Our Christmas Card

Merry Christmas to all!

Mermaid, not squirrel

Cormac is not a squirrel, he's a mermaid. (Or, I guess I should say merman.) I tried finding a video from Splash to portray exactly what I'm talking about, but YouTube let me down. Anyway, I imagine everyone who was a live in the '80s knows how mermaids are supposed to talk. In case you forgot... here's what it sounds like:

Baby Jeans Part 2

Dusting off this poor neglected blog.... wow, it's been a while.

I have to post this follow up to one of my last finished projects. Baby jeans are even cuter on baby butts. This boy is such a chunk, I hope he can wear them again - if it ever gets cold enough!

Maybe it's the crisp fall air, a new job situation or a little more sleep now that Cormac is older, but I'm getting back to the knitting. I started my first new serious project since Cormac was born, inspired by all the trendy knit hats that are all over the fashion mags. The Zigzag beanie from Interweave to cover up messy hair. I might actually finish this one before the month is up. Although, I worked most of it during the Texas v. Tech game.... my gauge is probably way too tight...

Cormac the Squirrel

This is a quickie video by request of Cormac's strange new sound. It is usually a laugh, but now he does when he's tired too... sounds like the squirrels outside taunting the cats...

My Heroes

Since my knitting is moving at a rapid rate of two rows a week, I didn't want my blog to gather digital cobwebs so I commissioned another artist. My knitting hero, Mom! She's knitting so much I told her she could start producing stuff to sell. But, she has too many grandsons who need knitted items.

This one's for the D man. Super D Man. From Vickie Howell's New Knits On the Block book. This book is awesome! There are so many cool things in there for kids - things they would like. I've worn the book out. At 3 1/2 the D man is in a developmentally appropriate superhero fettish. So, every super hero needs a cape.

This one is going in the high school yearbook: Up, up and away....

Random update

The birds flew away before I could get another picture! It only took about a week from hatching to flying... I hope. Surely nothing could get up to the mailbox to get them.

This is a link to Michael's... a test for a friend.
http://www.theknackkids.com/LandingPage.aspx?cm_ven=2008HomePage&cm_ite=The+Knack

More babies!

Did I scare you? hee hee.

Not my babies... bird babies. A few days ago I went to get the mail and a bird flew out of the mailbox. Poor nervous mama bird was sitting on the 4 eggs she laid in our mailbox! We left a note for the mailman with a substitute mail box and check on the progress of our eggs.

Yesterday, the eggs were little pink blobs. If you can see in the picture here, they have beaks and big black eyes.

I don't like to disturb them much since I feel sorry for the mama bird. I know how it feels to be worried about your babies. But, we'll keep checking to watch them grow and eventually fly away. Poor mama bird...

These things are so much more fun with a preschooler in the house.

Smiles and Coos

And hiccups.

Welcome Cormac

One month old today! Time is flying... we get an inkling of a smile now and flashes of recognition, but the real fun is probably a few weeks away. He's gaining weight like a champ. An interesting fact, at least to his mom, at 2 weeks he was 9 lbs and looking back at Donovan's baby book he was 9 lbs at 2 months. Do we have a bigger little brother coming? Only time will tell. Happy and serious pictures from today... he was asleep most of the day so this is the best I can do. Apparently, this is what I would look like with Jim's hair!

So after everyone says, "look at all that hair!" the first question is "How's Donovan doing?" A picture's worth a thousand words. He brought all his Cars cars over to play on the mat with him, brought Shamrock and a blanket to snuggle up.

The answer is he's doing great. He loves "his baby" so much and just gets so excited he has to scream. We have to monitor the loving as in his usual exuberant way it can get a little out of hand, but so far it has only been sweet affection, no jealousy or aggression (I'm sure that will change when Cormac can take his toys) When Cormac cries he says, "don't worry baby, big brother is here." And the other day unprompted he said, "I love you very much, baby." So far, so good... remind me of this in a couple years and again in 2018 and 2023...

For the knitters... I'm learning to knit & nurse so I don't get too far behind!

Baby Blues

No baby yet.

According to my baby ticker, we have 6 days until the due date... life must be nice in my belly since no one is in a hurry to get out. There is a lot of ice cream and cookies going that way, so why leave?

I decided he/she was waiting on me to finish these baby jeans before arriving. Silly since these are 6-12 month size, but maybe Georgie knows it will be challenging for me to finish anything after his/her arrival.

The pattern "Blu" comes from Knitty.com, one of my favorite knitting web mags and source for free patterns. I wanted to make these for a while, but by the time I found them Donovan was too big. This denim yarn is so cool... fades and shrinks just like real denim.

The back label is one of my 'hand knit by' labels, which I think is much cuter and sized better than the felt label or real jean label the pattern suggests. I'm not much of an embroiderer so I'm afraid to put on a pocket or any other details. I may wait to see if Georgie is a girl or boy and detail accordingly. Aren't pocket-less high waist 80s style jeans coming back for the ladies? (ie: Mom jeans... ugh)

Here's all the 'helpful' advice I've received over the weekend to get this baby out:

• Walking (check)
• Eat Mexican food (check)
• Drink red wine (check)
• Jump up and down (hmm... no)
• Yoga squats (check)
• "Do what you did to get the baby there in the first place" (no comment, this is a family blog)
• Eat spicy gumbo (have the recipe, considering it)
• Castor Oil (did that with Donovan, not doing it again)
• Eat fig newtons and drive on a bumpy road (WHAT?)
  
• And the best advice I've received so far.... the only thing you can do is wait for those hormones to kick in. Thank you.
  

And just for fun, we had a great weekend enjoying the beautiful weather playing outside while Daddy did some much needed yard work. Here's the 'natural gardener' helping out. What is it with this kid?

Mud Bath

So, we accidentally left the cover off the sandbox before a big rain storm last week. Today I was enjoying the 80 degree day and obviously not paying much attention when I turn to see why the boy is so quiet...

Can't blame him. Mud feels good in the toes.

Then I go inside to put the camera away and get a towel only to return to...

I guess the mud in the toes felt really good. Boys.

Belly, baby and lace

I have much to update on, my dear readers in the blogosphere. This one is for both knitters and non-knitters.

First is a special request for belly photos from my oldest friend in the world, Eydie. This time I'm all belly. Jim laughed the other day when I was wearing a dress and said I looked like I was faking with a basketball or stealing a turkey (for my Gen X readers.) A friend said this was a compliment... not sure who I should be mad at.

Not the best photo of me, but I was really tired after a day at the zoo. If black is slimming do horizontal stripes counteract that slimming effect? I am glad I took this photo when I did since I've probably grown in the week since.

Next, I had an urge, call it a nesting thing, to knit up a hat or two for the first days in the hospital. But, most of my baby yarn stash is boyish. So, I made one for Boy Georgie (green and white) and one for Girl Gorgie in pinky lavender. I guess if it's a boy I'll just donate the pink one to the hospital and if it's a girl I can add a flower or two to the green version. Modeled by Little Shamrock, Donovan's back up lovey.

Finally, the yarn source of the lavender hat is what is left after I finally completed my first lace project. Last May I went to 'knit camp' with my knit-pal Carol (who lives a freakishly parallel life to mine) and took a class with the famed lace knitter Myrna Stahman. Unfortunately, I won't get to go this year since I'll have a 1 month old.

After I finished, I decided 1) I would probably never wear it and 2) I'm not going to become a crazy lace knitter, but 3) it's not that hard. Just not mindless. These days, mindless or semi-mindless knitting is all I can do. So, it goes to scarf-wearing Mom. Isn't she cute? Should I leave out that after leaving it for about 4 months on the needles I lost my place so one side is slightly longer than the other? As Mom (and her mom) always said... you can't tell on a galloping horse. The yarn is wonderful - Rowan Cashsoft a blend of merino, microfiber and cashmere. Most of my motivation for finishing it was it feels so much nicer in my fingers than the yarn I'm working on for Jim's sweater.

Not sure if there will be much posting in the next 40 days or so... stay tuned for the results of the big hat question... lavender or green?!

Birthday highlights!

We were sorry that the family missed the dinosaur party... but here are some highlights. The science museum is a perfect place for energetic 3 year olds! A dinosaur party with the trash truck cake - of course. Dinosaur plates and dinosaur masks and dinosaur toys amongst actual dinosaur bones!

I'm pretty proud of the cake... I found the gummy colas and decided it would be a recycling truck. It's very hip to be green in 2008.

Donovan with his buddy Murray in ant hats. The museum has a 'backyard' with an ant tunnel for crawling.

Here's a highlights video of the fun. (yes, the music is cheezy, but it came with the camera and that's all I'm up for tonight.)

I can't believe he's going to be 3 tomorrow... the most wonderful, most challenging, but most rewarding 3 years of my life. More fun to come.

Dinner with Donovan

This one is for the grandparents, especially those far away. Donovan is becoming quite the storyteller. An entertaining combination of stories from TV and books with his enthusiasm and dramatics makes mealtime lots of fun.

Here is the story of the Golden Goose and the Forte Giant and the "Beanstop" (screenplay by Disney's Little Einsteins). You might need to turn your volume way up.

Okay, maybe he's watching too much TV before school...

Baby Items!

The only thing that's really bothering me about not knowing Georgie's gender is the knitting! We're not decorating another room, so that's not a project to do. If she's a girl, I have no concerns about her going without clothes since she would be the only girl born since me. But, it sure is hard looking at all the cute patterns and not starting something pink or another truck sweater... my only consolation is with an April arrival, he/she really won't need a sweater for a while. So, I can make up for it with all that free time I'll have after he/she gets here. (Do I even need to add the sarcastic "ha!"? There will be no free time!) So, these items had to tie me over until we know for sure if it's pink or blue (and no, I have no strong feeling either way).


The Kimono baby sweater is from the Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. I knew it would be a little short, but I only had enough yarn for the newborn size - exactly the same yardage as called for in the pattern, so I was worried I'd run out if I added more length. Now that it's finished, I was right! I picked up the yarn in Maine this summer when I was just feeling first-trimester icky, (or was it because I'd just lost my half-finished sweater on the plane?) and I saw an example while shopping at this cute LYS, String Theory. The yarn is super-wash (a must with baby!) merino wool and hand-dyed. There is just the slightest variation in the green throughout. So soft, so sweet. Buttons will be determined by Georgie's gender.

This little hat and bootie set is made from bamboo yarn given by my SIL in LA who knows the owner of the company making all sorts of bamboo clothes and stuff. It's soooo soft, it's almost too slippery to work with. But, it feels cool to the touch, it's hip since it's renewable bamboo and it is antimicrobial. So 2008! These will be great summertime wear for a baby on the go, frozen by Texas air conditioning. The bootie pattern is a circular "seamless" pattern (you have to kitchener stitch the bottom seam) from a Knit-a-day calendar I had in 2006.

With baby items out of my system, I finally found a pattern we can agree on, so I've started the Cobblestone Pullover for Jim with the yarn that came from his family's trip to Ireland two years (?) ago. I'm tired of the nagging! So far I have 1.5 rows... maybe I'll have it done in another 2 years.