September = Sock Monkeys!

Posted on September 20, 2014 by Ali

I’ve been busy plugging away at my Sock Monkey costumes (Which are sold OUT! Woo!) and my kids have been busy learning new tricks. Like Effie can now sit up! This is very exciting for her- and she is thrilled to bits about it!’

She also got the opportunity to model a party hat at Sam’s third birthday party!

Sam wanted to try on the Sock monkey costume that was being mailed out this week, but once I got it on him he got a little sullen and decided that maybe it wasn’t as fun as he thought. I think it looks good on him, though!

Effie got to ride in the back of a dump-truck. She loves being included in whatever Sam is doing, and that’s usually building things with his Duplos and hauling still around in the back of his dump truck. Sam got a HUGE container of Duplos for his birthday from his cousins Josie and Ezra and pretty much for the last 2.5 weeks he hasn’t wanted to play with anything other than those- it’s been amazing for his independence. He will sit and play with those blocks for HOURS every day- which means I get to knit whenever Effie is napping or playing with her big brother!

He calls this Mater’s “Pirate hat”. I think it’s awesome and very clever!

Effie hasn’t been sleeping well (Thank you, four-month-sleep-regression!) So we’ve been doing a lot of coffee. Since it is starting to cool down, naturally I’ve been making myself some pumpkin spice lattes!

And also because she hasn’t been sleeping well she’s been spending tons of time in the wrap on my back (Which I FINALLY figured out, thanks to some kind friends) and she’ll happily talk and jabber and pull my hair for a few hours up there, which is great when the dishes need to be done or dinner needs to be cooked and she isn’t happy about being left on the floor!

Sometimes being the baby means getting laundry baskets put on top of you. Life is rough for the baby, you know?

But in other news, I just had a photo shoot this morning with Anselm Photography (Wonderful woman and amazing eye for pictures!) to get some professional shots of the sock monkey costumes and mermaid costumes! We had a very tiny, very new little squish model the mermaid costume for us and it is BEYOND cute. I can’t wait to see the finished images!

Keepin’ on.

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Ali

Life is busy right now, hence the lack of updates on the blog. Knitting orders are keeping up, too- which is wonderful and also overwhelming- I always forget about that during the summer then August hits and BLAMMO! orders all over the place. It’s wonderful (Helloooo Christmas money!) but this is the first busy season I’ve had with two kids, both of which demand a lot of love and attention (Being almost 3 is hard, and being 4 months is especially difficult)

So Effie spends a lot of time in the wrap, and Sam is learning to play independently. We have a friend that we are watching a few hours a day and that is wonderful for Sam, he really enjoys spending time with her and they play really well together, and if I can time that with Effie’s naps, well, then I might actually get to sit and knit. Maybe. But the majority of my knitting happens after dinner and kids are to bed. We are still definitely trying to hit our stride, and trying to be as organized as possible helps, I’ve been doing meal planning and chore scheduling to keep up on the housework. It’s so nice to not have the 4:30pm freak-out when you realize you haven’t thought of what to make for dinner.

It’s so funny, all year long I am thinking two months in advance- so it feels later than it really is. I keep forgetting it’s still August, because all of August and September I am focusing on Halloween orders, and then all of October and November I am working on Christmas orders, and just like that, boom, it’s January! I know it’s so cliche, but time really is flying by so fast- and I can’t believe Sam will be three on Wednesday and Effie is already 4 months old. This summer has just been a total blur! Thanks, my loyal readers, for putting up with me while I’ve been so neglectful of this space- But make sure to follow the Facebook page, as I update there a bit more frequently.

Because this makes me giddy….

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Ali

Sam, three months old on the left- Persephone three months old on the right.

Wordless Friday

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Ali

No words, just pictures.

Vintage-Style Baby Bonnet

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Ali

I made this Vintage-Style Baby Bonnet for a baby shower for some good friends of ours this week. They had a beautiful baby girl right after Effie was born!

It was my first time using this pattern (linked below) and I absolutely LOVE it. Adorable- and knits up really fast! I did this in one day, luckily Effie slept most of the day so I got a lot of knitting time. This pattern is definitely going on my “oops I forgot a baby shower tonight and need to whip out a gift” list!

Her smirk is hilarious and kills me every time she does it.

Here are the deets:
Pattern link: Vintage Style Baby Bonnet (From Vintage Knits for Modern Babies)
Ravelry Link: Modern Baby Bonnet (From Vintage Knits for Modern Babies)
Made with Cascade Brand GreenLand Yarn in Periwinkle

If anyone is interested in purchasing one, check out my Etsy shop.

Life lately…

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Ali

Well hello there! Sorry for the lack of new knitting projects to show you, but my two kiddos are keeping me so busy I haven’t had a ton of time to knit. I’m working on a few commissioned projects and will have those to post about soon, but most of my time is being eaten up by my little munchkins!

The sweater I made Sam last summer finally fits him (Just in time for the hot weather! Hah!) But hopefully he won’t grow too much between now and the fall so it should still fit him then.

The littlest member of the household is sure keeping me on my feet! She is a rowdy little girl. If she isn’t asleep she pretty much demands to be held up, looking at your face and wants to be talked to. She isn’t happy chillin’ in the swing or bouncy chair unless you are in her face talking to her. Which means she gets put in the wrap a lot so I can get stuff done around the house. She loves being attached to mama! So opposite of Sam in that regard (he was always a ‘give-me-my-space’ kind of kid) But she is SUCH a happy girl! She smiles constantly and coos up a storm!

She’s about 10 1/2 lbs right now (Seven weeks old today!) and very VERY long! She’s already wearing 3-6m pants, but still wearing NB and 0-3m shirts- she’s all legs! She certainly didn’t get that from me…. Sam and I are shorties, so she must have inherited some of her dad’s height!

We are working on getting a schedule down for naps and such, but she is pretty unpredictable right now, but she’s a pretty good sleeper so we are all getting enough rest. The weather has been GORGEOUS this week, so we’ve been playing outside in the sandbox every day and even hit up the pool on Monday with some friends! It was a bit breezy, so as soon as you got out of the water it was chilly, but sitting on the side with my feet in the water was a pretty delightful way to spend the afternoon!

This is a busy week for us- Tomorrow is our 5th anniversary, then Saturday is Paul’s 33rd birthday, then Sunday is Father’s day. I am having a bit of trouble coming up with three separate gifts for him, he is so hard to buy for!

Oh, and I had a question for you, dear readers! Do any of you meal plan? If so, do you use any kind of website or planning system? I’ve been doing it the last few weeks again, but finding it hard to keep track of what I’ve made (and I keep forgetting about the recipes I’ve made and liked) and find myself pouring through Pinterest boards again and again searching for recipes! If you have tried any, please comment and let me know what you’ve used and how it worked for you!

A little more Effie…

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Ali

In case you were wanting to see more pictures of my sweet little girl!

She is seriously the most pleasant baby. She eats, sleeps and coos. She rarely cries, and she sleeps SO well at night. She is a complete night and day different baby than Sam was! Hopefully that keeps up and she stays nice and healthy and chubby.

We had her 10 day appointment today and she’s up to 8lbs 12 oz (A full pound heavier than she was last Friday!) and already grew an inch, she’s a whopping 22 inches! When she was undressed and laying on the table to get measured her doctor exclaimed “WOW! That’s a long baby!”

She makes the best faces, too! Just like her big brother!

She is just the sweetest thing and we are so enamored with her!

Persephone Ebrill

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Ali

Persephone (Effie for short!) came into the world on 4/22/14! She is feisty and chubby and we can’t get enough of her. She was 8lbs 7oz and a whopping 21 inches long, a decent amount bigger than her brother was- explains what she’s been doin’ in there for the past 42 weeks!

She was a little late for Easter, but she she fills out her Easter sweater quite nicely!

She’s quite delightful and her cheeks are super yummy. She’s a great sleeper and really enjoys bonking herself in the face with her fist while trying to eat. Sam is getting fonder and fonder of her, but still a bit unsure of this new little person who is getting a whole lot of attention, but he’s coming around! We’re pretty darn pleased!

Starburst Blanket

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Ali

I know she already has plenty of handmade blankets, but really, can you have too many? I don’t think so. So here we have another, hah- a giant granny square blanket with a simple ruffled edge. The colors remind me of Starburst candy, so that’s what I named it.

And yes, for those of you who are wondering, I’m still pregnant! Tomorrow marks the 41 week mark and we’re getting a little impatient waiting for her!! This picture is 9 days ago, but it’s the most recent I have (from the 2 days before my due date, I think) We are beyond ready for her- and we totally thought the full moon would bring her out, but apparently she is just comfy as can be and in no hurry to evacuate the premises.

38 Weeks!

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Ali

Welp, still pregnant! She doesn’t seem like she wants to come out any time soon, she’s happily baking away in there. She is very, very active. She keeps flipping around. She is head down for right now (And better stay that way!) but flipped transverse this past weekend, then flipped head down again. A few weeks ago she did some big somersaults and ended up breech for a week, but we got her all sorted out, so hopefully she won’t flip back up! I’m kind of amazed she still has room to move so much, considering I’m measuring around 41 weeks right now (eek!)

Sam is very excited now about his baby sister coming out to ‘play’. He poke my belly button and says “Come out soon, baby sister!” I am hoping she decides to listen to him soon and come out, but we still have a week and two days til my due date, so I guess we should just be patient.

Sam’s newest obsession is “Curr Story” (Toy Story) and he requests to watch it nearly every day. I have a hard time saying no to that face! He tells me that he “reary reary rikes Hoody” (really really likes Woody). I gotta admit I am ok with his obsession with Toy Story, and I’d much rather watch that than Thomas the Tank Engine (his previous obsession).

Spring has finally sprung here in Idaho and it’s absolutely gorgeous out today! Got four loads of laundry done and folded (and put away! The hardest part!), bathroom bleached and scrubbed and the whole house clean and the windows are open to let everything air out- so wonderful after such a long winter to be able to have the doors and windows open and not be freezing. I’ve also been doing a ton of knitting for baby girl that I realize I haven’t shown you guys yet! I need to do a major photo shoot, I just wish I had a baby to model these things on- they’re always cuter on the baby, aren’t they?

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Category Archives: Baby