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.

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.

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!

...And the Rains Came...

You'd have to be living under a rock to have missed the coverage of the Great Flood of '08. Here in Fenton, just south & west of St. Louis, the water is getting deep. The Meramec River is swelling out of its banks right now, and is expected to reach record levels. This happens every now & then; we also had "Great Floods" in 1982 and 1993. I'm just not sure our community was quite prepared for how quickly and intensely this one would come on. In some places, they are tracking the water levels in terms of how many feet it is rising per hour.

Since Tyson & I were both off today (for Good Friday), we took a short drive around town and took some photos of the water.

We first went to the intersection of highway 141 and Interstate 44. I usually drive through here (under the overpass) to get to and from work each day. Here's what it looks like today.
As I said, the water is continuing to rise at an alarming rate, and the area where all these people were standing will likely be submerged by this evening. In fact, if you can make out the Taco Bell on the far right side of the photo, they are already closed because their building (and the Steak & Shake next door) will both be under water before the river crests tomorrow night.

Yep, I usually drive under here to go to work. See how traffic is backed up on I-44? That's because MoDOT has closed all but one lane of the highway while they try frantically to put up plastic/concrete/sandbag barriers to keep the interstate from going under in this spot.

The river hasn't flooded this particular intersection by spilling out of its banks. It's sneaky here. The river water is literally spewing out of the ground via the storm drains that usually carry rainwater away from the highway.

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After inspecting 141 & 44, Ty & I went to what's known as "Old Fenton." This is just down the road from our house... and he was shocked to see that we couldn't get to the park where he usually plays. (The park is, by the way, completely submerged at this point.)

Tyson was fascinated by all of this water. We talked about how dangerous this type of flooding can be, and he really seemed to take to heart the fact that, while it's a bit exciting and awe-inspiring, the flood is also very sad & disappointing. He understands that those buildings are where people live, that they had to leave their homes, and when they return... well, things will be a ruined mess.
As we were walking back to our car, though, we got to see something that was truly amazing:
These are just a few of the volunteers who have come to our town to try & save some of the homes & businesses that are in danger. The Fenton Mayor went on the news last night and asked people from the community to come and help sandbag the most threatened parts of the town.

They expected 50 or so people... and got nearly 400.

People have come from miles & miles away to help our community. Tyson was really impressed by all these people "coming to the rescue." We wanted to help out, but Tyson is still too small, and I am, at the moment, a bit too pregnant. It was really touching to see the community coming together to try & help these people who are in danger of losing their homes and businesses.

It was truly a bright spot in an otherwise dark situation.
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Well, we are going to spend the rest of our Good Friday decorating Easter Eggs & finishing up the packing & cleaning that has to be done before Sunday night. Of course, I'm sure I'll find at least a little time in there for some knitting. I've recently stalled on Elefante, but have been working like crazy on Sweet Pea's blanket. It won't be done before he arrives, but it should be close...

Think of Me...

...at midnight on Easter Sunday.

That is when I will be checking into the hospital to have the baby!!!

I'm still so disappointed that we have to be induced. I really hoped to go into labor on my own, but let's face it: it's not going to happen before Sunday. My doctor really doesn't want us to wait until the 29th (our actual due date) because the baby seems to be so big. We're guesstimating a weight of 9.5-10 pounds. As disappointed as I am about being induced, I'd be panicked/freaked out/reduced to a sobbing, hyperventilating mess if we waited until the 29th & I ended up with a C-section because the baby had grown to over 10 pounds.

I've heard that un-induced labor is a bit easier than medically induced labor. Also, I really, really, really wanted to be able to surprise Matt with a phone call in the middle of the day or an elbow to the ribs in the middle of the night to tell him that I'm in labor. I'm so sad that I'm going to miss out on that excitement.

On the other hand, at least we know we won't miss the Easter festivities (especially for Tyson)... we'll do church and the Easter Bunny stuff in the morning, have a great big lunch with my great big family around 1:00, have Easter dinner with Matt's family around 5:00, and check into the hospital at midnight. My Dr. is convinced that the baby will be born around lunch or dinner on Monday. Of course, he's not had to get me through labor & delivery before. It took us 41 very long hours to get Tyson here. I know second babies tend to go faster, but even with that, we could still be looking at 20 or so hours. Then again, maybe this little guy will be in a hurry & we'll be done in under 12 hours.

Ugh... the unpredictability of this stuff makes my head swim. I need to go knit a bit before I get back to work. I'm not sure if I'll post again before Sunday, since we'll be busy finishing up all the last minute details to prepare for the baby's arrival... but I will definitely be posting some photos next week. Until then, Happy Knitting!!!!

Baby Day

Well, we have scheduled an induction for March 24, the day after Easter. (Sorry, Katie... Sweet Pea won't be sharing your birthday or Morgan's...) I'm still hoping to go into labor on my own, but my doctor does not seem very optimistic about it. It's difficult for me to have a situation like this since I am SUCH a control freak. If I could get labor started by the sheer force of my will, then this baby would be here already. Apparently, though, simply willing one's cervix to dilate and thin is not an effective strategy.

Oh well... I guess I have to accept that the only thing I can do (aside from staying active and praying) is to sit back and relax and remember that it's all in God's hands. It'll happen when & how He wants it to, and there's nothing I can do to change that.

So, here's a little fun for a Wednesday evening. I don't usually do these, but Becca tagged me for a meme.

Ten Things You'll NEVER Hear Me Say:

1. I could totally stay pregnant for a few more months!!!
2. I love hip hop music; turn it up!
3. Chocolate? Blech!
4. Pepsi? Well, I'd rather have a Coke.
5. I'm tired of knitting.
6. My husband has amazing fashion sense.
7. Ooo, I can't wait to write that report!
8. May I please have some more vegetables???
9. I don't need to buy any more yarn. I have plenty in my stash.
10. Change? I love change!!!

And there you have it. I'm going to tag Matt (my hubby) & Katie (my sister) for this one.

In knitting news, I've been working feverishly on Elefante to try & get it finished for Ty before the baby arrives. I set it aside to work on Sweet Pea's blanket a bit today, though, since we still have 12 more days till the induction. I've finished Elefante's legs and body (which have all been stuffed & assembled) and am about half way finished with the head. It's a little creepy; there's a headless elephant sitting on my coffee table at the moment. His legs went on fairly easily, though now that they're all attached, they're a little wonky looking. Thankfully Tyson isn't very picky about this kind of thing.

Okay, I've had a few requests for some belly-photos. I looked through our recent photos & was surprised to find that we've only taken one belly photo the entire pregnancy, and it was months & months ago!

SO, okay, here you go. This is me:
Not too bad, right? I mean, you can tell there's a bump, but I look much, much better this time than I did last time (if you didn't see me back then , think Stay-Puff'd Marhmallow Girl). I;m really proud to say that last week, two complete strangers told me that I don't look pregnant from behind at all.

And then... I turn to the side:

Thar She BLows!!!! The bump is huge. In fact, I think it's now too big to be called a "bump," or even a "bulge." It seriously looks like I have stuffed a watermelon up under my shirt. I mean, this thing has reached cartoon proportions.

I bought some new shoes yesterday. I bought them because they are so cute & they are perfect for showing off my growing collection of hand knit socks. The bonus to these new shoes? They are "slip-on's." There are no ties to be tied and no buckles to be buckled. This is awesome right now, since my feet seem to be getting farther and farther away from the rest of my body; I can hardly reach them anymore! It might be a while till I get a photo of the shoes posted, since I can also not easily see my feet anymore.

That's about it for now. Progress has been made on Elefante - I hope to finish the body tonight or tomorrow. And I had some time to work on Sweet Pea's blanket this morning while Tyson was in his kindergarten screeing. I needed some mindless garter stitch knitting so I could keep an eye on how things were going in there. (He did great, by the way!) So, all my projects are coming along. I'm planning to take Sweet Pea's Blanket and a pair of baby socks (still to be cast on) to the hospital with me (if I ever go into labor) so that I have something to knit that is mindless and very rhythmic, and so I have something that takes a little more concentration to maybe get my mind off things for a bit. THat is, if I ever actually go into labor. I know we're at the point where we can say, "Any day now," but my doctor seemed doubtful after the exam the other day.