Haven't been blogging much...

...because I've been busy looking at this...

...and this...

...and occasionally even some of this, and I do have to say I think it is pretty miraculous to have both kiddos asleep at the same time.

Let the wild rumpus begin!

As you can probably tell, Josh really loves his Halloween costume this year. I'm glad because it is the first time I made one for him, and not only does it fit but I think it is pretty cute myself! We went to a great halloween party earlier today and the first thing Josh said when we got home was, "Go to their house tomorrow?" Unfortunately, I don't think they have apple bobbing and egg walks and prizes and candy over there every day Josh! Later tonight we'll visit the neighbors for a little trick or treating and romping about in his costume.

I hope you are all enjoying your day as much as we are!

Happy Halloween!

This year's jack-o-lanterns.

And a few more fall decorations.

Pumpkin Season

I'm sure this is a familiar site for many of you--the pumpkin patch! We've picked our pumpkins, carved them (no photos yet), roasted the seeds (yum!), and there is a pie pumpkin from our CSA sitting around waiting to become a pie.

Josh searched for the perfect pumpkin high and low, but it was difficult to find one that met his expectations. He wanted one that didn't have any dirt or scratches on it--good luck with that kiddo! He eventually came home with a tiny baby pumpkin and Lyle picked out a larger one for carving (though the baby one did get carved as well).

My view at the pumpkin patch.

And if we are going to talk pumpkins we might as well talk costumes too. For the first time I am making Josh's costume (I know, you'd think I would've done this before!). He is going to be Max, King of the Wild Things. So far I've made his crown and cut out the pieces for his wolf suit. This is my first big sewing project since Lucy was born and I'm cutting it pretty close, so I really hope I am able to finish it in time and that it fits so I can share photos with all of you!

What do you think?

Do they look alike? I planned on taking this photo of Lucy asleep in the same outfit that Josh was wearing, but once I looked up Josh's photo I realized they were both also right about 6 weeks old when these photos were taken. Lucy is so much chubbier at this age than Josh was! In this photo I think they look pretty different, but there are definitely times when Lucy looks so much like Josh. I think they have the same lips and nose.

In any case, we have a lot of sibling love around these days!

Keeping us busy...

The grandparents that is! We've had a few visitors in recent weeks, and they've kept us pretty busy (though somehow Josh seems to outlast us all!).

They look so happy together, I love it!

Great expressions on all three faces in this photo, especially Josh--what a crackup!

We've been getting lots of smiles and coos from our girl lately. She'll have a little conversation back and forth with you if you coo at her first.

Lucy is changing so fast these days. She's definitely hit that stage of wide-eyed wonder and is more awake and alert throughout the day. I swear I woke up a few days ago and looked at her and immediately thought, "When the heck did you get so big and chubby?! Noooo!" I'm not ready to leave the newborn days behind us yet!

A Study in Sleep

There is no better time to post a photo series like this than at 1:00am on the morning of my twenty-eighth birthday as one child sleeps and the other (Josh!) is still awake. I'm on my own with both kiddos for the next few days so I hope this late evening (morning I guess?) means there will be at least a little sleeping in tomorrow (today?!). Though I am not counting on it, Josh seems to be an early riser no matter how late he goes to bed.

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. You can guess what is occupying me these days--lots of nursing, diaper changing, rocking, bouncing, first smiles, cooing, little conversations, even lots of cuddling with my big kiddo, and a bit of knitting here and there. There have also been tears, frustrations, and obviously late nights (though most nights Lucy is the one keeping me up late). We've been getting over a pretty nasty illness around here so we've got a tired cranky house (ok, maybe it is mostly me who is tired and cranky). But for the most part we are just trying enjoy and treasure these newborn moments. Lucy is already six weeks old and I find myself wishing I could stop time for a while and make this period in our life last a little longer.

Life isn't perfect or easy these days (heavy things going on in my family on top of these exhausting newborn days), but I am sure feeling overflowing blessings anyway.

A Midwife's Shawl

I started this shawl (the Gaia Shoulder Hug) while I was pregnant with Lucy, so most of it was knit as she kicked and wiggled in my belly. The rest of it was knit after she was born, as she nursed or slept in my lap. I'd like to think that there are lots of loving baby thoughts in this shawl so of course it would only be right to give away the first shawl I've ever knit to my wonderful midwife.

When I first started knitting this, I wasn't too sure about the colors in this skein of noro sock yarn. I'd seen pictures of items knit from this same colorway and really liked them, but once I had it in my hands I just wasn't sure (mainly about that dark yellow stripe). However, once the shawl was finished \I really loved how it turned out--which is a good things since I have two  more skeins of this yarn left (hey, it was on sale 50% off, how could I pass that up?).

A Boy and His Pink Bike

Well, Josh certainly knows what he wants. We'd looked at a few bikes and had him try them out since we were thinking it was time for him to have one, and somewhere he came up with the idea that he wanted a pink bike. Not long after that while I was still pregnant with Lucy, we were taking a lot of walks around our neighborhood (hoping to bring on labor!) and one day we passed by a bike shop. There in the window was a pink bike with cherry decals and sparkly fringes on the handlebars. Josh saw it right away and declared it, "My pink bike!" Every night after that he would direct our walk past that bike shop and stand in the window looking at and talking about his pink bike.

It didn't take us long to realize that it would indeed wind up being his pink bike. He was very insistent and we figured that if we went out and bought a different bike he would reject it since it wasn't his pink bike and there would be no point. If the boy was going to have a bike it was going to have to be this one!

And sure enough, the day Lyle bought the bike (in secret so that we could surprise Josh with it later) we happened to drive by the bike shop, and from the car Josh looks over, sees that it is gone, and says, "My pink bike! Somebody got it, somebody got my pink bike." He was so sad that we felt a little guilty that it was sitting in our garage while he was so upset that someone else had come and taken away his bike.

Anyway, Josh does indeed love his pink bike and even though it is still a little big for him he has been figuring out how to ride it with a little help from his Daddy.

Four Weeks

Can I post too many photos?

International Babywearing Week -- Close Enough to Kiss

This is just a little post in celebration of International Babywearing Week, September 21-30. Keep your babies close enough to kiss!

(I look tired, tired but happy)

Three Weeks

It's hard to believe Lucy is three weeks old today. I'm trying to savor every little moment as we get to know our little girl. She sleeps like a champ (especially compared to Josh), but there are some rough times. When she gets cranky nothing seems to soothe her. Josh was easy in that regard--nursing solved everything for him. But for Lucy it seems that nursing is great, and then she is done. She doesn't nurse to sleep the same way Josh did, so there is lots of walking and rocking and other things going on trying to get our little girl to calm down and sleep. I have to admit that it is a little hard for me to accept the idea that our problems aren't as easy as nursing them all away like I could with Josh, but at the same time it is nice to have a baby who takes breaks (sometimes hours long!) between nursing sessions. I am definitely learning that every baby is so so different and they have their own personalities and opinions from the very beginning.

One afternoon she was fussing and getting her up in this back carry (with Lyle's help, she's just so tiny I'm not ready to do it all on my own yet!) soothed her and pretty soon she was fast asleep back there. I didn't even attempt back carries with Josh until he was several months old, so it was kind of exciting to have her on my back at just over two weeks old with my hands free to do a few things in the kitchen.

We are all enjoying our little girl so much. Josh has been a wonderful and loving big brother even though I know it has been hard for him to have the attention of his parents divided. Lucy has spent most of her three weeks this far in our arms and I wouldn't have it any other way. The time has already gone by too fast and I wish I could stop the clock for a while and let her be a snuggly newborn for an extra long time (though at the same time it is exciting to think about her showing us more and more of her personality, especially when I look at Josh and how much he has grown and changed in the last 3 1/2 years).