Amber Rohrer :: studio AR

I SEWED THAT: A 1/2 BIRTHDAY ROMPER + CROWN

Oh man. This is one of my favorite picture shoots of my baby Girl. Six months old in this photo. We celebrated her 1/2 birthday by visiting the zoo for the first time! She wore a romper I made especially for her big day. My first piece of baby clothing.

The romper pattern is from a Simplicity pattern I found online. It's pattern #1600 if you want to try and make one for yourself. 

It was certainly a challenge. I cut the bodice wrong once and had to scrap it and cut a new one. Luckily I had enough fabric, but barely! The fabric is of course Cotton + Steel's hatbox tigers. It was too cute to not turn into something wearable!

The embellishments are vintage beading I found while garage saling. Not the best match, but I wanted something to make it extra special.

The crown was made from a hand drawn pattern with extra leather scraps I had. I zig-zagged stitched the edges of the crown to complete the circle and glued on a 1/2  cut from leather scraps. Then I sewed on some elastic and VOILA! a crown! It was so cute but did not want to hold it's shape while on her head. Next time i will add some support so that it doesn't want to collapse on top of it'self.

I ad so much fun making something unique for my baby girl!

DADDYISMS | I

Sung to the tune of "All about that bass" by Meghan Trainor

I think it's pretty clear

I ain't no age 2

But I can shake it, shake it

Like I'm suppose to do

Cause I got that crawl crawl

That makes the mommy chase

Hidin' tiny puffs in all the tiny places

 

See mommy's magazines

With dvd's on top

you know that stuffs comin' down

and I can't never stop

Cause I got that cutie cutie

so throw em up

Cause every inch of me is perfect

from my bottom to my top

 

Daddyism's is a collection of special song rewrites, notes and silliness that Noi's Dad makes up for her. Sometimes they are just too good to not share.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween! We couldn't decide until the last minute what Noi was going to be, then I furiously sewed and crafted until we had an awesome s'more!

Jason and I were thee graham crackers (mine with the chocolate attached) and Noi was our marshmallow! So much cuter than I expected!

 

1/2 BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION - FIRST TRIP TO THE ZOO

Noi turned 6 months on Saturday September 20th and I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. I knew that half birthday's might start making an appearance in our family's future, but certainly knew that 6 months on this planet was something to be celebrated!

I planned a fun day of brunch with her Nana and Grandpa, who drove down from NC, and then her first trip to the zoo and a family dinner complete with cake afterwards.

Columbia's Riverbank Zoo has been around awhile. While I am not a huge fan of places that keep wild animal's captive, I certainly understand the draw and appeal for small children. Although only 6 months, Noi certainly enjoyed herself. Even her awesome nap she took in the stroller!

Noi also got to experience her first shoulder ride from Dad and discovered just how delicious his head really is.

Kitty and Noni met us at the Zoo and we are so glad they were able to make it. The zoo is undergoing many renovations, but some cool new features were open, such as this open air Kangaroo and Wallaby area. You were allowed inside the open area where they are just munching and hanging out. Noi loved watching the Kangaroo's jump around the enclosure! 

On our way out, after a long day, we made one last stop for a carousel ride. I almost had a panic attack waiting for the ride to stop so we could grab the perfect animal to ride on! The only pony related creature was this very pretty zebra and I would have pushed people over just to get Noi a ride on it! LOL

Noi loved the carousal, but was more interested in trying to slobber on the gold pole, which she was unsuccessful, thanks to Dad, in doing.

I loved this half birthday tradition of a fun day out as a family. Next year we will have the cake for breakfast instead of dinner!

DEAR NOI // 6 MONTHS

Dear Noi,

You have reached your 1/2 birthday! 6 months in our lives and it feel like you have been here forever. I want to stop for a moment in this crazy life we have made for ourselves and take note of some of the rad things about you at this age.

I want to remember that beautiful and bright gummy smile that is so contagious it should be sold as an anti-depressant. It only adds to the appeal that you have your mother's chubby cheeks and man do they look great on you!

I want to remember the way you LIGHT UP when your Dad enters the room. I can only dream of getting a response like that from you. It's so amazing watching you two create this magical bond, weaving the threads everyday. It's so special and you are such a Daddy's girl.

I want to remember the way you suck on your bottom lip and it looks like you are nothing but big blue eyes and chubby cheeks.

I want to remember how you love to stick out your tongue. ALL THE TIME. Spitting is still a favorite past time for you as well.

I want to remember your first trip to the zoo on your actual 1/2 birthday. How much you loved the carousel and how badly you wanted to lick that gold pole!

I want to remember how much you love bath time. Your legs start kicking even before they hit the water and how you would splash till the water was cold.

I want to remember cuddling with you on the couch to get you to go to sleep for your afternoon nap. Both of us sweating as I pat your back and bouce you gently till you are asleep.

I want to remember teaching you how to sit up and how quick a learner you are. You still toddle a bit every now and again, but for the most part you can sit up like a little person now. You also love leaning backwards over anyone and anything. It's your favorite thing to do at 4AM after you are done breast feeding; leaning back to look at Dad and giving him a big gummy smile with milk all over your face.

I want to remember how much you love your bouncer. It's insane how fast and how much you bounce in that thing! It's certainly one of the best purchases we have made. Even Kitty and Papa bought one for thier house!

I want to remember you learning to sleep in your crib and how much you sleep like an adult. We are very lucky.

I want to remember how curious you are about our food when we eat and your first time trying real solids. So far you will eat anything that we feed you, but you especially love carrots, sweet potatoes and pears.

I want to remember how hard it is to get a laugh out of you! You are a tough audience but when you we do get that laugh from you, it's the best music in the world.

I want to remember how much you love watching the dogs and squeal with delight when you pet one of them or when they get rambunctious and start running around.

I want to remember how these days that go by so fast. Everyday you are a little bit taller, sitting a little straighter, talking a little bit louder. Everyday you are getting smarter and your personality shines through. 

I want to remember how lucky I am to be your Mama.

Love always,

Mama

DEAR NOI // 3 MONTHS

 

 

Dear Noi,

I have two things to say: 1st: HOORAY! We made it to 3 months! and 2nd: YOU ARE AWESOME.

I'm sitting here, after a long day of working on my new business adventure, your Kitty and Noni just came and picked you up to spend a few hours with you, and marveling at how awesome a tiny person you are becoming.

Today, while changing your diaper, we had a real conversation. I just sat in awe of all your new facial expressions and noises you were making, telling me about your day. Tears welled up in my eyes as I no longer saw my itty bitty newborn laying there on the changing pad. Now, lying there with you feet in the air, gabbing about the World Cup, I caught a glimpse of the kid, the girl and the woman you are becoming. It fills my heart with love, pride and a tiny twinge of sadness for that itty bitty newborn.

You are changing so fast. Today you are different from yesterday. Ok it's  only in incremental amounts, but I notice it. Your daddy see it too. Everyday is an adventure for all of us, watching you grow and learn.

I wish I could sympathize with all the new Mom's out there and say becoming a Mama was so very hard, but I cannot. I was made for this job and fell into it seamlessly. I love this job.

At 3 months you are really starting to jabber. Everyday you mimic a new mouth movement and pair it with a new sound. Low squeaks and high pitched screams. You have range.

You are a good sleeper. I hesitate to say great but most nights on average you sleep 7 hours straight. A few days there last week you slept 8 hours straight. It's so awesome.

You love sucking on your fist and can almost put the entire thing in your mouth. You also are no longer wearing mittens, which means you are grabbing all kinds of things. You love to grab your clothes and pull them up to your mouth. You also do that with your blankets and I have to keep an eye on you that you havn't covered your entire face.

You smile all the time and are generally a very happy baby. You are also a super good baby. It's just a matter of days before you discover your feet and you play with your hair while you eat, always with a hand on the back of your head messing with your hair.

Noi, we are so happy you are here. Your Noni mentioned the other day about how weird it still was that you were here. I've never felt that way, I've always felt as if you have always been a part of this family. We love you so much, Noi. I am so honored to be your Mama.

Love you forever ( and ever ),

Mama 

FAMILY PHOTO // MAY 2014

Sunday night we finally had the opportunity, energy and weather for a perfect beach family photo. The light was just gorgeous and we captured some great shots. Noi was quite the trooper until the last few shots when she had decided she had had enough and was cold. Game-ender right there folks. Do not let this little munchkin get even the slightest bit chilly or she gets pissed. So we wrapped her up in her quilt that we had brought along and left the beach just as the sun was lowering behind the waves. The sky was burgundy and violet. So beautiful. I will certainly miss the sunsets when we move.

+photos taken at Indian Rocks beach at sunset - Nikon D80 with 50mm lens - edited with A Beautiful Mess PSE actions

++ Noi's dress is Baby Gap spring 2014 and my dress is Gap spring 2014

MAMA'S DRESS // PHOTOSHOOT

One of the special pieces of my childhood that my Mother kept was this little white dress. It's the dress I came home from the hospital in. My Mom pulled it out of storage last year and gave it to me (along with a few other of my baby items) as a wonderful keepsake. Being 30 years old, it's still in beautiful condition. A simple white knit dress with tiny pink flowers along the top and bottom.

I knew right away that when Noi was born I wanted her to wear it in a photo shoot. How fun would it be to see her in an outfit that was once mine? Wound't it be so sweet to pull out the old photo of me wearing this dress and compare it with her?

This just proves how petite and tiny my sweet girl is. These photos were taken when she was 3 weeks old and she was mildly swimming in the dress. I must have been a little bit more substantial, to wear this home from the hospital!

Just for fun the other day, I pulled out some old photo albums to locate a photo of me at her age. You know, just to see how much we really did look alike at this age. To Jason and I's surprise, it was like looking into a mirror. Almost identical!