When I open my eyes...

This is the first thing I see...

A pretty beautiful sight to wake up to, I would say.

-Jen

Welcome!

Join us in welcoming Isaac Fynn, who was born safely at home in the bathtub at 2:17 am on February 12th, 2010 after an intense one hour of labor. This big 10 lb 5 oz, 22.5 inch boy was in such a hurry that he arrived 5 minutes before the midwives! Full birth story to come at a later date...

Until then, here are some pictures of Isaac's Birth Day Dinner. Grandma made Jen's favorite chicken and wild rice soup and we had a special chocolate raspberry cake with sparkling wine to toast the Birthday Boy! Isaac looked on calmly from his swing for a few minutes before joining everyone at the table.

Future posts will probably be picture heavy as our quiet family adjusts to life with a newborn.

Love,

Curtis, Jen, Noah, and Isaac

Down Again

Just when I thought I was on the mend and ready to have this baby, BOOM!, I am knocked down again. This time with a sinus infection. Baby has hung in there per my request to wait until I feel better. Poor thing! It probably thinks it has the most fickle mother in the world. I do however, have a few recently finished projects to share (some of the photos have been up on Flickr for a while now). First up, Fiddlehead Mittens I finished (a while ago now) for myself. They are toasty, warm wool, with a really soft alpaca lining, all from Knit Picks.


I also finished the Branching Out lace scarf for our midwife. It actually went faster than I thought. Blocking it out was a difficult feat!


I also made some Reading Mitts (fingerless gloves) for our other birth attendant. They are made from Debbie Bliss Fez, an interesting combination of merino wool and camel.


Now for some baby projects...
This first one was a quick project. It is a kicking sack (kind of like a strapless sleep sack) made from an old felted sweater. I just cut the shape from the front and back, using the ribbing at the bottom for the waistband, sewed the two pieces together, and ta da!

After making the kicking sack, I started looking around for an actual sleep sack knitting pattern that I liked and couldn't find one. I finally settled on a vest pattern and then just continued to knit, knit, knit, increasing a few stitches every few inches. I finished it off with a drawstring casing to close it up and keep those little footsies warm.

That brings us to the end of my pre-baby "To Make" list. I did start working on a shawl to keep me and baby warm during future nursing sessions. It is made out of wonderful Malabrigo yarn, and is a pattern so simple that I may even be able to handle knitting a row or two at a time in my soon to come post-baby, sleep deprived fog. The other project is not such an easy undertaking: it is a full-size quilt for our living room made of of Heather Bailey's new Nicey Jane fabrics. This one may take a while, but I am really in no hurry and I think the finished project will be perfect for snuggling under.

I hear our little chatter-box calling that he is awake...

-Jen

Still Mama's Baby

Due to being wiped out all weekend from a nasty cold, I really did not feel like taking any (possibly final!) belly shots. Chicken soup, lots of steamy baths, and snuggling on the sofa seemed more important and required about all the energy I could muster up. Now that I am feeling a bit better, I realized that we may not have many more opportunities to capture photos of my seemingly gigantic belly in natural light because, unfortunately, it is dark by the time Curtis gets home from work. So Noah and I had an impromptu photo shoot this morning and I learned how to use the timer on the camera. Here is baby at 39 1/2 weeks, rapidly outgrowing his or her living space.


Noah found it very amusing to sit on the couch and watch me set the timer and then run across the living room to pose for the picture. After a few minutes, he was excited to join in on the action. If I would have planned this a little better, I maybe would have thought to actually comb his hair... The funny thing about these pictures is that they look so serious, when in reality it was probably a pretty funny sight. Picture in your head a very pregnant lady and naked toddler running back and forth to quickly pose before the camera timer goes off!

The laying of his head on my shoulder was all his idea. I think he was trying to assure me that he is still my baby. So sweet!

-Jen