Christmas

We had a quiet, but happy Christmas. Although we were feeling very festive, we only put up a couple of strings of lights and a jingle bell wreath on the door. I was sure if we did the usual amount of decorating, the baby would come early and there would be a new baby and decorations to take down all at the same time. I didn't want to risk having decorations up until March or something!

Jeff and I didn't do surprise gifts for each other, but I did get him a new video game (Uncharted 3) to play during his vacation and we had a few surprise presents to open from family. I got some Cascade Pacific yarn for baby knits from my mother. There were a few more things for the baby too, like a touch and feel farm animals book.

Christmas afternoon, I cast on with the new yarn for the newborn sized Easy Baby Cardigan and knit most of the body portion. Yesterday evening and today, I was able to finish up the body, complete the sleeves, seam the hood and weave in the ends. I may make ties to hold the front together as shown in the original, but first I am going to check some stores for other kinds of closures. I keep thinking snaps might be nice. It is such a good pattern that I might make the 12 month old size as well. I have plenty of the same yarn for that too. I might add buttonholes for that or possibly sew in a zipper.

Front view of the Easy Baby Cardigan.

Back view showing the cute, pointy hood.

I haven't gone out shopping the day after Christmas in years, but planned on it this year. I had a $20 coupon to spend at Williams Sonoma (from spending $100 on presents there before Christmas), so I was excited to pick something out for the kitchen. I got a fun cake pan in the shape of a tree stump. It is a different take on the yule log. It is quite adorable decorated for Christmas with meringue or marzipan mushrooms, mice or other woodland things. I think it could be fun other times of year too! At Easter, I could decorate it with chocolate bunnies and a chocolate/coconut bird's nest and jelly bean or Cadbury eggs. For kids, I could make it with some gummy worms or bugs, LOL! We also got some hot chocolate which I may wait to open until February/Valentine's Day. I can make it up in the Breville Milk Cafe I got last year. And, we got a box of Peppermint Bark. That may not make it past New Year's as it is so moreish. Everything was at least half price before the coupon was even rung in! If only one could always do that much shopping for under $20 at Williams Sonoma!

We saw lots of good sales, but the only other shopping we did was at Baby Gap and Carter's. We found 3 of the cutest onesies at Gap marked down to $2.99!! We got 9 outfits at Carter's where everything we picked was between 40 and 70% off and then we were surprised with an additional 20% taken off at the checkout.

We topped off the day with lunch out at Chipotle and later had lattes too! I think I might be back into the habit of shopping on the 26th ;)

Well, next year should be our most exciting Christmas ever, the first with our son. I can't wait to start celebrating holidays with him!

Today Was Bigger Than Christmas!

As nice as it is to have some presents to open in a few days, nothing beats seeing my baby boy in an ultrasound today! It was hard waiting for the appointment day to finally arrive. It wasn't as easy to get a good picture of his face this time as he was chewing on his hands! The left one was in his mouth here and the right at the ready. He is in the head down position which is great, but can still change at this point. And, I was very relieved to hear that he is average weight, probably even a little toward the smaller end of the average range.

We've been out shopping for baby things in the midst of the Christmas rush. I don't care for the traffic, but I don't mind all the bustle of people shopping in varying states of desperation depending on how much shopping they have left to do. It can be amusing to people watch as you shop! I feel even more ready for his arrival now that we have the first diapers in the nursery and some other necessary items like that.

I am thinking we might be able to focus next on getting a few more of the big items. Maybe they will even be on sale after xmas. I am thinking about getting a Chicco play yard with the bassinet and changing table on top, video baby monitor and an HD video camera is a must!

Speaking of sales after xmas, it has occurred to me that as long as this baby arrives near his due date, birthday shopping will always be a breeze in the after xmas sales!

Little Boy Blue Hat

The ribbing should make this hat work for a lot of head sizes. I'm hoping it will fit from newborn to 3 months or so. The pattern is available free: here. I used up some Louisa Harding Kashmir Aran I had left from knitting Marmalade. The color is called "frost" which seems appropriate for my January baby!

I altered the pattern slightly as I got to the top decreases. I decreased more rapidly as I wanted a rounded shape and it seemed like it was going to get rather pointy if I continued to follow the pattern. But either way would be cute. I think a pom pom could be nice on top, but it's doubtful that I have enough yarn left for it.

1 Month to Go!

We have finished our classes and have a certificate to show for it, so technically we must be ready! (Though I may sign up for one more first aid class.) We've chosen a pediatrician and had a meet and greet with him. There are still things to do and things to buy, but I am excited to get to the end of this pregnancy, or more specifically, through the end of this pregnancy and be home with our new baby! I actually do feel ready. Those sound like famous last words, don't they! Maybe I should clarify by adding that I feel as ready as I'll ever be...

You might be amused to know that in the childbirth class, they demonstrated with a knitted uterus! The funniest thing we learned was that they don't allow TV remotes in the labor rooms. Apparently, they have been used as weapons!

Pregnancy is getting a bit tiresome now that I am more short of breath when I try to do things. I even let Jeff tie my shoes sometimes! On the other hand, it is endlessly fascinating to feel the baby moving around or hiccuping. He seems to react to voices and touch. Fortunately, my discomforts are minimal and I still feel well. I do continue to look forward to the day I can lay on my stomach again. And, I can't believe how far away sink faucets have gotten--and that's not just an excuse to get out of dishes! It is tiring to reach and if I accidentally lean on a counter the slightest bit, the baby kicks immediately to let me know that's no fun for him.

Although my weight was up 15 pounds a month ago, I am now only up a total of 10 pounds even though I am eating 6 meals and snacks a day and always feel so full! The doctor still says it is normal and my stomach is growing right on schedule. It seems huge to me! I have to be careful not to bump into things--I don't know where I begin or end anymore.

I'm really wondering what the use of maternity clothes is. Am I just weird?! They have not worked out for me. The pants will not stay up and the shirts I've tried have such unflattering and rather low necklines. There is not much time left for me to suddenly be able to use the five pairs of maternity jeans I bought for the third trimester! Luckily they were sale priced, but still I wish I hadn't bothered with them. I am happy in my yoga pants and basic non maternity tees though very bored with them too. It's going to be a great day when I can pull on jeans again and find old favorite tops in the closet or shop for some new ones!

I am really looking forward to an ultrasound right before Christmas. I haven't seen him since week 20 and that seems like a long time ago. They will estimate his size as well as doing other checks. A few new ultrasound pictures will be the best Christmas present!

Baby Mittens FO

I didn't have a pattern that was quite right for my yarn or gave overall dimensions for different ages, so yesterday, I improvised to make these. I hope they will fit from birth in January through April. I can fold up the cuff to shorten them a bit as long as the width is ok. I didn't make thumbs as there isn't any point in them for this age range. I think they complete the set quite nicely!

Striped Baby Hat FO

This pattern, like the socks I posted about yesterday, is from Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Baby 2. I used up leftover yarn from the socks (and bunny, an FO from earlier this year) and altered the stripe pattern so I wouldn't run out of the brown color. I just made the stripes as I went, so maybe I would have made the first white stripe narrower if I could have anticipated exactly how it would look, but I think it's ok. The brim rolls up over it anyway.

It was a quick knit--I started and finished it yesterday! It looks cute with the socks and this outfit my parents sent.

I wonder if I can find a pattern for little tiny mittens to complete the set? I have some more of the white yarn I could use and a little of the brown I could use on the cast on edge of the cuffs...

Knitting Content!

I know, it's been awhile since I've had a knitting post, but pregnancy hasn't involved nearly as much sitting and knitting as I thought it would!

These baby socks are a pattern from Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Baby 2, a very sweet book. (I really love the little argyle vest pattern in it.) I made two identical pairs to try to outsmart the universal tendency for socks to separate from their mates.

These were easy to make and I carried the yarn so there weren't too many ends to weave in. They are seamed up the foot/back.

I never quite know whether to slip the first stitches in the heel purlwise or knitwise. I ended up getting crossed over stitches on one side as you can see pictured to the right (if you open the picture in a new tab to see it full sized). The pictures in the books never seem to show that side! And, when I paid for a sock class once to ask that very question I was told "either way"! Arrrgh! My toe shaping stitches are crossed over too and that part is blurred in the picture accompanying the pattern. I guess it looks ok like this and the socks are tightly constructed with no gaps anywhere, which is the important thing. However, I'm curious, what do you do???

Santa?!

No, that's Jeff on the roof filling in gaps around the chimney to prevent leaks. The chimney bricks need pointing too, but that will have to wait for another day.