Sweater Model

Here is Aidan modelling the sweater I knit for him a few weeks back, providing proof that we have another active boy on our hands.

These pictures were taken just before we left the hospital.

Aidan was two days old when these pictures were taken.

I predict active boy trouble in our future!

Luckily, the child sleeps...

Breaking News!

On Tuesday morning at 2:06 AM, our family welcomed a baby BOY! We have decided to name him Aidan Allan. He was 8 lbs 6 ozs when he was born (exactly the same as Iain’s birth weight!) and 20” long. Not that labour is ever easy; Aidan made it a bit more of a challenge by being born face up. He is beautiful and a joy. Now, if we can just get him on Nova Scotia time versus European time (he is up from 11:00 PM to 4:00 AM usually) we will be all set!


Aidan and I returned home on Thursday evening. We seem to be adjusting well to the new addition. Having DH at home and Grandma here as well has been a Godsend.

Iain is quite taken with Aidan and calls him by his name or by ‘baby brother’. He often stops to look at his brother adoringly during the day, which just makes my heart melt!

By the way, April, you were the ONLY one to guess ‘boy’! Send me your snail mail address via email and I will get some cool pressies off to you.

No Baby Yet!

I know a baby update is the real reason why you dropped by so I thought I’d talk about that first so that, if you don’t have time, you can just read sentence one and move along. Baby number two has definitely moved down and I’m definitely going to have a baby soon but, really, even the medical system needs a psychic to know when the baby will actually be born! For now, I’ve been luxuriating in lots of naps (thanks, Mudder and DH!) and lots of help around the house. I have also managed to finish another pair of fingerless mittens. Let’s see if I can get a picture of them before Canada Post gets them…

Since Iain’s birthday party, we have been mainly sticking close to home. Mudder, Iain and I have been out for short forays into town for groceries and the post office. We (less Iain) even went into the Greenwood Mall to go to the bookstore on Monday night – a rare treat! I also got back the proofs from my and Iain’s pregnancy belly photo shoot the week before last and I am really pleased with them. What a great memory for all of us.

This past Saturday, DH really wanted to go on a day trip. As the weather has been overcast but still very hot and heavy, we headed out to Blomidon Provincial Park’s day use area where it is usually several degrees cooler. It was cooler and LOVELY. Iain does not fall asleep well in a vehicle but was due for a nap when we left the house. Therefore, he drifted off about 10 minutes before we arrived at the park.

I love how deeply he sleeps once he gets to sleep!

Para thought a nap was in order too!

It was a fun time. I opted not to go down and up the stairs to the beach so sat and knit at the picnic table while DH, Iain, Mudder and Para went walking on the beach. The Bay of Fundy Tide was coming in so the beach got smaller and smaller rapidly.

DH and Iain also found the creek just below where we’d secured our picnic table and Iain was pretty wet and happy by the time they found their way back to me. Para drank a minimal amount of salt water. She is a very smart dog in some ways but there are a few areas where she needs help. Around salt water is one of them. I assume that because we spent most of her early years exploring fresh water (rivers and ponds in and around Goose Bay, Labrador and Cold Lake, Alberta), she figures all water is drinkable. It just means keeping a close eye on her when we are near the ocean.

Just before Iain was born, we purchased a new camera. In keeping with that precedent, a new Canon Power Shot SD780 IS arrived at our post office box last week. Our old camera kept eating batteries (e.g. after four pictures you would have to replace the batteries) and it was driving me crazy. I think I like this new, very little camera but I still need to play with it more. I made DH buy the red coloured exterior one. I think he’s coming to grips with that.

I have also been trying to concentrate on taking lots of pictures of Iain these days. I am very aware that these are his last days as a ‘single’ child and I want to record them. He is growing into such a wonderful, silly boy with such a great sense of humour and adventure. Of course, all of this means he has his challenging moments but, hey, he turns two on Saturday so that is expected! Here’s our silly wee 'about to become a big brother' boy:

And last but certainly not least, Happy Birthday FIL (father-in-law)! And, Happy Birthday, Canada! It’s a hot, wet, and overcast Canada Day in the Annapolis Valley so we are staying here at home enjoying some ‘down’ time.

Moving Right Along

It’s been an eventful few weeks. We celebrated Iain’s second birthday party a few weeks early (on June 13th) so that the big event could be celebrated without A) me going into/being in labour and B) a brand new newborn. That plan went well as baby number two is still safely (though heavily…) contained within. Here are some shots of the big day.

The van's official introduction to 'Mommyhood':

The outdoor decorations (unfortunately, after a couple of rainy days, it was too wet to host most of the party outside. We moved out later in the afternoon):

Some of the guest shoe collection:

Iain loves balloons and so did all of his guests! These balloons provided endless entertainment and made it all around the house:

The finished cake. This was a bit of a coup. I like having a theme to plan a party around and Iain loves horses (which he calls 'neighs'). Therefore, the invitations I designed had a horse on them. I wanted to decorate a cake with a horse but the cake pan from Wilton was discontinued. I checked locally for a cake pan but wasn't willing to part with $30 for the only beaten up one I could find. Enter ebay (which I rarely use) and a $6 USD pan and here it is!

And here is the birthday boy!

I picked up Mudder from the airport this past Tuesday. Anyone who knows my mother will know that this was a big deal as she is terrified of flying. However, after considering her options (e.g. driving here by herself or taking the bus/ferry/bus which would take over two days), she decided that flying might be the best option of all. She seemed to do well or at least was feeling good enough about the whole one way experience (she will be returning to the island via ferry with us on July 24th) to give Iain lots of big waves and smiles as she came down the escalator to arrivals. For his part, once he saw ‘Gramma’, Iain didn’t stop smiling. He wasn’t quite brave enough to run into her arms however, one she bent down to give him a hug, he wanted ‘Up!’ immediately! They have, pretty much, been inseparable ever since. They are upstairs playing a rendition of golf/hockey as I type.

I am working on designing thank you cards for Iain’s birthday (I made his birthday invitations) and then getting onto the new baby announcement and thank you cards (designed already in my head which is a wonder). I am also doing some knitting. I finished a set of 100% Misti 2 ply chunky baby alpaca fingerless mittens (I got mine from Wool-Tyme online) from this Tangle pattern (and just realised that I have them upstairs, ready to send in the mail and forgot to take a final picture – argh!). It’s a really quick and fun pattern if you’re not me and want a quick and fun pattern. I may have started these this time last year and only finished them about a week ago. Ahem. Moving right along, I have another glove almost finished for another family recipient. Another late birthday gift but not as late as the ones above which were due in July. Of 2008…! I’d hang my head in fibre shame but I’m so pleased to have a genuine knitted FO that I’m too proud! Oh, the alpaca is gorgeous and I have leftovers from knitting two gloves - yeah! This is also a one skein project.

As for baby number two, there are no signs of an imminent release program apart from the fact that the baby has really dropped. S/he is giving me some cramps but not too many and, thankfully, I can eat again. In fact, since Mudder arrived and I’ve been put on a ‘nap at least once a day’ program, I’ve been feeling pretty good. Still tired but almost human. It’s been wonderful – my mother actually LOVES to do laundry. Seriously. She loves it and loves to hang it on the line, take it in and fold it. Too bad I didn’t inherit that gene! Then again, she also does not mind cleaning up after a meal one bit and I MUCH prefer for cook or bake and have someone else clean up after me. Therefore, we’re a great team.

DH has two weeks left in the Canadian Forces. He has mentioned that me having a baby early would help him retire ‘early’ but I’ve been ignoring his and Mudder’s offers for me to go and wash walls. After all, the baby isn’t due until July 4th and my recollection of the whole labour experience is just less than two years old (aka fresh in my mind). Regardless, I likely should get my hospital bag packed. Right now I have about three piles designated to go with me but really haven’t concentrated on getting too organised with putting it all in one bag.

Here’s a belly shot from June 7th. I know, I know, I’m overdue for a new one. I’ll keep that in mind for this week.

The Five Hour Sweater

You might want to sit down for this one because Fibreholic has an FO! A KNITTED FO no less!

After knitting three dishcloths, I decided I might be ready to commit to something a little more intense. I was taken with a sweater entitled ‘The Five Hour Sweater’ on Ravelry (love that site. Too bad I visit it so infrequently). I thought to myself,

“Self? Do you think you can dedicate five hours to pulling something together for the new baby?”

But even as I accepted the challenge, I was not bold enough to assume I could actually knit this sweater in only five hours. And, I didn’t. However, I did start and finish it in 16 days. For me and my limited (and interrupted) knitting time, that really isn’t too shabby. Here are the details.

Five Hour Sweater pattern available for free here (and, before you get all excited, ignore the "Baby Boy Five Hour Sweater" title. I intentionally knit the sweater in a lovely neutral colour and happen to like buttons on the side I placed this one on because it is easier for this new Mommy to do up on a newborn! I still don't know more than you do...).

Materials Used:

Blue Sky Alpaca’s Organic Cotton

I used 1 skein plus a bit of another because I decided to make my sweater longer than the pattern called for. In fact, I believe the yarn I used is likely a larger worsted weight than called for in the pattern but the sweater seems proportionate to me.

Time to complete: May 19 to June 4th (yes, I was holding out on you. With so many unfinished objects in my house, I was too shy to say that I was starting something else new!).

I think it’s cute, soft, soft, soft and am thrilled that I will have something Mommy-made for the new baby!

Here's a little video of what Iain and Para were doing in our backyard yesterday afternoon to tide you over until I get a chance to post again. Enjoy!

Note: In case you really wanted to see Iain and his new words from this post, I finally managed to get it uploaded to YouTube. As I mentioned before, it is a long one.