God Bless Texas

Say what you will about Texas women, but I reckon y'all better never say they ain't crafty!

You know those baby towels that come with the built in little hood that are perfect for newborns? You know the ones. They are approximately 12 inches square and would only possibly fit on a baby who is in that window of age when you aren't actually supposed to put them in water? Those are the towels I am referencing. Sure they are cute, and you goo and gaa over them at baby showers, but in the practical world of bathing a baby, they just aren't big enough and arms and feet are hanging out and things get messy real quick.

Enter my friend Ellen. She took a regular size bath towel (the soft, thick, plush kind that actually absorb water) and sewed a washcloth folded in half somehow to the middle of it - creating a little hood. She monogrammed it with a D for Drennan because she was organized and had the towels made LONG before we had picked out a name. These towels work perfect! They are big, they are soft, they cover all the long limbs of an 8 month baby, and everyone has a wonderful bath time experience. We stopped using the others and went to these at the 3 month mark. I had to put in a request for 2 more. Ellen, you have earned your YaYa title and then some. Thank you!

Ellen, give them the recipe for the towel in the comments. Even I draw the line at taking a photo of a towel.

Not to be outdone in the crafty department is Miss Kalee. Now Kalee is from West Texas (yes, it is capitalized because it is like a whole 'nother world over there) and if you are from West Texas and can't find something done right, well you just have to do it yourself. Kalee wanted to get Ryder one of those signs where the letters are photographs of things that are in the shape of the letter. The problem was that she couldn't find a sign where all the letters for Ryder were western enough for a good little Oklahoma cowpoke.

So what did she do? She made one. She found photos of horseshoes, ropes, horses legs and other cowboy things and she pulled them all together in a shadow box so we can put Sophie and other keepsakes in it as he grows. If you only knew Kalee, you would know what a special gift this is. Now I can see Kalee drinking some beer, and if I stretch my mind wide enough I can almost picture her feeding the cows in the stories she tells about college, but I cannot - for love or money - picture her walking into Hobby Lobby under any circumstances. It turned out perfectly, and it hangs in Ryder's bathroom for now (it will go in his room once he outgrows Seuss). Kalee, you rock. Thank you!

AND then these two fine ladies came to the hotel in Frisco, TX and attended the NDSU pep ralley with us the night before the NCAA Championship game against Sam Houston State. The kicker - and I didn't find out about this until days later - Ellen graduated from Sam Houston State! She never said a word ;)

Jill, Ellen, Me, Kalee

So God Bless Texas, Don't Mess with Texas, whatever the case may be ... I'm sure glad I have these Texas girls on my side!