10.31.2008

photo friday.16

10.28.2008

why two is better than one



(at least for me)

i know. i'm even beginning to wonder how many pictures i will post of these two napping together. but i can't resist.
they didn't start out this close. the more tired he got the closer he got. he even rubbed frog on the back of her head and got sleepy doing it. it was just the sweetest thing to watch. 
even sweeter is when he wakes up and the first thing he does is nuzzle her head.

10.27.2008

out and about

we took our first family outing this weekend and visited a nearby pumpkin patch. we left the house overly prepared. the hats and coats weren't necessary, and neither was the gigantic diaper bag (but the camera was at least well protected). i think i may be paying (physically) for the outing today, but it was so worth it.



i've never seen a child get so excited about pumpkins before. we've actually dubbed the trip the 'pumpkin love fest'. henry was kissing the pumpkins, rolling on them, squeezing between as many as possible and calling them pumpkin houses. it was pumpkin bliss.

our excursion started with me nursing bea in the car while matt took henry to see the farm animals. he was really excited to see goats for some reason, but then again so was i. they're just so darn cute. the pigs stunk to high heaven and the chickens looked rather mean. then we moved on to the short hayride over to the pumpkin patch. the look on henry's face when he saw all the wee little pumpkins was like that of a kid on christmas morning. i kid you not! he tried picking up every tiny pumpkin and didn't know what to do when he saw more, keep the ones he had or drop em and head to the next pile. i'll give you one guess as to what he did.



then we walked through a small patch of cotton to go up the hill to where the big pumpkins awaited us. i think henry touched every pumpkin there was. he would run to one pumpkin, roll on top of it, then eye another one across the way and take off running towards it. he was zigzagging all over that field having the time of his life. matt and i just stood there with silly grins on our faces laughing at this pumpkin crazed boy.





after letting henry burn most of his energy, we took the hayride back to the starting point and paid for our little pumpkins and gourds. henry enjoyed riding behind the tractor, but when he got a chance to 'drive' one himself it became apparently became a ship, because he kept saying "arrgh maney" (arrgh matey) and that's his pirate lingo. then we made a quick stop at the little playground and got some good slides in and a few pushes on the big boy swing.




little things like this are why i love being a mom. seeing henry's pure joy and excitement over pumpkins and being at a farm. having the freedom to run like a mad man in any direction. watching him slide down a big slide and not have to be caught at the bottom. and the fact that he looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head for the two hours we spent there. i've never had so much fun watching someone else have fun as i have with this boy.

10.22.2008

first week survival update

i just wanted to stop in and say that we have survived the first week!

really i'm just proud of myself for making it through my first two days on my own with two (two!) kids without crying. except in the morning when matt left for work. that was hard. i loved having him home with us.
i had truly envisioned capturing pictures of henry, bea and myself in tears to post here, but that never happened much
to my surprise!
the first day (monday) bea slept pretty much all day. i think that was her gift to me and to henry. it helped me transition to
matt going back to work and gave henry and i some playtime together. the second day, was almost a repeat of the first but
she was awake quite a bit more.


bea is doing great and so is henry. she is a great sleeper and eater. she has already surpassed her birth weight and is only waking once in the night to eat (i hope that continues). she smiles a lot (i don't care if anyone thinks its gas, i believe differently) and is holding up against her brother well (she gets bounced quite a bit).
henry has adjusted well to bea's permanence. the first day home was a little rough, but he took it out on matt & i. since then he's been a normal toddler. he loves on his sister often, he likes to nuzzle her head, just like mama does. and he has already learned that bea is his 'out' when trying to get out of trouble. he does a fake cry saying "i see bea, i see bea". i have to say it usually works. i am so proud of my boy for the way he has welcomed his sister into our family, he acts as though she has been here with us his whole life. it has really just amazed me. he brings her blankets, shares his 'trog' with her, and entertains us endlessly. i cannot wait to see them grow together. as long as it's not too quickly.


i'm doing pretty well myself. two days in a row now with no nap, so i guess my energy level is returning. and physically i'm pretty good, but i'm having issues with my left side, the same side that bothered me most of the pregnancy. oh, and the sudden surges of hormones gets to me some nights. like last night. henry was testing us at the dinner table and i just couldn't take it so i told him he had to leave the table and go to bed. no stories, no bath, no nothing. (i actually did this twice, because the first time i gave in to him and let him have another (failed) try at the table). so off he went. he was a little upset, but he was really tired. i of course felt guilty the rest of the evening for sending him to bed in such a negative way and wanted desperately to go in there, wake him up and hug him and tell him i loved him and that he could come to our bed.


ah, our bed. before bea, we joked about getting a king size bed so it could accommodate all 4 of us. henry ends up in our bed at some point almost every night or morning, so we got a co-sleeper from craigslist for bea to sleep in. so far henry has slept in the co-sleeper more than bea has and i am amazed at how big our bed can feel with all of us snuggled in there. it's been a perfect fit since the evenings are cooling off here.
honestly, before henry was born i never would have thought i would have encouraged the family bed thing, but it is one of those things that i love so much right now and couldn't care less what anyone else thinks about it (i know several people who think i am crazy for allowing it, and that's okay).


well, i'm rambling so that's enough for now. thanks again to everyone for the kind words and thoughts. this blogging family is such a positive thing for me and i appreciate all of you!

10.18.2008

drum roll please . . .

FINALLY!!!

we are so excited to announce the long awaited arrival of the newest member to our family . . .






Beatrice Harper

after much waiting she came quickly into this world with no complications on october 15th at 9:30 in the morning. she weighed a healthy 8 lbs 7 oz and was about 20 inches long. She is a content little girl with a big appetite and is so far a good sleeper. Henry is taking to her well and likes to snuggle her head and repeatedly says, "hi, bea. hi, bea." we can tell he is going to be a fantastic big brother.

so far i have been amazed at how much more relaxed and calm matt and i are this go 'round! and my recovery seems to be going a little quicker and we are definitely getting more sleep than we did with henry. (hope i'm not jinxing myself).

i imagine i will be lying low for a little while popping in and out of this space, so i want to thank all of you for your kind wishes and messages. they were so appreciated and put a warm feeling in my heart. thank you all for being here and sharing the anticipation and excitement with us. we couldn't be happier and i look forward to sharing more with you all in the coming weeks!

10.15.2008

de-stashing

i started and finished a hat for henry this weekend. i don't know the last time i cranked out a project like that.
i'm really, really happy with the finished project. i tend to make hats too small, and this one is just barely too big.
i prefer it that way. it may even fit again next year!







i used the seaman's cap pattern (free!), and it was simple and written in 3 sizes so i think i will be making more of this one. i like that the ribbed brim is so long because i think it will help it to stay on the boy's head and makes it that much warmer around his ears. i think matt is actually a little jealous because the hat i knit for him did not turn out as nice.
i used noro kureyon, colorway 164. i have had this in my stash (which is miniscule) for over 2 years now.
i had intended it to be a hat for me but never found the right pattern. i started making a rolled brim hat that never got finished because a dog we had tore into it and dragged the yarn from upstairs, down the stairs and all over the house. i think i put the mess aside for a year before i attempted unraveling and detangling. so, now it has been revived and turned into the perfect hat for the boy!

Noro after a bout with The Beast
noro tangle

10.14.2008

today!!!

today is the day that this little baby becomes a big brother!
today is the day we welcome our new little one.

i will proudly be posting the news of our new little one in a few days!

sweet boy
henry the day after he was born

10.13.2008

final nesting days

because the baby is still not here. and what else are we going to do?

me: sterilizing, folding, knitting.




matt: his form of nesting. demo & prepping for our new front porch! (there were more pictures, but read the previous post)



henry: life as usual. only he keeps saying "baby, soon".





all of us: enjoying the great fall weather we received this weekend. gusty winds, beautiful afternoon light, and drifting clouds.
sleeping with the windows open and hearing the rustling trees. at times it sounded like ocean waves. it was perfect.


10.12.2008

rescue me


last night i was cleaning up and rearranging some files on the computer.
somehow, i unknowingly deleted all 13,000+ photos on my computer.
i have been able to retrieve about 400 of them (most of those were either copies
or deleted pictures). i have no idea what else to do. i guess i will resort to a data
recovery software that will cost who knows how much and may or may not work.

i have never done anything like this before. ever!
i was also stupid in that i did not back up my files.
lesson learned.

i got my camera the week henry was born. so i have basically lost all
photos from his birth up until the photos i uploaded yesterday afternoon.
some things i have on disc and thank goodness for flickr, because other than
that i think my photos are gone.

if anyone out there has any advice on what steps i should take i will
gladly try any and all suggestions.

and please, don't remind me that i should have backed up my files.
ouch. i know.

10.10.2008

seriously?!

are you kidding me? maybe i'm being cynical, but i don't think this was just a typo.
unless maybe they are using some newly formatted keyboard.

photo friday.15

drops
much needed rain

10.09.2008

crafty plans, crafty dreams

i was going through my ravelry queue today looking for some holiday ideas. the trick is going to be small, chunky knits for me to actually accomplish anything for anyone. hats, coffee cozies, maybe a cowl or two and possibly these little cuties. and this may be thinking big. i'm trying not to make my list too long and trying to be reasonable (and trying to destash) so that i don't get overwhelmed.

the problem with looking through my queue is being reminded of all the things i would like to make for myself.

like this chair. somehow i had forgotten about it. i covet this chair. i mean for goodness sake it's called the 'sweet and lowdown chair'. how could i not want it?


so from ravelry i go to my own personal craft queue i've saved on the computer and am tempted by all the sewing projects i would like to attempt. this for when henry graduates to the 'big' big boy bed. or any project from this book. and if this baby is a girl i am really going to have to teach myself to sew because i have a hard time resisting all the adorable girl-y patterns out there. oh, i can tell i am going to be a busy little bee. before and after the holidays!

how about you? have you started your holiday crafting?

10.08.2008

glorious rain!

i don't think it has rained here since the end of august. yes. seriously.

i've been sluggish and tired all day and wasn't up for puddle stomping
and splashing myself, but knew that was just what the boy needed.

he caught rain in a cup and drank from it.
he stomped in the biggest puddle he could find.
he dug holes in the mud.
he ran in the rain.

his smile got bigger and bigger the harder it rained. and the giggles got louder and longer.







and that was all i needed to perk up my day and give me a small boost of energy.