Monday, April 28, 2008

Another Monday

Today is the last Monday of my maternity leave. I can't believe it's almost over already. Oh, and I can't believe how quickly Riley is growing!!! Look at this:
Just yesterday he was so small he looked lost in this cradle. Now he's almost too big for it. When he's awake at night I can hear him thumping the sides with his hands and feet. *Sniff*

I was shocked last week to receive my first ever knitted-item-request from Matt. My husband does not really care for knitted items. He hates sweaters because they are too hot. Ditto with wool socks. He doesn't wear a hat for most of the winter, and when he does it's his St. Louis Blues hat. He doesn't like the feeling of something wrapped around his neck, so scarves are out too. So imagine how surprised I was when he asked if I had time to knit something for him.

It was a quick knit too:

He wanted a case for his IPod Touch. I found a few free patterns online, but none I was in love with, so I just made up the pattern on my own.
The only modification that needs to be made is that I need to add a tab to keep it in there. The iPod Touch is pretty slippery.

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Yesterday, Ty spent the day doing this:

He's started playing outside with the neighbors' kids. I suspect that he has a bit of a crush on this particular neighbor.

I took advantage of the nice weather to plant a bunch of flowers. Then today, we had a storm. It brought hail. It brough hail for about 10 minutes. It wasn't big hail, about the size of a pea, but it made all my flowers droopy and sad looking.
Poor, sad petunias. Oh, and the couple of houseplants that I moved outside yesterday were really sad. Now tonight we have a frost warning. I hope everything survives.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Hay! Ho! It's a FO!!!

Riley's been doing a lot of this lately:
The older boys have been doing a lot of this lately:
And that has left me to do quite a bit of knitting lately. This is what I have to show for it:
Meet Norman!
  • Pattern: Elefante by Susan B. Anderson (I found it on Ravelry.)
  • Yarn: GGH Davos-Mouline in a great blue/turquoise twist.
  • Needles: Size 4 DPN's
  • Pattern Notes: I had to knit the head twice due to my failure to read the pattern correctly the first time. Also, I'm seriously questioning my crochet skills as my elefante's ears never turned out quite the right shape.

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And in other news, Tyson got a really fun experience over the weekend: He got to give his little brother a bottle. Isn't he such a proud big brother???

Also over the weekend, we made some cookies to welcome spring. Tyson decided to dye the dough purple and blue. And, WOW did he load on the sprinkles!!! The cookies were very colorful indeed (and the perfect springtime remedy for some rain, snow and sleet that fell all day Saturday).

Thanks to all the rain over the weekend, we woke up to this today:
Who decided that dandelions are bad? Seriously. I don't care what anybody says. A lawn full of green grass dotted with little yellow flowers is a welcome sight at our house.
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I'm still working on Sweet Pea's Blanket, and I've started another small project. Matt has requested a case for his iPod Touch. It's already about half finished.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Heavy on the Baby Pics

Well, I have no knitting news. I've been so busy & tired that I haven't really knitted anything in a week or so. I'm beginning to develop shaky hands and an eye twitch, though, so I'm thinking I'll be knitting tonight when Matt goes to hockey.

In the mean time, I'd like to officially introduce you to our new arrival.

This is Riley:
He was born on March 24, around 7:15 pm. He's 22 inches long, and weighs in at 8 pounds. THe labor & deliver were a dream. He looks like Matt. Once again, I have given birth to a child who looks nothing like me... except for his cheeks. He definitely has the big, round cheeks of my family. (Most of us outgrow the cheeks during our teenage years.) Actually, it's pretty cool that Riley looks a lot like Tyson did when he was born. You can definitely tell that they are brothers.

He has a very, very happy and devoted big brother: Here's a picture of my three boys:
Yeah, we see this a lot around our house these days. Ty can't help himself... he just can't stop kissing and snuggling with Riley!
Sadly, diaper rash has already set in on his little bottom. Riley got a little naked tummy time yesterday (to allow his bottom to air dry a bit)...
Unlike his brother at this age, Riley doesn't mind tummy time at all. Tyson used to scream bloody murder the moment we put him on his tummy. Riley chills out for a few, and then usually falls asleep. He does a lot of sleeping these days, and when he's awake, he's an angel. He fusses when he's hungry, and screams if we use a cold wet wipe during diaper changes. (Luckily, they are a satisfactory temperature if just warmed in the hand for a moment.)

He wakes up only two to three times a night, which is nice for me. He's very laid back and relaxed, and I must admit to being completely spoiled. It's hardly any work at all to take care of him. Well, so far, anyway. Matt & I are painfully aware that Ty & Riley might just be saving all of their "piss & vinegar" for their teenage years. This time might just be the calm before the teenage storm.

Well, that's all for now. I hope to finish Tyson's Elefante in the next few days, so check back soon for photos!