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!

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?!

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.

Introducing Georgie

I have few readers who don't already know the news, (few readers period) but a new feature has been added to kcknits... the baby ticker! We're happily waiting the arrival of baby #2 on April 14. (And the reason for my infrequent blogging... either too tired or not feeling well.)

The cool little widget to the right shows an image of the baby's development day by day. Dontcha just love the Internet?

The nickname is Georgie. When we ask Donovan if he wants a baby sister or a baby brother he says, "No, I want Curious George." Well, babe, we already have one monkey in the house, why not another?