New Pics!

We took Toby to get his 2 year pics this morning. They did a fabulous job at Portrait Innovations and it was so hard to choose 1. He was a little distrusting at first, but he quickly warmed up and it was just a giant play session for him! I really cannot say enough good about them.

We also had a family pic done. I can't belive we were all looking at the camera! I hate how I look (of course!) but everyone else looks good. I think this picture clearly shows which of us each kid rewsembles most...Toby looks so much like me, and Lucy looks so much like Curtis!

Busy weekend ahead - Toby's Grandpa, Grandma, and Great-Grandma are coming in for his birthday next week so you know what that means...cleaning this weekend! So a busy weekend ahead for us!

Little Irish Lass and Men's Sock

First up, the partially knitted Men's Sock. I have the cuff to toe done, the yellow stitches in the middle is my waste yarn where the heel will be inserted.

Here's the dress on my little model! It's fits perfect...love it! And no, there's not a drop of Irish in my girl...well at least no more than is in everyone ;)

Little Irish Lass Dress

And here's the dress! No pics with model yet, because she's sleeping (FINALLY!!!!) and I dare not wake her, not even for pics.

I am very pleased with this dress. I accidentally made one of the buttonholes a smidgeon small so I had to buy smaller buttons today, and it's still a tight fit, but I can make it work, and it will loosen with practice. There are supposed to be two bows in the back, but I felt they would be too much with the busy pattern, so I didn't work them up.

I found some nice lightweight summer fabric today at WalMart so those will be worked up at some point as well.

I'm taking a quick break from my knitting - working on a pair of men's socks...it's a new type of pattern. Instead of working the cuff, then turning the heel and working the foot, you work the cuff, put the heel stitches on a spare thread, working the foot, then coming back to pick up the heel stitches and work that. Very different...I like the concept, at least for something different, but overall I like the look of a neatly turned heel so we'll see how the final project looks.

A New Leaf

All right, I'm sorry I SUCK at writing titles. LOL. Anyway, this is referencing the clover leafs in my latest project.

I had some scrap clover fabric from a bag I made last year, and after looking at it a few weeks ago I decided I had enough for a dress for DD. I cut it out on Saturday (I could have done it all during DS's nap but he woke after a measly 20 minutes - I swear he can sense when I want him to sleep like some crazy spidey-sense), then started sewing yesterday at naptime. It's a sundress and matching hat...there were supposed to be panties as well but they were looking pretty stupid so I scrapped those.

Anyway, I'm done with the machine stitching on the dress, but I have to do quite a bit of hand stitching yet and find some buttons. The hat is finished - it's a bit big, but better too big than too small. It's my first attempt at a hat...it's ok. I'm not thrilled with it, but as a first attempt, it's ok. The dress is darling though! Perfect for St Patty's Day. Once finished I will post pics of the whole ensemble.

I am working on a knit baby blanket...it is 16 squares sewn together. I have worked for 2 days (well, evenings) and almost have 1 square done. Sigh. This one might take a while. But it's a nice easy stockinette stitch that I can pick up while Toby is playing and if he needs me I don't have to remember where I am in the pattern, so I can save my more complicated projects for after he is in bed. I think I'm a bit impatient on the blanket because the pic in the book is just darling and I can't wait to finish mine. There is no recipient in mind, mainly because I have no idea how long this will take!

A Relaxing Weekend at home

Ah, finally, a weekend where we weren't painting, building furniture, etc...just a nice peaceful weekend at home.

Here's a few pics..just for you Grandma ;)
And I get so few pics of me with the kids...I handed Curtis the camera yesterday and told him to take one!
And a new video for you all...first is Toby's new phrase...yes, I'll admit I taught it to him...some days I need an ego boost! LOL! The second is Lucy's many emotions - she is so funny. She wanted to cry so bad but she loves it when I blow raspberries at her :)

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Today is so pretty - I'm hoping we can get out this afternoon and enjoy the weather. I'd love a trip to the horticultural gardens. Hope we get to go!

Chel

Lavendar Soaker

This has been my project of the week - it's nice to finish something for once!

It's a size small/medium (sort of inbetween the two), just a tad big on my DD. The yarn is Malabrigo Merino (love it!) embellished with this and that wool. I freehanded the embellishment - hence the butterfly is a little wonky, but I also think that once it's stretched over a diaper, the flatter side may fill out, kwim? I can't wait to get action shots, but thought I'd go ahead and post these - after all, I need to lanolize before we can wear, and it will take a few days to dry.

Oh, soaker knit using the Curly Purly pattern, size 2,4, and 6 circ's and size dpn's for the legs.

Another video :)

I just know how you all are DYING to see another video of the kids so here you go :)

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Toby was being too funny...and Lucy is getting quite talkative! I think she's my social butterfly. She spent some time on her tummy today and really started lifting her head up! Toby never tolerated tummy time enough to even try to lift his head...he hated his tummy until the day he learned to roll.

Anyway, enjoy the video. Today was up in the 60's - a beautiful day. Apparently tomorrow will be much colder so the kids and I spent some time in the backyard this afternoon enjoying the mild weather.

Have a great week!

Update

I have several projects on the needles/ in my head.

Right now on the needles I have a lavendar soaker for DD, using the Curly Purly pattern (will have to find and add the link). I just have the waistband done so far, not much progress there.

I also just added 2 skeins of Caron Brites Orange...I have one skein here already. I have a pattern in a book of a baby blanket I just LOVE and have to try, and I think bright orange is just the color to try it in. Plus, the newspaper carrier screwed up and gave me 3 Michael's ads this week, so I have 3 40% off coupons. If that isn't the knitting gods saying to stock up, I don't know what is.

I have a pair of socks to make as well.

I sewed the second sling this weekend - looks great! I also made 2 setws of window toppers - a straight one out of Thomas fabric for my DS's new room, and a gathered one of a fish fabric for the nursery. We spent the weekend painting the spare bedroom and then filling it with new furniture for my DS. I'm counting that as a crafty weekend :)

I have pics of the room, but the curtains weren't up yet when I took it so I will have to update those later :)

Oh Holy Cow!

Lucy has slept through the night for 3 nights in a row now! Wowzers! I am defining sleeping through the night as 11pm-7am, so as long as I am sleeping! YAY! I am getting much better rest, and she is too!

Today I am going to make an attempt to shop with 2 kids. I need eggs. I am a little nervous, especially since Toby is being a handful this morning. I think once Sesame Street is over I will suck it up and make our escape! Eek!

Big Boy Room!

Taaaaa Daaaa! The furniture is up and he is sleeping in there! Woohoo!

Here are pics...

First up is Toby having a blast in a big box - what in the world could be more fun than a giant box? ;) He's still having fun with it, lol

Toby helping Curtis build the headboard for his new bed
And here is the finished product! Well...sort of anyway. We still have some things to put on the wall, but the painting is done and the furniture and toys have moved in.

The view from the doorway

Here is his new bed and Thomas comforter

The new dresser

Look how big he looks! Aaaacccckkk, he is such a big boy!
He gave us some trouble going to bed, mainly because he wanted to play see-how-many-times-I-can-bug-mom-and-dad, but we finally got him down and now he's quiet. Yay :)

Tomorrow I need to work on curtains, and it's going to take us a little bit to get things on the walls since I'm still waiting on some things to get here.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

All Nighter...

And NOT the way that first came to your mind :)

Lucy was NOT up all night last night...she slept all night last night! For the second time (not in a row). I laid her down on her tummy just to see what happened (tummy sleeping is supposed to be more comfy for reflux babies)...and she really conked out. I know that tummy sleeping usually does help babies sleep deeper/ longer...and I didn't mind so muc hsince I was right there next to her. We may try it again at naptime today to see if it works again.

I feel GREAT though ;)

Curtis is busy building furniture. Toby is helping/ hindering. Curtis bought everything last nightand started building the bed last night. Today he's done the headboard and is halfway done with the dresser. Hopefully Toby will be able to sleep there tonight - if I can make my way to WalMArt for a mattress pad/ cover...not going to risk him soiling a brand new mattress!

We'll post pics soon!

2 Months

Wow, where has the time gone? I can't believe that Lucy is 2 months old already. I don't know, time just seems to be going so much faster this time around.

This is purely a Lucy post. DH and I played photographer while Toby was napping today, and Lucy cooperated. Hallelulah!

Here is her 2 month pic - we take her pic in the same chair each month so we can see how much she's grown!

This really shows off the blue of her eyes!
Smiling at daddy
I love how she's looking right at the camera in this one!
And a goofy face...takes after her brother like that!

Today has been productive. I painted all the trim in Toby's new room red. It looks perfect with the blue! I'll admit, when I originally saw the blue in the room I was afraid we'd chosen the wrong shade, but the red compliments it just right. We should be able to take the tape off tomorrow evening and see the final result! Then Curtis can put the doors and shades back up in the room.

With any luck we'll be able to pick up the furniture on Sunday. I ordered a few things from WalMart Site-to-store, so I'm waiting for notice that I can pick them up. I also need to sew valences for the window. I found the perfect fabric at WalMart, I just need to measure and pick it up.

Speaking of Toby, we've started potty training with him. It's been a long process, but we finally put him in big boy undies last weekend, then ended up doing so much running around that he spent more time in diapers than undies (not trusting him out and about in the undies yet!). And I've had him in them some during the week this week. This morning we put him in them, and he made 3 messes, but then after nap not one accident, so he definitely gets it. We just need to work on it so he automatically knows to go to the bathroom. I think he's definitely ready, Curtis and I just need to make the commitment to keeping him in the undies as much as possible so he's less likely to get confused.

Well, I said this was a Lucy post then ended up talking more about Toby!

It was nice here today but we were so busy painting that we didn't get out to enjoy it at all. And it's supposed to cool off again tomorrow I think.

Chugging right along....

The room is coming along! I just finished taping the rest of the trim (I started last night but ran out of tape...grrrr). I'm hoping to start painting the trim tomorrow morning. Yay!

Lucy's 2 month appointment was this morning...which meant it was me againt 2 kids....yay... Toby likes to try to escape the examination room...which makes for an interesting juggling act for me. Anyway, Lucy weighed 12 lbs, 5 ounces...almost a full 2 pounds less than Toby did at his 2 month. But she's still in the 95th percentile for height and weight! Yeesh! You'd think we were the ones in Texas....we sure grow them big! Her head circumference was 40 cm...I never kept track of Toby's so I don't know how they compare, but her head shape is definitely different than his ever was. It's funny though, every day they look more and more alike in the face...she definitely has darker coloring though!

Our next checkup will be in April...thankfully I can do Lucy's 4 month and Toby's 2 year at the same time! That will save us a trip :) Lucy had 3 shots today...boy that girl has a set of LUNGS on her! She started in before they even gave her the first one...poor baby. But by the time we got in the car she was sound asleep, which gave me a chance to run to Lowe's for more painter tape. She's dozing in her swing now.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Curtis left a box of chocolate covered cherries for me this morning...yummy! I will have to post Valentine's Day pics of the kids later....haven't taken any yet and Toby is down for his nap right now.

I am so excited though - I finally ordered our double stroller! Well, to be honest, it's more like a stroller and a half.
It's a Joovy Caboose. We put Lucy in the front, either in her carrier or in the seat as she gets bigger, and Toby can choose to sit or stand in the back - there's a small seat and belt back there for him. We've test driven it in a couple stores and he loves it...I know he will be super excited to get to use it on our adventures! We are planning a trip to the zoo for his 2nd birthday in March, and I wanted to make sure we had it before then.

I think that sums up everything exciting in our life!

Take care,

Chel

FYI

For future reference, if I use "nak" in a post, it stands for nursing at keyboard and means one hand is otherwise occupied, so please excuse typos and not saying much :)

elmo video

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nak...the kids this am

More pics of the sling

I wanted to add a few pics of the sling not being worn. This was the first time I've tried the French Seam and not only was it easy, but the result was really beautiful. I honestly still can't believe how easy this sling was to make. Had I realized this before I'd have been making slings a long time ago!

About the fabric - the pink is a cotton/poly interlock, very lightweight. I wouldn't have minded it being a little heavier, but the minky has some weight to it so it's probably for the best. I don't think I'd want a sling with 2 layers of the interlock because I think it would be too light.

You can see my DS "petting" the minky in the lower picture - it is so soft. I can't get over how soft it really is. I know now why so many people rave about minky and how touchable it is. Unfortunately it is uber-expensive, so it's not something you want to buy unless you have a project in mind - unless you find a super deal! I will be keeping my eyes peeled now.

The bets part is I had enough fabric to make 2 slings - one I will be putting up on Ebay. But the minky is 60" wide so there is still some left over. Not much, but I am thinking of a way to use it, maybe on something for Lucy? I can't throw it away, even scraps. Now THAT would be a crime!

My new sling!

Ah, I love sewing! I made this reversible pouch sling out of pink interlock and brown with pink dots minky. The minky is sooooo super soft! I love it! It's stretchy, so I might sew it a little smaller, but I'll try it out a few days first. This seriously took less than an hour to sew up! Yay for naptime!


Please excuse the messy bathroom, I was too excited to take pics to clean up first :)

Changes are afoot...

Doesn't this say it all? She's almost 2 months already! If that isn't scary, I don't know what is.

And one of the sibs. This week my MOPS table is meeting for socializing, and I'm in charge of the kid craft. Most the kids are close to Toby's age, so it took some thinking to come up with something that can be done in a group while minimizing chaos, and I think I found a cute one!

And as the title suggests, the house is changing. It is high time to move Lucy into her own room, and to do so we have to move Toby to his new room. The plan was to have him moved by his birthday, and suddenly on Friday we realized that we were well in to Feb and would have to start moving on this project.

Toby LOVES trains so we decided to go with a Thomas the Train theme. We bought a comforter for him, and took it to Home Depot to match paint to the light blue in the background of the comforter.

Here is the room after priming the trim and edging the room with the blue.

Curtis finished rolling the room today:
I will be painting the trim red next weekend after the walls have had ample time to dry. I'm really excited about the whole room! I need to buy fabric for curtains (found it already at WalMart) and I bought custom name canvases for both kids - a friend is painting them for me. We found the bedroom furniture we want and will hopefully be able to pick it up next weekend.

We also decided that we want to throw a bday party for Toby this year - we've been on the fence about it for a few weeks now, but we decided to go ahead and have one. It will be fun to get the kids together to play! So now I'm looking at party supplies online.

Bust busy busy!

I also ordered fabric online last week to make a minky lined sling - it should be here tomorrow. I know I'm going to want to play as soon as it gets here - which will win out? Room decorating or fun sewing? Ah, choices, choices :)

Michelle

Hello Feb!

Wow, part of me can't believe we're already in 2008 and here it is Feb already! That means - yikes! - Toby has a birthday in ONE month! Eek! I can't believe he's almost 2 already.

Here's a picture of my not-so-little-one...he was running around the hosue wearing the basket as a hat...it kept falling off and it cracked him up!

And Little Miss posing for the camera!

Another beautiful smile!
Things have been beter recently. Lucy is sleeping better - at least going down at a reasonable hour. Toby is feeling better after his double ear infection - he is still on the antibiotics, for another coule days anyway. I forgot to give Lucy her meds this morning so I hope tonight isn't too awful. She is liking her baths more and more these days.

This morning was mops and I took both kids - we had a fine time! Toby loves the moppets program, and Lucy sits up with me. She was a bit fussy, but my table leader was more than happy to cuddle her a bit for me! I really love the mops program and highly reccomend it for anyone with young kids!

I am working on a few new projects. With any luck I will have some time for crafting this weekend!

Next week is Lucy's 2 month appointment already! I can't believe she's growing so fast. Part of me is excited to see her in the next stage of babyhood (especially since the newborn stage has been rough on us), but part of me knows they grow so fast so I try to hold on to each memory as hard as I can. She will be so big before I know it! She already is!

Ok, enough with the hormones already!

Nighty night,

Chel

Super Bowl Sunday!

Here's our little Super Bowl Party: I made beer brats, fruit salsa with cinnamon chips, and we had pretzles. Yum! Toby ate his whole dinner - wouldn't let us take his plate even when he was obviously full!

And here's Lucy today:

If you'll look at her feet - notice her bunny slippers? They are adorable! I love them!

Not too much going on here...same old same old! I think everyone is feeling better, although Lucy is still congested. Toby had a double ear infection this week but is feeling better now.