for the challenge.
As I looked through the photos I wanted to add to your letter this month I realised that you really are no longer a baby. You have become a gorgeous little toddler - even though you STILL havnt taken your first step! 
Im sure that in the next month we will be able to cross that milestone off as well. You have been practicing standing by yourself more and more in the last few days, and no longer need someone or something to get yourself up on. You just stand up - much to everyones excitement - and then plop down on your bottom with lots of giggles. Sometimes I think this is the part of the game that you think we are clapping for. 
You are wanting to stand more and more. You stand at the coffee table to play with the toys, you stand up to dance when you hear music playing and you stand up and plop down playing silly games with Isaac. You have started bum shuffling around as well so you can get where you want and carry things with you. 
You love walking along holding someones hands or pushing your pram around. Im sure its just a matter of time before you take those first tentative steps.
You climb onto any low objects, turn yourself around and sit there looking very proud of yourself!
You have also worked out how to slide open the doors on your robes and love climbing inside and peeping back out again.
You still have your Dummy although you are no where near as attatched to it as Isaac was to his. I try to keep it just for sleep times, although you sometimes go into your room and reach it through the bars of the cot and come out sucking on it and looking at me with a cheeky little grin. You have always slept with your blankie too. Its a small cradle blanket. It was only one favourite blanket - now it is two! I cut in in half after getting fed up with trying to get it washed and dryed between sleeps. You knew something was up with it - it was much smaller and didnt quite cuddle right. I trimmed the end of each piece with a nice soft flanellette piece to get it nearly back to its original size. Now you snuggle back into it like its always been like that. Im just waiting for you to get old enough to realise that only one of them has the princess applique on it! Hopefully by then you will be quite used to there being two of them!
Your favourite toys at 16 months, I would have to say, would be matchbox cars. What else could I expect with the influence of all these boys :) I can surround you with all the girliness in the world, but in the end the lure of the colouful hand sized little pieces of metal that seem to provide so much enjoyment for your brothers is what wins you over. Your play is complete with cute little brmmmm brmmmm noises as well.
You have three of your four eye teeth now and the last one is so close to cutting through. 
You are starting to get a real personality. You know how to shake your head when you dont want something, you 'sing' in your own little language, youe 'read' your books, you push Isaac away when he is annoying you and have even started to yell at him, you yell when you dont get what you want. I have seen you throw yourself on the ground when you dont get your way - its still cute and I still laugh, which in turn snaps you out of it and has you laughing along with me - Im pretty sure that stratagy wont be effective for much longer!
Sometimes there is 'the look' - a brief glimpse into what might be laying in store for me as you get older? I was taking photos of you and you kept leaning to get off the box and crawl away - I had just said "sit down sweetie", you sat up nicely and then shot me this look - gotta admit it cracked me up at the time
which in turn cracked you up...
...cheeky monkey!
'Round and round the garden, like a teddy bear, one step, two steps, tickle under there' - its one of your favourite songs. You crawl upto me and hold you chubby little hand out, your blue eyes pleading with me to play. You tense up in anticipation of the tickles and always collapse into laughter before I even get to that part. As soon as Im finished you push your hand back at me, fingers outstretched, your cheeky smile once again pleading for more. Ive even seen you sitting by yourself, gabbling away as you your own fingers goes round and round the palm of your other hand - so cute sweetie! The other song you love is Twinkle, twinkle little star. You 'sing' along with a sweet, gentle (unintelligable) little voice, twinkle your fingers, point to the sky, and even make a little diamond shape with both your hands. Its the song that can calm you when your cranky, distract you when you want to escape as your nappy is being changed or as we dry and dress you after your bath.
You will get there in your own time, you have only been crawling about 8 weeks. It would be nice if you walked soon though - its wet outside now, and it would be so much easier if you could hold my hand and walk alongside me! You still love the baby carriers,.jpg)
and thankfully since you are quite petite, its still comfortable and practical to just pop you onto one of them. You much prefer being carried in a sling or the ergo to travelling in the pram.
Just a little tidy up really, you were really good. Yet another one of those baby to toddler transitions ticked off the list! Time is going by far to quickly!
We went shopping with Auntie Vic and Georgia, Auntie Jode and Riley and you all got to have a play in the Mccafe playground and got a babychino and a mini muffin while we had coffee. You were very excited! 
Ive made PJ pants for all of you, which were suprisingly easy. I want to have a go at making some little summer dresses for you as well. All four of you kids are happy about the baking! 
Ive been making a huge batch of cookies each week. Choc chip are a hit with every one, then I made dark choc chip with slivered almonds and apricots (YUMMO), plain sultana biscuits and milo cookies. Ive make a muslie slice and want to have a go at some point making my own pasta sauce to bottle.
as is any other bag you find with in reach. You can unzip them too - that skill is well developed from all the practice you get unzipping every jacket I put on you ! You make a bee line for the remote controls, or the phone if it has been left with in your reach. You know just what to do with them too. Your fingers push the little buttons on the remote as soon as you get near it, and the phone goes straight to your ear. If there is something you shouldnt touch, a stern little ahhhh, is usually all it takes for you to move onto something else.
My darling little girl, you are such a sweet little thing and we all love you more than you could ever imagine. 
Isaac LOVED feeding the chooks 
and collecting the eggs. 
He talked to the cows and watched the mushrooms popping up all over the paddocks after the rain. 
125g butter
4. Mix in Choc Chips.
