Decorating with Hoops

This is just a sweet picture of Mary "reading" one of her books. She loves apples, so she always looks for the page in this book with the apple tree.

Here are some close-ups of the embroidery hoops in Mary's new room. I love the way they add color to the walls, and they totally match her bubbly personality. The hoops at Hobby Lobby are very inexpensive, and since I only buy enough fabric to go in the hoop, the fabric is very cheap too, even the nicer designs. The one above is my first attempt at hand-embroidery. Not very professional-looking, I know, but I think Mary will like it when she gets older.

Some of the hoops have some fabric that is sentimental to me, such as fabric from her first dresses, her nursery decor, and fabric from her great-grandmother and Nana. Can you tell I just love these hoops! We also bought some paintings from this great artist online, and once we get them framed I'll post the finished product. Her room is almost complete; we just lack a couple of things to really finish it off. But one thing is for sure: this room is totally Mary! Stephen says it looks like a cotton candy cave, and his eyes have to adjust a little when he walks out of it, but he likes it, too. :)

Mary is walking much more now; she took 20 steps yesterday! She's just starting to get up herself and walk places, but she still prefers to crawl as of right now. But she's growing so much everyday, so today may be the day she becomes a true "walker." I'm really in no hurry. She's growing up too quickly already, I don't mind a little more crawling.

Alright, that's the last post for today. Again, have a happy weekend!