Made with Love

Yesterday was a sweet day filled with fresh memories as we inch closer and closer to the start of the school year (only two more days of summer break/maternity leave remain).  Speaking of which, the tossing and turning at night have started, the anticipation of meeting my new students (and seeing former ones!) is building, and newfound anxiety has crept in of wondering how managing to meet the needs of Charlotte, Adam, and our household as mother/wife will go compared to meeting my professional needs as teacher/advisor/colleague on campus.  In an effort to quelch some of the anxiety for now Charlotte and I kept busy this past week with errands, volunteering, play dates, and a long awaited project since I realized I lost something three months ago.  

What was that something?  Well, it involved, in a way, the sweet little teddy bear you can see in the image below that we were given at our birth class in the hospital two days before Charlotte was born.  All throughout this class, I had been experiencing contractions (as I had been since the previous Sunday) and little did Adam and I know that we would be back in the hospital that very night for false labor and then back again (for good) within 24 hours!!  Just two days before Charlotte's arrival, that sweet small teddy bear covered in pink hearts made me think of the love Adam and I already held for our child and made us wonder all the more if a little boy or a little girl would soon be grasping and reaching for the bear.

This was on the way home from the doctor appointment when she was nine days new!  Looking at this picture, I'm surprised to see these socks as they are the ones Charlotte currently has on her feet but they barely cover her feet now...she's a growing girl!

This teddy was Charlotte’s first toy that she had with her in her carseat when we departed the hospital a few days after she was born.   

 

Getting ready to leave the hospital for home!!!

Meeting her two furry brothers

The bear and Charlotte napping on Mother's Day during her first outing to Pittsburgh! 

The bear was the toy that accompanied her to her first outings at church when we attended Stations of the Cross the next night, when we drove to campus the following morning, to mass later that weekend, and to her first pediatrician appointment nine days after she was born.  This same teddy made the trip to my parents’ home to Pennsylvania for the first mother-daughter road trip and was with her as she met some of my closest friends there.  Then, on our final night, in PA, I accidentally lost this teddy bear after meeting with our matron of honor, Heather, at a busy mall for a Chick-Fil-A dinner and girl talk.  

 

I reached out to the restaurant, the mall, and even described our exact parking spot location but to no avail.  The teddy was long gone and lost.  I was really upset about losing this sentimental first toy as I had looked forward to sharing the story of how we got the bear with Charlotte and for her to see, in pictures, how this small bear looked so big next to her newborn self.

At first, I thought about contacting the hospital, and the folks who are in charge of the birthing classes, to see if we could acquire another bear made of the same material but figured they probably wouldn’t as I remember that bear being the only one in that pattern that day.  I remember this since I had swapped out the original white floral teddy Adam had picked up for me for the maroon heart teddy I had wanted for our child instead during the break.  Besides, I assumed the bears are made through some sort of volunteer ministry so wouldn’t know whom to contact.  So, I did the next best thing and googled how to make teddy bears online thinking I might be able to find similar fabric in a store or online.  Then, I remembered I have no sewing abilities whatsoever and I had sold my sewing machine a few years back due to said lack of sewing abilities.  I am very proud, however, of the Christmas craft I made one year of cloth wallets/small knapsacks with my sewing machine that some of my family members have continued to use to this day when traveling.  Anyhow, in my research online I stumbled upon some Etsy stores where folks create memory teddy bears of old shirts or onesies of loved ones.  I had previously heard of quilts or blankets being made from old shirts but not teddies!  I excitedly investigated this idea a bit further but the $25 to $50 price tag on some of these bears gave me pause.  Then, in my sentimental fashion I thought to myself, well, why not make a bear yourself out of the onesie Charlotte came home from the hospital in and even posed the question on Facebook to gauge the level of difficulty this task might entail.  My friends who are talented in sewing said this would be an easy process but I was still intimidated by it all.  A friend’s Mom even offered to help but then that fell through even though I was able to find some patterns online.  I feared my sewing by hand idea would not be strong enough and the bear would be two dimensional and fall flat (literally and figuratively..ha!) rather than turn out three dimensional and be able to sit up on its own.  This was even the topic at a craft night I attended and during a couple play dates but I still had many doubts and fears about cutting into that precious onesie and attempting this project so on came summer and off it went before I finally did something about it yesterday with only three days of summer remaining!!

The other day I saw a video of a tutorial on how to make a teddy bear out of onesies!  I sent the link to Aunt Marie who lives just under an hour from here and is a talented seamstress, quilt maker, and many other things and asked her if she might be able to help us with this project.  She said yes!!!  A date and time were set up and before I knew it, it was time to go to Aunt Marie and Uncle Bill’s yesterday.  An added bonus was that our cousins were there too.  It is always great seeing Mikey and Richele but Richele had her two little ones with her which was even more exciting as Charlotte got in an impromptu playdate before they had to go and Aunt Marie and I got down to business.  Sadie, one of my goddaughters, is a cutie pie and had fun hamming it up for us while AJ, my soon to be godson, is enjoying his mobility and was intrigued by Charlotte’s bright flashy pink headband. 

Ah, being a baby is such tiring work! 

After the playdate ended, a bottle was consumed, and a super messy poopy blowout resulted in an outfit changed (that was pretty appropriate given the circumstances), Aunt Marie, Charlotte, and I headed to the sewing room and got to work.   

Ashley, one of my Mommy's closest friends, made this very appropriate onesie at the PA baby shower back in January.  Charlotte looks thrilled to be putting it to use....the stinker!  ; )

Well, actually Aunt Marie did the work, Charlotte played, napped, ate, fussed off and on, and I cut some of the fabric and read the instructions from the blog tutorial aloud.  I didn't know it at the time but this family lives near where I grew up in Pennsylvania!  So the instructions we followed have a link to near Mommy's hometown for Charlotte....pretty neat!!

 

A couple hours later, THIS was the end product!

This is for me?! 

Thank you SO much, Aunt Marie, for all your help with this fun project!! Charlotte has not stopped smiling!!

Once we got home, I added a face using a Sharpie marker, and Charlotte and I stayed up past her bedtime trying out different "looks” for the bear using some of her old headbands she has already outgrown making this teddy a truly handmade gift!!  The one we settled on was the one she wore when she first came home from the hospital.  I suppose I will hang on to the other headbands in case she wants to switch them out and maybe this will be a way we can work on color identification in the future.  Yes, once a teacher always a teacher!   

Future career as a hand model anyone?

Giving a bear  hug to a bear...haha!

Up waaaay past her bedtime but lovin' it!

I also look forward to showing Charlotte the process of making this bear that was stitched and filled with love by the same aunt who created her beautiful Baptism quilt and was made using the blue “love you more” onesie her Daddy and I lovingly picked up from Target one night shortly before her arrival and another pink onesie that had two owls on the front that reminded me of her bedroom with the animal and nature theme and "Mommy and me".  I don't have a picture of the front of the pink onesie as Charlotte was fussy when we got to work on the sleeves and I wasn't able to snap a "before" picture but here is one from when she wore it at six weeks of age when she, Grammy, and I went to her first consignment sale in Washington, PA back in April.

What a special afternoon/evening and heartfelt memories that were created as summer winds down and we look ahead to Fall 2016!!

She seemed to enjoy the teddy the most just before falling asleep last night!  I love how this picture captures so much joy & energy from this little princess last night.... Much like what she has brought to her little corner of the world over the last 5.5 months! This was taken moments before she fell asleep with the handmade teddy bear made courtesy of Aunt Marie's talent and loving time.  What a gift!! 💕

 

I hope this bear becomes a cherished toy for Charlotte Ann and symbolizes for her the love we all have for her.  

This is her coming home outfit...who wore it better?  The teddy or our miracle baby??  <3

This is the last time she wore the onesie just before turning two months old.  I'm so glad we have a way to preserve this moment in time through the Love Teddy Bear!!