.Who is Harvey Charles?.

Hello blog! We're still cruising along in new baby mode. It's nice to have an excuse to slow down and chill out with lots of snuggles - especially when it's cold outside.

Little Harvey Charles turned 1 month old this week. He is such a treasure, we are all smitten with his round face and chubby cheeks and soft double chin. And he is growing like a weed, still spewing terribly but obviously it isn't affecting his ability to gain weight! This week he started giving us some cute smiles - especially first thing in the morning when the sun rises and he wakes from the night. Funny how you can't imagine how a new baby is going to fit into the family but once they have been here for a little while you can't imagine how the family could feel complete without them.

Remember when I hinted that his name comes from a Thomas the Tank Engine character? Well, here is his fellow train - Harvey. Harvey (the train) is described as relentlessley cheery, big-hearted and helpful. Let's hope the name comes with the characteristics! Although the Thomas books did give us the initial idea to name him Harvey, his name does have special meaning in our family. Jaron's great Uncle (so, Harvey's great-great Uncle) is also named Harvey. The kids and I met Uncle Harvey and Aunty Jill when we went to New Zealand a couple of years ago. They are the sweetest couple and he is a well-loved uncle so it just seemed right that we name our baby after him.

With Uncle Harvey and Aunty Jill in December 2011

Harvey's middle name, Charles, comes from my Grandad. Although he is hardly ever called Charles (most people know him as Chick) we loved how the names sounded together and can't think of another greater man for him to be named after.

With Grandad and Granny in February 2012

But if you ask Tommy what his baby brother's name is he will likely answer you with "Borris" or "George". Seriously. 

Since he was born, Tommy decided that his name wouldn't be Harvey at all!! I think it might have something to do with Tommy being put out of place with the arrival of the little man, this was something that he could be in control of, so we're rolling with it to keep everyone happy!

.Ottobre Design Age/Size Guide.

I made this print-out a few months ago when I was finding it difficult to select the size of Ottobre Design patterns. All of the pattern sizing in the Ottobre magazines is given by height measurement. Which is great if you have your kids avaliable to measure against, but most of my sewing takes place when they are at school or in bed so I'm usually stuck because I forget to measure them in advance! Then when I was doing lots of baby sewing, I was really confused by the sizing given and didn't know what was going to fit, but it turns out this size guide has worked really well.  

So, if you're stuck with sizing, hopefully this will help. Click on the image below to get the A4 image to print out and stick it with your Otto magazines for quick and easy reference!

.Sewing for baby: hoodie + superman.

This post didn't quite make it to the blog before Harvey was born, but here's the last of my baby sewing projects...

The pattern for this hooded jacket comes from Ottobre 4/2012 and is called "Pikku Lapanen." The pattern called for sweatshirt knit for the outer, but I used french terry lycra instead and lined it with jersey knit.

This one is a size 56 (00 - my sizing estimates were correct!) and will be perfect for throwing over outfits for extra warmth on cool days.

The pockets are completely decorative because what baby is going to stick his hands in his pockets?! But they are a cute detail nonetheless!

Just before Harvey was born I managed to squeeze in one last project in 000 size.

Another of my favourite sets - from The 1/2012 edition of Ottobre, "Little Houses Knit Pants" and "Bert Bodysuit with henley placket."

The super hero fabric came from Spoonflower here. It is so lovely and soft. I've been washing Tommy's Spoonflower knit tshirt a lot and it is fading but isn't terrible. If I'm not using the dryer (my new baby lifesaver!) then I almost always hang it inside out to dry so not sure if that is helping it from not fading as fast.

And that's it! Sewing projects have been non-existent over the last three weeks. I'm wondering how I will ever find the time/energy to create again, but I know it will happen with time! I do have a new pattern very close to being finished off so hopefully I'll be able to share that soon if the stars align and I find the motivation!

.Harvey models.

Photo overload alert! But it's just too hard to choose a couple of photos of this little lamb (Harvey's nickname due to sounding like a little baa-ing lamb when he cries).

So, guess what? The clothes fit! Yay! I thought we'd be waiting a few more weeks before he fit into the littlest creations I made for him, but the tiniest outfits are on him already - with plenty of growing room so we'll be getting lots of wear out of them.

Here's the little green and grey tractors set - get all the details here.

And the first set I made - with the off-centred placket but you can't really tell once it is on! Get all the details here.

Gotta fly - little lamb is squawking on my lap.  Time for another feed!

.Tommy is Four!.

On Saturday we celebrated Tommy's 4th birthday. We were very conscious of making it extra special for him as he has had a big couple of weeks adjusting to the new baby so didn't want him to feel like he was missing out because we are tired - it was tough, being woken up early on a Saturday morning but we managed to drag ourselves out to the lounge room with cheery faces to watch him open his presents! Pete the Cat is an all time favourite in our house and he was very excited when he opened a new Pete the Cat book and toy. He also got a racing car track which I anticipated would give him hours of entertainment when the big kids are at school (so that I can sleep on the couch!) but so far Oscar has claimed it and Tommy has hardly used it!

Lunch request was McDonalds - we tried really had to convince him that a cafe would be much nicer but he had his mind made up!

And dinner time request was pancakes with strawberries - too easy!

We saved the birthday cake for Sunday evening so that we could share it with our extended family. A couple of weeks ago I bought a new birthday cake cookbook and it has been well-read ever since! Tommy choose "Pigs in Mud" from the book and I put Jaron on pig making/decorating duty - he always does a better job with the cakes than I do!

Tommy was very impressed until Uncle Ty stole one of the pig's heads and melted it into the pancakes he was making! 

Mum and Dad bought Tommy a ukulele for his birthday and it is by far his favourite present. He loves having things the same as Poppy Tom and declares that he and Poppy are "best friends" because they both have brown guitars with holes in them! Now, if Dad can teach him how to play it perhaps we will have a budding little musician in our home!

Happy Birthday little Tommy! You are a delight and need to stop growing up so fast!

.Harvey's first week.

We've survived two weeks of newborn-madness in the house. And apart from keeping kids fed and dressed, a semi-tidy house and lots of baby snuggles nothing else has been achieved! Harvey is two weeks old today and is already changing so much. He seems so much more awake and alert and this morning he cooed at me - not yet little boy! He has mostly been sleepy and settled, but he is super spewey and suffers with a bit of wind. Hopefully it will pass with time as his tummy matures and he gets used to life outside the womb. Our nights have been mostly pretty good, he feeds every 3-4 hours and is usually finished and back to sleep within 45 minutes. 

Tommy has been a bit of a handful, I thought he would be though. He has been the baby for so long and has really noticed a shift in family dynamics. He is much better towards me and the baby now, but is still very demanding of me and wanting to be doing something with me all the time. He loves Harvey though and since we came home from the hospital has been calling him Borris! Lil is a great little Mummy, loving lots of cuddles and admiring Harvey's every move. Oscar was a bit stand-offish to begin with, but that's normal for him when it comes to any sort of change and he gives us updates on what Harvey is doing all the time now.

So that's the quick update for now - we've been so blessed to have friends and family bring us meals around since Harvey was born and are back to the "new normal" this week - wish us luck! 

Here are some photos from Harvey's first week...

The kids first visit with Harvey in the hospital:

His first bath:

At home - 3 days old:

 1 week old: