Hats

These are some hats that I finished back in September or October. My sister commissioned me to make them, so she could give them as gifts. The first one is called the Aztec Inca Snowflake (or something like that) from Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats. I loved this hat so much that I made a second one for Elinore in the same yarn! It is a beautiful yarn, and I loved watching it change colors as I knit with it. It was given to a 3 yr old little girl.

This second hat is called Cherry-O! from the same book as above. This is the 0-6 mo size that was given to a new baby. This one came out so sweet! I did have to adjust the pattern a little bit for the cherries. At first they came out looking a little like pears... Not what I wanted, but easily fixed. Just wanted to share these. My sister-in-law gave me Susan's new book Itty Bitty Nursery that I am dying to start some projects from!! Alas, I have 4 projects on my needles right now, so I need to finish my Christamas gifts before I allow myself to dig in to her book.

Birthdays and Turkey

Lots of things to share. Yesterday was my birthday. The older I get, the more anticlimactic it gets. I had a good day (despite grocery shopping and entering receipts), had some visits and phone calls from family and friends, Kev took me out to dinner, and we had a quiet evening. Elinore sang me her own version of the birthday song that pretty much became the song that never ends for about 5 hours. It was fun, but soon Kevin and I were avoiding saying the word "birthday" or she would launch into the song again! I am now 19 weeks along and should be getting an ultrasound in the next couple weeks.
We had the third round of Elinore's bday and my own while celebrating Thanksgiving with my family in Chicago. She is starting to get the hang of presents and really just seems to enjoy ripping the paper off. I think you could give her a bunch of wrapped empty boxes and she would have just as much fun. She's loving playing with all of her new things. Here we are opening presents together.
My aunt, uncle, and cousin from Pittsburgh were with us for Thanksgiving. Josh is 11 and became Elinore's new best friend while we were there. He read her stories and played with her; she always wanted to know where he was. It was really sweet, and so good to see them!

SO...Thanksgiving down, birthdays down,...here we come Christmas!

I'm 2!

Elinore turns 2!!

Yesterday Elinore turned 2 years old. Thanks to all the well wishers (by phone, email, and ecard)! Elinore appreciated all of the happy birthdays. On Saturday night I went in to check on her as I was going to bed. I must have woken her up a bit because she sat up and very sleepily said, "It's my birthday!" It was so adorable, and I felt bad telling her she had to go back to sleep. We had a quiet day at home filled with some of Elinore's favorite foods: pancakes, hot dogs, and ice cream. She seemed very content to stay around the house and play with her new things. I can't believe how fast two years has gone by. To think that we had a chubby little newborn at this time two years ago and now she is this sweet, babbly, active toddler. We love her so much.
Kev's parents got Elinore a little bike for her birthday. It is perfect, and Elinore just loves it. She can't peddle yet, but she likes to ride it while Kevin pushes her! I imagine it will come in very handy next summer when we have a new baby to push around in the stroller.
Last weekend we had a little birthday bash for Sam, Lydia, and Elinore (all of their birthdays fall within about 3 weeks of each other). It was fun and slightly crazy with all of the kids opening presents, running around, and being excited about cake! I'm glad we could celebrate them all together. Kev's dad even brought his French Horn and played happy birthday (which is why all the kids look entranced). It was a lot of fun. We'll plan to celebrate with my family when we are there for Thanksgiving.


On another note. I have a couple movie recommendations to pass on. Both are lesser known films that I found on the new release wall, but there were only a couple copies of them. The first is a great love story set in the 1920s of some first generation immigrants. Very good, very sweet, Kev liked it (I always throw his opinion in for the guys out there). It is called Sweet Land.

The second movie is one we watched this weekend called Neverwas. Ian McKellen is in it, and did such an amazing job. It was such a good movie, and we both really liked it. Go rent these!

Stripey Stocking Cap

I have a few more completed knits that I'll post up here since they've been given as gifts. This is the Stripey Stocking Cap (I think) from Susan B Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats. This one was made for my nephew Sam for his 5th birthday. It is made with a yarn called Manos del Uruaguay that is made by women in a village as a non-profit. The yarn is so fun with varying texture as you knit. The colors they dye are so gorgeous. I had trouble limiting myself to two! The inside around the ears and forehead is lined with fleece for comfort (since it is wool) and extra warmth. A very fun knit. Will probably do this one again.

I just had to tell you this.

Scene: Driving somewhere in the car.

Elinore: I have a booger, I need a kleenex.

Kevin: Ok, just a minute...

Time elapses while Kevin and Jen look for a kleenex which is not to be found in the rental car.

Elinore: I ate my booger, it was good yum yum.

Kevin and Jen laugh at this for a while.

Elinore: My booger is all gone.

So I guess this answers the age old question...it begins simply out of the need for disposal.

~kevin

A few more photos

Kev, Elinore, and I and Silver Springs.
Elinore at the beach.
Silver Springs Park (you can see one of the glass-bottom boats out on the water). Isn't it beautiful!
Elinore (wearing her sunglasses) helping my grandma do laundry.

To Florida and Back

As some of you may know, we just got back from a week of vacation in Florida. We went to visit my grandparents who I haven't seen in a while and enjoy a bit of warmer weather. They were lovely hosts and really seemed to enjoy having Elinore running around. My grandmother made amazing meals every night, we helped her with crossword puzzles, we worked our way through two regular puzzles, and enjoyed many evenings sitting around with a cup of coffee just chatting. They took us to Silver Springs which is like a natural park where they have glass bottom boats and lots of aligators. Elinore ran for the whole day and was most excited to ride the merry-g0-round!
We took a couple mornings and just drove about 6 miles to the beach. The weather seemed to be a bit chilly for the Floridians, but just right for us northerners. I am so used to Lake Michigan beaches these days that I was surprised at all of the shells on the beach. I mean, the beach was completely made up of millions and millions of broken shell bits. How can there be that many shells in the whole world!! I loved just looking and sifting through them.
Elinore made soup in her bucket (shells and water) and stirred it all up. We only had a few toys that my grandparents sent with us, but she had a blast just running around in the sand and chasing the little sandpipers.
This is the day we went to St. Augustine which is the oldest continually inhabited city in the US. We toured the fort and visited their living history exhibit before we walked through the older part of the city and found some lunch. It was so great to visit with my grandparents and just have a change of pace from our day to day. We came back to frosty mornings and leaf-filled yards and a slew of fall/birthday/holiday activities that are just beginning!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a wonderful time!!