Ah, baby goodies

In the last week, I’ve finished up a couple of projects that I had been putting off for far too long. First, I made some flannel baby wipes to go along with the cloth diapers we’ll be using for the babe after the first few weeks. My dear friend Joani kindly gave me a huge amount of flannel to use, so I now have about 30 double-sided wipes and four burp cloths just from that material!

I almost think the material is too cute for my son’s bum, but then again, my son’s bum will probably be pretty cute!

Once I had gotten into burp cloth-making mode, I couldn’t stop myself and went ahead and made several more with some different fabric. Now the sewing machine has been put up so I can’t come up with an excuse to make more!

And lastly, I finished up the baby sweater that I started soon after we found we were pregnant. I bought a neutral green at the time and slowly worked through the two front pieces, sleeves, and back. The sweater is knitted on size 2 needles so it wasn’t the fastest process, but what I spent the most time delaying was piecing it together for fear that I would mess it up and/or that I would discover that it was irreparably messed up. But, it wasn’t! And now I’m done He may be wearing it home from the hospital (along with a matching cap I made) or we may save it for pictures later. Either way, he’ll be wearing it soon since I made the 0-3 month size!

Ah, spider monkey!

Here is the photo of my nephew’s spider monkey as promised:

In order to get him done on time, I did not sew the four paws and twenty fingers or the face the way the pattern commanded me to. Instead, I went for more of a sock monkey look and am quite pleased with the outcome! It’s actually kind of liberating to make changes to a pattern. And I used Alpaca wool (instead of mohair), so he is nice and soft

I’ve also heard tell that my nephew Jackson really likes the monkey and has named him Robot, which I think is a fabulous name!

(To see pictures of Jackson–and his new baby brother Owen–see his parents’ blog.)

Ah, knitting projects

Over the summer and in the early fall, I spent a lot of my knitting time on two projects for friend, Patrick Kenney (but I forgot to take pictures so am just now getting these pictures up). The first was a pair of gloves that Coraline wore in the movie of the same name. Here’s the finished product:

This was my first attempt at knitting in the round, carrying multiple colors up the side of a project, and knitting gloves. So all in all, I’m pretty happy with them!

I also crocheted the stuffed animal that Coraline carries around with her. Since it doesn’t have a name, I’ll use the name that the woman who recreated the pattern used: Octopus Cyclops Kitty Thing (even though it only has five legs and in this picture, it’s missing the big button that serves as its eye because I didn’t have a large button to sew on).

He’s been felted so he’s soft and extra fluffy. The yarn I used was alpaca so he’s a little hairier than perhaps intended

I’ve also been working on a baby sweater for the little one. All the pieces are done and so this week, I’m going to make myself go ahead and steam them and then sew it all together. I’m nervous that I’ll make a mistake but I’m so close to being done! I’ve also knitted a fun baby hat, as well as crocheted lots of booties and hats. I’ll try to post some representative pictures soon.

And then the picture I can’t wait to post is of the knitted toy I made for my nephew Jackson. After Christmas day, I’ll put it up

Ah, Christmas Tree

Two weekends ago when Donnie’s mom was in town, we picked out our first live Christmas tree! We picked one out from the Christian Helping Hands lot.  The tree is about 7-feet tall but was originally over 9-feet but the helicopter that was moving the tree down the hill probably dropped it and broke off the top. So that means we got a nice full “old” tree but for the price of a younger one.

Tree during the daytime

Lights in the window and tree at night (actually this was taken without a flash at 7:30 in the morning, which at this point in Oregon, is basically still night time)

And my belly has since grown a bit more, so here are a couple of pictures from a week ago when I was 35 weeks.

(Just in case you missed the belly in the first picture.)

And now for some perspective. Here’s the belly at 14 weeks.

(My belly is definitely not the only thing that has grown….)

Ah, Texas & Idaho

Though the two states in this post are basically unrelated, I did notice that the landscape around Boise is very similar to that of West Texas–mostly stark, very flat, and either loved or hated by visitors and residents.

So, to start with Texas. On Friday, November 13th, I flew down to Texas for a brief visit with my parents and sister and her family. My sister, Mom, and I got to spend most of Saturday together just talking (and looking at quilt tops made by my great-grandmother that my mom had quilted recently). Here are a few pictures from that weekend.

It was sunny and beautiful that Monday, so my body enjoyed soaking in the Vitamin D.

From left to right: Nathaniel, Tommy, Wade, me, and Ella
(sorry, Wade, for not naming in the first version of this post. I thought I had!)
(I personally love that Tommy is helpfully holding Nathaniel’s head to face the camera. Maybe he should’ve done the same thing to Wade )

And just because I love it, here is the quilt that used to hang in my room for a time when I was little. I hadn’t seen it in years but as soon as I did, I remembered every little bit of it. The next quilt pictured below it was in the living room for a long time growing up and soon it will be in our home

I loved looking at the farm vignettes when I was little. One of my favorites was the girl at the very top.

This was made by my father’s grandmother. I love the semi-randomness and the colors.

Now, on to Idaho we go. For Thanksgiving, Donnie and I traveled to the town of Star, Idaho, which is just east of Boise to stay with the parents of our friends from Young Marrieds. We rode the 9 and half hours in the little Honda Civic with Natalie and Daniel and their cute pug, Merriweather.  And as a huge blessing, I didn’t cramp up and die in the car! We did, however, stop at all but 2 of the rest stops that we saw along the way. Natalie and I became quite the connoisseurs of rest stop bathroom aesthetics. And even with all the stopping, we still made excellent time.

There are way too many pictures from the trip for me to post them all, but a few of the highlights are here. The Friday after Thanksgiving, we went out to some BLM land where people often go to shoot guns. I shot a .38 and .22 (both in rifle and revolver form) and two different caliber shot guns that I don’t remember the specifics of. I really wanted to shoot a sawed-off shotgun but Natalie’s Dad unfortunately forgot to bring it. For the first time, I was taught how to shoot skeet and though I never fully “killed” one of the clay pigeons, I did wing two.

If you’re feeling intimidated, don’t fight it. That’s how you should feel.

Handgunning Spouses: Daniel and Natalie

Doesn’t Donnie look manly with a .22 bolt lever-action rifle?

“But I don’t know if I can shoot skeet….”

“But I suppose that with the right technique and stunning form, I can do anything!”

The flesh-toned sumo suit helped make the whole afternoon worth it

The next day, we hacked into some pumpkins with Natalie’s father’s honest-to-goodness samurai sword. I wasn’t particularly successful, but Donnie was. Here is the video to prove it.

I think it’s quite obvious from these videos who is the better wielder of the sword, but I won’t taint you with my opinion.

Ah, fishies

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog posts. Here are some pictures from our trip over to Newport with Lori and Lee on November 1st. Our major stop on the coast was the aquarium, and each time we go, we have lots of fun. We also ate at the Rogue River Brewery & Pub on the bayfront and hung out for a bit at Nye Beach. Overall, it was great day, particularly because the weather cooperated and gave us sun!

The sharks are going to eat Donnie!
(Even though Donnie didn’t mean for his head to be in the photo, I still like it. We had the camera lying on the ground, but he leaned over just a bit too far.)

I’m afraid of the Megalodon!

No, wait, I am the Megalodon.

Nevermind. We’ve been eaten (though, surprisingly, we actually don’t seem that scared.)

The famous Lori and Lee at the Historic Bayfront.

Hanging out at Nye Beach.

Ah, last of the belly shots

Before finishing posting pictures from our friends’ trip to Oregon and then our Thanksgiving trip to Idaho, let me post a few more of our favorite maternity photos now that I finally finished editing them!

We were sitting on a log that suspended part way across the Calapooia River that runs alongside our neighborhood.

I just like that we’re laughing

There are more but I’ll stop there!

Ah, animals and costumes

Over the Halloween weekend, our friends from Texas, Lori and Lee, came up to see Oregon and all of its glory! This included us and a visit to the Oregon Zoo, which Donnie and I had never been to. The zoo is nestled in hills west of Portland, so it was cloudy and a bit rainy at the start of our morning. But we managed to see all the exhibits, I think, and to get some fun pictures.

Me and my Maternity Den
(And no, the bear cubs are not trying to get away from me)

They had just finished eating a carcass, as a sign outside their enclosure warned us. We thought we might actually get to see them eating, but alas, they just sat there, looking regal.

Rawr!

Can you tell it was Halloween?

These pretty zebras have tan shadow stripes between the black stripes…

…which you can see better in this photo!

That night we hosted the Young Marrieds 3rd Annual Halloween Party, so we hurried home from the zoo in Portland and started helping our friends, the Kenneys, set up the house. Here are a few pictures of our scary front porch, some of the decorations, and costumes.

I love fake cobwebs!

Our scary pumpkins. All the more scary since the mildew and mold had started taking over their insides!

The scary snacks

Now it’s twice as scary to look at yourself in the mirror.

I can’t let myself ruin the awesomeness of Bob & Rachel’s costumes by even verbalizing who they are. If you don’t know, then I pity you (Kristen, be sure to show Seth and see if he can guess!)

Our illustrious party planners, the Kenneys, as Coraline and Whybie

Lee and Lori as Dwight Schrute and Angela Kinsey from The Office (note that she is wearing the RIP Sprinkles shirt! And you can’t see it, but Lee has an authentic Dwight nametag )

Pregnant Hermione: The Untold Story of the Summer between Year 2 & 3

Donnie and I did feel a little bit bad about making Hermione pregnant, but we needed a costume that involved robes or other large amounts of loose material, and this one fit the bill! (Plus, it somehow seemed way more appropriate than the pregnant nun/priest combo.)

The next post will have photos from the rest of Lori and Lee’s visit–namely our trip to the coast!

Ah, busy October

We’ve had a busy past few weeks with a Housewarming Party and a Halloween Party at our house! So here are some pictures from the Housewarming Party.

I actually made these iced pumpkin cookies for the Harvest Party two days before but it was my first time making them and they were super yummy, so I thought I’d share

Donnie weeding in preparation for the party. Our back patio was “infested” with dandelions, grasses, and the actual grass from our lawn, so he kindly went through and dug up or at least trimmed the offenders.

For refreshments, I made tiger butter, pumpkin cheesecake cupcakes (with ginger snaps as the crust!), lemon bars, and queso. And I also set out some grapes and sliced oranges. And almost everything was eaten, which is always a good sign!

I don’t think that Wheel of Fortune will be calling for my services anytime soon….

And here are some photos of our bedroom and the nursery. Both are coming together slowly but nicely. I’ll post pictures next time of the living room and kitchen. I somehow didn’t take pictures of them when they were all gussied up for the Housewarming. I guess that means I need to go clean again.

The ceiling is vaulted, which makes the room feel nice and large. I’m still trying to figure what I’ll do with the “display” area that runs above the closet to the bedroom door and what color I’ll paint some of the walls. Since it will require big ladders, I want to make sure I choose correctly before going through with it.

One of my favorite things about the bedroom is that there is room for the dresser with the mirror. Since we were married 5 years ago, we’ve never actually had it in the room with us. So now there’s plenty of room for folded clothes and we no longer have to share the one dresser!

On to the nursery! This is the dresser I bought at one of the Antique Malls in Albany. The color isn’t necessarily my favorite, but I think it goes with the clouds on the other two walls and will work for a baby. If I ever do paint it, it will probably be white. And I might change the knobs as well, though they are the exact same kind as the knobs on the big toy cabinet I had in my room growing up (Oh and, Lauren, notice the onesie on the dresser? I left it out so people could see it on their tour of the rooms )

Here you can see some of the clouds and the matching nightstand. To the left will eventually be the brown swivel/rocking chair and ottoman we ordered from the Toy Factory. And to the right will be the crib. Right now, it’s the Pack n Play I use for Allison and that we’ll use for the babe at the beginning in our room.

Apologies for the unattractiveness of the photo, but the main reason I’m including it is for the little bookshelf. It was previously a blond laminate that had seen better days. So I lightly sanded, primed, and painted it white. I’m not sure if it will stay in this exact location, but that’s where it’s living now. And all but a few of those toys spilling out from the bottom shelf are borrowed from my generous friend Kayla! I need to buy some cubby baskets to hold them all And the bird hanging in front of the window is from Bogota, Colombia, and was a gift from my parents last year. It looks more fun in front of the clouds than it does in this picture.

And one last photo. I took this one of the pretty Red Sunset maple in all its fall glory back on the 16th, but here it is now. Mom and Dad (who generously bought us the tree and two others), doesn’t it look gorgeous?

Next post, I will have pictures from the Halloween party and more of the house.

Ah, another peek at the babe

We had a follow-up ultrasound on Friday and received two new pictures of the babe! I was exactly 28 weeks so the baby is theoretically about 2.25 pounds and measures about 15 inches. We had a lot of fun watching him move around; at one point, he had his legs up over his head, with his feet almost touching the top of his head! I suppose babies are quite flexible before they put on the fat

It was also amazing for me to watch him punching and kicking while simultaneously feeling it! At one point, the baby was keeping his hands in front of his face when the tech wanted to get a good look at his face, so first he tried poking the baby with the transducer. We wanted the baby bounce in response to the poking but he wouldn’t move his arms. So then the tech asked me to give a few good coughs because, as he said, “That usually gives everything a good shake-up.” And it did!

Cutie with a cute nose

He tried to give us a "high foot"!