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109+1wk-drawingsToday my daughter started drawing little tiny happy people.

She has said she was before but today they actually LOOKED like it. She’s been working so hard at this for the last 6 or so months and I couldn’t stop smiling and gushing over her.

She holds the pen in her left hand while she prepares her right fingers to hold the pen just right too, such concentration and attention to detail. I think it’s silly how every time a child does something well people say OH a future doctor or dancer or whatever! But come on, illustrator? :)

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Baby Countdown: 1 week, 5 days ’till due date!

I finally finished my little pink and yellow crooked quilt (left) – on the right is a larger and more-perfect quilt made by my very talented mom.

I used 5″ squares, was very inspired by the Swedish Summer Quilt and followed these directions for binding by Jay Bird Quilts.

After about 6 inches of whip stitching the binding I stopped – it looked awful and felt really rough. I checked my mom’s binding and of course, being perfect and all, you can’t even see the binding stitch! I sent off an email to see how she did it and took out all the previous stitches. She sent back this youtube video of the quilting ladder stitch (at 24:25 in the video) – easier, faster and it looks wonderful!

I can’t see myself ever being a full-time quilter, I’m way too impatient and messy for measuring and perfect squares. However, there’s such a huge sense of accomplishment on finishing that I don’t get with many other projects. Awesome. :)

Official countdown to due date: 4 Weeks, 4 Days.

I’m really nervous but my excitement for meeting this tiny little girl in my belly is growing like crazy! xoxo

Spent most of last Sunday in the nursery. Putting up shelves and hanging art… I’m happy to say it’s finally starting to look like a little girl’s room. It’s not ready for a full reveal but I couldn’t wait to post a peek!

I also wanted to give a shout out to my amazing parents who have been married 36 years today! You’ll see lots of their handy-work in the nursery – paint, chair rails, paint, closet shelves and more paint! Plus, my mom is quilting, helping with the mobile, bought the crib and every cute little outfit she’s seen … the list goes on and on.

I have a feeling their little granddaughter will be even more spoiled than me, if that’s possible! xo

in·spi·ra·tion :: [in-spuhrey-shuhn] –noun

  1. an inspiring or animating action or influence: I cannot write poetry without inspiration.
  2. something inspired, as an idea.
  3. a result of inspired activity.
  4. a thing or person that inspires.

There’s a fine line between being inspired-just-enough and inspiration overload. Too much inspiration makes me immobile – glued to my computer screen scrolling and scrolling. Each beautiful thing I see gives me another idea of some project I want to do, eventually my brain is full to the point of exhaustion and it’s time for bed. And let’s see… what did I get done? Nothing.

It’s always been like this, but jumped into overdrive about 6 1/2 months ago when I found out we were expecting a baby. Wait what? Yes, our very first little bitty baby girl is due on June 11th! I haven’t even been able to blog about it ’cause it’s just overwhelming – in an amazing yet terrifying kind of way. It’s a whole new sort of inspiration on a whole new level. Every time I feel a little kick or nudge it makes me want to make everything just that much more perfect. Talk about pressure.

Having hit the 3rd trimester I’m diving head first into nesting – cleaning daily, making plans for every space of our house that hasn’t been thought out yet, and the nursery… ooooh the nursery! Not to mention all my plans for Ahhh Design, WordPress themes and freelance web design. I keep making lists that are WAY too long and spending WAY too much time on Pinterest.

I’m putting my foot down.

I have the afternoon off and no, I will not spend it surfing the web looking for more ideas. I’m going to shut down the computer and use the ideas that are in my head already. First line of business, my second-ever quilt for my first-ever baby girl!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, I’ll let ya know how it goes. :)

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I love you Uncle Jary and am lucky to have known you. I’ll miss your huge smile, infectious laugh and those weird faces you always made at me. It seems unfair now but I know you had a great life and you left us doing something you love, which is more than most can say. <3

Amanda Hawkins

Amanda Hawkins

Take care of little humans,
stare at tiny computer,
scribble on paper,
daydream.
Maker of DIY Planners and 🎨 artist; front-end web developer and designer well-versed in CSS & WordPress. Make music with RBK & as Love Morris. Check out littlebird.ahhh.co if you're interested in hiring me for WordPress dev. Subscribe to a newsletter I never send out. Connect on Instagram & Twitter.

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