Queen Quilter and other visual delights.

Michaela attended a quilting camp a few weeks ago and blew us away with her efforts.

I thought, How good can a quilt by a seven year old be? and the answer was, Clearly, better than what you could do, Cheryl.

She picked out the material and colors herself, and the quilt is dog-themed since she adores anything with animals. She worked really hard all week, and then my Aunt Kathy, who is an amazing sewer/quilter/crafter, helped her finish the edges and back and hand-tie the whole thing on Tuesday.

Michaela has since been on a real sewing kick, making a pair of capri pants from a pattern and starting on a matching shirt. I am beyond thrilled that she seems to enjoy doing this kind of activity and have all kinds of wild fantasies already of us going to sewing retreats and working on projects together, side by side, laughing and making rose-tinted memories.

Then I see her grab a pair of scissors, cut up the flannel that she bought a few months ago, and proceed to make fabric tacos, spaghetti, and confetti and make a holy mess of my dining room and I am reminded that she is only seven and the fantasy life will have to wait a bit to come true.

She is so proud of her quilt, and we are super proud of her.

And last but not least, for your viewing pleasure, a full -out picture of the ever growing baby belly with Jenna. It's not a particularly flattering picture of me, but 1) it was taken at 8:30pm after a tiring day and 2) one has few illusions of vanity after 36 weeks of pregnancy.

Dan just laughs and shakes his head when he sees the belly in all of it's glory. Later this week I will post the last picture taken of me before I had Jenna, wearing the same shirt, and you can see how much bigger this baby is. And how much younger and fresher I looked four years ago.