Dear Baby Waider,
The holidays are upon us! You are 10 weeks old and the past month has flown by! You have been busy growing and you mom has been busy crafting! Yes, I said CRAFTING! See, Grandma Halter makes each grand-kid a stocking for Christmas. Actually, let me back up about 33 years. Grandma Halter made me my stocking when I was a little girl. I LOVED my stocking. I remember mom pulling it out of the white bag it was stored in each year and we would hang it up on my Kermit the Frog stocking hanger. It was AWESOME. Plus, even though Uncle Kelly and Auntie Katie both had hand made stockings mine was really special because mine had two little tiny books in it that Grandpa Halter gave to me on my first Christmas. Each year it seemed like I had forgotten to take some of Santa's gifts out of my stocking, but then I would look and there were my special little books. One of them being The Night Before Christmas. Anyway...I love my stocking and knew that Grandma H. was planning to make you a cool stocking too! So, this past summer I had the bright idea that I wanted to help make your stocking with Grandma H. So, sometime in early November? we got to work. And was it ever work!
Mom's stocking. See the sweet Kermit the Frog hanger??? I'm totally ordering you one too!
Let me explain something about your mom. I was sort of envisioning that Grandma H. would be hard at work on the stocking and I would more or less be keeping her company. Maybe eating a snack, or drinking coffee...Either way I didn't envision myself doing the really hard work. Boy was I ever wrong. Your Grandma H. handed me some SUPER SHARP FELT CUTTING SCISSORS and put me to work. I started out by cutting out the little shapes that are sewn to the stocking. Then, I was promoted to doing some sequinning. (not sure that is a verb) Before I knew it I was appliqueing, stuffing, and sewing! It was tough at first, but Grandma H. was there to help me out when I got in a jam. That included creating huge knots, losing needles, threading needles, and doing some french knot that I never really mastered. Grandma H. did the major stuff, like sewing the actual shapes to the stocking. She also put the front of the stocking onto the back of the stocking aside from the 3 or 4 stitches that I did.
Grandma H. working at our house. When Grandma works on stuff she always puts her glasses to the side. I know it is to see better, but I'm not sure I completely understand how glasses sideways helps. She does this when she's really focused and working on something close up. Also, when she's reading something.
We had lots of fun making your stocking. Sometimes Grandma came out to our house and we would eat dinner and work, work, work. You would hang out with your dad. Sometimes I would go to Grandma's house.
You and your dad hanging out while mom and grandma work!
Your Grandma and I were an unlikely team. Your Grandma H. works at one speed. Fast. She tears through craft projects like it is some sort of race to be won. A marathon with a $1,000,000 prize at the end. Not only is she fast, but her work is PERFECT! You have to follow every direction and do things just so. Her motto would be, "You put a lot of time into these projects, so they better look good when you are done." Your mom works at one speed too. Messy. I think I try for fast, but I am a disaster with craft/art projects. Pretty much every art project mom did at school was a disaster. I would always hope that my project would look like Kim Gradoville's. She was a girl mom went to school with who always had the BEST art projects. More than likely because she took her time and didn't rush through the project. I would always look at the teacher's sample and think to myself, "Okay, I think I can do that. Ya! I can do that!" When in reality when I was done with my project I would look at mine, look at the teachers, and then look at Kim Gradoville's and know that yet again, I had totally demolished any chance at having the perfect art project. That being said I went into the stocking project less than qualified and really didn't think that I would end up having to do much of the work with it.
Like I said, BOY WAS I WRONG! Grandma was relentless about me working on the stocking. Early on I wasn't cutting very neatly, which is really part of my artistic disability, and Grandma said, "You are making this for your little girl, and she will look at it every year. Make sure you make it look good." And for the most part I did. It was like I was being taken over by some super human Martha Stewart force. I was really working hard, and I really did a good job! I took my time, and did my best, and it turned out to be beautiful. Well, that and your Grandma would give me friendly reminders to cut neatly. I also wanted to push back the finish date a few times because let's be honest, at two months old you really have no idea if you have a stocking or not. Santa could leave you gifts anywhere and it wouldn't really matter. But when I wanted to push the date back Grandma H. said, "NO! WE WILL FINISH. I always start what I finish and it will be done by Christmas." And it was.
Your Grandma and I worked right on down to the wire! We just finished with only 4 days to spare. During our second to the last working session your dad had to work on his truck that decided to break down! So I had to throw you in your moby and work while you were sleeping in the carrier. It was actually pretty nice holding you while I worked.
Mom wearing Baby Ellie. Baby Ellie is asleep.
Working on the name.
The most stressful part of the whole stocking was the name. My cursive is similar to my artistic ability...shaky at best. So I struggled with the name. I printed it, I wrote it with pen, pencil, marker, you name it. I got out a ruler, taped the felt to the table measured how much space each letter should take up, and then called Grandma. Finally, Grandma said, "Just go with it." So I wrote the name and it was okay... I did it and it looked good! I secretly like sequinning.
Me trying to get your name written the right way! UGH! It was not easy!
Mom working on your name.
The final night we worked on your stocking was December 21. Your cousin Lauryn's 19th birthday. Everyone was hanging out playing cribbage, and chit chatting and Grandma H., cousin Brook and I were working on finishing the stocking. Your mom was distracted and not doing her best work. But nonetheless we got it done. And we had some big fun getting it done!
Your mom putting the finishing touches on the sock!
Grandma Halter and Cousin Brook. Brook decided to help us finish up at the end. Mostly he just made mom laugh! Oh! And he went and got me something...I can't remember what, but this is me giving him credit for that in the blog! :)
Grandma Halter working feverishly to complete the sock.
You and your stocking!
Grandma H., mom, and you with the beautiful finished product.
Looking back on all of my failed attempts at elementary school art projects if I just would have cut a little bit more neatly I think more of my projects could have landed on the Kim Gradoville side of things. So, little one, make sure when you do something you take your time and do it right. You never know when something will turn out to be a masterpiece! Also, just like Grandma always finish what you start. Maybe we will practice cutting as soon as you can hold some scissors and pray that you have your grandma's crafting ability.
I know that you will always love your stocking just as I love mine! Whenever you look at it you can think about all the hours your mom and grandma put into it just because we love you so much! I know that whenever I look at your stocking I will remember the fond memories I have from working with your grandma Halter. We had a blast! Even though I am not the most artistically talented child she was patient with me and made sure I helped to make you something special and nice!! Trust me I NEVER would have done it without her. I may have started, but I would never have finished. So grandma's gift to you is the stocking and grandma's gift to me was making it!(Thanks, mom!) :) As always mama loves you Ellie Belly.
Love,
Your mom
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