oink

Oh, yeah.  The cutest pigtails ever!

old and new

 Miles received his silver cup last week.  An old tradition carried on by a new generation.  My parents have generously continued the tradition of giving their grandchildren a silver cup with the child's monogram.  I wrote the story of Fiona's cup when she received it.  I can't wait until Miles can really use it and cherish it as the rest of us.  He is growing so fast and showing lots of personality.  Happy two months to my funny little man!

 

 

Contented

Can you believe this little guy is more than a month old already?

Welcoming...

Miles Everett... born May 14th at 7:01am. 

He weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds 4 ounces!!  He is a sweetheart, and we are all enchanted.  He has the most expressive face and already generously gives out many little smiles a day.  God has sent us a precious gift!  Thank you so much to my parents who were here to help with the big kids and hold down the fort while I was in the hospital.  We couldn't have done it without your help!  Thank you so much to our church family who has already gathered around us in support!  We thank the Lord for your fellowship and love!  I will try to be back on regularly to post pictures, but this week will be a little crazy so check back with us in a few days.  We're still adjusting!

Zig Zags

 I just recently finished this project for the baby.  I didn't think he really needed any knitted hats or booties- it's already  been over 80 degrees several days.  Not that he really needs this blanket either, but it is special thing to have and to make.  It's really the first time I've done anything like this for one of my own babies!  The pattern is from the Purl bee and it was just wonderful to knit.  Obviously, I picked colors and different yarn.  I have been wanting to use the Spud and Chloe Sweater yarn again because it is just deliciously soft and wonderful.  While I think the Purl bee color choices are beautiful, I wanted something just a little brighter for my little May baby.  Big Sister can't seem to stay out from under it, so I guess it is "baby approved!"

36 Weeks Down

I wanted to have a nice portrait during this pregnancy like I did last time. Generally, I find snapshots of myself pregnant to be mostly unflattering. But I enjoyed having these records of my last pregnancy. According to my file names, I was about 34 weeks there. I missed that deadline by about a week, and was closer to 35 weeks for these pictures. You wouldn't know it- I look more like 45 weeks! This little boy might not be so little when he comes out. While I was outside, with the tripod already set up, I thought it might also be fun to have some pictures with my baby girl. She didn't necessarily agree, although a few of them came out kind of sweet. The sweetest one I got, though, was with my camera phone when I caught her doing exactly what she had seen mommy do. Yeah, that's the sound of my heart melting!

O-N-E

This is turning into birthday season for our family! Two birthdays within a couple of weeks should keep us pretty busy with the celebrating. I honestly can't believe that my baby girl has turned one! It doesn't seem like it's been a whole year since she was born, but I can hardly remember what life was like without her here. I picked out some of her favorite foods for dinner and made an Angel Food Cake for my little angel. She loved the menu and the party blowers! We forgot to practice blowing out the candle, so she wasn't quite sure what to do with it. But she loved all the singing! She looked like she was going to dig right into her piece of cake, but I think she filled up on too much birthday dinner because she had trouble finishing her piece. She thoroughly enjoyed the leftovers the next day, though! I thought for sure that Fiona the Destructive would be perfect at unwrapping presents. Go figure- that night she wasn't very interested in ripping paper. She loved what was hiding inside all that pretty paper! We're so thankful to have Fiona in our lives and in our family! She is a joy and a treasure!

Leaps and Bounds

Just in case you were wondering what the baby girl is up to...



...she's pretty pleased with herself, don't you think?

Frills

I will admit it. It is so fun to sew for a little girl. Sometimes people say the "devil is in the details", but I think that's where all the fun is! I wore some of these little rompers when I was a toddler, and I think they are so adorable. I whipped out five of them, assembly line style, in just a couple of days. The pattern is so simple (you hardly need one) so that leaves lots of time for making each one a little different and special. Maybe the best part is that they cost me next to nothing.



I know, she can't believe it either! Almost nothing for these cute dresses? This pink flowered one was up-cycled from a dress that I wasn't wearing anymore. Almost everything else was found in my fabric stash. I admit, I did buy all new buttons for them, but even they were on sale at the fabric store!







I did buy the striped pink fabric because I didn't have any pink in my stash (big surprise). And I thought she needed just a touch more pink in her life. And maybe the next best part is that I didn't have to bother with any matching bloomers. Hooray for cloth diaper covers that already look sweet and cute!





This little bonnet was sewn while I had the sewing machine out. You saw the bonnet's blue twin sister in our camping pictures. I fell in love with these fabrics and bought them on a whim. They were supposed to be quick and easy. Yeah, not so much. I found the pattern here, and thought it was adorable. It should be simple, but I just had a difficult time. I tried to follow the instructions for this pink one, but ended up completely doing my own thing for the blue one. At least they look cute. But they are sure to be the only two of their kind!

knitting for nephew

I'm so excited to share the news about my newest nephew! Tristan Lucas arrived on April 28th, joining his proud Momma, Daddy and two big brothers! Praise the Lord for a safe delivery and a healthy baby boy! Congratulations to my big brother and sister-in-law. Tristan is very blessed to have you as parents. PLUS...he's such a cutie! I'm also excited to say that a very special project I've been working on arrived just days before Tristan. And here he is...clearly enjoying it! (He also seems to be enjoying cuddling with his Grandma.)



Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Psalm 127:3-5


I LOVE having a picture of him in his new blanket!

Here are a few more pictures that I took before I sent it off. I love, love, love the color- it's so sunny and cheery. And I wish we had feel-a-vision (yeah, I just made that up) because this is just about the softest yarn ever.






Hooray for Ravelry, where I found the pattern and have more info and pictures. Are you on Ravelry? Look me up- you'll find me as cobrawife!

Namesake

Pixie

My Baby Girl is changing fast,
I blink my eyes and days go past.
Smiling. cooing and gurgling too,
It's so much fun getting to know you!

I can't believe you're three months old today! Happy One Quarter Birthday, Fiona!

Magic

Believe it or not, I have managed to squeak out a few moments for myself over the past couple of weeks. What do I do with my spare time? I make something out of nothing. Well, not really nothing, but it feels like it. I admit that I am addicted to knitting. It amazes me how a simple ball of yarn can become something beautiful and useful. For Christmas, I got two presents to fuel my addiction: a swift and a yarn-baller. Hmmm....I'm not sure if "yarn-baller" is the correct, technical term, but that's what I call it because that's what it does. For some reason, they sell yarn in these completely useless things called "hanks" that can not be knitted from. If you do, the neat little hank will turn into one gigantic knot. This I found out the hard way. Then I found out about these two magical tools. Love them!



Unfortunately, this ball of yarn was destined for a scarf that was destined not to be. It will soon be re-incarnated as something else. In the meantime, though, I managed to finish these adorable little booties for Baby Girl. Love them!

blue skies

...smiling at me, nothing but blue skies...

Every day we see more and more of this. I love it! She has been a real challenge the past several weeks- I guess people would call it colic. But now we get tons of these gorgeous grins and lots of sweet little baby cooing. It makes me feel like singing!

A Visit

Right before Christmas, we had an extra special treat. My sister, Kristen, came to visit for a long weekend. We had a great time just spending time together. We went to a local tamale festival, and tried all different kinds of tamales.



She's an experienced mom and aunt, and she came prepared with some special fun things to do with the kids. They painted wooden ornaments to hold their pictures, and did a super cute felt ornament craft.

I had decided ahead of time that it would be a good chance for us to decorate our gingerbread houses- since we had an extra pair of adult hands.


We went for walks and did some Christmas baking. She helped with laundry (woohoo!) and gave me some grown-up company and conversation. Most of all, she did a lot of baby cuddling. Miss Fiona was feeling very fussy, and Auntie Kristen patiently held her and soothed her so that I could have my hands free for other things. Thanks for visiting us! We miss you!

silver cup

When my brother was born in...well, we won't say when... my grandparents sent him a silver cup with his monogram on it. As the family grew, they did the same for each of their 11 grandchildren; including me. It was a very special possession to me. Many special occasions were made more special by my fancy cup filled with milk. (Milk was not my favorite thing, but it was much more palatable in my silver cup.) The family stopped growing for a while, while the grandchildren grew up, and then it started growing again. This time, it grew great-grandchildren. Each time a new baby was born, my Grandma went into her local jewelry store to order a special silver cup, engraved with each new baby's monogram; including Trevor & Braden.

Here are a few of us from 2004, showing off our cups at a family Christmas gathering. There are many more great-grandchildren now... a total of 20. Each has a special silver cup; including Fiona.

My grandma passed away in July. I went up for the funeral, as did each one of her grandchildren. At the viewing, a lady stopped to speak with my Aunt and explained that she worked at the local jewelry store. She knew my Grandma from when she used to come in to the shop. She went on to explain that my Grandma had been in to the shop only a few months before. My Grandma proudly told her that she was expecting another great-grandchild, and needed to order another silver cup. That great-grandchild was Fiona. Fiona will never know her Grandma Ring here on earth, but she was loved by her. And I know that Fiona will treasure her cup as an heirloom and as a symbol of a legacy of love.

what to do

What should I do today? Should I...

write thank-you notes or cuddle the baby?

...do dishes or play with my photographs?

feed the baby or relax with my knitting?

Hmmm...if only all my decisions were this obvious.